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of food-for ignorant of his habits I could only ask, in a helpless way, like the gentleman in "Dombey," whether "something temporary could not be done with the teapot " -he died-poor, beautiful creature.

General Neill (he had just been made Brigadier-General) arrived on Monday, the 20th of July, and as he was to remain when Havelock went on, the local command was made over to him, and he began to try and establish order and discipline in Cawnpore itself. It must be remembered that he had been greatly praised; everywhere it was noised abroad that Neill was the man for the emergency-Neill would not stand any nonsense, and so on, And of course he could not but suppose that whatever position he was in, something marked would be expected of him. Hence some of his orders, particularly the unfortunate one about the cleaning up of the blood; but it remained almost a dead letter, carried out, I think, in two instances. It is, however, preposterous to suppose that men in scenes of great excitement can behave exactly as they would on calm reflection in ordinary circumstances.

Since the publication of Malleson's history, it is now known that Neill carried his exaltation so far as to write a censorious letter to Havelock, when the latter decided to fall back on Cawnpore; to which Havelock replied that nothing but considerations of the public service prevented his ordering Neill into arrest. Impulsiveness was, of course, a facette, so to speak, of that general boldness which made Neill what he was, And he sometimes said things which others would have kept to themselves. He would laugh and declare, not heeding who was present, that "the old gentleman (Havelock) looked upon himself (Neill) as the heir-at-law, so he

could not expect to be liked more than heirs-at-law usually are." But this was mere manner and people are too ready to dwell on these little surface blemishes, not taking the trouble to look for hidden good qualities. I have been told since, that with all his martial bearing and off-hand speech, General Neill devoted much time in private to serious reading, and was interested in questions which we should have thought at the time were more in General Havelock's line.

Two operations were going on simultaneously; every effort was being made for crossing the river, and an entrenchment was being formed on the bank for the garrison that was to be left at Cawnpore. About this time, a resident of Bithoor, a Mahratta, named Narain Rao, wrote to me from there, to say that he had always been on the English side, had been put into confinement during the supremacy of the Nana, and wished to pay his respects to the General. I showed his communication to General Havelock, and he directed a Persian answer to be prepared, stating that he must be quick about it if he did not wish his loyalty to be suspected. The title or sobriquet Nana is not uncommon amongst the Mahrattas, and this man Narain Rao was also called the Nana, and it was, in consequence, rather difficult to procure him a civil reception with those who could not make out who he was. He was no relation whatever to Doondoo Punt, but was the son of an adherent of the Peishwa's, called me Subahdar Sahib, whom I well remember in Mr. Thomatime. He sometimes visited Agra, and was always the Zo by Mr. Thomason with great respect, as having called upnowledged as a good soldier in his younger days 'n Malcolm and even, I believe, by the Duke of The son was very Mahratta-looking. I have

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mentioned this gentleman's name because some of the stories of the Nana's doings are based upon what he said. But though I make no question of Narain Rao's loyalty, his wish to represent himself a sufferer was so mixed up with the hope of discrediting his brothers, with whom he had a quarrel about a will, that his adventures seem to me apocryphal now that one can think of them quietly. He had entreated me to get a vehicle for him, as he declared himself destitute of all equipments, and a tradesman in the town lent a carriage, but no one would drive it. The young Mahomedan of education and nice manners, who had come with me from Allahabad, was standing by when the dilemma arose. "I will go," he cried, and jumping on the box he whipped up the pair of horses into a brisk trot, and took the road to Bithoor.

We all, naturally, wanted to do something, to show that we were helping the general restoration, and as the city was getting well into our complete control, I consulted the Brahmin Deputy-Collector as to whether we could get men to establish a thana a few miles out of the town. We found people quite willing to take service, and the young Mahomedan seemed the very fellow for the post. Full of go, and anxious to bring himself forward, I asked him if he would. try and form a little nucleus of British authority out in the village where it was proposed to place the thana, and he jumped at the idea. He had got a horse of his own, and he started at the head of his little band, who were all armed, and was to engage other men out there if necessity arose. Of course he was told that he was not expected to fight, and if Sepoys approached he was to fall back. But for all purposes of exercising his authority amongst the peasants he was, we

thought, strong enough, and he himself was quite confident. He had hardly been there two days when a large body of Sepoys, stealing across from Calpee, and endeavouring to get over the Ganges into Oudh, came suddenly upon his thana in the night. His men made some resistance, but the idea of Sepoys carried a certain terror with it, and the darkness was a temptation to try and escape. The plucky fellow, notwithstanding, held out, and at last fell into his assailants' hands. They bound him, cut his throat, and hung him by his feet on a tree. There are honoured mounds above brave Englishmen all over the world; but that young hero's grave demands a leaf of laurel too. He espoused our cause ; he was faithful to it to death; he fell-fighting.

VII

THE RAINS OF 1857

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THE wet season had thoroughly set in the great river was rapid and swollen. And the difficulties General Havelock had to encounter were great; for the boats had to be collected, and boatmen to be procured. This class of men were shy of coming forward, in consequence of the complicity of some members of their craft in the treachery at Suttee Chowra Ghât. The little steamer, however, was of great service, and the crossing was effected in some four days, notwithstanding every obstacle. Colonel Fraser-Tytler was indefatigable. I remember seeing him, one evening, in a little native building by the river side, soaked and daubed in such a manner as rather to resemble a Nubian stoker in the Red Sea than his own thoroughly military and distingué self. Of course the troops were moved gradually down towards the Ganges, from the north-western corner of the station, and were passed across the water in turn.

It was before the Force had got fully across, I think, that one morning, when I had returned from riding, I found a middle-sized, strongly-built man, dressed in Khakee (ash-coloured) uniform and a helmet, who had come to look me up, and who asked if I was a civilian who had arrived with the Force. I replied that I was, and he then said: "I am Herbert Bruce, I hope we shall be friends, and work

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