The approach of the British Troops withRoganautcaused great alarm at Poonah; and the Ministers there sent to offer terms, which were contemptuously rejected. They then determined to save, by prowess, those rights which they could not preserve by justice or negociation——and took the field with such great force, that their menacing enemies found it expedient to consider of a retreat. ThefaithfulRoganaut, finding his plans baffled, sent privately toScindiah, the Marhatta Chief, proposing to him to attack the English, and promising in that case to join him with his part of the army: his perfidy, however, being discovered, the English Commanders began to retreat, carrying him along with them. They were, however, surrounded, and reduced to make the most abject concessions——offering acarte-blanchetoScindiahas the price of a retreat: but that august Chief nobly disdainedto take advantage of their situation, and contented himself with terms which justice should have exacted from them, even if necessity had not compelled their acceptance. The restoration of Salsette, and of the other conquests made by the Company’s troops during the preceding hostilities, and the delivery ofRoganaut’sperson into the hands of the Marhattas, were among the provisions.Roganautwas delivered up: two hostages were taken for the remaining part of the treaty; and the harrassed remains of the English army were permitted to return to Bombay.
Roganauthaving found means to escape, reached Surat; and the Company’s Chiefs refused to comply with the provisions of the treaty: notwithstanding which, the noble Marhatta dismissed the hostages, and prepared for a more manly revenge than that which could be wreaked on two defenceless individuals. GeneralGoddart, who had been sent with an army from Bengal, was commissioned to negociate for a pacification: butScindiahmaking the delivery ofRoganautinto his hands an indispensable preliminary, the negociation was broken off, and both parties determined to refer the controversy to the decision of the Sword.
Every thing seemed to conspire to chastise the rashness and folly of our Indian Councils. The difficulties in which our American contest had involved the Nation, were reported with exaggeration in India, and gave additional firmness to our enemies in that quarter. The restless and intriguing spirit of the Court of Versailles found its way with MonsieurSt. Lubinto the shoresof Indostan, and so powerfully worked upon the mind ofHyder, that he entered into a treaty with France against England, and brought the strength of both into the most formidable combination that ever was made in that Country, to root out the power of Great Britain from the East.
Thus, by the depraved politics of the Councils of a petty Settlement, were the important interests of Great Britain in India, and the lives and properties of all its servants in that quarter, at once exposed to the fury of three formidable hostile powers——the Marhattas,Hyderand the French.
I will not entangle my narrative with a detail of the various military operations which arose from this confederacy: they were in general disastrous to the English, whose power there was preserved from utter annihilation by the energetic Councils of Mr.Hastings, the unexampled courage, of our troops, and the unparalleled abilities and gallantry of the veteran SirEyre Coote. That part which applies to my present narrative, is the only part I think it necessary to detail; but I wish you to inform yourself of all of them fully, by an attentive perusal of the different histories of that war.
In order to relieve the Carnatic, which was suffering under the ravages of a formidable victorious army, who had not only cut off a great part of our forces on that coast, but affronted our army even at the walls of Fort St. George, descents upon the coasts of Malabar were planned, in order to make a diversion: andGeneralMathews, in January 1783, landed, with a small army under his command, at a place called Rajamondroog——took Onore, and several forts; and being joined by other troops, which, under the command of ColonelHumbertson, had done considerable services to the Southward, and were now commanded by ColonelMacleod, marched from Cundapore, with an army consisting of twelve hundred Europeans and eight battalions of Sepoys, towards Hussaingurry Ghaut, a pass that leads over these immense mountains which divide the Peninsula, running North and South from Persia to Gape Comorin. After surmounting obstacles that would have discouraged a less enterprising Commander, and for which I refer you to his own Letter, inclosed herewith,[8]he mounted the Ghaut, carrying every thing before him with the fixed bayonet; and reached, within a short march of Hydernagur, the place where I was confined. Those operations were undoubtedly much facilitated by the death ofHyder Alli, which happened while I was in prison, and which drew the attention ofTippoo Sahibto affairs of more immediate importance than the defence of the Malabar forts.
