V 
 
 ( 
 
 
 , 
 
NARRATIVE 
 
 LIFE AND TRAVELS 
 
 SERJEANT B . 
 
 WRITTEN BY HIMSELF. 
 
 Call upon me in the day of trouble, I will deliver thee, and thou shalt 
 
 glorify me." 
 ' I shall not die, but live, and declare the works of the Lord." 
 
 EDINBURGH : 
 
 PRINTED FOR DAVID BROWN, 
 
 16, SOUTH ST. ANDREW'S STREET ; 
 
 CHALMERS AND COLLINS, GLASGOW; 
 
 KNIGHT & LACEY, 24, PATERNOSTER-ROW, 
 LONDON. 
 
 1823. 
 
U*IRY MORSE STEPHENS 
 
 Printed by Balfour and Clarke, 
 Edinburgh, 1825. 
 
ADVERTISEMENT. 
 
 IN justice to the unpretending 
 Author of this volume, it is necessary 
 to notice that the idea of publishing it 
 in no respect originated with himself. 
 The circumstances which led to its 
 appearance may be very briefly stated. 
 
 On the Serjeant's arrival in this 
 country from India, he found himself 
 surrounded by an extensive circle of 
 relations, to which the excellence of 
 his own character soon added many 
 personal friends. As might be ex- 
 pected, the occurrences\>f his past life 
 
IV ADVERTISEMENT. 
 
 and travels, frequently formed the 
 topics of conversation at their occa- 
 sional meetings ; and as he had from 
 an early period, for his own amuse- 
 ment and edification, been in the habit 
 of keeping an exact journal of all 
 " the providences that befel him," he 
 frequently had recourse to it for the 
 purpose of aiding his recollection, 
 and exhibiting more vividly the state 
 of his feelings at various periods, and 
 under the various incidents of his 
 life. Many passages of the Journal 
 excited a very pleasing and deep in- 
 terest in those to whom they were 
 communicated, and the desire of per- 
 using it gradually extended itself to 
 persons in a higher condition of life. 
 A clergyman particularly, underwhose 
 pastoral care he was for some time 
 placed, was so much struck with the 
 interesting, as well as the instructive 
 
ADVERTISEMENT. V 
 
 character of these "simple annals," 
 that he urged the Author, in a very 
 kind but pressing manner, to collect 
 the more material passages in the ori- 
 ginal Journal into something like a 
 continued narrative ; and to transcribe 
 them in a connected and legible form, 
 for the private enjoymentof his particu- 
 lar friends. Our Author, to whom no- 
 thing is more agreeable than to have 
 his mind or hands usefully occupied, 
 undertook the task, and executed it 
 with a degree of neatness, which 
 would have done great credit to a more 
 practised scribe. The manuscript vo- 
 lume was, of course, in very great re- 
 quest in his own neighbourhood, and 
 was perused by none without peculiar 
 pleasure; but, for several years, no idea 
 of printing it presented itself to his 
 own mind, though it was frequently 
 
VI ADVERTISEMENT. 
 
 suggested by those who had been per- 
 mitted to read it. It lately fell into the 
 hands of the writer of this notice, whose 
 feelings in perusing it certainly were 
 those of extreme delight ; and finding 
 that one or two friends, in whose 
 judgment he placed the highest confi- 
 dence, coincided with him in opinion, 
 he strongly recommended to the Au- 
 thor that it should be published. His 
 reluctance to this public appearance, 
 was only overcome through the influ- 
 ence of a suggestion rising up in his 
 own mind, that the work might not 
 only perhaps afford pleasure and in- 
 struction, but that, should any profits 
 arise from the sale, he would be en- 
 abled thereby to gratify his feelings, 
 by devoting them to the support of 
 Bible and Missionary Societies, or 
 other pious purposes. 
 
ADVERTISEMENT. Vll 
 
 The task of the Editor, while the 
 sheets were passing through the press, 
 has been of a very limited kind, being 
 chiefly confined to the correction of a 
 few glaring errors jn grammar or style, 
 which the writer's very imperfect edu- 
 cation necessarily occasioned. Though 
 the most perfect liberty was conceded 
 to him, the Editor felt no disposition 
 to make any changes affecting that 
 extreme naivete and simplicity of style 
 which appeared to form at least one 
 peculiar and novel charm in the ori- 
 ginal narrative. 
 
 The Editor abstains from any at- 
 tempt to characterize the volume, as 
 he feels that, from peculiar circum- 
 stances, he has become too much en- 
 amoured of the Author and his per- 
 formance, to possess the requisite cool- 
 ness for doing the work strict justice. 
 
Vlll ADVERTISEMENT. 
 
 He now sends it into the world, hum- 
 bly trusting that the same kind Pro- 
 vidence that watched over the Author, 
 amid manifold perils, temptations, and 
 afflictions, will furnish him with fresh 
 motives of gratitude, by rendering 
 these his humble labours useful for 
 promoting the glory of God, as well 
 as profitable and acceptable to his 
 " dear readers" objects more pre- 
 cious, the Editor firmly believes, to 
 his soul, " than thousands of gold and 
 silver." 
 
 EDINBURGH, 
 
 , 1823. 
 
CONTENTS. 
 
 CHAPTER I. 
 
 Page 
 
 The Author's Birth and Education Sent to 
 Edinburgh Engaged to a Tobacco-Spinner 
 Hired by Mrs. C. Her Excellent Character 
 Death Goes to Mr. B. Hardships there 
 from Hunger Buys a fife, and becomes de- 
 voted to Music Put to the Weaving Scanty 
 Fare and small Wages Curious incident 
 Goes to Peebles Enlists in the Army of Re- 
 serve Is sent to Ireland l 
 
 CHAPTER II. 
 
 Arrival at Belfast, Athlone, Dublin His Musi- 
 cal Enthusiasm Alarms of Conscience En- 
 lists into the Regulars Visits Scotland- 
 Courtship Melancholy Result of it Goes to 
 England Arrives at Portsmouth Dismal 
 scene of Drawing Lots for the Wives Mrs. 
 Allan permitted to accompany her Husband, 
 through the Author's influence with the Co- 
 lonel : 21 
 
 CHAPTER III. 
 
 Embarks at Portsmouth Death of William 
 Troup of a Broken Heart Tremendous Storm 
 Ceremony at Crossing the Equinoctial 
 Loses his Watch Cape of Good Hope Suf- 
 ferings from want of Water ...., , 39 
 
10 s CONTENTS. 
 
 CHAPTER IV. 
 
 Page 
 
 Arrival at Prince of Wales's Island Attacked 
 by Dysentery His deep Convictions in the 
 Hospital Is visited by Alexander Chevis, a 
 Pious Soldier Their profitable Intercourse 
 Colonel Stewart's kindness Sent to Madras... 50 
 
 CHAPTER IV. 
 
 Description of Madras The Thieving Bazaar 
 Wallajahbad Terrible Mortality Death of 
 his friend Allan Marries his Widow Her 
 Character Exploit of the Grenadier Company 
 Effects of HeatExpedient for Relief of 
 checked Perspiration Prayers read by the 
 Adjutant Colonel Stewart's return to Europe 
 Colonel Conran's Character His Kindness 
 Mutiny of the Company's Troops Mrs. B/s 
 Fortitude 73 
 
 CHAPTER V. 
 
 March against the Rebels Tigers Wild Boars 
 Gutta Number and Description of the 
 Forces Hardships of the March Activity 
 and Usefulness of Mrs. B. Illustrations of 
 Scripture The Shadow of a Great Rock 
 New Wine in Old Bottles New Cloth sew- 
 ed to Old Cloth Glass of the East Submis- 
 sion of the Rebels Basket Boats Elephants 
 crossing Rivers Effects of Live Grass Anec- 
 dotes of Serpents Their Love of Music 94 
 
 CHAPTER VI. 
 
 Hydrabad Effects of Mad Dogs Mischiefs of 
 Liquor Affecting Death of Wilkins His re- 
 markable love of the Bible Account of Ser- 
 jeant Gray The Author's Happiness on find- 
 ing Doddridge's Rise and Progress ,,. 118 
 
CONTENTS. 11 
 
 CHAPTER VII. 
 
 Page 
 
 Marches to Masulipatam Finds Alex. Chevis 
 in the Hospital His Dying Address and 
 Death Wickedness of the Regiment Court- 
 ney Shoots two Men with one Ball His 
 Hardened Character A Singular Incident- 
 Suicide of a Nabob Increasing Profligacy of 
 the Army Causes thereof No Sabbath be- 
 yond the Line History of J. F. His Aver- 
 sion to Swearing Melancholy Change in his 
 Character His awful Death Account of W. 
 H. His Friendship with the Author Their 
 pleasant and profitable Intercourse Corrupt- 
 ed by his Comrades His Illness Last strik- 
 ing Words and Death 131 
 
 CHAPTER VIII. 
 
 Leave Masulipatam Anecdotes of the Elephant 
 Its Revenge of an Injury on a Serjeant 
 The Author's Hardships and Illness Hurri- 
 cane Mrs. B. stands Godmother to Serjeant 
 Lee's Child Account of Mrs. Lee Her 
 Death The Child taken Home by Mrs. B 
 Remarkable Cases of Hydrophobia. 16S 
 
 CHAPTER IX. 
 
 Leave Trichinopoly Bangalore Melancholy 
 Death of Mrs Brown Another Orphan taken 
 charge of Affecting account of Leaves the 
 Regiment Summary of Casualties Happi- 
 ness in the Prospect of revisiting Scotland 
 Friends left in India Account of Mrs. Cop- 
 wick Her Marriage and unhappy Condition 
 Promising Piety Doddndge's Rise and 
 Progress presented to her Punamalee Paddy 
 L discharged Drowns Himself Death of 
 Mrs. Gray Letter from the Serjeant From 
 Mrs. Copwick Her Wicked Husband's Death, 
 and her own Comfortable Settlement The 
 Author bids adieu to India 189 
 
12 CONTENTS. 
 
 CHAPTER X. 
 
 Page 
 
 Description of the Country Mode of watering 
 the Rice Fields Compared with the Scripture 
 account of the Land of EgyptManners and 
 Customs Dress Food Visits Dancing 
 Girls Mode of Drinking Houses Marriage 
 Ceremonies Burning Widows Religion 
 Brahmins Other Castes Temples Fakirs- 
 Ordeal Trials Abstract from the Vedas 202 
 
 CHAPTER XI. 
 
 The Author Embarks for Europe Kindness of 
 the Captain to the two Orphans Sabbath 
 Profanation, by his Scotch Comrades particu- 
 larly Storm Specimens of the Conversation 
 on Board Good-Friday strictly observed 
 St. Helena Extreme Distress on Board from 
 want of Tobacco Death of a Soldier Be- 
 haviour of his Comrades Buried ashore 
 Effects of this Attempt against the Author's 
 Life Account of the Shark Arrival at Lon- 
 don - 235 
 
 CHAPTER XII. 
 
 The Author's first Sabbath in London His 
 longing desires after the Public Ordinances 
 satisfied Arrival in Scotland Disposal of 
 the two Orphans with their Grandfathers 
 One of them returns to the Author at Peebles 
 Receives a letter from Colonel Stewart, who 
 procures a situation for him in a Militia Regi- 
 ment Greenock Comes to Edinburgh Dr. 
 B.'s Kindness Conclusion 278 
 
NARRATIVE. 
 
 CHAPTER I. 
 
 I WAS born of poor but respectable parents, 
 in the town of Peebles, county of Tweed- 
 dale, upon the 3d day of April, 1784. 
 Under their nursing care I remained un- 
 til I was four years of age, when I was 
 sent to my grandfather in Darnick, from 
 whom I received any little education I 
 ever got. Being then too young for 
 school, my grandmother was very atten- 
 tive in giving me instruction as I was able 
 to bear it ; and before I was five years of 
 age, when I was sent to school, I could re- 
 peat various psalms, hymns, and passages 
 of Scripture. She employed herself fre- 
 
3- NARRATIVE OF SERJEANT 
 
 quently in spinning on the lint wheel, at 
 which time I used to sit at her side, learn- 
 ing verses which she would rehearse to 
 me. I was placed here somewhat like 
 Timothy with his grandmother Lois ; for 
 from what I myself recollect, and especial- 
 ly from the testimony of some pious Christ- 
 ians yet living, she was a very eminent 
 character. She laboured much to give me 
 a high veneration for the Supreme Being, 
 in so much that, when I could read a lit- 
 tle, I was struck with a kind of reverential 
 dread at the words Lord or God, when I 
 saw them in the Bible ; but I could form 
 no kind of notion what this Great Being 
 could be. As I grew older, my wonder 
 was so far gratified by my worthy instruc- 
 tor telling me that God was a spirit, and 
 invisible, and that I could not speak, act, 
 or even think, but he was acquainted with 
 it all ; and that he saw me at all times and 
 in all places : but this I thought could 
 hardly be true, as I imagined God could 
 certainly not see me in the dark. 
 
NARRATIVE OF SERJEANT B 3 
 
 My grandfather being a very healthy 
 and pious man, no weather would prevent 
 him attending the church at Melrose, which 
 was about a mile distant ; but my grand- 
 mother being older, and not so robust in 
 her constitution, was often detained at 
 home in stormy weather, or during the 
 winter season ; but, though absent in body 
 from the ordinances, she was present in 
 spirit ; and it is to be desired that all 
 Christians would improve their time when 
 necessarily detained at home from church 
 as she did ; for it was her custom to make 
 family worship, I only being present, 
 during the time of divine service ; and 
 it was the greatest possible wonder to 
 me what pleasure she could have in it 
 when my grandfather was absent, and I 
 could take no active part in it, except 
 making an attempt to follow the psalm as 
 she was singing it. It was certainly how- 
 ever a great pleasure to her, though a real 
 weariness to me ; but although I could not 
 then see what advantage I could receive 
 B 2 
 
4 NARRATIVE OF SERJEANT B 
 
 from her praying to God to make me an 
 object of his special care, she saw it ; and 
 I trust I have reaped much benefit from 
 her prayers. Nor did she lose all the mi- 
 nister's labours, for there were two or three 
 pious neighbours who used to meet upon 
 the Sabbath evening, and talk over the 
 substance of what they had heard, their 
 " speech being with grace, seasoned with 
 salt." My grandfather being a man of su- 
 perior mental endowments, and having an 
 excellent memory, I was quite astonished 
 how they, and especially he, could remem- 
 ber so much, when, with all my attention, 
 I could scarcely bring home one sentence 
 of what had been preached. I was, how- 
 ever, very careful to learn my task, which 
 was a psalm, or a part of one, and a few 
 questions out of the Assembly's Shorter 
 Catechism ; and when I got through that 
 book, I used to answer the whole questions 
 on two Sabbath evenings, to keep them on 
 my memory. In short, I remained under 
 this friendly roof, having the great benefit 
 
NARRATIVE OF SERJEANT B 5 
 
 of precept and example, attending school 
 regularly, until I was eight years of age. 
 
 I was then, 1 may say, sent upon the wide 
 world, in which I have ever since been a 
 wanderer ; for, when I came to Edinburgh, 
 where my father and mother then lived, I 
 went to a Mr. -, in the capacity of a to- 
 bacco spinner's boy, where I had of course 
 to mix with many of those I would have 
 chosen to avoid ; but, being attentive to 
 my work, my master soon began to take 
 notice of me, and was wont to give me a 
 penny more upon Saturday night than the 
 rest, but this without their knowledge ; 
 and his kindness made me if any thing 
 more diligent. I found myself more com- 
 fortable here than at first I expected, and 
 I continued in this way until I was ten 
 years of age, when I was hired to a Mrs. 
 C. to wait at the table, run messages, &c. 
 for which I received my meat, clothes, and 
 one pound ten shillings in the half-year. 
 
 I was remarkaby well situated in her 
 service, partly through a very trifling cir- 
 
6 NARRATIVE OF SERJEANT B 
 
 cumstance, which was this : When out one 
 day airing, she dropped her gold watch 
 and some money, and I found them and 
 gave them to her in a very cheerful man- 
 ner, being happy to have it in my power to 
 relieve her uneasy mind ; and she took a 
 liking to me, as she said, for my apparent 
 honesty and attention. The first strong 
 proof I had of her attachment was as fol- 
 lows : The housekeeper desired me to 
 bring her a bottle of small beer, and it be- 
 ing somehow not to her mind, she abused 
 me so as to make me cry plentifully ; and 
 before I could get myself properly com- 
 posed, the bell rang, and I was obliged to 
 go up stairs, and, notwithstanding my care 
 not to be discovered, my mistress perceiv- 
 ed me in rather a confused state of mind, 
 and asked me the reason in a very kind 
 manner. I was afraid to tell a lie, and her 
 kind treatment emboldened me to ac- 
 knowledge the truth. After due inquiry, 
 finding the housekeeper in the wrong, and 
 me in the right, she ordered her to get 
 
NARRATIVE OF SERJEANT B 7 
 
 ready to leave the house, but with wages 
 and board wages till the term. Her regard 
 to me still increased, and I did all in my 
 power to please her. In a few weeks af- 
 ter, she sent for my mother, and told her 
 she intended to make a man of me, if we 
 both lived, meaning to give me an educa- 
 tion for a genteel business, and to put me 
 in a way to do for myself. My parents 
 were highly gratified with these proposals. 
 But, alas! how uncertain are all human 
 plans and prospects ; " For who saith, and 
 it cometh to pass, when the Lord com- 
 mandeth it not ?" The great leveller, 
 who pours contempt upon princes, laid my 
 kind benefactor, " with the hopes of the fa- 
 ther that begat me, and of the mother who 
 bare me, low in the dust ;" and shall I 
 say, in bitterness of soul, as Jacob did in 
 another case, " that all these things are 
 against me ?" Very far be this expression 
 from me ; but I have no cause to doubt 
 that, if Mrs. C. had thought herself so 
 near leaving our world, she would have 
 
 B 4} 
 
NARRATIVE OF SERJEANT B 
 
 made some provision for me ; for the day 
 on which she died, perceiving the approach 
 of the last enemy, she ordered the servant 
 girl who was in the room to ring the bell 
 for me ; but her sister-in-law, understand- 
 ing this, came out of the bed-room, and 
 prevented me entering, saying, I was not 
 wanted, and, as the girl afterwards told 
 me, said to Mrs. C. that I was not in the 
 house. Mrs. C.'s brother-in-law got near- 
 ly all her money, houses, and moveables, 
 and only gave me sixpence when I carried 
 his portmanteau to the coach on his leav- 
 ing Edinburgh. But I was not the only 
 one that sustained a loss by her death ; for 
 many poor creatures, who had been her 
 weekly pensioners, mourned their respect- 
 ive losses also. It was really mournful to 
 see these, and her trades-people, and others 
 who had been benefited by her, on the day 
 she was interred, many of them with droop- 
 ing heads and watery eyes, taking a view 
 of the last remains of their charitable 
 friend ; and they had just cause, for even 
 
NARRATIVE OF SERJEANT B 9 
 
 the woman who was her principal weekly 
 pensioner, and had been her nurse, was 
 struck oft 1 the list. 
 
 My time not being out, I served it out 
 with Mrs. C.'s sister-in-law, and was then 
 engaged with aMr.B , who had former- 
 ly been in better circumstances, but through 
 some affliction had now lost his sight. My 
 chief business was to go out with him when 
 he wanted an airing j but in this family I 
 experienced a great contrast from that of 
 my valuable friend formerly mentioned, 
 for in truth I was almost starved for want 
 of victuals. It would not become me to 
 tell about the shifts practised in the family, 
 but I remember well being so pinched in 
 my allowance, that I stood eagerly waiting 
 for the potato pot coming off, that I might 
 get the skins to eat, which I would devour 
 with greediness. The servant girl fared 
 no better than myself, and was unable to 
 afford me any relief as she could not even 
 give me a potato, they being all counted 
 
 out to her. How much better would it have 
 c 5 
 
10 NARRATIVE OF SERJEANT B 
 
 been for Mr. B 's two daughters to have 
 
 done the work of the house themselves, and 
 saved the meat and wages of a servant 
 maid, instead of appearing in public like 
 ladies, when their circumstances were so 
 indifferent ! But they had seen better days ; 
 " they could not work, and to beg they 
 were ashamed." So true is Solomon's re- 
 mark, at present as well as in his own day, 
 " There is that maketh himself rich, yet 
 hath nothing." 
 
 About this time my-^worthy grandmo- 
 ther died, (of whom I cannot think with- 
 out heartfelt emotion,) committing her soul 
 " to Him in whom she believed j" and, as 
 she was exemplary in her life, she was 
 no less so in her death. Although I had 
 not the satisfaction of seeing her on her 
 death-bed, I have since learned some very 
 comfortable particulars. Nothing else 
 worth mentioning happened while I was 
 in this family, but one circumstance ; which 
 was this : 1 happened to get a few half- 
 pence given me, with which I purchased 
 

 NARRATIVE OF SERJEANT B 11 
 
 an old fife, and this cheering companion 
 beguiled many a hungry hour, for I was 
 remarkably fond of music. This was not 
 the first time I showed my attachment to 
 music ; for when I lived at Darnick with 
 my grandfather, there was a weaver in the 
 town, who was famous, far and near, as a 
 whistler, and he used to gratify my musi- 
 cal desire by whistling a tune to me, till I 
 had got it nearly correct, and then gave 
 me another, and so on ; but I was then 
 little aware what this was to lead to, for I 
 afterwards got enough of music, as you 
 shall see in the sequel of this book ; but it 
 may be seen from this early propensity in 
 me, that " even a child may be known by 
 his doings." 
 
 After leaving this family, I went to a 
 Mr. F. where also was a cousin of my own, 
 who paid me great attention : but I looked 
 upon her rather as an enemy than a friend ; 
 for I fell in with some bad companions, 
 with whom I got a habit of staying and 
 
 amusing myself, when I was sent a mes- 
 B 6 
 

 12 NARRATIVE OF SERJEANT 
 
 sage, and in order to screen myself I was 
 obliged to have recourse to falsehoods. 
 My cousin frequently expostulated with 
 me, but all to no effect ; at last my master, 
 discovering my negligent and disobedient 
 conduct, gave me a good drubbing, and 
 this was a mean of bringing me to my 
 senses ; so I was compelled to give up all 
 fellowship with my pitch-and-toss gentry, 
 and I became afterwards more attentive. 
 Nothing worth mentioning happened to 
 me while 1 remained here, but the death 
 of my grandfather, of an iliac passion, w r ho, 
 as was named after him, distinguished 
 me from the rest by leaving me his Bible 
 as a legacy, wishing the blessing of God 
 to accompany it. 
 
 1 was now fourteen years of age, and 
 went to learn the trade of a weaver in Dar- 
 nick ; and when you know that the great 
 dearth of 1799, 1800, came on, and that I 
 could only earn about fourteen pence a-day, 
 half of which went to my master, you will 
 see that I had much occasion for the prac- 
 
NARRATIVE OF SERJEANT B 13 
 
 tice of that abstinence which I had been 
 forced to learn at the B School. It would 
 be tedious and trifling to tell how I ma- 
 naged to make up my breakfast, dinner, 
 and supper ; I have been for months to- 
 gether, indeed, that I never could say my 
 hunger was once satisfied, even though I 
 had recourse to rather dishonest means to 
 help me, for I went out at night, and would 
 pull a turnip or two in the fields, when I 
 thought " no eye could see me." But it 
 is worthy of remark, that as far as I can 
 judge, I never knew so much of what con- 
 tentment was in all my life ; I thought 
 hardly any body so well oft* as myself, for 
 I got into such a rigid system of living, 
 that, through long habit, it became quite 
 natural to me, though I must say that I 
 was often so weak, as hardly to be able to 
 get off and on my loom. 
 
 Notwithstanding my very straitened cir- 
 cumstances, I found ways and means, up- 
 on the winter Sabbath evenings, to spare 
 a halfpenny for a candle, that I might be 
 
14. NARRATIVE OF SERJEANT B 
 
 able to read Mr. Boston's Fourfold State, 
 to which I had taken a great liking. I 
 delighted particularly to read and meditate 
 on the Fourth State, where the happiness 
 of saints in a future world is described ; 
 and the expression, " they shall hunger no 
 more," had in it an emphasis (though I 
 fear somewhat of a carnal kind) that put 
 more joy into my heart than worldly men 
 can have when their corn and wine are 
 increased. 
 
 During the time I was thus exposed to 
 many hardships, there is one thing I must 
 not omit, which is as follows : I was ra- 
 ther worse off, both for money and provi- 
 sions, than I had been for a long time. 
 No meal was to be had in Darnick, and I 
 went to Melrose on Monday morning for 
 a supply ; but the scarcity was so great 
 that I could find none. On Tuesday, after 
 working all the morning, I again went to 
 Melrose, though I was scarcely able to 
 reach it, through weakness, and succeeded 
 in getting a quarter stone at one shilling 
 
NARRATIVE OF SERJEANT B 15 
 
 and fourpence; and all the money I had 
 in the world, after paying this, was two- 
 pence. When I was on my way home, 
 walking along the Tweed, I took many a 
 wishful look at my scanty store of meal in 
 the corner of my bag; and taking the two- 
 pence out of my pocket, I said to myself, 
 " This is all the money and meal I have to 
 support me till I get my web finished, and 
 the price returned from Edinburgh ;" but, 
 to my utter astonishment, I pulled out a 
 shilling along with it. The joy of seeing the 
 shilling, and the unaccountable way of its 
 coming there, filled me alternately with 
 pleasure and pain, but, after recovering 
 from my ecstacy a little, it occurred to my 
 mind, that I must have got it from the 
 miller, through some oversight, in return- 
 ing me my last twopence in the change for 
 the meal. I resolved, therefore, to go back 
 and return the man his shilling, hungry 
 and weary as 1 was: but a sinful thought 
 struck me that this might be the hand of 
 Divine Providence, in giving me that mite 
 
16 NARRATIVE OF SERJEANT B 
 
 out of the miller's abundance, to supply 
 my present wants; but I stood and argued 
 with myself long before I could persuade 
 myself to go home and make my supper, 
 of which I stood in much need. In so 
 doing, I acted wrong, and still more so in 
 afterwards thinking that Providence had 
 given a blessing with that shilling, merely 
 because I have never wanted one since 
 my hardships, I may say, being henceforth 
 at a close. 
 
 Shortly after this, the Earlston Volun- 
 teers wanted an additional fifer; and as I 
 was still labouring to improve myself, from 
 the time I got the old fife, formerly men- 
 tioned, my name reached the ears of the 
 commanding officer, who sent for me, and, 
 with permission of my master, I went every 
 Wednesday afternoon to Earlston, which 
 was about five miles distant, and received 
 each time, one shilling and sixpence for 
 my trouble. My long habit of living mean- 
 ly, and this addition weekly, made me, 
 as I thought, quite a gentleman, and I saw 
 
NARRATIVE OF SERJEANT B 17 
 
 none that I would have changed conditions 
 with, every thing considered. 
 
 After I left Darnick, I went to a Mr. 
 
 W , near Dalkeith, and wrought 
 
 journeyman with him for one summer, 
 during which time, I attended church at 
 Dalkeith j and I well recollect, that on my 
 way home, having a mile or two of a re- 
 tired road to go, my mind would frequent- 
 ly be so full of the minister's sermon, and 
 such like topics, that I used to take off my 
 hat and walk bareheaded, as I thought 
 the seriousness of the subject called for 
 that mark of respect, especially as my 
 meditations were mixed with ejaculatory 
 prayer. 
 
 I left Mr. W after the bleaching 
 
 work was over for the summer, and went 
 in search of work to Peebles, which, being 
 the place of my nativity, I had a great de- 
 sire to see. This was, I think, in the year 
 1802. On my arrival at Peebles I was 
 very fortunate, or rather the Lord made 
 
18 NARRATIVE OF SERJEANT B 
 
 my way prosperous, for I got a good mas- 
 ter and comfortable lodgings the very first 
 day. My master was serjeant-major of the 
 volunteers, and being much pleased with 
 my fife playing, he persuaded me to join 
 that corps as a fifer. But soon after the 
 Army of Reserve was raised, and I was 
 obliged, either to pay money into societies, 
 to insure me against it, or run the risk of 
 going for nothing, neither of which I liked. 
 The bounties given to substitutes were 
 very good, and, my excessive regard for 
 music still increasing, I resolved on taking 
 the bounty ; but then what excuse to give 
 to my parents I did not well know, for I 
 thought it would vex them much, as I had 
 a brother already in the artillery : so I re- 
 solved to say that it was the expense ne- 
 cessary for insuring me, that forced me to 
 go into the army ; but in truth it was nei- 
 ther that, nor yet the temptation of the 
 large bounty that made me enlist, but the 
 prospect of being a fifer in the army, where 
 I could get proper instructions in my fa- 
 
NARRATIVE OF SERJEANT B 19 
 
 vourite music. Having made up my mind 
 to this, I offered myself as a substitute for 
 a Mr. G. and received as bounty two and 
 twenty pounds. The report that I had 
 enlisted in the Army of Reserve quickly 
 went over the town, though few believed it, 
 as I was always so attentive to my work, 
 and I had just finished forty-five yards of 
 linen for shirts to myself; but although the 
 news seemed strange to many, it was no 
 more strange than true. So I gave all my 
 best clothes and the web, except as much 
 as made me three shirts, to my mother ; and 
 as I did not go to the army from neces- 
 sity, but choice, I left the whole of my 
 bounty in the hands of a respectable man 
 in Peebles. Along with other recruits, I 
 was marched to Edinburgh, and from 
 thence to Linlithgow, at which place in- 
 quiry was made if there was any lad in 
 our party who could play the fife; and the 
 fife-major hearing of me, he asked if I was 
 willing to play on that instrument ? I said 
 I had no objection, (for it was indeed the 
 
20 NARRATIVE OF SERJEANT B 
 
 very thing I wanted, as you will easily be- 
 lieve,) provided I was exempted from that 
 disagreeable part of their duty, viz. flogging 
 the men ; so he went to the commanding 
 officer, and got that matter settled to my 
 satisfaction. Shortly after this we receiv- 
 ed a route for Ireland, and marched on 
 the 5th December. We had snow, rain, 
 or hail every day of our march, which was 
 a fortnight ; but this did not discourage me, 
 for such hardships I had expected, and 
 laid my account with in my new way of 
 life. 
 
NARRATIVE OF SERJEANT B 21 
 
 CHAPTER II. 
 
 WE arrived at Belfast, and lay there about 
 six months, nothing extraordinary taking 
 place ; only I was truly happy and thank- 
 ful in having been excused from the dis- 
 agreeable duty of punishing the men. The 
 very sight of this, for some time, made me 
 ready to faint, until its frequency render- 
 ed it easier to my mind. From Belfast we 
 were marched to Athlone, the centre of 
 Ireland, by severe marches. This was in 
 June, 1804. At this place I was appoint- 
 ed leading fifer to the grenadier company 
 of the regiment. We had not been six 
 weeks at Athlone, when an order was issued 
 for forming an army on the plains of Kil- 
 
22 NARRATIVE OF SERJEANT B 
 
 dare, and our regiment, (the 26th, or Scots 
 Cameronians,) was among the number that 
 assembled at the formation of this camp. 
 When all collected, there were three regi- 
 ments of horse, sixteen of foot, and a bri- 
 gade of light infantry, the whole under the 
 command of Lord Cathcart. Here, truly, 
 I began to peel my wands, or, to speak more 
 plainly, to know something of the incon- 
 veniencies of a soldier's life. 
 
 The country being in a very troubled 
 state, we were ordered to encamp on the 
 Curragh, to be ready if wanted, and also 
 to inure us to the hardships of the field. 
 As I said before, I belonged to the grena- 
 diers, and there were twenty of us in a 
 small bell tent ; and you may easier con- 
 ceive than I can describe how such a num- 
 ber could take repose during the night on 
 so small a space, with nothing but straw 
 on the ground, and our camp blankets. 
 We were so jammed together that it was 
 impossible for .any one to change his 
 posture, at least without disturbing the 
 
NARRATIVE OF SERJEANT B 23 
 
 whole tent. Our field-days also were very 
 frequent and severe, the men being out 
 from five or six o'clock in the morning un- 
 til four or five in the afternoon, without 
 tasting a morsel of victuals, so that many 
 of the men fainted daily in the ranks from 
 want and fatigue. 
 
 After remaining on the Curragh for six 
 weeks, the country became quiet, and we 
 were ordered back to our old stations ; and 
 heartily glad we were again to see the bar- 
 racks of Athlone. After doing the duty 
 here a few months longer, we received a 
 route to Dublin, at which news I was very 
 greatly delighted, for there I expected to 
 get my musical mind much better enter- 
 tained than at Athlone. On my arrival at 
 Dublin I went to a music teacher, to whom 
 I paid half-a- guinea a month for getting 
 instructions on the violin and clarionet ; 
 but having already acquired considerable 
 execution on the German flute, I was en- 
 couraged myself to give instructions on 
 that instrument ; and the money I received 
 
24, NARRATIVE OF SERJEANT B 
 
 in this way enabled me to defray the ex- 
 pense of my own teacher, and of buying 
 instruments, music, &c. Here I breathed 
 my native air, I may say ; for what with 
 regimental practice, teaching my pupils, 
 attending my own instructions, writing my 
 own music, &c. I certainly had enough 
 of it, yet hardly could I ever say I was sa- 
 tiated. Even in the night the music was 
 passing before me in review ; and when I 
 did not perfectly comprehend my master's 
 lessons during the day, they were sure to 
 be cleared up to me when I awoke during 
 the night. There was no time here allow- 
 ed for the service of God ; no something 
 of more importance, as I thought, engross- 
 ed my mind, but I little thought that this 
 course was preparing me apace for falling 
 a victim before a temptation which was 
 not far distant. It may seem strange to 
 my readers, that I who seemed to show so 
 much piety, during my apprenticeship, 
 and for some time afterwards, should now 
 live so careless a life ; but I had my lashes 
 
NARRATIVE OF SERJEANT B 25 
 
 of conscience sometimes, I assure you, and 
 endeavoured to hush its clamours by say- 
 ing, I had no opportunity in a barrack- 
 room for prayer, reading my Bible, or se- 
 rious reflection, and I tried to believe that 
 God would take this for an excuse, parti- 
 cularly as I promised to become a good 
 Christian, when the Lord should deliver 
 me from this confusion. Truly, the heart 
 is deceitful and desperately wicked. The 
 truth is, my rnind was constantly going 
 after its vanities ; I found pleasure in 
 nothing but music and musicians. 
 
 Windham's plan, as it was called, now 
 came into action. This was for Militia and 
 Army of Reserve men, to volunteer into the 
 line for seven years, and great numbers in 
 our regiment were taking the bounty every 
 day. There was nothing but drumming and 
 fifeing to be heard in the very passages of 
 the barracks, and our commanding officer 
 gave five pounds to drink, night after night, 
 at the mess-house, in order to encourage 
 
26 NARRATIVE OF SERJEANT B 
 
 our men to extend * their service, and en- 
 ter into the first battalion of the regiment, 
 which consisted of what are called regulars; 
 and to add to the intoxicating effect of the 
 liquor, the whole corps of fifes and drums 
 were ordered to attend, and continued 
 there nightly, till we were all worn out 
 with fatigue. In spite of these tempta- 
 tions, I never once thought of volunteer- 
 ing, though the commanding officer labour- 
 ed hard to induce me to go with him into 
 the first battalion. I told him freely that 
 my mind did not lead me to the army j and 
 when he saw he could not prevail, he said, 
 " Very well, my man, if your heart does 
 not lie in the right bit, never volunteer." 
 But, alas ! the value of the Apostle's admo- 
 nition, " Let him that standeth take heed 
 lest he fall/' was soon after exemplified in 
 my experience. Shortly after this, up- 
 wards of one hundred of our men volun- 
 
 * The Reserve were enlisted for five years, or during 
 the war, and were not obliged to go out of the three 
 kingdoms. 
 
NARRATIVE OF SERJEANT B 27 
 
 teered into the 2d battalion of the Scots 
 Royals, which was also a marching regi- 
 ment. Some of them were asked by 
 Lieutenant-Colonel Stewart if there was 
 any young man of the 26th corps of fifes, 
 that was qualified for fife-major. They all 
 
 answered, there was one B . The 
 
 Colonel hearing so much of me, sent a ser- 
 jeant to request me to call upon him. This 
 I promised to do next day, but I had truly 
 a miserable conflict in my mind that night, 
 considering whether I ought to accept or 
 refuse this offer. Sleep I could get none, 
 but walked about the passages of the bar- 
 racks all night, looking anxiously at both 
 sides of the question. My principal ob- 
 jection was the wickedness of the army, 
 for I easily got over that of the hardships 
 to which I would be exposed in a marching 
 regiment, either in the field or in a foreign 
 country. On the other hand, if I could 
 obtain the situation of serjeant and fife- 
 major, the pay would be very comfortable, 
 and I would have an opportunity of seeing 
 eg 
 
28 NARRATIVE OF SERJEANT 
 
 the world, which would gratify an inclina- 
 tion I had long entertained. I therefore 
 came to the resolution of going, if I receiv- 
 ed the above situation. To be short, I 
 went to Colonel Stewart, and after a few 
 words passing on both sides, he asked me if I 
 would take the ten guineas of bounty, and 
 fife-major, with the rank of serjeant, and 
 go with him into the 2d Battalion of the 
 Royals. I told him, if I received the pay, 
 with the rank of serjeant and fife-major, 
 I would, but not otherwise, for that I did 
 not care for the rank without the pay. 
 So he was honest enough to tell me, that 
 he did not know if the Duke of Kent 
 would allow a fife-major the pay of serjeant, 
 besides his perquisites as fife-major, but if 
 I would take his offer, he would give me 
 five guineas over and above my bounty, 
 as he had received a good character of me, 
 and liked my appearance, and, moreover, 
 that I would find a friend in him, and that 
 he would write the Duke of Kent, who 
 was our Colonel, for authority to give me 
 
NARRATIVE OF SERJEANT B 29 
 
 the Serjeant's pay; but as he could not as- 
 sure me of its being done, he would pro- 
 mise nothing but what he could perform. 
 This was very honest plain dealing, and 
 was truly attractive in my eyes, but it 
 would not do : so I thanked him for his 
 friendly offers, and so bade him farewell, 
 and walked away ; but he followed me to 
 the foot of the stair, where the major of the 
 regiment meeting us, said, " Well Stewart, 
 have you agreed with this young man ?" 
 He answered in the negative, and stated 
 to him the reason as above mentioned ; but 
 the major soon removed that obstacle, by 
 saying, " we can easily give him the dif- 
 ference of pay out of the fund of the regi- 
 ment, if the duke will not allow it ; and 
 to give me all satisfaction that the ser- 
 jeant's pay would be sure to me from 
 that date, he offered me his letter to that 
 effect.'* To this proposal I could no long- 
 er object, and in short I received the letter, 
 passed the Doctor, got my bounty, and a 
 furlough of two months to see my friends 
 c3 
 
30 NARRATIVE OF SERJEANT B 
 
 in Scotland, before I returned to my bar- 
 racks. A few days after, along with other 
 volunteers, who had also obtained fur- 
 loughs, we sailed in a vessel for Saltcoats, 
 and, after a very pleasant passage of two 
 days, were safely landed there, and my 
 comrades each took his own road. One 
 young lad only went with me to Edin- 
 burgh ; and we were on the top of the 
 coach on the 7th day of August, 1806; 
 that dreadful day of thunder, lightning, 
 and rain, by which so much mischief 
 was done to men, beasts, and the fruits 
 of the earth. We were the only outside 
 passengers, and the company inside were 
 willing to incommode themselves consid- 
 erably, to give us shelter, which was kind 
 on their part, and tempting upon ours ; 
 and my comrade gave me the motion to 
 that effect ; but I refused, saying, that as 
 we had joined a marching regiment of the 
 line, we must lay our account with being 
 exposed frequently to such weather and 
 worse, and that I could not brook this sort 
 
NARRATIVE OF SERJEANT B 31 
 
 of effeminateness, but no doubt we got a 
 very complete ducking. 
 
