The Sun.
London, England, 1860-01-18 00:00:00

EVENIiiTG, JANUARY IR, 1860.

TILIS DAY.)

LITERATURE.

' Have you ever passed through the Strand, or Fleet-
street, at dawn on a summer's morning ? If so, you will
have seen a street unknown to you by day—sharp gables,
quaint angles, odd signs and sculptures, strange shops, new
alleys—a curious old carved and irregular continental street,
with antique spires peering over a toppling sea of roofs, as
unlike the street that the good citizen sees when he takes
down his shutters as Venice to Bermondsey. I saw India
in mourning, lighted up by a blood-red conflagration,
and in her misery she appeared very different indee from
the pictures which had been drawn of her, but they may
have been, nevertheless, accurate representations of her
former state. I know not if I have seen aright or can de-
scribe the objects which I beheld ; but such as India ap-
peared to me, it shall be to the best of my poor ability, por-
trayed in pen and ink."
The fair and temperate tone of the work is highly
commendable, and the date at which it was written,
as well as the personal anecdotes, relieve the
mournful narrative of deaths and sufferings which
are, unfortunately, the chief contents of all works
on India. The writer's Crimean experience served
him in good stead, and the following anecdote is not
without importance. When Mr. Russell was in
the Crimea he saw a young Oriental who expressed
great anxiety "to see the famous city and those
great Roostums, the Russians, who have beaten
Frexch and English together." He explored all
he could in the environs of Sebastopol, and said
laughing to the author, " I think you will never
take that strong place."
"This fellow, as we all know, was the Nana's secretary,
and chief adviser in the massacres at Cawnpore. Now, is
it not curious enough that he should have felt such an in-
terest to see, with his own eyes, how matters were going in
the Crimea ? It would not be strange in a European to
evince such curiosity ; but in an Asiatic of the nonmili-
tary caste, it certainly is. He saw the British army in a
state of some depression, and he formed, as I have since
heard, a very unfavourable opinion of its morale and phy-
sique, in comparison with that of the French. Let us remem•
ber,that soon after his arrival, in India he accompanied Nana
Sahib to Lucknow, where they remained for some time,
acd are thought by those who recollect their tone and
demeanour, to have exhibibted considerable insolence and
hauteur towards the Europeans they met. Afterwards the
worthy couple, on the pretence of a pilgrimage to the hills
Hindoo and Mussulman joined in a holy excursion !
visited the military stations all along the main trunk-road,
and went as far as Umballah. It has been suggested that
their object in going to Simla was to tamper with the
Goorkha regiment stationed in the hills; but that, finding
on their arrival at Umballah, a portion of them were in
cantonments, they were able to effect their purpose with
these men, and desisted from their proposed journey on the
plea of the cold weather. That the Nana's demeanour to-
wards us should have undergone a change at this time is
not at all wonderful; for he had learned the irrevocable de-
termination of the authorities to refuse what he—and, let
me add, the majority of the millions of Hindoos who knew
the circumstances—considered to be his just rights as
adopted heir of the ex-Peishwa of the Mahrattas."
The shameful official mismanagement of the Cri-
mean army may thus have had its influence on the
horrors of 18.57. Mr. Russell speaks of Sir Cohn
Campbell, now Lord Clyde, and the other
generals, in high terms. Their kindness to
himself appears to have been consistent and
unvarying. Unfortunately he was in a position to
need it, for a series of mishaps invalided him for
months, and nearly made him pay the penalty of
his enterprise with his life. The heat he describes
as something fearful—hundreds of men being dis-
abled by sunstroke. The march from Jellalabad
to Futteyghur seems to have been a fearful one.
"The march was resumed. On again we went for mile
after mile over a sandy, dusty plain. The soldiers of the
80th, who had had a ong march already, were soon as
much exhausted as those of our old escort. From every
side were cries of distress for the bheeties. Suddenly there
came out of the hot black night a fearful storm—not of rain
or thunder, but of wind and dust, which burned like the
ashes of a furnace. The column halted at once. Nor man
nor beast could face the force of the blast, the burning
breath of the Simoom 1 The current was as a stream of
lava, and it fell on my dooly so savagely that I tumbled
out of it on the sand to leeward lest it should be blown
away with me. The bearers threw themselves on the
windward-side and kept the litter down. I felt the hot dust
gathering over me, my skin burned as though in fever.
Close to me lay a gnarled old soldier of the 80th, who was
gasping for breath, and in the lulls of the storm calling for
the bheesty with feeble breath. I told him to cheer up, and
that it would soon be over.
" ' That it will—soon for me. I've been 18 years in the
service, and never had such hardship as this —. It's
more than a man can bear, sir. There's ton of my section
missing—and no wonder I' All the officers were dis-
mounted, and the men were crouched on the ground during
the violence of the storm.
In a quarter of an hour or so the strength of the wind
abated. The column re-formed, and the march began once
more ; but the poor fellow near me had spoken only too
truly. They tried to rouse him. He was a dead man.
Several of the escort died that night. A large proportion
were carried into hospital on our arrival at Futteyghur,
where several of them expired afterwards. Some were miss-
ing up to the time I left the Fort."
Of Lord Canning, the author speaks with all pos-
sible courtesy. He saw him twice, and was im-
pressed by his careworn look, but seems to have
shared the general opinion that the transaction of
business at Calcutta might have been more rapid if
more distributed.

