deepest interest, filled with the most extraordinary
details of British foresight, stoic courage, endurance
of privation, and brilliant instances of chivalry un-
approached in the stories of war. Has any artillery
officer in warfare been able to perform his duty
with ordinary cheerfulness when finding shell after
shell, though most carefully laid, fall far beyond, or
short of the mark, or when he listened perhaps for
the explosion was rewarded with silence ? And why?
The fuses were found purposely reduced to irregular
lengths ; treacherous, though trusted native hands
filled shells with sand instead of powder ; the charges
of powder were carefully increased or diminished
by the same felon agency, so as to disconcert the
besiegers. Have water-carriers ever in the history
of war been treacherously furnished with strong
drink instead of water, by an enemy, so as to intoxi-
cate the senses they could not subdue ? These, and
thousands of other treacheries, which the British

p. o



194 PRECAUTIONS AGAINST DISORDER.

mind was soon taught to realise, will hereafter come
to light. Nor will the position of the Commander
in such a peculiar emergency be lost sight of.

Demoralisation after the capture and sack of a
large city is a temporary and inevitable evil, but
eventual subjection to proper control is generally to
be calculated upon ; in this case it was scarcely
certain, and the utmost precautions were taken.
Half of General Nicholson's force was composed of
new levies, besides Sikh and Goorkha corps ; who,
although trained and perfectly disciplined, were
inflamed with hereditary hatred, eager for their
long-deferred plunder, and exasperated by the pro-
tracted conflict. Even the feelings of the British
troops had been aroused to a pitch of excite-
ment which might temporarily threaten discipline,
and certainly endanger loss. A succession of street
conflicts might almost decimate those against whom
the principal fire was sure to be aimed ; for though
the non-combatants of the city, and thousands of
residents who had not taken arms, might desert, the
remainder, it was known, would fight -svith the
fanaticism of despair. It was wonderful that a spark
of ardour was left to the European after the long
exposure and incessant conflicts of the preceding
four- months. Such are some of the very anomalous



THE INTELLIGENCE DEPARTMENT. 195

and peculiar disadvantages with which our com-
manders had to contend.

The enemy, however, were not without treachery
in their own camp. Equally difficult was it for
them to know friend from foe. The British were
furnished with an intelligence department as trust-
worthy as their own. Notwithstanding the storm of
calamities, which to all external appearances had
well nigh overwhelmed the State, there were not
wanting thousands of far-seers who felt that, the first
shock having been withstood, the day of sweeping,
simultaneous insurrection had gone by for another
century, and that the grappling-irons of Great Britain
upon Hindustan were scarcely loosened, and were
about to be fixed more firmly than ever.

Among these wise and far-seeing men was the
Meer Moonshee of the late Sir H. Lawrence, Rujjub
Ali. Almost before the end of June an espionage
and intelligence department of extraordinary value
was organized, through Asiatic agents, under the
guidance principally of Lieutenant Hodson. It is
within our power to record briefly hereafter the main
incidents only of the assault on Delhi ; but the
interior of the city could be vividly imagined from
the almost daily bulletins furnished by the spies.

A veil must be drawn over the horrors which

o 2



196 HORRORS WITHIN THE CITY.

inaugurated the brief and bloody attempt at rule of
the last of the Moguls. " The civilization of fifty-
three years," wrote a newswriter to the Rajah of
Kuppoorthullah, " has been destroyed in three
hours." A reality of that scarcely shadowed in
dreams of bygone ages, was being enacted. Glitter,
squalor, mock monarchy, lip subserviency, license,
fanaticism, bloodshed, treachery, cruel murders, con-
fiscation, pillage, abject cowardice, jealousies, strifes,
vacillation, disorganization, and finally hopeless bar-
barism characterized the state of things in the city
during the revolt. Having no wish to harrow unne-
cessarily the feelings of the reader, a few only of
the salient points will be touched upn.

Early in the insurrection a bunniah wrote what
must have been passing in the mind of every respect-
able native. "If Delhi is taken quickly there
remains no other fear ; if not, this is a time to be
anxious for our lives and property. The price of
gold mohurs has risen to twenty-four rupees."