 I arrived safe at Peebles amongst my old 
 friends, where I was warmly received after 
 an absence of three years ; but I did not 
 long remain there till I formed an intima- 
 cy with a young woman ; and our court- 
 ship, like that of many soldiers, was not 
 long ; but I would not marry till I return- 
 ed to the regiment and obtained my Co- 
 lonel's liberty, that so I might have a bet- 
 ter chance of getting her abroad with me, 
 should the regiment, as we expected, be 
 ordered on foreign service. My attach- 
 ment to this young woman was very sin- 
 cere ; and I gave instructions to the person 
 with whom I had left my bounty money, 
 as formerly mentioned, to give her ten 
 pounds to bear her expenses to the regi- 
 ment, then in England, when, after ob- 
 taining the Colonel's leave to marry her, 
 I should send him a letter to that effect. 
 All being thus settled between us, the time 
 
 drew nigh when I was to leave my native 
 
 c 4 
 
32 NARRATIVE OF SERJEANT 
 
 spot, which was now doubly dear to me. 
 I left Peebles about two o'clock in the 
 morning, in fine moonlight, in the month 
 of September ; but it is easier for you, my 
 dear reader, to conceive than for me to 
 describe my situation. I cast many a long- 
 ing lingering look behind me, and dragged 
 myself by main force out of the view. I 
 was little short of being angry at my pre- 
 ciseness, that I did not marry off hand, and 
 bring the girl with me, whose situation was 
 still more pitiable than my own. We were 
 only two days in Edinburgh, then sailed 
 from Leith Roads for the regiment, which 
 was lying at Horsham, and I was not long 
 there when I had all settled in our favour, 
 and immediately wrote for the young wo- 
 man ; but, as I afterwards discovered, or at 
 least had great reason to suspect, a certain 
 evil-designing person kept up the letters. 
 I waited in anxious suspense for " the girl 
 I left behind me," but I waited in vain, 
 Days were as months, and brought me no 
 relief. At last, to crown my misery, I re- 
 
NARRATIVE OF SERJEANT B -. 33 
 
 ceived a letter from a friend in Peebles, who 
 knew of our agreement, stating, that Jean 
 had almost gone out of her mind about me, 
 and thinking, like too many of my coat, that 
 I was going to prove unfaithful, she went 
 to Edinburgh to inquire about me. There 
 she got no relief to her distracted mind, 
 but only the satisfaction that I had sailed 
 for the regiment at such and such a time. 
 She was now put to her wits end, and in 
 a kind of derangement she wandered to 
 Dumfries, where she had a brother resid- 
 ing, and remained with him for some time. 
 She saw herself like a castaway, for she 
 was ashamed to go back to her place at 
 Peebles, and it being between terms, she 
 could not get into service in a country 
 where she was a stranger : so, in a word, 
 the serjeant of a Highland regiment, an 
 acquaintance of her brother's, paid his ad- 
 dresses to her, and she married him ; but 
 scarcely was the festival over when the 
 contents of my letter, through the same 
 channel probably by which it was inter- 
 c 5 
 
34 NARRATIVE OF SERJEANT B 
 
 cepted originally, reached her ears ; and 
 if she was to be pitied before that time, 
 she was not less so then. This was, I may 
 say, my first courtship, (and I then thought 
 it would be my last,) for, during the three 
 years I was in Ireland, I never spent an 
 hour in a woman's company, good or bad, 
 although some of my companions often 
 tried to lead me astray. But I was always 
 so much taken up with my music, that I 
 had no time to spend in such courses : 
 Providence by this means preserving me 
 from at least a worse evil ; for these strange 
 women (as Solomon calls them) were the 
 occasion of hundreds of the regiment get- 
 ting themselves confined and flogged, be- 
 sides the other dreadful effects produced 
 by their company. 
 
 Nothing extraordinary happened till we 
 came to Hastings, which we left on the 15th 
 March, 1807, (on our route to Portsmouth 
 to be embarked for India,) and reached 
 Lewes on that day, where I, and thirty others 
 of our regiment, were billetted at the White 
 
NARRATIVE OF SERJEANT B 35 
 
 Hart. Shoreham is the next stage for sol- 
 diers, and here, intending to write my 
 friends in Scotland, I felt for my watch, 
 (which cast up the day of the month,) that 
 I might put the right date to my letter, 
 but, to my great mortification, my watch 
 was gone. After a little reflection, 1 re- 
 membered that I had, very stupidly indeed, 
 left it in my quarters at Lewes : so I im- 
 mediately went to Colonel Stewart to ask 
 his permission to return there, which he 
 readily granted. I left Shoreham about 
 four o'clock at night, and reached the inn 
 at Lewes about eleven. Happy was I to 
 find my watch safe in the possession of 
 Boots, and I immediately took the road 
 again, and was in Shoreham in good time 
 to march with the regiment in the morn- 
 ing. When Colonel Stewart saw me, he 
 inquired why I had not gone for my watch ; 
 and when I told him I had already been 
 at Lewes, he would scarcely believe me, 
 until I showed her to him. He then de- 
 sired me to get on one of the baggage wag- 
 c 6 
 
3d NARRATIVE OF SERJEANT B 
 
 gons ; but I said I was able enough for the 
 march ; but you may believe I was terri- 
 bly tired before we reached the next stage. 
 When we arrived at Portsmouth, the 
 Duke of Kent came in person to make ar- 
 rangements for the embarkation of the re- 
 giment ; but now came the tug of war for 
 the married people. There were between 
 two and three hundred women in the 2d 
 Battalion of the Royals, and there were on- 
 ly six women for every hundred men per- 
 mitted to go ; so that sixty women (our 
 battalion being 1000 strong) were the 
 whole number who could embark with 
 their husbands. The selection of these 
 was made by casting lots. Amongst the 
 married people, all was suspense and anx- 
 iety to know their destiny ; and you may 
 conceive what barrack-rooms we had after 
 it was over. I went into one of them, as 
 I was passing to the Colonel's quarters, to 
 see one of my musical friends, who had a 
 worthy woman to his wife, and to inquire 
 if she had got a prize, but all was dool 
 
NARRATIVE OF SERJEANT B . 37 
 
 and sorrow. I thought with myself that I 
 would try what my interest with the Col- 
 onel could do for this sorrowful couple, 
 but durst not speak my mind lest I should 
 raise hopes that would never be realized, 
 and thus make things worse ; for " hope 
 deferred maketh the heart sick." So I 
 opened my mind freely to the Colonel, 
 and spoke much in favour of Mrs. Allan, 
 (for that was her name,) but nothing more 
 than she justly deserved. His answer to 
 
 me was, " Indeed B I wish the Duke 
 
 of Kent had stopped where he was. We 
 would have managed matters better with- 
 out him ; but I will try what I can do for 
 her on your account. Tell Mrs. Allan to 
 come to me." So I left him quite overjoy- 
 ed that I should have it in my power to 
 bring comfort to the disconsolate mourn- 
 ers. I returned to his quarters immedi- 
 ately along with Mrs. Allan. The Colonel 
 said, smiling, " Well, Mrs. Allan, are you 
 not afraid of your husband being jealous 
 of you and the Fife Major ?" She answer- 
 
38 NARRATIVE OF SERJEANT B . 
 
 ed in the negative. " He speaks in very high 
 terms of your character." " I am very 
 much obliged to him, Sir, for his good opi- 
 nion.** " Is he any relation to you ?" " No, 
 Sir, but he has always been a very good 
 friend." " That is right ; give my compli- 
 ments to Captain Glover, and desire him 
 from me to put down your name to go with 
 his company." Take notice of this cir- 
 cumstance, for I will have occasion to men- 
 tion it again. 
 
NARRATIVE OF SERJEANT B 39 
 
 CHAPTER III. 
 
 WE were embarked on board of our re- 
 spective ships on the 13th April, 1807, 
 and weighed anchor on the 18th. There 
 seems much to make one unhappy and 
 melancholy, when taking probably the last 
 view of the land which gave him birth j but, 
 notwithstanding, all seemed now festivity 
 and joy. Some of those who seemed so 
 full of joy, I have good reason to believe, 
 might, with justice, be called Solomon's 
 merry men in their laughter their hearts 
 were sad. Still more, perhaps, have their 
 relations who loved them cause of sorrow. 
 To them may the prophet's language be 
 truly directed, " Weep not for the dead, 
 
 2 
 
40 NARRATIVE OF SERJEANT B 
 
 neither bemoan him, but weep sore for 
 him that goeth away, for he shall return 
 no more, nor see his native country; but 
 he shall die in the place where they have 
 led him captive, and shall see this land no 
 
 more." 
 
 At sea, Ship Coutts, May 1st. William 
 Troop departed this life. He was one of 
 those unhappy creatures who left his wife 
 behind, and died of a broken heart. They 
 had been lately married, and were like the 
 " loving hind and the pleasant roe," and 
 his feelings being unable to stand the se- 
 parating stroke, he sunk under this insur- 
 mountable load of sorrow. 
 
 May 6, Twelve o'clock noon. We had a 
 tremendous storm of wind, accompanied 
 with incessant falls of rain and vivid flashes 
 of lightning. All hands during night were 
 piped by the boatswain upon deck, to reefj 
 or rather to clue the sails, when a fine 
 looking young man, who had shipped him- 
 self at Portsmouth for ship's painter, being 
 ordered aloft by the boatswain, to bear a 
 
NARRATIVE OF SERJEANT B 41 
 
 hand in reefing the mizzen topsail, fell 
 from the yard into the sea and was drown- 
 ed. He pled hard with the boatswain to 
 allow him to remain and assist upon deck, 
 saying, that he never was aloft in his life, 
 and that in such a dreadful night he was 
 sure he would not be able to keep his feet ; 
 but all his entreaties were in vain. 
 
 June 12. This day we crossed the equi- 
 noctial line. The foolish but amusing ce- 
 remony (to bystanders) of shaving took 
 place on all those who had not before cross- 
 ed it ; but, lest it might lead to any 
 disturbance, the soldiers were exempted. 
 The form is as follows : A person goes to 
 the head of the ship, in the garb of Neptune, 
 the god of the sea, according to the hea- 
 thens, and another person, generally the 
 most dexterous at the harpoon, kills a fish 
 previously to this, and gives it to the Cap- 
 tain to be in readiness. Neptune, from the 
 bow of the vessel, hails it in these words, 
 " What ship, a hoy?" The officer whose 
 turn it is to be on watch, answers " Coutts/ 3 
 
4-2 NARRATIVE OF SERJEANT B , 
 
 or whatever is the name. " Where bound ?" 
 Officer on watch. India." Neptune then 
 comes on board and enters his triumphal 
 car, which stands in waiting. He is drawn 
 aft by the sailors, and the fish is presented 
 to him by the captain. Then commences 
 the shaving operation. All the sailors who 
 have not formerly crossed the equinoctial 
 are kept below blindfolded until the large 
 tub is ready. Each of them is in this state 
 led upon deck, and placed on a plank laid 
 across the tub, filled with salt water. The 
 mock barber daubs his face all over with 
 tar and feathers. 
 
 For a razor he takes a piece of iron hoop 
 and commences his shaving. It requires 
 no common degree of patience to endure 
 this horrid operation; but if the person gets 
 refractory, he is instantly plunged over 
 head and ears in the watery element, by 
 one of the sailors pulling the plank from 
 under him ; and after he has scrambled out 
 of the tub, should he stand to expostulate 
 with his comrades on this treatment, two 
 
NARRATIVE OF SERJEANT B 43 
 
 or three of the sailors, each provided with 
 a bucket of salt water, standing on the 
 hammock railings, discharge the contents 
 upon him with such an overwhelming 
 dash as makes him glad to choose another 
 time and place to avenge his wrongs. 
 
 June 20. I lost my watch overboard, 
 which cost me upwards of four pounds, and 
 so much uneasiness and travel in England; 
 but I would not have mentioned the cir- 
 cumstance but for the loss of a seal attach- 
 ed to it, which I had received from my af- 
 fectionate comrade the drum-major of the 
 2d battalion, who was sent to another 
 battalion, and we got in his place an old 
 wicked creature, whom I may have occa- 
 sion to bring on the carpet again. We 
 were much attached to each other, and he 
 offered to his Royal Highness to go with 
 me to India in the capacity of a private 
 drummer, if he would not continue him in 
 his present situation ; but his petition was 
 not granted, so he gave me this seal as a 
 token of his remembrance. 
 
44- NARRATIVE OF SERJEANT B 
 
 June 22. We have seen a great many 
 flying fish lately. This is truly a wonder- 
 ful curiosity in nature, and is well cal- 
 culated to excite our admiration and sym- 
 pathy. These poor persecuted creatures 
 are about the size of a herring, with finny 
 wings, (as they may be called,) resembling 
 in size and shape the blade of a table 
 knife. When pursued by the dolphin, 
 they rise out of the water by the assistance 
 of these wings, and are able to fly as long 
 as they keep moist ; they then dip and 
 rise again, until they are quite exhausted, 
 and if they do not gain upon the dolphin, 
 which is not easy, on account of his amaz- 
 ing swiftness in swimming, they become 
 his prey. When out of the water, they 
 seem to be deprived of the use of their 
 eyes, which I suppose was the cause of 
 some of them flying on board of our ship. 
 I one day picked up one, and roasted it 
 upon the gelly fire, and found it to have 
 very much the flavour of a good herring. 
 They always go in shoals ; and it is really 
 
NARRATIVE OF SERJEANT B . 45 
 
 very novel and beautiful, to see scores, or 
 I may say hundreds of these winged ten- 
 ants of the great deep, skimming the water 
 like so many swallows. 
 
 June 30. James Moor fell overboard 
 when in the act of shaking a rug for one 
 of the officers. He kept himself above 
 water a considerable time, but before the 
 boat which was lowered for his assistance 
 could reach him, he sunk like lead in the 
 mighty waters. The sea was running so 
 high that it was with no small difficulty the 
 boat and crew could reach the ship again. 
 
 July 17. We saw the Cape of Good 
 Hope on our larboard bow, but we were at 
 too great a distance to distinguish any ob- 
 jects on land. Signals were hoisted by the 
 
 , 50 gun ship, for the captains, or 
 
 rather pursers, to give an account of the 
 state of their respective ships with regard 
 to water. Being in general pretty well 
 supplied, except the Coutts, which was head 
 quarter ship, and had upwards of five hund- 
 red men on board, the commander of the 
 
46 NARRATIVE OF SERJEANT 
 
 man-of-war would not put into the Cape for 
 her sake alone. Our expectations of see- 
 ing this country were therefore disappoint- 
 ed ; but that was nothing : dearly did we 
 pay for the want of this great blessing, with 
 which we could here have been supplied. 
 In about a month after we were put on 
 short allowance, which in these latitudes 
 is an English quart a-day ; this we thought 
 very hard, and it was so in some respects ; 
 but it would have been well if this al- 
 lowance had been continued, but from a 
 quart we were speedily reduced to a pint ; 
 and in this parched condition were we 
 kept till we reached the land, which was 
 three weeks. 
 
 The reader may be inclined to think that 
 this was no great hardship ; but I hope you 
 will not take it amiss, if I say that this shov* s 
 your entire ignorance of the matter. On y 
 consider for a moment, and you will, I 
 am persuaded, come to a very different 
 conclusion. Take for your dinner a salt 
 herring, or a piece of beef that has been 
 
NARRATIVE OF SERJEANT B 47 
 
 perhaps a twelvemonth in the brine, in a 
 very hot summer day, having ate no break- 
 fast beforehand, and try if you would find 
 an English pint of water sufficient even for 
 the afternoon ; but what is a single day 
 when the body is full of moisture ? Con- 
 tinue this experiment for three weeks or a 
 month, and I am fully satisfied you will 
 change your tone. Let me tell you, my 
 dear reader, that I never knew the mean- 
 ing of that passage of the Psalmist, " Let 
 my tongue cleave to the roof of my mouth," 
 before that time ; but after lying in my 
 hammock, in the hallop deck, a few 
 hours, (sleeping it could never be called,) 
 amongst two hundred men and upwards, 
 without, I may say, one breath of air, and 
 when the heat was such as to melt the 
 sealing wax I had in my chest I say, 
 after a person had remained in that state, 
 and in such a place for a few hours, it was 
 hardly possible to articulate a word. You 
 will allow we must have been ill indeed be- 
 fore we could have chosen to be without any 
 
48 NARRATIVE OF SERJEANT 
 
 victuals cooked for us an entire fortnight 
 But this was literally the case in the mess to 
 which I belonged. Some of these miserable 
 creatures were so carried away by their 
 intolerable thirst, as to draw up the salt 
 water, in a tin pot, each anxiously waiting 
 his turn to swallow the nauseous draught. 
 This to be sure was making things worse. 
 The consequence of all this was, we had 
 at one time one hundred and thirty-two 
 men on the doctor's list, with sea-scurvy 
 and sores. You will think it strange that 
 we could live at all after so long wanting 
 victuals. I answer, we had a certain quan- 
 tity of biscuit served out to us, all the colours 
 of the rainbow ; and I am sure the pint of 
 water, which we had every day at twelve 
 o'clock, would, from taste and smell, have 
 turned the stomach of any person who had 
 never known any thing of this extremity. 
 A person possessed of the best eyes in the 
 ship could not see to the bottom of a tea- 
 cup full of it, had he got it to himself for 
 his trouble, which would have been the 
 
NARRATIVE OF SERJEANT B 49 
 
 greatest reward that could have been offer- 
 ed to him. You may think I am going 
 to say too much, but I say it with a clear 
 conscience, that in this state of torment I 
 would have cheerfully suffered the pain of 
 drowning, (but not to be drowned out- 
 right, mind ye,) for a bellyful of water j 
 and often, in my troubled slumbers, did I 
 imagine myself plunging and struggling in 
 the waters of the Tweed, and I " dreamed, 
 that behold I was drinking, but when I 
 ! awoke, behold I was faint, and my soul 
 ! had appetite." My dear reader, I pray to 
 God that you may never experience this 
 extremity, for the pain of hunger, which I 
 have often felt, was pleasure itself com- 
 pared with these sufferings. 
 
 
50 NARRATIVE OF SERJEANT 
 
 CHAPTER IV. 
 
 DURING this voyage, which was five months 
 to a day, we observed land twice at a 
 great distance, viz. the Cape of Good Hope, 
 and the Island of Sumatra : we had six 
 men died, and two fell over board. But 
 the land which we so eagerly desired ap- 
 peared upon our starboard bow upon the 
 13th of September, 1807- This island was 
 formerly called Punang, but the modern 
 name is, Prince of Wales' Island, and is 
 situated at the straights of Malacca. The 
 land has a very fine appearance when tol- 
 erably near, having a gentle declivity to- 
 ward the sea, and mantled over with wood. 
 But it was the water which we longed for, 
 
NARRATIVE OF SERJEANT B 51 
 
 and the hope of which raised our spirits 
 more than the view of the truly welcome 
 scenery which we were approaching. 
 
 We remained on board of our respective 
 ships until the 18th, when all were order- 
 ed ashore ; the sick men (at least those 
 who were very bad) to the general hospital, 
 and the effective to the barracks. But we 
 sent more men to the general hospital than 
 all the rest of the fleet, which proves the 
 bad consequences produced by scarcity of 
 water; for all the rest of the ships had 
 three times our quantity, exclusive of their 
 having pease soup twice a week, which we 
 were deprived of, from the want of water. 
 We had to march about three miles before 
 we came to the barracks, at the back of 
 which there was a small rivulet; and you 
 may easily suppose that we were no soon- 
 er dismissed from the ranks, than it was 
 who to be first there, to enjoy once more 
 the unspeakable luxury of fresh water. But 
 this had none of the best effects, for the 
 water being impregnated with the juice of 
 
32 NARRATIVE OF SERJEANT B^,, 
 
 the different kinds of sweet fruits that fell 
 from the trees of the plantation through 
 which it flowed, and our long abstinence, 
 contributed not a little to bring on a severe 
 flux, which cut off the men in great num- 
 bers. Our accommodation here was indeed 
 very indifferent, and not at all what we 
 expected from the idea of India which we 
 had formed to ourselves, from what w r e 
 were accustomed to hear when at home. 
 
 The barracks were very temporary, 
 being entirely made from the cocoa-nut 
 tree, and were divided into five rooms, or 
 rather houses, clear from end to end, and 
 containing each about one hundred and 
 eighty men. The walls, or rather sides of 
 these houses, were made by stakes driven 
 into the ground, and were about nine feet 
 high, and these stakes covered over with 
 cocoa-nut leaves, spitted like candlewicks, 
 and tied in horizontal rows, one over an- 
 other from top to bottom. The roof was 
 formed nearly as it is in this country, and 
 covered with the same materials as the 
 

 NARRATIVE OF SERJEANT B -, 53 
 
 sides. And when it came to blow hard, 
 which it frequently did, and these leaves 
 gave way to the blast, the barracks had 
 the appearance of waving corn in harvest. 
 Our beds also were as temporary as our 
 barracks, being also stakes driven into the 
 ground, and spaked over from end to end 
 like a horse's hack for holding hay, with- 
 out any bedding whatever, even for the 
 sick in the regimental hospital ! It was 
 therefore a happy thing for the men that 
 brought their hammock and blanket ashore, 
 for those who sold them to the bum-boats 
 (that came along-side with fruit) were ob- 
 liged to lie with their body clothes, upon 
 these knotty bamboo spakes, which made 
 them any thing but a comfortable place 
 for repose. 
 
 We knew a great difference also of our 
 provisions from what we had been accus* 
 tomed to at home ; for we were served out 
 with buffalo beef, on which there was not 
 to be seen a shred of fat ; and rice was our 
 substitute for bread. This was very welt 
 
o4 NARRATIVE OF SERJEANT B 
 
 for the natives, who knew nothing else; 
 but for men accustomed to the rich and 
 substantial food of Europe, and particular- 
 ly after the stomach had lost all relish by 
 
 
 
 a wasting dysentery, it was very sorry fare, 
 and made us incline to adopt the senti- 
 ments of the Israelites, and to long for 
 the flesh pots of that land we had left. 
 
 We were a very few days here when 
 the flux appeared amongst the men, and 
 made very rapid progress. I also took this 
 trouble, which increased upon me to a very 
 great degree. I acknowledge myself to 
 have acted a very imprudent part, in not 
 reporting myself to the doctor sooner; but 
 I was at last compelled to put my name 
 into the sick list, when I was well told of 
 my error ; and as I was found to be in a 
 dangerous condition, I was sent to the 
 general hospital, where all the worst of our 
 men were ; for the medical officers there 
 were better acquainted with the nature of 
 this disease, and the accommodation was 
 also much better for the men. The man- 
 
NARRATIVE OF SERJEANT B . 55 
 
 ner in which the sick are conveyed in this 
 country, is as follows : The person is put 
 into what is called a doolie, which is near- 
 ly in the form of one of the small houses 
 or boxes used in Scotland for watch-dogs, 
 being about six feet long, and three deep. 
 In the middle of each side there is a door 
 to go out and in by, and upon the top, at 
 each end, there is a strong ring, through 
 which a pole is put, and borne by four na- 
 tives. I was therefore laid in one of these 
 doolies, and carried about halfway, when 
 the bearers stopt. I conjectured that they 
 were resting a little, as it was three miles 
 between the barrack and the hospital ; but 
 I was rather surprised when one of them 
 demanded some money from me. I told 
 him that I had nothing for him j but that 
 I would give him something when they 
 carried me to the hospital. This did not 
 at all satisfy him; and the other bear- 
 ers also became clamorous, and I began 
 to fear they intended me a mischief for 
 they might have done what they chose 
 
56 NARRATIVE OF SERJEANT B ^ 
 
 with me, as I was unable to make any re- 
 sistance, being both feeble and unarmed ; 
 but I got them to proceed, by giving signs 
 to them that they should be rewarded for 
 their trouble afterward. But I never heard 
 a word about money when they set me 
 down ; and if I had reported them to the 
 general doctor, they would have been paid 
 for their trouble with a witness : but as 
 they made off when I left the doolie, I 
 said nothing about it. 
 
 When I entered the hospital, and looked 
 around me to view the place, and saw the 
 meagre and distressed features of the men 
 stretched upon the beds, and many of the 
 cots empty, as if death had been robbing 
 the place of its inhabitants, to replenish the 
 narrow house appointed for all living, some- 
 thing awfully solemn stole upon my mind, 
 which I could by no means shake off, and 
 which I am altogether unable to describe. 
 I had not remained here many days when 
 I thought my disorder was taking a turn 
 for the better j but T was deceived in this. 
 

 NARRATIVE OF SERJEANT B- 57 
 
 because it was only some temporary relief 
 I was receiving from the medicine, for it 
 returned upon me worse than ever. Here I 
 had wearisome nights appointed to me, for 
 in that season I was generally worst. The 
 ward in which I lay was very large, and 
 had a truly dismal appearance at night, 
 being lighted by two or three glimmering 
 lamps, while all around was solemn and 
 still, save the cries and groans of the suf- 
 ferers, that seemed to contend along the 
 echoing walls ; and night after night we 
 were visited by the king of terrors, to 
 many, I am afraid, in his awfulest form. 
 There were no less than six of his darts 
 struck the next cot to that on which I lay. 
 
 You may think that my state in these 
 circumstances was truly deplorable, and 
 you think rightly, for so it was ; but I have 
 not told you the worst, for " the spirit of 
 a man may sustain his infirmity/' and my 
 spirit was not easily subdued by affliction, 
 but " a wounded spirit who can bear ?" and 
 
 The arrows of the Almighty were with- 
 
8 NARRATIVE OF SERJEANT B . 
 
 in me, the poison whereof drunk up my 
 spirits," for here I had time for serious 
 reflection, or rather here it was forced 
 upon me. Here I could not mix with jolly 
 companions to drive away melancholy, 
 and my favourite music could give me no 
 relief. Here too I was compelled to list- 
 en to the voice of conscience, and O! 
 how loudly did it expostulate with me 
 about the answers I formerly gave it in 
 Ireland, namely, that I had no opportuni- 
 ty in the confusion of a barrack-room for 
 reading my Bible, meditation, or prayer, 
 but that I would become a good Christ- 
 ian when I was out of the army. Here 
 I was indeed out of the confusion of a 
 barrack-room, but not only still in the ar- 
 my, but far, far from any minister of Christ 
 to give me wholesome counsel. O what 
 would 1 have given for the company of a 
 godly minister, or pious, well-informed 
 Christian ! but, alas ! " I looked upon the 
 right hand, but none would know me ; re- 
 fuge failed me, no man cared for my soul." 
 
NARRATIVE OF SERJEANT B 59 
 
 Surely the Lord frequently answers the 
 prayers of his people by " terrible things 
 in righteousness." Here, " in the multi- 
 tude of my thoughts within me," I could 
 entertain little hope of ever coming out of 
 this place again, far less of getting out 
 of the army, where I might have an op- 
 portunity of serving God ; for death seem- 
 ed to be making rapid strides towards me, 
 to take me down to the " bars of the pit." 
 But death seemed rather a relief from my 
 agonizing trouble, had it not been that I 
 knew that " after death there was a judg- 
 ment." And how was my soul to appear 
 before the holy and just Judge of the 
 earth? This was a question I could not 
 answer. I looked with anxious care to 
 see if any hope was to be entertained from 
 my past life, but, alas ! all seemed to be a 
 dreary waste. Some comfort, indeed, I had 
 from the view of my apprenticeship, and 
 some time afterward, which I formerly 
 mentioned ; but, alas ! even then I saw 
 myself to have been guilty of many a sin, 
 
60 NARRATIVE OF SERJEANT 
 
 and all the rest of my life appeared to be 
 but one act of disobedience and rebellion j 
 and I saw myself condemned by the laws 
 of heaven, supposing I had lived all my 
 life in the apparently innocent manner 
 above stated ; for it is written, " Cursed 
 is every one that continueth not in all 
 things which are written in the book of 
 the law, to do them." I next looked to 
 the general mercy of God, but neither 
 could that give me any relief; and in this 
 state of torment I remain ed for several nights 
 and days with little intermission. At last 
 it pleased the Lord to send me relief in 
 the following manner : 
 
 One forenoon, when I was almost dis- 
 tracted with the agony of my soul, and 
 the pain of my body, that blessed passage 
 was given me, " Call upon me in the day 
 of trouble j I will deliver thee, and thou 
 shalt glorify me :" and never before did I 
 feel any thing come home with such divine 
 power and such healing comfort to my 
 afflicted soul. I tried to recollect if ever 
 
NARRATIVE OF SERJEANT B . 61 
 
 I had read it in my Bible, or heard it any 
 time,, but in vain ; yet I was fully per- 
 suaded that it was the voice of God speak- 
 ing in his word, and accompanied by his 
 Holy Spirit. I will not attempt a de- 
 scription of my mind at this time, for it is 
 impossible, because it was indeed " a joy 
 unspeakable. 31 O what a flood of com- 
 fort did it impart to my helpless soul ! for 
 then I believed that God " had not in 
 anger shut up his tender mercy, but still 
 intended to be gracious." Now " the 
 Lord made my bed in my sickness," for 
 my couch, as I thought, became softer, 
 and every thing around me wore a differ- 
 ent aspect. I yet looked back with plea- 
 sure to the description of heaven given by 
 Mr. Boston in his Fourfold State, (which I 
 used to read when in Darnick,) and still 
 hoped to be an inhabitant of that happy 
 place. Here the Lord turned for me " my 
 mourning into dancing, he put off my 
 sackcloth, and girded me with gladness;" 
 here the Lord dealt with me as he did with 
 
62 NARRATIVE OF SERJEANT B 
 
 his ancient church, for " he allured me, 
 and brought me into the wilderness, that 
 he might speak comfortably unto me ;" 
 and here " he made me to sing, as in the 
 days of my youth." " Sing unto the 
 Lord, O ye saints of his, and give thanks 
 at the remembrance of his holiness : For 
 his anger endureth but a moment; in his 
 favour is life ; weeping may endure for a 
 night, but joy cometh in the morning." 
 My dear reader, if you are a stranger to 
 the comfortable sense of the favour of 
 God, you may think this is strange kind 
 of language ; and no wonder, for " the 
 natural man receiveth not the things of 
 the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness 
 unto him : neither can he know them, be- 
 cause they are spiritually discerned ;" but 
 believe me, this was true solid comfort, 
 arising from a view which I had just ob- 
 tained of a reconciled God in Christ, al- 
 though I acknowledge myself to have had 
 at this time a very imperfect knowledge 
 of the gospel-scheme of salvation. 
 
NARRATIVE OF SERJEANT B 63 
 
 Yet the Lord, who generally works by 
 rational means, left not his work half done, 
 for he sent me an instructor in the follow- 
 ing manner : The next day there was a 
 young man, who sailed out with me in the 
 same ship, came and sat down upon my 
 bed-side. He had been in the hospital for 
 some time, but I had never seen him, nor 
 even known that he was in the place, be- 
 cause he was in a different ward. I had even 
 a very slight acquaintance of him as a fel- 
 low-soldier, and none at all of his being an 
 eminent Christian. As I said, he sat down 
 upon my bed-side, and asked very kind- 
 ly how I was. My heart warmed to him 
 while he uttered the words, though I can- 
 not tell for what, but I formed somehow a 
 favourable opinion of him, and was free 
 enough to tell him how matters stood. I 
 began by informing him how my mind had 
 been exercised since I came to the hospi- 
 tal, nearly in the way above related, as I 
 wished to hear his mind upon the subject, 
 lest I should be deceiving myself. He 
 
64 NARRATIVE OF SERJEANT B- 
 
 asked me, if I read my Bible. I said, that 
 I had sometimes read it when I could see, 
 but could derive very little comfort from 
 it, as I could not understand it; and now 
 my sight was so far gone as to be unable 
 to read it, but I would take it kind if he 
 would read a portion of it for me, which 
 he readily agreed to. But, oh ! the rays 
 of light that darted into my mind while he 
 read, and " opened to me the Scriptures!" 
 I then spoke to him of my former wicked, 
 unprofitable life. He said, " The blood 
 of Jesus Christ, God's Son, cleanseth from 
 all sin." I then said, the only comfort 1' 
 could derive from the many years I had 
 lived, was when a very young boy, as I have 
 formerly stated j but I saw that although I 
 had lived all my life in this comparatively 
 harmless way 1 was condemned ; for it is 
 written, " Cursed is every one that conti- 
 nueth not in all things written in the book 
 of the law, to do them. 5 ' He answered, 
 " That whatever the law saith, it saith to 
 them that are under the law, that every 
 
NARRATIVE OF SERJEANT B 65 
 
 mouth may be stopped, and all the world 
 become guilty before God;" but that 
 " Christ Jesus had redeemed us from the 
 curse of the law, by being made a curse for 
 them who walk not after the flesh, but after 
 the Spirit ;" and moreover, " it was not by 
 works of righteousness which we have 
 done, but according to his mercy he sav- 
 ed us, by the washing of regeneration, and 
 renewing of the Holy Ghost, shed on us 
 abundantly through Jesus Christ our Sa- 
 viour. 5 ' After some conversation of this 
 kind, we took leave of each other, he pro- 
 mising soon to come back and see me. I 
 need hardly tell you how we frequently 
 " took sweet counsel together," while he 
 remained in the hospital ; but his com- 
 plaint getting better, he was ordered to his 
 duty, which truly I was very sorry for. 
 But by God's kindness in sending me this 
 instructor, I was put into the way that 
 leads to everlasting life ; and my mind be- 
 ing led into " wisdom's ways, which 
 
66 NARRATIVE OF SERJEANT 
 
 pleasantness and peace," my body began 
 gradually to recover. 
 
 The flux, however, still continuing, and 
 keeping me in a state of extreme weak- 
 ness, I was advised by one of my fifers to 
 take a dose of corks and wine without the 
 doctor's knowledge, since all his medicine 
 hitherto appeared ineffectual for stopping 
 the flow of blood. I was rather averse to 
 this prescription, which was a pint of wine, 
 made as warm as I could possibly drink it, 
 and a burnt cork reduced to a powder 
 and mixed with it, and this dose I was to 
 take for three nights ; and, to encourage 
 me, he said some of our former regiment 
 were cured by it when we were in Ireland. 
 I accordingly took this horse medicine with 
 great difficulty; and you may easily imagine 
 that it could not be otherwise, considering 
 that I had eaten nothing for about a fort- 
 night; and more particularly, that my 
 mouth was perfectly raw with the mercury 
 which is given in obstinate cases of this 
 
NARRATIVE OF SERJEANT B 67 
 
 disease, and the cork stuck in my throat, 
 so that it was hardly possible for me to get 
 it over; however, I got it managed for the 
 three nights ; but never would I advise a 
 friend of mine to try such an experiment, 
 for the pain of the flux was never so severe 
 as that produced by this savage dose. 
 After being a few days in this extreme 
 pain, the flux of blood disappeared, and I 
 got gradually better, but I have never en- 
 joyed my former health; and, I believe, 
 stopping the blood so suddenly was per- 
 manently unfavourable to my constitu- 
 tion. 
 
 I must not omit informing you, that my 
 good friend the Colonel, with whom I en- 
 listed in Dublin, used to pay me a visit fre- 
 quently; and finding me in better health 
 and spirits than formerly, he told the 
 doctor to let me want for nothing which 
 could be of service to me. The doctor 
 then inquired very particularly into my 
 case. I told him the blood had left me, 
 
63 NARRATIVE OF SERJEANT B ~. 
 
 and that my mouth was rather better. He 
 ordered me a pint of wine every day, 
 and a bit of fowl for dinner. In a word, 
 by the blessing of God, I got a good 
 deal better, and left the hospital upon the 
 9th November; but I had not been at 
 my duty many days, when an order came 
 for seven companies to go to Madras, by 
 a frigate and two country ships, which 
 were ready for us in the bay. We embark- 
 ed upon the 25th November, the staff and 
 light company went on board of La De- 
 daigneuse, a frigate formerly taken from the 
 French j and the rest of the regiment (ex- 
 cept two companies left at the island) went 
 on board of the two country ships. We 
 had a very rough passage, having high 
 winds, swelling seas, and a leaky ship ; and 
 being exposed to the weather, as we took 
 our watch upon deck in turns, I was again 
 seized with a severe flux. The Colonel, 
 seeing me one day on deck, inquired very 
 kindly how I was? I told him the truth j 
 
NARRATIVE OF SERJEANT B , 60 
 
 and he was very angry that I should ex* 
 pose myself in such weather, especially 
 after my late severe illness. I made the 
 best apology I could, but he was not satis- 
 fied, and desired me to go to the surgeon 
 and let my case be known. He likewise 
 asked me what liquor I received ? I told 
 him half a pint of arrack daily; but I said 
 that I did not think that it was agreeing 
 with me. So he spoke to the doctor, who 
 ordered me a pint of wine in place of it, 
 and to keep myself constantly below. The 
 frigate, as I have stated above, was very 
 | leaky j and having to encounter a dread- 
 I ful hurricane during four nights and days, 
 it was with difficulty that the crew, with 
 the assistance of the soldiers, could keep 
 her afloat. We were three weeks upon 
 this passage without any deaths, except 
 one man who fell overboard^ but it was in- 
 deed a very disagreeable voyage, for we 
 could not keep our .provisions from getting 
 wet by the sea rushing in between every 
 
70 NARRATIVE OF SERJEANT B 
 
 plank ! You may think it strange that one 
 of his Majesty's ships of war was suffered 
 to be in this leaky condition ; but it would 
 have taken a very tight vessel indeed to 
 have ridden this storm without making a 
 considerable quantity of water ; and, more- 
 over, she was ordered for dock as soon as 
 she reached the harbour. 
 
