Year: 1875

One day, in one of the inclosed build


ings near Lucknow, great number of


prisoners were taken, nearly all Sepoys.


After the fight they were all brought In


to the officer commanding my regiment,


and in the morning the order came that
they should all be shot. It CHANGED that
it was my turn to command the firing
party. l asked the prisoners their names
and regiment. After hearing some five
or six, one Sepoy said he belonged to
the - regiment, which was that my
son had been in. of course asked him
if he had known my son, .Anuntee
Ram. He answered that that was his
own name ; but this being very COM
mon name, and having always imagined


that my son, as had never heard from
him, must have died of the Scinde fever,
it did not at first strike me but when
he informed me he came from Tillowee,


my heart leaped in my mouth. Gould
he be my SOM There was no doubt of
it, for he gave my name as his father,
and he fell down at my feet, ilnploring
my pardon. He, with all the other men
in the regiment, had mutinied, and had
gone to Lucknow. Once the deed was
done, what was he to do! Where Was
he to go, if he had ever been inclined to
escape2 At four o'clock in the day the
prisoners were all to be shot, and i must
be my sons executionerl Such is fate
I went to tho Major Saheb, and request
ed might be relieved from this duty as
very great favor; but he was very
angry, and said he should bring me to o
court martial for trying to shirk my
duty he would not believe 7 was q
faithful servant Of the English govern
ment-he was sure my heart was in
reality with the mutineers-he would
hear me no longer. At last my feelings
as father got the better Of me, and I
burst into flood Of tears. I told him
would shoot every one of the prisoners
with my own hands il he ordered me,


but / confessed that one of them was my
son. The major declared what I urged
was only an excuse to get off shooting
heart seemed touched, and he ordered
my unhappy son to be brought before
him, and questioned him very strictly.
for one moment never thought of ask!
ing his life to be spared-that he did
not deserve. He became convinced of
the truth of my statement, and ordered
me to be relieved from this duty.
went to my tent, bowed down with grief,
made worse by the gibes and; taunts
poured on me by the Sikhs, who de-
clared was renegade. In q short time
l heard the deadly volley. Ny son had
received the reward of -mutiny. He
showed no fear, but had rather he had
been killed in fight. Through the kind
ness of the major I was allowed to per-
form the funeral rite over my misguided
son-the only one of the prisoners over
whom it was performed, for the remain
ing bodies were all thrown to the jackals
and vultures. had not heard from my
son since just after my return from
slavery. had not seen him since 7
went to Cabool, and thus I met him
again, untrue to his salt, in open rebel
lion against the master who had fed his
father and himself. But enough-more
is unnecessary. He was not the only
one who mutinied:s Uiterally he was
not alone when he mutinied.) The
major told me afterward that he was
much blamed by the other officers for
allowing the funeral rite to be performed
on rebel. But if good deeds wipe
away sins, which I have heard some
Sahibs believe as we'll as we do, his sins
will be very white. Bad fortune never
attends on the merciful. May my major
soon become a general, 10. -,