On the 2nd of June not a European remained alive !
The extraordinary excitement of fanaticism was
found necessary even in the earliest stage to give
the selfish and trembling sepoy a religious " cry."
" Moulvies " especially flocked to Delhi and became
Ghazees, and devoted themselves to the slaughter



MEASURES OF THE KING OF DELHI. 197

of the infidels. The green standard waved over the
Jumma Musjid, and attracted all eyes. The dread
of British might and vengeance was manifest from
the first ; so no attempt was made to come out on
the Kurnaul road, though preparations for defence
were actually adopted. Rumours of collusion with
Affghanistan were rife, although no direct communi-
cation seems to have been opened; but the mutiny
of all the Poorbeeah regiments was confidently relied
on from the first. The King, or those who used his
name and influence, proclaimed the remission of reve-
nue to all villagers who joined. Meanwhile the army
before Delhi was kept aware of the position of all the
guns inside, and of the mutinous reinforcements.

The pulsation of politics appears to have been
nicely distinguished. Sometimes we read " The King
is dispirited at the result of the last fight, and wishes
to retreat, or to cross the river." The Mahajuns had
been asked to advance twenty lakhs ; but they re-
quested some sort of government, and the resumption
of the " ordinary routine of trade " as a guarantee.

The twenty-second attack had been made on the
little army when General Wilson assumed command.
On the 19th of July it was known that " a Kerannie"
(subsequently proved to be a Sergeant-Major of the
rebel 28th N. I.) had joined, and was working with



198 DISORGANIZATION IN DELHI.

the Bareilly mutinous brigade. Further items of
intelligence, of sufficient significance, continued to
pour in. Disorganization had begun reigning in the
city. The King had proclaimed pensions of three
rupees monthly to the widows whose husbands fell
in his cause. Seven men had been killed in an
affray originating in a cow-slaying enterprise ; con-
fusion and riot ensued, and the sepoys, not the King,
were " dominant." The released Agra gaol convicts
had begun to come in ; desertion of sepoys, who had
provided themselves with gold mohurs had become
not unfrequent. There was no care for the wounded :
there was no lint or ointment, as in British days, for
open sores. The amount of percussion caps had been
narrowly counted, and was said to be failing. The
plan of fighting the British force every day did not
appear to " succeed ;" and arrangements for a grand
assault, with the King at the head of the army and
the whole city population, was determined upon, but
not carried out. A subadar of artillery, named
Bukht Khan, had been named Commander- in-Chief ;
from personal preponderance, only, apparently. He
and others had represented to the King that the
Delhi and Meerut forces were too fond of plunder,
and objected to fighting. Three divisions had been
made, and a General created to go out at each attack !



POEMS AND PREDICTIONS. 199

Sometimes news almost diverting was communicated.
Poets sprang forth. One of the earliest emanations
of their muse was the following. It possibly has lost
somewhat of the pith in the translation, which is as
follows :

" Suraj-ood-deen Bahadoor, the conqueror of England,
Second of his name, has issued a new currency."

Horrid intelligence, however, predominated ; grati-
fying to the debased, sensual and cruel Asiatic,
but almost paralysing to the English mind. The
British troops required not the aid of exasperated
feelings and factitious incitements to urge them to do
their duty ; so the tales of Jhansi and Cawnpore were
kept from them, out of respect to their feelings.

Again, a Pundit rich in occult lore had made his
appearance, and had declared, by his knowledge of the
stars, that the sepoys would rule this year in India !
Tuesday the 21st of July was the day this oracle
fixed for the great attack. " The horses' hoofs were
to be steeped in blood, and the action was to rival
the great conflict of the Maha Bharut ; after that the
sepoys were to be dominant over India."

Pursuing the rather tangled thread of native
information from the interior, we find other important
and pregnant indications. " The rebels" (even on the
19th of July,) "were getting sick of ill success, and



200 OUK SYSTEM OF ESPIONAGE.

some escaped every day in disguise." Indeed after the
assault, it was found that the majority of those who
defended the city were armed fanatics and towns-
people.

The necessity also of hospitals began to dawn
upon the new authorities at Delhi, and native doctors,
a class who have as a rule behaved disgracefully,
were found to dress wounds. Tip to this date our
small artillery force had made but little impression
on the city. Hopes were still entertained by the
King of the monetary aid of native chieftains ; such
as the rebel Nawab of Jujjur, who has since been
hanged. Fairly accurate information continued to
be obtained, even up to the numbers killed by the
British army in every repulse ; and the repulses were
not only signal but invariable. For days and weeks
the gallantry of the 9th Lancers, of the Artillery,
of the renowned 60th Rifles, and of officers and men
whose names are familiar as household words, was
the theme of admiration in all peaceful quarters.

