respondence, belonging to the Nana's chief counsellor and adviser, Azimoollah Khan. This man, whose birth and origin had been of the lowest, had, thanks to his natural cleverness, managed to worm himself into the Nana's most private confidence; and when his lord and master wished to send an emissary to England to appeal to the British Government against the Board of Directors for redress of his supposed wrongs, he found in Azimoollah a man just suited to the occasion. He was well educated in both English and French, had wonderful manners, was clever and unscrupulous. On his arrival in England, having good credentials and an unlimited command of money, he obtained admission to the best society in London and elsewhere-in fact, was lionised as freely as is still our

fashion. He lived some two or three years in England, and when he returned to Bithoor was the Nana's right-hand man in all his entertainments.

The correspondence which was found showed Azimoollah to have been on the most intimate terms of friendship and freedom with many members of our highest aristocracy; and yet, on the Mutiny occurring, this very man proved himself to be a very fiend of fiends, and without exception the deadliest and most cruel enemy we had.

186

IV.

IE force under Sir Colin Campbell

THE

left Cawnpore on December 24th, moving up the Grand Trunk road; his object being to coerce the Nawab of Futteyghur (a rebel chief only second to the Nana in his treachery and atrocious murder of Europeans), and also to join. hands with our second force from Delhi, as it was most essential the British should combine forces in their operations against Futteyghur, which was strongly held by the Nawab. The country through which we marched seemed to be returning to its normal state of quietude

Than

and subjection to British rule. nahs (police stations) were being established everywhere, and the telegraph set up again. I was much struck, one day's march out of Cawnpore, at coming across a kafila of Afghan traders, with their long string of camels, laden with dried fruits, boxes of grapes, skins, and the inevitable white Persian cat, moving quietly along the highroad on their way down to Calcutta-just as if nothing had ever occurred to disturb the peace of the country, or to endanger their traffic. one had touched them or looted them, and they seemed to have no fears or dread of any such mishap, and I have no doubt they found their way down in safety and realised their usual gains and possibly more.

No

Whilst Sir Colin Campbell's force was

encamped at Meerun-Ka-Serai, on the Grand Trunk road, I was agreeably surprised by hearing that my commanding officer, Major Hodson-as he now was (having received his brevet majority for Delhi)- was in our camp, being the bearer of letters from General Seaton, whose column he had accompanied from Delhi, and which column was then, as well as I can recollect, encamped at Mynpoorie.

As a rule, any communications which passed between our force and that from Agra and Delhi were conveyed by highly-paid spies, who, with their lives in their hands, carried letters and despatches, not one-half of which probably reached their destination—owing to the death or treachery of the carriers. These letters were generally written in