I have thus digressed from the straight path of my narrative, in order to explain to you the occasion of the extraordinary revolution that so suddenly took place in the fort, which I stated to you in my last Letter but one——You will therefore look back to the conclusion of that Letter, from whence I again take up my narrative.
8. See Appendix.
8. See Appendix.
I was utterly at a loss to conjecture what this so sudden resolution to release me and my opposite fellow-prisoner meant. I endeavoured to get some explanation of it from the persons about me; but all I could at the time collect was, that the Jemadar had directed me to be taken out of irons, and ordered me to appear before him. I walked out of the citadel with two or three men who had got charge of me: it was a delightful afternoon; and my sensations on once more revisiting the open air——at again viewing the vast expanse of the firmament above, and the profusion of beauties with which Nature embellished the earth beneath——were too blissful, too sublime, for description. My heart beat with involuntary transports of gratitude to that Being from which all sprung; and I felt that Man is, in his nature, even without the intervention of his reason, a being of devotion. For an hour of such delight as I then experienced, a year of imprisonment was, I thought, hardly too dear a price. Those exquisite sensations insensibly led my heart to the most flattering presages: the animal spirit appeared to have, in correspondence with the body, shaken off a load of chains; and as I walked, along, I seemed to tread on air.
As we proceeded forward, we found, at some distance from the fort, an open dooly, into which, the guards forcibly crammed me; and I was carried off, still attended by the same men. As we went along, they gave me to understand thatHyat Sahib, the Jemadar, was at a place ten or a dozen miles distant fromBidanore. I thought it within myself a most extraordinary circumstance, and was at a loss to conjecture for what purpose he required my presence there. Perhaps, thought I, it is to deliver me personally into the hands ofTippoo——perhaps to send me to Seringapatam. Suspense whetted my curiosity; and impatience to know my fate, set my mind afloat upon a wide sea of conjecture. Still, however, my senses acknowledged a degree of pleasure indescribable——I inhaled the fresh air with greediness, and, as I snuffed it in, said to myself, “Well, well——at the worst, this will enliven my spirits, and lay up a new stock of health and vigour, to enable me to endure with manhood whatever other sufferings the barbarians, into whose hands I have fallen, may have in store for me.â€
When we had got about a mile from the fort, we met a person attended by three others, all on horseback. He was a man of considerable rank in that Country, and I recollected to have seen him at the Jemadar’s Durbar, where he had manifested a favourable disposition towards me, looking always graciously, and nodding to me, which, considering my circumstances and his, was not a little extraordinary. The moment he recognized me, he leaped from his horse, apparently in great agitation: then turning to the guards, ordered them to leave me immediately——saying at the same time that he would be answerable for the consequences. They seemed at first to hesitate, whether they would obey him or not; but on his shaking at them his sword, which was all along drawn in hishand, and smeared with blood, and repeating his orders a second time in a firm and decisive tone of voice and manner, they all ran off.
As soon as we were alone, he revealed to me, that he had all along known who I was——had most heartily pitied my sufferings, and privately entertained the most anxious wishes to serve me, but could not venture to interfere——the least jealousy, when once awakened, being there always followed up by summary vengeance. He then mentioned his name, informing me that he was the son of a Nabob near Vellore, whose dominions had been wrested from him by force, and united to the Carnatic; that his family had received great favours from my father, in return for which he felt himself bound to do me every service in his power; but that, having been, after the misfortunes which befel his family, taken into the service ofHyder, and holding then a place of consequence under him, he was disqualified from demonstrating his gratitude and esteem in the way he wished: he added, he had just come from the summit of the Ghauts, where he left the English army posted, after their having beat the Circar troops, and carried all the strong works which had been erected for the defence of the passes, and were deemed from their situation impregnable; that the Jemadar,Hyat Sahib, had gone thither to encourage the troops, and animate them to one grand effort of resistance, and would remain there till the succeeding day——Here he stopped, and seemed much agitated; but, recovering himself soon, said, in asolemn and alarming manner, “This day I heardHyat Sahibgive orders to bring you before him, in order that he might satiate his revenge by your death! How happy am I in having an opportunity to rescue you! I will carry you back with me, therefore, to Bidanore, and place you in a state of security with my family.â€