 The manner of landing persons on this 
 coast may not be unworthy of the reader's 
 attention. The best boats belonging to 
 his Majesty's navy dare not venture through 
 the prodigious surf that runs every where 
 on the beach, and you may often see the 
 captains of the Indiamen or Men-of-war, 
 obliged to leave their elegant boats and 
 fine-dressed crews outside the surf, and 
 get on board of what are called Massulah 
 boats, to be rowed ashore by natives. 
 These boats are constructed nearly like 
 our own, but are considerably deeper. 
 The planks are sewed together by small 
 cocoa-nut ropes, instead of being nailed, 
 
-NARRATIVE OF SERJEANT B . 71 
 
 and they are caulked by the cocoa-nut 
 hemp (if I may call it so) of which the 
 ropes are made. 
 
 When the passengers are all seated, the 
 boatmen begin their rowing, which they 
 accompany with a kind of song, until they 
 approach the breakers, when the boatswain 
 ! gives the alarm, and all is activity among 
 the rowers j for if they did not pay great 
 attention to avoid the wave in the act of 
 breaking, the boat would run every risk of 
 being swamped. The most severe part of 
 the boat's usage is when she strikes the 
 beach the first time, which generally tum- 
 bles the passengers upon one another like 
 a heap. The boatmen must not attempt 
 to jump out and pull her ashore after the 
 first breaker, for the wave that makes her 
 strike runs past a considerable distance, 
 and then returns, rushing down the decli- 
 vity of the beach with irresistible force, 
 carrying her along with it ; but before the 
 next wave overtakes them the boat has 
 5 
 
72 NARRATIVE OF SERJEANT B . 
 
 gained a little by rowitig, so that the se- 
 cond shock is less formidable ; and, on the 
 third, they jump out in a moment, and lay 
 hold on a rope fastened to the bow on pur- 
 pose, and thereby hold her fast till the 
 passengers get ashore. Were our boats to 
 get such usage it would knock them to 
 staves. 
 
 After our landing, we were encamped 
 upon the south esplanade, which divides 
 Fort St. George from the original town 
 of Madras. 
 
NARRATIVE OF SERJEANT B 73 
 
 CHAPTER IV. 
 
 I DO not here intend to give a particular 
 account of Madras ; but as your curiosity 
 may be somewhat excited, I will gratify it 
 a little, by giving you a kind of general 
 description. Madras, or Fort St. George, 
 (sometimes distinguished into Black Town 
 and White Town,) the principal settlement 
 of the British, on the coast of Coroman- 
 del, has a very beautiful appearance from 
 the sea ; and the first sight of this place 
 is not calculated to spoil the picture which 
 a sanguine imagination draws to itself. The 
 clear, blue, cloudless sky, and the polished 
 white buildings, of which there is a great 
 number, both in the Fort and along the 
 E 
 

 74 NARRATIVE OF SERJEANT 
 
 beach, present a combination entirely 
 new to the British traveller, which is well 
 fitted to give him a very exalted idea of 
 India, and lead him to imagine, after be- 
 ing so long out of the sight of land, that 
 he is entering a new world, something far 
 superior to that which he has left. But it 
 is with this as with the work of the paint- 
 er; for it looks best at a distance. That 
 part of the town which is within the fort- 
 ress can boast indeed of several fine 
 streets ; and the houses being covered with 
 a kind of stucco, called chunam, which 
 is capable of a polish little inferior to mar- 
 ble, have a very elegant and lively appear- 
 ance : but as to the houses of the original 
 town, sometimes called by the natives, Ma- 
 dras Patnam, (which signifies superior,} no 
 rule seems to have been followed but that j 
 of contrast ; for the fine white polished i 
 buildings of the European, the Persian, 
 or the Indian merchant, are promiscu- 
 ously interspersed with the most wretch- 
 ed mud-walled cocoa-nut covered huts of 
 
NARRATIVE OF SERJEANT B 75 
 
 the poorest native : and the confused, ir- 
 regular, unpaved streets, render it one of 
 the dirtiest places possible in wet weather. 
 There are a number of meeting-houses here 
 for the various religious professors ; but 
 that which has the most respectable appear- 
 ance, (the protestant church of Fort St. 
 George excepted,) belongs to the Armen- 
 ians. The appearances of the natives also 
 are extremely varied ; and we find it 
 hold good here, as in other parts of the 
 world, " that the poor and the rich meet 
 together j" for we here see some carried 
 in palanquins shoulder high, and others 
 performing all the offices of drudgery; 
 while some are riding in their bullock 
 coaches, others are walking on foot, fol- 
 lowing their various employments ; while 
 some are riding upon horses, well clothed, 
 with ear-rings the circumference of a 
 large tea-cup, others are hardly able to 
 walk, but literally, " wretched, and mi- 
 serable, and poor, and blind, and nak- 
 ed/* That feature in the female cha- 
 E 2 
 

 76 . NARRATIVE OF SERJEANT B 
 
 racter which has been general in all ages, 
 is also very prominent in this place : for 
 we find many of the wealthy of that sex 
 adorned with all the varieties of toys men- 
 tioned by the prophet, " walking with 
 stretched forth necks, and wanton eyes ; 
 walking and mincing as they go, and mak- 
 ing a tinkling with their feet ;" but it is 
 the less to be wondered at, that these poor 
 creatures should take such a pride in show- 
 ing themselves off,, as they think, with these 
 butterfly ornaments; for they know no bet- 
 ter : but it is truly a pity, as well as a great 
 sin, that the daughters of Zion in our 
 own land should so far follow their exam- 
 ,ple, and expose themselves to the judg- 
 ments of the Lord for the sake of a few 
 trinkets, as those women did in the days 
 of the prophet. Because it is very evident, 
 that it was the sin which these daughters 
 of Zion contracted, by setting their affec- 
 tions upon these vanities of ornaments, 
 that was the cause of God denouncing his 
 judgments against them. It would surely 
 
NARRATIVE OF SERJEANT B 77 
 
 be infinitely better, to adorn themselves 
 according to the direction of the apostle ; 
 c whose adorning," said he, "let it not be 
 that outward adorning of plaiting the hair, 
 and wearing of gold, or putting on of ap- 
 parel; but let it be the hidden man of the 
 ( heart, in that which is not corruptible, 
 even the ornament of a meek and quiet 
 spirit, which is, in the sight of God, of 
 great price." 
 
 While our regiment lay at Madras, we 
 were infested by the natives offering them- 
 selves for servants, and many of them did 
 get into place; but, I believe those that 
 took them would have been much better 
 without servants, for they plundered them 
 of what they could get, and then went 
 their way*. 
 
 * Most of these fellows belonged to the thieving 
 bazaar, (a market here for receiving and selling stolen 
 goods,) and took this method of obtaining some booty. 
 I think it is a great shame (to say no worse of it) that 
 such a place should be protected by law ; for the goods 
 taken from us could not be gotten from thence unless 
 they were regularly paid for, in the same manner as 
 E3 
 
78 NARRATIVE OF SERJEANT B 
 
 We lay in camp upon the south esplanade 
 until the 20th, when we got the route for 
 Wallajahbad. This being our first march 
 in the country, we had our provisions and 
 baggage carried free, but very few of us 
 thought much of the meat, and less of the 
 liquor ; for the arrack used to be standing 
 all night in cocoa-nut shells, and spilled 
 upon the ground in the morning when we 
 marched. It would have been well for the 
 far greater part of our regiment, had this 
 indifference to that liquor continued ; but, 
 alas ! it was far otherwise, as I yet may 
 have cause to observe. 
 
 We came to Wallajahbad upon the 24th 
 December, 1807- This place was to us ac- 
 
 if we had never seen them ; but if the thief was caught 
 before he reached the bounds assigned for the bazaar, 
 he could be prosecuted and punished. As a proof of 
 what I have stated, Captain M'Lean of our regiment 
 had his regimental coat stolen, and it was found there, 
 but he durst not toilch it without agreeing with the 
 bazaar man for a certain sum. However, before I left 
 the country, they were much restricted, no goods 
 being allowed to be publicly exposed until four 
 o'clock in the afternoon. 
 

 NARRATIVE OF SERJEANT B 79 
 
 cording to its name, for it proved very bad 
 to our regiment; the men, women, and 
 children, dying almost every day. As fife- 
 major of the regiment, it was part of my 
 duty to warn a fifer for the funeral party 
 always upon evening parade, for the fol- 
 lowing day; and there were twelve days 
 successively that the fifer for the funeral 
 was wanted. Although there were none dead 
 at the time, I ordered him to be in readi- 
 ness j and for that space of time, we never 
 missed one day without having less or more 
 paying the debt of nature. If a man died 
 at night, he was buried in the morning ; 
 and if through the day, he was interred 
 in the evening. Amongst the many that 
 died at this time, my old musical friend 
 Allan was one. He was cut off by water in 
 the head; but the disorder that carried off 
 almost all the rest was the bloody flux, or 
 dysentery. 
 
 About this time the grenadier company 
 (which had parted with us upon our voyage 
 
80 NARRATIVE OF SERJEANT B 
 
 to get their ship refitted) joined us*, and 
 also the two companies from Prince of 
 Waies's Island. The grenadiers were, in 
 
 * The grenadiers who were on board of the East 
 India Company's ship, Surat Castle, had been obliged 
 to part with the fleet, in consequence of the leaky 
 state of that vessel, when we were near the latitudes 
 of South America, and with difficulty reached the 
 port of Rio Janeiro. But had it not been for the ex- 
 traordinary exertions of these able-bodied men, the 
 ship, and every soul on board, must, in all human pro- 
 bability have perished ; for they were under the abso- 
 lute necessity of working the pumps night and day 
 for a considerable time before they reached that 
 port, and, notwithstanding all their endeavours, the 
 water gained upon them to such a degree as to be 
 two or three feet deep upon the harlop deck; but in 
 spite of their excessive hardships and fatigues, that 
 company was the most healthy of any in the regi- 
 ment. For during the whole voyage they had very 
 little sickness, and none of their numbers diminished 
 by death, in a natural way. They had, indeed, one 
 struck dead by a thunderbolt, and another killed by 
 the natives of a certain island, where they touched for 
 a supply of fresh water. The way that this man came 
 into the power of these savages was as follows : 
 A party of the grenadiers were sent ashore with a few 
 water casks to get them filled, and while they were 
 performing this piece of duty, some misunderstanding 
 took place between them and the natives ; and the sol- 
 diers not being aware that they were going to get 
 
NARRATIVE OF SERJEANT B 81 
 
 general, envied by the rest of the regiment 
 for their healthy appearance; but, alas ! 
 that did not long continue; for no less than 
 
 such rude treatment, were quite unprepared with 
 weapons offensive or defensive, so that some of them 
 were cut and mangled most dreadfully by their as- 
 sailants. But the man 1 allude to, whose name I do not 
 recollect, and another of the nam% of Campbell, with 
 whom I was very intimate, wrested each a weapon 
 from the blacks, and, as the saying is, (( made their 
 own sticks break their own heads ;" and, in this man- 
 ner fought their way, retreating backward toward the 
 boat, which some of their companions had reached ; 
 but before- they could attain their object, the poor 
 fellow sunk under the repeated blows of his over- 
 powering enemies, and Campbell received seven se- 
 vere wounds, several of which were in the head. 
 Those who had not the good fortune to reach the boat 
 were taken prisoners. No sooner did the news of 
 this disaster reach the ship than the officers were fired 
 with indignation at the treatment which their men 
 had received, and the soldiers, particularly, for losing 
 several of their comrades, while those who escaped 
 came on board streaming with blood. Such outrages 
 were not to be tamely submitted to by those who had 
 not only the name, but also the courage, of British 
 soldiers. Orders were immediately given for the 
 men to get ready their arms and ammunition, to go in 
 quest of their companions who were detained ashore, 
 and these orders were attended to with all the alert- 
 ness that could have been displayed had the ship been 
 E 5 
 
82 NARRATIVE OF SERJEANT 
 
 twenty-one of these robust looking men 
 went the way of all living in the course of 
 one month. 
 
 March 3, 1808, I was married to Mrs. 
 
 on fire, and they themselves obliged to fly for their 
 lives to a safe and commodious shelter. No sooner 
 were the grenadiers landed than they marched steadi- 
 ly towards a town not far from the shore, where the 
 king lived, defying all opposition to their progress, 
 and striking terror into the hearts of every beholder. 
 And when they reached the place, the determined 
 countenances of the men, and the dazzling appear- 
 ance of their shining arms, so enervated the hearts 
 and arms of his majesty's loyal subjects, that they 
 could make little resistance until our party was in 
 the royal presence itself. One of the men, named 
 John Love, literally took the poor trembling Nabob 
 by the neck like a dog, and the royal suite, seeing his 
 majesty treated so unceremoniously, perceived well 
 what was to be their fate if they continued to hold 
 the soldiers in their place of confinement, and there- 
 fore prudently made all the haste in their power to 
 restore them to the embraces of their brave mess- 
 mates, who all returned to the ship in safety, and 
 were warmly received by those on board. My wife 
 has now the pillow that the Captain gave to Camp- 
 bell, to lay under his mangled head, after he went 
 on board. However, with proper medical atten- 
 dance, and kind treatment, he recovered, and was 
 raised to the rank and pay of Serjeant after the com- 
 pany joined in Wallajahbad. 
 
NARRATIVE OF SERJEANT B .. 83 
 
 Allan. This is the circumstance I told you 
 to mark before we left England, after I had 
 obtained liberty from Colonel Stewart for 
 her to go with her husband. But I had 
 then very little knowledge that I was tak- 
 ing out a wife for myself, and one too, 
 that was to be the means in the hand of 
 Divine Providence of prolonging my days, 
 for had it not been for her nursing care, 
 I must, in all human probability, have gone 
 thewayof hundreds of the regiment, asl had 
 much severe trouble after I was joined to 
 her. She had no children, save one daughter 
 that was left at home with her grandfather, 
 whom I may have occasion to speak of 
 afterwards. I was in a very poor state of 
 health when married to her; for the com- 
 plaint I caught in the frigate had never left 
 me, and I really had at that time more 
 need of a doctor than a wife; but I knew 
 her to be an excellent woman, and as she 
 had no objections to me as a husband, I 
 could have none against her as a wife; but 
 
 happily for me I found in her both a doc- 
 E 6 
 
84, NARRATIVE OF SERJEANT B . 
 
 tor and a wife, and I daily recovered and 
 enjoyed a tolerable state of health for 
 some time. 
 
 May 22, The government at Madras 
 being informed by our returns that we were 
 in a very bad state of health, sent an or- 
 der for us to proceed to Sadras, a seaport, 
 for the benefit of our health. At this time 
 we could not muster five hundred effective 
 men in a regiment upwards of a thousand 
 strong ; but we were now doomed to still 
 more lamentable misfortunes, for more 
 than three hundred men fell sick the first 
 day's march ; chiefly of brain fevers, at- 
 tended with a dreadful discharge from 
 the bowels, and twelve men belonging to 
 the regiment died the same day : six of 
 whom marched to the ground with their 
 arms and accoutrements. The heat was in- 
 tense, with scarcely a breath of air, and 
 any that there was, was as hot as if it had 
 issued from a baker's oven. One of our 
 men who had formerly been in the coun- 
 try fourteen years, with the 74th regi- 
 
NARRATIVE OF SERJEANT B 85 
 
 ment, said that he never recollected of 
 having suffered so much in one day from 
 heat. Many of the men had recourse to 
 throwing water upon themselves, but they 
 could get no relief from this expedient, 
 because it was quite warm ; and what 
 added much to their distress, was the utter 
 \^ant of perspiration. My wife also suf- 
 fered much from a checked perspiration, 
 and I thought of a method that gave her 
 great relief, which was this ; I dipped a 
 hand towel in water, and gave it a slight 
 wring, and stood over her while she lay 
 upon the ground, waving it backward and 
 forward ; this, from the quick evaporation, 
 cooled her greatly, and gave her consider- 
 able relief. My comrades also, to whom I 
 mentioned it, derived similar benefit from 
 this plan. The men who were very bad, were 
 taken into marquees erected on purpose for 
 them ; but this expedient, which gave many 
 who were not very ill considerable relief 
 was of no use to them. All that the surgeon 
 (for we had only one with us) could do 
 
86 NARRATIVE OF SERJEANT B . 
 
 for them, was to let blood at the temples, 
 and having filled two large marquees with 
 those who were worst, the rest had to assist 
 one another in their tents the best way they 
 could ; but at last the doctor falling ill 
 himself, had recourse to bleeding his own 
 temples by the assistance of a looking- 
 glass, and lay down amongst the rest of 
 the sick men. Thus, being deprived of all 
 medical assistance, and many of the men 
 running about mad, and others dying in 
 the marquees before the Colonel's eyes ; he 
 was so overcome by the sight that he could 
 not refrain from tears. The poor unhappy 
 creatures who were attacked with this 
 temporary derangement, had in general 
 some idea that they were not in their own 
 country. One of these runaways being 
 asked where he was going, said, that he 
 was going to Europe ; and added, that if 
 he was once there, he would soon be well 
 again. However, when the cool of the 
 evening arrived, a number of the men got 
 considerably better; about mid-day when 
 
 * 
 
NARRATIVE OS 1 SERJEANT B 87 
 
 the men were in such an alarming state, 
 the Colonel had sent off an express to the 
 commandant of Wallajahbad, describingthe 
 melancholy situation of the regiment; and 
 we immediately received medical assist- 
 ance, and more doolies and waggons to 
 carry the sick, with an order to return to 
 our barracks. This was welcome news for 
 us ; and we accordingly returned to Walla- 
 jahbad the next day, carrying along with 
 us one hundred and fifty sick men who 
 were unable to march. 
 
 September 4. We had prayers read 
 for the first time since we came to this 
 country, by the adjutant, who had fifty 
 pagodas a-month for doing the duty of 
 chaplain. But this was, I think, little 
 short of making a mock of the divine or- 
 dinances ; for here was truly, " like people, 
 like priest." Oh for an opportunity of 
 hearing a good sermon, from the mouth 
 of a godly minister of Jesus Christ. " O 
 God, thou art my God ; early will I seek 
 thee : my soul thirsteth for thee, my flesh 
 
88 NARRATIVE OF SERJEANT B 
 
 longeth for thee in a dry and thirsty land, 
 where no water is ; to see thy power and 
 thy glory, so as I have seen thee in the 
 sanctuary." 
 
 November 4. My good friend Colonel 
 Stewart left us, in consequence of liberty 
 received from the government, to return 
 to his native country for the benefit of his 
 health ; as he had long been labouring 
 under a severe liver complaint. I was 
 truly sorry for his departure, as I thought 
 his loss to me could never be repaired ; 
 but I was in this happily mistaken ; for he 
 recommended me to the particular notice 
 of Colonel Conran, his successor, who 
 treated me constantly with the greatest 
 kindness; although the men generally 
 formed a very bad opinion of him at first, 
 for he used to take out the triangles to 
 evening parade ; and if any of the men 
 were unsteady in the ranks, he tried them 
 by a drum-head court martial, and flogged 
 them upon the spot ; but this was not be- 
 
NARRATIVE OF SERJEANT B 89 
 
 cause he delighted in punishment, but to 
 make the regiment steady and attentive, 
 which they were not out of the need of. 
 He was, to give him his due, " a terror to 
 evil doers, and a praise to them that do 
 well." 
 
 January 1 3, 1809. We left Wallajahbad, 
 in consequence of a route to proceed to 
 Bangalore. This w r as a very melancholy 
 day for many. We could not avoid think- 
 ing of the great number of our comrades 
 whom we left behind ; having, in little 
 more than one year, formed a grave-yard 
 of about two hundred men, women, and 
 children ! but after we had proceeded on 
 our march four days, we were counter- 
 manded, and sent again to Madras. 
 
 February 3. We took the duty of the 
 garrison from the 30th regiment, which 
 marched out, and we occupied their bar- 
 rack. Not long after we came here, I was 
 visited with a severe fever. I now found 
 a kind friend in Colonel Conran ; for he 
 paid great attention to me daring my ill- 
 
90 NARRATIVE OF SERJEANT 
 
 ness ; sending me fowl, wines, sugar, and 
 even fruits, which he thought would be 
 beneficial in my disorder. He even came 
 in person frequently to see me, and order- 
 ed the Doctor to attend me in my own 
 room, which he appointed for me himself; 
 and, by the blessing of God upon the use 
 of means, I recovered in about three weeks. 
 While we lay in Madras, there arose a dis- 
 turbance among the Company's troops ; 
 and it being reported that they intended 
 to attack the fort, the artillery were order- 
 ed to provide a sufficient quantity of ammu- 
 nition for their reception, which was dis- 
 tributed proportionally to each gun ; but 
 it was never required, for they were wiser 
 than make such a foolish attempt. The 
 insurrection in the high country, however, 
 getting rather serious, an order was issued 
 for an army to be formed to suppress it. 
 This mutinous spirit was said to have been 
 excited by the Governor taking away the 
 staff situations of a number of the Com- 
 pany's officers, in different forts through 
 
NARRATIVE OF SERJEANT B 91 
 
 the country, making one do the duty of 
 two, and sending the other to his regiment 
 in his former situation. For instance, in 
 many of these forts there were (what is 
 called) a fort-adjutant and a quarter-mas- 
 ter of the fort : now, one of these had to 
 do the duty of both, for which he receiv- 
 ed no more than his former pay. The se- 
 poys (native soldiers) were not in much 
 better humour ; for they were dissatisfied 
 because they did not receive the pay of 
 European soldiers, saying, that as they did 
 the same duty, and were exposed to the 
 same hardships, they were entitled to the 
 same allowances. On the other hand, the 
 government stated, that European soldiers 
 had removed from their own country, and 
 should therefore be distinguished from na- 
 tives of this country, who besides could 
 live much cheaper. However, this state- 
 ment did not satisfy them ; and from less 
 to more, they proceeded so far as to take 
 some of the forts into their own posses- 
 sion, and were headed by Company's offi- 
 
92 NARRATIVE OF SERJEANT B 
 
 cers of the dissatisfied party. Things could 
 not remain long in this state of confusion ; 
 and to compel the mutineers to desist from 
 their purpose of destroying all order 
 amongst the forces, an army was formed 
 at three different stations, to proceed to the 
 high country in various directions. Our 
 Colonel being a man of great military skill, 
 was appointed to command the centre di- 
 vision of the army, which was formed at 
 St. Thomas's Mount, seven miles from 
 Madras, upon the 8th day of August, 
 1809. This division of the army consisted 
 often pieces of artillery, two regiments of 
 horse, the Royal Scots, 66th and 89th Eu- 
 ropeans, two hundred pioneers, and the 
 8th and 20th regiments of native infantry. 
 An order was also issued by our com- 
 manding officer for all the heavy baggage, 
 women, and boys, to be left at Madras. 
 This was sorrowful news for the married 
 people, and my wife was much grieved to 
 hear them, particularly as I was then but 
 weakly, and not very able to encounter 
 
NARRATIVE OF SERJEANT B 93 
 
 the hardships to which I would thus be 
 exposed. She was therefore eager to go 
 with the regiment, that she might know 
 the worst of it. I tried all I could to dis- 
 suade her from going, but in vain ; and, in 
 short, she being a stout healthy woman, 
 and having no children to incommode us, 
 she was permitted to go, to my great bene- 
 fit, as well as her satisfaction ; for truly, 
 had it not been for her, it would have 
 fared but badly with me upon the march, 
 as I will afterwards make appear. 
 
94 NARRATIVE OF SERJEANT 
 
 CHAPTER V. 
 
 August 27. We entered the territories 
 of the Poligars. At this pass we were met 
 by three of the Company's revenue collec- 
 tors flying for shelter to our army, having 
 been robbed of all their wealth by a party 
 of the rebels. We here see the dreadful 
 condition of a country, where all laws, di- 
 vine and human, are put at defiance. We 
 received a visit from the Nabob of this 
 district of country, who is tributary to our 
 government, accompanied with all his re- 
 tinue. He himself and suite, were mount- 
 ed on elephants, upon the back of which 
 was placed a square tower, covered with 
 crimson velvet; but the greater part of 
 
 
NARRATIVE OF SERJEANT B 95 
 
 his guards were upon horseback, and those 
 of them who were upon foot carried a kind 
 of pike twelve feet long, which they ma- 
 nage with great dexterity. When they 
 wish to strike an object, they place the 
 one end of the pike upon the right arm, 
 and after giving it a powerful throw, they 
 immediately pull it back by a coil of rope 
 which is held in their left hand, the one end 
 of which rope is of course fastened to the 
 pike. This country is very mountainous, 
 and abounds with tigers and wild boars, 
 (particularly the latter;) but there is a 
 species of dog here that is a mortal enemy 
 to the wild boar ; and but for these useful 
 creatures, the natives would often run 
 great dangers from their bold and feroci- 
 ous attacks. Our officers killed one at 
 this camp-ground, which I saw : it was 
 nearly equal in size to one of our middle- 
 sized hogs, but apparently much more 
 active, with terrible tusks. 
 
 September 21. For this some time past 
 we have been inarching through woods, 
 
96 NARRATIVE OF SERJEANT B 
 
 and jungles, and by impassable roads, until 
 our pioneers made them passable, by cut- 
 ting trees, and covering them with sods, so 
 that there might be a passage for the guns 
 and bandies* ; and it was very seldom that 
 we could get any victuals to buy for money; 
 because, as we advanced, the natives left 
 their villages, and retired to the hills, car- 
 rying all their cattle and effects with them, 
 not being quite sure whether we were 
 friends or foes. 
 
 September 22. The place we arrived at 
 this day is called Gutta, where there is a 
 very large garrison, built upon the top of 
 an immense rock, somewhat resembling 
 that of Edinburgh Castle, but much higher. 
 It was formerly one of Tippoo's towers of 
 refuge ; and was taken by the British with 
 great difficulty. We halted here until 
 we should get a reinforcement from Bom- 
 bay, which was ordered to join us before 
 we marched any farther. We were accord- 
 
 * These bandies are a kind of cart for the baggage, 
 drawn by two bullocks. 
 
NARRATIVE OF SERJEANT B 97 
 
 ingly joined by his Majesty's 34<th and 86th 
 regiments, and also the 3d, 6th, and 9th 
 regiments of native infantry, together with 
 a large park of artillery from the island 
 of Ceylon, 
 
 We now presented to the eye a very for- 
 midable appearance ; and, humanly speak, 
 ing, it would have taken a considerable 
 force to have opposed our progress, being 
 in all ten thousand King's and Company's 
 troops. The followers of the army in this 
 country are generally about four to one ; 
 so that, in all, we must have been in num- 
 ber about fifty thousand, white and black. 
 Those who follow the army for a living, are 
 washermen, (for it is the men, and not the 
 women, who wash the clothes in this coun- 
 try,) barbers, cooly-boys, (that is, bearers 
 of burdens, cooks 5 assistants, officers' under 
 servants, &c.) dooly-bearers, horse-keepers, 
 grass-cutters, officers* butlers, dubashes,and 
 mati-boys, palanquin-bearers, lascars, for 
 pitching the officers' tents, hospital-dress- 
 ers, elephant-keepers, bandy-men, camel 
 
98 NARRATIVE OF SERJEANT B 
 
 and bullock drivers, and bazaar people, 
 who sold articles, such as rice cakes, spices, 
 eggs, fowls, butcher meat, butter, &c. 
 when they were to be obtained ; but this 
 was very frequently not the case, as I have 
 before hinted; and in this case we were 
 obliged to confine ourselves to our regi- 
 mental allowances, which was very poor 
 living for such laborious work. 
 
 September 29. We were ordered to move 
 forward. Our mode of marching was the 
 following : If our journey was long, we 
 generally marched about three o'clock 
 A. M., that we might have it over before 
 the heat of the day j and we were allowed 
 just half an hour to put on our clothes, 
 strike our tents, and place them on the 
 elephants, one of which was appointed to 
 each company ; and in that space of time 
 our bandies had to be packed, and the 
 army ready to march, so you may see that 
 we were not idle. We had mutton and 
 rice twice a-day. The rice was carried 
 upon bullocks, and the sheep driven along 
 
NARRATIVE OF SERJEANT B 99 
 
 with us, and killed when we came to the 
 ground which we were appointed to oc- 
 cupy for a night. We were sometimes 
 nine hours upon the march, although we 
 frequently did not travel above sixteen 
 miles in the course of that time ; and this 
 you need not wonder at, for our roads 
 (when we had any) were miserably bad and 
 narrow, being generally confined by jungles 
 on both sides, so that, with such a nume- 
 rous body, moving forward frequently only 
 two men deep, it was impossible for us to 
 travel otherwise than at a very slow and 
 interrupted pace ; yet, although we were 
 thus long upon our journey, we were some- 
 times two or three hours at our camp 
 ground before we got our breakfast. But 
 this hard marching, (I call it hard, for it 
 was much worse than if we had been mov- 
 ing at an ordinary pace,) I say, this hard 
 marching, and long abstinence, cut oft* 
 great numbers of men ; for we left them 
 upon the road almost daily, both white 
 and black. 
 
100 NARRATIVE OF SERJEANT B . 
 
 I now experienced the great benefit of 
 having a healthy active woman for the part- 
 ner of my toils ; for she used to go on be- 
 fore the regiment along with the cooks, 
 and by the time the army was up, she 
 would have gathered sticks, and found 
 water for the tea-kettle, so that as soon as 
 the elephants (who followed in the rear of 
 the army) appeared with the tents, and ours 
 was pitched, she would have our breakfast 
 ready. It was my province to forage for 
 rice cakes when I could get them to buy, 
 which I did generally the night before, 
 carrying them along with me, with some 
 sugar and a bowl, tied up in my straw hat j 
 and often, often have we sat down upon 
 the ground, as contented in these circum- 
 stances, and much more so, than many of 
 your European epicures with all their luxu- 
 ries. Hunger and contentment made it 
 sweet ; for, as the Spirit of God by Solo- 
 mon says, " Better is a dry morsel, and 
 quietness therewith, than a house full of 
 sacrifices with strife." There was just one 
 
NARRATIVE OF SERJEANT34 1$ 
 
 thing that somewhat abated our relish for 
 these comforts, and that was, to see the 
 rest of the poor fellows in the tent hungry, 
 as well as fatigued, while we could do very 
 little for such a number. We always tra- 
 velled bare-footed, as it would have been 
 impossible for us to have procured shoes 
 upon a march of this kind, travelling 
 through so much water and sand alternate- 
 ly ; for wherever there was any cultivation, 
 the rice fields being for the most of the 
 year flooded with water, the roads near 
 them were generally rendered an absolute 
 puddle. I may observe here, that travel- 
 ling in this country is more severe in some 
 respects for fair people than for those of a 
 dark complexion ; at least I have often had 
 my face, feet, and even hands, blistered as 
 if they had been scalded with boiling 
 water ; while I never saw any of our men 
 of a dark complexion suffer in the same 
 manner ; and this accounts perhaps in no 
 small degree, for fair people not retaining 
 the impression of a warm climate so deep. 
 
 F3 
 
 
1CI NARRATIVE OF SERJEANT B . 
 
 ly as persons who are darker ; for when 
 these blisters disappear, the skin under- 
 neath is always renewed, and consequent- 
 ly continues fairer than if it had been ex- 
 posed to the sun for a great length of time. 
 At this time we had no knowledge where 
 we were going, but, like Abraham, we 
 went we knew not whither ; for our Colo- 
 nel, as I stated before, having the com- 
 mand of this division of the army, received 
 his orders daily by the Tapaals (letter-car- 
 riers) from the Madras government. 
 
 October 1. We fell in with a fine stream 
 in the neighbourhood of some immense 
 rocks, piled one above another in such 
 a manner, that had it not been for their 
 prodigious weight and size, I would have 
 been tempted to believe they had been 
 placed there by the hand of art, I am not 
 at all surprised, that persons who live in 
 such a temperate climate as ours, do not 
 see the full force or beauty of many of the 
 figures in the sacred volume ; but were 
 they to travel a few hundred miles in this 
 
NARRATIVE OF SERJEANT B 103 
 
 country, they probably would not read 
 their Bibles with such cold indifference ; 
 and, although even the figures of Scripture 
 may fall short of the truth they are in- 
 tended to convey, yet their appropriate- 
 ness is often much greater than is gene- 
 rally conceived. 
 
 Were a reader of the Bible to see a 
 company of way-worn travellers, whose 
 feet were roasted with the burning sand of 
 the desert, the sweat streaming from their 
 bodies, and their features distorted with 
 thirst and fatigue, running to those rocks 
 and waters for cooling and refreshment, 
 would he not then discover a sufficient il- 
 lustration, both of the strength and sub- 
 limity at least, of the second clause in that 
 passage of the prophet Isaiah, " A man 
 shall be as a hiding-place from the wind, 
 and a covert from the tempest ; as rivers of 
 water in a dry place, and as the shadow of 
 a great rock in a weary land." And I am 
 sure the traveller himself must be destitute 
 of all moral taste or natural sensibility, 
 
104, NARRATIVE OF SERJEANT B . 
 
 or rather, in more appropriate language, 
 " the things of the Spirit of God must be 
 foolishness unto him/ 3 if he does not per- 
 ceive the full force of this passage. I can 
 say it from my repeated experience, that 
 I have been so exhausted by heat, fatigue, 
 
 and thirst, as to be hardly able to crawl 
 
 along on the march, even with all the na- 
 tural spirit I could muster ; but after hav- 
 ing had an opportunity of resting for a 
 short season in the cleft or shadow of a 
 large rock, and receiving a mouthful of 
 refreshing water, I have gone forward more 
 invigorated, than if I had partaken of the 
 choicest dainties of India. Oh ! that 
 the blood and righteousness of Jesus 
 Christ were as much valued by my preci- 
 ous and immortal soul, as the waters and 
 rocks of the desert have been by my poor 
 exhausted bodily frame ! Oh, how pre- 
 cious indeed would he then be ! 1 might 
 then say with truth, that " he is the chief- 
 est amongst ten thousand, and altogether 
 lovely." 
 
NARRATIVE OF SERJEANT B > 105 
 
 I would here remark, by the way, 
 that there are many things in Scripture 
 that were cleared up to me in this coun- 
 try, which before were quite unintelligi- 
 ble, and that circumstance rendered me so 
 careless in reading my Bible. I shall 
 mention one or two, which may suffice : 
 for instance, our Saviour says, " No man 
 putteth new wine into, old bottles, if other- 
 wise, the bottles burst and the wine is 
 spilled ; but men put new wine into new 
 bottles, and both are preserved." Now, I 
 was wont to think that old bottles were 
 not worse than new ones, if they were pro- 
 perly cleansed ; but, when I saw the bot- 
 tles of the east, made of the skins of ani- 
 mals sewed together, and of various sizes, 
 I formed another opinion ; for I saw that 
 after these leathern bottles were in use for 
 some time, the seams were very apt to 
 give way, and our Saviour's words would 
 be realized. 
 
 Another expression which puzzled me 
 was this, " No man seweth a piece of new 
 
 doth upon an old garment, else the new 
 if 5 
 
106 NARRATIVE OF SERJEANT B 
 
 piece that filled it up, taketh away from 
 the old, and the rent is made worse." 
 With regard to this, 1 thought I had seen 
 the tailor, when I was with my grandfa- 
 ther, making a very good job of an old 
 coat, by mending it with new cloth ; but 
 when I saw the thin cotton garments of 
 India, worn to a cob-web, I w r as then 
 satisfied that he would be a clever artist 
 indeed, that could sew a piece of new cotton 
 cloth, however fine, to a spider's web, 
 without tearing it in pieces. 
 
 Once more, and I shall have done j the 
 apostle says, in the thirteenth of First Co- 
 rinthians, " Now we see through a glass 
 darkly, but then face to face :" Now, I could 
 not perceive the fitness of this figure, as 
 people use a glass, or glasses, to enable them 
 to see better j but when I saw the glass 
 of the east, (and I suppose in the country 
 and age of the apostle it was similar,) I 
 say, when I saw the glass here, made of 
 paste from rice-flour, blown and fired, my 
 opinion was entirely changed, as it is quite 
 dim, and full of white scales j so that, if 
 
NARRATIVE OF SERJEANT B- 107 
 
 persons look through it, they observe ob- 
 jects as the blind man did, mentioned in 
 the gospel, who, when his sight was only 
 in part restored, said that he saw " men 
 like trees walking." I could bring for- 
 ward many other passages, but I give you 
 these as specimens j and, to deal plainly 
 with you, my dear reader, I must tell you 
 that I was very little short of a Deist be- 
 fore the Lord brought me here $ because, 
 as I could not see how this and the other 
 thing could be, I in a manner rejected 
 them as false, or at least gave myself very 
 little concern about them ; but when 
 such things as these were made out to 
 me, I then perceived that it was in conse- 
 quence of the blindness of my mind, and 
 not from the want of truth and evidence 
 in the Bible, that I was not able to un- 
 derstand such difficulties ; and, by the 
 blessing of God, I gradually conceived a 
 greater and a greater liking for that best 
 of books, which alone points out to sinful 
 men the way of salvation. 
 
108 NARRATIVE OF SERJEANT B > 
 
 October 12. We encamped this day at 
 a place called Canool. This is a beautiful 
 country, and abounds with woods and 
 water, the river Tamboothera running 
 close by the town. We had here a visit of 
 the Nabob of Canool, with an equipage 
 nearly resembling that of the Nabob of 
 the Poligar country, formerly described. 
 While we were upon the banks of this 
 river, the artillery from Ceylon, his Ma- 
 jesty's 66th and 89th regiments left us, on 
 account of a general order received to that 
 effect. As the rebels had given up Ser- 
 ingapatam and other forts which they had 
 in possession, when they heard of such a 
 powerful army coming against themj and 
 Colonel Bell, with a number of other 
 European officers of different ranks in the 
 Company's service were taken into custody, 
 and sent prisoners to Madras ; this busi- 
 ness, therefore, terminated much more fav- 
 ourably than was expected ; for the 25th 
 light dragoons was, I may say, the only 
 European regiment that suffered any thing 
 
NARRATIVE OF SERJEANT B 109 
 
 by powder and shot; but although there 
 were comparatively few lives lost in this 
 way, yet during the march a great num- 
 ber indeed, both white and black, went to 
 their long homes. I dare say it, from my 
 own observation and inquiry, that there is 
 an average of ten men who die from the 
 fatigues and disorders incident to this 
 country, to one that dies by the fate of 
 war. 
 
 October 16. We crossed the river 
 Tamboothera in what may be with justice 
 termed basket boats. These boats were 
 made by strong twigs interwoven with each 
 other, and covered externally with buffalo 
 hides. They were of a circular form, and 
 managed by short flat paddles, and with- 
 out any helm; each boat containing 12 or 
 14 men with their firelocks and knapsacks. 
 Our baggage and bandies were also carried 
 over in them, but the cattle of every kind 
 were obliged to swim. It was truly amus- 
 ing to see the elephants and bullocks get 
 across, for the elephants being driven to 
 
110 NARRATIVE OF SERJEANT B 
 
 the side of the river, entered and swam 
 over, holding up their trunks all the while 
 for the sake of air j but there was one of 
 them that would not take the water in spite 
 of all the efforts the keepers could use, and 
 at last they compelled him, by bringing 
 out two lusty ones of his kindred tribe, 
 who, at the command of their drivers, fair- 
 ly pushed him into the water by main force 
 with their heads. The bullocks were led 
 two and two by their driver, who went be- 
 fore them lying upon a plank previously 
 tied to his body, holding a rope which was 
 fastened at each end to the horns of his 
 cattle j one man thereby moving himself 
 and leading his bullocks by the motion of 
 his feet. We were two days in getting our- 
 selves, with the baggage and cattle, across 
 this river, and we pitched upon the right 
 bank for one night. 
 
