Chapter II: Siege of Delhi (2)

_July 12th._--300 of my new regiment have just arrived. 100
more left Lahore on the 7th, and 100 will be here very soon
from the Sutlej. Mr. Montgomery has done me most essential
service, as I could never by myself (with another regiment
to command, and so much pen-work to do) have got so many men
together; and everything he does is so complete. He sends
figured statements giving all details regarding men and
horses, (these last are very difficult to get,) which will
save me much time and labor hereafter. He has been really
most kind, and has, moreover, during this troublous time,
evinced an energy, decision, and vigor for which I believe
the world hardly gave him credit. For officers, I hope to
have permanently, Macdowell, Shebbeare, (now acting as my 2d
in command of the Guides, and a most excellent officer,) and
Hugh Gough of the 3d Cavalry. Saunders made ----'s removal a
"sine qua non" before he would take charge of the district.
He came to me to recommend a good officer to command the
Jheend troops. I named that merry grig, George Hall, who is,
I believe, available, and a really good soldier. I have got
a very nice lad "pro tem." in the Guides, young Craigie,
who promises very well indeed. I have seven officers
attached to the Guides, but two are wounded, and Chalmers is
very ill. Young Ellis of the 1st Fusileers is down with
cholera, poor boy; and Colonel Welchman dangerously ill and
in great agony. I grieve deeply for the brave old man, for I
fear we shall lose him.

_July 13th._--We have had news from Agra to-day up to the
7th. The Neemuch rebels and others approached Agra from the
south. The 3d Europeans and D'Oyley's Battery went out to
meet them with the Kotah Contingent. The Contingent turned
against us as soon as they came in sight of the enemy. A
fight ensued, in which the mutineers got well beaten,
despite the treachery and great disparity of numbers; two of
their guns were taken. On our side we lost one gun, the
tumbrels having been blown up and the horses killed. All our
men's ammunition was expended, and they had to retire in
good order into the fort. D'Oyley was killed and two
officers wounded. Thirty casualties in all. The mutineers
then rushed into cantonments, which they burnt and pillaged;
then broke open the great jail and released the prisoners.
They did not venture near the fort, but marched off towards
Muttra, and will, I suppose, come here. The delay here is
sickening; if it continues much longer, we shall be too
weak-handed to attempt to take the place until fresh
regiments arrive.

I inspected my three new troops this morning; very
fine-looking fellows, most of them. I am getting quite a
little army under me, what with the Guides and my own men.
Would to Heaven they would give us something more to do than
this desultory warfare, which destroys our best men, and
brings us no whit nearer Delhi, and removes the end of the
campaign to an indefinite period.

_July 14th._--Only time[33] to say I am again mercifully
preserved, safe and unhurt, after one of the sharpest
encounters we have yet had. Shebbeare got wounded early in
the fight, so I led the Guide Infantry myself in the
skirmish of the villages and suburbs. I charged the guns
with some eight horsemen, a party of the Guide Infantry and
1st Fusileers. We got within thirty yards, but the enemy's
grape was too much for our small party. Three of my
officers, Shebbeare, Hawes, and De Brett, slightly wounded,
and several men; but though well to the front, my party
suffered proportionably least.

Of the Fusileers, who were with us, some sixty men were
wounded; Daniell's arm broken by a shot, Jacob's horse shot
dead under him, Chamberlain shot through the arm, little
Roberts wounded, and several more.

Everybody wonders I was not hit; none more than myself. God
has been very merciful to me. Colonel Welchman better; Brown
also. More particulars hereafter.

_July 15th._--I could only write a few words last night on
my return from the fight, worn out as I was with a severe
day's work. It is pretty much the same now, and while I
write I am obliged to have two men to keep the candle alight
with their hands, for the breeze gets up at night, and we
have all the "Kanats" of the tents down to enable us to
breathe; and having no shades to the candlesticks, it is
rather difficult to write even that I am safe.

_July 16th._--I have just bade good-bye to Colonel Welchman.
The poor old man is better, but sadly pulled down and aged.
The doctors now think his arm may be saved, that it may
remain on, but it will never be of the slightest use to him
again, the elbow-joint is so much injured. He and Captain
Brown start to-morrow night, with a convoy of sick and
wounded men and officers, for Umbala and the hills. Of
these, the 1st Fusileers form a sad proportion. With one or
two exceptions, nothing could be better or more gallant than
the conduct of this regiment. Jacob, Greville, Wriford, all
admirable in the field, and the younger officers beyond all
praise; Butler, F. Brown, Owen, and Warner, markedly so. In
all the worst of the awful heat, dust, fatigue, work, and
privation,--and all have been beyond description,--our
plucky fellows have not only kept up their own spirits, but
been an example and pattern to the camp. If any one was down
in his luck, he had only to go to the Fusileers' mess and be
jolly.

