The Sun.
London, England, 1857-09-03 00:00:00

S UN, LONBON, THITRSDAY

i
D'Oyly (since dead) and Captain Lamb, who se reco: ; the heartless murderers of women and children
very is most doubtful. Of the militia and voltsatee- a strung up by dozens."
6 were killed and 18 wounded, of whom 8 were offi-
cers and civilians. Total loss—Killed or died of
wounds, 51; wounded, 90 ; out of about 500 e:1-
gaged. Is not this a bloody action for our first
essay 9 The enemy's loss is said by themselves to
have been over 500, and we spiked one of their
guns. Fancy, in the village the women loaded the
men's muskets and handed them to the men to fire.
Soon after we returned to the fort the whole
of the bungalows (houses) were in flames.
and a grand eight it was, too. The enemy, we hear
expected we had had gone back for ammunition
and were coming out against them next day, an,l
so off they bolted and went in the direction of
Muttra, and never came on hera at all ; it was our
own servants and blackguards in Agra who plun-
dered all the houses and fired them. Numbers
have lost everything they had in the world, even
to their everyday kit, which their servants de-
camped with, when on the sth they were told to
take them into the fort. My servants, happily,
have behaved well ; my kidmntgar accompanied
me to the field of action and stuck to me all
through, and my bearer brought my bed and traps
safe, and I had a pillow, (Sze., to rest my weary
limbs on that night. For the first three days after
the action we were badly off, asnearly all the servants
had bolted, but after that they began to drop m
back again. I have, indeed, much cause for thank-
fulness to be comparatively so well off, with some-
thing saved, my servants at hand, and above all, a
strong healthy frame, unimpaired by hard work
and by God's mercy uninjured by the enemy.
May I be spared to fight my country's
battles, to execute just judgments on those ungrate-
ful murderous traitors ! I had two remarkably
narrow escapes ; one was a rifle ball which just
struck the ground at my feet, the other occurred
while I was stooping down to get a drink of filthy
water hard by, when four rifle shots entered the
ground close behind me, one of them whizzing past
my left ear, a precious sight too close. We are all
now in the fort, and no danger in prospect at pre-
sent ; all our enemies far away, and we making
every preparation against the worst ; plenty of
hard work. S•Aid us lots of Englishmen, that we
may have a good winter campaign.

DELHI.
The following is from an officer in command be-
fore Delhi :

" Camp before Delhi, June 23.

" This was the 100th anniversary of'the battle of
PLAssey, and the Pundits pronounced our fall this
day (so it is said). It was likewise the lint day of
the new moon—a favourable omen for Mussulmans,
and also the Ruth Juttra, a great day for the Hin-
doos. Fighting began with daylight•, and very for-
tunately the bridges over the canals had been blown
up during the night, which prevented the enemy
getting guns across and attacking us in the rear.
0— with his troop, some Sikhs, and a few Euro-
peans, was escorting a large convoy of supplies. I
was sent out with my troop [and a squadron cf
Lancers to protect him. The heat was intense.
You may fancy setting out on the bare plains on the
23d of J une.

" Young B-, of the Lanc9rs, caught three
niggers who pretended to be ryots, but they were
more probably spies. I could elicit little from
them.

"It was now near 11 a.m. I heard firing, and
Instantly advanced to 0-'s support. Some in-
fantry and cavalry were harassing his rear, but two
shots from his guns knocked over eight brutes, and
they dispersed. I formed in his rear, and, after
seeing every scrap of baggage safe into camp, went
and reported the same. I got to my tents by 12,
and was ordered to keep horses harnessed and men
ready to turn out. I sent horses to water and theu,
harnessed in again. All this time there was the
hardest fighting going on on our right and in front',
the whole of the gardens of the Subzee Mundee
being strongly occupied by the evening.
" June 27.
" Of course all England is now in an uproar, and
though every living soul here may be murdered
vengeance will follow. Such an army must now be
en route as could reconquer the country from Cal-
cutta to Peshawur. Henceforth, perhaps, Chris-
tians, Mehturs, and Choomars* will be considered
as best entitled to the highest posts in the land, and
the curse of God may be removed from us for sup-
porting idolatry, and giving the highest instead of
the lowest consideration to Brahmins and Mus.!,ul-
- Oh that reinforcements could come by rail,
We get no news from below Delhi except via
Bombay.

(tE. B."

"June 28.

"Reinforcements came in this morning of about
1,000 men, and there are some few more in the
rear with stores. The heavy rain may have soaked
some, but it has proved a great blessing, laid the
dust, and now, at 2 p.m., the thermometer, inat,3ad
of being 106, is just over 80. There is no firing
going on, and the day being Sunday it seems more
like a day of repose and calm than I can remem-
ber for a long time.
" June 30.