 October 19 .We reached the left bank 
 of the Kistna. This river is larger than 
 the former, and the same boats were car- 
 ried from the Tamboothera by three coolies* 
 
 6 
 
NARRATIVE OF SERJEANT B 111 
 
 or labourers, to each boat, and we crossed 
 in the manner formerly described. Upon 
 this camp ground, I got (what is called in 
 English) a live grass in the fleshy part of 
 my leg. This grass has much the resem- 
 blance of a bear or barley awn, and is fur- 
 nished with a small barb at the one end, 
 like that of a fish hook j and when it once 
 enters the flesh, there is hardly a possibility 
 of extracting it. It takes its name from the 
 motion it exhibits when laid upon the hand, 
 because it is twisted, and when pulled from 
 the stalk the twist goes out and produces 
 a motion like a hard twisted cord. I have 
 heard many strange stories about this live 
 grass, as of its entering at the one side of 
 the foot or leg, and working its way to the 
 other, and in consequence of its poisonous 
 qualities that many have died thereby* 
 But I shall not affirm these things for truth, 
 as I never saw any such fatal effects pro- 
 duced by it; but this I know, that all I 
 received from the doctor did not cure it ; 
 and the wound in the course of a week 
 
112 NARRATIVE OF SERJEANT B . 
 
 became quite black, and was attended with 
 a considerable degree of pain, which was 
 probably much aggravated by our severe 
 marches. But when we arrived at Hydra- 
 bad, and I was seized with the jungle fever, 
 the leg was totally neglected, I may say, 
 and when I recovered from this 'disorder, 
 we were quite surprised to find the wound 
 healed. For this I had great reason to be 
 thankful, as I have known instances of death 
 being indirectly produced by still more 
 trifling causes. Some of our men, for ex- 
 ample, may be said to have died of the bite 
 of a mosquito, for the bite of that little 
 insect occasioned a grievous itch, and the 
 part being constantly scratched, soon fes- 
 tered and mortified, so that it was neces- 
 sary to cut off the leg, after which the 
 poor men fevered and died. 
 
 I would remark, by the way, that there 
 are a great number of annoyances to the 
 poor soldier in this country, exclusive 
 of hard marching, bad provisions,, wet 
 camp ground, and the many bodily afflk> 
 
NARRATIVE OF SERJEANT B , 113 
 
 tions arising from the climate : because 
 upon the march, they are liable to get bit- 
 ten by serpents, or stung with scorpions 
 and centipedes. And in all the barracks 
 in the country that I have seen, or heard 
 of, they are infested with bugs, in such a 
 degree as often compels the men to take to 
 the barrack square, and to sleep under 
 the canopy of heaven, by which means, 
 while seeking to avoid one evil, they ex- 
 pose themselves to a worse, for the heavy 
 dews during night are almost sure to 
 bring on the flux, the most fatal of all the 
 disorders of this country. 
 
 October 23. Upon this march one of our 
 sepoys was bitten by a green snake. This 
 poor man suffered the most agonizing pain 
 which I suppose is possible for a mortal to 
 endure, but his sufferings were soon termi- 
 nated in this world, for he expired in a few 
 hours. The green snake is thought to be 
 the most dangerous of all the serpent tribe 
 in this country. I have never known nor 
 ever heard of a person recovering that had 
 
114 NARRATIVE OF SERJEANT B 
 
 been bitten. It takes its name from its 
 green colour, and it generally frequents 
 fertile places, where it is not easily per- 
 ceived, which makes it still more danger- 
 ous. It will not, however, attack any 
 person unless he treads upon it, or ap- 
 proaches very near its young. It is af> 
 the length and thickness of a coachman's 
 whip. The influence which the Great 
 Enlivener of animal and vegetable life ex- 
 ercises upon this animal is most remark- 
 able, for while it is exposed to the sun's 
 rays, it seems almost impossible to deprive it 
 totally of life. I had this information from 
 a very intelligent native, who also showed 
 me one that he had been endeavouring to 
 kill, but to no purpose ; for after he had 
 bruised the head to pieces, it was still in 
 motion when I saw it, at which time the 
 sun was a little past his meridian, but this 
 glorious luminary had not finished his daily 
 course many minutes when all signs of life 
 and motion completely vanished. 
 
NARRATIVE OF SERJEANT 
 
 Many of the serpent tribe here are per- 
 fectly harmless to man, and may even be 
 tamed so as to act the part of a cat in des- 
 troying vermin. The tanks, or ponds, are 
 full of water snakes, which, when bathing, 
 we often amused ourselves with endeavour- 
 ing to catch, and never received the least 
 injury from any of them. There is a land 
 snake, however, called the Hooded, or spec- 
 tacle snake, (from the appearance of a pair 
 of spectacles on the back part of the head,) 
 the bite of which is very deadly, but even 
 of these I have seen great numbers tamed, 
 and carried about in baskets through the 
 barracks, by the natives, for a kind of live- 
 lihood. No sooner was the basket un- 
 covered, and the owner commenced play- 
 ing on his simple instrument, than it rais- 
 ed its head and moved it about with all the 
 gestures of a coxcomb possessed of a new 
 suit of clothes and a silver-headed cane; 
 but when the charmer desisted from his 
 playing, the snake generally made a dart 
 at him, which he studiously avoided, and 
 
116 NARRATIVE OF SERJEANT B 
 
 pretended to be very much afraid of, but ! 
 this was just a pretence for making us 
 wonder, for it could do no harm, being 
 previously deprived of the sting, or rather 
 the bag of poison, which lies within its 
 mouth. 
 
 Although serpents generally love music, 
 yet here, as in most other cases, there are 
 exceptions to the general rule ; for I am 
 told there is one species, which, instead of 
 being allured by the charms of music, tes- 
 tifies a very remarkable aversion to it ; and 
 we need not wonder at this peculiarity, 
 for we know that, generally speaking, all 
 the human species, whether civilized or 
 savage, are fond of music : but we know 
 also that there are many individuals to 
 whom it is rather an annoyance than a 
 pleasure. The serpent I have alluded to 
 is probably the species which the Psalmist 
 had in his eye, when he compared wicked 
 men to it, in respect of their dislike and 
 antipathy to divine truth. It has been 
 said, indeed, that there is a serpent, or ad- 
 
NARRATIVE OF SERJEANT B 117 
 
 der, to which the Psalmist's comparison 
 literally applies ; that it actually covers one 
 ear with its tail, and applies the other close 
 upon the ground, to prevent itself being 
 overcome with the charms of music, so as 
 to run the hazard of being taken and kill- 
 ed. We know r certainly, both from Scrip- 
 ture and observation, that the serpent is 
 subtile above all beasts of the field, but 
 this surely is a piece of cunning which is 
 beyond its nature. It is surely much more 
 rational to think that the Psalmist re- 
 fers entirely to the utter dislike of the 
 charmer and his music, which this serpent 
 is characterized by ; and, moreover, we 
 have the words " stoppeth his ears," in 
 Isaiah xxxiii. 15, employed to express the 
 utmost disregard and abhorrence. 
 
118 NARRATIVE OF SERJEANT 
 
 
 CHAPTER VI 
 
 November 3. We marched past Hydra- 
 bad, the capital of the prince of Nizam's do- 
 minions, and pitched our camp at Secundra- 
 bad, which is six miles distant, where there 
 are barracks for European troops, which at 
 this time were occupied by his Majesty's 33d 
 regiment. The country being now tolerably 
 quiet, a general order came for our regiment 
 to take the duty of Secundrabad, and the 
 other regiments were appointed also to dif- 
 ferent stations : so the 33d marched out 
 to our camp ground, and we took posses- 
 sion of their barracks, after a march of 
 three months, halting days included. But 
 though our march was now over, its sad 
 
NARRATIVE OF SERJEANT B 110 
 
 effects were not over ; for a great propor- 
 tion of our men were seized with what is 
 called the jungle fever. This fever some 
 say is occasioned by an unwholesome mois- 
 ture exhaled by the sun out of the jungles 
 or bushes through which we had marched ; 
 others, that it is totally owing to the excessive 
 fatigues, and want of proper nourishment, 
 to which the soldiers were exposed in this 
 country ; but as I am no student of phy- 
 sic, I cannot say what the real causes were, 
 but this I know from experience, that its 
 effects were very deplorable ; for I also 
 was seized with it at this time, and was 
 despaired of by the doctor. It is attend- 
 ed with great pain in the head and exces- 
 sive vomiting, insomuch that a person 
 looking upon one labouring under this dis- 
 order would be apt to think he could not 
 live many minutes. My wife had a great 
 deal of fatigue with me while ill of this 
 fever, which lasted about a fortnight j 
 but, by the blessing of God on the use of 
 means, and particularly by the singular 
 
ISO NARRATIVE OF SERJEANT B . 
 
 care and attention of this most valuable I 
 partner in all my troubles, I recovered. 
 Had I been sent to the hospital, and re- 
 ceived no better attendance than it was 
 possible for the men to obtain there, I 
 would in all probability have shared their 
 fate. 
 
 While we lay here, some of our men were 
 bitten by a mad dog, two of whom died 
 shortly after ; but the doctors took rather 
 a strange method with the third. A cor- 
 poral was ordered to attend him from 
 morning to night, and to carry him out to 
 the fields and villages to amuse his mind, 
 and to give him as much liquor as would 
 keep him always in a kind of intoxicated 
 state. Now, whether it was the effect of 
 the liquor in preventing his mind from 
 dwelling upon his dangerous situation, or 
 whether the operation of the liquor des- 
 troyed the effect of the bite, or (what is as 
 likely perhaps) that the poison had not 
 been sufficiently strong in his body to pro- 
 duce fatal consequences, I will not attempt 
 
NARRATIVE OF SERJEANT B 1 121 
 
 to determine $ but I know he got perfect- 
 ly well, and returned to his duty, and I 
 never heard of him afterwards having any 
 symptoms of hydrophobia. 
 
 The provisions here were much better 
 than in any place where we had yet been 
 stationed ; but there was sad work with 
 liquor, there being a village not far dis- 
 tant where was to be had abundance of 
 paria arrack *, which the soldiers mixed 
 with the juice of the toddy tree. This 
 composition had most terrible effects on 
 our men ; it made them almost, if not al- 
 together, mad. The village being at some 
 distance from the barracks, the liquor had 
 time to operate, arid they came home like 
 men out of the tombs. The consequence 
 was, that we were flogging daily. Our 
 drum-major dying here, the duty of count- 
 ing the lashes devolved on me and a dis- 
 agreeable duty truly it was. This may 
 
 * Paria takes its name from a despised class of 
 persons in India, who, it is said, have sold or lost 
 caste, and signifies any thing base or contemptible, 
 G 
 

 NARRATIVE OF SERJEANT B 
 
 appear a severe method of discipline, but 
 it is absolutely necessary for keeping good 
 order in the army. 
 
 While we lay at Secundrabad, one of my 
 fifers died, of the name of Wilkins. This 
 young lad came out with Colonel Conran in 
 Wallajahbad, and was given me by the Co- 
 lonel, to teach him the fife, with the worst 
 of characters. The Colonel, moreover, 
 told me that at any time when he misbe- 
 haved, I was not to vex myself with him, 
 but just to order one of the drummers to 
 flog him well with a cat. However, the 
 young lad's behaviour was not at all what 
 I might have expected from this very un- 
 favourable character ; for after my wife 
 had put to rights his shirts, trowsers, and 
 other clothes that had been served out to 
 him on board ship, and which were much 
 too large for him, and gave him a slovenly 
 and dirty appearance upon parade I say, 
 after this was done for him, and he got 
 some instructions how to keep himself trig 
 and clean I had not a finer boy in my 
 
NARRATIVE OF SERJEANT B 123 
 
 corps ; and this piece of voluntary atten- 
 tion on the part of my wife the poor fel- 
 low never could forget. Whatever he 
 could give her, or do for her, he seemed 
 to think all too little for her kindness; and 
 to me he was every thing that was tract- 
 able and attentive. But the reason of my 
 mentioning this boy more than any other 
 of my acquaintance who died at this time, 
 is, upon the account of the singular regard 
 he shewed for his Bible, and the extraor- 
 dinary circumstances by which it seems to 
 have been excited ; which I hope my reader 
 will not find fault with me for particularly 
 noticing, 
 
 One day, about the commencement of his 
 fatal disorder, which was a flux, he was at 
 the common place for the men, and our 
 drum-major, and another young man of the 
 name of Gardiner,, happened to be there at 
 the same time. These two fell into a 
 strange and fearful discourse respecting 
 their trouble, and the likely termination 
 of it. Says the drum-major to Gardiner, 
 
124 NARRATIVE OF SERJEANT B-P . 
 
 *' You are bad of the flux too, I see." To 
 
 which Gardiner replied, " D d bad, 
 
 drum-major." " Well, so am I, and we 
 will both die, and go to h 11, but you 
 will die first ; and, remember, you are to 
 come and meet me half way." 
 
 The poor lad came into our room, much 
 alarmed, and told us the woful story ; but 
 he was much more so when they both 
 died, and in the order predicted by the 
 drum-major; but whether they went to 
 hell, or whether the one met the other 
 half-way, is not my business to determine ; 
 but this I say, from the infallible word of 
 the Lord, " that the wicked shall be 
 turned into hell, and all they that forget 
 God." The trouble both of mind and body 
 of this boy still increasing, his love for his 
 Bible increased with it; for he was fully per- 
 suaded,-that his Bible alone could tell him 
 how to avoid that dreadful place of which 
 his fears had been awakened, and likewise 
 point out to him how he could be happy 
 after death. A day or two before he died, 
 
NARRATIVE OF SERJEANT B 125 
 
 I went to the hospital, to inquire how he 
 was. I found him drawing near the close 
 of life ; but his complaints were not so much 
 of his pain as of his being deprived of all 
 means of reading the Bible, on account of 
 the dimness of his sight, in consequence 
 of his trouble. His comrade being per- 
 mitted to be with him for some days before 
 his death, I proposed that he should read 
 to him sometimes ; but at these words, 
 Wilkins burst into tears, and being asked 
 the reason, said, that it was because his 
 comrade had never learned to read that 
 blessed book. He still continued to get 
 worse, until he died ; but he would never 
 part with his Bible, (although he returned 
 to me Mr. Boston's Fourfold State, which 
 I had lent him,) but kept it under his pil- 
 low, or hugged it in his bosom until he 
 expired. 
 
 A few months after we came to Secun- 
 drabad, an order came for four companies 
 of our regiment to proceed to Masulipa- 
 tam, to do the duty of that place, and, 
 
126 NARRATIVE OF SERJEANT B 
 
 X 
 
 amongst these was rny good hospital friend, 
 Alexander Chevis, for the which I was 
 very sorry ; but in a few months afterwards 
 we received a route for the same place, to 
 embark for foreign service, as every de- 
 parture from India, for any island or coun- 
 try under the British government is called. 
 There is just one circumstance, which I 
 will mention before I take my leave of this 
 place, which appears fully as important to 
 myself as any thing I have seen or expe- 
 rienced since I came to it ; and it is this : 
 I had frequently been in heaviness, 
 through manifold temptations, in conse- 
 quence of my remaining ignorance, and 
 corresponding want of faith, since my 
 blessed affliction in the Prince of Wales's 
 Island, and particularly after my kind in- 
 structor A, C. left the regiment with his 
 company for Masulipatam, for I then lost 
 him who had formerly " comforted me in 
 all my tribulations, with that comfort 
 wherewith he himself had been comforted 
 of God j" but here I again found, as I 
 
NARRATIVE OF SERJEANT B 127 
 
 had often formerly done, the loving kind- 
 ness of the Lord, in a gracious providence, 
 for he provided relief for me from a quar- 
 ter whence I could have very little ex- 
 pected it, as I shall now relate : 
 
 There was a person in the regiment, of 
 the name of Serjeant Gray, with whom I 
 had hitherto a very slender acquaintance. He 
 was a married man, and I had never seen 
 any thing but what led me to believe that 
 he and his wife were what are generally 
 called very decent, well-behaved people ; 
 though, whether they were at all concerned 
 about religion or not, was a matter I was 
 entirely ignorant of j but one day, when I 
 was in a very melancholy mood, I thought 
 I would go over to their barrack-room, 
 and get a little social converse with them, 
 to cheer me, which I accordingly did, 
 and found only Mrs. Gray at home, in- 
 dustriously engaged in sewing. After hav- 
 ing made inquiry for each other's welfare, 
 I said it was a pity that there was no such 
 thing as getting any good books, when a 
 
 G4 
 
128 NARRATIVE OF SERJEANT R , 
 
 person had a little spare time, to improve 1 
 his mind. She said it was, but immediate* 
 ly added, that she had at present the loan* 
 of what she thought a very excellent book, 
 belonging to one of the men. I, some- 
 what eagerly, expressed a desire to see 
 it, which she instantly complied with; 
 but how was my astonishment excited, 
 when I found it to be a book that my 
 grandfather highly respected, and express- 
 ed his esteem for it by saying, that if he 
 was condemned to spend the remainder of 
 his earthly pilgrimage in an uninhabited 
 island, like the Apostle John, and had it 
 in his power to choose a few books to take 
 along with him, the next he would select 
 after his Bible, would be Doddridge's Rise 
 and Progress of Religion in the Soul. In the 
 circumstances in which I was at that mo- 
 ment placed, I need scarcely give the 
 Christian reader any unnecessary informa- 
 tion, in saying, that " I rejoiced like one 
 who had found great spoil/* I then made so* 
 free with Mrs. Gray as to ask her to which of 
 
NARRATIVE OF SERJEANT B J29 
 
 the men it belonged, and if she would let 
 me have it for a day or two, that I might 
 peruse it? She said I was very welcome 
 to do that, and also told me who was the 
 proprietor ; but if I went to see her with 
 a heavy heart, I returned home with a 
 light one, for I was so overjoyed that I hard- 
 ly knew that my weak limbs had a body to 
 support, I had heard, as I have already 
 said, that there was such a book existing, 
 but I had never inquired after it when I 
 could have made it my own, nor ever had 
 seen it until this happy hour; and little 
 could I have expected to find it in this 
 wilderness, where, alas ! there were no 
 refreshing waters to satisfy the longing 
 desires of a thirsty soul ; and this book, 
 I think, of all other human compositions 
 I have yet known, was best adapted to my 
 condition ; neither is it necessary to add, 
 that I read it over again and again, until I 
 had almost the whole substance of those 
 parts of it by heart which more immedi- 
 ately corresponded with the present state of 
 G 5 
 
 
ISO NARRATIVE OF SERJEANT B 
 
 my mind, and with my former experience. 
 I must be plain enough to say, that I did 
 not desire to keep this book altogether to 
 myself, but wished also that others might 
 derive benefit from its contents ; but this 
 I will also state, that I thought I would be 
 a man possessed of great wealth if I could 
 call it my own. I therefore inquired at the 
 person to whom it belonged if he was dispos- 
 ed to part with it, and if so, thatl would give 
 him whatever price he would ask. He said 
 that I was welcome to have it for sixteen 
 finams, (about three shillings.) I therefore 
 closed with him immediately for that small 
 sum. I was now blessed with ample means 
 of instruction, and I would indulge a hope 
 that I was not only made wiser by it, but 
 I trust also better, by the blessing of God 
 upon my search after truth, and that it has 
 not been to me the savour of death unto 
 death, but the savour of life unto life. I 
 shall add no more at present respecting 
 this excellent work, as I shall have occasion 
 to speak of it again. 
 
NARRATIVE OF SERJEANT B 131 
 
 CHAPTER VIL 
 
 WE left Secundrabad on the llth February, 
 1811, and proceeded, by forced marches, to 
 Masulipatam, where I had not long been 
 when I was again thrown into a very dis- 
 ordered state, in consequence of the hot 
 winds, being so ill with my breathing 
 that my wife was under the necessity of 
 fanning me during two whole days. After 
 I recovered, there being some of my fifers 
 in the hospital, I went in one day to see 
 how they were getting on ; and, to my 
 great astonishment, as I entered the hospi- 
 tal, whom did I see there but my dear 
 friend Alexander Chevis, lying like a 
 skeleton in one of the cots. I looked at 
 
 G6 
 
132 NARRATIVE OF SERJEANT B 
 
 him for some time before I could believe 
 my own eyes ; and scarcely being yet sure, 
 I said to him, " Sandy, is this you?" He 
 answered in the affirmative. After having 
 inquired into all particulars, and conversed 
 a little with him, I immediately went home 
 and described to my wife the situation of 
 this good man ; and we set about concert- 
 ing measures that might in some degree 
 mitigate his distresses, for he was at this 
 time far gone in the complaint under which 
 I laboured, when he was " God's hand*' 
 in comforting and instructing me , and 
 truly I saw here a divine call, as well as 
 the call of a grateful heart, considering 
 what he had done for me in Prince of 
 Wales's Island. 
 
 Whenever my duty would permit, I was 
 consequently in the hospital, reading and 
 conversing with him ; and on the two Sab* 
 baths that he lived after this, I remained 
 with him nearly the whole day; but my 
 attendance on him was richly rewarded, 
 lor I learned more from this dying saint 
 
 
NARRATIVE OF SERJEANT B. 133 
 
 of what is really worth learning, than I 
 had done all my life before. 
 
 A few nights before he died, he express- 
 ed a desire that I should bring my wife, 
 and Serjeant Gray with his wife, who had 
 formerly been friendly tahim, that he might 
 have the satisfaction of seeing us altogether 
 before he departed, the which I did ; and 
 he had saved some of his daily allowance 
 of wine, that we might all drink before 
 him, and appear comfortable. When we 
 were all seated, and had ate and drank to- 
 gether, he expressed himself in nearly the 
 following words : " My dear friends,, al- 
 though I may never again see you in this 
 world, I wish that the keeper of Israel may 
 keep you from falling before the many 
 temptations to which you are exposed, and 
 bless you, and preserve to his heavenly 
 kingdom ; and, although in all probability 
 we shall never behold each other in the 
 face, while here, I pray that the Lord may 
 seal you among his treasures, and make 
 
134 NARRATIVE OF SERJEANT B 
 
 you his, in the day when he maketh up 
 his jewels." 
 
 When I went next morning to inquire 
 how he had rested, he told me he had been 
 very much pained, and appeared to be 
 going very fast. I spent as much of the 
 day with him as my duty would permit, 
 and when I went at night with his drop of 
 punch, which we used to make for him, 
 and which he preferred to the hospital wine, 
 1 found him somewhat easier j but he said 
 to me, he felt he had but a very short time 
 to live ; so I took an affectionate farewell 
 of him, but in the morning he was still 
 living. He told me he had been much 
 worse during the night, and had suffered 
 great pain, and added, " that he had a de- 
 sire to depart from a sinful heart, a wicked 
 world, and a loathsome disease, and to be 
 with Christ, where holiness dwells, where 
 sin shall never enter, and where the inha- 
 bitants shall no more say, I am sick." So 
 the Lord granted his petition, for he died 
 that evening. " Lord enable me to live 
 
NARRATIVE OF SERJEANT B 135 
 
 the life, that I may die the death, of the 
 righteous, and that my last end may be 
 like his !" 
 
 We remained in Masulipatam about 
 four months, and I was very glad to hear 
 when the route came for us to leave it ; for 
 it was not only intolerably hot, but when 
 it blew, we were like to be suffocated with 
 clouds of sand ; and it was the worst place 
 for provisions we had yet seen. The 
 butcher meat was so very bad that we had 
 it only once within our door all that time* 
 But I would have been happy indeed had 
 this march been to embark for Europe ; for 
 the regiment was getting daily more and 
 more profligate and abominable! Here 
 the papists laid a plot for destroying the 
 protestants, but it was detected, and the 
 ringleaders punished j and here, too, the 
 men were shooting themselves, or one 
 another, whenever the freak took them. 
 
 We had a young fellow of the name of 
 Courtney, who shot two men with one ball 
 in the open barrack room ! one of them 
 
136 NARRATIVE OF SERJEANT 
 
 was a man belonging to the regiment, and 
 the other a black man, who was in the 
 barrack selling cloth for a livelihood. The 
 white man had been impeaching Courtney 
 with stealing something from him, which 
 the other flatly denied, though falsely, (at 
 least he was a noted thief,) and threaten- 
 ed to make him repent it; and in the 
 course of a little time afterward, he took 
 down his firelock, and pretended to be 
 spunging her out, no one ever in the least 
 suspecting him to be putting in a ball-cart- 
 ridge out of his pouch ; so he levelled her 
 for the person whom he had just been 
 threatening, and sent the contents through 
 his body, and they lodged also in that of 
 the black man. Both of them died in a very 
 short time. He was immediately taken 
 into confinement, and in a short time was 
 sent to Madras, where he was tried, con- 
 victed, and executed. But, to show the 
 hardened character of this faithful servant 
 of Satan, I may mention, that one of the 
 soldier s asked him, before he left the 
 
NARRATIVE OF SERJEANT K 137 
 
 ment, "if he was not sorry for what he had 
 done ?" to which he replied, " that what 
 he was most sorry for was, that he could 
 not get an hour's fowling in the barracks 
 before he went away /" What think you of 
 this in a youth of nineteen years of age ! 
 I doubt not but it will strike the mind of 
 the reader at once, what a contrast there 
 was between him and my dear deceased 
 friend just now mentioned j but the " tares 
 and the wheat must grow together until 
 the harvest," when an eternal separation 
 shall take place 5 for those of similar dis- 
 positions shall then come together, never,, 
 never more to be separated ! Oh ! com- 
 forting to think that there shall not be one 
 sinner in the vast congregation of the 
 righteous. For the righteous who have 
 here the image of God partially restored, 
 shall then " shine as the sun" in the king- 
 dom of their father. 
 
 As I have been speaking of shooting, I 
 must mention one other circumstance be- 
 fore I leave this bloody subject, which is 
 
138 NARRATIVE OF SERJEANT B . 
 
 of the wonderful kind j for in the former 
 case, we see or hear of one man kill- 
 ing two of his fellow-creatures with one 
 ball ; now I am going to tell you of an- 
 other that had two balls through him and 
 yet lived ! 
 
 Our men were in general very profligate 
 with the native women, and one of them 
 having a quarrel with his black concubine, 
 was resolved to give her the effectual cure 
 for a bad wife ; and, to accomplish his pur. 
 pose, he put two ball-cartridges into his fire- 
 lock, and laid her quietly out of the way, 
 until an opportunity would present itself 
 to shoot her ; and when she made her ap- 
 pearance, while he was in the act of rais- 
 ing the gun, one of his comrades, who 
 knew of his diabolical design, made an at- 
 tempt to wrest the firelock from him, but, 
 in the scuffle, some of their feet touching 
 the trigger, the firelock exploded, and both 
 of the balls went through his body. This 
 is the most wonderful accident of this kind 
 I have ever known, for this man was at his 
 
NARRATIVE OF SERJEANT B . 139 
 
 duty in about six weeks afterwards ! And 
 the wonder lies chiefly in considering that 
 the balls entered his belly and came out 
 at his back. 
 
 There was a black nabob also made away 
 with himself here. He was sent down the 
 country to the charge of our regiment for 
 not paying his tribute ; but, laying this 
 treatment very much to heart, he fell into 
 a state of melancholy, and put an end to 
 his existence by means of a knife, having 
 given the guard that was over him a wedge 
 of gold the day before. 
 
 In giving this sad picture of the wicked- 
 ness of the regiment, some of my readers 
 may think I have been guilty of exaggera- 
 tion. They may say, we have heard of 
 soldiers being given to drinking and swear- 
 ing, and all manner of debauchery j but 
 surely when you tell us that they were 
 given to such things as shooting them- 
 selves, or one another, it must certainly be 
 one of those extraordinary stories that 
 travellers are so often accused of telling, 
 
140 NARRATIVE OF SERJEANT B . 
 
 in order to excite one's astonishment. But 
 I can assure you I have related nothing 
 but facts, and many more I could give you 
 as horrible as those above mentioned. 
 Though I have little inclination for the 
 task, I will enter a little more into the 
 subject, pointing out some of the circum- 
 stances which brought about this deplor- 
 able state of things, and illustrate the pro- 
 gress of sin by one or two individual ex- 
 amples which came under my own notice. 
 Should any of my readers be touched to 
 the quick by any thing I shall write ; that 
 is, should they trace in the characters I 
 may bring forward any resemblance to 
 their own, let them not turn away from 
 comparing likenesses. If you are still un- 
 der the power of sin, you are the enemy 
 of God, and carry about with you the 
 same principle of depravity which operated 
 in these men, and produced such woful 
 effects. Therefore, " be not high-minded, 
 but fear." " For as in water face answers to 
 face, so does the heart of man to man." 
 
NARRATIVE OF SERJEANT B 141 
 
 On the other hand, if you have a 
 scriptural ground of hope that you are 
 turned from darkness to light, and from 
 the dominion of sin and Satan unto God ; 
 you may be led by a consideration of these 
 things to give him all the glory, for unto 
 him it belongs. " For who maketh thee 
 to differ from another, and what hast thou 
 which thou didst not receive? therefore, 
 glory not as thou hadst not received it." 
 But rather let you and I join with the 
 Psalmist, in a tribute of praise unto him 
 who has delivered us from becoming the 
 prey of the terrible, saying, "Not unto 
 us, O Lord, not unto us, but unto thy 
 name give the glory, for thy mercy, and 
 for thy truth's sake." 
 
 I have already said, that upon the march 
 we endured great fatigues, and also many 
 inconveniencies ; but, when in barracks, a 
 soldier's life in India is commonly very 
 easy. They have not unfrequently eight 
 or nine successive nights in bed ; and, as 
 the climate is generally very dry, they are 
 
1 NARRATIVE OF SERJEANT 
 
 not liable to get their arms or accoutre- 
 ments often wet ; and many of them like- 
 wise keep black boys to clean their things, 
 take their victuals upon guard, and relieve 
 them of other labours. They had conse- 
 quently much spare time which they did 
 not know how to get rid off; " and an idle 
 man (says Mr. Bucke) is his own torment- 
 or, always full of wants and complaints; 
 while his inactivity often proves fatal both 
 to his body and his mind. The worst im- 
 portunities, the most embarrassing per- 
 plexities of business, are softness and lux- 
 ury, compared with the incessant cravings 
 of vacancy, and the unsatisfactory expedi- 
 ents of idleness." It is a saying among the 
 Turks, that a " busy man is troubled with 
 one devil, but the idle man with twenty/' 
 The want of exercise for both body and 
 mind therefore, and the natural conse- 
 quences of a sultry climate upon the con- 
 stitution, rendered a soldier's life in these 
 circumstances truly a burden, for he was 
 unable to walk abroad through the day 
 
 6 
 
 
NARRATIVE OF SERJEANT B 143 
 
 because of the intense heat, and, moreover, 
 the regiment was not unfrequently confin- 
 ed to barracks, on account of their mis- 
 conduct. Now, if you consider such 
 numbers of men as I formerly mentioned 
 Jiving together in one barrack-room, some 
 sleeping away their time*, and others loung- 
 ing about the piazzas, not knowing what to 
 do with themselves, you will not find much 
 difficulty in perceiving that these poor crea- 
 tures were eminently exposed to become 
 the prey of him that " walketh about as a 
 roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour*" 
 Those, on the other hand, who were 
 disposed to improve their time, by read- 
 ing their Biblesf , or conversing upon re- 
 ligious or useful subjects, were disturbed 
 
 * I would here remark, that sleeping in the day is 
 very dangerous in that country, for I have often 
 known men lying down upon their cots to take a nap 
 in perfect health, that would rise in the rage of a fever, 
 and were obliged to be taken to the hospital. 
 
 t Those who had not Bibles of their own, had ac- 
 cess to the Company's Bibles, which were served out 
 to us before embarking at Portsmouth, 
 
144 NARRATIVE OF SERJEANT B ~, 
 
 by the devil's agents, even those who 
 " were led captive by him at his will ;" 
 for when these debauched beings, in their 
 rambles, observed any of their comrades 
 thus employed, they would make up a 
 plot to annoy them, by singing obscene 
 songs, cursing and swearing in their very 
 ears, or by tumbling one another in a riot- 
 ous manner upon these Sammy Hawks *, 
 as they were called. This species of perse- 
 cution being frequently repeated, we may 
 wonder the less that those who had not 
 the root of the matter in them, were dis- 
 couraged, and, in this time of temptation, 
 fell away ; and that, in process of time, 
 
 * The Sammy Hawk is a kind of brown bird 
 that frequently flies about the barracks, to pick up 
 any thing that it can find for its subsistence ; and it 
 has a kind of religious homage paid to it by some of 
 the poor, ignorant natives. The meaning this nick- 
 name was intended to convey was, that those to whom 
 it was applied were men of sober habits, who had not 
 the heart to spend their money in the same jovial 
 manner as their thoughtless comrades, who were de- 
 termined, therefore, if they saved their money, that 
 it should not be with both ease and honour. 
 
NARRATIVE OF SERJEANT B H5 
 
 instead of reading their Bibles, or convers- 
 ing upon religious subjects, they preferred 
 taking a cheerful glass together, which 
 would at once relieve them from such as- 
 saults, enliven that gloom which brooded 
 over their minds, transport them in imagi- 
 nation to Glasgow*, to see how the shuttle 
 was flying, and afterwards to close the scene 
 with their favourite song, 
 
 " Glasgow on the banks of the river Clyde." 
 
 In this way many of those who might be 
 called the sober and decent part of the regi- 
 ment, gradually fell from their steadfast- 
 ness, and became as dissipated as those 
 whom they had condemned. From the 
 miserable languor produced by idleness and 
 the climate, they now did not bethink them- 
 selves of any other refuge than liquor ; mus- 
 tering a fuddle as often as possible ; which 
 is by two or three of them clubbing toge- 
 
 * A great proportion of the regiment had been en* 
 listed in that city, and its neighbourhood* 
 H 
 
146 NARRATIVE OF SERJEANT B 
 
 ther for a rupee's worth of arrack* ; and it 
 was no uncommon thing to hear it said, on 
 these occasions, that it was of no use for 
 them to lay up money for others to spend ; 
 and as their comrades were dying so fast, 
 and they did not know how soon it would 
 be their turn, it was the best way to be 
 
 * Two drams of arrack were served out daily to 
 each of the men, and as there were at that time no 
 canteens in the regiment, the jovial fellows could not 
 obtain more than their allowance but by getting it 
 from the women, the Sammy Hawks, or from such of 
 their boon companions who h;id put in the pin or keg- 
 ged, which expressions signify to take an oath against 
 liquor till some given time, such as the new year's 
 day, the king's birth day, some particular fair in their 
 native place. From the regimental store nothing be- 
 yond the ordinary allowance could be obtained but 
 by drawing out a chit or line, and having it subscrib- 
 ed by the commanding officer, addressed to the keep- 
 er of the store, who delivered the quantity specified 
 upon receiving payment for it; but it required a very 
 sufficient reason indeed; such as a marriage, the bap- 
 tism of a child, or something of that nature, before 
 our Colonel would subscribe such an order. I under- 
 stand that canteens are now common in every barrack 
 in India, from the belief that the men will not be so 
 mad upon liquor when they have the power to spend 
 their money as they think proper. 
 
 4 
 
NARRATIVE OF SERJEANT 
 
 merry when they had it in their power ; 
 saying in effect, " Let us eat and drink, for 
 to-morrow we die." In their drunken 
 rambles they would often have altercations 
 amongst themselves, or with the noncom- 
 missioned officers, when trying to keep 
 good order amongst them, which brought 
 them under one or more breaches of the 
 articles of war ; and this not unfrequently 
 terminated in their pain and dishonour, by 
 their being exposed to corporal punishment 
 in the front of the regiment. To those 
 who had any regard to their good name, 
 this was a severe trial, and the effect ge- 
 nerally was, that it either cast them into a 
 despondency of mind, or more commonly 
 rendered them utterly regardless of their 
 character ever afterwards. 
 
 I may also notice a circumstance which 
 had not a little influence in spreading this 
 evil contagion amongst us. 
 
 After we crossed the equinoctial line, 
 going to India, it was the notion of a num- 
 ber, even of the men who seemed to 
 H 2 
 
148 NARRATIVE OF SERJEANT B 
 
 have had something like religious instruc- 
 tion, that they were then under no obliga- 
 tions to keep the sabbath, saying, that 
 there was no sabbath beyond the line. 
 This sentiment became a matter of frequent 
 discussion amongst many of them, and seem- 
 ed to receive a very welcome reception. 
 1 could not suppose that they were in 
 earnest in this opinion, until they manifest- 
 ed by their conduct either that they really 
 believed it, or that they had succeeded in 
 silencing their conscience on the subject ; 
 for, after passing the line, they made no 
 scruple whatever of whistling and singing, 
 and passing the sabbath day in vain and 
 unprofitable discourse, if not in profane 
 talking and jesting. On their arrival in 
 India, their notions w r ere still farther con- 
 firmed by the irreligious and profane ex- 
 ample set before them by our countrymen 
 of all ranks. As they were in a land of 
 heathens they thought they had liberty to 
 live as heathens. The contagion spread 
 rapidly in the regiment, and cast down 
 
NARRATIVE OF SERJEANT B . 149 
 
 many wounded ; and not a few of those 
 whom I thought to be strong men were 
 slain by it. 
 
 The Apostolic injunction against the 
 dangerous consequences of evil principle 
 and evil example is, " Be not deceived, evil 
 communications corrupt good manners." 
 I will now, as I promised, illustrate these re- 
 marks by one or two examples, and Oh! how 
 it pains me to think that ever I should have 
 it in my power to draw these illustrations 
 from the conduct of those whom I once 
 loved; but I hope my reader will not blame 
 me, as what 1 shall mention now cannot 
 disturb the mouldering ashes of my once 
 dear companions, and as their names shall 
 be concealed, lest it might give a wound 
 to the hearts of their relatives, if this little 
 work should come in their way, which 
 nothing could heal. 
 
 The reasons I select the following per- 
 sons in preference to many others are, first, 
 that I was intimately acquainted with them, 
 and am, therefore, under no hazard of be- 
 
 H3 
 
150 NARRATIVE OF SERJEANT B . 
 
 ing led into any mistake about what I am 
 going to write ; and the other is, that when 
 I see this, I may remember my former 
 dangerous situation, and have something 
 before me well calculated to excite my 
 thankfulness to that Power, who has pre- 
 served me from being wrecked upon those 
 rocks, which dashed them to pieces. 
 