Such unprecedented generosity affected me sensibly. To run such a hazard as he must have incurred, merely from a principle of gratitude for services so remote in both time and person, was more than we could hope to find even among Englishmen, who boast of their superior justice and generosity——but in a native of Indostan, where the tide of human feeling runs rather low, was astonishing. As well as my limited knowledge of the language of the Country enabled me, I endeavoured to make him a suitable acknowledgment: in such a cause, dullness must have become eloquent; and I lamented that my deficiency in the language prevented my giving vent to the extreme fullness of my heart. He seemed, however, to be satisfied with my meaning; and I was just on the point of returning with him to Hydernagur, when we were suddenly startled by the Jemadar’s music, whichwas soon afterwards succeeded by the appearance of his guards advancing towards us at some distance. He seemed confounded and alarmed——lamented, in warm terms, his incapacity to serve me——and, pointing, to a path which wound through a wood that lay on either side of the road, directed me to strike into it immediately, saying, that by following that route, I should certainly fall in with the British army. He then rode away, and I followed his advice, and proceeded for some time through the wood without interruption; for, though I did not implicitly believe the assertion thatHyat Sahibmeant to have cut me off, I deemed it prudent to avail myself of the opportunity which offered to effect my escape, apprehending a worse fate than death, namely, being sent prisoner to Seringapatam.
Finding myself fairly extricated, I began to examine my situation, and to reflect on the different conversions which had passed betweenHyat Sahiband me, and on his conduct previous to my being put in irons. I recollected the information I had from time to time received, touching the Jemadar’s disposition,Hyder’sdeath,Tippoo Sahib’scharacter and avowed hatred ofHyat, and the nature of the inhabitants. I moreover took into consideration, that my strength was impaired, and my constitution undermined; and that my prospects in India, in point of fame or emolument, could only be promoted by some extraordinary exertion, or some hazardous enterprise. The result of the whole was a determination on my part to return back to the fort,and venture an attempt to persuade the Jemadar to offer proposals for an accommodation to GeneralMathews, and to make me the instrument of his negociation.
In pursuauce of this determination, I returned; and at about six o’clock in the evening re-entered the fort, and proceeded to the palace of theJemadarJemadar, where, desiring an audience, I was admitted. At the very first sight of him, I could perceive in his appearance all the mortification of falling power. He received me with a gloomy countenance, in which there was more of thoughtful sadness than of vindictive fury. After a minute’s silence, however, he said to me, “Well, Sir! you have heard, I suppose, that the English army are in possession of the Ghauts, and doubtless know that the customs of this Country authorise my proceeding against you with the utmost rigour.†Here he paused for a few moments——then proceeded thus: “Nevertheless, in consideration of your family——in consideration of the regard I have for a long time conceived for you, from observing your conduct, and strict adherence to truth in answering all my questions, and still more on account of the sufferings which you have sustained with fortitude, I will allow you to escape: haste you, then, away——fly from this fort directly——begone!†Then waving his hand as a signal for me to depart, averted his face from me, and looked another way.
I thought that that this was a very favourable opportunity for my intended purpose, and entreated him to hear me, while I said afew words of perhaps more moment to him than to myself. He again turned towards me; and, nodding assent, while his eye bespoke impatient curiosity, I proceeded——And, first, I expressed, in the strongest terms I was able, the high sense I entertained of the favourable reception I met with when I first came to the fort; assuring him, that I should never forget the kindness he shewed me on that occasion, and that in my conscience I imputed all the sufferings I had undergone wholly to orders which he had been obliged to execute, and not to any want of humanity in himself. Here I perceived the clouds which had overspread his countenance begin gradually to disperse, and with the greater confidence proceeded to say, that if he would condescend to give me a patient hearing, and not take my boldness amiss, I would venture to intrude upon him with my advice. At this he stared at me with a look of surprise——paused——then said, that he authorised me to speak whatever I pleased——continuing, in a tone of gentle melancholy, “But of what use can your advice be to me now?â€
Having thus obtained his permission, I began by complimenting him on his great talents and temper in governing——on his fidelity, zeal and attachment toHyder——and on the mild and beneficent use which he was acknowledged to have made of the unbounded power vested in him by that great Prince, which was the more extraordinary, considering how many examples he had to justify him in a contrary practice. I reminded him, however, that circumstances were at present widely different from whatthey then were——that he had now got a very different Sovereign to serve——that he had no longer the tender father (for soHydermight have been considered to him), butTippoo Sultan, now the master, once the rival, whose measures he had always opposed, against whom he had once laid a most serious charge, and who, considering the firmness of his nature, could not be reasonably supposed to have forgiven him; and I hinted, that whatever external appearance of regardTippoomight from the political necessity of the moment assume, his temper, and the spirit of Asiatic policy, were too well known to have a doubt remaining, that so far from continuing him (Hyat) in the same power and authority which he enjoyed during the life of his fatherHyder, he would, on the contrary, proceed against him with rigour and cruelty.