The story in the papers about the boot was essentially
correct for once, though how they should have got hold of it
I do not know, for I never mentioned it even to you, since
it certainly could not be called a wound, though a very
narrow escape from one. A rascally Pandy made a thrust at my
horse, which I parried, when he seized his "tulwar" in both
hands, bringing it down like a sledge-hammer; it caught on
the iron of my antigropelos legging, which it broke into the
skin, cut through the stirrup-leather, and took a slice off
my boot and stocking; and yet, wonderful to say, the sword
did not penetrate the skin. Both my horse and myself were
staggered by the force of the blow, but I recovered myself
quickly, and I don't think that Pandy will ever raise his
"tulwar" again. I should not have entered into all these
details about self but for those tiresome papers having made
so much of it. The fight on that day (the 14th) was the old
story. An attack in force on the right of our position; the
enemy were allowed to blaze away, expending powder, and
doing us no harm, until 4 P. M., when a column was sent down
to turn them out of the gardens and villages they had
occupied, and drive them back to the city. I had just
returned from a long day's work with the cavalry, miles away
in the rear, and had come back as far as Light's advanced
battery. I was chatting with him for a few minutes _en
passant_, when I saw the column pass down. I joined it, and
sent for a few horsemen to accompany me, and when we got
under fire, I found the Guide Infantry, under Shebbeare, had
been sent to join in the attack. I accompanied them, and
while the Fusileers and Coke's men were driving the mass of
the enemy helter-skelter through the gardens to our right, I
went, with the Guides, Goorkhas, and part of the Fusileers,
along the Grand Trunk Road leading right into the gates of
Delhi. We were exposed to a heavy fire of grape from the
walls, and musketry from behind trees and rocks; but pushing
on, we drove them right up to the very walls, killing
uncounted numbers, and then were ordered to retire. This was
done too quickly by the artillery, and some confusion
ensued, the troops hurrying back too fast. The consequence
was, the enemy rallied, bringing up infantry, then a large
body of cavalry, and behind them again two guns to bear on
us. There were very few of our men, but I managed to get
eight horsemen to the front. Shebbeare, though wounded,
aided me in rallying some Guide Infantry, and Greville and
Jacob (whose horse had just been shot) coming up, brought a
few scattered Fusileers forward. I called on the men to
fire, assuring them that the body of cavalry coming down
would never stand. I got a few men to open fire; my gallant
Guides stood their ground like men; Shebbeare, Jacob,
Greville, and little Butler, came to the front, and the mass
of the enemy's cavalry, just as I said, stopped, reeled,
turned, and fled in confusion; the guns behind them were for
the moment deserted, and I tried hard to get up a charge to
capture them; we were within thirty paces; twenty-five
resolute men would have been enough; but the soldiers were
blown, and could not push on in the face of such odds,
unsupported as we were, for the whole of the rest of the
troops had retired. My eight horsemen stood their ground,
and the little knot of officers used every exertion to aid
us, when suddenly two rascals rushed forward with lighted
port-fires in their hands, fired the guns, loaded with
grape, in our faces, and when the smoke cleared away, we
found, to our infinite disgust and chagrin, that they had
limbered up the guns and were off at a gallop. We had then
to effect our retreat to rejoin the column, under a heavy
fire of grape and musketry, and many men and officers were
hit in doing it. I managed to get the Guides to retire
quietly, fighting as they went, and fairly checking the
enemy, on which I galloped back and brought up two guns,
when we soon stopped all opposition, and drove the last
living rebel into his Pandemonium. My Guides stood firm,
and, as well as my new men, behaved admirably; not so all
who were engaged, and it was in consequence of that poor
Chamberlain got wounded; for seeing a hesitation among the
troops he led, who did not like the look of a wall lined
with Pandies, and stopped short instead of going up to it,
he leaped his horse clean over the wall into the midst of
them, and dared the men to follow, which they did, but he
got a ball in the shoulder. There is not a braver heart or
cooler head in camp; his fault is too great hardihood and
exposure in the field and a sometimes too injudicious
indifference to his own life, or that of his men. We are in
a nice fix here; General Reed is so ill he is ordered away
at once; Chamberlain is on his back for six weeks at least;
Norman, however, is safe and doing admirably; were he to be
hit, the "head-quarters" would break down altogether. There
will be no assault on Delhi yet; our rulers will now less
than ever decide on a bold course; and truth to tell, the
numbers of the enemy have so rapidly increased, and ours
have been so little replenished in proportion, and our
losses, for a small army, have been so severe, that it
becomes a question, whether now we have numbers sufficient
to risk an assault. Would to Heaven it had been tried when I
first pressed it. How many brave hearts have been sacrificed
in consequence. Coke's men suffered severely on the 14th
from getting too close, yet not close enough, to the city
walls.