From between the fifteenth to the end of July the
fate of India was in the balance. The most tre-
mendous efforts of the mutineers were directed
against the British at this period, and with fearful
odds. Our Asiatic spies were vigilant. Every
reinforcement to the mutineers was carefully de-



GENEKAL BUKHT KHAN. 201

tailed ; and every engineering project explained, even
to the length and width of beams of wood in con-
templated structures.

One of the most leading characters appears to
have been the aforenamed Subadar Bukht Khan,
upon whom the King conferred the rank and title of
General. He is described by his late commanding
officer (Captain Waddy, H. A.), to have been " sixty
years of age ; to have served the Company for forty
years ; his height about five feet ten inches ; forty-
four inches round the chest; family of Hindoo ex-
traction, but converted under temptation of terri-
torial acquisition ; a very bad rider, owing to large
stomach and round thighs, but clever, and a good
drill." Such is a faithful and authentic description
of one of the rebel leaders. The Neemuch force,
when it arrived on the 27th of July, did not approve
of this gentleman being Commander-in-Chief ; and
splits in council, most valuable to our cause, began
to widen into breaches of internal disunion. Even
the varied and continual, though unauthentic stories of
large reinforcements of Europeans from the south,
while they afforded occasional and spasmodic exulta-
tion to British hearts, contributed not a little to the
dismay of the rebels, from their very vagueness.
The native mind actuated upon by fear is especially
prone to exaggeration and loss of self-reliance.



202 THE RIVAL COMMANDERS.

The fame of General Neill at Allahabad and
Cawnpore had not been too glowingly depicted ; and
the anticipated arrival of two European regiments,
called respectively the "devils" and the " cannibals,"
was deplored by the inhabitants of Delhi. These
regiments of enviable fame were supposed to be the
Madras Fusiliers and the 93rd Highlanders. In
short, the hopes of the British, even in ultimate
reinforcements, never came up to the fabulous
credulity of the natives in their awful proximity.

About the 3 1st of July we heard of premeditated
attacks postponed in consequence of the Commander-
in-Chief, Bukht Khan, and General Ghous Khan
hating one another. On the great Bukra Eed, as on
other religious occasions, the utmost fanaticism was
incited in place of bravery. But, except among
the local Goojur population, sympathy was scarce
throughout the country. General Wilson's policy of
repulsing with effect, and leaving the mutineers to
fight amongst themselves, told well. Unaware of
our line of policy, though strongly convinced of the
indomitable determination of the British, no endea-
vours were omitted after the last day of July to
seduce our troops into isolated positions ; but these
never succeeded, through great demonstrations were
attempted.

True to Asiatic system, the mutineers, cowed by



DISCONTENT IN THE CITY. 203

incessant losses, notwithstanding their numerical pre-
ponderance, and disheartened by the conflict of selfish
internal feeling as to their future destiny, began to
assail the King, as responsible for not having suc-
ceeded in the position in which they had placed him.
They complained of want of support, after retiring
night after night discomfited. The King replied that
the mutineers had ruined him ; whereupon he was
railed at in full- durbar. The King's son, the master-
spirit of the rebellion, though stained with the
slaughter of innocents, found it impossible to govern
the malcontent spirits of the black-hearted soldiers ;
violent reproaches were exchanged, and delays in
making attacks were petitioned for, which perforce
had to be granted. These delays were of fruitful
value to General Wilson and his army. In the city,
the standing army was beginning to be found " un-
wieldy, and funds ran short." More attempts, there-
fore, to cut off British supplies were again made ;
but in no case succeeded. The British mind had
been frequently cheered by reports of the enemy's
want of percussion caps, but the well-informed knew
that at least three hundred thousand and more must
be in store. Experiments were essayed at making
detonating powder, and with signal failure. The
most urgent attempts were made to seduce the Maha-



204 DESERTION, DEPRESSION, AND DISEASE.

rajah of Pattialah, and to impress upon the people
the triumph of the rebel cause. But it came to the
ears of the King, on the authority of " Toolla Ram,
that the English were not yet driven into the sea."
He had made incessant demands on the city. He
had even been importuned to send subsidies to
Waleedad Kian, the miscreant of Malagurh.