Here I perceived the Jemadar involuntarily nodding his head in a manner which, though not intended for my observation, denoted internal assent; and was convinced that I had exactly fallen in with the current of his own thoughts. No wonder, indeed, they should be his sentiments; for they had long been the sentiments of all persons who had known the circumstances of the Nabob’s family.
Having, therefore, gone as far on that point as I conceived to be necessary to awaken the mind ofHyatto the precariousness, or rather danger of his situation withTippoo, I painted to him, in the strongest colours I was master of, the humanity, the fidelity,the bravery and generosity of the English, which, I said, were so universally acknowledged, that even their worst enemies bore testimony to them: and I assured him, that if, instead of making an unavailing opposition to them, he would throw himself with confidence upon their protection, and become their friend, he would not only be continued in his station, power and authority, and supported as heretofore, but be made a much greater man, with still greater security, than ever he had been before.
This was the general scope of my argument with him; but there were many more which suggested themselves at the time, though I cannot now remember them. I enforced them with all the power I had: they were supported by the acknowledged character for generosity of the English, and still more byHyat’sapprehensions ofTippoo; and they had their effect. That very night he authorised me to go to the British General; and, though he would not commit himself by sending proposals in writing, he consented to receive them from the General, and promised to wait for my return till day-light the next morning——adding, that if I did not appear by that time, he would go off with his family and treasure to some other place, and set the town, powder-magazine and store-houses on fire, leaving a person of distinguished character to defend the citadel or inner fort, which was strong, with a deep ditch, and mounted with many pieces of cannon, and send immediate intelligence to an army of six thousand horse andtententhousand infantry, who were at that time on their road fromSeringapatam, to hasten their progress, and make them advance with all possible rapidity; and he further observed, that asTippoohimself would come to the immediate protection of his Country, and, if once come while the English army remained in the open field, would give them cause to repent their temerity, there was no time to be lost.
Accompanied by a person who had officiated as interpreter between the Jemadar and me, and whose good offices and influence withHyat, which was very great, I had been previously lucky enough to secure, I set off at ten o’clock at night, on horseback, to the British army. My companion was in high spirits when we set out from the fort; but as we proceeded, he expressed great apprehension of being shot in approaching the camp, and earnestly entreated me to sleep at a choreltry, which lay in our way, till morning. His terror must have been great indeed, to induce him to make such a proposal, as he knew very well that we had pledged ourselves to be back before dawn next day. I rallied him upon his fears, and endeavoured to persuade him there was not the smallest danger, as I knew how to answer the outposts, when they should challenge us, in such a manner as to prevent their firing. As we advanced to the camp, however, his trepidation increased; and when we approached the sentries, I was obliged to drag him along by force. Then his fears had very nearly produced the danger he dreaded, (the almost invariable effect of cowardice); for the sentry next to us, hearing the rustling noise,let off his piece, and was retreating when I had the good fortune to make him hear me. My companion, alarmed at the noise of the musquet, fell down in a paroxysm of terror, from which it was some time before he was completely recovered. The sentry who had fired, coming up, conducted us to a place where other sentries were posted, one of whom accompanied us to a guard, from whence we were brought to the grand guard, and by them conducted to the General.
