tory to leaving for England, and thus, for the time, the ominous storm was suspended, but not dispersed.

Again rumours were rife that the flame of mutiny was fast extending itself towards the Upper Provinces; the Regiment had just murdered nine of their officers in the mess-room, and it began to be whispered abroad that the spirit of disaffection was not confined to the military, but was rapidly spreading over the entire population of Bengal. Nor were we long left in doubt as to the realities of our situation.

I was just preparing for my evening canter on the of April, when Sew Sing, our havildar-major (native sergeant-major), in whom I had great confidence, and a special favourite of mine, ran up, and urged me, in God's name, not to proceed in the direction of the lines, as the men were in great excitement, and all running towards the bells of arms and seizing the muskets. I rode at once to W.'s quarters, and reported what had occurred. Hastily dressing himself, we galloped to the paradeground, but, ere we got there, were met by the native officers, who begged us not to enter the lines, that the men were mad with excitement, but they promised all should go well if we would only allow time for their "muggage" to cool down, and not report the regiment to the authorities. "Very well," said W., than whom a cooler or braver man did not exist -"very well," said he; "I'll give you to the morning, and then if this disturbance is not at an end, on their heads be it."

We turned our horses. "Now, Clint," said W., "I fear the game is going against us, and these rascals are but trying to gain time; so tear down and report the state of the regiment, so that Sir Henry may send a force by the morning, and crush the thing before it goes further." This last alternative of reporting the regiment was a painful one to us both, but things had, we considered, gone so far there was no help for it; accordingly, a brief report of what had occurred was made, and we were, in reply, directed to parade the men by daylight next morning, when "all would be ready to communicate with them!" We knew what this meant. We issued, however, the necessary orders for the morning parade at daylight, and lay down in our clothes to rest our minds, if possible, after the excitement of the day. But sleep did not, as it may be supposed, trouble us much. For my part, I almost hoped that death might come at once and terminate this terrible suspense, and free me from the horrors of the coming morning; we felt our lives hung on a thread, and that amongst the thousand armed men of the regiment surrounding us, aliens to us in country, ties, and religion, and incited to frenzy by religious fanatics, we could hardly hope for such a miracle as being allowed to see the morning light.

"Well, Clint," said W., "I would rather they would finish us at once than be in this state; and if we do get through the night, what a pleasant job we have on parade to-morrow at daylight, sitting our horses at the head of the regiment, whilst our friend Dick Waller rattles up his guns in front of us, unlimbers, loads with grape, and waits for the word!"

"I hope he'll say something civil to us, for old acquaintance' sake, before he begins," observed I; "though, for that matter, it don't signify much, for we are sure to have it from either front or rear, friends or foes; but I think it rather hard we should come in for what's intended for these

rascals. I say! let us, when we have paraded the regiment for them, which is all they can reasonably expect, drop the connexion and ride over to our friends!"

"My dear Clint, quite out of the question! Order and etiquette direct us to remain with our men and receive what the brigadier has promised to 'communicate to us,' so if you have any last words, write them down sharp, and I'll see if my tiger for a trifle will take them to camp."

In such cheerful converse we passed the few remaining hours to daylight, although occasional silence occurred between us, and our thoughts were far away, of those dear ones of our home, of her whose eyes would dim at poor Clint's fate! But hark! what's that? the morning gun? We were already dressed.

"Clint," said W., "ride quietly down the Lw road, and let me know if you hear troops approaching; but be back sharp for the parade." It was yet quite dark, but towards the east a faint pale grey tint sprang up from the horizon, and melted away in the deep blue dome above us, and a light air from the same quarter indicated the direction from which we might some hour hence expect the molten orb of day. As I mounted, I saw one or two dusky figures flitting about the compound of the house, and to my inquiry of who they were, a smooth-toned dulcet voice said, 'My lord's orderlies and the bugler." Sound," said I, to the latter, and ere I had proceeded a dozen yards on the L- w road, the "assembly" rang out from the gloom. Strange creatures of habit we are! Here was a regiment that, although no acts of actual violence had been committed, were in open mutiny, and yet the subordinate members of which were performing their duties as if no such crime had occurred, or such a thing as retribution was at hand!

I had not proceeded half a mile from the officers' houses, and in an opposite direction to the men's lines, than I dismounted, and placing my ears on the ground, heard distinctly the dull rolling of guns. I turned my horse, and drove sharply to the parade-ground. The men were falling in in their usual quiet manner; in another ten minutes the parade was formed; again the bugler sounded the officers' call, and W. cantered up, and, taking his place in front of the extended line, awaited the brigadier's communication; nor were we long expectant.

