lady never listened to gossip, or indeed, was
spoken to unless she spoke first—was quite
unknown to her, until the unlucky incident
took place which I am going to relate.

AT THE SIEGE OF DELHI.

I HAD been serving as a volunteer in the
batteries, for some twenty days previous to
the eleventh of September, eighteen hundred
and fifty-seven. Early on the morning of the
twelfth we had completed the breaching
batteries, and opened fire at about eight A.M.
with a salvo and three cheers. Then for two
days and nights came hot and heavy work;
we never left the battery, though occasionally
we retired to snatch a moment's sleep, or eat
a morsel of food, and then again to our posts
by the guns. Our duty was to breach the
wall near the Cashmere Gate, knocking away
also as much as possible on either side the
flanking loopholes for musketry. After the
first two or three hours' firing, the battery
filled with a murky heavy smoke, so thick
that we could barely distinguish each other's
faces; our throats and mouths choked and
parched with sulphureous gas, and the noon-
day Indian sun darting down its rays upon
our unsheltered heads, helped to give us no
unfair idea of Pandemonium. Our batteries
having been thrown up with great rapidity,
the necks and shoulders of the embrasures
were not properly finished, so that after
every discharge we had to look out carefully
for fire, one newly-erected battery having
been burned to the ground before it was
possible to extinguish the old dry fascines and
gabions of which it was composed. We tried
pegging raw hides over the gabions in the
embrasures, but without much success, as
they were blown away almost every time the
gun was discharged.

About four P.M. on the thirteenth, almost
all firing on our side ceased, and, lighting a
pipe, I squatted down, taking care to take
cover as well as circumstances would allow,
for shot, shell, and grape, were coming in
very liberally from Delhi. I had already
experienced the most marvellous escapes,
once being struck on the head by a splinter
of a shell two pounds in weight, and only
just scratched; at another time, whilst laying
a gun, a shell came through the embrasure,
and burst in the air within one yard from
my face, yet never touched me at all, though
it astonished me so much, that it was not
until I had shaken myself two or three
times, and felt my head and respective
limbs, that I could persuade myself into
a conviction of my entity, and that I was not
scattered to the four winds of heaven. Just
after I had taken up my position, and was
commencing to inhale the choicest Cavendish
from the dirtiest or best coloured of cutties,
a poor bheestie, or water-carrier, who had
been all day most gallantly attending our
men, carrying them water under the heaviest
fire, was returning with his empty water-skin
to the well for a fresh supply, when a
round shot struck him behind the thigh,
carrying the limb clean away. Nervous feeling
must have been completely destroyed,
for his face expressed no pain, and he sank
to the ground so quietly, that had we not
seen the accident, we might have fancied he
was sitting down to rest. When a couple of
men rushed up to his assistance, his whole
mind seemed fixed on his water skin, and all
that he said was, "don't trouble yourselves
about me, but take care of my mussock."
Two minutes later, the poor bheestie was
filling water-skins in the Styx.

As evening wore on, firing ceased
altogether; retiring to the hollow behind the
battery, we prepared for dinner, none the
less welcome to us officers, as though the
men had contrived by a system of relays to
take their food pretty regularly, we had
scarcely touched any for two days, so great
was our excitement whilst breaching. Squatting
on our charpoys, we proceeded to
examine the baskets, which our careful and
courageous kits had brought up from camp,
and loud and sincere were the praises and
promises of bucksheesh which we bestowed
on our faithful servitors, as we extracted
savoury pie, or well-spiced currie, and
sparkling Bass. It has been admitted on
all sides, that the conduct of native
servants has in general been excellent during
the whole crisis, few having deserted a
master who had treated them with
kindness; and many instances are on record of
their having risked their own lives in the
defence of those they served. A singular
amount of courage and fidelity was displayed
by a Madras servant in camp, whose master's
life was saved by this man's having followed
him into the very thick of a skirmish, and
put a loaded rifle into his hand at the nick
of time; nor would he leave his master's
side until the position had been gained, and
the enemy obliged to retire, though he had
received a severe wound. Such are the
natives of India: to-day the most devoted
and faithful: to-morrow the most treacherous
and deceitful, of the human race. That man,
who had braved the bullets of the enemy to
save his master, would next day have robbed
him of every pice, or have sold his life for a
plate of sweetmeats.

After we had dined, and smoking had
commenced, a short speech was made by one of
the officers, alluding to the probability of
our soon going to town, which was received
with immense applause; and some native of
the Emerald Isle called out, " Bedad, sir, we'd
sooner go into Delhi nor take our breakfasts
the morning." Great cheering followed this
ebullition, and singing commenced, the officers
setting the example. We had plenty of
songs, chiefly of the love and war or death
and glory style; but I shall never forget the
effect produced by a young artilleryman,