attack." Sir Colin Campbell's great object now was to cffect the removal of the non-combatants from the Residency, including the sick and wounded, without exposing them to the fire of the enemy. For this purpose he formed a line of posts on the left rear of his position, which were maintained unbroken, notwithstanding many attacks and a vigorous fire kept up by the rebels.

"Having led the enemy to believe that immediate assault was contemplated, orders were issued for the retreat of the garrison through the lines of our pickets at midnight on the 22d. The ladies and families, the wounded, the treasure, the guns it was thought worth while to keep, the ordnance stores, the grain still possessed by the commissary of the garrison, and the state prisoners, had all been previously removed. Sir James Outram had received orders to burst the guns which it was thought undesirable to take away; and he was finally directed silently to evacuate the Residency of Lucknow at the hour indicated. The dispositions to cover their retreat and to resist the enemy, should he pursue, were so ably carried out that the enemy was completely deceived, and did not attempt to follow. On the contrary, he began firing on our old positions many hours after we had left them. The Dilkhoosa was reached at 4 a.m. on the 23d inst. by the whole force." Thus the relief of Lucknow was effected. The triumph was saddened by the death of Sir Henry Havelock, who, already worn out by the tremendous exertion he had undergone, had also been suffering from dysentery, which at last became incurable. He was removed to the Dilkhoosa, in the hope that a change to a more salubrious air might mitigate the disease; but he died in a few days.

We must for a moment return to Delhithe core and centre of the mutiny. We have seen how, before the arrival of reinforcements from England, and the co-operation of forces brought together from distant stations, the mutiny had to be met by a mere handful of men, who found themselves opposed to a vast body of rebels led by a trained army with weapons, ammunition, and artillery; stimu

lated to the wildest ferocity, and ready for any cruelties. These conditions were severely felt when our troops set out for the recapture of Delhi. General Anson, who was then commander-in-chief, had gone to Simla just before the outbreak of the mutiny at Meerut, and when tidings of the revolt reached him he hastened down to Umballah, where he collected as many troops as could be spared and proceeded toward Delhi. He only reached Kurnaul, where he died of cholera on the 27th of May, and was succeeded in command by Major-general Reed, an aged officer, whose broken health unfitted him for much active service. On the 8th of June, Reed reached the camp of Major-general Sir Henry Barnard at Alleepore, where a large number of troops had assembled; and at the same time Briga dier-general Wilson came up from Meerut with as strong a force as he could bring together, having defeated a body of insurgents on the way, and taken twenty-six guns. On the 8th of June the combined force set out after midnight, and as General Reed had fallen sick the command devolved on General Barnard. The enemy occupied a fortified position with a heavy battery before the city, but they were charged with the bayonets of the 75th Regiment and driven from their guns. Sir Henry Barnard then divided his forces, the column under General Wilson marching along the main trunk-road, while he led his men through the ruined and deserted cantonments to a ridge held by mutineers with their artillery. A short sharp fight sufficed to drive them back, for our men had already learned the fate of their countrywomen, and they smote fiercely and unsparingly. The place was carried, and at the same time Wilson's column, with the impetus of vengeance, had charged its way through highwalled gardens and climbed over obstacles, without pausing in its effort to reach the murderers, who were driven before it, and compelled to retreat in confusion into the city. The Ghoorkas, a hardy tribe of hill soldiers, aided our troops with admirable courage and loyalty, which they continued to display throughout the campaign. The two generals met at a place called Hindoo Rao's House, a

strong brick building on the top of a high hill on the north of the city, and half-way between the former cantonments and the Morce Gate of Delhi. It was near this place that the camp was afterwards pitched, and the house was chosen as the position for bombarding Delhi by means of three batteries constructed to throw shot and shell. In front of the camp was the old cantonment, in the rear a canal, on the left the river Jumna. The ground on which the troops took their position was high and rocky, so that it was well adapted for the siege, during which for months our small force had to struggle against the efforts of the enormous rebel army which had swarmed into the city. The fortifications of Delhi extended about seven miles, with an area of about three square miles, the eastern sides being defended both by the river Jumna and an irregular wall with bastions and towers, solid walls of masonry, parapets for musketry, and all the regular appliances of a great stronghold. On the western side of the city the last spurs of a range of mountains made a low ridge where a number of ravines of considerable depth formed a kind of hollow way, which was of great use in protecting the besiegers; while the large quantities of trees, brushwood, and masses of old building outside the city were also of some advantage by affording cover for the siege operations. We need not follow the details of the siege, which went on for week after week, during which the mutineers would steal out of the city under cover of the rocks and brushwood and endeavour to surprise our camp, but only to be driven back by the Guides (a corps of Sikh soldiers), or by our riflemen, who would pursue them to the very walls of Delhi, every prisoner who was taken being either shot or killed on the spot. Day by day the British lines were extended till our small besieging force reached the ridge nearest the walls, and lay near the Moree and Ajmeer Gates.

