it was afterwards heard that he had joined another party, and had got safe into Benares.

About nightfall of the second day after reaching Ajeetsingh's fort, Mrs. Block, Mrs. Goldney, and Mrs. Stroyan, started in doolies, disguised still as native women, escorted by Seetul Pandey the Ameythee jumadar, and his men; who were joined by Ajeetsingh himself with an escort of one hundred men. They passed along the road without accident, and in the morning reached the banks of the Ganges. In the low lands, adjoining the river, were a number of melon-fields covered with fruit. Ajeetsingh's men rushed off into the fields and returned laden with melons pursued by the screaming peasants, loudly shouting complaints of this act of plunder. But though alarmed, the ladies were not molested in consequence. At the river bank they were detained some time, waiting for a boat. Here Mrs. Goldney received frightful abuse in the native language from a native, who was seated on the river bank watching the proceedings of the party. She was glad to retreat and hide herself inside her dooly. The escort crossed with them, and accompanied the ladies to the house of Mr. M. C. Court, C. S., the magistrate of Allahabad, which was one of the few which remained standing in the station. They were most kindly received by this gentleman, who paid rewards to Ajeetsingh, and to Seetul Pandey, jumadar, and let them go.

APPENDIX, No. 10.

ACCOUNT OF THE RELIEF OF ARRAH, DICTATED BY MAJOR VINCENT EYRE, BENGAL ARTILLERY.

ON the 10th of July, No. 3 Horse Field Battery, with the 1st Company 5th Battalion Artillery attached, recently recalled from Burmah under command of Major V. Eyre, embarked at Calcutta for the Upper Provinces, to form part of the relieving army about to assemble at Allahabad. The horses not having

yet arrived from Burmah, the battery was necessarily dependent on whatever means of draught the country might afford. On the evening of the 25th of July, the steamer (Lady Thackwell") arrived at Dinapoor; where the three N. I. regiments, the 7th, 8th, and 40th, had on that morning broken into open mutiny. Major Eyre immediately offered his services to General Lloyd, by whose orders he landed three guns, pending the absence of Colonel Huish's battery, which had been sent in pursuit of the mutineers. Early on the following morning the guns were re-embarked, and Major Eyre resumed his voyage; having been authorized by the Assistant Adjutant-General, Major Lydiard, to exercise his own discretion as to the expediency of leaving a portion of his battery at Ghazeepoor, to assist in overawing the 65th Regt. N. I., stationed there. The Governor-General had recently evinced some anxiety for the safety of Ghazeepoor: which station was protected by only one weak company of H.M.'s 78th Highlanders, which had been sent there to hold in check the 65th Regt. N. I., which had not yet been disarmed.

On the 28th of July, Major Eyre reached Buxar; where he heard from the stud officers that the Dinapore mutineers had crossed the Soane unchecked, and were beleaguering the civilians at Arrah, in a fortified house in which they had taken refuge; and for whose safety intense anxiety was felt. Reports were spread during the day, that a portion of the mutineers had advanced within twenty miles of Buxar; with the intention of destroying the valuable stud property there. Major Eyre deemed himself justified, in consequence of these reports, in detaining the steamer until the following morning; when finding that there was no immediate ground for alarm, he considered it his duty to push on with all speed, to ascertain the state of affairs at Ghazeepoor. His avowed intention was, however, should all be found quiet at Ghazeepoor, to return to Buxar; and to advance to the relief of Arrah with the aid of such infantry as he might be able to pick up, from the detachments then proceeding up the river.

The steamer reached Ghazeepoor on the afternoon of the 29th, when Major Eyre had a consultation with Colonel Dames, H.M.'s 37th Regt., commanding the station; at whose earnest desire he landed two guns under Lieutenant Gordon. In return for these, Colonel Dames consented to detach twenty-five men of the 78th Highlanders with Major Eyre, to aid in the relief of Arrah. The Honourable Captain Hastings, superintending the stud at Buxar, had, in his anxiety for the safety of that station, preceded Major

Eyre on horseback to Ghazeepoor; to urge upon the authorities there, the expediency of adopting some decisive measures for the relief of Arrah. He returned in the steamer to Buxar, accompanied by Mr. Bax, C. S., Assistant Magistrate, who was deputed by the Magistrate of Ghazeepoor to assist Major Eyre at Buxar. The steamer anchored off Buxar at 9 P.M. on the same evening (the 29th); and Major Eyre was agreeably surprised to learn that a detachment of 160 men of H.M.'s 5th Fusiliers under Captain F. W. L'Estrange, had just arrived in the 'James Hume' steamer at Buxar. Major Eyre lost no time in requesting that officer's co-operation in the projected enterprise. This was unhesitatingly given; and at an early hour on the following morning, the 30th of July, three guns were landed, and 150 men of H.M.'s 5th Fusiliers; and a field force was organized. Thus reinforced, Major Eyre considered himself bound to send back the twenty-five men of the 78th Highlanders to Ghazeepoor. The field force was strengthened during the day by fourteen mounted volunteers, who were placed under the command of Lieutenant F. C. Jackson, 12th N. I., of the Karuntadee Stud. The Honourable Captain Hastings was appointed staff-officer of the force; and exerted himself during the day with great success in procuring the necessary carriage, and commissariat supplies. At 5 P.M. all was ready to start; the artillery ammunition boxes being carried on light carts, to avoid the delay attendant on extricating the waggons from the hold of the steamer. The 'James Hume' steamer was at the same time despatched to Dinapoor with intelligence of these proceedings, and to invite the co-operation of the authorities.

