Star.
London, England, 1826-10-18 00:00:00

STORMING OF BHURTPORE.

Though the date of the following letter is old, yet the
details are in a great measure new. The description of
the appalling circumstances of the assault is deeply in-
teresting; and what gives it greater value is, that it is
written by an Officer high on the Staff of the Army:
•'! litAD-QUARTaitS, Buinerroas, Fn. 7.
" It would he thought, perhaps, treating Generals and
Conquerors with superciliousness, if I were to say no.
thing of them from this scene of their recent achieve.
ments; my being present, and pait of the army here,
' I account one of the most extraordinary occurrences' in
my services of 33 years in all climates of the habitable
globe, and I would not have mired this. and the spec-
tacle of the morning of the 18th of last month, for any
consideration under the sun. Long before this can reach
yr.u, you will be aware of the immense army collected
for the attack of this place under the Commander-in.
Chief, Lord Combermere; by which this fortified city
',vested on the 10th of December ; and
wrist; as forthwith. The enemy
gallant attacks without success.—
fortunately for oar operations, delayed letting
to the ditch, until the day before our troops
presented themselves; a part of the cavalry were for.
Innate enough to fall in with the enemy's division that
were cutting the dikes of the jeel (or reservoir) reserved
for the filling of it; these were defeated and dispersed,
and we kept possession of the water. In a few days our
Ordnance opened on the fortress, shell and shot, while
the enemy kept up a heavy fire also. It was found that
our heaviest shot made but slight impression on the
immense thick mud walls of the place, and the little
that was made in the day was regularly filled up by the
enemy in the night, who continued to work steadily,
notwithstanding the fire that was kept up on the place,
the whole night. However, on the 17th of January,
a breach in the long-necked bastion on the left being
said to be nearly practicable, and an impression being
made on the bastion on the right, under which one of
the mines (it containing 12,0001 b. of powder) had been
extended under the ditch, it was resolved to give the
assault on the morning of the 18th, and the springing
of the great mine was to be the signal for advancing ;
when the Commander in Chief gave the order to file it,
I happened to be near him, and from the angle of that
mortar battery beheld a very grarid sight, (while wait-
ing in silent anxiety for the great explosion, two trifling
Ones took place, the blowing up the counterscarp, and
there was an exclamation, has the mine failed ?) at the
same instant, the ground, the wall, the bastion, and its
cavalier, appeared to heave up ; then an explosion,
with a trembling of the earth, took place, clouds
of dust, and masses of earth rose up and rolled
off like the waves in a stormy ocean ; some of
the troops and Officers, especially of his Majesty's
14th Regiment, who were waiting too near, suffered
much ; they told me afterwards it was as if the last day
had come and overwhelmed them in palpable darkneis;
but it was the last day to 22 of the 14th Grenadiers,
who were killed on the spot, and many Officers were
nearly so. The Commander-in-Chief owed his safety to
his military Secretary (Colonel Finch) pulling him down
on his face; Brigadier Generals M'Combe and Patton
were knocked down, apparently lifeless; many had their
limbs so shattered as to require immediate amputation.
However, the view from the battery now shewed the
rampart and wall rocking and tumbling down, crowded
with the enemy, who were overwhelmed in ruins; in
the interstices of the smoke from all kinds of fire arms
at;id inflammable materials of the besieged, were seen
their sabres flashing in the morning's sun, and the ;stints
of hundreds of spears gleaming in the dark breach, at
which the 14:h Regiar nt and General Reynell's divi-
sion had 'beady commenced the fight, while the 59th
and General Nichol's division, headed by Brigadier Ge-
octal Edwards (whom you knew in the Mauritius as
Deputy Quartermaster General, in General Sir H.
Warde's time, and who early received a mortal wound,
a two-pound shot entering tinder his left clavicle, pass-
ing through the lungs. and coming out under the right
scapulas he lived SO hours, and is universally regretted
by the army : he has left a wife and four young chil-
dren; she, po or creature, rushed into his tent in the
middle of the night, while I was sitting up with him,
having travelled from Agra in an incredible short time).
The 59th assembled, and carried the bastion on the left;
the slaughter in the 14th and 59th, and of the enemy at
these breaches, were very great ; but the enemy (not-
withstanding their brave and determined resistance)
were soon compelled to give way, and the above two
Regiments proceeding, one to the right, and the other
to the left, round the ramparts, fighting at every step,
while, under them, mines were continually exploding, at
last met over one' of the gates. •I saw on that morning
at least 4000 dead of the enemy, manfof them, hutted
the most of them, of Herculean forms, with grisly
beards; veterans who, having fought and conquered in
Lord Lake's attacks, were resolved neither to given or
accept of quarter, but to live or die with their country.
" The Usurper, Doonjun Sal, with his family, at-
tempted to escape during the storm, and had succeeded
as far as the last of our picquets, when some of the ca.
valry stopped them; a skirmish ensued, in which the
Royal party were overpowered, and it was only on the
cavalry's stripping them (according to their custom),
and seeing jewels and gold mohirs roll about, that they
discovered the rank of those they had taken. One of
Doonjun's sons had his finger shot off in the skirmish;
I saw him shortly after, be said it was only what a
soldier must expect and bear; nor would he permit any
one to hol;',. histand while it was dressed, and he neither
winced or flinched ; this young Jhaut is only nine years
and a half old.