The grey tint in the east was by this time streaked with rose colour, and objects began to be dimly perceptible. From a small hillock on our right front, a long dark line, like a gigantic black snake, was gliding up within musket-shot of us, and, slowly unwinding, extended itself in front of our line; a single trumpet note rung out in the clear morning air, and in less time than I take to write the words, six gleaming port fires burst the gloom, and tinted with their bluish light the dark muzzles of as many guns directed towards us! and the words "Load with grape," in the unmistakable voice of Dick Waller, followed by hollow thuds from the guns, the ringing of ramrods, and the drawing of swords, broke the previous ominous silence, and promised a rapid completion to the delicate attentions in preparation for us. Two or three riders now galloped up to our line, and the tall commanding figure of Sir H. revealed itself through the grey morning light.

His advance had, I observed, a very tranquillising effect on the nerves of our coloured comrades, and, I may add, was by no means unpleasing Aug.-VOL. CXXII. NO. CCCCLXXXVIII.

2 K

to W. and myself, who, seeing the preparations in front, and that a body of cavalry had been detached to outflank us, had at one period conceived the idea that an inexorable sense of duty in making an example "pour encourager les autres" might render Sir H. oblivious of the existence of such insignificant beings as W. and myself, and thus make a mash of us altogether. Somewhat of relief, therefore, it was when he addressed us as follows:

"Men of the Regiment,-I was informed that some misguided men amongst you had, from base motives of their own, led you to suppose that it was intended to destroy your caste by issuing unclean cartridges for your use, and thereby incite you to rise against the government that has so long fed, pensioned, and taken care of your families. I tell you such statements are false, and that you may assure yourselves that these persons have lied. I have directed that you may send to the arsenal, where the cartridges are made, such men as you may select to see them made up. I came with this force to judge for myself ere I dealt the blow that was to destroy you. I find you have been misled, but are still faithful to your salt. You will proceed to-morrow to Lucknow, and prove to your comrades there that you are loyal and faithful to your government."

We were then, to our great relief, dismissed to our lines, and our friend Dick Waller muttered to us as he passed at the head of the retiring column, "Not offer a drain of beer to a poor fellow this hot morning!" Our sergeant-major told me that he had heard some of the Sepoys say, in bringing up the rear, "Never mind, brothers, we won't let the Gora log hurt you!" And thus ended scene the second.

If we had reason to congratulate ourselves on the amicable termination of this interview, we had hardly reason to do so on the pleasant prospects of the morrow. To march the regiment into Lucknow in their present state of feeling, through a country by this time in open insurrection, was not encouraging, and we felt that the most "laudable" of the insurance offices might he held excused for rejecting on any terms a policy on our lives.

The rest of the day was passed in issuing the necessary orders for our march the following morning, and I may challenge contradiction in asserting that our night was not a pleasant one.

But the morning dawned and found us still in the land of the living. Again the bugles assembled our dear comrades in arms, their pouches filled with ball-cartridge, and all was ready for the move, when a sowar was seen advancing at speed towards us, his horse's side "fiery red with haste." Selecting W., he delivered a note from the "Burrah Sahib." I glanced towards the men, who, with ordered arms, were "standing easy." Eager looks towards us, and whispering amongst themselves, left little doubt that they expected a crisis, and knew that the note now open before W. conveyed information of its occurrence. I well knew the cool nerve and self-possession of Jack W., but was not quite prepared for his sang-froid on this occasion. Turning to the men with a laugh:

"Here," said he, "is a note from the general to tell us that the Sepoy regiments in cantonments have mutinied, and that we are to march at once into Lucknow and teach those sons of burnt fathers their duty to

* Europeans.

the government that has so long clothed and fed them. We march by Md, and are first to give the dirt-eaters there a lesson."

"Attention! Shoulder!" &c., and the regiment was on its march to the devoted city.

"Clint," observed Jack, holding out the general's note to me, "there's our death-warrant. Of course we will do our duty, but it's folly in the present state of things to hope the regiment will march into Lw, much more quell the insurrection of the people of Md, who are determined to cut us off from L-w. But come along, and never say die !"