I WAS no less pleased than surprised to find, that the Commander of this gallant and successful little army was GeneralMathews——an old friend of my father’s, and a person with whom I had served in the Cavalry soon after I entered the service. When I arrived, he was fast asleep upon the bare ground in a choreltry. His Dubash, whose name wasSnake, recollected me immediately, and was almost as much frightened at my appearance at first, as my interpreter companion was at the shot of the sentry; for if was full five months since my hair and beard had been both shaved at the same time, during which period a comb had never touched my head; I had no hat——nostockings——was clad in a pair of very ragged breeches, a shirt which was so full of holes that it resembled rather a net than a web of cloth, and a waistcoat which had been made for a man twice my size——while my feet were defended from the stones only by a pair of Indian slippers.Snake, as soon as he was able to conquer his terror, and stop the loquacious effusions of astonishment, brought me to the General, whom I found fast asleep. We awoke him with great difficulty, and on his discovering me, expressed great pleasure and surprise at so unexpected a meeting; for, though he had heard of my imprisonment at Bidanore, he did not expect to have had the pleasure of my company so soon.
Having stated to the General the nature and object of my mission, and related to him what had happened in the fort, he instantly saw the great advantages that must accrue from such an arrangement——entered into a full but short discussion of the business——settled with me the plan to be pursued in either case ofHyat Sahib’sacceding to or dissenting from the terms he proposed to offer; and in less than an hour after my arrival, I was dispatched back to the fort in the General’s palanquin, with a cowl from him, signifying that the JemadarHyat Sahib’spower and influence should not be lessened, if he should quietly surrender up the fort. Before my departure, the General expressed, in the warmest terms, his approbation of my conduct; and added, that considering the importance of the fort, the extensiveinfluence ofHyat Sahib, and the advantages that might be derived from his experience and abilities, coupled with the enfeebled state of his army, the benefits of such a negociation scarcely admitted of calculation.
Notwithstanding the very flattering circumstances with which my present pursuit was attended, I could not help, as I returned to Hydernagur, finding some uneasy sensations, arising from the immediate nature of the business, and from my knowledge of the faithless disposition of Asiatics, and the little difficulty they find in violating any moral principle, if it happens to clash with their interest, or if a breach of it promises any advantage. I considered that it was by no means impossible, that some resolution adverse to my project might have been adopted in my absence, and that the Jemadar’s policy might lead him to make my destruction a sort of propitiation for his former offences, and to send me and the cowl together toTippoo, to be sacrificed to his resentment. These thoughts, I own, made a very deep impression on my mind——but were again effaced by the reflection, that a laudable measure, once begun, ought to be persevered in, and that the accomplishing a plan of such importance and incalculable public utility, might operate still further by example, and produce consequences of which it was impossible at the present to form a conception. Those, and a variety of such suggestions, entirely overcame the scruples and fears of the danger; and I once more entered the fort of Hydernagur. At this time the British troops were, by detachinga part with ColonelMacleod, to get round the fort, and attack it in rear, and, by death and sickness, reduced to less than four hundred Europeans and seven hundred Sepoys, without ordnance.
When I delivered the cowl to the Jemadar, he read it, and seemed pleased, but talked of four or five days to consider of an answer, and seemed to be wavering in his mind, and labouring under the alternate impulses of opposite motives and contradictory passions. I saw that it was a crisis of more importance than any other of my life——a crisis in which delay, irresolution, or yielding to the protractive expedients ofHyat, might be fatal. To prevent therefore, the effects of either treachery or repentance, I took advantage of the general confusion and trepidation which prevailed in the fort——collected the Arcot Sepoys, who, to the number of four hundred, were prisoners at large——posted them at the gates, powder-magazines, and other critical situations; and, having taken these and other precautions, went out to the General, who, according to the plan concerted between us, had pushed on with the advanced guard; and, conducting him into the fort with hardly an attendant, brought him straight to the Jemadar’s presence while he yet remained in a state of indecision and terror. GeneralMathews, in his first interview with the Jemadar, did every thing to re-assure him, and confirmed with the most solemn asseverations the terms of the cowl; in consequence of which, the latter acceded to the propositions contained in it, and theBritish Colours for the first time waved upon the walls of the chief fort of the Country of Bidanore.