" An attack this morning, but our forces having
been augmented we were able to put a picket in
the Subzee Mundee. The mutineers found it a very
different thing dislodging our troops from simply
walking into the Subz.3e Mundee unopposed, and
leaving us to drive them from their strong cover.
The consequence was that the attack was feeble and
of short duration. A force went at 4 p.m. to seize
some guns in position at the Eedgah. Not a gun
was seen nor an enemy. This night gassed quietly.
" July 1.
" The 61st came in with band playing. It is, I
fancy, the only regiment in camp which has a
band.

"Received orders at midnight to send out two
guns to escort in Coke's Punjab Irregulars at day-
break.

" July 3.
"All quiet yesterday. There are in Coke's corps
a great many Poorbeas' or Hindostanees ; one of
these brutes, a Sabandar, tried hard to persuade
the whole regiment to murder their officers, and go
over to Delhi, sayidg it was God's will the Poring-
hee 'RAj ' t should cease. The Pathan in-
stantly reported the conspiracy to Coke. The
Subandar and Duffardar and one other man were
hanged last evening. The Poorbeas in the regi-
ment were disarmed, and are, I believe, to be paid
up to-day, and kicked out of camp.
"There was heavy rain last night. Everything
arranged to storm Delhi, only we did not storm it !
All countermanded again ! _ _ _

"July 7.
"Uuder arms at daybreak. Attack'expected ;it
has not come off.

" July 9.

"Heavy rain this morning. Attack expected.
At 9 a.m., none having taken place,l we went to
breakfast, and bad not long turned in when the
alarm sounded. The enemy's cavalry, joined by
some of our own 9th Irregulars, were sweeping
through our camp. It was a bold stroke I
They tried to carry off the Native Horse Artillery
with thorn, failoa. and .vt4.u.t,.0.. r..--t-,5
with rain all day long, and we were under arms for
hours in the rain after everything was over. Now
I suppose the Irregular Cavalry will be disarmed
and turned out of camp.

"July 10.

"A court of inquiry is sitting on the 9th I. C.
business. It appears that the enemy deceived
everybody, by advancing as friends, and pretending
they were the 9th. In fact, on the road, close to
my tent, a large force formed up quietly, and when
Hodgson, of the Guide Corps, rode up, and asked
who they were, the men, finding our whole camp
under arms, quietly said 'We are the 9th Irregulars ;
go and bring up the rest of your regiment ; the
enemy is in front ;' and thus walked slowly to the
bridge leading out of our camp, then made a rush,
and bolted. It was a bold thing to do but resulted
in nothing. Young Hills, of the Artillery, a sub
in Harry Tombs's troop, had received a sabre
wound, and was just being cut down when Harry
shot the trooper with his revolver, and then ran
another man through with his sword.
" The Subzee Mundee was then swept through
by our troops, and some 200 of the enemy killed,
and many wounded ; and, though a day of most
hard fighting, resulted, as usual, in our complete
success. We have now beaten them in the morning,
daytime, in the evening, in the heat of the sun,
and the wet, which Blackey notes, and they have
never yet gained anything by any of their en-
counters. They must begin to feel that our Raj is
not yet over. But how Ido wish we could get
some intelligence from below, to know whether we
have got hold of the China force yet, and also what
troops are coming up ; there must be some. As
this letter must go round by Lahore, and through
Mooltan, I don't know how many days it will take ;
so I think, if we are left in quiet to-morrow morn-
ing, I may as well post it.

MEERUT.

" * Sweepers and chnoklers (the lowest of tin castes)."
t Raj —rule."