The citadel surrendered at discretion, as soon as
theysaw our guns brought to bear on the gates and other
posts. Thus has Bhurtpore, so long the boast aid pride of
Hindoostan, ceased to tower, and at last lies humbled
in her gore • avenging the many gallant fellows who
suffered in Lord Lake's attacks, which were as heartless
as they were headless. It was here Colonel Lindsay
lost his leg, and I could not but think of him, while
Lieutenant Daly, of the 14th Gtenadien, a very fine
young fellow, was having his leg amputated at the
breach. The booty found here has not -equalled the
expectations of many ; it does not exceed, 50 lacks of
rupees altogether : as for me, I am not disappointed, for

‘,4

the downfall of the master-fortress ; the result must
have the most beneficial effects for the Indian Govern-
ment, in the alteration that will follow of the feelings
of the natives regarding its power, and means of esta.
blishing • and extending its influence ; the conclusion
being, that if Bhurtpore, which their Brahmins declared
invincible (being under the protection of their gods in
an especial manner), c,•uld not resist us, that nothing
can withstand the Biitish force.; had it•not succeeded
here, it is %opposed that the whole of India were pre-
pared to rise against us. and that the retreat of the 10,000
would be a trifle to the one we might attempt, to le-
turn to Calcutta. This army is under marching orders
against the Rajah of Alvar, who refuses. to give up his
minister that attempted to assassinate &weer Buz,whom
the Government have patronised. He was ohe, of..the
adventurers to whom Lord Lake give away, they say,
a Jaghire close to Alvar, fur want of any other to accept
of it. He, Lord Lake, it seems, had to dispose of many
in the same way. This Ameer Buz having never ceased
to intrigue and intermeddle with the Alvar Govern-1
ment ever since, had at last three of his fingers cut off
in a tustle with tome fellows in the dark. The Rajah
makes a thew of not giving up his Ministers ; but Sir
Charles Metcalf will hear of nothing less, otherwise this
army will be on his back, and his fortress, which is said
to be neatly as strong as Bhurtpore, will be, of course,
shaken about his ears; but his is only a farce of fear,
daubed over with airs of bullying; he must, of course,
yield, and after giving up the minister, and being
squeezed a little, will be allowed to remain in statu quo.
As for this same Ameer Buz, who is here, he looks
a scoundrel. In coming up here, having admired
Benares Allahabad, and Cawnpore, &c. I was most
delighted at Agra; if you have not seen the Saji
there, it is fully worth your while to come from Lon•
don to see it ;—it is all of the purest white marble,
with three domes, and four minarets, finished with all
the nicety of the ivory castles in a first chop Chinese
chessman. On the tombs within the great chamber,
under the great dome (and all around that chamber),
. are Wild (mosaic fashion), the most beautiful flowers,
formed of the most precious gems ; in one anemone I
counted above a hundred. The flowers and leaves are
exquisitely shaded. There is another noble chamber
below this, and equally beautifully inlaid, in which the
bodies are placed in tombs fully as magnificent as those
above; the light here is dim; the descent is by a fliet
of marble stairs (but the whole and every part is po-
lished white marble): while here, an Officer in the room
above, sung, every note of which came to our ears with
the truest precision ; never was such an echo heard, it
seemed as if the organs of St. Paul, Westminster, York-
minster, and twenty others, were breathing their softest
strains, slowly stealing on us, then swelling, and be-
coming louder, till the glorious building rebounded
and resounded the divine sounds. It was all magic.
The whole is raised on a high platform of white mar-
ble, in the centre of a garden, with walks, and reser-
voirs for the purest water, all of marble, with fountains,
and jets.d'eau sparkling through ttees and flowers of
all kinds, as lofty and ancient cypress, weeping willows,
myrtles above 20 feet, geraniums, rose trees, and trees
with blossoms as beautiful and as sweet ; finely con-
trasted with the date, cocoa nut, and areca trees. The
Tage (tnenud) was erected in 1632, by the Emperor
Shah Jehan (grandson of the good and glorious Akbar,
and father to Aurungzebe) to his favourite Sultana,
Munluja Zemaum ;it cost 750,00 W. sterling. He was
himself confined in it by Aurungzebe, died, and was
buried there."