A legend had long been circulated among the disaffected natives that the hundredth anniversary of the battle of Plassy would witness the downfall of British power in India. How the prophecy originated it would be difficult to tell, but it is easy to imagine the use that

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was made of it. This centenary was the 23d of June, 1857, and in London a meeting was held for the purpose of erecting a statue to Clive in his native town. There was a good deal of talk about India, and reference was made both in and out of parliament to some disturbing rumours, but nobody appeared to regard the matter as very serious; nobody was aware that a wide-spread rebellion had been growing for six weeks, that regiments were being hurriedly collected in the Punjaub and the north-west to join the small force at the siege of Delhi. Neither the anniversary nor the prophecy was forgotten at Delhi, and the mutineers made a desperate sortie, great numbers of them coming out and keeping up an attack on the English batteries, but only to be driven back with crushing defeat. But with the force at the command of the British generals it appeared impossible to storm the city, and during the heavy rains of July the troops lay in their encampment occupied chiefly in resisting the attacks of the enemy, and firing upon the city. First the health of General Barnard and then the strength of General Reed gave way, and the latter made over the command of the army to Brigadiergeneral Wilson. Without heavy artillery it would have been futile to attempt to storm the strong walls and great fortifications of Delhi, and on the 25th of August it was evident that the enemy was moving out of the city with the intention of crossing the canal and attacking our troops in the rear. General Nicholson was at once despatched with 3000 men to the point at which it was supposed they would cross. The mutineers were drawn up in position between the bridge and the town, but the word was given to our men to cross a broad and deep ford, and directly they had reached the other side they formed in line and charged, broke the ranks of the enemy, and utterly routed them, forcing them to run across the canal and leave all their guns. General Nicholson then blew up the bridge and returned. Not till the 4th of September did the siege train arrive from Meerut, and then not a soldier from England, for all the reinforcements which had by that time arrived were engaged between Calcutta and Cawnpore.

But Delhi must be taken, and the siegeguns were at once placed in position to silence the fire of the enemy from the walls in front of the intended line of attack, between the Water Gate and the Cashmere Gate. On the 13th the Cashmere Bastion was in ruins, the Moree Battery nearly silenced, and the magazine and works at the Water Bastion destroyed. Then out went an order to the army, declaring the general's reliance upon British pluck and determination, cautioning the men to keep together and not to straggle from their columns, reminding the troops of the murders committed on their officers and comrades, as well as on women and children; and while announcing that no quarter should be given to mutineers, calling upon the men "for the sake of humanity and the honour of the country to which they belonged, to spare all women and children who came in their way." The Cashmere Gate was to be blown up, and through the breach the army was to force its way in and storm the city. It was a desperate service which was required by the explosion party, and it was done in the face of death. The sappers and miners, covered by the fire of the 6th Rifles, advanced to the gate at double quick march; the first being those who carried the powder-bags, followed by Lieutenant Salkeld, Corporal Burgess, and the remainder of the devoted band. The advanced men of the forlorn hope reached the gateway unhurt to find that part of the drawbridge had been destroyed; but walking like cats across the beams that remained, each laid his bag of powder at the gate, though the enemy was firing at him through a wicket. Sergeant Carmichael fell dead as he lodged his bag in its place. Havildar Mahor, of the native sappers, was severely wounded; but the work was done, and the advanced party slipped down into the ditch to make room for Lieutenant Salkeld to bring up his party to fire the charge. Before he could set light to it he was shot in the leg, and handed his slowmatch to Corporal Burgess, who fell mortally wounded at the moment that he had accomplished the duty. A havildar and a Sepoy of the Sikh regiment also fell, one wounded, the other killed, and Lieutenant Salkeld after

