CHAPTER XIV.

FROM THE 1ST TO THE 25TH OF SEPTEMBER.

Dry weather succeeded by heavy rain.-Distressing accident which caused the death of Lieutenant Birch.-Death of Major Bruere, 13th N. I.-Explosion of a mine by the enemy at Gubbins' bastion on the 5th of September.-A second mine exploded at the Brigade Mess.— The enemy make a general attack; but are beaten back with great loss.-Enemy's battery across the river.-Mines and countermines.— Sortie outside the churchyard. The enemy's batteries opposed to Gubbins' bastion are not silenced.-Captain Fulton, Engineers, killed in it. Unrivalled merits of Captain Fulton.-His family left with slender provision. - Lieutenant J. C. Anderson succeeds Captain Fulton.-Raja Man Singh joins the enemy.-Account of Man Singh's antecedents. His family not long established in Oudh.-He takes the lead in the disturbances between the Hindoos and Mahomedaus.— Constant alarms.-Desertion of the cooks of the Artillery, and 32nd Regt. Dilapidation of the Brigade Mess, Martinière, Innes', &c. posts. Another mortar howitzer constructed. - Great loss in artillery officers; Major Simons and Lieutenant Cunliffe die.-Clothing of the garrison.-Ordinary colour of it.-Materials for dyeing how obtained. -Eclipse of the sun.-Casualties, and deaths.—Ungud returns on the 22nd of September, the bearer of good news.-Artillery of the relieving force heard on the 23rd of September.-Fears of the natives on the 24th. Captain Radcliffe, 7th Light Cavalry, mortally wounded on that night.-Entry of the relieving army under Generals Havelock and Outram, on the 25th of September.-Scene at Dr. Fayrer's house upon the entry of the 78th Highlanders.-Excitement within the intrenchment.

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THE first days of September were dry. The wind was from the west; the sun beat vehemently by day, but nights and mornings began to be cool. The pools of water were drying up, and we at first be、lieved that the rainy season had closed. Soon, however, the east wind and wet weather returned; and in the third week we experienced deluges of rain, which greatly injured and damaged our own defences;

and added so much to the difficulty and discomfort of Havelock's last advance.

On the evening of the 2nd of this month, a most distressing and melancholy accident occurred. A mine of the enemy being suspected to have been begun in the broken ground and débris on the west side of our position, a party of four officers proceeded out at dusk to examine it. One of the four was Lieutenant Birch, of the 59th Regt. N. I., who was then attached to the Engineer department. The usual warning was sent to the several adjoining posts, including mine, which immediately overlooked the ground which had to be examined. The duty had been satisfactorily accomplished, and the party was returning, when the sentry at the west battery of my post, who most unfortunately had not been warned, seeing objects moving in the dark outside, fired his musket at them. Unhappily the ball took effect upon Lieutenant Birch, wounding him mortally in the abdomen, and he died after much suffering during the night. It appeared, on inquiry, that the sentry who was on duty when the warning was given by Major Apthorp, had been intermediately relieved, and that the warning had not been communicated to the relieving guard. It was altogether a most lamentable and distressing event. Lieutenant Birch had been only married for six months. He had lost his father, who commanded the 41st N. I., at Seetapoor. His poor wife and his sister were residing with us, when the fatal shot was fired.

This was followed by another sad casualty, in the death of Major Bruere, commanding the 13th N. I., who was killed on the 4th of the month by a rifleball through the chest. He was an excellent rifleman, and had done good service by his practice from

the top of the Brigade Mess. On the date mentioned, while thus engaged, he unfortunately too much exposed himself, and received his death-wound from one of the enemy's marksmen. His remains were carried to the grave by the sepoys of his own regiment, by whom he was much beloved.

With these two sad exceptions, during the first four days nothing of particular importance occurred. The enemy maintained the usual cannonade and fire of musketry all round. This usually began at daylight, and lasted for three hours or more: it then flagged during the middle of the day, and was resumed in the afternoon. The bugling, drumming, and tomtoming, to which we had been so long accustomed, went on as usual at daybreak and at sunset.

The 18-pounder which had been mounted in our south-west battery had been opened, but feebly, upon the enemy's Boolund Bagh battery; for a few shots only were allowed to be fired at a time, and they were not always well directed.

The enemy continued his mines in all directions. One was known to be in progress at the Financial Commissioner's post; a second directed at the Brigade Mess; a third against the Cawnpoor battery; a fourth at the Seikh squares; a fifth pointing at the Church; besides the large mining work which they still carried on against the Redan battery.

Of late, also, we had suspected that they were mining our south-west bastion, on the maintenance of which the defence of our post mainly depended; and some anxiety was felt on the subject. After midnight of the 4th September, I was called away from superintending the repair of our 9-pounder battery, by Captain Edgell, the officer on duty, who told me that the sentry had reported some sounds of

mining. We both proceeded to the roof of the outhouses overlooking the south-west bastion, and, screening ourselves behind some of the remaining broken defences, listened long and attentively; but in vain. The native sentry assured us that he had heard the sound of a pick; but we could hear none. Our ears, however, had not been sharp enough, as the events of the next day proved.

It was just 10, A.M., on the 5th September when we were alarmed by the loud explosion of a mine in the direction of our bastion. The report was so close and loud, and the air was at the moment so darkened by smoke, and by the numerous weighty fragments of earth, which were falling and crashing everywhere about, and over the house, that we all believed that the bastion had been blown up. Hastily seizing our arms we rushed down towards it, expecting to find a breach, and great indeed was our delight in finding the bastion to be safe. A mine had indeed been exploded close to it; but the error of distance was sufficiently great to prevent injury to our work.

The mine had been a large one, as was evinced by the size of the crater which it made, as subsequently seen, and the shock which it gave to all the houses throughout the position. The enemy soon came out in force all round, and fixing a huge ladder with double rows of rungs, so as to allow of two or more men mounting abreast, at the mouth of the 18pounder embrasure, attempted to escalade. But it was an attempt only. They did not show their faces, but thrust the muzzles of their muskets into the embrasure, and fired. They were speedily dislodged by Major Apthorp and the men of the 32nd with hand grenades and musket-shots, while we kept up a heavy fire upon them from the loopholes with which our out

houses were now pierced. After about an hour and a half they fell back into the houses whence they had issued, with heavy loss.

Shortly after the mine at our bastion had been exploded, a smaller one was fired near the Brigade Mess. This last had been discovered: and Captain Fulton had been busy in driving a countermine against it, intending to blow it in. Fortunately our two miners had come up out of the latter to take some refreshment: for otherwise they must have been destroyed with our countermine. This mine of the enemy's also was incomplete, and short, and did no harm. In this quarter also the enemy showed himself well, particularly in the garden outside the Brigade Mess and Seikh square, where a great many of them fell under our musketry. Several other attacks, though less determined, were made in other quarters; and everywhere they were repulsed with heavy loss. During the whole attack, as was always the case, a storm of round shot and musket-balls was kept up; but our men were kept under cover, and we sustained little loss, viz. three men killed, and one wounded. Finally, after maintaining a heavy fusilade upon us from the surrounding houses, the enemy retired: and they were seen many hours after the action, carrying off their killed and wounded in cartloads over the bridges. On this occasion the new battery (18-pounder), erected by Lieutenant Aitken and the 13th N. I. sepoys, rendered good service.

An

A new work had been established by the enemy across the river, from which they considerably annoyed the hospital and adjoining buildings. 18-pounder gun was mounted in it; and on the same day on which this attack was made, a shot from it entered and traversed the whole length of the hospital