CHAPTER XVIII.

Sir Colin Campbell's plan of operations.-A beautiful sight.Unjust estimate of men's actions.-The enemy swarm.-The Bays, the Artillery, and the Rifles.-The day's work done.— Outram's camp.—The enemy active and unhappy.-Little Miss Orr.-Preparations for Outram's advance.-Kite-flying.-Warfare and cruelty. Native milk-women.-Outram's advance.— My Caubulee pony.—A terrible game of cricket.-The storming party.-"Pandy" and "Smith."-Assault of the Martinière.A canter to the newly-gained post.-Butler, of the Bengal Fusiliers.-Pandy's deserted trenches.-Sikh Barbarity.—The Begum still undaunted.

March 7th.-Yesterday, which commenced with a little excitement, has set my diary all out of order. After writing for an hour or so, I went to the top of the Dilkoosha, where Sir Colin soon came up; and, taking me into one of the little turrets out of the sun, he was good enough to explain, map in hand, what was his plan of operations, which up to that moment was a dead secret. "Outram, with a complete corps of infantry, cavalry, and guns, crosses the floating bridges, or rafts, across the Goomtee, and marches straight for the road which leads over the Kokraal viaduct that you see there beyond the Martinière. This road leads, in a line nearly parallel to the course. of the Goomtee, to the Iron and Stone bridges-and now, mind that this is kept quiet. Outram will be placed so as to command the rear of the enemy's line, and to take their works in flank and reverse, whilst our attack is pressed with vigour from this side against the Begum's kothie and Banks' bungalow as soon as the Martinière is taken—a movement

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being made against it the moment Outram's success is developed." As Sir Colin was talking to me, I was amused by a little incident. A round-shot, passing by the turret, plunged with a great squash into the front of the courtyard below us, which was full of men, and involuntarily I said, "That's done harm, I fear!" Sir Colin never raised his head apparently from the plan he was showing me, and merely interpolated the words "none whatever" in the structure of exposition which he was raising for me, and went on; all the time our guns kept up a furious fire on the Martinière, and on the whole line of the enemy's works.

See, there is, indeed, a beautiful sight! The head of a column of British troops is emerging from the woods which surround our camp, and is marching upon the bridge. The bright scarlet of the Bays shines brightly in the sun. What a storm of lightning points-flashes of bright steel-bursts through the cloud of dust. There go the artillery-thirty guns. There go the Rifles-the dear old brigade. Will the column never cease? Hour after hour it has been passing over, and all the time we are in the hot sun and blinding dust on the top of the Dilkoosha. What swarms of camp followers! What a mighty impedimentum of baggage, deserts of camels, wildernesses of elephants, all pouring along towards the river, and then following in parallel lines the folds of the serpent-like column which is winding away through the corn-fields till it disappears in the woods on the horizon. The column and its dependencies were four hours crossing over; as to the baggage, it was not clear of the bridge even at night.

The enemy began to swarm out of the city long ere

the appearance of the column gave the construction of the bridge its true significance. It was curious to watch them through the glass; far as the eye could see, were men singly, in twos, or threes, or fours, without any formation, walking, as they listed, along the road to the Kokraal and in the fields alongside, till they were hid by the trees which border the very road along which Outram is to advance, and amid which lies the famous village of Chinhut. How unjust the world is in its estimate of men's actions! Or is it just to apply to them success as the sole rule and the only criterion? Sir Henry Lawrence, persecuted by the "war party" in the Residency, went out to disperse the rebels at Chinhut. The native troops and gunners defected, he was obliged to make a painful and disastrous retreat. The world exclaims "What a foolish expedition to Chinhut!" Had he beaten the enemy, the world would be almost equally ready to exclaim, "What a glorious expedition to Chinhut!" So with Windham at Cawnpore. Had he beaten the Gwalior people on the second day as he had done on the first, he would have been cried up as the greatest of generals and of soldiers as of fighters. We should not have heard one word of disobedience of orders, of rashness, ignorance, imprudence, &c., &c. On the other hand, had he let himself be shut up in the tête-de-pont-had he given up the city to plunder-had he permitted the enemy to bombard the entrenchments-to cannonade, and possibly destroy, the bridge-what should we not have heard said of him? These remarks come to my mind as I think of what the world would say if Outram there fell into an ambuscade, or got terribly

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mauled by an overwhelming body of the enemy. How Sir Colin would be decried for "acting in opposition to the principles of war." How the Club strategists would point out "the absurdity, by Jove, sir! of any man dividing his army-small enough in itself in the face of a powerful enemy, and putting one part of it out of reach beyond an unfordable river, by gad, sir, as if he wanted them cut to pieces!” Then you would hear it hinted that he and Outram were not good friends, &c., &c. Just as an old Engineer officer, talking of Cawnpore last night, said, "Windham talked so much on coming to India that he made lots of men-if not enemies-quite delighted, at all events, when his boasting was turned into confusion." One of the greatest miseries of an unsuccessful general is, that he can never tell the truth in his own defence. Indeed, what general can? There is always much to be blamed, which cannot be openly denounced. Never mind the bulletins, but watch a general's conduct after a battle. See how he selects corps or men, and be sure that it is the real way of getting at their value. Where am I getting to?

The enemy are going out to fight Outram. There goes a gun drawn by three pairs of bullocks. There goes a "swell" in a gilt palanquin, preceded by men carrying gold sticks and maces-real gold and silver sticks in waiting. There is another dignitary mounted on an elephant, with a silver howdah, shadowed by a great umbrella, which shines in the sun. There are numerous horsemen also well mounted, and curvetting through the meadows; and the swarms of footmen, all in white turbans, dhoties, or tunics-with black cartouche-boxes, are formidable

in everything but organization. The day is wearing away. I had pointed out to Sir Colin two guns that the enemy had brought up and placed under cover between the Goomtee and the Kokraal road-my telescope was more powerful in resolving objects than his binocular—and also that they had withdrawn one of those with which they had been hammering at the bridge, when we saw a faint cloud of dust rise up among the trees in the direction in which Outram might be expected to appear. By this time the Dilkoosha was tolerably well crowded by staff officers. "Sister Ann! Sister Ann! do you see any one coming?" There is a cessation in the number of footmen from the city. The dust is evidently approaching towards us, and is becoming denser. Through the perpetual thunder of our own guns just below us I think I hear the report of distant firing. Look !-look! The woods are alive with men in white running back towards Lucknow ! See that stream of horsemen rushing towards the Kokraal bridge! Hurra! there comes the swell on the elephant! Hollo! see there how the fellows are cutting along with that palkee! What a dust! What a mass of men running for their lives! Outram must be close at hand. In another instant out dashes, in the utmost disorder, a squadron of the Bays, distinguishable as our cavalry only by their red coats, their swords gleaming as they brandish them among the fugitives, from whom comes a dropping fire. The great mass of the runaways are dodging through broken ground between the Kokraal and the river, where the cavalry cannot pursue them. In another second or two out bounds from the wood a hungry troop of horse artil