wards died; but the match had been set, the explosion shook the air, the bugle sounded to the assault, and amidst the crash and roar the entrance to Delhi was carried by the column under General Nicholson. The men desperately fought their way into the city, re-formed, and moved to the direction of the Cabul Gate; but their general had fallen, and their progress was checked by the tremendous fire poured on them from the guns that commanded the narrow pathway. But a second column had stormed the Water Gate and taken possession of the walls, where they turned one of the enemy's guns upon the Lahore Gate to silence the heavy fire of the mutineers. A third column followed through the breach of the Cashmere Gate, took possession of the round tower which had been the scene of the early massacre, and fought their way to the Great Mosque, which they could not force for want of artillery, its arches having been bricked up, its gates closed, and a heavy fire of musketry protecting it. Two troops of horse artillery and a cavalry brigade under Major Tombs and Brigadier Hope Grant had formed in front of the walls, desperately fought their way to the Cabul Gate, and under a terrible fire prevented the enemy from attacking our batteries. Once within the city our troops had to force their way, fighting with swarms of armed rebels, who had taken up every point of defence in streets and buildings. As the men took up their hardly-won positions the light guns were brought forward and discharged on the houses of the neighbourhood. By the 20th the Lahore Gate was in our hands, and the city was practically taken. The king had made his escape from the palace with two of his sons, the people of the city left it and went outside the walls, and at last the rebel troops fled precipitately, abandoning their camp, a great deal of their property, and their sick and wounded. Then 4000 to 5000 of them retreated across the bridge of boats into the Doab (the country between the Jumna and the Ganges), while the remainder took their way down the right bank of the river, leaving Delhi in our hands. The gate of the palace was then blown in, and the headquarters of General Wilson established there.

That building, supposed to be one of the most magnificent palaces in India, with its fine wall and splendid entrance, its hall of justice built of white marble, its royal throne inlaid with gold and mosaics, had been defiled by the mutinous rabble. The interior was filthy and disorderly beyond description, for the revolted Sepoy had revelled in its cool archways. "I went all over the state apartments and the harem," wrote an officer. "The latter is a curious place, and had a remarkable appearance: its floor covered with guitars, bangles, &c., and redolent of sandal-wood. The fair daughters of Cashmere had their swing in the centre of the room. They had left in a great hurry: dresses, silks, slippers, were lying on all sides. On leaving the place I met a doolie surrounded by some cavalry and a few natives on foot. Its inmate was a thin-faced, anxious-looking old man. This was the King of Hindostan, the descendant of the great Moguls, entering his palace in the hands of his enemies."

To this reappearance of the king at the palace hangs a tale which, at the time when it became known, caused no little excitement and some disapprobation. One of the officers who held a prominent place in the suppression of the mutiny was Lieutenant Hodson, the commander of a body of cavalry known as "Hodson's Horse." He had once been in the civil service in the Punjaub, and was reported to have left it in consequence of having exhibited a high temper towards one of the native rulers which brought him under the implied censure of his superiors; but being a man of cool determined courage and considerable ability he entered on a military career, and soon became famous as the leader of a dashing troop.

At the taking of Delhi he was acting as chief of the intelligence department, and had learned that the king and his sons had escaped to a large building, the tomb of the Mogul emperor Humayoon, and there taken refuge. Hodson at once applied to General Wilson for leave to take them prisoners, and the authority was given. He had already written to say that if he got into the palace of Delhi the House of Timour would not be worth five

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minutes' purchase, and it would seem as though he had deliberately made up his mind not to spare the king or the princes. General Wilson probably knew nothing of this, but had, in giving permission for the royal family to be arrested, stipulated that the life of the king should be spared. Hodson had already learned that the king had offered to surrender himself on this condition; and with a small body of horse went to the place where the old man was concealed, and promising that he should be personally protected, took him back to Delhi. His captor then went at the head of a hundred men to the immense pile known as the tomb of Humayoon, to look for the king's sons. After great difficulty they were induced to come out, were put in a carriage, and sent off towards Delhi under a small

escort.

Hodson had entered the mausoleum, where some thousands of mutineers and the rabble of Delhi, armed with all sorts of weapons, had assembled. The cool daring of the lieutenant was equal to the occasion. He sternly called upon them to lay down their arms, and as his manner implied that he had a sufficient force to compel obedience, the weapons were relinquished. Having seen that they were collected and removed, Hodson returned towards Delhi, and in the city overtook the escort, which was in the midst of a disorderly crowd apparently about to attempt a rescue. Without hesitation he galloped up and exclaimed, "These are the men who have not only rebelled against the government, but ordered and witnessed the massacre and shameful exposure of innocent women and children, and thus, therefore, the government punishes such traitors taken in open resistance." He then borrowed a carbine from one of his men and shot them both on the spot. The effect is said to have been instantaneous, the Mahometans of the troop and some influential Moulvies who were among the bystanders, exclaiming, "Well and rightly done! Their crime has met with its just penalty! These were they who gave the signal for the death of helpless women and children, and now a righteous judgment has fallen on them."

This proceeding of Lieutenant Hodson was