The Express.
London, England, 1858-02-25 00:00:00

THE KING OP MUHL

The following is an extract from a letter written
by the wife of Major (then Captain) Hodson, from Delhi .
" There is a report, which has been mischievously set
about, and may have mischievous consequences—viz., that
the King hes the whole of his retinue, and has returned to
hie own apartments in the palace.
"This is perfectly untrue. I went with Mr. Saunders,
the civil commissioner, and his wife to see the unfortunate
and guilty wretch. We mounted a fight of stonnsteps, at
the bottom and top of which was a European gently. A
...II low door opened into • m 'om halt of which was
partitioned off with a grass matting called chitac, behind
which was a woman cooking some atrocious compound, if I
might judge from the sun In the other half was a
native bedstead—i. r., a frameell. of bamboo on four legs, with
grass rope strong across it; on this wee lying and smoking
a hookah an old man with • long white beard ; no other
article of furniture whatever was in the room, and I am
almost ashamed to say that • feeling of pity mingled with
my disgust at seeing a men recently lord of an imperial
city, almost unparalleled for riche* and magnificemoe, con-
fined in a low, close, dirty room, which rho lowest slave of
his household would scarcely have occupied, in the wry
palace where he had reigned supreme, with power of life and
death, untrammelled by any law, within the precincts of •
royal residence se large as a considerable sized town,
streets, galleries, towers, mosques, forts, and gardens, a
private and &public+ hall of justice, end innumerable courts,
=and staircases. Its zoligniacence can only be
by the atrocities' which have been committed there.
But to go back to the degraded King. The boy, Joanna
Bukt repeated my name after Mr. Saunders. The old man
raised his head and looked at me, then muttered something
I could not hear, and at the moment the boy, who had been
called from the opposite door, came and told me that his
mother, the Seguin, wished to see me. Mrs. Saunders then
took possession of me, and we went on into • smaller,
darker, dirtier room than the first, in which were souse eight
or ten women crowding round a common .charpoy,'. or
conch, on which was • dark, fat, shrewd, but senanal-
I looking WOOlBll to whom my attention yam particularly
drawn. She took hold of my hand (I shuddered a MHO
and told me that my husband was a great warrior; but
that if the King's life and bar son's had not been
promised them by the government, the King was
preparing a great army which would hays an-
nihilated us. The other women stood round in
silence till her speech was finished, and then crowded
round, asking how mazy children I had, and if they were all
boys, examined my dram, and seemed particularly amused
by my bonnet and parasol. They were, with one exception,
coarse, low-casts women, as devoid of ornament as of beauty.
Zeeust Mahal asked me (a great honour, I found, which I
did not appreciate) to sit down on her bed, but I declined, es
it looked so dirty. Mr. Saunders was much amused at toy
refusal, and told me It would have been more than my life
was worth six months before to have done so, and I have no
doubt of lt."

The general belief is that only three ex-Chan-
cellors can at the acme time be in the receipt of the pension
of 5,000 k a rm. The act of the 2nd and 3rd of William
IV., cap. 111, cede (says the Post) no limitation r to the
number of thus parkas. It simply provides that In con-
siferation of the abolition of certain offioss, " the patron-
age and gift of which belonged of right to the Lord
High Chanoellor," it should be lawful for his Majesty
to grant to any person holding the office of Lord High
Chancellor or Keeper of the Great Seal, upon hie retirement
Irma theatres, a passion for the terns of his natural life not
exceeding 6,0X11. per mown. Therefore, by the meet
appointment of Sir Frederic Theatre, Lord Creamer*
equally with Lord Lyndhurst, Lord Brougham, and Lord
St. Leonardo, will be entitled to receive the amount of pension
already speeilml.
Ten LATE Ryon MILEssE Muezum.—At the '
meeting of the Edinburgh Town Council en Tuesday, the
Lord Provost reported the steps that had been taken to
secure for the country the valuable geological museum of
the late Hugh Miller. He elated that very recently after
Mr. Miller's death he entered into communication with
government with a view to induce them to purchase that
museum. The government remitted it to certain gentlemen
in Edinburgh to examine it, and report on its van=
these gentlemen recommend that an offer of 5001.
be made for the oollection, that sum being in their opinion,
its valise. Sine* thee, however, a nobleman had offered
1,0001. for It, and an offer of 1,000 guinosa had come from
Ortierloa. He had urged on government to amend their
offer but had not succeeded in inducing them to do so. It
had however, been resolved by gentlemen taking au interest
in the matter to organise a subscription to raise 6001. to
supplement the offer of government—assuming that any
min isoy who might succeed the present would be at had
willing to Ceti:
to
E. Murchison bad written to his
lordship, o Signiors wards the object, and soothe.
gentleman had mooning offered M. Theo large aoa-
tributions, however, would not ha accepted, it baring bon
resolved to limit the cube zipptt to U., so as to allow to •
Larger number the opportunity of thus showing their regard
for the mammy of the decreed. The museum, when as-
qtdred, would belong to the nation, end form part of the
resent Natural Mem, Museum in the University of
dinburgh.
HOME COUNTIES ASSURANCE COXPANT.—Yefffer-
day a meeting wee held to appoint as odlcial manager to
wind up this company's affairs sad liabilities, which amount
to about 6,0001. Mr, IC P. Bud* watt appointed ofilcial
muster.