CALCUTTA. APRIL 27.
-.w01...-

We extract she following curious and interesting
statement from the Supplement to the Calcutta Govern-
ment Gazette, of last April :
It is a curious circumstance, and one that argues
little for the inquisitiveniss of our countrymen, that, to
the last moment of the late war, very indistinct ideas
prevailed respecting the Capital of the Burman king-
dom, and few, in Calcutta at least, were aware, whether
it was Ava or Amerapura, that was likely to become
the object of our attack. During the previous opera-
tions, Amerapura seems to have been generally regarded
as the chief city, but latterly, the advice, both public
and private, seemed to refer to Ava alone, and it only
remained to learn, when and under what circumstance-,
this, the ancient capital of the kingdom, had been re-
deemed from that state of utter desolation and ruin, in
which Symes beheld it, and restored to its former dignity,
In one of the numbers of the Asiatic Observer, pub-
lished in Calcutta, a brief allusion is made in a letter
dated Ava, to a farewell visit paid by the King to
Amerapura, preparatory to his taking possession of
the former city. As this allusion, however only affords
a probable inference of the change, it is by ao means
satisfactory, and we have therefore thought it worth
while to ascertain the circumstances of the occurrence.'

The following communication affords the information
that was required, and in the tribute it pays to the
benevolent energies of Mrs. Judson, and the beneficial
exercise of her influence, with the members of the
Royal Family of Ava, it' performs an act of justice to
one, whose talents are only surpassed by her virtues.
With a view to clear up the matter of the change of
the Burman Capital, to the satisfaction of every one, I
beg leave to submit the following particulars in addition
to what I have already stated :
In the year 1821, the King, influenced by the natu-
ral disposition to build more grandly than his prede-
cessor, by desire of water amusement, which he could not
enjoy in A merapura all the year round ; by a tremendous
fire,which had made great havoc in the capital,and burnt
down the Looto, and some part of the palace ; by the
casualty of a child drowned in the royal tank; and chiefly,
by the appalling omen of a vulture alighting fw., the golden
spire (the Sacred Pyat that), determined to desert the
old capital, and rebuild anc'ent Ava. Accordingly he re-
paired thither with his Court, in the beginning of 1822,
to superintend and encourage the building of a palace,
to be more large and magnificent than the old : the one
containing only 90 piles of building, while the other was
laid out for 120, and everything was to be finished in the
same enlarged style. In 1824, this superb and immense
collection of spacious edifices, a little city of itself, was
completed. On Feb. 4th, his Majesty repaired to the oli
city, to celebrate feasts and spot ts, and sacrifices, indica-
tive of his final farewell, and on the sth March, 182+, a
triumphal entry was made into the new capital. The
Whits Elephant immediately preceded his Majesty, who,
with his Queen, was seated in the state coach, drawn by

six white hot ses. The household gods were carried in'
front of the prOcession. The state umbrellas fqilowed,
and all the insignia of Royalty, consequently wire dis-
played on this important occasion: about 40,000 men,
nicludino carriers. were engaged in the procession. The
Royal Emily, numerously attended, preceded or fol
lowed, and all the population of both towns, turned out
to witness the scene. I never saw in motion so many per-
sons at one time. In the middle distance, between the
old and new town, is a fine and extensive royal garden.
Here Mt LI for the first time, presented to his Majesty
the novel sight of a foreign Lady.: He viewed her at-
tentively, but avoided, for state reasons, taking any
notice of her. These reasons we were soon able to con-
jecture, when Mengre Yoozana called her to him, and
concluded some rather disrespectful observations, by
saying, we are going.to fight and rake Bengal, what-is„
your opinion ? We were deterred by his manner hobs
giving any opinion, but simply replied (in Vie Burmese'
style) according to your order, of we have nothing to sty
about the matter.

