siege of Delhi-"Fowls "-The Guides-A furious mêlée-A brother's bravery-Cavalry skirmishing — The assault on Delhi - The Cashmere Gate-Death of Nicholson-The fate of the princes—A European "Telegraph guns "—A gallant native officer-A forced march on Agra-A surprise on both sides-The Bengal Cavalry - A marvellous escape-A faulty picquet-A heavy punish- ment-Cawnpore-Fame retrieved-Attacked by a fakeer-A dashing charge-Advance on Lucknow-The taking of the Secundra Bagh -A race between Sikhs and Highlanders- Death of Havelock-Evacuation of the Resi- Returning tranquillity-Spies-Hodson's gallant ride The dashing 53rd - An ill-omened helmet-On secret service-Waiting for the Nana Sahib-A rough encounter. Lord Napier of Magdala-Under deadly fire-The death of Hodson-A true presentiment—The after-history of "Hodson's Horse "—Mahratta UNIV. Or CALIFORNIA OLD MEMORIES. I. PROPOSE writing from memory, and with the aid of some old letters written during the time of the Mutiny and later, such portions of my military career as may possibly be interesting to my friends and family. I was gazetted cornet in the 3rd Light Cavalry on September 4th, 1853, and joined my regiment at Meerut shortly A after. The 3rd Light Cavalry was then considered one of the best of the ten regiments of regular cavalry in the East India Company's service. At the time of which I write the Company's Bengal army consisted of regular and irregular troops. There were ten regiments of regular or light cavalry, and seventy-four regiments of regular infantry. These regiments were all armed, dressed, and disciplined, as well as officered, exactly on the same lines as the British troopsa fact which would seem very strange and incongruous to the military eye of the present day, more especially to those who see the Bengal Cavalry as they now are -when dress and efficiency are made to combine, and the imitation dragoon is carefully avoided. For instance, in the days before the Mutiny we were mounted on horses the property of Government, the men dressed in dragoon costume, officered by a full complement of British officers, and drilled to perfection as "dragoons." In the 3rd Light Cavalry we used to pride ourselves on being steadier on parade than the British cavalry regiment then stationed at Meerut; and proud we were of the old regiment. Our commanding officer was Lieutenant-Colonel G. Carmichael Smyth; our adjutant, Lieutenant Sanford, afterwards a most brilliant sabreur in the Mutiny, who lost his life at the siege of Lucknow under very sad circumstances. Meerut was garrisoned by one regiment of British cavalry, one of native light cavalry, one regiment of British and two of native infantry, with the headquarters of the Bengal Artillery, and some two or three batteries, horse and field. It was one of the pleasantest and most favourite stations in the Bengal Presidency. There was a great deal of sport and gaiety, which all subalterns like, and I confess I took my full share of both. The regiments in the garrison were singularly sociable; and in the midst of fun and gaiety, which was to most of us the apparent object of life, there was little thought or apprehension of anything so serious as war breaking out. The Punjab had been completely pacified, our frontiers appeared unusually quiet, and, seeing all things the same around us, our martial spirit distinctly lay low. Such was our life up to the spring of 1857. In the early part of that year |