_July 17th._--But little private writing for me to-day, as I
have only just come back from Brigadier Hope Grant's tent,
whither I went on business, and I have been fully occupied
with news-writers _cum multis aliis_. I begin to think of
giving up this Quartermaster-General's work, now that times
are so changed. I began with poor General Anson, "under his
Excellency's personal orders;" I continued this work under
General Barnard at his request, and now for these last days
under General Reed; but he too is incapacitated by sickness,
age, and anxiety, and goes off to the hills to-night.
Colonel Curzon left for Simla yesterday. Colonel Congreve
also goes, so the head-quarters of the army are finally
breaking up. The Adjutant-General (Chamberlain) is badly
wounded, the Quartermaster-General (Colonel Becher) ditto,
though he does work a little in-doors, if one may use such
an expression of a tent, but he ought not to do even that
much, so badly hurt as he is. Colonel Young, Norman, and
myself are therefore the only representatives of the
head-quarter staff, except the doctors and commissaries. The
head-quarters of the army are now at Calcutta, General Pat
Grant's arrival having been announced, and this army has
dropped into merely a field force, commanded by Brigadier
Wilson as senior, with the rank of Brigadier-General. I can
hardly reconcile myself to throw up the Intelligence
Department now that I have had the trouble of getting it
into working order; but for my own sake I must do so, for it
is a terrible drag on me, and ties me down too much. I am
wonderfully well, thank God! and able to get through as much
work as any man; but commanding two regiments, and being
eyes and ears of the army too, is really too much! Shebbeare
and Macdowell are appointed to my regiment in general
orders--the former as second in command, but to continue for
the present with the Guides; the latter as adjutant, but to
act as second in command also, for the present. I hope to
have another officer or two in a few days, as more now
devolves on poor Mac than his fragile frame can well stand.
I wish his bodily strength was equal to his will and
courage. It is hot, oh, how hot! and we can have nothing but
a hand punkah occasionally; if our servants were to make
off, we should indeed be in a pretty predicament, but
hitherto they have been faithful and unmurmuring.

_July 19th._--I was quite unable to write yesterday, as I
went out long before daylight; so with the exception of a
few minutes at 8 A. M. I was in the saddle until dark! We
had a smart engagement in the afternoon. I was sent for to
take the Guide cavalry down into the suburbs to support some
guns, and assist in driving the enemy back into the city. We
were commanded by a fine old gentleman, who might sit for a
portrait of Falstaff, so fat and jolly is he: Colonel Jones,
of the 60th Rifles. We got down to our point, close to the
walls of Delhi, easily enough, the rascally enemy being
ready enough to turn and fly for shelter; but to return was
the difficulty; the instant we began to draw off, they
followed us, their immense numbers giving them a great power
of annoyance at very slight cost to themselves. The brave
old colonel was going to retire "all of a heap," infantry,
guns, and all in a helpless mass, and we should have
suffered cruel loss in those narrow roads, with walls and
buildings on both sides. I rode up to him and pointed this
out, and in reply received _carte blanche_ to act as I saw
best. This was soon done, with the assistance of Henry
Vicars (Adjutant 61st) and Coghill, (Adjutant 2d Bengal
European Fusileers,) both cool soldiers under fire, though
so young, and we got off in good order and with trifling
loss, drawing the men back slowly and in regular order,
covered by Dixon's and Money's guns. My own men, whose duty
was the difficult one of enduring a very hot fire without
acting, behaved admirably, and I had the satisfaction of
losing only one killed and two wounded, besides a few
horses, who generally come off second best where bullets are
flying about. My poor "Feroza" was hit by one, but not
dangerously, and I was again most mercifully preserved
unharmed. I was out again early this morning reconnoitring,
and have only just returned in time to write even so much,
too much of myself as usual for my own feeling, but you will
have it so[34].

_July 20th._--I had a very fatiguing, because sunshiny, ride
yesterday, and a troublesome species of _reconnaissance_, to
prevent the enemy getting into our rear. Their name is
indeed "legion" compared with us. I should say, from all I
can ascertain by the news-letters, that there cannot be less
than 36,000[35] fighting men in Delhi, while we are barely a
fifth of that number, including cavalry and all! Our
position, however, is much strengthened, and we now beat
them with half the trouble we had at first, their appetite
for fighting being considerably lessened by having been so
repeatedly driven back; but alas! we only drive them back,
while we do not advance an inch. The odds have, moreover,
fearfully increased against us by their continued
accessions, and I confess I now see less and less hope of
success in an assault; when I first urged it, the enemy had
not more than 7,000 Sepoys in the city, while we had 2,000
infantry alone. Now, as I said before, the case is very
different; for even were we to undertake an assault with a
reasonable prospect of success, if they should, in despair,
determine to defend the city inch by inch, or street by
street, we should not have men enough to secure our hold
upon it. In that case, the city people (all of whom are
armed) would join in the fray, and, considering what the
consequences of failure would be, and further, that to do
this much we should be obliged to use up every man
available, leaving no one, or next to none, to protect our
camp, sick, and wounded, from any attempt of the enemy, or
of our questionable friends, the country people, it becomes
a matter of serious and painful consideration. A want of
success, moreover, would now be productive of infinite
mischief. From hence to Allahabad, the fort of Agra and the
Residency of Lucknow are the only spots where the British
flag still flies. We are more to be considered now as an
isolated band, fighting for our very name and existence in
the midst of an enemy's country, than as an avenging army
about to punish a rebel force. Sir H. Lawrence is holding
out at Lucknow, but Cawnpore has fallen into the hands of
the rebels. Sir Hugh Wheeler, after three weeks' contest,
with, we hear, only 150 Europeans, in an evil hour
capitulated, on condition of being provided with boats and a
free passage to Allahabad; as soon as they were on board the
boats, the whole were massacred! What became of the women
and children we know not; it is hoped they might have been
sent away earlier and escaped; otherwise it is horrible to
think of what may have been their fate. Troops are
collecting fast at Allahabad, and I hope moving on towards
Cawnpore; some think we shall be forced to await their
arrival at or near Delhi, before we can do anything
effective. I trust earnestly that the city will not hold out
so long. The people within it are immensely disheartened,
and dissensions are rife among them. A split between the
Hindoos and fanatic Mahommedans is almost inevitable, and,
above all, money is getting scarce. Meantime, this "waiting
race" is very wearying to heart and body.