" lie scorned proud—and am I not bound to say with
justice ?—of the exertions of his Government, to forward
the troops up country with comfort and despatch, and
to provide for them when sick and wounded ; but it
struck me that he over-estimated the amount of work
that can be effected by any one man, however zea-
lous and self-sacrificing, unless indeed he be such an
administrative giant as Caesar or Napoleon. I was not
astonished to fin i a Governor-General of India at sueh a
time were-looking and anxious, and heavy with care; but
when I learned incidentally, and net from his own lips, that
he had been writing since early dawn that morning, and
that he would not retire till twelve or ono o'clock that night,
and then had papers to prepare ere he storted in the morn-
ing, I was not surprised to hear that the despatoh of pub-
lic business was not so rapid as it might have been if Lord
Canning had a little more regard to his own ease and
health."
With regard to the vexed question of the Oude
Proclamation his opinion is clearly and emphati-
cally given. He says on March 20th, " There are
copies of a proclamation by Lord Canning to the
people of Oude which has caused much real alarm
in camp." A little further on, he says on the same
subject, " I have not heard one voice raised in its

erenee, and even those who are habitually silent,
now open their mouths to condemn the policy which
must perpetuate the rebellion in Oude. In fact,
unless there be some modification of the general
terms of the proclamation, it will be but irrita-
tnenta tnalorunt to issue it." Many other allusions
to it are written in the same strain, and arguments
given against it, with the tenour of which English
readers are generally familiar, from our discussions
on the subject at home. The following is a speci-
men of the author's amusing camp anecdotes :

"April 22.—Left Urrowl at 3.15 and marched to Meenin
ke-serai, ten miles—a decided improvement as to time and
distance. I came up to camping-ground, passed a discon-
solate-looking Englishman on the roadside who had got out
of his gharry, and was looking for the troops. It turned
out to be Ross of the 93d, formerly adjutant-general at
Balaklava, and I directed him to our tope. Dined with Sir
Colin, and after a long talk with him and with Gen. Mansfield,
who was also one of the guests, I made for my tent. For the'
life of me I could not find it. I wandered about among the trees
in the dark, and at last was forced to shout out Simon' at
the top of my voice, no doubt receiving kind wishes from
the inmates of the tents. There were plenty of fellows
sleeping out in the air on their oharpoys, as it was cooler
than in the tents. No Simon answered. At last, quite
savage, I made over to a charpoy, and shaking the sleeper,
said, Who's here ? Can you tell me where my tent is ?'

Illy Diary in India in the year 1858.9. By W.
H. Russell, LL.D. With illustrations. Two
vols. Routledge.
Mr. Russell's celebrity as a campaigning cor-
respondent is so widely extended that a work from
his pen needs little recommendation to ensure for
it the attention of the public. His style, his sen-
timents, his powers of description are all familiar
to a large circle of readers, and those who wish to
follow the events of the latter portion of the Indian
campaign, or to see India as it was after the disas-
trous year of the mutiny, can hardly do batter than
peruse these volumes. The work before us does
not consist, as might have been supposed, of a re-
print of Mr. Russell's correspondence with the
Times, but contains fresh matter. On looking over
his diary, he tells us in the preface, he found many
subjects alluded to which had not been included, in
his letters, and thinking that the incidents of the
campaign and records of personal adventures would
not be without interest, he prepared the journal for
publication. With the addition of a few notes and
with the omission of all private and confidential mat-
ters,the MS. has been printed almost as it was penned.
We have thus the advantage of learning the first im-
pressions of an eye-witness, of one, too, who, thanks
to his recognised position as London correspondent
and the courtesy of the chiefs, had unusual oppor-
tunities for observation. Mr. Russell started for
his expedition entirely unprejudiced save by the
indignation that was stirring every- heart at the
thought of the Sepoy atrocities. His opinion of
these appears to have been considerably modi-
fied by his residence in India, and he plainly
hints that there is little to choose between
the cruelty of the revolted troops and
that of some of the avengers. We must,
however, recollect that Mr. Russell visited India
during the reaction that always takes place after
any violent public emotion, when the rebound from
one extreme to the other is not uncommon. Also
in reference to the tortures inflicted in the presence
of English soldiers, and the story of an English
officer taking aim four times at a boy leading a
blind man, we may console ourselves by reflecting
that no authority, save report, is given ; and that,
however authentic and trustworthy Mr. Russell's
personal narrative may be, he is no more exempt
than others from the mistakes and exaggerations
of rumours and reports. His opinion of our rule in
India is somewhat mournful in its conclusions.
While there, he tells us, " I had no authors to
consult, no books to read, and no guides but my
own perceptions ; but neither had I any prejudices
to overcome, nor theories to support." His views
are thus not without importance; but he warns
us that first impressions may be deceptive, and
that the circumstances which surrounded him may
have altered the true aspect of affairs :