Nashville patriot. [volume] (Nashville, Tenn.) 1858-1860, 1858-05-28

| was thus the Begum's Palace was preached
| also. As one struggled over the masses of
| fallen brickwork. the traces of our sap, choked
| up here aud there with fallen earth, were close
to our left, till the sap reached long corridor
| by the side of the court which served as an
excellent covered way for our sappers. The
| enemy's cooking places, brass pots or lotas,
| charpoys clothing, belts ammunition, broken
| muskets and maichlocks, swords, pistols,
| chupatties, or cakes of unleavened bread,
| were scattered all over the ground on every
| side; but there were not many dead visible
| till we reached some of the courts OF the
| Imaumbarrah Nothing but photograph
can give notion of Lucknow as it is seen
from the minaret or roof of this building
such sea of roofs, amid green groves and
gardens, surmounted by guilt domes and
slender minarets and all the strange COM
binations of lines and ornaments In which
Oriental architects delight The large room
of the Imaumbarrab, which seemed to have
been used a sort of museum, and contained
many curious models of mosques and many
fine glasses and chandeliers, was a heap of
ruins and every building bore some mark of
our shot and she'll. Working our way through
sikhs busy in melting down gold and silver
lace in huge fires under earthen pots which
served as crucibles, through wounded Ghoor-
kas staggering back to the rear, we approach
ed the Kaiserbagh 10y the street along which
Havelock's rear guard marched towards the
Residency. Every window of every house
was filed with brick or baked mud, and loop
holed, and the tops of all the houses and
walls had raised parapet. pierced in the
same way above them. The heat and the dust
were very fatiguing and oppressive, but the
excitement carried one forward, and at last
we managed to get through the breach in the
parapet of the outer work, which our Sap
pers were rapidly enlarging for the passage
of our guns and to enter one of the courts
of the Kaiserbagh through a small gateway
or broken door. 1t was surrounded by rooms
with latticed windows, to which access was
gained by means of stairs opening into the
court, the strong doors of which were barred
on the inside. The walls were decorated with
different frescoes, representing feats OF arms
and female dancers. On one side the trees of
garden could be caught sight of through
the Venetian blinds, and there was evidence |
that we were close to the Kings Zenana, and |
that the buildings about us were the houses
of his eunuchs. A party of the 3sth Regi- |
ment at one gateway of the court and of the
90th at another were replying to the fire |
which was still maintained from the adjacent !
buildings and the line of the enemy's inner |
and last defencfs; but stray bullet whist !
ling sharply through the court now and then
showed that some of the enemy were con-
cealed in the rooms around.
PLUMBER BY THE TROOPS.
Our men were in high delight with the gay
dresses of the eunuchs which they found in
some of the rooms and it was with difficulty
they were induced to take off the crowns of
lace and peacock's plumes, and bird of para
disc feathers, and the sword belts they stuck
over their heads and shoulders. Here, as in
every other building, there were quantities Of
kites the flying of which seems a favorite a
Inusement of these childish but ferocious races.
Goats, horses, the stately Cyrus cranes, tame
monkeys, apes, antelopes, numbers Of parO-
quets in cages were also appropriated by the
men. But it was scarcely place for ZoOlog-
ical investigation. Lieutenant-Colo John
son, of Wilson's staff; his brother, Capt. John
son. the DPputy-Q uarteTmaster General, head
quarters camp; Lord Seymour, Lieutenant
Stewart, Bengal Engineers; and myself, were
looking at one of our men who had decked
himself out in fantastic eunuch's attire,
when a shot, evidently from one of the rooms
of the court, passed between u.s. and, they
had been fired at before from the same, they
moved off to another spot Very soon after
wards man of the Goth was shot through the !
body, and Lieut.. Col. Kelley. to whom had
been speaking moment before, was struck by
A spent ball on the head. | moved off out of
such unpleasant neighborhood, but as |
passed out of the court the rascal who appear
ed to be secreted in one of the upper rooms,
sent bullet within an inch of my cap and
my retreat. In this siege there
is no such pleasant vantage ground as Cath
cart's-hill or well protected parallel from q
which one can get view of what is going on
without risk except that from long range | !
shot or stray she'll and more officers have been | {
killed and wounded after our actions are over
by the enemy hidden in unknown corners than
in the actual service of the field. In the next {
court, which was sheltered from fire by the ,
walls around it, our men had made "a seizure | !
Of rich plumber. They had burst into some of .
The state apartments, and were engaged in di-
viding the spoils of shawls and lace and en-
broidery of gold and silver and pearls. In a
nook off this court where there was a little
shade, we retired to rest ourselves, as there
were no means of approaching the front part {
Of the buildings being on fire, and explosions .
Df mines feared every moment. Two men of |
The goth were in before us, and, assisted later
by some the 3Sth, we saw them appropriate
moneys worth to make them independent for
life. The rooms off this nook had been used
rs stores by the King or some wealthy MEM
Der of his household, and each moment these
men went in only to emerge with richer tro-
ply. In one box they found diamond brace
lets, emerald, rubes. pearls and opals, all were !
20 large and bright. and badly set, that we
believed at the time they were glass. In an
other was pair of gold-mounted and jewelled
lueling pistols, of English make, and the bill Z
stating that his Majesty the King of Dude
INtu iut ItCUs tlitu OUT tuey came :
With bundles of swords. gold-mounted and
eweled, which they at once knocked to pieces
or the sake of the mountings, leaving the
blades behind them. Next came a huge
chemical laboratory, then gold saddle-cloth
studded with pearls; then gold handled riding
'anes; then cups of agate and jade, gold
mounted and jeweled; then-but | must real. =
y stop this brokers' inventory. The happy
lossessors of these riches were quite mad with
excitement. ais this gold, siry' lis that a 4
liamond?' lis your honor shure that's raal
soold?" "ls this string of little white stones
PEARLS worth anything, gintlemen?r 1t was
/ great drawback to have a conscience under
uch circumstances greater not to have a !
penny in ones pockets, for in this country no Q
,ne except an old stager on the look out for a
DOT carries farthing about him. and as one J
VI the soldiers observed, "These here concerns :
'nly carries on ready money transactionsl'' r
lie was an experienced operator, that gentle a
nan. II "A native soldier came in and walked !.
III with anything which he found in n dark
corner out bounced our friend upon him. rife
n hand Leave that there, tell you. put
hat there myselfi" and there was something
n his eye which explained his meaning so
'learly that the article was at once abandon
ID, and II found TO be available was retained;
not was "made present Of" Close to us
we're large boxes of japanned work containing
literally thousands of cups and vessels of Jade
If crystal, and of china, which the soldiers
IS - i'~'i~@~is' '@"s~~i-- ." the ground and :
breaking into atoms. Had the enemy made a
trong attack on us at that moment not one
ialf of our troops could have been collected ,
o repel it. And such were the scenes through
very court of the mansions of the Kaiser n
'agh. n
RESCUE or NATIVE I-ADIEs-rHE ZENANA. =
Meantime intelligence reached the Chief of
he Staff that the women of the Zenana were
ecreted in one of the strongest parts of the I
Naserbagh. Some engineer officers, whose