... I have determined on giving up the Assistant
Quartermaster-Generalship. It gives me more work than I
really can manage in such weather, in addition to the
command of two regiments. Macdowell promises admirably, and
I trust there is every hope of our having a nice body of
officers with "Hodson's Horse." Nothing further from Agra,
beyond the assurance that all was well there.

_July 21st._--Just returned from a long _reconnaissance_,
and the post going out, so I have time but for little. Do
not believe what the idle gossips say, of my "doing the work
of two or three men." I strive to do my duty, but I cannot
consider I do more. I do not run wanton risks, but I cannot
stand by and see what ought to be done, without risking
something to do it. Had I not attempted what I did on the
14th, even with the insufficient means at my command, we
should have been exposed to a disastrous loss of life, and
to the discredit of a reverse. That we cannot afford. It is
not only the possession of India which is at stake, not only
our name and fame as Englishmen, but the safety, life, and
honor of those nearest and dearest to us; were we to fail
here, the horrible scenes of Meerut, Delhi, Rohilcund,
Jhansee, and others, would be repeated in the Punjaub and
hill stations. Who, then, as husband, brother, father, son,
would hesitate to face any danger, any risk, which tended to
secure victory? I saw that our men were retiring (by order)
in great confusion, that five minutes more and the whole
party would be destroyed, and the fate of the column sealed,
for the enemy's cavalry and guns were opening on us at
speed. It was a natural impulse to rush forward, and nobly
was I aided by Jacob and Greville, and my handful of gallant
Guides; the tide was turned by the suddenness of the act;
the enemy were driven back, and our men had time to breathe.
This was not much to do, but it was a great deal to gain.

_July 22d._--Again but a few lines, for I have been
regularly hunted all day. I told you that Sir H. Wheeler had
capitulated, and been treacherously destroyed with his
party; we have since heard that a force from Allahabad had
reached Cawnpore under Colonel Neill of the Madras
Fusileers, that Sir H. Lawrence has been succored, and that,
in point of fact, our power up to Agra had been
reestablished. God grant this be true. Agra is safe, and all
well; the troops which attacked it are afraid to come on
here, and have halted at Muttra. The force in Delhi is much
disheartened, and fights with gradually decaying energy.
Already we have beaten them back in twenty-three fights,
besides a few such affairs on my own private account, and
though with considerable loss to us, yet with comparative
ease, when you consider their overwhelming numbers. We had
an engagement on the evening of the 20th, in which Colonel
Seaton commanded our column, the 1st Fusileers, 61st Foot,
and Guides as usual. I had command of the Guide infantry,
and led the advance as well as covered the retreat; and
though we pushed close up to Delhi, we never had a shot
fired from the walls until we had set out on our return to
camp some way. They then came howling after us like jackals,
but the Guides were mindful of their old leader's voice, and
steadily kept them in check during the whole distance, so
completely, that not a European soldier was under fire, and
I only lost four men slightly wounded, while the enemy
returned in utter discomfiture. Poor Light has been very
ill, and Thompson has a bullet through his leg. Bishop also
is wounded; he retains the same calm composure of manner
under the hottest fire and hardest work, as he habitually
exhibited on the Mall. These are excellent officers, but
Tombs and Light are really splendid. I hope Chamberlain's
arm will be saved; he is a noble fellow, but of course has
his weaknesses.

_July 24th._--I was quite unable to write yesterday. Pandy
chose an unusually inconvenient hour for his attack, and
kept us out until the afternoon, and then I was busied in
attending to our poor friend Colonel Seaton, who, I grieve
to say, was badly wounded, a musket-ball having entered his
left breast and come out at his back, providentially passing
outside the ribs instead of through his body; his lungs are,
however, slightly injured, either by a broken rib or the
concussion, and until it is ascertained to what extent this
has gone, he is considered in danger. I do not myself think
there is danger, as no unfavorable symptom has yet appeared,
except a slight spitting of blood; but he is so patient and
quiet that all is in his favor. I am deeply sorry for him,
dear fellow! and fervently pray that he may be spared to us.
There was little actual fighting; the rascals ran, the
instant they came in contact with our men; the only firing
being behind banks and garden-walls. Colonel Drought, late
60th Native Infantry, was wounded; Captain Money of the
Artillery got a bad knock on the knee-joint, and Law of the
10th Native Infantry killed; two killed and five wounded in
the 1st Fusileers, who, as usual, bore the brunt. After many
discussions pro and con, it has been arranged that I retain
the Intelligence Department and give up the Guides. My own
men require great attention, as they are now in considerable
numbers; so the General has begged me to relinquish the
Guides instead of the Assistant Quartermaster-Generalship;
the command of two regiments being an anomaly. I am very
ready to do this, though I regret the separation from the
men, and should have liked to have led my old corps into
Delhi; but it is best as it is. You at least will rejoice
that it greatly diminishes the risk to life and limb, which,
I confess, lately has been excessive in my case. The General
was very complimentary on my doings while commanding the
Guides, and "trusted to receive equally invaluable services
from my new regiment." I have little doubt of this, if I am
spared. I find General Barnard reported no less than four
times on my doings in the highest terms; and the last public
letter he ever wrote was a special despatch to Government in
my favor. It was, in fact, the only letter of the kind he
ever wrote, for death intervened just as he was setting to
work to bring those who had done well to the notice of
Government.