By the 4th of August desertions from the muti-
neers became of daily occurrence, especially under
pretence of " furlough." That reinforcements were
pouring down from the Punjab was no secret to
them, and the name of Lawrence was dismaying.
The Ghazees (fanatics) who arrived were also a
source of trouble to the King's party, as their politics
on the 4th of August had swerved considerably
towards the English side. About the 5th of August
a General Bukhtawur Khan (probably Bukht Khan)
seems to have got into disgrace ; for we hear that
through his neglect the force of General Sirdar
Singh had " got out of spirits ; they had been kept
in the wet for two days." This disagreement the
King is said to have reconciled. The hearts of the
most sanguine rebels still entertained hopes of suc-
cour from Gwalior ; but none came. Though there
was no famine in the city, there was much disease.
Prices were still low, but cholera began to rage.



THE KING OF DELHI'S IDEAS. 205

The citizens almost asked to be rescued from sepoy
rule. Friday was an especial day for sorties ; but
Baal did not answer to the call of his priests. Rohil-
cund affairs, about the beginning of August, seemed
to have occupied the King's attention; and he had
hopes that residents of the Gangetic Doab, who pre-
tended to be eager to pay revenue on arrival of his
Majesty's chupprassies, might be induced to remit
money.

Occasionally the King dallied with the muse, and
the translation of one couplet runs thus " I, Nuffer
(his poetical name), will seize London ; for what is
the distance from Hindoostan ? " The King was also
informed from Lucknow that Goordutoola Beg, son
of Mendoo Khan, had reinstated the son of Wajid
Alice Shah, late King of Oude, subject to the
Emperor's approval, and had commenced coining
with the following inscription :

" Bazar zud sicca nusrut tarazee,
Surajood-deen Bahadur Shah Ghazee."

Despair began to reign in the rebels' hearts, and
fanatic excitements were again resorted to. Hindoo
pundits began to publish and sing wild and extrava-
gant rhapsodies, of which the following may be a
good specimen. After a portentous announcement,
that he had arranged with the Almighty for preter-



206 BRAIIiLDsICAL EXHORTATIONS.

natural agency, and had set the guards of Hanooman
round the camp of the English, the rebel troops were
thus addressed :

" No white-face can move out,
Therefore advance your batteries without fear.
The camp shall be destroyed like Lunka by fire ;
Increase the number of your guns.
By the grace of Bulbhudder and Ramchunder
The camp shall be annihilated.
Fight without intermission day and night ;
Protect from injury our mother the cow.
Offer sacrificial food to Joala Maee and Bhovanee,
And distribute it among the Brahmins.
Present daily an offering of fourteen cows.
I have scrutinized the leaves of the book,
iNirput Jee Jurria, and ascertain that Suneechur (the

god of vengeance)

Has descended upon the heads of the English.
Offer sacrifices to Sunneechur ;
See what a moment will bring forth."

About the time when Heaven had been thus stormed
with Brahminical supplication, a great protdge of the
King, and a bitter and fanatic enemy of the British,
Hakeem Ahsanoollah Khan, had been cleverly out-
diplomatized by Rujfub Ali, Meer Moonshee, under
the guidance of the accomplished Hodson.

Rujjub Ali addressed his Mohamedan friend in a
letter, couched in terms which, if the letter fell
into the sepoys' hands, must infallibly lead them to
infer the treachery of the Hakeem ; and if not dis-
covered by them the Hakeem's allegiance might be



DISSENSIONS AMONGST THE ENEMY. 207

diverted to the British side. The letter was very
clever, and the annexed couplet was introduced as
probably applicable to the Hakeem's position, but
certainly applicable to that of the puppet monarch.
" A fly was seated on a piece of straw floating in the
urine of an ass, and thought himself conducting a
ship." Very shortly after the receipt of the letter,
the Hakeem paid a visit to the Begum Sumroo's
house, wherein was deposited the rebel powder
manufactory. It exploded. This roused the sus-
picions of the sepoys, who rushed to the Hakeem's
residence, searched it, and found the letter of Rujjub
Ali ; whereon they plundered the premises, gutted
them completely, and finished by conflagration. The
Hakeem narrowly escaped with life, by darting to
the palace. Great divisions were the result of this
adroit piece of tactics. A new powder manufactory,
far out of the deadly range of British batteries, was
erected at Dariogunge. The King's authority was
spurned; he wished to abdicate. The enemy lost
all unanimity, strength, and concert Councils in
the city, under different presidents, sat continually.
Though with unity of action the annihilation of
the British force, by simple overwhelming numbers,
could hardly have been doubted, yet each new
commander distrusted his rival. Fresh and heavy



208 THE REBELS DISHEARTENED.

levies of money were made on the inhabitants, and a
general and honest prayer for the return of peaceful
times and British law and order was breathed around
by the ruined trades people.