The force commenced its march a little after 5 P.M., and was joined about the sixth mile by four elephants, sent by the Dumraon Raja at the instigation of Mr. Bax. This was the only occasion on which that chief afforded the slightest assistance. The bullocks being fresh from the plough, occasioned great delay during the first march. And the road being also bad, the force did not reach its encampment at Nya Bhojepoor, distant only fifteen miles from Buxar, until daybreak on the 31st of July. During the march a mounted spy was shot by one of the volunteers. He was recognised as one of the confidential men of Baboo Kowursingh, the brother of the Dumraon Raja, who exercised extraordinary influence over the Rajpoots of Shahabad. This chief had, during a long lifetime, cultivated the friendship of the European gentry; who up to a very late period had placed implicit confidence in his fidelity. Of late

years, however, his affairs had become much embarrassed, and his large estates in the Shahabad district had become extensively mortgaged. To this circumstance, and to Brahminical influence, his present treachery may probably be attributed. It has since been ascertained, beyond doubt, that the mutiny of the N. I. regiments at Dinapoor was instigated by him; and that he had been actively engaged in exciting rebellion in various other quarters. The Dinapoor mutineers had invaded Arrah by his invitation; and had with great pomp proclaimed him King of Shahabad.

At 4 P.M., on the 31st, the force resumed its march, and favoured by moonlight reached the village of Shahpoor by the morning of the 1st of August. There letters were received from Buxar, conveying the unexpected tidings that a force of 350 Europeans and 50 Seikhs, which had marched on Arrah from Dinapoor, had been entrapped into an ambuscade, and almost totally destroyed. It was also intimated by friendly natives, that several of the bridges between Shahpoor and Arrah had been destroyed, in order to delay the advance of the Buxar force. As no time was to be lost, the force resumed its march at 2 P.M., and at about the fourth mile, interrupted a party of hostile villagers, in the very act of cutting the roadway of a bridge. This caused an hour's detention, which was employed in restoring the roadway, and the force proceeded without further interruption to within a short distance of Gujrajegunje. Here it bivouacked for the night; and a party of fifty of H.M.'s 5th Fusiliers was sent forward to guard a bridge leading to the village. On the following morning, the 2nd of August, the force marched at daybreak; and had advanced about half a mile beyond Gujrajegunje, when bugles were heard sounding the assembly, in a thick and extensive wood about half a mile a-head, through which it was necessary to pass. This wood extended on either flank; and it was necessary to use great caution, to avoid being entirely hemmed in. Major Eyre, therefore, halted his force in order to reconnoitre. The enemy now began to show themselves in what appeared overwhelming force. Not content with occupying the wood to our front, large bodies were seen to extend themselves along the woods on either flank, with the evident intention of surrounding the little force opposed to them, To bring matters to a decisive issue, Major Eyre drew up his force on the open plain to the right of the road, and offered battle. The three guns opened fire to the front and flanks, causing the enemy to screen themselves as much as possible behind the broken ground, between

the two positions. From this they opened a heavy fire of musketry, and Major Eyre ordered forward skirmishing parties of the 5th Fusiliers to retaliate. The superiority of the Enfield rifles now became apparent. Galled by their accurate fire, the enemy gradually fell back to the shelter of the woods. Meanwhile, Major Eyre directed the full fire of his artillery on the enemy's centre, with the view of forcing a passage through the wood. They scattered themselves right and left, leaving the road clear. And under cover of the Enfield rifles, the guns and baggage were promptly moved forward; and pushed through the wood, before the enemy could again close his divided wings.

Emerging from the woods, the road was an elevated causeway bounded on either side by partially inundated rice-fields: across which the baffled enemy could only open a distant fire. Finding their intentions thus frustrated, they hurried back to intercept the force at the village of Beebeegunje, distant about two miles a-head; where they had effectually destroyed a bridge, and completely commanded the approaches to it from breastworks, and the houses of the village. Major Eyre again halted his force to refresh the men and cattle, within a quarter of a mile of the bridge and sent out scouts to search for a ford across the river, which separated him from the enemy. Here it was discovered that the Dumraon Raja's four elephants had taken fright in passing through the wood, and run away after casting their loads, consisting unfortunately of the great coats and bedding of the European soldiers. No ford was discovered. And as it was plainly impossible to effect a passage over the bridge, Major Eyre determined on making a flank march to the nearest point of the railway, distant only one mile, along which there was a direct road to Arrah. This movement was for a time masked by the guns, which opened a brisk fire upon the village, while the infantry and baggage pushed forward in the new direction. But no sooner did the enemy discover the manoeuvre, than they hastened in great numbers to intercept the force, at the angle of a thick wood which abutted on the railway. En route Major Eyre discovered a ford, but, as his force had already passed it, he proceeded, followed up pretty closely by a large body of infantry and cavalry, being the raw levies of Kowursingh; while the three mutineer regiments pursued a course parallel to his own, on the opposite side of the stream. On reaching the railway, it became necessary to halt the force and assume a defensive attitude; until the mutineers could be dislodged from the wood, from which they opened a very galling musketry fire. For a whole hour, the