They tell me I shall get pay for the Assistant
Quarter-master-General's Department,[36] as well as my
command allowance. For the Guides, of course I shall get
nothing; but, I must say, I work, not like a "nigger,"
considering their work usually amounts to _nil_, but like a
slave, in the Intelligence Department. I have been deeply
shocked to hear that poor Christian, his young wife, and
babes were among the murdered in Oudh. Also Colonel
Goldney.... All is well at Agra; there are about 6,000
individuals in the fort, with provisions for six months;
they are probably relieved by now, for we hear that six
English regiments were at Cawnpore on the 11th instant. This
cheers up the men, and makes them think that Government has
some thought for the gallant fellows here and elsewhere. I
sent by Martin, of the 75th, a parcel for Mrs. Hallifax,
containing, with other things, the old pistol her poor
husband gave me. I should have liked to have kept it as a
memorial of him, but as she wished for it, of course I
resign it; the other arms, except the revolver, which Dr.
Stewart says he lost, were packed up and sent to Umbala with
other things.

_July 25th._--Well, yes, I did offer to go down the Doab
towards Agra and Cawnpore, to open the communication, and
ascertain exactly where the reinforcements were, and assist
them with cavalry in coming up towards Delhi. It would have
been of real use, and not so dangerous as this eternal
potting work here. I proposed to take 600 of my Horse, 250
infantry of the Guides, and four guns; could I not have made
my way with these? I humbly opine I could. I do not mean to
say it was not a bold stroke, but in Indian warfare I have
always found "toujours l'audace" not a bad motto. I can
never forget how much we have at stake, that we have a
continent in arms against us; and I do think (and certainly
shall always act so) that every man should do not only his
duty but his utmost in a crisis like the present.

_July 26th._--A parcel with flannel shirts, &c., arrived
last night. Those for the men I sent off to the hospital at
once, to the doctors' great delight. Macdowell declares that
the cap, his "jumpers," and the "baccy" Lord W. Hay was to
send, must be in the box, and demands them imperiously. He
is doing admirably, and promises to be a first-rate officer
of light horse. He rides well, which is one good thing, and
is brave as a lion's whelp, which is another. I only fear
whether he has physical strength for such work in such
weather. The whole country is a steaming bog. I keep my
health wonderfully, thank God! in spite of heat, hard work,
and exposure; and the men bear up like Britons. We all feel
that Government ought to allow every officer and man before
Delhi to count every month spent here as a year of service
in India. There is much that is disappointing and disgusting
to a man who feels that more might have been done, but I
comfort myself with the thought, that history (if Russell,
not Macaulay, writes it) will do justice to the constancy
and fortitude of the handful of Englishmen who have for so
many weeks--months, I may say--of desperate weather, amid
the greatest toil and hardship, resisted and finally
defeated the worst and most strenuous exertions of an entire
army and a whole nation in arms,--an army trained by
ourselves, and supplied with all but exhaustless munitions
of war, laid up by ourselves for the maintenance of our
Empire. I venture to aver that no other nation in the world
would have remained here, or have avoided defeat had they
attempted to do so. The delay as yet has been both morally
and politically bad in many ways, and the results are
already beginning to be manifest, but in the end it will
increase our prestige and the moral effects of our power. A
nation which could conquer a country like the Punjaub so
recently with an Hindostanee army, and then turn the
energies of the conquered Sikhs to subdue the very army by
which they were tamed; which could fight out a position like
Peshawur for years in the very teeth of the Affghan tribes;
and then, when suddenly deprived of the regiments which
effected this, could unhesitatingly employ those very tribes
to disarm and quell those regiments when in mutiny,--a
nation which could do this is destined indeed to rule the
world; and the races of Asia must succumb. This is a proud
feeling, and nerves one's arm in many a time of difficulty
and danger, as much almost as the conviction that we must
conquer, or worse than death awaits us. The intelligence of
Sir H. Wheeler's destruction came to us from too true a
source to be doubted,--it was in dear Sir Henry Lawrence's
own handwriting; and has been confirmed, alas, too surely.
All we do not know is whether the women and children were
massacred with the men, or whether they escaped, or were
reserved for a worse fate.

One of my news-letters reports that eighteen women are in
prison under the care (?) of Nana Sahib (Bajee Rao
Peishwar's adopted son), who attacked Cawnpore. You must
remember at the artillery review a very "swell" looking
native gentleman, accompanied by another educated native,
who spoke French and other European languages, and was
talking a good deal to Alfred Light. Well, this was the
identical Nana Sahib who has done all this, and who must
even at that very time have been meditating the treachery,
if not the murders.

