Twelve Years Of A Soldier's Life In India Part 5

Of what he became afterwards my readers will have the same means of judging as myself. He seems to me to have been one of whom not only his family, but his country may well be proud,--a worthy representative of the English name and nation amongst the tribes of India, an impersonation of manly straightforwardness, and unhesitating daring, and irresistible power.

I cannot doubt but that the verdict of his countrymen will confirm my judgment.

Many too, I believe, will agree with me in thinking that these pages prove that the poetry and romance of war are not yet extinct, that even the Enfield rifle has not reduced all men to a dead level, but that there is still a place to be found for individual prowess, for the lion heart, and the eagle eye, and the iron will. One seems transported back from the prosaic nineteenth century to the ages of romance and chivalry, and to catch a glimpse, now of a Paladin of old, now of a knightly hero _sans peur et sans reproche_; now, of a northern chieftain, "riding on border foray," now of a captain of free-lances; yet all dissolving into a Christian soldier of our own day.

Most striking of all, it has appeared to me, is the resemblance to the romantic career of that hero of the Spanish ballads, who, by his many deeds of heroic daring, gained for himself the distinguished t.i.tle of "El de las Hazanas,"--"He of the exploits." Those who are acquainted with the chronicles of the Conquest of Granada, will almost fancy in reading these pages that they are hearing again the story of Fernando Perez del Pulgar; how at one time by a bold dash he rode with a handful of followers across a country swarming with the enemy, and managed to force his way into a beleaguered fortress; how at another he galloped alone up the streets of Granada, then in possession of the enemy, to the gates of the princ.i.p.al mosque, and nailed a paper to the door with his dagger; how again he turned the tide of battle by the mere charm of his eagle eye and thrilling voice, inspiring the most timid with a courage equal to his own; how he made the enemy lay down their arms at his word of command; how the Moorish mothers frightened their children with the sound of his name; how he was not only the harebrained adventurer, delighting in peril and thirsting for the excitement of the fight, but also the courteous gentleman, the accomplished scholar; as profound and sagacious in the council as he was reckless in the field, and frequently selected by the wily Ferdinand to conduct affairs requiring the greatest prudence and judgment.[1]

It may be, however, that affection has bia.s.sed my judgment, and that I shall be thought to have formed an exaggerated estimate of the grandeur and n.o.bleness of the subject of this memoir. Even if this be so, I shall not take much to heart the charge of having loved such a brother too well, and I shall console myself with the thought that I have endeavored to do something to perpetuate his memory.

If, however, any young soldier be induced, by reading these pages, to take a higher view of his profession, to think of it as one of the n.o.blest fields in which he can serve his G.o.d and his country, and enter on it in a spirit of self-sacrifice, with "duty" as his guiding principle, and a determination never to forget that he is a Christian soldier and an Englishman, I shall be abundantly rewarded; my main object will be attained.

COOKHAM DEANE, _December, 1858_.

FOOTNOTE:

[1] See Was.h.i.+ngton Irving, &c.

TABLE OF CONTENTS.

PART I.

CHAPTER I.

EARLY LIFE--RUGBY--TRINITY COLLEGE, CAMBRIDGE--GUERNSEY MILITIA pp. 57-61

CHAPTER II.

ARRIVAL IN INDIA--CAMPAIGN ON THE SUTLEJ, BATTLES OF MOODKEE, FEROZESHAH, SOBRAON--OCCUPATION OF LAh.o.r.e--1845-6 62-81

CHAPTER III.

FIRST BENGAL EUROPEAN FUSILEERS--CASHMERE WITH SIKH ARMY--LAWRENCE ASYLUM--APPOINTMENT TO GUIDE CORPS--_June, 1846-Oct. 1847_ 82-102

CHAPTER IV.

EMPLOYMENT IN THE PUNJAUB AS SECOND IN COMMAND OF THE CORPS OF GUIDES, AND ALSO AS a.s.sISTANT TO THE RESIDENT AT LAh.o.r.e--ROAD-MAKING AND SURVEYING--CAMPAIGN OF 1848-9--CAPTURE OF FORTS--BATTLE OF GUJERAT--ANNEXATION OF PUNJAUB--_Oct. 1847-March, 1849_ 103-141

CHAPTER V.

ANNEXATION OF PUNJAUB--INCREASE OF CORPS OF GUIDES AT PESHAWUR--TRANSFER TO CIVIL DEPARTMENT AS a.s.sISTANT COMMISSIONER--_April, 1849-April, 1850_ 142-156

CHAPTER VI.

TOUR IN CASHMERE AND THIBET WITH SIR HENRY LAWRENCE --TRANSFER TO CIS-SUTLEJ PROVINCES--_June, 1850-Oct.

1851_ 157-177

CHAPTER VII.

MARRIAGE--COMMAND OF THE GUIDES--PESHAWUR--EUZOFZAI --FRONTIER WARFARE--MURDaN--_Jan. 1852-Nov. 1854_ 178-204

CHAPTER VIII.

REVERSES--UNJUST TREATMENT--OFFICIAL ENMITY--LOSS OF COMMAND--SUPPRESSION OF REPORT--RETURN TO REGIMENTAL DUTIES--BETTER PROSPECTS--MAJOR TAYLOR'S REPORT--TESTIMONY OF SIR R. NAPIER--MR.

MONTGOMERY--_Nov. 1854-May, 1857_ 205-226

PART II.

NARRATIVE OF THE DELHI CAMPAIGN, 1857, 1858.

CHAPTER I.

OUTBREAK OF REBELLION--MARCH DOWN TO DELHI FROM DUGSHAI WITH FIRST EUROPEAN BENGAL FUSILEERS--APPOINTMENT TO INTELLIGENCE DEPARTMENT--RIDE FROM KURNAL TO MEERUT TO OPEN COMMUNICATION--ORDER TO RAISE REGIMENT--DEATH OF GENERAL ANSON--_May 10th-June 8th_ pp. 227-245

CHAPTER II.

SIEGE OF DELHI--_June-August_ 246-306

CHAPTER III.

SIEGE OF DELHI, CONTINUED--ROHTUCK EXPEDITION--a.s.sAULT --DELHI TAKEN--CAPTURE OF KING--CAPTURE AND EXECUTION OF SHAHZADAHS--_August 17th-Sept. 25th_ 307-359

CHAPTER IV.

OPERATIONS IN THE NEIGHBORHOOD OF DELHI--SHOWERS'S COLUMN--SEATON'S COLUMN--ACTIONS AT GUNGEREE, PUTIALEE, MYNPOOREE--RIDE TO COMMANDER-IN-CHIEF'S CAMP--JUNCTION OF FORCES--SHUMSHABAD--_Oct.-Jan._ 360-418

CHAPTER V.

ALUMBAGH, LUCKNOW--THE BEGUM'S PALACE--BANKS'S HOUSE--THE SOLDIER'S DEATH--NOTICES--CONCLUDING REMARKS--_Feb.-March 12th_ 419-444