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dear fellow, the dacoits-that's all; the robbers are upon us; we must defend our lives; there is not a moment to be lost." The plot now began to thicken three burkundauzes rushed in, with a confirmation of the intelligence that Ramsunker and his gang were close at hand, bent on fulfilling their recent threats, and that they had already plundered two or three neighbouring hamlets. Not an instant was wasted; the doors were banged to and bolted in a trice, bars laid across, and some heavy boxes piled up against them. Guns, pistols, and hog-spears were put in requisition; the burkundauzes loaded their matchlocks and blew their matches, and the whole of us immediately ascended to the flat roof, determined to defend the fortress.

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Having gained this position, the next point was to reconnoitre the force of the enemy, and the posture of affairs outside. A low parapet wall, some three feet high, encompassed the flat roof of the planter's mansion; and over this last, sheltering as much of our persons as possible, we cast our eyes in the direction of the mass of bamboo and other foliage, amongst which the indigo vats and other out-buildings were principally situated. All there was ominously still, except that, every now and then, a factory coolie, like a startled hare, would burst forth from his concealment, and with looks of terror fly across the opposite rice-fields. The vat-houses, &c., had now, it was clear, been abandoned by all the planter's followers, and were in possession of the dacoits, who were probably rifling them. Of this we had speedy confirmation, by perceiving three or four dark, under-sized figures, almost naked, and armed with swords and spears, creep cautiously out and cast furtive glances towards the house. "There they are," said Augustus; those are some of the rascals, preparing, no doubt, to make an assault upon us. Well, we must give them a warm reception. I wish with all my heart we had De la Chasse with us; but how to communicate with him and the distant police station, surrounded as we are, I know not. However," he added, "he cannot fail, sooner or later, to learn our situation from some of the runaways. Here, Gernon," said he, handing me a double gun, "here is something for you; now, do your best, like a valiant knight, and win your spurs." Here, thought I, is a pretty adventure! I shall inevitably be figuring in a return of killed and wounded, without ever having joined a regiment. Call you this a party of pleasure, i'faith? I had soliloquized to this extent, when a little white cloud of smoke puffed itself forth from the brightly verdant screen formed by the drooping bamboo hedge, followed by the whistling of a matchlock ball within a few feet of my pericranium. To tell the truth, this music had no particular charms for me; though, when "honour pricked me on," I could listen to it awhile, buoyed up by visions of glory, promotion, prize-money, and so forth, as well as another. On hearing the whine of this ragged missile, I instinctively bobbed my head a shade lower than the parapet wall: this little involuntary working of the conservative principle, however, was speedily succeeded by an energetic display of its opposite, as by an active rebound up I started, presented my gun, and dropped shots-one, two-quick as thought, into the spot from which the cloud of smoke had yet hardly disappeared; how many I killed, I can't say. Augustus also fired; and immediately, as if roused by our daring, a numerous band of some 200 or 300 dacoits, as ill-looking a set of fellows as I ever beheld, armed with swords, spears, and a rusty matchlock or two, swarmed forth from their places of concealment, rushed down upon the house with a frightful yelling, sprung upon the terrace, and endeavoured to force the doors. These, however, though rather fragile, as Indian doors generally are, were sufficient for the moment to resist their efforts. Our garrison replied Asiat.Journ.N.S.VOL.36.No.142. L

by loud shouts of defiance, which, with a volley from the guns and matchlocks, sent them, to our astonishment, to the right-about, and they again sought shelter amongst the trees, carrying off two or three wounded. I congratulated Mr. Augustus on their unexpected retreat, expressing a hope that we had seen the last of them, for the disparity of force went far towards diminishing the liveliness of the joke. "Ah!" said my friend, "I would not have you halloo before you're out of the wood, or draw precipitate conclusions; I know the villains too well; they have plenty of pluck, and are now, depend on it, going to make sure of us in some way attended with less risk to themselves."