There is not a word of truth in the report of "the King of
Delhi coming out for a final struggle." Rumor has been
saying so for weeks, with no foundation; the truth is, the
King is a mere puppet, a "ruse." He is old, and well-nigh
impotent, and is only used as authority for all the acts of
rebellion and barbarity enacted by his sons. The rascals
talk (in the city) of coming round on our rear, and
attacking us in the field. I only wish they would, for in
the open plain we should hunt them down like jackals. They
escape us now by flying back into the city, or under cover
of the heavy batteries from its walls. When (if ever) they
do come out, the General has proposed to put the whole of
the Irregular Cavalry under my command, and I trust to give
a tolerable account of the enemy, and show that "Hodson's
Horse" are capable of something, even already.

Colonel Seaton is doing admirably, I am thankful to say. He
is patient and gentle in suffering as a woman, and this
helps his recovery wonderfully.

_July 27th._--Since the 23d, hardly a shot has been fired
here. The news-letters from the city mention meetings in the
market-place, and talkings at the corners of the streets,
with big words of what they intend to do; but they (the
people) are actually cowed and dispirited, while their
rulers issue orders which are never obeyed.

I fear our movements wait upon theirs. We have no one in
power with a head to devise or a heart to dare any
enterprise which might result in the capture of Delhi; and
alas! one cannot but admit that it would require both a wise
head and a very great heart to run the risk with so reduced
a force as we have here now. 2,200 Europeans[37] and 1,500
Native Infantry are all that we now can muster. We have
reliable news from below, that, on or about the 14th,
General Havelock, with the first portion of the European
force, met and attacked the villain Nana, near Futteypore
(between Allahabad and Cawnpore), and beat him thoroughly,
capturing his camp, twelve guns, and seven lac of rupees.
The China troops had arrived: Lord Elgin having consented
to the employment of the whole.

Sir P. Grant is coming up with these troops, "on dit," so
that in six weeks from the date of the Meerut massacre,
11,000 European troops will have landed in India; what a
providential arrival, and what a lesson to Asiatics that
they can never contend with England.

This news has put the whole camp, even the croakers, of whom
there are not a few, in high spirits. I only hope it is not
too good to be true.

As a set-off against this, news has arrived that Tudor
Tucker, his wife, and Sam Fisher, are among the victims of
this horrible insurrection, also, poor James Thomason; and
of his brother-in-law's, Dr. Hay's, execution, there can be
no longer a doubt. How many hecatombs of Sepoys would it
require to atone for their deaths alone. When shall we see
the last; when know the full extent of these horrible
atrocities? The accounts make one's blood run fire. Our dear
Douglas Seaton has arrived in England, much restored by the
voyage, but not, I fear, sufficiently recovered to return,
as soon as he would hear of the outbreak. A sad blow for
him, poor fellow, for had he been here to command the
regiment, he would probably have been a full Colonel and C.
B. at the end. I am seriously uneasy at receiving no letters
from England, though mail after mail must have arrived, and
some people get their letters! therefore why not I mine? We
get none even from Agra, and of course not below it, except
by "Kossid," and they but little scraps, written half in
Greek characters, to mislead or deceive, if the unfortunate
bearer is stopped. They conceal them very ingeniously
between the leather of their shoes, or tied up in their
hair. I inclose one that came in even a more singular
letter-bag than either, rolled up in a piece of wax and
packed into a hollow tooth.

---- tells me that ---- was furious at my having the Guides,
but was compelled to acquiesce in it "as it was undoubtedly
the best thing for the public service." How he must have
winced when he was forced to confess that.

_July 28th._--I have no news. The Pandies have not attacked
us since the 23d, and are much dispirited. In reply to your
and Mrs. ----'s wish to come to Delhi as nurses, I must say
honestly that there is no necessity for such a sacrifice.
Our position here is very different from that in the Crimea
and at Scutari. There the men died from want of care and of
the ordinary necessaries of life. Here there is no absolute
want of anything, except a genial climate and well-built
hospitals, neither of which you could supply. The men are
attended to immediately they are sick or wounded; and within
an hour, sometimes half that time, of his being wounded, a
soldier is in his bed, with everything actually necessary,
and the greatest medical attention. Unless any unforeseen
emergency should arise, I would strongly dissuade any lady
from coming to camp.

I have always urged the authorities to send away, as fast as
possible, those who have arrived as refugees. We have a vast
camp, or rather position, five miles in circumference, and
we are constantly obliged to take every man into the field.
The guard for our sick is trifling enough, and our
difficulties would be increased were there women also to be
thought of; and God forbid that any more lives should be
risked in this dreadful servile war. There is also another
consideration of much weight against the tender sympathy
which prompts the offer. How is a delicate woman's
constitution to bear up against the evils of a tented field
in the rains, or render efficient service in such a climate
as this is now? They would all very speedily become patients
in the very hospitals which they came to serve and would so
willingly support. The flannel garments are invaluable, and
this is all that can be done for us by female hands at
present.

_July 29th._--I have been so occupied with business all day
that I have only time to say we have had no more fighting,
and the whole atmosphere is still, but hot, oh, so hot!
General Wilson is unwell, and will probably break down, like
the rest. These sexagenarians are unfit for work in July. I
expect Napier will be with the advancing troops. I sincerely
hope so. He is the man to do something, if they will but let
him.

