The Sun.
London, England, 1858-01-16 00:00:00

[PRICE 4P. STAMPED .59.]

' was no longer safe to expose ourselves at the windows,
and those parts of the wall which the round shot pene-
trated as it would brown paper. In the middle of the
day our wounded were sent into the entrenchments ;
but, owing to some unhappy mistake, the guide mistook
the road, and a great many of them got into the enemy's
quarters, and were attacked. Our eseert was insuffi-
cient, and only a few of the wounded who were able to
walk were saved ; the remainder were barbarously
murdered, and burnt in their dhoolies. To this day our
half-burnt dhooltes are lying in that same place where
the cowardly attack and slaughter was made—proofs of
the unprincipled cruelty of our ravage enemy. We have
not been able to drive them from that place yet, and
their riflemen hold the surrounding loopholed walls. The
incessant firing went on till dark, when it relaxed a little.
The men and ourselves had had to eat all day ; this was
oar xecoed day's hard work and starvation. Towards
evening we all got so ravenous that we turned butchers
for once, slaughtered one of the enemy's bullocks left
behind in the garden, cooked (boiled) and ate it on the
spot. I had lost my knife, fork, and spoon with the
saddle, and had only my pocket knife as a substitute. I
never remember having enjoyed a dinner more. Our
individual shares were very small, owing to the numbers
we had to divide it amongst, but still sufficient to stop
our cravings for a time. there were some heavy guile
of ours outside our enclosure, escorted by some of the
90th and the sth, over which the enemy had been keep-
ins: a very watchful eye and hot fire, wounding and
killing several artillerymen and others. The enemy's
cavalry matte a show at a charging, but it never came to
the ;scratch. These guns we had to escort into the
entrenchments, and great anxiety was entertained as to
the success of our plan. At three o'clock in the morn-
ing (it was quite dark) we sallied out, the men having
received orders previously to take off .their. white cap
covers, and crept allently -along into the 'dityl-under the
very loopholed walli:where the day before such a heavy
and murderous fire was kept upon us. By God's bless-
ing we got safely in, with' hardly any loge, only one
subaltern in the artillery having been killed.
The day dawned (the 27th) just as we got inside, and,
leaving the guns in a safe place, we went on to clear
the squares and housea of the sepoys. Most of the city
is built in squares, with tanks and gardens in the centre ;
the rooms facing inwards. We had entered a part of the
old palace (every king has a new palace), and Adair and
I eat down on the dwarf wall surrounding the tank,
when we both, stung by a bullet, suddenly jumped up
and exclaimed, " I am hit." I soon found out I was not
hurt, and saw that the bullet had passed through my
boot below my knee, just grazing the front bone of my
leg, and, unfortunately for Adair, 'passed through bis
foot, smashing the bone severely. We were sitting side
by side. It was a most providential escape for roe, half
an inch more would have broken my leg, and I might
have been a cripple for life. I was wearing at the time
knee riding-boots, and the bullet passed through one of
the creases, just slightly stinging me. I cannot feel too
thankful for this mercy ; it is a dreadful idea to be a
cripple for life, and I have been spared, doubtless, much
discomfort and suffering.
Toe hospitals here are miserable—stores deficient, no
_ _

food for sick men, no clothing ; and the consequence is
that many poor fellows, who would probably recover
with proper treatment and nutritious food, die off from
sheer filth and starvation. Very few amputation cases
have recovered. You will be ehocked at the bill of
mortality within the trenches at Lucknow when you
receive it. I am afraid to say how many, in easel should
rx tgeerate, but I know it is something tremendous.
The 5 h, out of 13 officers, lost two killed, two died of
wounds, and three wounded ; one of the latter, though
not seriously wounded, is now dyinc, the doctors ray
for want of proper nourishment. It i 4 a sad state of
things, and you may imagine with what anxiety we
are looking fur reinforcements. Our provisions will
only last till the let of December, and we are, and
have been for some time, on belt rations. Grog was
*topped a day or two after we came in. Everything
was selling for most exorbitant prince, 164. for a pound
of sugar, 1/. 16s. for a bottle of brandy, 5 for a cheroot
but even those luxuries are not to be had now (Oct. 21)
for love or money, the stock in band is gone, and ive
are eo closely besieged that -it is with the greatest cliffs=-•
culty we-can get a native to venture into the bazaar ;
heavy bribes can alone do it. Fancy a halfpenny clay
pipe selling for several• rupees ; an old flannel shirt for
41., an old mornion coat (orieinal value 2./.)-fer W., and
other articles of clothing fetching the same tretneutlous
prices. For food we were very badly off for a time, and
got up from our meals almost as hungry as we sat down,
and a little piece of tough artillery bullock, some rice
and heavy oatmeal cake composing our dinner. We have
since fared b‘Ater. We procured a lihansamah, a
head-cook, and he managed to get up the butcher's per-
quisite,: occasionally, tail, liver, hump, and feet. We
have to pay high for these, but we can get so little that
our individual messing will not, I fancy, cost us very
much monthly, ant there is no liquer of any kind. By
artillery bullocks 4 mean the gun-bullocks, fine muscular
tough old fellows, who have been providing meat fur
our tables since our siege commence -I. Our jaws tire
in masticating the sinewy morels. Vegetables of any
kind cannot be got at any price, and, consequently,
scurvy is breaking out among The old p,arri*on.
AIONDAY, Nov. 2.—1 resume ray narrative. Several
aepoys were killed that day (the 27th ult.) in the diffe-
rent gardens and enclosures and houses. We bad two
officers wounded, Carter and Adair. Carter died cf his
wounds a week or two afterward,. Partridge, who had
been in Locknow daring the whole siege, came down to
see rue: I was quite delighted to see an obi face again. 1
returned with h ea to the entrenchments, and went to
see my oil Delhi friend, Macfarlane; he had been
wounded twice during the siege, and was only just
recovering from a severe wound in his head. I met
several other fellows I knew, almost all wounded, of
the 48th, and made Aitkin'e acquaintance, of the 13th '
Native Infantry * *he bad escaped unhurt, and was
one of the very few who del.