Having thus contributed to put this important garrison, with all its treasures, which certainly were immense, into the hands of the Company, without the loss of a single man, or even the striking of a single blow, my exultation was inconceivable; and, much though I wanted money, I can with truth aver, that avarice had not even for an instant the least share in my sensations. ’Tis true, the consciousness of my services assured me of a reward; but how that reward was to accrue to me, never once was the subject of my contemplation——much less did I think of availing myself of the instant occasion to obtain it. How far my delicacy, on the occasion may be censured or approved, I cannot tell; but if I got nothing by it, I have at least the consolation to reflect that I escaped calumny, which was with a most unjustifiable and unsparing hand lavished on others. The General, it is true, promised that I should remain with him till he made some arrangements; andHyat Sahiboffered, on his part, to make me, through the General, a handsome present. The General, however, suddenly became dissatisfied with me; and I neither gotHyat Sahib’spresent, nor ever received even a rupee of the vast spoil found there.
Here I think it a duty incumbent on me to say something of GeneralMathews, and, while I deplore, the unfortunate turn in his temper, which injured me, and tarnished in some measure hisgood qualities, to rescue him from that unmerited obloquy which the ignorant, the interested and the envious have thrown upon his fame. Light lie the ashes of the dead, and hallowed be the turf that pillows the head of a Soldier! GeneralMathewswas indeed a Soldier——was calumniated too; and although he did not use me as I had reason to hope he would, I will, as far as I can, rescue his fame from gross misrepresentation.
An extravagant love of fame was the ruling passion of GeneralMathews: it was the great end of all his pursuits; and, while, in his military profession, he walked with a firm pace towards it, he lost his time, distorted his progress, and palsied his own efforts, by a jealous vigilance and envious opposition of those whom he found taking the same road, whether they walked beside him, or panted in feeble effort behind. This was his fault; it was doubtless a great alloy to his good qualities: but it has been punished with rigour disproportionate to the offence. Those who personally felt his jealousy, took advantage of his melancholy end to traduce him, and magnify every mole-hill of error into a mountain of crime. It is unmanly in any one——indeed it is——to traduce the Soldier who has fallen in the service of his Country; but it is heresy in a Soldier to do so. No sooner did the buzz of calumny get abroad, than thousands of hornets, who had neither interest nor concern in the affair, joined in it. The malignant, who wished to sting merely to get rid of so much of their venom——and the vain, who wished to acquit a reputation for knowledge of Asiatic affairs at the expenceof truth——united together, and raised a hum which reached Europe, where the hornets (I mean Authors), under the less unjustifiable impulse of necessity, took it up, and buzzed through the medium ofquartosandoctovosso load, that public opinion was poisoned; and the gallant Soldier who, for the advantage of England, stood the hardest tugs of war, and at last drank the poisoned cup from the tyrant hands of her enemy, was generally understood to be a peculator, and to have clandestinely and dishonestly obtained three hundred thousand pounds.
On this assertion I put my direct negative. It may be said, however, that this is only assertion against assertion——True! Sorry should I be to rest it there: my assertions are grounded on such proofs as are not to be shaken——proofs on record in the Office of the Presidency of Bombay.
As soon as Hydernagur was taken possession of,Hyat Sahibimmediately issued orders to the forts of Mangalore, Deokull, Ananpore, and some others in that Country, to surrender to the British arms. Some obeyed the mandate; but those three resisted, and were reduced by GeneralMathews. Rendered incautious by success, our army became less vigilant, andTippooretook Hydernagur; and, in direct breach of the capitulation, made the garrison prisoners, treated them with a degree of inhumanity which chills the blood even to think of, and forced GeneralMathewsto take poison in prison!