_July 31st._--I intended writing more fully to make up for
my late short-comings, but the Pandies permit it not. They
made an attempt on our position this morning; nothing more,
however, than a distant cannonade. A large party have moved
round in our rear, and this has kept me in the saddle all
day. I have just returned, after some hours of the heaviest
rain I was ever out in, drenched to the skin, of course, and
somewhat tired, so judge what a comfort a dry flannel shirt
must be. There was no actual fighting, so with the exception
of keeping us out so long, and a great expenditure of powder
and shot, no harm was done.

_August 1st._--The continued heavy rain promises to give me
more time for pen-work to-day, if no more takes place on
this side of Pandy-monium. The box has arrived safely with
the new "jumpers," &c. Lord William's additions are
invaluable. We have fresh accounts from below that every
European woman and child have been ruthlessly murdered at
Cawnpore. The details are too revolting to put on paper,
and make one's blood boil. Mothers with infants in their
arms murdered with fiendish cruelty, and worse than all, two
young girls just arrived from England are said to have been
only saved to meet a worse fate in some Mussulman's zenana.
There will be a day of reckoning for these things, and a
fierce one, or I have been a soldier in vain. You say there
is a great difference between doing one's duty and running
unnecessary risks, and you say truly; the only question is,
what is one's duty. Now, I might, as I have more than once,
see things going wrong at a time and place when I might be
merely a spectator, and not "on duty," or ordered to be
there, and I might feel that by exposing myself to danger
for a time I might rectify matters, and I might therefore
think it right to incur that danger; and yet if I were to
get hit, it would be said "he had no business there;" nor
should I, as far as the rules of the service go, though in
my own mind I should have been satisfied that I was right.
These are times when every man should do his best, his
utmost, and not say, "No; though I see I can do good there,
yet, as I have not been ordered and am not on duty, I will
not do it." This is not my idea of a soldier's duty, and
hitherto the results have proved me right. Poor Eaton
Travers, of Coke's regiment, was killed this morning. He had
just come from England _via_ Bombay, with a young wife, whom
he left at Lahore. Poor young thing, a sad beginning and end
for her. We send off convoys of the sick and wounded to
Umbala, where we hear they are well tended and are doing
well. Even here everything possible is done for them; Dr.
Brougham is an excellent man, and first-rate surgeon, quite
the man of the camp in his line, clever, indefatigable, and
humane.

_2d._--The rebels attacked us about 5 P. M. yesterday, and
kept us at it till seven or eight this morning. Our people
kept steadily at their posts and behind intrenchments, and
drove them back with steady volleys every time they came
near. The result was, that they were punished severely,
while our loss was a very trifling one, not more than half a
dozen Europeans killed and wounded; it is next to impossible
ever to ascertain accurately what the enemy's loss is.

Colonel Seaton is doing well; in three weeks' time I hope he
will be about again. Before this surely our rulers will
consent to take Delhi. Sickness is on the increase, and we
have been nearly losing another General. General Wilson was
very ill for a few days, but is now better. He is older,
however, by ten years than he was. The responsibility and
anxiety of what is certainly a very difficult position, have
been too much for him, and he has got into the way of being
nervous and alarmed, and overanxious even about trifles,
which shakes one's dependence on his judgment. These men are
personally as brave as lions, but they have not big hearts
or heads enough for circumstances of serious responsibility.
This word is the bugbear which hampers all our proceedings.
Would we could have had Sir Henry Lawrence as our leader; we
should have been in Delhi weeks ago. I hope Colonel Napier
is coming up with the force. He has head, and heart, and
nerve, and the moral courage to act as if he had; we hear
that the crisis is passing; all below Cawnpore is safe, and
all above Kurnal to Peshawur; while Lord W. Hay keeps the
more important hill stations steady. When all is over, our
power will be stronger than ever, principally because we
shall have got rid of our great sore, a native army.

_3d._--4 P. M. and I have only just got out of the saddle,
and found on my arrival in camp the heaviest news that has
yet reached us. Report says that Sir Henry is dead! The news
wants confirmation, and God grant that it may be untrue. I
should lose one of my best friends, and the country (in Lord
Dalhousie's words on poor Mackeson) "one whose loss would
dim a victory." I cannot write more to-day; the news has
quite unnerved me.

_4th._--Two letters have just arrived from General Havelock
at Cawnpore. They were written at an interval of ten days,
and mentioned his having had three successful fights, on the
12th, 15th, and 16th of July, and the reoccupation of
Cawnpore. The first of these letters mentions a report that
Sir Henry had died on the 4th July, of wounds received on
the 2d; but the second letter, written ten days later, does
not even allude to a circumstance of such importance, and
the Sikh who brought it, and who left Havelock near Lucknow,
on his way to its relief, maintains that it is not true, and
that Sir Henry Lawrence was alive when he left, as letters
were constantly passing from Havelock's camp to the "Burra
Sahib." God grant, for his country's sake and for mine, that
it be not true. To the country his death would be worse than
the loss of a province; to me it would be the loss of my
truest and most valued friend. I hope, yet fear to hope,
that it may be a false report; yet what soldier would wish a
more noble, a more brilliant end to such a career? Havelock
has captured all the enemy's guns, and inflicted severe
punishment. The destruction of Sir Hugh Wheeler and his
party is fully confirmed, and Havelock was too late to save
the unfortunate women and children, who were massacred in
their prison, before his arrival, by their guards. Such
fiends as these our arms have never met with in any part of
the world. May our vengeance be as speedy as it will
unquestionably be sure!

