The Press.
London, England, 1857-10-31 00:00:00

THE PRESS, OCTOBER 31, 1857.

carnage when the Ghoorka is fairly loose, and each victim
he kills, he sucks the blood from his knife! When once
Delhi is taken the carnage will be horrible; but the time
for mercy is past, and there is nothing left but indignation
and revenge.
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The sufferings of Mrs. Leeson, who escaped from
Delhi, were very severe :
I have told you in former letters of some of the horrors
perpetrated by the mutineers. We ourselves, when out on
duty among the villagers, have found a lady's shoe with a
foot in it; but their horrible atrocities were carried to such
an extent as to baffle all description. A poor woman, a
Mrs. Leeson, managed to escape into our camp a few days
ago. She hed been concealed by a wild, untutored Atfghan
within the city, and managed to escape to our camp. She
had seen her husband killed before her face.

[The revolting description which follows we cannot
insert. It is enough to know that this poor woman's
husband, children, and aunt were put to death in a manner
the most frightful and inhuman that can possibly be con-
ceived.]
The poor woman, knowing that her turn came next,
fainted with horror. At that moment a fearful excitement
in the street attracted the attention of the incarnate fiends.
It proved to be a clergyman's daughter, a girl of great
beauty, who had come out from England only a few months
before. Her name was Miss J—. She had been stripped
naked in the streets

beaten with sticks and bamboos, as the poor creature, quite
mad, rushed along the street. She was shortly afterwards
—with savage intent but merciful result—cut down with
a sword. Well, during the time this scene attracted the
attention of and afforded amusement to Mrs. Leeson's
Persecutors, this Affghan removed her and covered her
with a cloth. He afterwards kept her concealed in some
house, and to show his ignorance of English taste, he fed
the poor woman on sugar and sweetmeats. He also
found some English bottles somewhere, and knowing them
to be foreign, or " blattee," as the natives call things
English, he came to his charge with great joy, thinking
now it would be all right and all her wants supplied. The
bottles proved to be one of Epsom salts and another of
magnesia, and the poor fellow could not possibly be made
to understand how it was that the " mem sahib," or
English lady, would not eat what he knew for a fact to be
" blattee." He received a reward of 100 rupees from
Brigadier Nicholson for thus assisting the poor woman to
escape. He has also received a pardon, for he has been
recognised as a notorious border freebooter, but is still
detained in easy confinement as a dangerous character.

The following vividly descriptive letter is from an
officer serving in the Delhi army :
Camp before Delhi, Aug. 23.

My dear Father,—Since last I wrote to you I have bad
such hard work and such exposure as I never had before
in my long life, but, thank Heaven, here I am safe and
sound and back again in camp. Hodson was sent out
with his new regiment, and a squadron of the Guides,
101 strong, under me, to watch a large party of the enemy
who had gone into the Rhotuck district. Our force was
in all about 350 cavalry—all, except the Guides, belonging
to Hodson's own corps. The officers were Hodson, com-
manding, Ward, Wise, M'Dowell, Hugh, and myself. The
first day we marched to a place called Khurkonda ; but
such a march ! We had to go through water for miles up
to the horses' girths. We took Khurkonda by surprise,
and Hodson immediately placed men over the gates, and
we went in. Shot one scoundrel instanter, cut down
another, and took a reasaldar (native officer) and some
sowars (troopers) prisoners, and came to a house occupied
by some more, who would not let us in at all ; at last we
rushed in, and found the rascals had taken to the upper
story, and still kept us at bay. There was only one door
and a kirkee (window). I shoved in my head through
the door, with a pistol in my hand, and got a clip over my
turban for my pains ; my pistol missed tire at the man's
breast ( you must send me a revolver), so I got nut of
that as fast as I could, anti then tried the kirkee with the
other barrel and very necrly got another cut. We tried
every means to get in, but could not, so we fired the house,
anti out they rushed a mtv.lc among us. The first fellow
went at Hugh (the writer's brother), who wounded him,
but somehow or other h r slipped, and fell on his back.
I saw him fall, and, thinking be was hurt, rushed to the
rescue. A Guide got a chop at the fellow, and I gave him
such a swinging backhander that he fell dead. I then
went at another fellow rushing by my left, and sent my
sword through him, like butter, and bagged him. I then
looked round, anti saw a sword come crash upon the
shoulders of a poor little boy ; oh, such a cut, and up went
the sword again, and the next moment the boy would have
been in eternity, but I ran forward and covered him with
my sword and saved him. During this it was over with
seven men. Ward had shot one with his revolver, and the
other four were cut down at once. Hugh I tound was
all right, only a slight cut just above the wrist. Having
polished off these fellows, we held an impromptu court-
martial on those we had taken, and shot them all —mur-
derers every one, who were justly rewarded for their deeds.
Next day we continued our march, and got to Rhotuck on
the 17th of August, where some sowars and the people of
the town turned out against us, but fled like sheep before
the Guides, led by Hugh and myself ; but we managed to
cut up thirteen of them. Next morning we were sur-
prised to find a party of sowars galloping down upon us, so
plucky—but we sent them galloping back, so funky ! We
then formed up. and the enemy came within :100 yards
of us, but a few Minh', rifle balls sent them off. They then
tried to come upon our flank, but we would not admit of
that at any price. At last, as the ground was unfa-
vourable for cavalry, we retired and brought them out
in the open, when we charged and they bolted. I got a
cropper over a hedge and ditch in which my horse had
fallen, tut pinked myself up and continued the pursuit,
and soon caught up a couple of Bowan; one fellow fared