The mutineers felt that the disposition of their
forces was accurately known. So soon as a damaging
battery was erected from the interior, suggestions
as to the position proper for another to silence it
from the exterior, were tendered and carried out.
Want of heart, the sure precursor of defeat, had
began to be displayed. Bands which had remained
with the mutinous brigades, assembled one evening
before the tent of General Bukht Khan to celebrate
fictitious captures and imaginary triumphs, and to
shroud the ignominy of incessant defeats and almost
daily loss of guns; but none were deceived by
imposture so palpable. The King at last shut himself
up: when he appeared in durbar he maintained a
gloomy silence. The Mirza Mogul and General Bukht
Khan were in open feud ; which not even the contem-
plation of the certain ruin impending could contribute
to appease, or yield to the cultivation of a good under-
standing. The latter complained that the former
had demoralized his division, who were envious of
the superior plunder obtained. The King attempted
to harangue the army, declaring that " as he had



THE DELHI EXCHEQUER EMPTY. 209

never called them together, so they might disperse
as soon as they liked." The Neemuch Brigade
became particularly broken-spirited. The Bareilly
Brigade showed symptoms of retirement. The
steady monthly salaries under the British Govern-
ment began to be missed ; and the King had a third
time to impose additional burdens on the wretched
townspeople. But the golden egg had been ex-
tracted, and there were no supplies. Indications of
partiality for the King's family were now (16th
August) apparent even in the letters of correspon-
dents. The names of Neill and Nicholson had
become of terrific notoriety ; and the most exaggerated
reports of British reinforcements were again circu-
lated and believed in. Upstart chieftains on all sides,
and mushroom commanders, pestered the King of
Delhi for subsidies and pecuniary aid. But the
exchequer was empty.

The internal affairs of the city continued this wise
until the 30th of August, when the correspondence
to the camp became distinctly varied in its style,
according as it was composed by a Mahomedan, or
by a Hindoo. The approaching hour was known
and feared. Of one, Heera Singh, who was made
major of brigade of the Neemuch force, it is declared
by a Hindoo correspondent that on the 13th of

p. P



210 OVERTURES PROPOSED.

August the King spoke to him " encouragingly,"
directed him to re-organize the brigade, and though
he " could not give such guns as had been lost, he
would replace them to the best of his ability."

Particular enumerations of the force which re-
mained were made, for the information of the British
camp ; but these were only partially correct, both as
to numbers and names. The 70th N. I., who were
at Barrackpore, were named. There is mention of a
leading character in the Gwalior Contingent who
offered, if put in command of the whole force
under the King's orders, to attack Agra ; but the
answer was to the effect that the King " could not
interfere." The formidable nature of the Rohilkund
insurrection was well known in Delhi ; but the
behaviour of the Nawab of Rampoor damped . the
ardour of the rebels ; and the hill station at Nainee
Tal has been preserved intact. From a Mahoniedan
correspondent we are informed of the enormous
exertions which Muftfe Sudder-ood-deen, the afore-
mentioned Hukeem Ahsanoolah Khan, Mirza Ellahee
Bux and Begum Zeenet Mahal are prepared to make
for the English Government. Four thousand horse-
men, irregulars, became suddenly possessed of an
anxious desire to embrace their families once more
if their lives were spared. The infantry were equally



APPEAL FOR MERCY. 211

anxious for change of air. The zealous personages
did not wish to screen " actual rebels, and would
wish all those who had committed bloodshed and
plunder to be severely punished" indeed; but the
mercy of the Government is particularly asked for
the " King, the nobles, and the citizens of Delhi, who
are innocent and helpless ! "

So distracted were the councils of the interior
about the beginning of September, that frequently
the British army was harassed by watching for pre-
meditated night attacks, which never were made. The
Neemuch Brigade on the 8th of September swore
to conquer or die: Hindoo and Mussulman troops
grasped hands and exchanged oaths not to desert.

More financial measures were resolved on. All
villages near Boolundshuhur, which had befriended
the British, were to be plundered for a fourth time ;