We marched on in no enviable frame of mind till the burning rays of a vertical sun, and the lagging pace of the heavy-laden Sepoys, reminded us of the necessity of a halt, and accordingly we directed our march from the road to a tope of trees in the neighbourhood of Md, which we were now fast approaching. Clint said, "Take and throw out a few men in extended order towards the trees in front, for I am sure I see fellows moving amongst them."

Deploying the regiment into line we advanced steadily towards the tope. Those who are unacquainted with the native character, and who suppose they are like Europeans, guided by certain rules of action adapted to a certain condition of things, are miserably mistaken. We had pulled the men through what may be styled passive action, but it was monstrous to expect them to engage in actual conflict with countrymen, and at this point we felt the tide must turn against us; but the prospect of death now became familiar to us, and we continued to issue the necessary orders, and they were obeyed, too, with as much alacrity as the presence of a force of five thousand Europeans could have ensured!

As we neared the trees, however, the men hesitated, and a voice or two called out, "Kill the Kaffres !" At this moment, when we thought all was lost, a volley from the trees saved us. Two of our skirmishers fell, and one of the men near me was shot through the arm.

"Look !" shouted out W., pointing to the fallen men, "those filtheaters from town have killed your brothers!"

The word was given, and with a yell we rushed at them with levelled bayonets. Shot down and bayoneted, the surviving wretches fled into their town, where we left them in quiet possession to ponder over the lesson they had received. We then resumed our march, and in due time, without further adventure, and by previous arrangement with our friends in the city, we stole a night march into the good city of LW, avoiding thereby the ceremony of leaving our cards with our coloured friends encamped on the other side. We were received by all with hearty congratulations, and if Jack W. and myself bore with becoming diffidence the laudations on the consummate assurance which had carried us through such dangers, none were so loud as our men in their loyalty to the Sircar, and their determination to die in its defence! And incomprehensible as it may appear, their gallant conduct during that ever memorable siege fully bore out these somewhat apocryphal assertions.

AUSTRIA AND HUNGARY.

DURING the exciting and interesting constitutional struggle that has recently been going on in Hungary, many suggestions have been made by writers well versed in the subject as to the mode in which the emperor will eventually put down his troublesome subjects, and their aspirations for independence. It has been more than once asserted that Russia, forgetting on behalf of absolutism the ingratitude of Schwarzenberg, will repeat in 1861 what she did in 1849, and the sad events at Warsaw appear to confirm this view. Others, again, assert that Francis Joseph can restore his subjects to their allegiance by the display of his own might, and that if he has not done so it is through mistaken clemency. As the writer of this article has had recent opportunities to investigate the present temper of the Austrian army, he asks permission to jot down his conclusions here, as they will enable the English reader to keep up his spirits on the question of Hungarian independence or vassaldom."

When a French military writer asserts that the army is the solealthough very powerful-support of Austria, the assumption is not absolutely incorrect. For, although some races, such as the German Tyrolese, the Upper and Lower Austrians, the Styrians, and others, are generally attached to the ruling dynasty, their number is much too small to give a decided preponderance. Besides, their devotion only extends to the reigning family, and if they make any reference to the Fatherland, they are certain to mean by it only Carinthia, the Tyrol, or some other province, but never the entire monarchy. Even if the latter fell in pieces, the inhabitants of the provinces we have mentioned would feel but very slight grief at it if they could convert their province into an independent principality, with a popular prince of the Austrian House at its head. Hungary, it is plain as the sun at noonday, is struggling for entire independence, while the inhabitants of Venetia regard their union with the Sardinian kingdom as a half-accomplished fact. The Dalmatians, South Tyrolese, and Istrians have not forgotten either that they are Italians in language and manners even if not so in descent and political incorporation. Gallicia, we grant, has hitherto remained tolerably quiet, but the impulse is only needed there for a national awaking, and the elements for an efficient insurrection are numerous enough. The Southern Sclavonians and the Roumans look with feverish impatience to Servia and the Principalities, and hope thence a change in their present condition. Hence, then, only the German provinces are left to the emperor, and even in these the present state of things is not particularly pleasant. Silesia is too insignificant, and the people there display an utter indifference to political matters. The inhabitants of Moravia have as yet awakened to no political consciousness, and possess no settled political programme, though probably in the moment of action they would join the Bohemians. The latter, however, in later times, have been busily evoking the memory of their Charles IV., the Hussite war, George Podiebrad, and the battle of the White Mountain.

In the other countries, too, the dissatisfaction that has been fermenting for a lengthened period was not appeased by the concessions of Oct. 20,