 The reader may recollect that I was for- 
 merly a fifer in the grenadier company of 
 the 26th Regiment, and also that there 
 were a great number of the men took the 
 bounty from that corps and went to the 
 Royals. While I was in that company and 
 regiment I had a young man for my com- 
 rade, whom 1 shall call J. F. who was a 
 man of very sober habits, being given to 
 none of those vices for which soldiers are 
 remarkable ; nay, he was even so much 
 averse to swearing, that he used to reprove 
 me frequently for making use of what 
 are generally termed minced oaths, to 
 which I was then much addicted, but ; by 
 means of his repeated friendly and season- 
 
NARRATIVE OF SERJEANT B 151 
 
 able admonitions, I was at last enabled to 
 leave them off. After we came to India, 
 however, he attached himself to some of 
 those men who had imbibed the libertine 
 principles mentioned above, and with these 
 " evil men and seducers, he waxed worse and 
 worse, deceiving and being deceived." Solo- 
 mon's question is a pertinent one : " Can a 
 man carry fire in his bosom and his clothes 
 not be burnt ? Can a man walk upon hot 
 coals and his feet not be burnt ?" Alas, my 
 poor friend soon forgot his own admonitions 
 to me, about my swearing when in Dublin j 
 and when I reminded him of them, he only 
 laughed me to scorn ; for the oaths I made 
 use of at that time, when he acted so friend- 
 ly a part in pointing out to me the evil of the 
 practice, were to him now quite insignifi- 
 cant. Nothing, in regard to swearing, ap. 
 peared to satisfy him now but the great and 
 dreadful names of Jehovah, and those 
 glorious attributes by which he makes 
 himself known ; nor was this all, for he 
 became a mocker at every thing sacred, 
 
152 NARRATIVE OF SERJEANT B , 
 
 making himself acquainted with the word of 
 God, for no other reason than as a store- 
 house whence he might amply supply him- 
 self with expressions which he could per- 
 vert to the purposes of buffoonery, and that 
 he might be able to pour down vollies of 
 raillery upon all those who had even but a 
 small form of godliness*. To show you 
 how far his wickedness carried him, I 
 may mention, that at one time he and an- 
 other of his lewd companions went at night 
 to the hospital where a woman's husband 
 was lying a corpse, and she sitting up with 
 the remains of him who was once loved but 
 now departed, each having a white sheet 
 about him, to make the poor affrighted and 
 rather superstitious female believe, that it 
 was the husband returned from the other 
 world, attended by some of his kindred 
 spirits to pay her a visit, which almost put 
 
 * This puts me in mind of the saying of good Mr. 
 Boston, with regard to people of this description.- 
 " Those who act such a part," says he, " behave as fool- 
 ishly, but more criminally, than that person who 
 would dig into a mine for metal to melt and pour 
 down his own and his neighbour's throat/' 
 
NARRATIVE OF SERJEANT B i 153 
 
 the poor woman out of her mind. This 
 piece of barbarous conduct was made up, 
 else it would have probably cost them both 
 their Serjeants' coats. 
 
 The reader may easily suppose that I 
 had, long ere now, ceased to keep com- 
 pany with him; for all my attempts to 
 show him the inconsistency and criminality 
 of his conduct had long before this time 
 proved useless. I therefore saw it to be 
 my duty to keep at a distance from him, 
 for the admonition is, " from such with- 
 draw thyself/ 5 
 
 To be short, he was seized by the flux 
 in Trichinopoly, of which disorder he 
 died. I have said that he had been long 
 to me " as a heathen man and a publican ;" 
 but when I heard that he was dangerously 
 ill, I was certainly very sorry for the poor 
 lad, and went up as soon as I could find 
 it convenient to see him^ which was the 
 night before we marched for Bangalore. I 
 asked about his complaint, and if he thought. 
 H 5 
 
 
154 NARRATIVE OF SERJEANT B 
 
 he was getting any better. He said he was 
 very ill, and not likely to get better. 
 
 Fain would I have spoken to him about 
 his spiritual malady, which was my great, 
 est concern, but I was afraid to be rash, 
 lest he should take it .rather as a reproach 
 than as a friendly inquiry or salutary ad- 
 monition, and therefore waited a little to 
 see if he would break in upon the subject 
 first. He was not long in partly relieving 
 my anxiety, by saying, he had been a very 
 wicked man. This he acknowledged in 
 the general, and did not condescend to 
 particulars ; but in a very few words said 
 he was afraid he would soon die ; and, like 
 most men who have led a wicked life, he 
 added, that if he got better he would 
 never be what he had been, and that he 
 had been long J. F. but he would be so 
 no longer. To which I answered, I hope 
 you may not ; but without strength to 
 aid your resolutions, I am afraid there 
 will be little change for the better^ and 
 having pointed him to the only refuge for 
 
NARRATIVE OF SERJEANT B 155 
 
 sinners, even to him " who is able to save to 
 the very uttermost," I left him : but how did 
 it strike like a dart through my liver, when 
 we arrived at the first camp ground from 
 Trichinopoly, to hear that poor J. F. was 
 no longer in the land of the living, and in 
 the place of hope. This was truly a me- 
 lancholy case, but I will not say that it 
 was without hope, for he who saved one at 
 the last hour, was able also to save him. 
 But this is no encouragement for us " to 
 continue in sin, that grace may abound." 
 There is indeed one case mentioned in 
 Scripture of a person being saved at the 
 last hour, that none may despair, and but 
 one, that none may presume. Ah ! my 
 dear reader, let not you and I hazard our 
 eternal all on such an uncertainty, for these 
 are dreadful words : " Because I have calk 
 ed, and ye refused ; I have stretched out 
 my hand, and no man regarded ; but ye 
 have set at nought all my counsel, and 
 would none of my reproof; I also will 
 laugh at your calamity ; I will mock whe& 
 
156 NARRATIVE OF SERJEANT B 
 
 your fear cometh : when your fear cometh 
 as desolation, and your destruction cometh 
 as a whirlwind ; when distress and anguish 
 cometh upon you. Then shall they call 
 upon me, but I will not answer ; they shall 
 seek me early, but they shall not find me : 
 for that they hated knowledge, and did not 
 choose the fear of the Lord : they would 
 have none of my counsel ; they despised 
 all my reproof: therefore shall they eat of 
 the fruit of their own way, and be filled 
 with their own devices." Now, " consider 
 this, ye that forget God, lest he tear you in 
 pieces when there is none to deliver.*' 
 
 The other person whom I shall mention 
 was formerly a ploughman, and had enlist- 
 ed into the army upon account of some 
 love affair. While in the above capacity, 
 he had formed an intimacy with his mas- 
 ter's daughter; and, from what I could 
 learn, they were remarkably attached to 
 each other. But the father of the young 
 woman directly opposing his parental au- 
 thority to their union, the young man took 
 
NARRATIVE OF SERJEANT B 157 
 
 it so much to heart, that he went and join- 
 ed himself to a party of the Royal Scots 
 as a private soldier; and by this step, he, 
 like too many, punished himself for the 
 fault of another. 
 
 My first acquaintance with W. H. was 
 after we came to Wallajahbad ; and we 
 used to spend many a happy hour together 
 when in barracks, and even upon the 
 march, talking over old stories, and sing- 
 ing the songs of our native land, " which 
 softened our hardships, cheered our lone- 
 ly hearts, brought to our recollection the 
 images of those friends from whom we had 
 departed, while fond hope whispered that 
 we would yet revisit these scenes, con^ 
 verse with these friends, and renew these 
 joys. In this sadly pleasing retrospect, 
 and joyful anticipation, we lost the sense 
 of our sorrows, and journeyed onward with 
 increased vigour/' Neither did the day of 
 the Lord pass by us altogether unimprov- 
 ed j for then we used to meet together for 
 religious conversation, and particularly up- 
 
 
158 NARRATIVE OF SERJEANT B 
 
 on the Sabbath evenings, when I was wait- 
 ing for tatoo-beating, in the front of the 
 barracks*. But, alas! poor man, he gra- 
 
 * The reader may quite naturally think that there 
 was a great inconsistency displayed here ; first talking 
 of the religion of Jesus, and then rushing immediate- 
 ly into a breach of that sacred command, " Remem- 
 ber the Sabbath day to keep it holy ;" now, was not 
 playing on a musical instrument directly opposed to 
 this precept ? I answer that it certainly was ; but you 
 may believe me that it was necessity, and not choice 
 on my part, that forced me to do it ; and the first time 
 I played the fife upon the Lord's day going to church, 
 after I joined the 26'th, I was in such a state of per- 
 turbation that I could not play a note, although I 
 kept the fife to my mouth, and moved my fingers as 
 if I was as busy as any of them. Thus we may see 
 that although any sin may, upon its first commission, 
 cause great pain to the conscience, yet the more fre- 
 quently it is repeated, the more natural it becomes, for 
 this uneasiness had left me long before the time 1 allude 
 to. We had therefore much need to guard against sin in 
 whatever form it appears, for it hath been justly said, 
 that " he who despiseth small things shall fall by little 
 and little;" but I am of opinion that the malignity of 
 my crime consisted principally in not weighing these 
 things, before I came into this state of subjection ; 
 for I was not ignorant that this was a part of a fifer's 
 duty in the army ; but although I will not attempt to 
 justify my conduct ; yet this I will say, that I could 
 earnestly wish that my mind had been always as well 
 
 
NARRATIVE OF SERJEANT B 159 
 
 dually lost the relish for divine things, by 
 forming a connexion with some debauched 
 characters ; and keeping company with 
 these jovial fellows, as they are called, he 
 soon became a very different man. 
 
 However, I never had reason to think, 
 neither did I ever hear, that he was guilty 
 of those enormities with which the other 
 person has been too justly charged ; and 
 when I expostulated with him about his 
 
 employed when I have professedly been worshipping 
 God, as it has been when engaged in this musical 
 employment, after my blessed affliction in the Prince 
 of Wales' s Island ; for I have often been so full of 
 the topics we had been conversing about, as to be un- 
 able to know whether I was playing or not, until the 
 rest of the corps, (as is common in these cases, after 
 the tune is played over two or three times,) waited 
 to hear if I was going to change it, and the sound 
 thus dying away, it would immediately strike me 
 that I was so engaged; and you may think it strange, 
 when I tell you, that I never recollect in one instance 
 of even making a mistake, for when I would come to 
 myself, I was playing with the greatest fluency, al- 
 though I acknowledge that I have been taken some* 
 times so short, that I was obliged to repeat the tune 
 once more than I perhaps would have done, not being 
 provided in my own mind with another in time.. 
 
160 NARRATIVE OF SERJEANT B s 
 
 conduct, he took it always apparently in 
 good part, and promised to do better ; but 
 after repeatedly repenting in a kind of a 
 way, and as often " returning like the dog 
 to his vomit," he avoided my company al- 
 together ; and at any time when I went to 
 see him, if he observed me coming in at one 
 barrack-room door, he would immediately 
 go out at another, being unable to answer 
 to me for his conduct ; and my presence 
 grieved him, as it called to his mind the 
 many happy hours of profitable and inno- 
 cent enjoyment we had spent in one an* 
 other's company. So true it is that guilt 
 is a coward, and that " the wicked flee 
 when no man pursueth." 
 
 At last he was seized by the flux, in 
 Trichinopoly, where, as I mentioned, J. F. 
 also died. He had been in the hospital a 
 considerable time before I knew of his ill- 
 ness ; and when I went up to see him, I 
 observed that he was drawing very near 
 his end. The agony he endured at that 
 time was pressing the sweat through every 
 
NARRATIVE OF SERJEANT B 161 
 
 pore of his body. Yet he was perfectly 
 sensible ; for when I spoke to him, he an- 
 swered me in a very rational manner. But 
 if the Lord be pleased to continue to me 
 my reason and memory, until I also depart 
 from this vale of tears, I think I will re- 
 member his last words until that hour. , 
 After conversing a little with him, and 
 when about to take my leave, I said to him, 
 if it was the will of God that we should 
 never again see one another in this world, 
 I hoped we would meet in another and a 
 better world. He answered me in the few 
 following, but awfully important words, " / 
 know how I am, but I know not how I may 
 be ;" taking (as good Mr. Boston expresses 
 it) a leap in the dark, not knowing whether 
 he should land in heaven or in hell. Af- 
 ter making inquiry the next morning, I 
 learned that his spirit returned to God who 
 gave it about two hours after I left him. 
 Having gone from our world, we cannot, 
 we ought not, to follow him any farther j 
 only this I will say, that he has received 
 
 
162 NARRATIVE OF SERJEANT B 
 
 his sentence from him who can do him no 
 wrong ; for, " Shall not the Judge of all 
 the earth do right ?" 
 
 Now, from what we have seen of the life 
 and death of these poor men, we may just- 
 ly conclude that " the way of transgres- 
 sors is hard. 1 ' It was the saying of an old 
 divine, that it required a person much 
 harder labour to be damned than to be sav- 
 ed. We must acknowledge the idea to be 
 just, although it may appear to be strange- 
 ly expressed. But certain and true it is, 
 that although these ways may seem right 
 unto a man while he is walking in them, 
 yet the end thereof is death. Now, al- 
 though these persons whom I have just 
 mentioned did not shoot themselves nor 
 any of their comrades, yet the reader will 
 easily perceive, by their conduct, the bad 
 effects of evil principles and evil practices, 
 which evidently led to the commission of 
 such crimes as I have too justly charged 
 upon some of the regiment, 
 
 
 
NARRATIVE OF SERJEANT B 163 
 
 CHAPTER VIII. 
 
 WE left Masulipatam to proceed towards 
 Madras, upon the 30th July, 1811, nothing 
 taking place upon the march that I shall 
 trouble you with. When we carae to St. 
 Thomas's Mount, (the place where the field 
 force was formed,) it was expected that 
 we were to take the duty of Fort St. 
 George again ; but, after being encamped, 
 and in suspense for eight days, we were 
 ordered to proceed to Trichinopoly. 
 This was a march of four weeks farther ; 
 so we left the Mount, and commenced our 
 route towards that place upon the lyth of 
 August, that day three years we left it, to 
 take the field with the centre division of 
 
164< NARRATIVE OF SERJEANT B 
 
 the army. I can hardly entertain you with 
 any new thing upon our march, but an 
 anecdote or two about the elephant. These 
 useful animals, as I said before, carry the 
 soldiers' tents upon the line of march, the 
 oldest in the service generally taking the 
 lead of the rest, carrying a white flag fast- 
 ened to his load, the rest falling in quite 
 naturally behind him : and I also stated 
 that they follow the regiment or the army ; 
 and at no time, that ever I knew of, go be. 
 fore them. And I also, upon the field force, 
 stated that the men frequently fall behind 
 when the journey is very long ; being un- 
 able many of them to sustain such fatigue. 
 So one day, when we were hard travelled, 
 a young lad who was scarcely able to draw 
 the one foot past the other, (as we say,) 
 was deliberating upon lying down up- 
 on the side of the road, and giving it up 
 for a bad job, the leader of the elephants 
 coming up with his white flag, before 
 he was aware, (as they make no noise 
 upon a sandy road,) quietly took the fire- 
 
NARRATIVE OF SERJEANT B 165 
 
 lock from his shoulder, and gave it to the 
 keeper, who was upon the neck of the animal, 
 where they always ride, as upon a horse's 
 back, carrying a small tomahawk, by which 
 they direct him ; but this is seldom needed, 
 as they know every thing almost by the 
 word of command. As I said, he took the 
 firelock from the poor wearied soldier, and 
 gave it to his keeper. The lad being much 
 frightened, not knowing but the elephant 
 intended knocking out his brains with it, 
 gave a fearful stare, and ran oft 1 as quickly 
 as his wearied limbs could carry him ; 
 but this alarm put fresh spirits into him, 
 and perceiving that the benevolent animal 
 meant him no harm but good, by easing 
 him of his principal load ; he came to the 
 camp ground in company with his new ac- 
 quaintance, whom he every now and then 
 eyed with a look of uncertain satisfaction. 
 I had this story from Serjeant Gray, who 
 commanded the rear guard, a man whom 
 I could believe as firmly as if I had wit- 
 nessed the whole scene myself. But this is 
 
166 NARRATIVE OF SERJEANT B 
 
 nothing very wonderful, in that truly won- 
 derful animal ; for the elephant attached to 
 my own company and I got so very intimate 
 upon the march, that he would not pass 
 the tent of which I had charge, unless I 
 came and spoke with him. Our friendship 
 originated in this way ; I used always to 
 keep a piece of rice cake for him, when 
 we could get it to ourselves for money ; 
 and while he was getting his morsel in the 
 morning, the men of the tent would be 
 packing the baggage on his back, and 
 thereby we were generally first ready for 
 the march, which was no small matter in 
 our favour. 
 
 I could tell you many such stories, which 
 I find more pleasure in, than telling you of 
 men shooting themselves and one another ; 
 but these may serve as specimens. Al- 
 though these creatures are possessed of 
 most wonderful patience, as well as saga- 
 city, yet they can be irritated, as I will 
 make appear. I intend just to state one 
 incident in proof of this, and then I have 
 
NARRATIVE OF SERJEANT B 167 
 
 done with them. It is customary in this 
 country to appoint a soldier of each Euro- 
 pean regiment to take care that the ele- 
 phants are attended to upon the march, 
 both with regard to work and provisions ; and 
 this person is generally a non-commissioned 
 officer, who receives the appellation of ele- 
 phant major. A serjeant who held this situa- 
 tion in the 30th regiment, one day loaded 
 a poor fatigued animal with abuse, which 
 lie thought he was not at ail entitled 
 to. The elephant, observe you, did not 
 immediately avenge himself of his adver- 
 sary ; but coolly waited his proper oppor- 
 ;unity, and, in the course of the march, 
 seeing his friend the serjeant at a distance, 
 le embraced the moment when the wa- 
 ;er of a rice field was flowing across the 
 road, filled his trunk with the sludge, and 
 making up to the serjeant, who happened 
 to have on a new suit of clothes, and of 
 which he seemed to be very vain, he lodg- 
 ed the contents of his trunk upon the proud 
 
168 NARRATIVE OF SERJEANT B 
 
 fellow's coat, and effectually spoiled its 
 new gloss. 
 
 Upon this march, which, being in the 
 rainy season, exposed us to constant wet, 
 we crossed four rivers in boats ; viz. two 
 branches of the Kistna, and two branches 
 of the Cauvery, which overflowed its banks 
 at the time. We were obliged to lie by 
 the side of the last mentioned river some 
 days before we durst venture over, as the 
 basket boats, formerly described, could not 
 withstand such a current ; but at last we 
 got over with a considerable degree of 
 difficulty and danger, though without any 
 material damage. I had frequently, upon 
 this march, taken up the resolution of the 
 young man just mentioned, to give it up 
 in despair ; and had it not been for that 
 kind of unconquerable spirit I seemed to be 
 possessed of, I certainly would have made 
 application for a doolie, which at this time 
 was hardly to be obtained. I was, indeed, 
 very near dying outright one day. The 
 faithful companion of my toils, who used 
 
NARRATIVE OF SERJEANT B . J69 
 
 every means in her power for my benefit, 
 prepared always (if possible) a draught 
 for me when I came to the camp ground ; 
 but on this day it would not go down. 
 She entertained very unfavourable hopes of 
 me for some time, but, as the Lord would 
 have it, after I rested a little, I was some- 
 what recruited ; and being near the river 
 last mentioned, we had a respite for a day or 
 two, and being thereby something refresh- 
 ed, I made out the march, which was four 
 hundred and eighty-five miles, without the 
 help of a doolie. The reader would not 
 at all be surprised to hear of men dying, 
 and giving up, upon a march in this coun- 
 try, if he could form a just idea of their 
 hardships. On the very night before this, 
 there was such a dreadful hurricane, that we 
 could neither sit nor lie, but were obliged 
 to stand and hold the poles of our tents, 
 to keep the wind from carrying them away 5 
 and many of the tents were blown down, 
 notwithstanding all the efforts of their in- 
 mates to support them ; for the pins and 
 
170 NARRATIVE OF SERJEANT 
 
 cords were no security against the irresist- 
 ible power of the airy element, but gave 
 way like stubble before the sweeping 
 blast. The ground, on which we had fre- 
 quently to lie, was so deluged with the 
 rain, that we were often up to the ancles 
 in mud. All we could do in this case was 
 to clear it away with a momatee, (a kind 
 of scraper;) but, after all, the wet ground 
 was a very unwholesome, uncomfortable 
 bed. Our provisions, as I have mentioned 
 before, were mutton and rice ; and, had 
 they been good, we would have had no just 
 cause to complain ; but, how couk^ the 
 sheep be in good condition in this coun- 
 try, when they live one half of the year up- 
 on the roots of grass, not a blade being to 
 be seen during that time, except what 
 grows by the sides of rivers or tanks ? and 
 marching them about with the army, you 
 may be sure, did not at all improve their 
 condition. I have looked at a chattie pot, 
 (all their cooking utensils are made of 
 earth, like our tiles or cans,) where half a 
 
NARRATIVE OF SERJEANT B . 171 
 
 sheep has been boiled, and, I assure you, 
 there was not a vestige of fat to be seen : 
 and then, the rice being cleaned and cook- 
 ed in the open air, was always less or more 
 mixed with sand. The only refreshing 
 article we received was our two drams of 
 liquor, which was a very acceptable beve- 
 rage mixed with water ; but I need not 
 labour to make you enter into my feelings, 
 for that would be impossible, unless you 
 had experienced what I have done. How- 
 ever, I would not advise you to try the ex- 
 periment to gratify your curiosity, or you 
 may think it dear bought ; and, in all pro- 
 bability, never come home to tell the tid- 
 ings. I must say, indeed, that I was quite 
 overjoyed when we received the route to 
 go to India ; but if I had known before- 
 hand what I was to be subjected to in that 
 country, I think, and not without cause, 
 that I never would have been able to sup- 
 port the afflictions and hardships which 
 fell to my lot ; but the Lord, who is infi- 
 nitely wise and merciful, in the exercise 
 i 2 
 
 
172 NARRATIVE OF SERJEANT 
 
 of that wisdom and mercy, has hid both 
 the pains and pleasures of his dependent 
 creatures from them, that " in the day of 
 prosperity they may be moderately joyful, 
 not knowing how soon afflictions may over- 
 take them, and that in the day of adver- 
 sity they may consider that the Lord may 
 yet have many even temporal blessings in 
 reserve for them ; and by thus " setting the 
 one over against the other," we may keep 
 an equal, humble, and dependent mind; 
 and thereby act under the injunction of 
 the apostle, namely, to " weep as though 
 we wept not, and rejoice as though 
 we rejoiced not ; and buy as though we 
 possessed not ; knowing that our time here 
 is short, and that the fashion of this world 
 passeth away/ 5 
 
 We reached Trichinopoly upon the 5th 
 October. This march, upon tfce whole, was 
 the most severe I experienced in India, 
 but it was the last I ever travelled upon 
 foot. I was not long in Trichinopoiy till 
 I found the effects of my former troubles ; 
 
NARRATIVE OF SERJEANT B , 173 
 
 for I was seized with a liver complaint, 
 and a general debility of the nervous sys- 
 tem, which rendered me totally unfit for 
 duty. I lingered long in this delicate state, 
 and the doctor proposed sending me home, 
 but the commanding officer was unwilling 
 to part'with me, still hoping that my dis- 
 order would take a favourable turn. My 
 leading fifer was ordered to do my duty, 
 and I had full liberty to walk about when 
 able, wherever I pleased, and to amuse my- 
 self in any way I thought proper. In a 
 word, I continued in this weakly state for 
 about a twelvemonth, when it was found 
 necessary that I should be invalided. 
 
 While we lay here, I received an addi- 
 tion to my family, in consequence of my 
 wife having stood godmother for a child 
 belonging to a serjeant of the regiment. 
 But to enable you to understand the story 
 properly, it will be needful to give you an 
 outline of the mother's history, which I will 
 do in as few words as possible. 
 
 Nelly Stevenson, (which was her maiden 
 i 3 
 
174 NARRATIVE OF SERJEANT B 
 
 name,) was the daughter of Wm. Stevenson, 
 weaver in Anderston, Glasgow, with whom 
 she lived until she was twenty years of age, 
 at which time she was married to a young 
 man of the name of M'Dougal, who volun- 
 teered into the Royals from the 26th regi- 
 ment when in Dublin. This young man 
 was one of the many who died of the flux 
 when we lay in Wallajahbad. After his de- 
 cease, she married a serjeant Fleming of the 
 light company, by whom she had the child 
 for whom my wife was sponsor ; but this 
 man lived with her only two years, when 
 he also took the flux and died. In about six 
 weeks afterwards *, she married a serjeant 
 Lee of the grenadier company, by whom 
 she had one child, and he being visited 
 with the same disorder as her two former 
 husbands, died also while we lay at Trichi- 
 nopoly. She was now a widow the third 
 time in the course of six years, and left 
 
 * The reader will naturally enough think it was a 
 very strange thing of a woman to live so short time 
 in widowhood ; but if you consider the situation of 
 
NARRATIVE OF SERJEANT B 175 
 
 in a destitute state ; but she did not need 
 a fourth husband, because she was over- 
 taken by the same fatal disorder that laid 
 them in the dust, and died in about five 
 weeks' illness, in the twenty-sixth year of 
 her age. Now, in this case, it was plainly 
 our duty to look after the child for which 
 my wife stood, agreeably to the vows of 
 God which were upon her ; and a Serjeant 
 Brown of the regiment, and his wife, took 
 charge of Serjeant Lee's child, for whom 
 they had become accountable, after the 
 
 these poor women, you perhaps may not be so much 
 surprised at their apparently indelicate conduct ; for 
 they had no provision made for them whatever, except 
 one pagoda per month, (eight shillings of our cur- 
 rency) allowed by the East India Company; and a 
 reason fully as satisfactory as the former, was their 
 unprotected state ; for the barracks in this country are, 
 in general, divided into two wings, without any par- 
 titions whatever. Now, just think of these women, 
 without a guardian, day and night, in a room con- 
 taining between four or five hundred men ; and, alas ! 
 too many of them very immoral characters, to whose 
 vile passions they presented a more tempting bait, from 
 the scarcity of white women in the country. 
 
 14 
 
1T6 NARRATIVE OF SERJEANT B 
 
 manner of the Church of England. But I 
 will say no more about this at present, as I 
 will have occasion to speak of the last men- 
 tioned child again. 
 
 In the course of the time we lay in Tri- 
 chinopoly, we had one Serjeant Clark af- 
 fected with that dreadful disorder called 
 hydrophobia, in rather a singular manner. 
 This man being afflicted for some time 
 with a very bad sore in his leg, and hear- 
 ing that the tongue of a dog licking a sore 
 of this kind had a very healing effect, he 
 had recourse to this expedient, and coax- 
 ed a small dog in the barracks, which he 
 took notice of sometimes, to do him, as he 
 thought, this good office ; but it would ap- 
 pear by the consequences that followed, 
 that the dog had been disordered before 
 it left off this practice, and before the ser- 
 jeant was taken to hospital. It may seem 
 strange to the reader, that this dog licking 
 a sore, should produce so alarming an ef- 
 fect ; but it was clearly proven, that the 
 
NARRATIVE OF SERJEANT B 177 
 
 man himself had never been bitten ; and 
 there was a consultation of the faculty held 
 upon this extraordinary case, who came to 
 the conclusion, that the disease must have 
 proceeded from this cause. The doctors 
 tried repeatedly, and by various methods, 
 to get him to swallow a little water, but 
 all to no purpose ; one of them attempted 
 to give some to him in a concealed man- 
 ner, putting it into what is called a hubble 
 bubble, (a kind of pipe with a long tube, 
 so that he could not see it) ; but whenever 
 it came near him, he immediately took one 
 of his shaking fits ; and they were compell- 
 ed to take it away without success. 
 
 Another extraordinary case of this ex- 
 traordinary disease occurred while we lay 
 in Masulipatam, which I shall just mention, 
 and no more. One of the Company's ar- 
 tillery men, in the warm season, was seized 
 with the disorder, but no person could tell 
 how he came to. be so affected, as there 
 was no appearance of any bite about his 
 body. This nonplussed the faculty com* 
 i 5 
 
178 NARRATIVE OF SERJEANT B 
 
 pletely, for they were sure enough that it 
 was the hydrophobia ; but how it had been 
 produced they could not tell. Inquiry 
 was made at his comrade, if he had 
 known of his being bitten at any former pe- 
 riod ; and he told them, that he recollected 
 perfectly of his being bitten about a twelve- 
 month ago ; so, after they had deliberated 
 for some time upon the accounts received, 
 they came to the conclusion, that it was 
 to the effects of this bite, though at such 
 a distance of time, that he owed his death. 
 Before I left the country, a kind of cure, 
 it is said, was discovered for this most 
 dreadful disorder. The cure seems quite 
 natural ; but as the way it was commonly 
 said to have been discovered is strange, I 
 shall give a very short account of it. One 
 of the native women being bitten by a dog, 
 and put into a place of confinement, con- 
 trived to make her escape, but when she 
 was in the act of running away, some per- 
 sons discovered her, and pursued her as 
 fast as possible, and the poor creature, in 
 
NARRATIVE OF SERJEANT 
 
 179 
 
 her fright and trembling, fell all her length 
 upon a place covered with broken bottles, 
 and was no doubt cut and mangled dread- 
 fully; however, the great quantity of blood 
 that she lost was thought to have been 
 the means of delivering her from this 
 dreadful malady ; and I understand that, 
 since that time, bleeding a person almost 
 to death, has repeatedly been tried with 
 success in India, for this disease. 
 
ISO NARRATIVE OF SERJEANT B- 
 
 CHAPTER IX. 
 
 March 19, 1811. WE left Trichinopoly, 
 to proceed to Bangalore. I had upon this 
 march a doolie, for the first time since we 
 came to India ; and I had now travelled 
 about 1600 miles with the Royals, since 
 the regiment arrived in the country. We 
 reached Bangalore upon the 12th of April; 
 and, as I continued still very poorly, 
 the doctor told the commanding officer, 
 that it was in vain to keep me in India, in 
 the hopes of regaining my health ; for that 
 was a thing not in the least to be expected, 
 so I was ordered to be invalided. I ac- 
 cordingly passed the Board upon the 20th 
 of August, along with thirty-two more ; 
 
NARRATIVE OF SERJEANT B 181 
 
 but only eighteen of these were ordered 
 for Europe. 
 
 I now, according to promise, resume 
 my story of the little girl that went to 
 Serjeant Brown at Trichinopoly, when 
 we took home the orphan, to whom my 
 wife had been godmother. This Serjeant's 
 wife was attacked by the flux, after we 
 came to Bangalore, and being a woman 
 grievously addicted to liquor, she was for 
 some time abandoned by all the women 
 who wished well to their character ; but 
 my wife hearing of her deplorable state, 
 could not think of a countrywoman dying 
 amongst black people, without any Eu- 
 ropean woman paying the least attention 
 to her. She determined, therefore, to 
 render her what assistance was in her pow- 
 er ; and, accordingly, went one day to 
 her room, where she found her in a very 
 loathsome state, attended only by her black 
 female servant, and the child crying very 
 much. She asked the woman what made 
 the child cry so bitterly ? to which she re~ 
 
J82 NARRATIVE OF SERJEANT B 
 
 plied, choar elia, (that is, she has no meat ; 
 or rather, she is crying for hunger.) Af- 
 ter putting clean clothes upon Mrs. Brown's 
 bed, and doing all that she could do for 
 her immediate comfort ; she brought the 
 poor starved little creature into our hut *, 
 and said unto me, " O! Robert, if you will 
 not take it amiss, I will keep this poor ob- 
 ject, and see if I can do any thing for her." 
 I cheerfully agreed to her humane propo- 
 sal ; and could scarcely help crying, when 
 I saw the child crying ; and my wife also 
 bathed in tears. We accordingly kept the 
 child, and Mrs. Brown still getting worse, 
 died in a few days. My wife became much 
 attached to the little girl ; and the period 
 drawing near when I had to leave the re- 
 giment, we proposed to Serjeant Brown 
 to take her home to Scotland with us, but 
 he formally refused, saying that he would 
 get her brought up himself; but we could 
 not think of leaving her in the country, 
 as Serjeant Brown might soon be taken 
 
 * Some of the married people had liberty to build 
 small houses for themselves outside the barracks* 
 
NARRATIVE OF SERJEANT B 188 
 
 from her by death *; and, likewise, because 
 a man in his situation could not do his 
 duty to a child like this, when he had no 
 one but a black woman to look after his 
 domestic matters; and besides, we could 
 not think of taking her sister home, and 
 leaving her in the country ; so I spoke to 
 the adjutant of the regiment, and it was 
 soon settled that she was to accompany us. 
 This child was twenty months old when 
 we took her home, and she could not set 
 her foot upon the ground, more than if 
 she had not been twenty weeks ; she had 
 the appearance of a monkey, more than 
 any of the human species I ever saw ; she 
 was indeed nothing, I may say, but skin 
 and bone ; and was all covered over with 
 a kind of white hairy down, and her skin* 
 by being so much exposed to the sun with 
 the black woman, was like a duck's foot, 
 so that she was really a loathsome object ; 
 but by the time that she had been with us 
 
 * I have received word since I left the regiment of 
 this man's death. 
 
184 NARRATIVE OF SERJEANT 
 
 a few weeks, she not only could stand; 
 but, to our great enjoyment, was able to 
 walk about holding by my hand ; but af- 
 ter she began to get a little flesh upon her, 
 she broke all out into boils ; many of them 
 of such a size, as to require to be lanced by 
 the doctor, and the scars of several of 
 them remain upon her until this day ; but 
 I shall have occasion to speak about the 
 children again ; and, therefore, will say no 
 more about them at present. 
 
 When I was upon the eve of leaving Ban- 
 galore, I thought if God spared me to return 
 home, I might expect to see some of the 
 friends and relatives of the men, who 
 would be inquiring after them ; I, there- 
 fore, wished to make myself acquainted as 
 well as possible with the state of the regi- 
 ment ; and, for this purpose went to the 
 orderly room, and received a statement of 
 the men who had died and gone home in-, 
 valids ; I shall merely mention the nuim 
 ber, as the names would be of no use to 
 the reader. Total strength of his Majes- 
 
NARRATIVE OF SERJEANT B 185 
 
 ty's 1st, or Royal Scots, after the grena- 
 dier company joined in Wallajahbad, 1006. 
 Joined at different periods since the regi- 
 ment came to India, 941 ; that is, a total 
 of 194*7 men, out of which number have 
 died, and been invalided unfit for further 
 service, eight hundred and forty-five. 
 Number of women that came to the coun- 
 try with the regiment, sixty-two ; joined 
 at different periods, twenty, out of which 
 died thirty-two. We had at this time only 
 two children in life that came out with the 
 regiment, and the total number of children 
 that died upon the passage, and since we 
 landed, fifty-seven ; that is a total of nine 
 hundred and thirty-four, including inva- 
 lids, in less than seven years. There were 
 also eight women who left their husbands 
 in the country, and went to officers of 
 different regiments, being " drawn away 
 of their own lust and enticed ;" that in- 
 satiable desire of " wearing of gold arid 
 putting on of apparel," displayed by too 
 many, was their ruin ; but before I left 
 
186 NARRATIVE OF SERJEANT 
 
 the country, three of these poor wretches 
 died in great misery, arid four of them 
 became common prostitutes about Madras. 
 The remaining female of this unhappy 
 class, in consequence of some disease, was 
 reduced to such a state of decrepitude, as 
 to be drawn about in a small cart, being 
 unable to walk. What a pity, and a shame 
 it is, that ever such scenes should be ex- 
 hibited by those who bear the name of 
 Christians ; and, particularly, in a country 
 which we are labouring to Christianize. 
 Sure I am, that it operates greatly against 
 the success of these excellent missionaries, 
 whose labours are carried on near any of 
 our regiments ; for, when the natives see 
 the shamefully inconsistent conduct of the 
 soldiers and other Europeans, they cannot 
 but think that their own religion is better 
 than that of our countrymen, since, ge- 
 nerally speaking, these are much inferior 
 to them in point of sobriety, and some other 
 moral habits. 
 
 It is easier for the Christian reader to 
 
NARRATIVE OF SERJEANT B 187 
 
 conceive, than for me to describe, my feel- 
 ings for a few days previous to leaving the 
 regiment; but just place yourself as it were, 
 in my circumstances, and let the past and 
 the future be present to your mind : sup- 
 pose yourself to have been for seven years 
 absent from your native country, and from 
 all those who were near and dear to you 
 at home, and, above all, from the public 
 ordinances of divine grace, and to have 
 been travelling in that wilderness wherein 
 (both literally and figuratively) there was 
 often no way ; arid also to have been as 
 it were at the gates of death, when there 
 could be little rational hope entertained of 
 ever being brought up again, much less of 
 having the joyful anticipation of soon be- 
 ing restored to your native country, your 
 friends, and even perhaps to a health of 
 which you had long been deprived ; and, in 
 a word, to pure air, pure water, and, above 
 all, to a pure Gospel I say, suppose your- 
 self placed in these circumstances, and see 
 if you will wonder when I tell you my 
 
188 NARRATIVE OF SERJEANT B . 
 
 joyful feelings were excited almost to rap- 
 ture upon this occasion. But you may be 
 ready to say, was there nothing I was leav- 
 ing behind me calculated to raise in my 
 mind feelings of an opposite kind ? No af- 
 fectionate friends with whom I had enjoy- 
 ed agreeable fellowship ? No doubt there 
 were such friends, and I bless God I can 
 say, that they were friends who had not 
 only travelled part of the weary way with 
 me in that wilderness, but whose society I 
 hope to enjoy again in the promised Jand; 
 and when I saw and thought on such friends, 
 my mind was no doubt agitated, and a 
 conflict of joy and grief was awakened in 
 my breast. I will just select one solitary 
 individual for my present purpose, as her 
 situation was peculiarly trying, and conse- 
 quently better calculated to touch the sym- 
 pathetic feelings, by way of illustrating what 
 I have stated; namely, that I was not with- 
 out friends from whose social and religious 
 fellowship I was about to be separated* 
 
NARRATIVE OF SERJEANT B 18 
 
 This person was a young woman, named 
 Mrs. Copwick, who came along with her 
 husband from his Majesty's 33d, when the 
 volunteers from that regiment joined us 
 before they embarked for Europe. Her 
 father and mother had been for a number 
 of years in the regiment, and she was born 
 and brought up in it; and when she at- 
 tained her 18th year, the old people en- 
 couraged her to keep company with the 
 drill serjeant of the corps, who was a man 
 of very depraved habits, and who, in point 
 of years, might have been her father, but 
 he knew how to manage their failings by 
 his own experience, and used to give 
 them many a hearty treat of liquor for her 
 sake, and to gratify his own insatiable de- 
 sire for drinking at the same time. 
 
