Many of these wretched specimens of degraded humanity were so embittered against the Europeans that they considered that they were doing the country and their Deity a service, if they could procure by any means, and at any cost, the massacre of an European.

These wretches are to be seen in every part of the East; even the most affluent make much of them; being buoyed up with idolatry and superstition, they are in a great measure kept under by them, and it would be tantamount to a curse of fate to scruple to relieve them. I have seen them in all the most disgusting forms possible; they look hideous, and, in fact, are barely human, being to a Christian, the most detestable of all other objects.

The advance from Minora to Kurrachie, though now often a subject of merriment to the parties concerned, was a tedious and harrassing march to the soldier: having advanced as far up the river in the boats as was available, we entered a little creek, and rowed until the boats were aground, owing to the shallowness of the water: we had still a considerable distance to march ere we could arrive at the road, no not road, track-which led to our destined object. No difficulty must daunt a soldier; no obstacle must prevent his onward progress, if there be the most remote prospect of success. And therefore, thus stranded in the middle of a swamp, we had no alternative but to attempt to wade through

the saturated mud. Each step in advance occupied several seconds, and the mud, which was black and soft, affording no resistance to our weight, at every step we sank two or three feet deep into the horrible mass. It must also be remembered that every man was encumbered with a musket, accoutrements, and a pouch containing about five pounds of ammunition, on the preservation of which depended his hopes of success and safety; this unpleasant march of one mile and a half occupied nearly nine hours, which, extraordinary as it may seem, will not be apocryphal when it is stated that they crawled along in this quagmire very much in the same style that a fly progresses in a jar of molasses: some fell at every other step, others actually stuck fast for many minutes at a time; some were in imminent danger of being entirely and permanently submerged; others, overcome by the exertion, fatigue, and hunger, were on the point of giving up all exertion. The officers, being in precisely the same predicament as their men, could scarcely make any exertion to encourage them in their efforts to surmount the danger and difficulty in which they were placed but there is little which the indomitable resolution, courage and perseverance of the British soldier will not eventually overcome; but what a position to be in, as a preliminary entree into an enemy's country! what an opportunity for a slaughter! At length, after terrific exertions, and Her

culean labour, the whole mass once more found themselves safe on terra firma. The danger and toil was no sooner passed than it was forgotten, and, regardless of the pressing calls of hunger, they urged on, impatient of delay, until they advanced close to the town, which, as has been stated, surrendered at their approach,

CHAPTER II.

Safe arrival into Camp; Uncomfortable Lodging; Barren Country; Effects of Filth; Position of Camp; Second Grenadiers Native Infantry; Massacre of Captain Hand; Exploit of Lieutenant Clarke; Desperate Leap down a precipice; Cry of Revenge; Troops in Camp; Dust Storms; Miseries thereby occasioned; Force increased; State of Scinde; Reserve Force; Sir John Keane's advance on Cabool; Rumours of capturing Hydrabad; Description of Hydrabad; Policy of the British Functionary, Sir H. Pottinger; Ameers of Scinde; Removal of their Body Guards; Substitution of a British Subsidiary Force; Scinde made tributary to the British Government; Sir John Keane resumes his March for Cabool; Monotonous life of the Scinde Force; Troops put into Huts; Description of Huts; Bad made Worse; Hospitals crowded; Minora selected as a Sanatorium; Benefit derived thereby; Curious Phenomenon; Boiling Spring; Sacred Alligator Lake; Picnics; Fate of a Dog.

HAVING now performed the duty allotted to them, the men began to find time to reflect upon the necessity of immediately providing themselves with some of the creature comforts which nature has rendered imperatively necessary to the well-being of the body corporate; and as no provision could be procured but from the ship, a barrel was filled with pea-soup and sent ashore, and, under existing circumstances, was considered no small luxury by every individual. In the evening, which followed hard upon the dinner hour, pickets were told off,

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and sentries were placed to prevent surprise, and the remainder of the forces bivouacked on the sand, and on the first dawn of the morning the bugle summoned the sleepers from their primitive beds, à la belle étoille, to prepare the ground for an encampment; the equipage was speedily disembarked, and having procured camels from the town's-people, the forces proceeded to the appointed spot, which, in a military point of view, was eligibly situated, about two miles north-east of the town, where the tents were pitched in a jungle infested with every feature that could lend wildness to the picturesque effect of the martial array, and on which each man had to clear the ground before he could attempt to pitch his tent. The surrounding country appeared a wide expanse of dreary barrenness, with here and there a small patch of cultivated ground, through which the natives turned with zealous care every available stream of water. The little plantations were rich in fruits, and amply repaid the labour and care bestowed upon them. The insufferable stench and malaria which arose from the tan-pits, and from the decomposition of the dead carcases before named, which were heaped around the town, would have been, even at that distance, the source of much disease, and, perhaps, death, to the Europeans, had it not been for the periodical sea-breezes which blew over the country, redolent of health, and bearing on their purifying wings the most refreshing balm to the dwellers in the camp, which had occasionally