In printing my last communication, there was a
trifling mistake made ; it should have been Mrs. not Mr.i
J. as that Lady was the author of those eloquent and',
forcible appeals to the Government,which prepared them
by degrees for submission to terms of peace, never ex-1
petted by any who knew the hauteur, and the inflexible
pi ide of the Burman Court ; and while on this subject,
the overflowing: of grateful feeling, en behalf of myself
and fellow prisoners, compel me to add a tribute of public
thanks to that amiable and humane female, who, though
living at the distance of two miles from our prison,
without any means of conveyance, and very feeble in
health, forgot her own comfort and infirmity, and almost
every day visited us, sought out and administered to
our wants, and contributed, in every way, to alleviate
the burthen of our misery. While we were all left,
by the Government, destitute of food, she, with un-
wearied perseverance, obtained for us, by some
means or other, a constant supply. When the tat-
tered state of our clothes evinced the extremity of
our distress, she was ever,ready to replenish our scanty
wardrobe. When the "unfeeling avarice of our keep-
ers confined us inside, or made our feet..fast in the
stocks, she, like a ministering angel, never ceased her
applications to the Government, until the was authorised
to communicate to us the grateful news of enlargement,
or a respite from our galling oppressions. Besides all
this, it was unquestionably owing, in a chief degree, to
the repeated eloquence, and forcible appeals of ilirs.
Judson, that the untutored Burman was finally made
willing to secure the welfare and happiness of hii cows-
try, by,a sincere peace. KOSMOY POLITES.

FRENCH PAPERS.

FROM THE THZ ETOILE OF MONDAY.
PARIS, °cram 15.
_

Letters from Lbbon of the 30th September state, that all the
Electors of the Province had arrived there, and that on the Ist of
October the election of Deputies was to take place.

FROM PHI JOURNAL DES DERATS.
PARIS, (krona 14.
. .

An event is in preparation, at the Thoilleries, and
like everything else which happens in that high quar-
ter, it greatly interests France. The Doke de Bout-
cleat= is about to leave the nursery ; the cares, equally
enlightened and tender, of the Marchioness de Gon-
taut are at an end, and the duties of the Disc de
ltiviere and of Monsieur L'Abbe Torre commence.—
The Marchioness de Gontaut received from the Royal
confidence the task of giving steadiness to the steps
of the august infant, of developing happy seeds in
him, of preparing (so to say) the fertile soil for the
culture which awaits it. Every one knows, that that
most able Governess has most worthily fulfilled her
task. The Noble Governor, and the Bishop of Stras-
burgh, are to form of the young Prince, whom his
Majesty now commits to their hands, a man, a French-
man, a Bourbon, a King. The responsibility which
rests, from this moment forward, upon these grave
personages, is immense; the new Henry will be, in
some measure, entirely of their formation, and our pos-
terity may demand from them an account of his reign.
The Journal des Debuts then goes on to point out those
particulars which ought chiefly to be attended to in the
education of the young Prince. " His thoughts and
his feelings," we are told, " ought to be those of the times
in which he lives, and of the country over which he is to
rule, as nothing can be more unfortunate for States, than
for their Governors to nourish affections, principles, or
wishes, at variance with those of their subjects. The
sole method of avoiding such fatal differences, is to adapt
the education of the Prince to the state of the empire,
and of the laws by which it is regulated. Nothing can
be more easy than to direct the opinions of a child—
nothing more difficult than to change the opinions
of a nation. The necessity of such an education is
toe more imperious at the present time, since at no
former period was the power of public opinion so great.
To oppose it is to oppose a stream as rapid as resistless;
it is a Geliah that recognises no David. Whoever is to
be the King of France Hitt now listen to its voice. The
destiny of European States is henceforth wrapped up in
these two words—" Monarchy and Liberty," and thank
Goa, in France they form the twin wants and the twin
passions of the people. The restoration which promised
to give them both to us, in spite of numerous faults,
has kept its word; and in this consists, not alone its
glory, but its power."