 The consequence was, notwithstanding 
 the poor girl's disinclination, that her 
 parents got them joined together in a mar- 
 riage contract. Mrs. C. had been in our 
 regiment for some time before 1 was ac- 
 
190 NARRATIVE OF SERJEANT B 
 
 quainted with her, and our acquaintance 
 arose from my wife bringing her into our 
 hut shortly after we came to Bangalore. 
 We were several times in each other's com- 
 pany before we had any conversation of 
 a religious kind; and the first time that I 
 may say any of us had a favourable oppor- 
 tunity was, I think, one Sabbath forenoon, 
 when I was engaged reading Doddridge's 
 Rise and Progress. I happened to make 
 some observations on the subject, which 
 gave her a suitable opportunity of opening 
 her mind to me, which, it struck me, from 
 some previous circumstances, she had been 
 desirous of doing. I was truly delighted 
 with the simple, undisguised manner in 
 which she expressed her sentiments and 
 feelings, and happy that I had it partly in my 
 power to relieve the uneasiness of her mind, 
 and to assist her inquiries after divine truth. 
 From this time we endeavoured to make 
 it convenient frequently to have some dis- 
 course together in our hut ; the Sabbath, 
 
 4 
 
NARRATIVE OF SERJEANT B 191 
 
 in a particular manner, being devoted by 
 us for our mutual edification ; and she 
 found it a very severe trial indeed to be 
 compelled to exchange our company and 
 conversation for the company and unpro- 
 fitable conversation of the men, when she 
 went to her barrack-room at night, and, 
 above all, to face her brutal husband, 
 who perceived by her artless manner of 
 endeavouring to persuade him to leave 
 off his wicked courses, how she had 
 been employed. Her attempts to re- 
 claim him, alas ! were all in vain, for 
 the best answer that she would receive 
 from him for this kindest of all love, 
 was to keep her tongue to herself, and 
 
 not trouble him with her nonsense ; 
 
 and if she attempted, while he was de- 
 faming, to entreat, it was well if he did 
 not enforce his denunciations by the weight 
 of an unmerciful hand. Such was the mi- 
 serable situation of this poor female, who 
 .had, besides this, the care of two young 
 children, and was unwearied in her en- 
 
192 NARRATIVE OF SERJEANT B . 
 
 deavours to make her husband and them 
 comfortable. Now, my dear reader, if you 
 have been placing yourself all along in my 
 circumstances, you will certainly partake, 
 in part, of my feelings ; but, after all, it 
 will only be in part; for although the power 
 of imagination is great, yet I am persuad- 
 ed you will come far short of the reality ; 
 still I am sure you will not wonder at my 
 being sorry to part with this truly amiable 
 young woman, who was earnestly desir- 
 ous to obtain the knowledge of that way 
 in which she might " escape the wrath to 
 come/' and in whom I felt the more 
 deeply interested from a consideration 
 of my former situation in the Prince of 
 Wales's Island, where I so earnestly 
 desired some person to assist me in in- 
 quiries of a similar kind. Now, all that I 
 could do for her in this case, (for parted 
 we must be,) was to give her my advice, 
 my best gift*, and my blessing with it, 
 
 * She had already a Bible of her o\vn. 
 
NARRATIVE OF SERJEANT B 193 
 
 namely, Doddridge's Rise and Progress of 
 Religion in the Soul, (which book I for- 
 merly mentioned having purchased from 
 one of the men in Hydrabad,) and which 
 had been of great use to myself; and I hope 
 the blessing of God has rendered it of 
 great service to her also. In a word, we 
 parted with very sorrowful hearts, but our 
 sorrow was not without hope, for that bless- 
 ed religion which had formerly supported 
 our minds, and cheered us in many a gloo- 
 my hour, left us not even now, when we 
 needed comfort; but told us that the suf- 
 ferings of the present time were not worthy 
 to be compared with the glory that should 
 be revealed in us at our meeting in Emman- 
 uel's land ; and that our light afflictions 
 which might intervene, were but for a 
 moment, and would, by the divine bless- 
 ing, work out for us a far more exceeding 
 and eternal weight of glory. 
 
 The invalids left Bangalore upon the 
 13th September, 1813, and proceeded to 
 Punamalee, a depot for recruits from Eu- 
 K 
 
194 NARRATIVE OF SERJEANT B 
 
 rope, and invalids from India, homeward 
 bound. We were ordered there to be in 
 readiness for the first Company's ship that 
 should touch at Madras. We arrived at 
 Punamalee upon the 1st of October, 1813. 
 I had in this place a severe attack of the 
 bile upon the stomach ; but it was not the 
 disorder generally called by that name in 
 this country; for it has nearly all the symp- 
 toms of the flux, being accompanied with 
 great pain in the bowels, which are general- 
 ly much swelled, along with a considerable 
 degree of sickness. I was so much exhaust- 
 ed by it in two days, that I could not turn 
 myself in the bed without assistance. I 
 continued about a week very ill, and had 
 more the appearance of getting a grave in 
 India, than of ever seeing my native coun- 
 try again ; but it was the wise saying of a 
 worthy divine, that man is immortal un- 
 til his day come ; for while there are more 
 days, there are means stirred up. But of- 
 ten, since I came to India, have I been in- 
 clined to take up the language of good 
 
NARRATIVE OF SERJEANT B . 195 
 
 Hezekiah, " I have said in the cutting off 
 of my days, I shall go to the gates of the 
 grave ; I am deprived of the residue of my 
 years, I said I shall not see the Lord, 
 even the Lord, in the land of the living j 
 I shall behold man no more with the in- 
 habitants of the world/' But I can now 
 add, with the same good man, " O Lord, 
 thou hast in love to my soul delivered it 
 from the pit of corruption ; thou hast cast 
 all my sins behind thy back ; for the grave 
 cannot praise thee; death cannot celebrate 
 thee ; they that go down to the pit can- 
 not hope for thy truth : the living, the 
 living, he shall praise thee, as I do this 
 day." O that I may devote my spared 
 life unto thy service. 
 
 While we lay at Punamalee, Paddy L , 
 of our regiment, drowned himself in a 
 tank, at the back of the barracks, upon a 
 Sabbath morning. This man was going 
 along ith us for Europe, with a bad dis- 
 charge, in consequence of having made 
 himself unfit for further service by shoot. 
 
196 NARRATIVE OF SERJEANT B 
 
 ing off his hand, for which dreadful out- 
 rage against the laws of both God and man, 
 as well as against his own body, he was 
 sentenced to receive corporal punishment ; 
 to be kept in confinement during his stay 
 with the regiment ; and to be sent home 
 with a blank discharge. He had also been 
 frequently confined, after we came here, 
 for different crimes; and once while he was 
 in the Cimgie -house,* having obtained a 
 light, on pretence of lighting his pipe, he 
 set fire to the place, attempting to burn 
 both it and himself; and it was with con- 
 siderable difficulty that his life, at that 
 time, was saved, being taken out half suf- 
 focated, and as black as a chimney-sweep. 
 I cannot inform the reader what were his 
 diabolical motives for drowning himself; 
 
 * The Cungie-house is intended to answer the same 
 purpose as the black-hole for soldiers in this country; 
 where the prisoners receive for subsistence boiled 
 rice, and the water with which it is made ready, 
 which kind of food is called Cnngie; and from which 
 also the place above mentioned receives the appella- 
 tion Cungie-house. 
 
NARRATIVE OF SERJEANT B- 19T 
 
 but we need not wonder much at it, when 
 he was so depraved as to commit such 
 crimes as I have mentioned, and indeed 
 many others which I decline noticing ; on- 
 ly this I will say, that " destruction and 
 misery are in the way of such people, and 
 the way of peace they have not known ;" 
 and no marvel that " their feet run into 
 evil, and make haste to shed blood, seeing 
 they have no fear of God before their 
 eyes." 
 
 While here also I received a letter from 
 Serjeant Gray, giving us the melancholy 
 intelligence of his wife having had a severe 
 attack of the flux, and of that disorder ter- 
 minating in her dissolution, and earnestly 
 soliciting me to send him a word of con- 
 solation, and an advice suited to the par- 
 ticularly trying circumstances in which he 
 was placed ; to which request I most rea- 
 dily complied in the best way I was able. 
 My wife and I were much affected at the 
 unexpected news \ and no wonder, consi- 
 dering that great intimacy which had al- 
 
198 NARRATIVE OF SERJEANT B . 
 
 ways subsisted between our families ever 
 since the time I received Doddridge's 
 Rise and Progress in Hydrabad. Our at- 
 tachment to one another was such, that dur- 
 ing the time the regiment was in Trichi- 
 nopoly, when our huts were at a consider- 
 able distance, we very seldom passed a 
 day, if duty would permit, without being 
 in one another's company, and frequently 
 we even dined together ; and this friend- 
 ship subsisted until we left the regiment, 
 Vnen we had truly a sorrowful parting j 
 but we then little imagined that one of us 
 was so near the'eternal world. Surely the lan- 
 guage of Divine Providence to us atthis time 
 was, " Be ye also ready, for at such an hour 
 as ye think not the Son of Man cometh," 
 Surely this is an important, universal, and 
 perpetual admonition, " O that we were 
 wise, that we understood this, that we - 
 would consider our latter end." My letter 
 no sooner reached the regiment, than Mrs. 
 Copwick seeing it, wrote off immediately 
 to Punamalee, requesting me very kindly 
 
NARRATIVE OF SERJEANT B 199 
 
 " to send her also a word of advice before 
 our embarkation ; adding, that although she 
 had not forgotten my former counsels, yet 
 she had a great desire to have something 
 from me in writing, that would not only 
 refresh her memory, but also excite her 
 gratitude to her heavenly Father, who had 
 used me as an instrument, that Christ 
 might be formed in her soul, and that it 
 might also be a help to support her mind, 
 under her severe trials, and encourage her to 
 a continuance in well-doing, trusting that 
 at last she might receive the end of her 
 faith, even the salvation of her soul." 
 
 I need scarcely inform the Christian reader 
 with what joy I received this delightful let- 
 ter, and with what comfort and enlargement 
 of heart I answered it ; all that I shall say 
 is, that I wish God may bless every mean 
 which I have been enabled to use for her 
 eternal advantage, and that we may finally 
 meet again upon the right hand of the 
 judge, when he which soweth, and they 
 which reap, shall rejoice together. 
 
200 NARRATIVE OF SERJEANT B 
 
 I have since learned from good au- 
 thority, that Serjeant Gray has followed 
 his wife to the narrow house appointed 
 for all living, and that Mrs. C.'s wicked hus- 
 band is also gone from our world, dying as 
 he had lived, and that God, in his kind 
 providence, has provided a friend who 
 took an interest in the welfare of his wi- 
 dow, and obtained a place for her in the 
 family of a respectable clergyman in the 
 country, to take the superintendence of 
 his children, having made ample provision 
 both for her and the orphans. In their 
 happy experience, therefore, was that 
 promise fulfilled*, " Leave thy fatherless 
 children, I will preserve them alive, and 
 let your widows trust in me." 
 
 My dear reader, you may naturally 
 enough think that the writer of this lit- 
 tle work is very defective in his duty, 
 when he has travelled so many hun- 
 
 * Only, to be sure, in a certain sense ; but it would 
 have been verified strictly if the Serjeant had been 
 one of God's people. 
 
NARRATIVE OF SERJEANT B 201 
 
 dred miles in India, and has scarcely so 
 much as even dropped a hint of the ap- 
 pearance of the country, the customs and 
 manners of its inhabitants, their religion, 
 &c. ; but my reason for this is, that I may 
 make this work appear as regular and sa- 
 tisfactory as possible ; for I have design- 
 edly delayed entering upon these things 
 until I was just going to take farewell of 
 the country. And now, as I am going to 
 take a long, and, I hope, a last adieu of 
 that part of the world, where I have suf- 
 fered much, and, I bless God, have enjoy- 
 ed much, I will attempt a very brief ac- 
 count of these, in their regular order, be- 
 fore I step on board ship, and close my 
 bodily eyes for ever perhaps upon this 
 scene. 
 
202 NARRATIVE OF SERJEANT 
 
 CHAP. X. 
 
 Country. I do not mean here to give 
 you a particular description of the various 
 parts of India through which I have tra- 
 velled, but rather attempt a very brief sort 
 of general representation of it : and I will 
 say that it is, comparatively, sandy and 
 barren ; for water, which is so essential 
 to the fertilizing of the soil, is in most places 
 very scarce ; and no wonder, when it is 
 generally six or seven months in the year 
 without a shower of rain. And were it not 
 for a plan adopted by the natives, where 
 there are no rivers, by far the greater part 
 of the country, now peopled, would be 
 
NARRATIVE OF SERJEANT B 203 
 
 uninhabitable ; but during the monsoon, 
 or rainy season,, the inhabitants, having 
 prepared large tanks for its reception, 
 get these amply stored during the heaw 
 rains ; which I have often seen fall in 
 such abundance as to inundate the coun- 
 try so that the communication betwixt 
 villages, (which are always built upon ris- 
 ing ground,) had to be carried on by boats 
 or canoes. I say, when these tanks are 
 filled, it secures to them, humanly speak- 
 ing, the succeeding harvest. The event is 
 celebrated with great rejoicings j but I 
 shall not waste your time and my own, in 
 attempting to describe these ostentatious 
 parades, but desire rather that you would 
 turn over your Bible, and look at Bel- 
 shazzar'smob of musicians, described in the 
 3d chapter of Daniel, for you will there 
 find the description of a similar band ; and it 
 is very easy to conceive, in your own mind, 
 a number of black people following them. 
 I will rather give you a gjketch of the man- 
 ner in which their crops are produced* 
 
 K6 
 
204. NARRATIVE OF SERJEANT B 
 
 which will be more entertaining and in- 
 structive. 
 
 After, therefore, having these tanks well 
 replenished, and before they begin to 
 plough their rice-fields*, (which must be 
 always nearly level,) they flood them with 
 water for a day or two, to soften the ground ; 
 and, to effect this, they have recourse to 
 the following expedient: they erect a thick 
 post about twelve feet high, at the top of 
 which there is a strong lever, somewhat 
 like the handle of our pump wells, only 
 much longer, and to that end to which 
 you may suppose the sucker of the pump 
 attached, they fasten a rope or chain, 
 of a sufficient length to reach the water, 
 and, at the end of this rope or chain, they 
 have a large iron bucket, and a person 
 ready, at the side of the tank, to guide 
 and empty it into the furrows or ridges, 
 (Psalm Ixv. 9th verse and downward,) 
 which are formed in the rice-fields for 
 
 * Rice, in this country, may be called the staff of 
 life. 
 
NARRATIVE OF SERJEANT B 20 
 
 the reception of the water, and also to 
 conduct it over the surface of the whole 
 plain that they intend to water. At the 
 other end of the lever another person is 
 appointed to tread on it, so as to raise up 
 or let down the bucket to the person, 
 as I said, who stands at the bottom to 
 guide and empty it ; and, to prevent the 
 feet of the drawer from slipping, there 
 are a number of knobs or blocks of wood 
 nailed upon that part of the handle which 
 he treads. These water-engines are fre- 
 quently erected by the side of a growing 
 tree ; but when this is not to be had, 
 there are two large uprights placed close 
 by the supposed pump, and spaked across, 
 so that the person may not only ascend 
 and descend upon this kind of ladder, 
 but also have a security from falling, while 
 he is following his employment. This 
 is the mode of watering fields, I may 
 say, universally adopted in India, where 
 I have travelled; but there is another kind 
 of water-engine, which I understand is 
 
206 NARRATIVE OF SERJEANT B 
 
 generally used in Egypt, and some other 
 countries, which is managed by the mo- 
 tion of a wheel. In this wheel there are a 
 number of steps, and the person treading 
 upon these turns the wheel round until 
 the rope or chain has elevated the bucket 
 to a level with the soil intended to be wa- 
 tered ; but whether the one or the other 
 plan be adopted, it is a laborious and scanty 
 manner of watering cultivated grounds of 
 any extent. If the inhabitants of these 
 parched countries were obliged to adopt 
 this mode for their gardens only, it would 
 be comparatively trifling labour; but when 
 a person takes a view of a very extensive 
 field, which must be kept two or three in- 
 ches deep all the time the rice is growing, 
 (and only when they wish the rice to har- 
 den is it taken off,) I say, if we consider 
 this, the reasoning of the inspired historian, 
 in showing the superiority of the land of 
 Canaan to that of Egypt, will be very evi- 
 dent. 
 
NARRATIVE OF SERJEANT B 207 
 
 Deuteronomy xi. 10. " For the land 
 whither thou goest to possess it, is not 
 like the land of Egypt, from whence ye 
 came out, where thou sowedst thy seed, 
 and wateredst it with thy foot, as a garden 
 of herbs : but the land whither ye go to 
 possess it, is a land of hills and valleys, and 
 drinketh water of the rain of heaven ; a 
 land which the Lord thy God careth for : 
 the eyes of the Lord thy God are always 
 upon it, from the beginning of the year 
 even to the end of the year." 
 
 Although I have said that the country 
 is comparatively sandy and barren, yet I 
 say, that many parts of it also, which are 
 situated on the banks of rivers, are very 
 fertile. The finest parts of India that I 
 have seen are near the Kisna and Tarn- 
 boothera ; these rivers supplying their 
 neighbourhood abundantly, give it a very 
 fresh and delightful appearance ^ and, O ! 
 how it cheers the spirits, and invigorates 
 the eye of the " wayfaring man," to come 
 into the view of a considerable tract of 
 
 4, 
 
208 NARRATIVE OF SERJEANT B 
 
 country, covered with woods and various 
 kinds of herbage, after having travelled 
 days, or even weeks, and scarcely ever seen 
 any object to relieve the fatigued eye; but, 
 on the contrary, every thing to offend and 
 hurt it ; nothing presenting itself on any 
 side but glistening sand, scraggy bushes, 
 the shining arms of the soldiery, and the 
 dazzling exhalations of the morning dews. 
 Surely, " Blessed is the man that trusteth 
 in the Lord, and whose hope the Lord is : 
 for he shall be as a tree, planted by the 
 waters, and that spreadeth out her roots 
 by the river, and shall not see when heat 
 cometh ; but her leaf shall be green, and 
 shall not be careful in the year of drought, 
 neither shall cease from yielding fruit/' 
 The analogy of this figure is simple and 
 beautiful, and the application natural and 
 easy, from what I have been stating, to 
 the pious and reflective mind. 
 
 Manners, Customs, 8yc. The complex- 
 ion of the Hindoos is black ; their hair is 
 long j their persons in general are straight 
 
NARRATIVE OF SERJEANT B 209 
 
 and well-formed, and their countenances 
 open and pleasant. The dress of the men 
 amongst the higher ranks is a white vest 
 of silk, muslin, or cotton, girt with a sash ; 
 the sleeves are very long ; and the upper 
 part of the garment contrived to fit, so that 
 the wearer's shape may be seen ; their 
 trowsers descend so low as to cover their 
 legs ; they wear slippers down in the heel, 
 and peaked at the toes, into which they 
 put their naked feet. The dress of the 
 women amongst the higher or middle 
 ranks, is a piece of white calico tied about 
 the waist, which reaches to their knees ; 
 and 'the vest is thrown across their shoul- 
 ders, covering the breasts and part of the 
 back ; their hair, like that of the men, is 
 tied up in a roll, and adorned with jewels, 
 or toys ; they wear pendants in their ears, 
 and several strings of beads round their 
 necks ; they also wear rings upon their 
 fingers and toes, and bracelets upon their 
 wrists and ankles. 
 
210 NARRATIVE OF SERJEANT B . 
 
 The Hindoos are, in general, very sober, 
 and abstain from all animal food. The 
 Brahmins, in particular, never eat any thing 
 that has had the breath of life : curees of 
 vegetables are their common diet; the 
 chief ingredients of which are turmeric, 
 spices, and the pulp of the cocoa-nut. 
 They esteem milk the purest food; and 
 venerate the cow almost as a divinity. 
 
 In manners, they are effeminate, lux- 
 urious, and taught to affect a grave de- 
 portment. This initiates them early in 
 the arts of dissimulation ; so that they can 
 caress those whom they hate, and even 
 behave with kindness to those whom they 
 intend to murder*. The common saluta- 
 
 * We had several of our regiment who attached 
 themselves to black women, by whom they were 
 poisoned ; one, in particular, suffered under a long 
 lingering illness. This young man was the Pay- 
 master's clerk, who had taken one of these women 
 (who had broken her caste) and kept her for a consi- 
 derable time, but, happening to have some words with 
 her one day, he threatened to put her away ; and she, 
 taking it for granted that he would be as good as his 
 
 
NARRATIVE OF SERJEANT B 211 
 
 tion is, by lifting one or both hands to the 
 head, according to the quality of the per- 
 son saluted ; but no person salutes with 
 the left hand singly. 
 
 On visiting amongst friends, the master 
 of the house never rises to receive his visi- 
 tor, but requests him to come and sit down 
 beside him on the carpet or floor ; and the 
 betle-nut-box is presented to him, as we 
 do our snuff-boxes. This betle-nut is used 
 in the same manner as we do tobacco ; 
 and both the men and the women take it 
 indiscriminately. 
 
 Dancing girls are generally engaged at 
 public entertainments to amuse the com- 
 pany. They adorn their necks with car- 
 canets, their arms with bracelets, and their 
 ankles with small gold or silver chains. 
 
 word, gave him a dose of poison ; but afterwards lived 
 with him for some time, with all the apparent affec- 
 tion that a wife should show for a husband ; nor did 
 she leave him until a suspicion arose that she was 
 the person who had done the wicked deed. This 
 young man died ; and his body having been opened 
 by the surgeon, he was found to have been poisoned. 
 
212 NARRATIVE OF SERJEANT B . 
 
 The dance of these women is a cadenced 
 movement, performed to the sound of a 
 drum, (called a turn-turn,) which a person 
 beats upon with his fingers, and accompa- 
 nies with a song, that, to a person possessed 
 of any taste, is truly barbarous. The mode 
 of beating time is with a small bell, or 
 cymbal, which the dancing-master holds in 
 his hand. This bell, or cymbal, he beats 
 against the edge of another of the same 
 kind, which produces a brisk vibrating 
 sound, which animates the dancers, and gives 
 precision to their movements. They, how- 
 ever, display no elegant attitudes, but are 
 full of gesture ; and the motion of their 
 arms seems to occupy their whole attention. 
 The manner of drinking among the 
 Hindoos is remarkable. They religiously 
 avoid touching the vessel with their lips, 
 but pour it into their mouths, holding the 
 vessel at a distance. Their notion is, that 
 they would be polluted by drinking any 
 stagnant liquid. Thus, they will drink 
 from a pump, or any clear running stream, 
 
NARRATIVE OF SERJEANT B 213 
 
 but not out of a standing pool. On a 
 march, when any of the natives made their 
 appearance with their jimbos, (a small 
 vessel, generally of brass or earth,) we 
 were driven by thirst sometimes to leave 
 the ranks, and entreated them to permit us 
 to drink ; but it was always in vain ; and if 
 any of us took the vessel by force into our 
 hands, either to swallow its contents, or to 
 draw water for ourselves, they broke it to 
 pieces, and raised the hue and cry that 
 they were polluted and ruined ; and any 
 soldier so acting would expose himself to 
 a severe flogging. But I have known some 
 instances, wherein some of those people, 
 possessed of more generous minds and 
 liberal sentiments, have given us to drink, 
 when we held our hands at each side of 
 our mouth, while they poured the water 
 into them, holding the jimbo about half a 
 yard above our head ; but, in this case, we 
 were more satisfied externally than inter- 
 nally. 
 
214 NARRATIVE OF SERJEANT B 
 
 The houses in Hindostan are for the 
 most part very mean ; in front of these 
 houses are sheds on pillars, under which 
 the natives expose their goods for sale, and 
 entertain their friends. No windows open 
 towards the streets, and even the palaces 
 of their princes have not any external ele- 
 gance. The marriages of the wealthy 
 Hindoos are conducted with the utmost 
 splendour and extravagance. The little 
 bride and bridegroom, who are frequently 
 only three or four years of age, are for 
 several nights carried through the streets, 
 richly dressed, and adorned with the finest 
 jewels their parents can procure, preced- 
 ed by flags, music, and a multitude of 
 lights. The astrologer having fixed on a 
 fortunate hour, they are taken to the house 
 of the bride's father, and being seated 
 opposite to each other, with a table be- 
 tween them, they join their hands across 
 it, and the priest covers both their heads 
 with a kind of hood, which remains spread 
 over them about a quarter of an hour, 
 
NARRATIVE OF SERJEANT B 215 
 
 while he prays for their happiness, and 
 gives them the nuptial benediction ; after 
 which, their heads are uncovered, and all 
 the company are sprinkled with perfumes, 
 and the evening concludes \yith a magni- 
 ficent entertainment for the friends who 
 attend. 
 
 The Hindoo women, in general, treat 
 their husbands with great respect; and very 
 few are ever known to violate the marriage 
 bed. They begin to bear children at 
 twelve years of age, and sometimes young- 
 er; but they seldom have any after they 
 are thirty; and frequently before that time 
 they lose their bloom, and begin to fade. 
 With respect to the funerals of the Hindoos, 
 some of them bury the body, and others 
 burn it. The ceremony of burning is per- 
 formed in the following manner : Having 
 washed and dressed the corpse, the rela- 
 tions and friends carry it on a bier to a 
 small distance from the town. This is 
 usually done the next day ; but if a person 
 die in the morning, his body is always 
 
216 NARRATIVE OF SERJEANT B 
 
 burnt the same evening ; for, in this 
 country, a corpse will not keep long. The 
 funeral pile is usually made near some 
 river or tank; and if he be a person of 
 rank, great quantities of fragrant wood are 
 mixed with the fuel. As soon as the corpse 
 is placed upon the pile, and some prayers 
 muttered by the attending Brahmin, the 
 fire is applied at one of the corners, when 
 it soon blazes up, and consumes the body 
 to ashes. 
 
 The horrid practice of widows burning 
 themselves along with the corpse of their 
 deceased husbands is losing ground very 
 fast in India; and there is scarcely ever an 
 instance of it now known in our settle- 
 ments; and, as far as I could learn, when 
 performed at all, it is chiefly confined to 
 the Brahmin cast. 
 
 Religion, <%c. The religion of the Hin- 
 doos is all contained in the sacred books 
 called Vedas* These books are supposed to 
 have been the work, not of the supreme 
 God himself, but of an inferior deity call- 
 
"NARRATIVE OF SERJEANT 
 
 ed Brimha. They inform us that Brahma, 
 the supreme god, having created the world 
 by the word of 'his mouth, formed a female 
 deity, named Bawaney, who brought forth 
 three male deities, named Brimha, Vish- 
 nu, and Seeva. They say that Brimha 
 was endowed with the power of creating 
 all things, Vishnu with that of cherishing 
 them, and Seeva the power of restraining 
 them. They say also, that Brahma himself 
 endowed mankind with passions and un- 
 derstanding to regulate them; while Brim- 
 ha created the inferior beings, and after- 
 wards employed himself in writing the 
 Vedas, and gave these to the Brahmins to 
 be explained. These Brahmins are allowed 
 to be the most honourable tribe amongst 
 the Hindoos, and are alone appointed to 
 officiate in the priesthood, like the Levites 
 among the Jews. They alone are allowed 
 to read the Vedas or sacred books ; and to 
 them are committed the instruction of the 
 people. There are several orders of these 
 Brahmins : those who mix in society are 
 L 
 
218 NARRATIVE OF SERJEANT 
 
 not unfrequently of depraved morals j and 
 we need not wonder that it should be the 
 case, when they are taught by their re- 
 ligion that the water of the Ganges will 
 effectually wash away all their sins. Those 
 Brahmins who live secluded from society, 
 are men of very weak minds, or enthu- 
 siasts, who give themselves up to indolence 
 and superstition. The Chehteree, or se- 
 cond caste, is next in rank to the Brahmins ; 
 and from this caste their Nabobs, or Prin- 
 ces, are always chosen. 
 
 The Bice, or Banians, who compose the 
 third class, are those people whose pro- 
 fession is trade and merchandise. They 
 have no particular religion, unless it be ad- 
 herence to truth in their words and deal- 
 ings. They are the great factors by 
 whom the trade of India is carried on ; 
 and, as they believe in the transmigration 
 of souls, they eat no living creature, nor 
 kill even noxious animals, but endeavour 
 to release them from the hands of others 
 who may be intending to destroy them. 
 
NARRATIVE OF SERJEANT B 219 
 
 I have seen them feeding the mice and 
 bandicauts with grain or rice in the hazaar. 
 
 The Soodera, or fourth class, is the 
 most numerous, and comprehends all la- 
 bourers and artists. These are divided in- 
 to as many orders as there are followers of 
 different arts ; all the children being inva- 
 riably brought up to the profession of their 
 forefathers* 
 
 The temples of the Hindoos (called by 
 them pagodas) are large, but disgusting 
 stone buildings, erected in every capital, 
 and are under the direction of the Brahmins* 
 The pagoda of Seringham, near the place 
 where we crossed the Cavery, and which 
 we passed on our way to Trichinopoly, is 
 allowed to be the most stupendous, and is 
 held the most sacred of any building of 
 the kind in India, that of Chillambraum 
 excepted. This pagoda is situated about 
 a mile from the western extremity of the 
 island of Seringham, formed by the divi- 
 sion of the great river Cavery into two 
 channels. It is composed of seven square 
 
 
220 NARRATIVE OF SERJEANT B 
 
 inclosures, one within the other, the walls 
 of which are twenty-five feet high, and 
 four thick. These inclosures have each 
 four large gates : the outer wall which sur- 
 rounds this pagoda is between three and 
 four miles in circumference, and its gate- 
 way to the south is ornamented with pil- 
 lars, several of which are single stones, 
 thirty-three feet long, and about four in 
 diameter. The walls of this building is 
 covered outside with the most hideous 
 figures, likenesses of which are to be found 
 neither " in heaven above, nor on the earth 
 beneath, nor in the waters under the 
 earth ;" so that persons would not literally 
 be guilty of a breach of the second com- 
 mand if they were to fall down and wor- 
 ship them, such as men with elephants' 
 heads, serpents with men's heads, bullocks 
 with women's head and breasts, &c. and 
 monsters which I have never before nor 
 since seen or heard off, and these painted 
 in the most glaring colours. Here also, 
 as in the other great pagodas of India, the 
 

 NARRATIVE OF SERJEANT B 221 
 
 Brahmins live without subordination, and 
 slumber in a voluptuousness which knows 
 no wants. This pagoda is about four miles 
 from Trichinopoly. 
 
 There are several sects among the Hin- 
 doos, but their differences consist rather 
 in external forms than religious opinions. 
 They all believe in the immortality of the 
 soul; a state of future rewards and punish- 
 ments ; and transmigration of souls. The 
 virtues of charity and hospitality exist 
 amongst them, both in theory and practice, 
 towards those of their own caste. They 
 say that hospitality is commanded to be 
 exercised even towards an enemy ; and 
 they use this simile, " the tree doth not 
 withdraw its shade from the wood-cut- 
 ter, or water-drawer, nor doth the moon 
 withhold her light from the chandalah." 
 These pure doctrines, however, are inter- 
 mixed with many vile superstitions. The 
 Hindoos pray thrice in the day, at morn- 
 ing, noon, and evening, turning their faces 
 towards the east. Fruits, flowers, incense, 
 
 LS 
 
222 NARRATIVE OF SERJEANT 
 
 and money, are the usual offerings to their 
 idols ; but, for the dead, they offer a par- 
 ticular sort of cake called punda. They 
 all seem to pay an extraordinary venera- 
 tion to fire, and always wash before meals. 
 There is a religious order among the 
 Hindoos, called Fakirs : these are a kind 
 of begging friars, who make vows of po- 
 verty, and seem insensible both to plea- 
 sure and pain. They generally live upon 
 the bounty of the smaller kind of mer- 
 chants j and I have seen them often car- 
 rying a small copper jimbo, (vessel,) in the 
 form of a water-melon, when they were 
 begging through the bazaars. These Fa* 
 kirs, to obtain the favour of Brahma a& 
 they suppose, suffer the most dreadful tor- 
 tures ; and the austerities which some of 
 them undergo are incredible to those who 
 have not been eye-witnesses of them : some 
 of them stand for months upon one foot, 
 with their arms tied to the beam of a house, 
 by which means their arms settle in that 
 posture, and ever after become useless ; 
 
NARRATIVE OF SERJEANT B 223 
 
 some sit in the sun, with their faces look- 
 ing upwards, until they are incapable of 
 altering the position of their heads ; and 
 I even saw one in Bangalore, who had a 
 large sort of iron grating fixed upon his 
 neck, that had not stretched himself upon 
 a bed, or even upon the ground, for two 
 years. But the people, in all these cases, 
 deem it an act of piety to encourage and 
 support them. 
 
 The ordeal trials of melted lead, or boil- 
 ing oil, as practised in India, are consi- 
 dered by the Hindoos as a standing mi- 
 racle. The ceremony, which is in the fol- 
 lowing manner, is performed with great 
 solemnity : The party who has appealed 
 to this form of trial for his innocence, whe- 
 ther on suspicion of murder, theft, or un- 
 faithfulness to the marriage bed on the part 
 of women, is publicly brought to the side 
 of a fire, on which is placed a vessel of 
 boiling water or oil, but most commonly 
 melted lead j the magistrates of the coun- 
 try or city being present, his hand is wash- 
 L 4 
 
. 
 
 224 NARRATIVE OF SERJEANT B 
 
 ed clean, and the leaf of a particular tree, 
 with his accusation written upon it, is tied 
 about his waist; and then, on a solemn invo- 
 cation of the deity by the Brahmin, the per- 
 son plunges in his hand and scoops up the 
 boiling fluid ! and if he draws it out un- 
 hurt, he is absolved ; but if otherwise, he 
 receives the punishment due to the crime 
 charged against him. 
 
 The ceremonies of the Hindoos are dic- 
 tated by the Brahmins and the sacred books; 
 but to give you a detail of their 'number 
 and absurdity, is a task to which I am al- 
 together unequal, and which could neither 
 instruct nor entertain the reader. I will, 
 therefore, close this sketch with giving 
 you a few translations from their Vedas or 
 sacred books, which will give the reader 
 some idea both of the doctrines and style 
 of the Hindoos, as translated by a very 
 able pen. 
 
 " 1. By one Supreme Ruler is this uni- 
 verse pervaded, even every world in the 
 whole circle of nature j enjoy pure delights^ 
 
NARRATIVE OF SERJEANT B 225 
 
 O man ! by abandoning all thoughts of 
 this perishable world - y and covet not the 
 wealth of any creature existing. 
 
 " 2. He who in this life continually per- 
 forms his religious duties, may desire to 
 live a hundred years ; but, even to the 
 end of this period, thou shouldst have no 
 other employment here below. 
 
 " 3. To those regions where evil spirits 
 dwell, and which utter darkness involve, 
 all such men go surely after death, as de- 
 stroy the purity of their own souls. 
 
 " 4, There is one supreme Spirit, which 
 nothing can shake, more swift than the 
 thought of man* 
 
 " 5. That supreme Spirit moves at plea- 
 sure, but in itself is immovable; it is distant 
 from us, yet very near us j it pervades this 
 whole system of worlds, yet is infinitely 
 beyond it* , 
 
 " 6. The man who considers all beings as 
 existing even in the supreme Spirits, and 
 the supreme Spirit pervading all beings,. 
 L.S 
 
22G NARRATIVE OF SERJEANT B 
 
 henceforth views no creature with con- 
 tempt. 
 
 " 7- In him who knows that all spiritual 
 beings are the same in kind with the Su- 
 preme Spirit, what room can there be for 
 delusion of mind ; or what room for sor- 
 row, when he reflects on the identity of 
 spirit ? 
 
 " 8. The pure enlightened soul assumes 
 a luminous form, w r ith no gross body, with 
 no perforation, with no veins nor tendons, 
 untainted by sin, itself being a ray from 
 the infinite Spirit, which knows the past 
 and the future, which pervades all, which 
 existed with no cause but itself which 
 created all things as they are in ages very 
 remote. 
 
 " 9. They who are ignorantly devoted to 
 the mere ceremonies of religion, are fallen 
 into thick darkness ; but they surely have 
 a thicker gloom around them who are sole- 
 ly given to speculation. 
 
 " 10. A distinct reward, they say, is re- 
 served for ceremonies, and a distinct re- 
 
NARRATIVE OF SERJEANT B . 227 
 
 ward, they say, for divine knowledge ; add- 
 ing, this we have heard from sages who 
 declared it unto us. 
 
 "11. He alone is acquainted with the 
 nature of ceremonies, and with that of 
 speculative science, who is acquainted 
 with both at once ; by religious ceremo- 
 nies he passes the gulf of death, and, 
 by divine knowledge he attains immorta- 
 lity. 
 
 " 12. They who adore only the appear- 
 ances and forms of the Deity, are fallen 
 into thick darkness ; but they surely have 
 a thicker gloom around them, who are 
 solely devoted to the abstract existence 
 of the divine essence. 
 
 " IS. A distinct reward, they say, is ob- 
 tained by adoring the forms and attributes ; 
 and a distinct reward, they say, by ador- 
 ing the abstract essence; adding, this we 
 have heard from sages who declared it to 
 us. 
 
 " 14. He only knows the forms and es- 
 sence of the Deity who adores both at 
 
 L6 
 
228 NARRATIVE OF SERJEANT B , 
 
 once; by adoring the appearance of the 
 Deity, he passes the gulf of death; and by 
 adoring his abstract essence, he attains 
 immortality. 
 
 " 15. Unvail, O thou who givest susten- 
 ance to the world, the face of the true 
 sun, which is now hidden by a vase of gold- 
 en light ! so that we may love the truth, 
 and know our whole duty. 
 
 " 16. O thou, who givest sustenance to 
 the world ; thou sole mover of all ; thou 
 who restrainest sinners ; who pervadest yon 
 great luminary j who appearest as the sun 
 of the creator, hide thy dazzling beams, 
 and expand thy spiritual brightness, that 
 I may view thy most glorious, : real form !" 
 
 The following is translated from a Sans- 
 crit work, entitled, " The ignorant In- 
 structed." 
 
 " 1. Restrain, O ignorant man, thy desire 
 of wealth, and become a hater of it in 
 body, understanding, and mind ; let the 
 riches thou possesses! be acquired by thy 
 
NARRATIVE OF SERJEANT B 229 
 
 own good actions : with this gratify thy 
 souL 
 
 " 2. The boy so long delights in his play ; 
 the youth so long pursues his beloved; 
 the old so long broods over melancholy 
 thoughts, that no man meditates on the 
 supreme Being. 
 
 " 3. Who is thy wife, and who is thy son ? 
 How great and wonderful is this world! 
 Whose thou art, and whence thou comest ? 
 Meditate on this, my brother j and again 
 on this. 
 
 " 4. Be not proud of wealth, and thy at- 
 tendants, and youth ; since time destroys 
 them all, in the twinkling of an eye : check 
 thy attachment to all these illusions, like 
 Moyra \ fix thy heart on the foot of Brah- 
 ma, and thou wilt soon know him* 
 
 " 5. As a drop of water on the leaf of the 
 lotus, thus, or more slippery,, is human 
 life: the company of the virtuous endures 
 here but for a moment ; that is the vehicle 
 to bear thee over land and ocean. 
 
