almost running in their efforts to reach the golden minarets of Delhi, appeared a vast mass of infantry, their red coats soiled with dust, and their bayonets glittering in the sun. No hesitation was visible in all that advancing mass; they came on as if confident of the result."* Nearer and nearer they approached-they were almost on the bayonets of the 54th-when the brigadier gave the word to the latter to fire. They did fire; but it was in the air, and instantly they were fraternising with the mutineers!

Then began a scene of horror and confusion, which no one has been able to describe except by piecemeal. The 3rd cavalry fired upon the officers of the 54th, killing Colonel Ridley (who shot two of them before he fell); and Captains Smith and Burrowes, Lieutenants Edwardes, Waterfield, and Butler, were either killed or wounded. Then the mutineers and the 54th rushed into the city together, where they were soon joined by numbers of the 38th and 74th; and a party of the 3rd cavalry made for the palace, to communicate with the king. Every Christian these men encountered was cut down; the commissioner, and Captain Douglas, commanding the palace guard of the padishah, being murdered in the very precincts of the palace. The Rev. Mr. Jenkins, chaplain to the residency, his daughter, and another lady, were also killed near the same spot. Brigadier Graves succeeded in rallying a few men-for all were not faithless-and retreated to the Flagstaff tower, where he found many ladies and gentlemen had arrived before him a company of the 38th were also there, with two guns; but they refused to take any steps for the defence of the tower. Major Abbott, of the 74th, endeavoured to get some of his men to follow him for a time, a party of them did so, and they took possession of the main-guard at the Cashmere gate. There they remained till a tremendous explosion was heard, the cause of which was at the time unknown; but it originated in as heroic an act of self-devotion as any on record.

Delhi had two magazines; one at the cantonments, which were a short distance from the walls; the other in the interior of the city. At the former there were about 10,000 barrels of powder. The latter, which stood between a work, called the Selimghur Fort, and the Cashmere gate, The Red Pamphlet.

contained a vast number of cartridges (900,000 it is stated in some accounts), two complete field trains, a large number of field guns and mortars, 8,000 or 10,000 muskets, and an abundance of shot and shell. The leaving such a vast collection of the matériel of war, under any circumstances, entirely in the hands of native troops, was one of those acts which it is impossible to account for, or to defend and making Delhi-the residence of the prince whom, in his fallen state, the natives were known to regard with veneration-its depôt, was, in the highest degree, injudicious. The magazine was in the charge of Lieutenant Willoughby; and that morning Lieutenant Forrest, assistant-commissary at Delhi, was with him; also Lieutenant Raynor, of the artillery; Conductors Shaw, Buckley, and Scully; Sub-conductor Crow; Sergeants Edwards and Stewart-nine Europeans in all. Early in the day, when it was known that the mutineers were on the road to Delhi, Sir Theophilus Metcalfe, one of the civil servants of the Company, went to the arsenal, to suggest that two guns should be placed upon the bridge of boats, for the purpose of barring their passage. However, at that time they were too far advanced, and it was found that this suggestion could not be carried out. Lieutenant Willoughby then resolved that the magazine should not fall into their hands. He ordered the gates to be closed and barred; placed two 6-pounders, doubly loaded with grape, under Crow and Stewart, to command the entrance: four other guns were loaded, and stationed so as to overlook different accessible points; and a train was laid to the magazine-the lieutenant knowing that resistance could only be maintained for a short time. If he had had more Europeans with him, he might have protracted it; but the native servants connected with the ordnance department, like the sepoys, were all disaffected. The young hero had scarcely completed his arrangements, when the palace guards appeared, and demanded possession of the magazine, "in the name of the king of Delhi." They got no answer, and the gates remained closed. Soon a large body of the mutineers came up, and scaling-ladders were placed against the walls. No sooner were the ladders in position, than the native artillerymen, to a man, availed themselves of them to leave the magazine, and join the mutineers withoutside. The loaded guns were then dis

