Sacramento daily record-union. [volume] (Sacramento [Calif.]) 1875-1891, 1881-06-04

last. ST. Hill had made many enemies
and few friends among the lar SEX
The elderly ladies hated him because
he firted too much the middle
aged ones because he did not tiirt
enough. and all agreed in pronouncing him
to be shockingly sad young man, who
ought to be communicated with bell,
book and candle-even worthy Mr. Calvin
Lonpwynd, who seldom knew or cared
| much for what went On in the station, was
moved TO wrath on hearing from Colonel
Hogg of that unlucky conversation at the
| club dinner, and Immediately delivered a
course Of sermons in which the hapless st.
Hill figured alternately as Ahitophel, Rab-
shekah and Simon Magus. Rejected by
the ladies, ST. Hill Jared little better with
the men; married ones being mostly "un-
| der orders, while the bachelors of the fast
and loose sort had their own reasons for
not appreciating his society. As Dunn
told me one evening with the frankness for
two beyond his usual mark, The saints
say he's sinner, but that's all bosh. you
know; he shirks his liquor, and WON'T
touch a card-he's a muf. Spends all his
time fooling about with the women-ease
of spoons yes, he's muf. that's what
he Is, old man"
Fortunately for ST. Hill he had far too
| good an opinion OF himself TO care about
the opinion of others. If people did not
like him, so much the worse for them /; SO
he pursued the even tenor of his way, ut.
terly regardless of the public opinion OF
Ralnjamjolliraobad which now pronounced
most strongly against him. Day by day the
number of his friends dwindled away until
it was almost case of ''Athanasius contra
mundum.'' Even myself and my wife an
| ticipated . sense of relief when his three
months visit should come to an end, and
| his opinions so often startled us that our
defense of him against his calumniators
grew even feebler and yet more feeble.
We began, however, to perceive that st.
Hill gained over a firmer and more cour-
ageous ally than any of those whom
he had alienated. It will be remem-
bered thatone of the charges againsthim was
that he read Italian with Miss Bell; this
cause of offense had been removed, the
reading having entirely ceased, and the
young lady appearing rather to avoid him
than otherwise but it was observed that
she never allowed his character or opinions
to be attacked behind his back without de.
tending him most calamity. As she was
the prettiest and cleverest "spin" in the
station, and general favorite to boot, few
cared to contradict her; but whether her
alliance did st. Hill much good is open to
doubt one man indeed it brought to his
aid-young Stubs, the boots" of the
Ninety-third regiment, no-account lad
who had been desperately IN love with
Miss Bell from the first day he saw her,
and who now chivalrously ranged himself
on the side of his rival, by whom he was
constantly snubbed for his pains.
Under these circumstances it was EVIL
IDENTIFY high time for st. Hill to beat re-
treat, but, as ill-luck would have it, this
was out of the question bad fall out
pig sticking having put him on the sick
list, and rendered it quite impossible for
him to rejoin at the expiration OF his leave,
while much more serious matter than his
doings and misdoings soon occupied all our
thoughts.
As the hot weather drew near an uneasy
feeling showed itself in the native army,
and before long the mutiny at Barrackpore
opened our eyes to the danger. The guilty
regiment met with instant punishment
the disaffected appeared to be cowed, and
we fondly hoped that the crisis was over.
This interval of quiet was, however, only
the calm before the terrific storm, which
was SO soon to burst in all its fury on cur
devoted heads. All through the month of
April this deceitful calm lasted; most of
as forgot our fears, and prepared to make
ourselves comfortable for the hot weather.
The lucky ones who could afford trip to
Simla sent in their applications for leave,
10 xxyhi1a Ibasr
brethren looked to their Z" cuzcus tatties y
and thermantidotes. Suddenly the ba-
zaars were full of rumors of
rut, but having received no authentic
news of any disturbance there, we treated
the report as mere "gup," and the two or
three old officers who looked grave and
shook their heads over it were laughed at
as alarnnists. Only day or two later our
laughter came to a sudden end. a large
party of us were having "chota hazri,
and smoking in the "coffee-shop" after
parade, when a telegram was brought to
our Colonel, with hurried note request
ing his immediate attendance at the Cen
erals bungalow. The ill-omened slip of
paper passed quickly round "Cavalry
mutinied at Meerut on Monday. Several
officers killed" The Colonel with his Adj
iutant rode off at once, while the rest of
us, crowding round the table, read and re-
read the telegram, trying to find in it
some grain of comfort. sit is only the
Third Cavalry" said one; "they were
always known to be shaky. All the other
Sepoy regiments appear to have remained
| staneh.
Even if the whole batch had mutt
MED, !" said another. "the Sixtieth Rifles
and Carbineers would have given a good
account Of them. As it is, dare say that
we shall hear to- morrow that those black
guard cavalry fellows have been made an
example OF.
We were still discussing the news, and
irving to persuade ourselves and each other
that it was not really half so bad as it
seemed at first sight, when the Commits
sioner, galloping up, asked for the Colonel,
and hearing that he had gone to the Cen
eral, threw me another telegram and rode
off without drawing rein. The second
message ran as follows "Cavalry from
Meerut reached Delhi Tuesday-the whole
force there joined them general massacre
OF English magazine blown up.
Delhi in the hands of the mutineers !
general massacre The words sounded in
cur ears
Like knell OF death and judgment
Rung from heaven by angel hands.
A great terror was On us all, and none
cared to look into his neighbours face. We
mounted our horses in silence and rode
slowly home, wondering within ourselves
whether, even yet, it might by any means
be possible to save those whom we loved
best from the evil to come
For the next few days we were all in
state of the deepest dependency, but after
that came reaction. We heard that a
large European force, under the Comman.
der-in- Chief, was marching on Delhi, and
that several regiments had been tele-
graphed for from the Persian Gulf and
Madras. At several places mutinies had
taken place, but in many others the spirit
of the native troops appeared to be excel
lent; notably at Allahabad, where the
Sixth Regiment native infantry had volun.
teered to march against "those wicked
men who had been false to the great COM