you would bo rather surprised. We have been
driven out of tents by the rains coming on, and
have got some comfortable quarters in a large open '
building with largo arche=s all round, but no doors ;
it is, I believe, a place for guns. We have got a strip
in the centre, with a kind of matting put up three-
quarters of the way to the roof on each side for the
walls, cn the other side of which, on one side, ate
about 50 artillerymen, and the other side is an Office.
We look upon our abode as quite a palace, having it
to ourselves, instead of on ecorner of a room in which
are many other persons allotted to us. The rain is
pouring down at this minute and running down the
walls inside in plenty of places, but that is nothing
William and the children are all in their beds fast
asleep, but I am aft; i i of be ug 1 t e wi h my letter
to-morrow, and so am writing now. I did not tell
you, I think, that we have lost everything we ha 1.
On that dreadful morning—the 11th of May—Win.
had duty in the city, and left home in a hurry,
hearing that something was going wrong. He re-
turned shortly, but only to tell me that every offi-
cer with him had been killed in a few minutes. He
was saved, humanly
.speaking, by two guns Leaking
their appearance through the city gate at the mo-
ment of time, at sight of which the wretches turne 1
and galloped off. He left me again in 5 minutes to
return to Delhi with the regiment for which he had
been sent. We parted then with little hope of
meeting again, and, having no one to consult
with what to do, I ordered the carriage, in order
to go to our major's house, close by, to sea what
his wife was going to do. I put all the children
into it that we might not be separated by any
chant-, fully intending to return in a few minutes,
but at our gate I fell iu with nearly all the ladies
in the station in their carriages going up with a regi-
ment to a small tower on a hill in the station. I
was made to follow iu the procession, and
thus we took leave of our comfortable home and
all it contained. That night every house was plun-
dered of everything in it, and th-n burnt to the
ground, and of all our poor servants we have not
since been able to hear a word; four came with us
—those who left the house both with myself and
with William—but of the rest we know nothing,
and I have many fears as to what became of them,
aslif all had been right I feel sure that they would
have followed us in some way, several of them hav-
ing been with us ever since we came out. Our
coachman and children's ayah set off to Delhi three
days ago, dres,ing themselves as beggars, in order
to make some inquiries about their families. -We
begged them not to enter Delhi, and tkey promised
not to do so. Should they do so they will be
almost sure to be killed ; they will return to us in
a few days, we hope.
"To return to the 11th of May. We all (which
means almost every European about the place) re-
mained in the small tower which I mentioned all
that day, but, it being evident towards the even-
ing that there was no chance of our lives there,
hearing that the brutes were coinine, to murder us
all as soon as they had refreshed themselves after
their other murderous deeds, we all left in car-
riages, on horseback, on foot, or any means that
presented themselves, and, takinc, any road that
parties thought the best, we arrived the next even-
ing at Meerut in company with some others, hiv-
ing come the whole distance with our own poor
horses, only stopping day or night to bait for an
hour or two here and there. We little thought, on
making for this place by cross country roads that we
should find it much in the same state as where we had
left, but so it was—houses burnt and burning met
our disappointed eyes, andj ust as it was dark we had
to drive through one f the worst and most dangerous
parts of Meerut. The mutineers were standing
about in group where there had been fighting up
to 12 o'clock that very day, but through the mercy
of God no one attempted to touch us, and at last
we arrived at a mess-house, where the officers carne
out (it was then quite dark) and gave us up a house
belonging to one of them close by, and sent us
everything we so much needed besides, telling us
that we had had a wonderful escape in coming
through Meerut as we had done, and expressing
great surprise. The same work had gone on here
as at Delhi—ladies and children murdered alike
with the officers."

"July 11.
" The enemy turned out in force last evening,
expecting an attack from us. We, of course, were
instantly under arms. It was raining hard and
resulted in both sides turning in—thet is, the enemy
went back and we therefore turned in again. This()
frequent attacks, though always resulting in our suc-
cess, put some of our men hors de combat. We must
have enormous reinforcements from England if we
are to hold India, and, in spite of peacemong re
and economists, the country must be held as it was
won—by the sword."
The following letter is from an engineer :
"Camp before Delhi, July 12.
" Cholera, I am sorry to say, is in the camp, and
I write this by the side- of what I fear may b 3 the
deathbed of an excellent fellow of my regiment. I
have been with him all night, and he appears bet-
ter now, so he may survive it, but cholera just now
is very deadly. . . . I must tell you of a noble
action of Hills, of the Artillery. He was in my
term at Addiscombes and one of my best friends.
Three days ago he was on the picket with his two-
horse artillery guns, when the alarm was sounded
and an order sent him to advance, given under the
impression that the enemy were at some distance.
He was supported by a body of Carbineers, 80, I
believe, in number. He advanced about 100 Tircl,,
while his guns were being limbered up to f Vow,
and suddenly came on about 120 of the enemy's.
cavalry close on him. Disgraceful to say, the Car-
bineers turned and bolted. His guns being Lm'
bered up ha could do nothing, but rather than fly he
charged them by himself. He fired four barrels of
his revolver and killed two men, throwing the
empty pistol in the face of another, and knocking
him off his horse. Two horsemen then charged full
tilt at him and and rolled him and his horse over.
He got up with no weapons, and seeing a man on fcot
camoig to cut him down, rushed at him, go inside
kis sword, and hit him full in the face with 11;s fist.
At that moment he was cut down from behind, and
a s wend blow would have done fur him, had not
Tombs, his captain, the finest fellow in the service
(who had been in his tent when the row began),
arrived at the critical moment and shot his assailant.
Hills was able to walk home, though his wound
was severe, and on the road Tomb 3 saved his life
once more, by sticking another wan who attacked
him. If th,,y don't both get the Victoria Crows it
won't be worth having. . . . You will be gla.l
to hear I have been thanked by the Conamande:--in-
Chief in brigs le orders about a battery which is
now named after me.

" I hope we shall assault before I write ag
Directly we do so the place is ours."

The following is a letter front an officer's wife,
who, with her husband and children, escaped from
Delhi on the 11th of May :
" Camp, Meerut, July 9 and 10.
" If you could see me at this moment writing