Oa Monday, the 28th, a party went out to attack
some of the enemy's guns, which were annoying the
garrison, but owing to mistnanagement they, atter hay-
ing spiked one or two, were obliged to retreat from the
enemy, who swarmed out of their hoo-ea and from be-

hind their walls and retook them. They were mostly
our own guns. We lost some 12 men tided and wounded,
ieunscolend.
I was at the top of a house watching them, with
others, keeping up a fire at the sep >ys during the attack.
They brought a gun or two to bear upon ty, but did no
further harm than knocking a few bricks and some mortar
about we In the evening I went up to the camp to re-
lieve Mason from picket duty, and to guard some guns.
Officers of the sth were so scarce that Simmons asked
me to share the duty. Teat night arid the nex: I bad to
sleep on the road near the guns, and very hard I found
the ground, particularly as I had no bed to lie upon.
The next morning a large party, consisting of come men
of the 84th, 64th, and sth, went out before light to take
some morn guns, and succeeded in blowing up some and
one 32-pounder. I was standing by my guns, and saw
Major Simmons brought in dead. He had been shot
through the head and killed on the spot. I attended
his funeral that evening. A few days before only I
heard him read the burial service over poor Haig, and
the next time I heard it read was over himself. That
day I breakfasted with Fred. Birch and dined with Mac-
farlane, and gave my ration to the men of my picket,
who were delighted with it, I fancy. -
On Wednesday, the 30tb, I was relieved from picket
and returned to head-quarters of the regiment. I break
fasted again at Birch's and took a sleep at Macfarlane's,
on his mattress. How I enjoyed it—the only comfort•
able sleep I bad bail for days. At night there was great
firing on all sides, and all the men were called to arms,
but it ended in nothing.
On Thursday, Oct. 1, a party of the Stb, with some
400 men from home other regiments, went out in the
direction of the Cawnpore-road, to blow up some houses
frequented by the Jacks. They killed a lot of eepoys ie
one place and another ; Scott, the then commanding
officer, and myself, and his staff, remaining behind at
headquarters. A reward of 10,000 rupees was offered
to this party if they succeeded in taking the enemy's
guns in a certain battery. All the batteries are named.
We have the Cawnpore, Redan, Malakoff, and others.
The next day the guns were taken and blown up with
several houses. It is no good spiking gaps and leaving
them behind, for the enemy soon return and either work
effectual plan is to blow them
theout oththeesrpsiikdec.or
Ttubrenctnhleygun over, and make a vent on
up, and thoroughly destroy them. It seems a pity to
destroy our good guns, but it was unavoidable.
oc-
curreding
Noths
and charged the
mine in one of our picket garden ,
Monday particular
tb furtheretb whentn occasional onneaml
enemy
alarmsspran g
onAdrfoevwe them
ts
back, without even using the
breach made in the wall, but our
seemed to have the desired effect, and when a few of
them fell the remainder thought it more prudent to re-
b anlyeonn esto.
treat. Another officer, Johnson, of the sth, died this
day from his wounds.
Oa Tuesday, the 6th, there was another mine sprung
defiance and
everywhere,l and
as
you w
by the enemy at a mosque near our quarter, and a
simultaneous and persevering attack upon us made from
many
beqaurdarttberesm.
yellingT h e enemyout
the only officer at the time at the headquarters (Scott
had gone away for a few minutes), and ei
accompan a
guard of 20 men ordered out to assist in repelling the
attack. I had a house to keep, or ratherh a good
thesestory
g
of a house, on a level with the garden.
lows were swarming and
men at the iron-barred Aytieullidinogw
8, horribwly. I stationed
eetcmfel-
lows
concealingr
much as possible, and kept others right and left of some
small doors through which I expected the enemy would
try to effect an entrance. We shot several men as they
c
amerushir g into the garden with drawn swords, muskets,
and matchlocks, hallooing out, " Maro, maro ! chelo,
chelo !" ("kill, kill ! come along !") They gave me very
much the idea of men intoxicated with bhang, for they
seemed to come on without any definite design rushed
madly about apparently unconscious where they werego-
ing to. They came within a few yards of us, and so excited
were my men that they missed many even at that dis-
tance. Some Sikhs who were in the house with me were
much cooler and morecollected, and did not throw away
their fire near so much. After some time the enemy
managed to get into the rooms above us, and before our
men in another part of the garden, and in an exposed
position, were aware of it, opened a fire upon them,
wounding many men. Scott, who had joined another
party of his men, was wounded, and had gone to the
hospital. Now, therefore, I withdrew my men, .havansvg
fire; seen that my part of the garden wag aearia,