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We now listened, and soon heard the sound of axes in the wood, followed by the crash of falling bamboos. "What can they now be at?" said I. "I suspect," replied Augustus, " that they intend to scale the house, and are making ladders of bamboo for the purpose." Some conversation with the native garrison tended fully to confirm this view of the matter, and 200 or 300 to eight or ten are overwhelming odds. "I fear," said the planter, we must beat a parley, unless immediately relieved by De la Chasse or the thannah folks, and make the best terms we can for ourselves, or they will scale the roof, massacre us all in a trice, and then plunder the place. What is your idea of the matter, Gernon ?" "Oh," said I, "I'm for fighting as long as there's a fair chance; but if there's none, as I've no wish to adorn a tale' by figuring in a massacre, I vote with you that we give in, provided they grant us an honourable capitulation." As we were thus speaking, a servant exclaimed that a man was advancing from the wood where the dacoits were carrying on their operations: he was unarmed, and made a sign that he had something to communicate. One of our intelligent burkundauzes hailed and asked him what he wanted. The reply, as explained to me, was, that he had a message from his sirdar, or chief, the redoubtable Ramsunker, to deliver to the sahib. He was told to advance with confidence; that he would be admitted to deliver his message, and that no harm would be done to him. On the promise of safe conduct, the herald came forward, nowise distrustful, and was forthwith admitted. He was a middle-sized but wiry and athletic fellow, intensely black, halfnaked, with matted hair, small, loosely-twisted turban, and a broad untanned leathern belt over his shoulder. Being asked by Mr. Augustus what he had to say or propose, he replied, that he was sent by his sirdar to state that he was now making ladders, with which he would in a few minutes scale the house at all points, and put every soul to death, unless his terms were at once complied with these were the immediate payment of Rs. 300, upon which he would at once draw off his band, and give no further molestation to any one. The indigo planter, finding further resistance would be useless, and knowing that these dacoits, on the principle of honour amongst rogues, were men of their word, fulfilling every engagement, whether to rob and murder, or abstain, with scrupulous fidelity, determined on acceding to their terms; this he intimated to the little plenipo, who thereat made a salaam, grinned horribly a ghastly smile, and returned to report to his superior the success of his mission. To be brief, there was an immediate stir in the grove, and presently the chief, as sinisterlooking a villain as I ever beheld, came forward to about the middle of the open space fronting the house, accompanied by a body of some ten or twelve of his followers. Mr. Augustus gave him a bag containing the Rs. 300, for which he made him an obeisance, and then wheeling about, he rejoined his band, who, after several loud shouts, moved off with their plunder, and without offering us any further annoyance.

"Well," said Mr. Augustus, shaking me by the hand, "how do you find

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yourself, after being stormed and beseiged-a pretty piece of business this, eh? You little thought of witnessing such an adventure, I'll be sworn, when you came down to sport at the Junglesoor Factory. This was not the shooting you expected." "I did not, indeed," said I; "however, I think we have saved our honour, and our bodies are certainly intact, albeit you have lost your rupees.” That's true," said my friend; "but I should still like to give the rascals a trouncing and recover the spolia opima, and will try it, if De la Chasse and the police make their appearance before they have got a long start of us." This was scarcely said when we heard the sound of horses' hoofs, and in a moment De la Chasse and Tupper, in breathless haste, came spurring up to the house. The former threw himself from the saddle, and in a moment had us by the hands. "My goot Capsicome! my dear young friend! are you all alive? all well? Dat's goot; thank God-thank God! I hear you vas beseiged by dis raskal dacoit; so Tupper and me, ve mount our orse, ride off to de tannah for de police-dey vill be here directly, thannadar and all, little and pig. But come, tell me vraiment all vat vas happen-vere are dey ?— who have dey kill?—vat have dey rob?—vy are dey gone?-Come tell it all, for I am dam impashant to know all." "It is soon told, monsieur," said Augustus. "Ramsunker and 300 of his men attacked us; we stood one assault, capitulated, and paid Rs. 300, black-mail, to get out of the scrape." "Black male! vat de devil's black male-you mean, I suppose, you pay Rs. 300 to de black males-I not suppose you pay to de black females." Augustus laughed, and explained. "Vell, vell, you did your best; de grand Napoleon himself vas obleege to yield to numbers; 300 to ten is too moch. But," added he, "I do hope ve may yet catch dis dacoit, get de money back, and give dem goot trashing beside; dere is 100 of de police, and twenty or tirty more of us-vat say you?" "Just what I was proposing to our young friend here, as you came up; undoubtedly, let us try; but there's no time to be lost, if we would wish to succeed, for they have already a considerable start of us." The proposal, indeed, was generally relished; the horses were ordered to be saddled; each of us armed himself in some way or other, and in a few minutes more, the portly thannahdar, or head of the police, as burly a fellow as Shakespeare's fat knight, mounted on a rut of a pony, made his appearance at the head of a numerous body, some 80 or 100, of the neighbouring police, drawn from several stations. Mr. Augustus intimated to the thannahdar his determination to pursue the dacoits so soon as his followers had slightly refreshed themselves, of which, after the distance they had come, they evidently stood in need. This the thannahdar intimated to his men ; some of whom began to smoke in little knots or groupes, squatting on their hams; others drank water, which they drew in their brazen lotas from a neighbouring well; whilst others unfolded little stores of rice, or parched gram, tied up in corners of their vestments, and set to daintily picking and eating the same. Poor prog to fight upon, thought I, holding as I do that the stomach and not the heart is the seat of valour. All the above was mingled with an incessant gabble touching the recent event, with a plentiful outpouring of abuse on the female relations of the aforesaid dacoits.

