The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1898-07-31

happy. What had been Witnessed In Futteh-
pore, ne says, was q claim on the part OF the
Mohammedans TO resume an authority which
they considered England no longer able 10
WELD, the cause Of this impotence being the
disloyalty OF the native army. Outside Of
this. there had been nothing but the high iinkn
OF q peasantry poor n ignorant, intent on
loot and dissatisfied with the Government, not
because 1t was the English Government, but
because II was govenement. This, adds
Mr.. 6herer, IL the Nemesis Of despotism. that
the people are bred up to look on government
az boys look on q schoolmnstor. to be obeyed
IL you must, and hoodwinked and cajoled II
you can. What the author means IL exempliaed
By what he saw on the journey from Banda to
Nagobe: The ~poasantry swarmlnG into empty
bungalows at Futtehpore looked like revolt,
but here we saw them literally scampering over
the country like so many monkeys, doing mis-
chief In each others villages. and occasionally
having a turn-up with lattees or porter slaves
In the open. This was clearly outbreak. not
revolt. Whether the peasantry were poor In
consequence OF the heavy assessments in Banda
is another question. All that we then wit
messed was the Witches Sabbath Of ~untausht.
needy. unprinclpled village rouGhs, not q pollti-
cal demonstration at all-and / believe the case
wasat bottom the same in Futtehpore."
Our author accompanied Havelock's advance
for the relief OF Cawnpore, an expedition
which. 1t 10 well known. arrived too late to save
the British residents from massacre. When
the city was reoccupied. Mr.. Sherer visited the
celebrated B~eebeeRhur. commonly known as
the "Ladies' House." By which IL meant the
spot where the English ladies and children
were killed. This was o dwelling which had
been provided BY q European for his Indian
mistress. and was, therefore. constructed In the
Oriental style. 1t was Of one story. with q court
in the middle. and q tree grew In the court
Our author has no doubt that. when he saw II.
1t was in nearly the same condition in which
1t was when the FIRST EnRllshmen ound
It. The story Of the massacre which CO.
CURED there Is unspeakably horrible. but.
according to our present authority. the &C.
counts have been exaggerated. The whole OF
the pavement was thickly oaked with blood.
but 1t Is Incorrect to say that "the clotted gore
lay ankle Deep" Mr.. Sherer also thought It
strange that the small litter he encountered
could be the traces Of the numbers who were
said to have been shut up there, There were
only o few odds and ends OF clothing. some
looks OF hair. some little shoes. straw hats. and
80 on. OF mutilation. in that house ct least,
there were no signs. nor. at that time, was
there any writing on the walls. From this
place the author passed down the garden to
the narrow we'll into which many OF the bodies
Of the victims of wholesale assassination were
thrown. When he got to the coping Of the we'll
and looked over he saw. at no great depth. q
Rhastly tangle Of naked limbs.
1t is interesting TO learn from Mr.. Sherer what
sort of person the Mana ahib really was. When
the massacre at Cawnpore became generally
known. the Mana grew into q European notori-
ETY.. The French. with their taste for melo-
drama and their perception Of the artistic value
OF contrast, seized on the idea Of concocting
his personality out Of cruel instincts on the ono
hand and delicate and luxurious habits on the
other. 80. in their hands, the Mana became q
scented sVbarite. who read Balzac. played
Chopin on the piano, and. lolling on q divan,
famed by exquisite odalisques from CASH
moro. had. from time to time. an English child
brought In on a pike for him to examine with his
ptnce-re. In England. the desire was rather to
make outtheE Mana to have been one of those ex-
traordinary monsters Of savagery and slaugh-
ter who were ~favorito characters In the early
dramas. Our author recalls that when In Eng
land in 1880 he saw at a fair a large canvas
daub which was said to represent the Mana,
and. as there depicted. he truly was q terrific
embodiment OF matted hair. rolling eyes. and
cruel teeth. The reality was extremely unlike
either the French or the English counterfeit
presentment. Mr.. Sherer has heard from sew
eral who knew him.. and especially from q ply
stefan who had attended him professionally
that Doondoo Punt-such was the Mana Sahib's
proper name-was AT excessively uninterest-
ing person. Between 80 and 40 years OF age, Of
middle height. stolid features. and pronounced
stoutness. he might have passed for the
ordinary s~hopkeeper OF o bazaar. had 1t
not been for the Mahratta contour Of
his turban. Of which. however. he did
not affect an extreme typo. He did not
speak EngliRh. and his habits. II self-indulRent,
had no tinge Of poetry about them. He was
particular about his 0hee: liked the eyes Of
dancing girls to be rubbed around with lamp
black and their lips to be made rosy with the
juice Of betel nut. His ear for music was salts
fed with the rude viol and tom-ton1, or small
hand drum that accompanied their slowly re-
volvinR petticoats. OF any Of the refinements
Of sensual enjoyment he was wholly ignorant.
II was. apparently. g pleasure to him to receive
occasional visitors at Bithoor. where he lived,
and he used to come into ~Cawnpore and give
general entertainments. all the arrange
ments for which were left in European hands.
His daily life at homo was carried on
amid surroundings OF expensive discomfort
he was wont to repose on q ~clarroy
Ia framework laced with broad strips OF cot
ton cloth. and standing on four legs. whence
the namel IN q small private apartment, where
a loose heifer roamed at will, watched by an
attendant. who. In a roughly wrought silver
vessel. caught droppings which. to us. would
be disgusting. but which. to Hindoos. are re-
plete with national and. indeed, sacred asso-
oiations. The Eans's gold plate was immensely
valuable, but IL had not the slightest artistic
value. The trays and bowls were Of the
rudest shape compatible with the purposes for
which they were intended. and In mean ma
terials would have attracted no attention. As
for the Mana himself. he is described as 4
heavy. dull man with a grievance. He thought
Lord Dalhousie had treated him very badly
by not letting him have the full allowance
which was bestowed on the Peishwa who had
adopted him. and this wrong ranked in his
mind. 1t is pointed out that the character of
the Mana Is 30 far OF importance that 1t Affects
the wisdom OF Sir Hugh Wheeler and others,
who applied to him for aid. and gave over the
powder magazine into his charge. II he had
been . far-seeinR. ambitious man OF admins
tratiye abilities. who was sure In a disturbance
10 come to the front. the simplicity of those
-