 " 6. To dwell in the mansions of God, at 
 
230 NARRATIVE OF SERJEANT B 
 
 . 
 
 the foot of a tree ; to have the ground for 
 a bed, and a hide for a vesture ; to re- 
 nounce all ties of family or connections : 
 who would not receive delight from this 
 abhorrence of the world ? 
 
 " 7. Set not thy affections on foe or friend j 
 on a son or a relation ; in war or in peace, 
 bear an equal mind towards all : if thou 
 desiredst it, thou wilt soon be like Vishnu. 
 
 " 8. Day and night, evening and morn, 
 winter and spring, depart and return : 
 time sports, age passes on ; desire and the 
 wind continue unrestrained. 
 
 " 9. When the body is tottering, the head 
 grey, and the mouth toothless ; when the 
 smooth stick trembles in the hand it sup- 
 ports, yet the vessel of covetousness is un- 
 emptied. 
 
 " 10. So soon born, so soon dead ; so long 
 lying in thy mother's womb, so great 
 crimes are committed in the world. How 
 then, O man ! canst thou live here below 
 with complacency ? 
 
 " 11. There are eight original mountains* 
 
NARRATIVE OF SERJEANT B 231 
 
 and seven seas : Brahma, Indra, the Sun, 
 and Kudra, these are permanent ; not 
 thou, not I, not this or that people ; what, 
 therefore, should occasion our sorrow? 
 
 " 12.. In thee, in me, in every other, 
 Vishnu resides ; in vain art thou angry with 
 me, not bearing my reproach : this is per- 
 fectly true, all must be esteemed equal; 
 be not proud of a magnificent palace." 
 
 When the reader takes a cursory view 
 
 of the principal doctrines and precepts of 
 
 the Hindoo Vedas, he may be very apt to 
 
 imagine that the writer, or writers, have 
 
 received their information from some other 
 
 source than the fragments of a broken law, 
 
 which are still imprinted upon the mind 
 
 of man, even in a state of nature; and he 
 
 may not unlikely suppose, that these men 
 
 had this knowledge although remote and 
 
 much corrupted, from our sacred volume; 
 
 particularly as that part, entitled " The 
 
 Ignorant Instructed," seems to partake of 
 
 the style of Solomon in the book of Eccle- 
 

 232 NARRATIVE OF SERJEANT 
 
 siastes. But if you make a more minute 
 investigation, you will see much wanting, 
 and much wrong ; and no marvel, for they 
 who are deprived of the great blessing of 
 revelation, or they who despise it, or wish 
 to be wise above what is written, are like 
 people groping in the dark ; and will cer- 
 tainly either fall short of the truth, or 
 stumble over it altogether. Those sages of 
 antiquity, to whom the writers seem to re- 
 fer, were perhaps distinguished for their 
 wisdom; yet by that very wisdom they 
 knew not God in his saving characters. 
 Man may know, to a certain extent, that 
 there is a God ; because " the heavens de- 
 clare his glory, and the firmament sheweth 
 his handy-works." And the apostle says, 
 in his epistle to the Romans, that " the 
 Gentiles, which have not the law, do by 
 nature the things contained ia the law, 
 these, having not the law, are a law unto 
 themselves : which shew the work of the 
 law written in their hearts; their conscience 
 also bearing witness, and their thoughts 
 
NARRATIVE OF SERJEANT B 233 
 
 the meanwhile accusing, or else excusing 
 one another/' I say, therefore, that by 
 the external and internal aid which man 
 is possessed of, even in a state of nature, 
 he may know by natural religion that there 
 is a God ; yet it is impossible that he should 
 come to the knowledge of God in refe- 
 rence to man, as a guilty, depraved, miser- 
 able captive, and yet a condemned slave, 
 redeemed by a price of infinite value. No j 
 it never has, it never will " enter into 
 the heart of man," unassisted by reve- 
 lation, to come to a saving knowledge of 
 God, " even that knowledge which is eter- 
 nal life." Let us, therefore, bless God 
 for our Bibles, and willingly give our pray- 
 ers, and our purses also, " according as. 
 God hath prospered us," to send the Gos- 
 pel to that country " where there is no vi~ 
 sion, and where the people are perishing 
 for lack of this ^knowledge j" for, " How 
 can they believe in him of whom they have 
 not heard ? and how can they hear without 
 preachers ? and how can they preach ex* 
 
234 NARRATIVE OF SERJEANT 
 
 cept they be sent ?" And, when we con- 
 sider that there are computed to be no 
 less than sixty millions even in India in 
 that lamentable condition, of "being with- 
 out the knowledge of the true God, and 
 Jesus Christ whom he hath sent," how 
 ought it to stir up our minds to sympa- 
 thise with their condition, and to give, 
 cheerfully and liberally, " not grudgingly, 
 or of necessity ; for the Lord loveth a cheer- 
 ful giver : and the liberal soul shall be 
 made fat ?" 
 
NARRATIVE OF SERJEANT B 235 
 
 CHAPTER XL 
 
 January 29, 1814. The detachments 
 of invalids from Punamalee embarked at 
 Madras on board the Marquis Wellington 
 and Princess Charlotte of Wales. The 
 Marquis Wellington, of nine hundred tons, 
 wherein 1 was, received sixty of these in- 
 valids, viz. a party of the Royals, detach- 
 ments from the 30th, 69th, 80th, 89th, 
 and 25th light dragoons. We had very 
 bad accommodation on board of this ship, 
 having no less than sixteen sick men be- 
 tween each gun, many of whom could do 
 nothing for themselves. 
 
 We had a long and very disagreeable 
 passage ; but I could have submitted to 
 
236 NARRATIVE OF SERJEANT B 
 
 all the hardships attending the voyage 
 much better, had it not been the dreadful 
 wickedness that prevailed among us, as 
 I shall have occasion to exemplify : but, in- 
 deed, this was the principal objection I 
 had all along to the army ; and it was the 
 uncommon wickedness of my own regi- 
 ment which rendered my other troubles 
 less tolerable. But, to return to the chil- 
 dren : when we embarked, an exact list 
 of the names of the men was sent along 
 with us ; and when my name was called, 
 and the children given in as belonging to 
 me, the question was very naturally asked, 
 Why is one of these children named Fle- 
 ming, and the other Lee, when you are 
 Serjeant B. ? I related to them the story 
 of the children in as few words as possible, 
 all the time dreading lest they should not 
 be permitted to go home with us ; but the 
 Lord, who has the " hearts of all men in 
 his hand, and turns them as the rivers of 
 water/' gave us favour in the eyes of the 
 Captain, who not only allowed them to go, 
 
NARRATIVE OF SERJEANT B . 23T 
 
 but in a very short time after we sailed or- 
 dered his steward to give us regularly some 
 broken meat after dinner. In this, he not 
 only relieved the fatherless, but us also ; 
 for I generally received as much as sufficed 
 both for my wife and myself. This was a 
 great blessing ; for, had I been obliged to 
 take the ship's provisions, I certainly would 
 have been at a great loss, considering my 
 weak state of body, and the perpetual 
 thirst to which I was subject. Here I 
 thought I saw the blessing of God attend- 
 ing us for our kindness to the orphans. 
 Here the Lord proved himself to be " a 
 father to the fatherless," in putting it in- 
 to our hearts to have compassion upon 
 them ; and, " when father and mother (in 
 a certain sense) had forsaken them, then 
 the Lord had thus taken them up." 
 
 I shall omit the greater part of my 
 journal concerning this voyage ; as there 
 is a great variety of matter in which the 
 reader could take no interest ; such as our 
 progress, the latitudes the ship reached at 
 
238 NARRATIVE OF SERJEANT B- 
 
 different dates the number of torn sails, 
 and broken yards the dates of men's 
 deaths, and to what regiments they be- 
 longed, &c, and notice a few circum- 
 stances which deeply interested me ; and 
 these I will state in nearly the same words 
 as those in which they are inserted in my 
 journal, that you may see how they affect- 
 ed me at the time, and to enable you bet- 
 ter to understand what was my situation, 
 and what sort of companions I had on 
 board. I have noted down part of their 
 discourse, just as it was uttered ; and al- 
 though you cannot be entertained, but 
 rather shocked at the wickedness of man, 
 and astonished at his depravity, yet the 
 perusal may answer one good purpose ; it 
 may, by the blessing of God, render you 
 more thankful that you are not compelled, 
 as I was, to live among such monsters ; 
 but that you have a home, be it never so 
 homely, and opportunity given you to 
 read, meditate, and pray ; that you have 
 
 your Sabbaths and your ordinances ; and, 
 6 
 
NARRATIVE OF SERJEANT B . 239 
 
 in a word, " That you can sit under your 
 vines and fig trees, having none to make 
 you afraid." 
 
 It was considerably against my comfort, 
 while I was in this ship, that I was almost 
 totally deprived of my wife's company ; for 
 a Captain Gordon of our regiment, who 
 wished us both well, recommended her to 
 a lady, whom she attended during the 
 passage, and who paid her very handsome- 
 ly for her trouble. This lady being in 
 very delicate health, my wife was almost 
 constantly employed in her cabin. I there- 
 fore had neither the pleasure of her com- 
 pany, nor much of her assistance in look- 
 ing after the orphans ; so that, I may say, 
 I was both father and mother to them 
 during the voyage. 
 
 March 20. I see the Sabbath is always 
 particularly pitched vupon for wickedness 
 of various kinds. I have thought that it 
 was upon account of my taking more par- 
 ticular notice of what was going on, and 
 having a greater desire to get myself com- 
 
2*0 NARRATIVE OF SERJEANT B -* 
 
 posed for reading or serious reflection up- 
 on this day, that led me to think it worse 
 employed than any other ; but I perceive 
 that I have been mistaken, for I find, up- 
 on a more careful examination, that upon 
 the Lord's day these poor creatures seem 
 as it were to think it a kind of unneces- 
 sary, as well as a disagreeable restraint put 
 upon them ; and that they therefore de- 
 termine not to submit to it ; and are re- 
 solved to make it appear that they are such 
 brave fellows that God shall not restrain 
 them j but, by their words, as well as their 
 actions, say, " Our tongue is our own, who 
 is lord over us ? surely we will break his 
 bands asunder, and cast away his chords 
 from us.'* 
 
 This morning is introduced by swearing, 
 obscene songs, abusing God's holy ordi- 
 nances, and trampling upon his laws : 
 One man says, " Boys, get ready for drill j" 
 
 another makes answer, "Drill, d n ! 
 
 drill upon a Sunday ;" a third begins an ob- 
 scene song, painful upon any day to a 
 
NARRATIVE OF SERJEANT B 241 
 
 modest ear ; while a fourth says, " Leary, 
 don't you know this is Sunday ?" to which 
 he makes answer, " Yes $ and that his 
 song was the text." This is certainly too 
 much for me : I will go upon deck, and 
 see if I can find any peace there ; but when 
 I went upon deck, there was one of our 
 fine Scotsmen singing the " Blue Bells of 
 Scotland," and the ship-officers pouring 
 out the most horrid oaths against the sea- 
 men; while they, in return, were nothing 
 behind, only in a lower tone, from fear of 
 being heard. Oh, where shall I fly from 
 these detestable beings, " whose throat is 
 an open sepulchre, and whose mouth is 
 full of cursing and bitterness !" This is my 
 company upon the Lord's day ; this is all 
 I get for a sermon, even cursing and 
 swearing, obscene songs, and filthy com- 
 munications. It is dreadful ! I think, were 
 there no other torments in hell but such 
 society, there is an infinite cause of grati- 
 tude due to that compassionate Saviour, 
 " who has delivered his people from it ;" 
 M 
 
242 NARRATIVE OP SERJEANT B . 
 
 but exercise patience, O my soul ! consider 
 that "the Lord knoweth how to deliver 
 the godly out of temptations, as well as to 
 reserve the unjust until the day of judg- 
 ment, to be punished." I yet hope to have 
 my Sabbaths and my ordinances. I yet 
 hope to assemble with the people of God in 
 his house of prayer, and, from a real experi- 
 ence, to say, " How amiable are thy taber- 
 nacles, O Lord of Hosts ! my soul longeth, 
 yea, even fainteth, for the courts of the 
 Lord ; my heart and my flesh crieth out 
 for the living God," &c. 
 
 March 26. Ten o'clock, P. M. One of 
 the 30th Regiment departed this life. We 
 have had a most alarming night of it, hav- 
 ing a breeze right aft, and a sea running 
 mountains high. It was necessary to sup- 
 port the masts with strong hawsers, to keep 
 them from going over board. Upon the 
 upper deck two of the carronades broke 
 loose, with the smith's forge, and one of 
 the pig styes ; and upon the gun deck, 
 all-was a jumbled mass of confusion : the 
 
NARRATIVE OF SERJEANT B 243 
 
 eighteen pound shot, foul water buckets, 
 tins, tin-pots, salt beef, biscuit ; with hats, 
 knapsacks, red coats, and bags, knocking 
 about among the salt water that was ship- 
 ping down the hatchways. What with the 
 noise of wind and waves above, and the 
 rumbling and tumbling below, it was hardly 
 possible to hear one another speak ; and, 
 when you add to all this, our being in 
 pitch darkness *, you may see our situation 
 was by no means enviable, but, on the con- 
 trary, very alarming and dangerous ; yet 
 these men could not forbear cursing and 
 swearing, and flying in the face of him that 
 could have sent us all to the bottom in a 
 moment, (" and, O the infinite patience 
 and forbearance of that God who did not]") 
 1 say, had we at this time gotten a watery 
 grave, many of these hell-hardened crea- 
 tures must have gone into the presence of 
 their offended judge, blaspheming his holy 
 
 * We were allowed neither candle nor oil all the 
 time we were on board ; but we sometimes cut off a 
 piece of the fat pork served out to us, and burned 
 it in one of our iron canteen lids. 
 M 2 
 
244 NARRATIVE OF SERJEANT 
 
 and reverend name. O what a dreadful 
 state is it to be hardened in such a manner 
 as to be unable to cease from this drudgery 
 even for a single hour when awake, but to 
 "be led captive by Satan at his will V 9 I 
 have often thought, and it appears to me 
 quite scriptural, that the wicked arrive at 
 a state of far greater perfection in sin, and 
 ripeness for hell in this world, than the 
 people of God do in holiness and meek- 
 ness for heaven, because they are the will- 
 ing " servants of sin, and free from right- 
 eousness;" but the people of God carry 
 about with them, while here, a " deceitful 
 heart," which often betrays them into that 
 " which their renewed natures abhor," and 
 makes them cry out, " O wretched man !" 
 But it is truly a happy consideration, that 
 when the " earthly house of this tabernacle 
 is dissolved," sin shall give us no more 
 annoyance, for " we shall behold his face 
 in righteousness, and shall be satisfied when 
 \ve awake with his likeness," and shall in- 
 habit that holy " house not made with 
 hands, eternal in the heavens." 
 
NARRATIVE OF SERJEANT B 245 
 
 March %Tf. The Psalmist says, in the 
 cvii. Psalm, " They that go down to the 
 sea in ships, and do business in the great 
 waters ; these see the works of the Lord, 
 and his wonders in the deep, for he corn- 
 mandeth, and raiseth the stormy wind, 
 which lifteth up the waves thereof j they 
 mount up to the heavens, they go down 
 again into the deep ; they reel to and fro, 
 and stagger like a drunken man." Surely 
 they that are in such a situation, see much 
 of the Almighty power of that glorious 
 Being, " who holds the wind in his fist, 
 and the waters in the hollow of his hand ;" 
 but in this ship, at least, we do not make 
 a right improvement of such striking calls 
 to heavenly contemplation ; for we are 
 this day viewing these wonderful displays 
 of omnipotence, but appear to be as in- 
 sensible to their language as the finny in- 
 habitants of the great deep. 
 
 We had prayers read this day upon the 
 quarter deck, which we heard with diffi- 
 culty ; but the sound was scarcely out of 
 M 3 
 
246 NARRATIVE OF SERJEANT B 
 
 our ears, when some of our fine Scotsmen 
 were at their old trade of cursing and 
 swearing, whistling and singing, regardless 
 both of the Lord's day, and the solemnity 
 of his ordinances. I do not say but the 
 men of other countries are fully as wicked ; 
 but I think it much more strange of Scots- 
 men ; because, generally speaking, they 
 receive better instruction, and have had a 
 better example set before them in their 
 youth ; and, consequently, their sin is at- 
 tended w 7 ith many aggravations. But I 
 hope the time will come, when I shall have 
 it in my power to hear the Gospel preach- 
 ed, and be free from such depraved society ; 
 for " as the hart panteth after the water 
 brooks, so panteth my soul after thee, O 
 God ! My soul thirsteth for God, for the 
 living God ; when shall I come and appear 
 before God ?" 
 
 April 3. This is my birth-day ; and I 
 find it also to be the Sabbath, by the way 
 it has been introduced. I shall here note 
 down a specimen or two of the discourse 
 
NARRATIVE OF SERJEANT B . 24T 
 
 I am at present compelled to hear, that if 
 it please the Lord to spare me to get out 
 of this wicked place, where the works of 
 darkness are carried on, and where the 
 prince of darkness dwells, I may look at 
 this, and remember my situation, and bless 
 God for my deliverance. They are now 
 talking of the different situations they are 
 to hold when they go to h 11. One says, 
 he will be door-keeper ; another, that he 
 will be ferryman to row them over the 
 river Styx ; a third, that he is too bad for 
 God, and he is sure that the Devil will 
 have nothing to do with him ; and, there- 
 fore, he must stand fast like the Old Buffs ! 
 But now they begin to blaspheme the 
 " great and terrible name of God !" I will 
 not write their awful expressions, but go 
 out of the way a little, and, perhaps their 
 discourse may be less shocking when I re- 
 turn ; but I cannot expect much improve- 
 ment while I am in this ship, because it is 
 quite natural for them to speak in this way. 
 For it is " out of the abundance of their 
 M 4 
 
248 NARRATIVE OF SERJEANT B 
 
 heart that their mouth speaketh ; lf and 
 they love to speak the language of hell, 
 because it is their native country ; and 
 people are generally fond of speaking about 
 the place they belong to. 
 
 April 8. This is Good Friday I under- 
 stand, by some of our strict religionists re- 
 fusing to eat flesh. Yes, poor creatures, 
 they are afraid of polluting themselves, 
 although they can vomit up a belly-full 
 of oaths without any remorse j and like- 
 wise trample upon every thing that is sa- 
 cred. They are surely a sad compound of 
 ignorance and superstition, for they do 
 not consider that it is not that which en- 
 tereth into a man that can defile him ; but 
 that which cometh out of him : these are 
 the things which defile the man. 
 
 Early in the morning of the 10th of 
 April we came in sight of the long- wished 
 for island of St. Helena. This was a place 
 which had been looked forward to with 
 great eagerness by many in the ship be- 
 sides myself although the objects we had 
 
NARRATIVE OF SERJEANT B 249 
 
 in view were, I doubt not, very different ; 
 for, so far as I am able to judge of my de- 
 ceitful heart, the principal motive with me 
 was the hope of seeing the Bengal and 
 China fleets forward, as was generally ex 
 pected, that we might not be detained 
 waiting for them, but steer straight onward 
 for Europe, arid thus, by a prosperous 
 voyage, I might be enabled sooner to leave 
 these wicked scenes, and arrive the sooner 
 at that happy country where the blessed 
 streams of divine ordinances that make glad 
 the city of our God flow in all their abun- 
 dance. This was what I believe I eager- 
 ly coveted ; my desires were, above all 
 things, going out towards God, and to- 
 wards the remembrance of his name ; but 
 I have every reason to believe the princi- 
 pal cause why many of my shipmates wish- 
 ed our arrival at St. Helena so intensely, 
 was on account of their not having had it 
 in their power, for a considerable time, 
 to gratify a certain very strong propensity, 
 produced by habit j or, in other words, 
 
 M5 
 
250 NARRATIVE OF SERJEANT B 
 
 there had raged amongst us, for some 
 weeks, a famine of tobacco ; the men had 
 not counted on so tedious a passage to St. 
 Helena, and, from this fatal mistake, they 
 had not provided themselves with asufficient 
 stock before they came on board. The 
 condition of many of these poor, misera- 
 ble men, was indeed fitted to draw pity 
 from all who knew from experience any 
 thing of the amazing force of that desire, 
 and take into account the present impos- 
 sibility of getting it gratified, while, on the 
 other hand, those who are free men, and 
 not slaves to this lust, might be disposed 
 to treat such people with contempt rather 
 than sympathy, for being brought into 
 such a miserably restless condition for the 
 lack of an insignificant, unsightly leaf, and 
 might think, if they had been in their 
 circumstances, they would have thrown the 
 pipe overboard, and have resolved against 
 ever touching it again in their lives ; but 
 this is easier said than done, and this I 
 know was a sacrifice which my unhappy 
 
NARRATIVE OF SERJEANT B . 251 
 
 shipmates found entirely too great to be ao 
 complished. No, to leave oft* smoking, and 
 to cast away the pipe as a nuisance, was al- 
 together out of the question ; for smoke 
 they must, although the appetite by which 
 they were held in bondage compelled 
 them to employ a strange and disgusting 
 substitute for tobacco ; for they had, for a 
 number of days, been under the necessity 
 of using a bit of tarry -rope yarn, in the 
 form of oakum, with which they filled 
 their pipes; and at that sickening stuff" they 
 would suck away until they were like per* 
 sons in the rage of a fever, occasioned by 
 the immoderate use of intoxicating liquors. 
 We here see the great need there is for 
 putting in practice the Apostle's resolution, 
 " to beat under the body and keep it in 
 subjection,'* that we may not be brought 
 under the power of habits and practices, 
 which, if not absolutely sinful in themselves, 
 are almost sure to lead to much evil. 
 This was, however, a great misery from 
 
 which I was exempted ; for although I had 
 M 6 
 
252 NARRATIVE OF SERJEANT B . 
 
 used tobacco for a series of years, my pro* 
 pensity to it by this time was completely 
 abated. The reason of my giving up the 
 use of tobacco was this : Previously to our 
 leaving Punamalee, I went to the doctor 
 in charge of invalids, and told him I was 
 afraid that smoking was unfavourable to 
 my constitution, as it always excited a 
 great palpitation at my breast, and a con- 
 siderable desire to drink. He told me that 
 if it produced such effects as I had de- 
 scribed, it would be much better for me 
 to give it up if I possibly could ; but added 
 he was afraid that I would find it rather 
 difficult, as it was a habit not easily over- 
 come. However, I promised to take his 
 advice, and accordingly the moment I en- 
 tered the barracks, I gave all my sea-stock 
 of pipes and tobacco to one of the men j 
 and by this one act, and the putting in full 
 force the resolution I had formed, I was 
 soon delivered from the desire itself and 
 was exempted from the dreadful effects of 
 the present famine of that plant ; the want 
 
NARRATIVE OF SERJEANT B 253 
 
 of which has caused so much uneasiness to 
 individuals, and such great disturbances 
 and privations in families ; and which, in 
 no small degree, drove on our unprincipled 
 shipmates to curse father and mother, the 
 day of their birth, and even that provi- 
 dence that had placed them in circumstan- 
 ces wherein it was impossible for them to 
 obtain it. But although I was not in their 
 state with regard to that tormenting desire, 
 yet the intelligent Christian reader will 
 easily perceive some resemblance between 
 their condition and mine. The expedient 
 to which they had recourse in the absence 
 of tobacco, gave them considerably more 
 pain than pleasure, and rather mocked and 
 tantalized, than gratified their propensity. 
 In like manner, I may say, that in my 
 attempts to get any spiritual consolation, 
 I had more pain than profit ; for when I 
 set myself to read, meditate, or pray, I 
 was sure to meet with some miserable 
 opposition to distract my mind, which, per- 
 haps, proved as great a trial to me as it 
 
254 NARRATIVE OF SERJEANT 
 
 would have been to one of these persons, 
 at that time, to have had a pipe full of 
 good tobacco snatched from his mouth, 
 when he was in the act of enjoy ing it after 
 his long abstinence. I use this similitude 
 as I cannot find one upon the whole more 
 suitable to represent my condition. They 
 however had, on our arrival at St. Helena, 
 considerably the advantage of me, for we 
 were hardly well anchored when the idol 
 of their hearts was presented to them ; but, 
 alas! it was far otherwise with me ; for, to 
 my great mortification, there seemed no 
 great likelihood of my soon enjoying that 
 happiness which " my soul was following 
 hard after ;" for, instead of the fleets being 
 forward, there was only one outward-bound 
 Indiaman lying in the bay. I see, therefore, 
 O my soul ! that there is nothing for it but 
 patience j and, O Lord, grant that patience 
 may have her perfect work, and let my 
 present state of tribulation work patience, 
 and a hope that will not make ashamed ; 
 and yet it is heart-breaking to think 
 
NARRATIVE OF SERJEANT B- - . 255 
 
 that I may be in this ship, and among these 
 men, three months longer; but, O my soul, 
 wait thou upon the Lord in the best way 
 you can ; be of good courage and he shall 
 strengthen thine heart. Wait, I say, on the 
 Lord. Commit thy way unto the Lord, 
 trust also in him, and he shall bring it to 
 pass. He shall even give thee the desire 
 of thine heart. 
 
 April 20. I was sent ashore to St. He- 
 lena this day, to bring two of our invalids 
 on board. They received a pass until three 
 o'clock yesterday, but did not return until 
 I brought them from the main-guard, be- 
 ing confined for some misbehaviour ashore. 
 
 There was one of the 25th light dra- 
 goons died this day. We have had several 
 deaths; but I mention this because of some 
 circumstances attending it, as a further 
 illustration of the character of those people 
 amongst whom I dwell. I was amusing 
 myself with a tune upon my violin, to 
 drown the painful sound of that cursing 
 and swearing which abounds, when one of 
 
J56 NARRATIVE OF SERJEANT B 
 
 the men interrupted me by saying, " Ser- 
 jeant B , don't you know that there is 
 
 a man dying ?" I answered, that " I did not 
 know that he had been so ill/' I went, 
 therefore, immediately to see irim, and 
 found one of his comrades standing by the 
 side of his hammock, attempting to comfort 
 him in his own way. Another of his com- 
 rades, with a horrid curse, said, " Let him 
 alone; let him skep away, can't you ?" But 
 while he was yet speaking, the spirit of the 
 dying man departed ; and now they are be- 
 ginning to enumerate all his good qualities, 
 which, alas for him, were very few. One 
 
 says he was a good fellow ; another, 
 
 he was a bloody good soldier; and a third, 
 
 he was a h h obliging fellow ; and a 
 
 fourth wished himself to be d d if he 
 
 should be thrown into the sea, for he would 
 collect money in the ship to bury him ashore; 
 while one of the former speakers declares, 
 that he had prayed to God for him, and 
 was sure he must now be happy. " Surely 
 even the tender mercies of the wicked are 
 
NARRATIVE OF SERJEANT B 257 
 
 cruel." " My soul, come not thou into 
 their secret, into their assembly mine ho- 
 nour be not thou united/ 5 I could have 
 wished to have spoken to them about the 
 absurdity, as well as the criminality of 
 such conduct ; but I knew that it would 
 have had a bad effect, as it " would, be 
 giving that which is holy to dogs, and 
 casting pearls before swine ; and, there- 
 fore, they would no doubt have trampled 
 them under their feet," and turned upon 
 me with abusive language, and thus have 
 sunk themselves deeper in guilt ; so, upon 
 a due consideration, I saw it to be my wis- 
 dom to keep " my mouth as with a bridle." 
 But while I am yet writing, their tempo- 
 rary feelings of grief are over, and now 
 they commence singing, and swearing, and 
 arguing. Now from words they are com- 
 ing to blows : I certainly must interfere, 
 as being a part of my duty; but al- 
 ready the fight is over, and they are be- 
 coming more quiet. There is some dis- 
 turbance upon deck : I will go and find 
 
2,58 NARRATIVE OF SERJEANT B 
 
 out what is the cause. I have just learned, 
 that the man who was talking so much 
 about his prayers for the person just de- 
 parted, was taken in the act of throwing 
 himself overboard ! Poor creature, you 
 are rescued from the jaws of death a little 
 longer. But what can I expect from such 
 men ? He who infallibly knew " what is 
 in man, and needed not that any should 
 testify unto him," says that " a corrupt 
 tree cannot bring forth good fruit." 
 
 April 23. The dead man was interred 
 this day upon the island ; but it certainly 
 would have been much better had he been 
 thrown overboard in the usual manner ; 
 for the men, embracing the opportunity of 
 getting ashore, where they could have 
 plenty of liquor, returned at night drunk, 
 and we had truly a dismal ship of it. It 
 was no doubt insufferable at all times to 
 a person who desired good order and 
 quietness ; but this night was by far the 
 most dreadful we have experienced, for 
 all the foul and detestable language that 
 
NARRATIVE OF SERJEANT B 259 
 
 the devil and themselves could invent was 
 brought forward ; every thing that was 
 horrid in cursing and swearing seemed to 
 have been collected on this occasion ; and 
 their obscenity went so far as to expose 
 their fathers and mothers in such a way 
 as was shocking beyond conception. Had 
 they really been begotten and born by 
 the worst men and women that ever lived, 
 it was impossible that they could have been 
 guilty of what their vile children now laid 
 to their charge. " But woe to the man 
 that saith unto his father, what begettest 
 thou ? and to the woman, what hast thou 
 brought forth ?" 
 
 This was not all : One of them openly 
 threatened to have blood for supper ! and 
 that lives should go for it before the morn- 
 ing, if the devil was alive, and as sure as 
 
 God Almighty was ! but I dare not 
 
 venture to pollute my paper, or shock my 
 readers, by reciting his expressions, which 
 were only fit for the ears of men already 
 in the place of everlasting torment, I had 
 
260 NARRATIVE OF SERJEANT B 
 
 too much reason to think that my wife and 
 I were the objects of his malice, and I did 
 not know how to act. I knew that to 
 confine him would only make matters 
 worse when he should be released again ; 
 for he would then have some shadow of 
 excuse for taking his revenge. His malice, 
 as far as I knew, was entirely unfounded, 
 for we had done him no harm, unless it was 
 by conducting ourselves in a manner some- 
 what like what we ought to do ; or because 
 he saw us taken favourable notice of by 
 the Captain, on account of the children. I 
 therefore thought it would be our duty to 
 remain upon deck, until the heat of his 
 rage, and the heat of the liquor, were a little 
 abated. But I found myself in too weak- 
 ly a state of body to expose myself so long 
 to the cold damp air, else I would have 
 been inclined to this measure j for I saw, 
 that to go below was attended with 
 danger. After some deliberation, I re- 
 solved to commit myself and family to the 
 care of the " keeper of Israel, who neither 
 
NARRATIVE OF SERJEANT B .. 2(51 
 
 slumbers nor sleeps ;" and we accordingly 
 went to our hammocks, yielding ourselves 
 wholly to the protection of our heavenly 
 Father, in language similar to that of the 
 Psalmist, when exposed to still more im- 
 minent dangers : " In thee, O Lord, do I 
 put my trust ; let me never be put to con- 
 fusion. Deliver me in thy righteousness, 
 and cause me to escape ; incline thine ear 
 unto me, and save me. Be thou my strong 
 habitation, whereunto I may continually 
 resort : thou hast given commandment to 
 save me ; for thou art my rock and my 
 fortress. Deliver me, O my God, out of 
 the hand of the wicked ; out of the hand 
 of the unrighteous and cruel man : for 
 thou art my hope, O Lord God : thou art 
 my trust from my youth. O Lord, be thou 
 our hiding place ; thou alone can pre- 
 serve us from trouble ;" and, in thy good 
 time, O our God, do thou " compass us 
 about with songs of deliverance/* 
 
 We therefore lay down and slept quiet- 
 ly, because " the Lord made us to dwell 
 
262 NARRATIVE OF SERJEANT B 
 
 in safety," even in the midst of danger. 
 But after my first sleep, which was sweet, 
 as my manner was, I arose to put the 
 children to rights; and the first thing I 
 laid my hand on, upon the top of my 
 chest, was a razor fixed into a piece of 
 wood, with a ring of lead round the handle; 
 but my astonishment and terror were much 
 increased, when I next found Mr. H., the 
 man who had used the threatening lan- 
 guage, lying upon the deck beside the 
 chest, fast asleep. You may be sure I was 
 not a little surprised to find matters in this 
 state ; for although I did suspect, and had 
 great reason to suspect, that he intended 
 us mischief, yet I partly persuaded myself, 
 that after he had worn himself out with 
 cursings, and threatenings of slaughter 
 and vengeance, he would have become 
 quiet, and forgotten us ; but I now saw it 
 to be otherwise : for here was a tolerably 
 clear proof that he intended to carry his 
 threats into execution against us when 
 asleep ; " but he that was for us, was 
 
NARRATIVE OF SERJEANT B , 263 
 
 stronger than all that were against us." 
 Blessed be God, who delivered us from 
 this " bloody and deceitful man." I 
 thought it would be the best way to make 
 no noise about it ; and therefore threw the 
 razor overboard, without even telling my 
 wife the circumstance at the time, and re- 
 turned again to my hammock, until gun- 
 fire. But, as a proof that my suspicions 
 were well-founded, I must notice, that this 
 razor never was inquired after. Had it 
 belonged to any other of the men, there is 
 little doubt but that they would have made 
 a noise about it : and I would farther re- 
 mark, that this man's conduct towards us 
 was henceforth very different from what 
 it had formerly been, being much more 
 friendly during the time we remained in 
 the ship. 
 
 May 19- My mind was this day some- 
 what relieved, by the arrival of the China 
 and Bengal fleets, as my hopes were excit- 
 ed that W 7 e would soon get out of the sight 
 
264 NARRATIVE OF SERJEANT 
 
 of these dreary rocks, which we had been 
 looking upon, with sorrowful eyes, for these 
 five weeks ; but, to my sore mortification, 
 I was again disappointed; for one of the 
 frigates had suffered shipwreck the night 
 before, by running against an India- 
 man. The way it took place was this : 
 The signal was given for the fleet to change 
 their course ; but the officer of the watch 
 belonging to the merchant ship had either 
 not been paying proper attention, or the 
 hands had not been active enough in wear- 
 ing their vessel round, and she still being 
 upon her old tack, and the man of war up- 
 on the new direction, they ran foul of each 
 other. The frigate had her boltsprit, 
 main-top, and top-gallant mast, fore-top, and 
 top-gallant mast, carried away, and sprung 
 her mizzen, so that she was altogether unma- 
 nageable ; she had consequently to be tow- 
 ad into St. Helena by thirty of the boats 
 belonging to the fleet, with her yards, 
 sails, and masts, all hanging overboard j 
 
NARRATIVE OF SERJEANT B 265 
 
 and was really in the worst state ever I 
 had seen a ship before. This was a bad 
 concern both for them and us at the time ; 
 for we were anxious to get away, and they 
 no doubt were very sorry for the damage 
 they had received ; but, upon account of 
 this, we were all ordered to remain un- 
 til she was refitted, which was in about a 
 fortnight. 
 
 May 27- One of the men belonging to 
 the 30th regiment died, and the last words 
 I heard him utter, were a very common, 
 but very dreadful imprecation ; yet some 
 of the survivors are saying, that it is well 
 for him that he is gone, as if a person had 
 no farther account to give ; not consider- 
 ing that after death there is a judgment. 
 Oh ! what a vast difference there is be. 
 tween the death of the wicked, and that 
 of the righteous; for "the wicked are dri- 
 ven away in their wickedness, but the righte- 
 ous have hope in their death," It is truly 
 lamentable to see men so hardened ; no- 
 thing, it would seem, will be a warning to 
 
 N 
 
266 NARRATIVE OF SERJEANT B . 
 
 them ; for, although this is the Lord's day, 
 and one of their comrades is lying before 
 them lifeless, yet are they playing at 
 cards, whistling and singing, cursing and 
 swearing alternately* O Lord, make me 
 thankful for thy grace, make me thankful 
 that thou hast not left me to the full force 
 of my corruptions, to be carried away with 
 them as with a flood ; for what was I bet- 
 ter than they ? therefore I have nothing to 
 glory of, because I have nothing but 
 what I have received. " Not unto us, O 
 Lord, not unto us, but unto thy name be 
 the glory, for thy mercy and for thy truth's 
 sake." 
 
 June 2. This is a happy day for some of 
 us,forwe are nowmovingtowards home,and 
 looking forward to see old Scotland once 
 more. Thesefeelings, together with thebeau- 
 tiful prospect of the fleet, consisting of fifty- 
 one large ships, have an exhilarating effect 
 upon the spirits. We had a seijeant of our 
 regiment sent to the bottom this day in the 
 usual form : which is, to sew up the person 
 
NARRATIVE OF SERJEANT B 267 
 
 in his hammock, and to put a large shot 
 or two at the feet to make him sink, 
 When the corpse is prepared, it is carried 
 upon deck, laid upon a grating, and cover- 
 ed with the union jack flag, and, after 
 prayers are read over it in the English 
 form, it is committed to the waves. It does 
 not always sink immediately, for I have 
 seen a dead body thrown over, in this way, 
 move up and down like a bottle cast into 
 a tub, as long as it was within our view, 
 even when we were sailing at a very slow 
 rate. 
 
 June 1 2. We crossed the equinoctial line 
 this day. It is rather singular (as I found 
 by my journal) that we crossed it on that 
 very day seven years, on my voyage to In- 
 dia. If it please God, I hope I shall never 
 cross it again. 
 
 It is now nineteen weeks since we left 
 Madras. This Sabbath, as usual, is dread- 
 fully profaned. I have been trying to 
 read a little, to comfort myself, but I find 
 
 it to be impossible, because of the wicked- 
 
 N 2 
 
268 NARRATIVE OF SERJEANT B . 
 
 ness by which I am surrounded ; but lest 
 I should become grievous to the reader by 
 repeating the same things so often, I will, 
 from this time, leave off any farther repre- 
 sentations of this kind; and the reader may 
 perhaps, from what I have already stated 
 since I came on board of this ship, say, that 
 I have been exhibiting an unfair and a too 
 melancholy picture of man's depravity, and 
 be apt also to say, or at least think, that 
 if 1 were possessed of that Christian cha- 
 rity which thinketh no evil, I would 
 hardly have said so much ; and conclude, 
 that I am some peevish, melancholy, un- 
 charitable man ; but judge not without 
 proper evidence, " lest ye also be judg- 
 ed j" and take care that in judging me 
 them dost not " condemn thyself/' Would 
 to God I had not been able to say so 
 much ; had there been but one A. Chevis 
 in the ship, how would it have cheered my 
 spirits and repressed my complaints! for we 
 could have borne one another's burdens; 
 and it would have been far, very far, 
 
NARRATIVE OF SERJEANT B 269 
 
 from me to have hid this " excellent one" 
 from your view ; but I have searched here 
 with as anxious care to find a good man, 
 as ever Solomon did to find a good wo- 
 man, and unless I should be guilty of a 
 lie, must declare, that I have not seen 
 an individual amongst all those with 
 whom I dwell, who does not habitually 
 take the name of God in vain ; and cer- 
 tainly you will not call these good men ; 
 for this is none of the spots of God's 
 children, whatever " iniquities may pre- 
 vail against them/' I have informed the 
 reader also that I had not the advantage of 
 my wife's company, as she was always engag- 
 ed in the cabin with her mistress. If he 
 will then take all these circumstances into 
 account, and attentively weigh them with an 
 unprejudiced mind, I have no doubt but 
 that he will be more disposed to pity than 
 condemn me, seeing that I was doomed to 
 six months of this dreadful society, which 
 was worse to me than all my other hard- 
 ships. 
 