The police refreshed, off started our little army in pursuit of the enemy, who we calculated could not be many miles off, the four Europeans (if Augustus may be included under that denomination) and the thannahdar-the cavalry of the division-taking the lead, whilst the police peons-the infantry -principally armed with spears and tulwars, brought up the rear. As we advanced, we learnt from the villagers that the body of the dacoits (too large to

move unobserved) had proceeded in the direction of a certain ferry on the river. Thither we bent our course, and learnt from the ferry people that they had recently crossed, and were close at hand. The remainder of the adventure I shall sum up in a few words. The dacoits were soon overtaken; like Cæsar, we came, and saw-would I could add we conquered! but in that, the most essential point, the parallel with the great Roman's despatch unhappily fails. On approaching the dingy array of the dacoits, they halted and showed a bold front. Augustus and De la Chasse marshalled their men, and addressed what were intended for some spirit-stirring exhortations to them. Tupper and I took the flanks, and doubtless felt (I can speak for myself) rather queer. We advanced; the dacoits, sword and spear in hand, came forward doggedly to meet us-our line wavered-in vain we screamed and exhorted; the dacoits dashed in-cut down three or four; sauve qui peut was the word, and away flew our men over the plain. After a little irregular cutting and slashing, we followed, and with difficulty saved ourselves by the speed of our cattle. I will leave the reader to imagine the rage of Mr. Augustus, the vehement pestes and sacres of the Gaul, and the down-right straightforward abuse of the stiff little mate, elicited by this shameful misbehaviour of our troops; the censures, reports, &c., arising out of it; and the uneasiness felt, after we had got back to the factory, of another visit from the exasperated Ramsunker. Fortunately, however, he came not; and from fugitives and others we learnt that, satisfied with putting us to the rout, he had made off with his gang and booty to a distant part of the country. All this, of course, formed matter for animated discussion and commentary amongst us four at the factory, De la Chasse and his friend remaining for a couple of days to afford us their countenance and protection. We had a very merry time of it-shooting and boating in the day, and a rubber of whist or a song at night.*

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*The attack on the factory is an actual occurrence, and took place as described in all the essential particulars. The relater has been on the spot, and had the details from the principal actor in the

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POLITICAL PROSPECTS OF BRITISH INDIA.

THERE is a pause in the military operations beyond the Indus, which affords a favourable occasion to review the results of our expedition thither, and to consider the political prospects of our Indian empire, under the circumstances in which it has been placed by the important events of the last three years. The occasion is the more inviting, since the directing power of the Imperial Government has been transferred to the hands of a ministry of Conservative principles, at a period when the exigencies of the state demand a more than ordinary attention to pacific and economical measures, its leading members having, moreover, intimated a doubtful opinion regarding the foreign policy of our Indian Government.

It must be a source of satisfaction to all who take a deep interest in the welfare of our possessions in the East, that the controlling authority, in this department of the new ministry, has not been flung carelessly into the hands of an individual who, whatever his talents might be, had to acquire the very elements of the knowledge requisite to fit him for Indian administration; but is reposed in a nobleman whose judgment and abilities have been already tried and approved in the same office. Now that the Court of Directors has dwindled into a subordinate organ, with little influence and less power-a mere machine for dispensing innocently the Indian patronage-it is of infinite moment that the minister at the head of the Board of Controul should possess talents, knowledge, experience, and weight of character, adequate to the management of so vast, so peculiar, and so complicated a department of the general government. A further advantage results from the condition in which the affairs of India are made over to its new rulers. The late Government and its representative abroad have had time, not only to develop their whole scheme of policy in respect to Affghanistan and Central Asia, but to superintend and complete its execution, and their successors are not called upon to interfere hastily and precipitately with a course of action which they might deem dangerous or impolitic; they have time for deliberation and reflection. The coun

tries bounded by the vast horizon of British authority and influence in the East, which now stretches from the confines of China to those of Persia, are apparently, for the present, tranquil; success seems to have realized the most sanguine hopes of those who projected the hazardous enterprize of leading an army of British sepoys across the Indus, to engage, not as principals, but as auxiliaries of a native sovereign, in a contest, our own interest in the success of which was somewhat remote and uncertain.

The avowed objects of the expedition into Affghanistan, and the restoration of Shah Shooja, were to put down a government (that of Dost Mahomed Khan), the ruler of which was intent upon conjoining with Persia in designs inimical to British interests; to protect and promote what was termed our "legitimate influence" in Central Asia, and to adjust the discordant elements of government in the Affghan empire, so as to adapt it to yield better fruits to its subjects, and render the alliance between it and

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