We (Hodson's Horse) are getting on very comfortably, and are
going to start a mess on our own account, so as to be ready
to march without difficulty when required.

_5th._--To-day the accounts received from a native
Commissariat Agent, arrived at Meerut from Lucknow, are
positive as to Sir H. Lawrence being alive a fortnight after
he was said to have died. This, if reliable, is good indeed.
The letter I annex[38] from Colonel Tytler gives good news,
and the man who brought the letter, says there were fourteen
steamers and flats at Cawnpore when he left. The troops had
taken Bithoor, the Nana's place, and at first it was
uninjured, but the bodies of some English women were found
inside the Nana's house, on which the European soldiers,
excited to irresistible fury, destroyed every human being in
the place, and then demolished the building, not leaving one
stone upon another. The Nana himself, with his family, took
refuge in a boat on the river, and the native accounts add
that he sunk it, and all were drowned. This I strongly
doubt; such Spartan heroism could scarcely exist in the mind
of one who could violate and massacre helpless women and
children. Indeed, I hope it is not true; for it is one of my
aims to have the catching of the said Nana myself. The
hanging him would be a positive pleasure to me. I trust the
day of retribution is not far distant.

_6th._--Small chance of much writing to-day, for just as I
have got into camp, after some hours' attendance on the
pleasure of the Pandies, who came out in force and
threatened an attack, I find that I have to start on a long
reconnoitring expedition, from which I cannot return till
late at night. This is unfortunate, as I have much pen-work
on hand, my necessary official writing being very onerous. I
was obliged to write as long a letter as I could to Lord W.
Hay, if but to thank him, in my own and others' name, for
the comforts he so thoughtfully sent us.

I have a very complimentary letter from G. Barnes, the
Commissioner, as well as some others, enough to turn one's
head with vanity; but I have had bitter experience of its
rottenness, and take the flattery at its full value, namely,
"nil." I fear, from fresh reports arrived, that Havelock
will not come and help us after all. They say he has the
strictest orders to relieve Lucknow only, and that however
much he may desire to march on to Delhi, it is out of his
power to do so. It is true we do not want him. Delhi surely
must be taken as soon as ever the reinforcements get down
here from the Punjaub. Our rulers must then see the
necessity for action.

_7th._--I returned at three o'clock this morning from a
forty miles' ride over the worst and wettest country I was
ever in, and I am thoroughly exhausted, though everybody is
wanting something, and I must attend to business first, and
then to rest.

_8th._--I could write nothing but official papers all the
sedentary part of yesterday. I did not get in till 9 P. M.
The news from below mentions good dear old Dr. Lyell as
among the killed at Patna. Brave, noble fellow, his gallant
spirit has led him to the front once too often. He had
always as much of the warrior as of the surgeon in him. The
report has again gained ground of dear Sir Henry's death,
but my heart refuses credence to so great a misfortune. I do
trust that when the 52d arrive, we may be allowed to do
something better than this pot-shot work. Nicholson has come
on ahead, and is a host in himself, if he does not go and
get knocked over as Chamberlain did. The camp is all alive
at the notion of something decisive taking place soon, but I
cannot rally from the fear of dear Sir Henry's fate. How
many of my friends are gone. My heart is divided between
grief for those precious victims, and deep gratitude to God
for my own safety and that of those dearest to me. May He in
His mercy preserve me for further exertion and an ultimate
reunion, and if not, His will be done. I have a letter from
an unfortunate woman, a Mrs. Leeson, who was saved from the
slaughter at Delhi, on May 11th, by an Affghan lad, after
she had been wounded, and her child slaughtered in her arms.
She is still concealed in the Affghan's house. I heard that
there was a woman there, and managed to effect a
communication with her, through one of the Guides, and to
send her money, &c., and so I think the poor creature may be
preserved till we enter Delhi, if we fail in getting her
free before. I fear she is the only European, or rather the
only Christian (for she herself is hardly European), left
alive from the massacre. Her husband was the son of Major
Leeson, and a clerk in a Government office in Delhi. I have
sent one of our few prisoners up to Forsyth at Umbala, whom
we ironically call the "Maid of Delhi," though her age and
character are questionable, and her ugliness undoubted. She
actually came out on horseback, and fought against us like a
fiend. The General at first released her, but knowing how
mischievous she would be among those superstitious
Mahommedans, I persuaded him to let her be recaptured, and
made over for safe custody. It is a moot point whether any
assault will be made as soon as the 52d arrive. I can only
go on hoping, but I confess I am not very sanguine about
anything being done now.

Our General, since his illness, has got a still weaker dread
of responsibility, and ceased to be nearly as vigorous even
as heretofore. Would indeed that we had had Sir H. Lawrence
here; that he may have been, and still be spared to us, is
my prayer! The consequences of longer delay will be more and
more disastrous to the health of the troops. Captain Daly
has not formally reassumed command of the Guides, though he
virtually does all the sedentary work. By an arrangement
which I cannot but think unwise, and which deprives the
corps of two thirds of its value, they have separated the
regiment into two, putting the cavalry into the Cavalry
Brigade under Hope Grant, and the infantry at the other end
of the camp under Shebbeare, and Major Reid of the Goorkhas,
who commands all the posts and pickets on our right.