 N 3 
 
270 NARRATIVE OF SERJEANT 
 
 July 18. We have been becalmed for 
 this fortnight past, and attended by a shark 
 nearly all that time. It is rather singular, 
 that I have always observed, both in my 
 voyage to and from India, that we had al- 
 ways a death when this happened. I can 
 give no rational account of this phenome- 
 non, unless it be that the acute smell of 
 this animal enables him to find out when 
 there is sickness in a ship, and induces 
 him to follow it in the hope of prey, when 
 a body is thrown overboard. We have 
 had a corpse thrown over this day, and will 
 therefore soon be clear of our visitor. It 
 is surprising that the shark can do such 
 execution, if we consider the slenderness 
 of his teeth, which resemble that of a saw, 
 or rather a trap for catching rats ; and they 
 are generally provided with a double row 
 of these, solid all round the jaw ; but I 
 have seen them nearly as thin as the main 
 spring of a watch ; yet he can cut through 
 even bones with the utmost ease. 
 
NARRATIVE OF SERJEANT B 271 
 
 I shall give you an instance in proof of 
 this assertion, which is the following: 
 The soldiers in India generally keep boys 
 to carry their victuals, when on guard, or 
 wash a pair of trowsers, or a shirt for them, 
 if they run short before the washerman 
 comes with their clothes : and when we 
 lay in Madras, (where by the bye we could 
 get young sharks to buy in the bazaar, as we 
 do speldings in this country, at a halfpenny 
 each,) one of these boys, after having 
 washed his master's clothes, went in- 
 to the sea to bathe, while they were dry- 
 ing ; and, being a good swimmer, he ven- 
 tured beyond the surf, when a shark per- 
 ceiving him, whipt off his leg, in half the 
 time one of our anatomists would have 
 done it with his saw. But this is not the 
 most affecting part of the story; for al- 
 though the poor little fellow had lost his 
 leg, and with great difficulty reached the 
 shore, leaving the water, as he came along, 
 tinged with blood, he, in his dying mo- 
 ments, told his comrades who were upon 
 N 4 
 
272 NARRATIVE OF SERJEANT B 
 
 the beach with him, where his master's 
 clothes were lying, and desired that they 
 would take them safe to the barracks : 
 medical assistance was immediately called, 
 but before the surgeon could reach the 
 place, his spirit was fled. It is remarkable 
 that these fish, when they are in pursuit 
 of their prey, admit their young, in the 
 same manner as some species of the ser- 
 pent do, into a cavity of their belly, which 
 God, in his wonder-working providence, 
 has provided for their reception. In proof 
 hereof, when we were going to India, one 
 of the sailors, having out his shark line at 
 the stern of the vessel, which is generally 
 done when they observe this fish follow- 
 ing, he hooked a very large one, and haul- 
 ed it into the ship, by a tackle from the 
 end of the main-yard ; and after having the 
 fish fairly on board, one of the sailors took 
 a large hatchet, with which he cut off its 
 head; and to the no small alarm of the 
 bare-footed soldiers, who made the best 
 of their way off in all directions, out sprung 
 
NARRATIVE OF SERJEANT B m 
 
 no less than eleven young sharks, tumb- 
 ling and gaping about the deck, to the 
 great danger of all feet and toes within 
 their reach. Some of these young ones 
 were three feet long. The sailors very 
 frequently eat this fish, on account of its 
 being fresh ; and this one was accordingly 
 cut into junks, (as they call it,) and divid- 
 ed among the crew. I tasted, through 
 curiosity, a little bit of it, which had a 
 very strong disagreeable flavour ; but the 
 very idea of them devouring human flesh, 
 is enough to make one shudder, although 
 their taste should excel that of the fin- 
 est turtle. I would further observe, that 
 the shark does not give his teeth much 
 trouble in chewing his food, for we took 
 another the same day, which had a six 
 pound piece of beef in his belly, not the 
 least macerated; and the tally* of the 
 
 * The tally is a piece of wood, with the number of 
 the mess to which it belongs marked upon it. These 
 are used on board a ship, to distinguish between the 
 pieces of meat, for without something of this kind, 
 it would be impossible for one mess to know its own, 
 N5 
 
2 74 NARRATIVE OF SERJEANT B 
 
 mess to which the beef belonged, still tied 
 to it with a string. 
 
 July 24<. We saw one of the Western 
 Islands upon our starboard bowwe saw 
 also two strange sail, supposed to be Ame- 
 rican privateers ; our frigates and gun 
 brigs went in chace immediately, but they 
 have not returned to the fleet as yet. We 
 have a very stiff breeze, and a heavy sea, 
 and have shipped a wave just now which 
 has swept some of the men oft* the hatch- 
 way. 
 
 July 29. We have had a heavy gale 
 these three days and nights, but the worst 
 of it is, the wind is almost right a-head ; 
 and we consequently have made very little 
 way. The children have been in their 
 hammock all that time without light, ex- 
 cept when the men occasionally lighted a 
 bit of fat pork (as I said they sometimes 
 did) to eat their victuals ; and when I took 
 them upon deck they were like new 
 started hares, and jumped and ran about 
 until I was obliged to restrain them from 
 
NARRATIVE OF SERJEANT B 275 
 
 fear of their driving themselves against 
 the sides of the ship. 
 
 Aug. 4. A large boat is come along 
 side of us from Torbay upon chance, to 
 take away certain goods from the pas- 
 sengers. I spoke to one of the boatmen, 
 who told me that we are about thirty miles 
 from land, and two of the sailors have 
 been sent to the mast head to look out 
 for it; we have also received our pilot, and 
 are running about nine knots an hour. 
 Truly this is delightful ; and I trust, that 
 he who has preserved us hitherto, will bring 
 us in " safety into the desired haven." 
 
 Aug. 11. We have had considerable 
 difficulty in getting up the river, on ac- 
 count of the wind being contrary ; but we 
 are now safe moored, and they are begin- 
 ning to take out the guns to lighten her, 
 that they may be able to get her up to 
 Blackwall. There is an order just come 
 for us to go ashore to-morrow. Joyful 
 news, to think of getting out of this miser- 
 ably wicked place ! how it enlivens my 
 
276 NARRATIVE OF SERJEANT B 
 
 spirits besides to view the fields of corn, and 
 the cattle feeding by the sides of the river, 
 particularly when it is, I may say, my na- 
 tive country ! O, what time brings about ; 
 for I have often almost despaired of ever 
 seeing it ; and, although I am now a poor 
 feeble creature, hardly able to crawl, yet 
 as Solomon says, " while we are joined to 
 all the living there is hope j for a living 
 dog is better than a dead lion ;" and I 
 bless God, that I am " the living, the living 
 to praise him/ 5 while hundreds of my com- 
 rades are rotting upon a foreign shore. 
 
 Aug. 12. We got all safe ashore at 
 Chelsea, which place was completely 
 crowded with invalids from the Continent, 
 besides those from India; they were in 
 all about four thousand. The Tower and 
 Chelsea being full, some hundreds were 
 billetted in the country. This promised 
 very badly with regard to pension, and 
 upon the 14th of September, 1814, the 
 day on which I passed, there were several 
 hundreds who did not get a penny. I, 
 
NARRATIVE OF SERJEANT B 27? 
 
 however, received ninepence, which, af- 
 ter all, was but a small recompense for 
 all my hardships, and their bad effects up- 
 on my constitution, and a service of four- 
 teen years in the 26th, and Royals toge- 
 ther ; but had it not been that I was so 
 long Serjeant and Fife-Major of the latter 
 regiment, I would not have received more 
 than sixpence. I desire to be thankful, 
 however, for this allowance; although it be 
 small, it is always something to look to. 
 
278 NARRATIVE OF SERJEANT 
 
 CHAPTER XII. 
 
 I SHALL not trouble the reader with a par- 
 ticular account of the various occurrences 
 that came under my notice while we lay 
 at Chelsea, which was about five weeks : 
 such as, the great difficulty we had in ob- 
 taining a lodging; the many wonderful 
 things to be seen about London ; the be- 
 haviour of the invalids ; to what regiments 
 they belonged, &c. But there is one thing 
 which I think it would certainly be wrong 
 to omit, because it is illustrative of the 
 loving-kindness of the Lord, whose glory 
 we ought to have in view in all that we do. 
 While I was in this place I found one 
 of my brothers working at Vauxhall bridge, 
 
NARRATIVE OF SERJEANT B . 279 
 
 who was one of Mr. Fletcher of the Seces- 
 sion's hearers. My wife and I, therefore, 
 upon the first sabbath after we went ashore, 
 accompanied him to Miles's Lane Chapel, 
 and heard a Mr. M'Donald, I think, who 
 was officiating in the absence of Mr. F. at 
 this time in Scotland. Upon entering the 
 meeting house, a mixture of unutterable 
 reverence and joy thrilled through my soul, 
 while Ithought of the solemnity of the place, 
 and looked back on the long dreary period 
 during which I had been deprived of an op- 
 portunity of " assembling with the people 
 of God in his house of prayer." But how 
 was I struck with adoring wonder, when 
 the preacher gave out the 63d psalm, 
 
 " Lord, thee my God, I'll early seek: 
 My soul doth thirst for thee/' &c. 
 
 which he prefaced in a very pathetic man- 
 ner ; and during the whole of the explana- 
 tion, set forth the Psalmist's condition, so 
 exactly applicable to the feelings and cir- 
 cumstances of my past life, particularly in 
 
280 NARRATIVE OF SERJEANT B 
 
 India and in my voyage home; and the next 
 psalm which he gave out was the 122d, 
 
 " I joyed when to the house of God, 
 Go up, they said to me," &c. 
 
 which was equally applicable to my now 
 happy situation. I found it too much for 
 my feelings, for I thought my heart would 
 have burst with alternate joy and sorrow. 
 Joy, when I saw in this the answer of 
 many a longing desire, " and my prayers 
 returned into mine own bosom ;" and 
 sorrow, because of the many unbeliev- 
 ing and ungrateful thoughts I had for- 
 merly entertained, that " I should never 
 again see the Lord, even the Lord, in the 
 land of the living," until a flood of con- 
 cealed tears gave me some relief; and a 
 sweet believing tranquillity took the place 
 of these conflicting passions. The whole 
 of the services of the day corresponded 
 with its commencement, and all had a 
 tendency to refresh and satisfy my thirsty 
 soul, more than the vernal showers of 
 
NARRATIVE OF SERJEANT B 281 
 
 the east could cheer and invigorate the 
 face of languishing nature ; and I do trust 
 they " did not return to the Lord void, 
 but prospered in that thing whereunto 
 they were sent." Surely the Psalmist's 
 choice of spending his time was mine, for I 
 certainly esteemed " this day better than a 
 thousand," and found these comforts sweet- 
 er to my soul than honey to my mouth. 
 Surely on this happy day, if ever in my 
 life, I found out in a great measure the 
 truth and emphasis of these gracious 
 words: Blessed are they which do hun- 
 ger and thirst after righteousness, for they 
 shall be filled." But, I trust, my dear 
 reader, you will excuse me, when I tell you 
 that I am unable to describe my emo- 
 tions at this time. However, if you are 
 one of those persons spoken of by the 
 apostle, who " have their senses exercis- 
 ed to discern both good and evil/' you 
 can better enter into my state than I am 
 able to inform you ; although you cannot 
 be expected to feel to the same degree as 
 
282 NARRATIVE OF SERJEANT B 
 
 I have felt, unless you had suffered, to the 
 same extent, as I have suffered. But if 
 you are really one " of Christ's scholars, 
 and taught by his Holy Spirit, that Spirit 
 dwells in you," and " he will teach you in 
 some measure his own language/' and you 
 will know something of what is meant by 
 " the soul being satisfied with marrow and 
 fatness," of the Lord lifting upon his people 
 " the light of his countenance/' of causing 
 his face to shine upon them ;" and of " his 
 loving kindness being better than life. 5 ' 
 You will know something of " the joy of 
 the Lord," the " joy of God's salvation," 
 and " the joy of the Holy Ghost," " of 
 being filled with all joy and peace in be- 
 lieving j" &c. but if these, and the like 
 passages, be to you an unknown tongue, 
 or a language which you do not under- 
 stand, I am afraid that you have the al- 
 phabet of Christianity to learn yet, and 
 " have need that one teach you over again, 
 which be the first principles of the ora- 
 cles of God ; and are indeed among such as 
 
NARRATIVE OF SERJEANT B . 283 
 
 have need of milk, and not of strong meat. 3 ' 
 All that I shall say more upon this subject 
 is, that I found this place to be a Be- 
 thel, for surely the Lord was there, for it 
 was to me none other than the house of 
 God, surely it was to me the very gate of 
 heaven. O taste, and ye shall find also that 
 the Lord is good ; and that the man is tru- 
 ly blessed which trusteth in him. 
 
 You may be sure we did not remain 
 long in Chelsea, after I passed the board; 
 for I went immediately to Millar's whar 
 and found there a vessel bound for Leith. 
 I therefore took our passage in the steer- 
 age ; but I had cause afterwards to re- 
 pent that I did not take a cabin passage, 
 for the steerage was so completely stow- 
 ed with baggage, that all the passen- 
 gers were obliged to lie upon deck the 
 whole way ; this was a mischievous bath, 
 for us particularly, who had just come from 
 India, considering that it was in the month 
 of September. 
 
 On landing at Leith we put our bag- 
 
284 NARRATIVE OF SERJEANT B 
 
 gage into a cart, and went off to Penny- 
 cuick immediately, where we were joy- 
 fully received ; we remained there with 
 our friends a few days, after having 
 been nearly eleven years absent, and hav- 
 ing only seen them once during that peri- 
 od, when I visited them, on furlough, from 
 Ireland. 
 
 After we had recruited ourselves, we 
 were anxious to get the children set- 
 tled before I thought of settling my. 
 self; and we accordingly went \vith 
 them to Edinburgh, and took tickets 
 on the outside of the Glasgow coach. 
 When we arrived at that place, we im- 
 mediately went to Anderston, and found 
 out the dwelling of William Steven- 
 son, the grandfather, on the mother's side, 
 of Serjeant Lee's child. The old folks re- 
 ceived us with great expressions of grati- 
 tude, on account of what we had done for 
 the poor, destitute orphans of their de- 
 ceased daughter. The neighbours also 
 came flocking in, to behold the children 
 
NARRATIVE OF SERJEANT B 285 
 
 who were born in such a far distant land ; 
 and expressed their astonishment at the 
 way which the providence of God had ta- 
 ken to bring them home, considering that 
 we were in no wise related to any of them. 
 They wrote off to Serjeant Fleming's fa- 
 ther, who lived at Kilmarnock, and he no 
 sooner received the intelligence, than he 
 came off to Anderston, accompanied by 
 one of his sons, and when we were all as- 
 sembled, we spent a very happy day to- 
 gether. 
 
 After remaining some time in their 
 company, giving and receiving informa- 
 tion, we bethought ourselves of return- 
 ing home. So Mr. Fleming took the 
 child of his deceased son, and the little 
 girl of the deceased Serjeant Lee remain- 
 ed in Anderston : but Mr. Stevenson, and 
 his wife being old, and apparently very 
 infirm, we told them, that if it was the will 
 of God to remove either of them by death, 
 and in consequence thereof the child 
 should become burdensome to the survivor, 
 
286 NARRATIVE OF SERJEANT 
 
 or might herself be neglected, that we 
 would still consider ourselves as parents 
 to the child, and do for her in every res- 
 pect as if she were our own ; and request- 
 ed them, moreover, to be sure to keep up 
 a correspondence with us by letters. 
 
 It was not many months after this 
 when I received the news of the old 
 man's death. According to promise, I 
 therefore went from Peebles to Anderston, 
 to bring home the little girl, who still re- 
 collected me, calling me daddy when ever 
 I entered the house, and attempted to wash 
 my feet, which were very sore by march- 
 ing a good way that morning. I stopped 
 a day to rest myself, and during that time 
 she would not allow me to be out of her 
 sight, neither could any of her uncles or 
 aunts induce her to go with them anywhere 
 unless I desired her. I thought it would 
 be my best plan, both for expedition and 
 on account of the child, to take a ticket 
 in the coach : so I acted accordingly. 
 When we reached Edinburgh, I went to a 
 
 5 
 
NARRATIVE OF SERJEANT B 28T 
 
 house, head of the Candlemaker Row, and 
 found there a return-chaise for Peebles, at 
 which I was very happy, and we set off as 
 soon as the driver was ready, as I was 
 anxious to get home. We arrived safe at 
 Peebles about eleven o'clock at night ; 
 but, when I knocked at the door, which 
 my wife had just shut, preparing for bed, 
 she could hardly believe that I could have 
 so soon returned. But, when she saw her 
 poor little dear, as she called her, she took 
 her in her arms, and embraced her with all 
 the symptoms of an affectionate mother 
 who had been robbed of her innocent, that 
 was now again restored to her arms, her 
 bosom, and her affections. 
 
 Now, my dear reader, this is what be- 
 came of the orphans, and who knows but 
 God, whose " way is in the sea, and whose 
 path is in the great waters ;" may intend 
 this poor little Indian orphan to sooth our 
 dying bed, and to be our greatest earthly 
 friend, when a true friend is valuable. 
 
288 NARRATIVE OF SERJEANT 
 
 While we were in Peebles, I tried my old 
 occupation of working at the loom ; but I 
 was compelled to leave it off, as this em- 
 ployment would not agree with my consti- 
 tution, being much afflicted with a pain 
 in the breast, and a giddiness in my head j 
 which were truly distressing. 
 
 We had not lived long in Peebles after 
 the child came to us, when I received a let- 
 ter directed, Serjeant B , Peebles, late 
 
 of the Royal Scots. When I looked at the 
 back of the letter, I could not understand 
 who was the writer, yet I thought the hand 
 familiar ; but when I opened it, to my 
 great astonishment I found it to be from 
 Colonel Stewart, saying that he had just 
 learned that I was returned from India in 
 a very bad state of health, which he was 
 veiy sorry for ; and said, moreover, that if 
 he could be of any service in procuring 
 any situation suitable for me, he would be 
 happy to do it, and likewise expressed 
 a desire to see me. I accordingly went to 
 his country seat near Stirling, where he 
 
NARRATIVE OF SER JE ANT B 289 
 
 had just gone; and, after many kind in- 
 quiries upon both sides, he asked me if I 
 could point out any thing that he or his 
 interest could do for me. I expressed my 
 gratitude in the best way I could for his 
 kind offer, but told him that I could think 
 of nothing but a drum-major's situation in 
 alocal militia corps, though at the same time 
 I said, that I was afraid that it would be 
 difficult to be obtained; but it did not 
 appear so to him, and he hoped that he 
 would soon be able to procure it. He 
 desired me to remain all night, and gave 
 his servants particular charge to pay all 
 possible attention to my comfort. 
 
 I had not returned to Peebles above 
 three weeks, when I received a letter from 
 this kind friend, informing me that he had 
 obtained a situation for me in the Green- 
 ock Local Militia ; and I accordingly went 
 and took the charge of that corps the fol- 
 lowing week : but there is nothing in this 
 world to be depended on; for I had not 
 enjoyed my new situation, in which I re- 
 o 
 
90 NARRATIVE OF SERJEANT B 
 
 ceived half-a-guinea weekly, above six 
 months, when an order came for the staffs 
 of these regiments to be broke. But Colo- 
 uel Stewart again voluntarily befriended 
 me, for he recommended me, previous to 
 this taking place, to the notice of his bro- 
 ther, at this time bailie of Greenock, who 
 fell upon a plan for assisting me. The 
 gentlemen of Greenock had often express- 
 ed a wish for a billiard-table, that they 
 might amuse themselves at a vacant hour ; 
 and Mr. Stewart having a room suitable 
 for the purpose, agreed to fit it up as a 
 billiard-room, if I would take the situation 
 of marker to the billiard-table. I told him 
 I would be very happy to do it, but that 
 it was an affair with which I was entirely 
 unacquainted ; but he said that it was very 
 easily learned, and that I would soon be 
 master of the business. I accordingly 
 took the charge of this room ; for which I 
 received a very equitable reward. 
 
 I had not been long in my new situa- 
 tion, when I understood my duty pretty 
 
NARRATIVE OF SERJEANT B . 291 
 
 well ; and observing that I would have 
 much spare time, I wished to turn it to 
 some good account. I therefore made in- 
 quiry at a very intelligent acquaintance, if 
 he could inform me where 1 could get a 
 book that contained portions of Scripture, 
 arranged under different heads, as I wish- 
 ed to write them out, and thereby get 
 better acquainted with the contents of my 
 Bible : and by this employment might at 
 once be both amused and instructed. So he 
 recommended Dr. Chalmers's " Scripture 
 References," telling me, that it was the 
 very kind of book I was seeking. I went 
 and procured it immediately; and I did 
 not let much time pass, until I com- 
 menced writing out, in full, the passages 
 referred to by the Doctor; but when I 
 came to that head, " Duties under Afflic- 
 tion," how agreeably was I surprised, 
 when I found, under it, that blessed pas- 
 sage which gave me so much relief and 
 comfort in the Prince of Wales' Island, 
 " Call upon me in the day of trouble ; I 
 
292 NARRATIVE OF SERJEANT B 
 
 \vill deliver thee : and thou shalt glorify 
 
 me." 
 
 The reader may be rather surprised that 
 I never before this hour had seen these 
 precious words, and maybe apt to draw, not 
 unfairly, this conclusion, that "if Ihad read 
 my Bible much, I certainly would have seen 
 this delightful promise before now." I do 
 freely acknowledge that I have not read 
 my Bible with that attention and frequen- 
 cy I might have done, and ought to have 
 done, though I have, upon the whole, endea- 
 voured to make myself acquainted with it 
 by frequent reading; but, by not going re- 
 gularly through it, I had never happened 
 to meet with the above passage, although 
 it \vas now fully ten years since it was a 
 mean, in the hand of the spirit which dic- 
 tated it, of " turning for me my mourning 
 into dancing, and girding me with glad- 
 ness.'"' After I was finished, therefore, with 
 the scripture references, and not being yet 
 tired with this pleasant labour, I added 
 other three parts to my intended Pocket 
 
NARRATIVE OF SERJEANT B 2&3 
 
 Companion, viz. a Selection of Passages 
 from Mr. Henry's Method for Prayer ; 
 an Explanation of the Principal Religi- 
 ous Terms from Mr. Brown's Dictionary 
 of the Bible ; and Extracts from Mr. 
 M'Ewan's Essays. When these four parts 
 were finished, 1 had the whole bound 
 together into a pretty sizeable volume, the 
 substance of which I intended to commit 
 to memory. But I had not finished this 
 
 work many days, when Mr. W , our 
 
 minister, came to see us, as he frequently 
 did, and asked me what 1 had been doing 
 this long time, that I had never given him 
 a call. I told him how r I had been employ- 
 ed. He expressed a desire to see what I 
 had been writing, and I showed him the 
 book. After he had examined it a little, 
 he asked me if I would allow him to peruse 
 it for a few days ? I said, he was perfectly 
 welcome to do that. When he had done 
 so, he came back to our house with the 
 book, and expressed his satisfaction with 
 regard to the usefulness and conciseness of 
 o 3 
 
294 NARRATIVE OF SERJEANT B 
 
 the compilation ; and told me that it was 
 an excellent work, (if I could think of 
 publishing it,) for the instruction of ser- 
 vants, seamen, and even the greater part 
 of the labouring classes, who had little time 
 to peruse, or money to purchase books, 
 where those useful subjects were set forth 
 more at large, and above all, that it might 
 be unspeakably useful to assist or to pre- 
 pare people who were lately, or about to 
 be married, in their family devotions and 
 instructions. I at first could upon no ac- 
 count think of consenting to his request; 
 but I told him that I would consider about 
 it a few days. He returned in a short 
 time afterwards to know my determination. 
 I said that I would be very happy to pub- 
 lish the book, if I really thought it would 
 be useful to my fellow men, particularly 
 as I had as much money by me as would 
 pay for printing a few hundred copies; but 
 I said also, that I was ashamed of my name 
 being affixed to a printed book, even 
 though it was a compilation. This objec- 
 
NARRATIVE OF SERJEANT B 295 
 
 tion, however, he obviated, by stating, 
 that it might be published without a 
 name ; and, in short, having brought mat- 
 ters thus far, he went and made a bargain 
 with a printer ; and after the impression 
 was thrown off; he recommended it very 
 warmly from the pulpit, and not only he, 
 but two other clergymen, also recommended 
 it in strong language, particularly toservants 
 and seamen. In consequence of all this* 
 I either sold or gave away the whole im- 
 pression in little more than a twelvemonth. 
 We remained in Greenock until the 
 year 1820, at which time both duty and 
 inclination seemed to call us to Edin- 
 burgh, on account of my old parents, who 
 resided there, and were, at this period, in 
 a very poor state of health; that we might 
 try if we could do any thing for the com. 
 fort of them who could now scarcely do 
 any thing for themselves ; while their other 
 children were unable to afford them much 
 relief, on account of their numerous fami- 
 lies. Another weighty motive for my re- 
 
296 NARRATIVE OF SERJEANT B 
 
 moval was, that I would there have an op- 
 portunity of consulting a very able physi- 
 cian, with whom I was well acquainted, as 
 he had been assistant surgeon* in our re- 
 giment all the time I was in India, whom I 
 knew to understand perfectly my consti- 
 tution, and the many and severe attacks 
 it had sustained, from different dis~ 
 orders, while in that country, which had 
 rendered a once healthy bodily frame, now 
 almost totally useless; for I had enjoyed a 
 very indifferent state of health ever since 
 my sore illness in Trichinopoly. The per- 
 son to whom I allude was Dr. B , a 
 
 gentleman whose indefatigable and suc- 
 cessful labours, in ascertaining the nature 
 and cure of the diseases of hot climates, 
 the benefit of the men under his charge, 
 are well known to every man in the regi- 
 ment. 
 
 am 
 
 for 
 
 * This medical officer left our regiment, being pro- 
 moted to the rank of head surgeon to his majesty's 
 33d regiment; and, at this time, was practising for 
 himself in Edinburgh. 
 
NARRATIVE OF SERJEANT B 297 
 
 I therefore left Greenock at the Whit- 
 sunday term, and finding myself still in the 
 
 same delicate state, I went to Dr. B , 
 
 who received me with great expressions of 
 kindness. He inquired very particularly 
 into every circumstance with regard to my 
 health since I left India; which gave me 
 an opportunity of relating the various 
 modes of treatment which had been pre- 
 scribed to me by different medical men to 
 wht>m I had applied without finding any 
 permanent benefit After having satisfied 
 all his inquiries as well as I could, he said 
 that he was afraid that their mode of treat- 
 ment was calculated rather to do harm 
 than good, but^that he would call at my 
 lodgings in a day or two. He accordingly 
 came most punctually ; and, after having 
 made all due inquiry for ascertaining the 
 true nature of my complaint, he told me 
 that my liver was in a very bad state, and 
 that he w r ould strongly recommend me to 
 submit to a course of mercury, &c. With 
 this proposal I readily complied ; and, 
 
298 NARRATIVE OF SERJEANT B 
 
 having undergone thai course of treatment 
 which his superior skill thought proper to 
 administer, I derived unspeakable benefit 
 from it. A short time after I was able to 
 go abroad with safety, I went to his house, 
 at his desire, and called upon him, to let 
 him know how well I was coming on. 
 I was also, no doubt, anxious by this time 
 to know the amount of his bill, which, I 
 thought must be considerable, when I 
 took into the account his own personal at- 
 tendance, for about nine weeks ; but how 
 was my astonishment excited, when he 
 told me that, as I was an old fellow-travel- 
 ler, and brother soldier, the amount of my 
 bill was nothing ; but that I was perfectly 
 welcome to all that he had done for me ; 
 and, moreover, that he would be very 
 happy to serve me, or my family, at any 
 time when medical attendance was neces- 
 sary. 
 
 I confess I am unable, my dear reader, 
 to express, in words/a proper sense of 
 this gentleman's kindness ; I therefore 
 
NARRATIVE OF SERJEANT B 299 
 
 think it the best way of manifesting my 
 gratitude, by being silent, and desiring 
 that the generous reader would place him- 
 self, as it were, in my situation, and try 
 what he would think or feel upon such an 
 occasion : but this I will say, that 1 have, 
 since the time referred to, enjoyed a bet- 
 ter state of health than ever I have had 
 these nine years past, and I trust I will 
 carry the grateful remembrance of Dr. B/s 
 beneficial benevolence to my last hour. 
 
 There is just one other circumstance 
 that I will mention, as it is rather singu- 
 lar, and then come to a conclusion. After 
 I settled in Edinburgh, there was a meet- 
 ing of our family, consisting of eight chil- 
 dren, all being present on this occasion 
 but one, who was a mason in England. 
 Now it is somewhat remarkable, that of 
 these now present, four had been but a 
 little time before scattered very widely all 
 over the world. My oldest brother at 
 that time belonged to the artillery, and 
 was in America; I myself, who am next 
 in the order of time, was in India ; the 
 
300 NARRATIVE OF SERJEANT B 
 
 third was in Spain with the 91th, having 
 been engaged in all the actions to which 
 that gallant regiment was called ; the last 
 and youngest of the four, was in Ireland, 
 with the Renfrewshire militia ; yet, by the 
 kind providence of God, our aged parents 
 saw us now all under one roof; all out of 
 the army, each rewarded according to his 
 various services, and all settled in a way 
 of doing, in or near Edinburgh, each of 
 us according to our ability at this time 
 engaging to add to their future comfort, 
 which you cannot doubt made them a 
 happy couple, and you need not wonder 
 at them adopting language similar to that 
 of the ancient and venerable Patriarch, 
 when his son Joseph was restored to his 
 embraces in safety, after he had long lost 
 all hope of his being in life : " Now Lord 
 let us die in peace, since we have seen our 
 children's faces, and because that they are 
 yet alive." 
 
 My wife has still retained an excellent 
 state of health, notwithstanding all her 
 
NARRATIVE OF SERJEANT B 301 
 
 former hard marches, being blessed with 
 one of the best constitutions I have ever 
 known any woman possessed of; and the 
 poor little invalid that cost her so much 
 nursing, is also a very fine healthy child. 
 The other child, who went to Kil- 
 marnock, we have heard lately is also in 
 perfect good health. My wife's daughter, 
 who came to us in Greenock, is also quite 
 well, and still forms a part of our little fa- 
 mily. " Bless the Lord, O my soul, and 
 forget not all his benefits." And when I 
 consider all the way that the Lord our 
 God has led us, for so many years in the 
 wilderness, I am here disposed, with Jacob, 
 to set up my monument of gratitude 
 with this inscription 
 
 HITHERTO THE LORD HATH HELPED US." 
 FINIS. 
 
 Printed by Balfour & Clarke, 
 Edinburgh, 1823. 
 
SHORT DISCOURSES, 
 
 ADAPTED TO 
 
 VILLAGE WORSHIP, 
 
 THE DEVOTIONS OF THE FAMILY. 
 
 PUBLISHED FROM THE MANUSCRIPTS OF THE LATE 
 
 REV. B. BEDDOME, A. M. 
 
 In Eight Volumes, 12mo, 16s. ; and Eight Volumes, 8vo, 24s. 
 *** Each Volume may be had separately. 
 
 " As a preacher, Mr. BEDDOME was universally admired 
 for the piety and unction of his sentiments, the felicity of his 
 arrangement, and the purity, force, and simplicity of his lan- 
 guage ; all which were recommended by a delivery perfectly 
 natural and graceful. His printed Discourses, taken from the 
 MSS. which he left behind him at his decease, are fair speci- 
 mens of his usual performances in the pulpit. They are 
 eminent for the qualities already mentioned ; and their merits, 
 which the modesty of the Author concealed from himself, have 
 been justly appreciated by the religious public/' Preface to 
 Beddome'o Rymns by the Rev. Robert Hall, A. M. of Leicester. 
 
 " In these synopses of the Sermons, which the Author 
 delivered in the course of his ministerial services, there are 
 abundant proofs of a rich and vigorous mind, intimate acquaint- 
 ance with human nature, and perfect familiarity with the Sacred 
 Scriptures. His style, likewise, is deeply tinctured with 
 scriptural phraseology, it abounds with quotations, and metaphors 
 from the Inspired Writers; yet, at the same time, it often rises 
 to a freedom of elegance, and a dignity, of which contemporary 
 productions do not afford many parallels. The Work is judi- 
 ciously printed, in a cheap form, for the poor classes, as well as 
 in handsome size and type for respectable libraries." Eclectic 
 Review. 
 
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 PLAYS PUBLISHED. 
 
 No 1 New Way to Pay Old Debts, Portrait, .. Mr. Kean 
 
 2 Rivals Do Mrs. Davison 
 
 3 West Indian Do Mr. Johnstone 
 
 4 Hypocrite Do Mr. Oxberry 
 
 5 Jealous Wife Do. .. Mrs. Glover 
 
 She Stoops to Conquer Do .... Miss Brunton 
 
 7Richardlll Do,... Mr. Cooke 
 
 Beggar's Opera Do Mr. Incledon 
 
 9 Wonder Do .... Mr. Harley 
 
 '? A i: ; uemja Do ... Mr. T. Cooke 
 
 11 Alexander the Great Do Mr. Egerton 
 
 12 Lionel and Clarissa Do Mr. Dowton 
 
 13 Hamlet Do .... Mr. Kean 
 
 14 Venice Preserved Do .... Miss O'Neill 
 
 15 Is he Jealous?..... Do.... Mr. Wrench 
 
 b Woodman's Hut .. Do.... Mr. Smith 
 
 17 Love in a Village Do Mr, Isaacs 
 
 18 Way to Keep Him Do.... Mrs.Or-er 
 
 19 Castle Spectre Do .... The late Mr. Rae 
 
 20 Maid of the Mill Do ... Mr. Braham 
 
 21 Clandestine Marriage Do Mr. W. Farren 
 
 22 Soldier's Daughter Do ... Mr. Elliston 
 
 23 Othello . . , Do .... Mrs. W. West 
 
 24 Distrest Mother Do Mr. M-acready 
 
 25 Provoked Husband Do Mr. Emery " 
 
 26 Deaf and Dumb Do. .. Mrs. C. Kemble 
 
 ^ Busy Body ...Do.... Mr. Munden 
 
 28 Belles Stratagem Do... Mrs. Edwin 
 
 29 Romeo and Juliet Do .... Mr. C. Kemble 
 
 30 Recruiting Officer Do. .. Mrs. Mardyn 
 
 31 Bold Stroke for a Wife Do .... Mr. Bannister 
 
 32 Road to Ruin ., Do.... Mr. Mathews 
 
 33 Beaux Stratagem Do .... Mr. Jones 
 
 34 As You Like It Do .... Mr. Fawcett 
 
 35 King John Do .... Mr. C. Kemble 
 
3G Country Girl Do .... Mr. Russell. 
 
 37 Jane Shore Do .... Mrs. Bunn. 
 
 *38 Critic Do .... Mr. Terry. 
 
 39 Coriolaiius , . . Do .... Mr. Kean. 
 
 40 Rosina Do .... Miss Carew. 
 
 41 Suspicious Husband Do .... Mrs. Egertou. 
 
 *42 Honest Thieves Do .... Mr, Dowton. 
 
 *43 Mayor of Garratt Do .... Mr. Russell. 
 
 44 Merry Wives of Windsor .. ..Do .... Mr. Wewitzer. 
 
 45 Stranger , Do .... Mrs. Siddons. 
 
 46 Three Weeks After Marriage Do .... Mrs. Faucit. 
 
 47 King Lear Do .... Mrs. W. West. 
 
 48 Inconstant Do.... Mr. Decamp. 
 
 *4.9 Shipwreck Do Mrs. Bland. 
 
 *50 Rugantino Do .... Mr. Wallack. 
 
 51 Wild Oats Do Mr. Knight. 
 
 52 Rule a Wife and Have a Wife Do .... Mrs. Glover. 
 
 53 Magpie Do .... Miss Kelly. 
 
 *54 Quaker Do .... Mr. incledon. 
 
 55 Merchant of Venice Do .. . Miss Povey. 
 
 56 Wheel of Fortune Do .... Mr. Kemble. 
 
 57 Rob Roy Do .... Miss Stephens. 
 
 *58 Citizen Do .... Mrs. Davison. 
 
 *59 Deserter Do .... Mr. Wilkinson. 
 
 *GO Miser Do .... Mr. W. Farren. 
 
 61 Guy Mannering Do Mr. Listen. 
 
 62 Cymbeline Do ... Mr. Farley. 
 
 *63 Lyins Valet Do .... Mr. Mathews. 
 
 64 Twelfth Night Do Mr. J, Russell. 
 
 65 The Confederacy Do .... Mrs. Orger. 
 
 66 Douglas Do .... Mr. H. Johnston. 
 
 *67 Who's the Dupe Do Mr. Bannister. 
 
 68 Know Your own Mind Do .... Mr. Palmer. 
 
 69 Macbeth Do .... Mr. Macready. 
 
 *70 Tobacconist Do Mr. Garrick. 
 
 *71 Midnight Hour Do.... Mr. Lewis. 
 
 72 The Grecian Daughter Do .... Mrs. Bartley. 
 
 *73 Fortune's Frolic Do .... Mr. Knight. 
 
 74 Henry IV Do .... Mr. Bartley. 
 
 75 Evadne; 01, The Statue Do .... Mr. C. Kemble. 
 
 *76 Review; or the Wags ofWindsorDo .... Mr. Fawcett. 
 
 77 Every Man in his Humour. . . . Do .... Mr. Oxberry. 
 
 *78 Blue Devils Miss Mellon. . The present Mrs. Coutts. 
 
 *79 Love Laughs at Locksmiths . . Do Mr. G. Smith. 
 
 *80 Follies of a Day Do.... Mr- De Camp. 
 
 81 Measure for Measure Do .... Mr. Liston. 
 
 *82 High Life below Stairs Do Mr. Harley. 
 
 83 Julius Caesar Do .... Mr. Young. 
 
 *84 Spoiled Child Do Mrs. Baker. 
 
 85 Man of the World Do .... Mr. Cooper. 
 
 *86 Midas Do .... Madame Vestris. 
 
 87 Every One has his Fault Do .... Mr, Johnson. 
 
 *88 Boa Ton Do ... Mr. Emery. 
 
 89 Two Gentlemen of Verona Do .... Miss Hallande. 
 
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