We have received accounts from Quebec to Sept. IS.
—The harvest in Upper Canada had nearly finished,
and notwithstanding some partial failures of the crops
of winter wheat, they had throughout the province been
more than usually rich and abundant. It was reported
at Quebec, that instructions had been received by the
officers of the Customs there, from the Lords of the
Treasury, authorising the Collector to retain in his
hands for the salaries of officers, &c. one-fourth of the
duties of Customs. 'fh's bud caused some dissatisfac-
tion, as it would diminish the existing revenue of Upper
and Lower Canada about 20 per cent. having barely
enough to pay the preicat current expenses of the Civil
Government, and nothing for those objects of public
improvement for which appropriations have been here-
tofore made by the local Legislatures.
ANACREON, B.C. 532.—The bard of love and wine,
was born in the city of Tees, in the region of lonia. Although his
life appears to have been unclouded, yet his death was singular. He
lived till his 85th year, and 4er every excess of pleasure and de-
bauchery, choked himself with a grapestone, and expired.
FUNERAL OF MICHAEL Ktu.T.—Yesterday the re-
mains of Alscuazi. Kilda' were borne to the grave, attended by a
large number of his friends. The pall was supported by Mr. Row.
land Stephenson, Mr. Price, Mr. Dunn, Mr. Savory, Mr. George
Robins, and Mr. Street. His only surviving-brother, the father of
Miss Kelly, was the chief mourner. In the train were Mr. Braham,
Sir George Smart, Mr. T. Cooke and his father, Mr. Cramer, Mr.
Power, Mr. Major, Mr. Addison, Mr. Mountain, Mr. Harley,
Captain Kelly and son, John Morris Albert, Elllston, jun. Mr.
Wilke, Mr. J. Rase, Mr. Jobkng, Mr. &rest, jun. Mr. Glynn, Mr.
Solomon, &c. Stc. He was buried in the Church-yard of St. Paul's,
Covent-Garden, next to his old friend Raymond, and Edwin, the
Comedian.

THE EVENIN STAR,
LONDON.

WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER IS, ISM

Sr. Lancs—Ccoss HOLIDAY.
STOCK EXCHANGP, TWELVE O'CLOCK,

This being a close Holiday both at the Bank, Stock Exchange,
and Foreign Markets, the Brokers and Jobbers are 'numbed on
the Royal Exchange; but at present little or no business has been
done, and Consols may be quoted at 81) j for the Account.

In South American Securities nothing worth mentioning has as
yet been done, Colombian Bonds are Mk, Mexican 65 to e.

AUSTRIAN FUNDS, VIENNA, Om 6.
Meta Wives 89 9-16th. Bank Shares 1058.

Montreal Papers have been received to the 17th of
September. The following are extracts:
HALIFAX, AUGUST N.
Our Province has very severely suffered this season, in its agri-
cultural interest, from the effects of a long and uninterrupted
drought. All accounts from Westford agree that the hay crop
will fall short 60 per Cent. and a letter from Bridgetown gives a
most melancholy picture of the agricultural prospects. of Anna-
polis county.
FROM Id ISSOUR
The Company of enterprising citizens which we lately men-
tioned as preparing another mercantile tour to New Mexico. has
left here, and entered on the arduous undertaking : between eighty
to one hundred persons constitute the number who have gone on
the present occasion ; and the waggons and carriages of almost
every description are numerous. The amount of merchandise
taiten is very considerable.
QUEBEC, Serrates& 11.
We understand that letters have been received, stating that Mr.
Fekon was returning from London, without having effected any
thing in favour of the Lower Canada Land Company.

We have received the Allgemeine Zeilung of the 10th,
with accounts from Sr. Petersburgh to the 30th Sep-
tember, the latter bringing the copy of an Order of the
Day, issued by General YERMOLOPI, on the invasion of
the Persians. We quote as follows :

P

- ,•,',1,,,c..: -,, -.- : , •,1, N Iti,%'lsllV
_,,,,,. -0, :.,,-, :, ~•,-:,:.irv!.• • ‘
• C 4. ' •"T
- l
.
....lb -- —.-- wt i.
I never expectant,. it* satthai ..the Government
34 ap claimer all that wa kon account of-the Rajah, and
if it is rsVtt, ith • m (heart; the young Rajah has been
pot on ate nu ;he igfrightfully dis6guyed with the
issall4ter, .a V*:
.ps &mpttison with his cciasin,
Doonjun's son, .orthe sane age. ‘: All the strong for-
trills., of 'he Jisauts,Ditiftarnen,la: surrendered upOti