charged upon the mass-reloaded, and fired again and again, till the grapeshot at hand was exhausted. To have quitted the guns, for the purpose of procuring more from the storehouses, would have left the passage free for the mutineers, who began to throng the walls; and Lieutenant Willoughby gave the signal to fire the train. This was done by Conductor Scully, who sacrificed his life in his devotion to his duty. The shock was terrific; and the confusion enabled the surviving Europeans to get to the sallyport, and make their escape. Lieutenant Willoughby was severely wounded, and subsequently died; Lieutenant Forrest was also wounded, but he reached Meerut in safety; as did Lieutenant Raynor and Conductor Buckley; but none escaped unhurt.* Many of the mutineers perished; the number has been variously stated, from 500 to 1,000 and 1,500: probably the smallest number is nearest the truth. The magazine works were laid in ruins, but all the ammunition was not destroyed; and many of the arms were afterwards rendered available by the rebels.

When the explosion was heard at the Cashmere gate, Major Abbott ordered Captain Gordon to proceed with a company of the 74th, to see if he could render any assistance; but his troops refused to move. He himself was urged by the commandant, on the one hand, to send two guns to the protection of the cantonment; and by Major Paterson and the treasurer, on the other, to guard the treasure. He could comply with neither request. The men would not obey orders; and when shot were heard on all sides, the major was told by his corps, that the sepoys were murdering their officers; that they had protected him as long as they could; and they urged him to follow some of his comrades, who were seen in two or three carriages, going forward on the road to Kurnaul. The major, finding remonstrance and command alike useless, took the colours, and he and Captain Hawkey, mounting one horse, set off after the carriages. The officers in the latter were Captains Tytler, Nicoll, and Wallace; Lieutenant Aislabie, Ensign Elton, and Farrier-sergeant Law. They were overtaken by Major Abbott and Captain Hawkey; and all reached either Kurnaul or Meerut in safety: Captain Gordon and Lieutenant Reveley

Abridged from Lieutenant Forrest's narrative. † Abridged from a letter of Major Abbott's. The Delhi Gazette (extra), published at Agra.

were killed before any of the officers left.† The party at the Flagstaff tower also heard the explosion, and the company of the 38th immediately took possession of the guns; then Brigadier Graves saw that his last hope was gone. He therefore advised all to make their way towards Kurnaul or Meerut as fast as possible, he remaining till the last. Conveyances were at hand, in which the ladies were placed; the gentlemen following on horseback: and after encountering many hardships (several having narrow escapes), most of the unhappy fugitives reached one or other of the above places in safety.‡

While this was taking place at the outworks, withinside the city all was confusion, plunder, and massacre; the ruffians of Delhi and from the neighbouring villages having joined the mutineers. One party went to the bank, seized the money, and murdered Mr. Berresford, the manager, his wife, and five children. Others plundered the government treasury, and sacked the church: the office of the Delhi Gazette was also destroyed, and the workmen hacked to pieces. The sub-editor, Mr. Wagentreiber, escaped, with his wife and child, and a young lady, his step-daughter, in an open carriage, to Kurnaul; he owed his life to his rifle, with which he disabled several assailants on the road, his wife or stepdaughter reloading it for him after it was discharged. All the Europeans who could, made their escape; and many passed the night in the fields, concealed in the long jungle or grass. Others hid themselves in the city: all that were met with-men, women, and children were murdered. Many horrible tales were told of the mutilation and violation of the females before they were killed. The truth of these stories has been questioned; but without these enormities, the horrors of the sack of Delhi baffle description. Our readers may imagine what they would feel if thousands of ruffians were murdering, destroying, and plundering all around them: this was the state of Delhi during the night of the 11th of May, 1857; and the thrilling interest of the narratives of some of the survivors cannot be surpassed. They would fill a large volume; but we have no room for the details. Sir Theophilus Metcalfe was one who escaped, after being concealed in Delhi three days.

The mutineers appear to have taken their instructions, in the first instance, from the king; and all the Europeans who, on the