Mean-timeHyat Sahib, with whom the General had got into disputes, arrived at Bombay, and laid a charge against him, which he, being in the hands ofTippoo, could not controvert, or even know. And what was the charge? The whole extent of it was his (Mathews’s) having got two lacks of rupees, and a pearl necklace, as a present——a sum, considering the country and the circumstances, not at all extraordinary, but which is completely vindicated by the General’s Letter to the Court of Directors, dated at Mangalore, the 15th of March, 1783; in which he states the present, and requests permission to accept it. This, as I said before, is on record, and was translated by Mr.Sybbald, who was then Persian interpreter at Bombay. The Letter I allude to, you will see in theAppendix. In short, GeneralMathewshad his faults, but an unjust avarice was not amongst them.
Having, in my last Letter, said as much as I thought justice demanded in defence of GeneralMathews, against the charge of peculation, I am now to speak of him as his conduct touched me. He was, as I have already mentioned, an old friend of my father’s, and an intimate of my own: I had reason, therefore, to expect from him, according to the usual dispositions and manners of men, if not partiality, at least friendship; and in such a case as I have related, where my services gave me a claim to notice, it was not unreasonable to suppose that he would have been forward to promote my interest, by stating my services in such a manner as to call attention to them. He had, however, some disagreeable discussions with his Officers; and seeing I was on a footing of intimacy with ColonelHumbertson, and still more with MajorCampbell(he who so ably and gallantly defended Mangalore againstTippoo’swhole army and six hundred French), and finding me extremely zealous and importunate to have his arrangement withHyat Sahibadhered to, he became displeased, and, though he himself had determined that I should remain with him, changed his mind, and ordered me away at an hour’snotice——many days sooner than he had originally intended to send off any dispatches. He moreover occasioned my losing a sum of money, and on the whole paid less attention to my interest than the circumstances of the case demanded.
In the evening of the day on which he determined on my departure, I set off with his dispatches to the Governments of Madras and Bengal, and reached the most distant of our posts that night. From thence I had thirty miles to Cundapore, a sea-port town upon the Malabar coast, taken by us from the enemy. During this journey, which was through the Country ofTippoo Sahib, I had only six Sepoys to conduct me: yet, such was the universal panic that had seized all classes and distinctions of people at the progress of the British arms in that quarter, I met only a few scattered Sepoys, who were so badly wounded I presume they were unable to travel——the villages throughout being completely abandoned by all their inhabitants.
The sudden change of diet, which physicians tell us, and I experienced, is dangerous, from bad to good, as well as the reverse, conspiring with the mortification I felt at seeing things going on so very contrary to what I wished, and what I had reason to expect, had a most sudden and alarming effect upon my constitution; and I was seized on the road with the most excruciating, internal pains, which were succeeded by a violent vomiting of blood. At length, with great difficulty, I reached Cundapore, where the Commanding Officer, and all about him, did everything in their power to afford me assistance and comfort under my miseries, which increased every hour rapidly. I felt as if my inside was utterly decayed, and all its functions lost in debility: at the same time my head seemed deranged——I could scarcely comprehend the meaning of what was said: lifting up my head was attended with agonizing pain; and if I had any power of thought, it was to consider myself as approaching fast to dissolution. I had the sense, however, to send to GeneralMathews, to acquaint him with my indisposition, and utter inability to proceed with his dispatches. To this I received the following Letter:
“Bidanore, Feb. 3, 1783.
“Dear Campbell,
“I am sorry to hear that you have been unwell. Should your indisposition increase, or continue, so as to render you unable to pursue your journey with the necessary expedition, I beg that you will forward the Letters to Anjengo by a boat, with directions to Mr.Hutchinsonto send them per tappy[9]to Palamcotah, and so on to Madras.
“I shall hope to hear of your recovery, and that you’ll have gone to sea.
“Your’s very truly,Richard Mathews.â€
“Your’s very truly,Richard Mathews.â€
“Your’s very truly,Richard Mathews.â€
“Your’s very truly,
Richard Mathews.â€
9. Post, or express.
9. Post, or express.
The receipt of this Letter induced me, bad as I was, to make one other exertion; and I resolved, though I should die on the way, not to leave any thing which, even by malicious construction, could be made a set-off against my claims: I therefore hired an open boat to carry me along the coast to Anjengo, and set out with every prospect of having the virulence of my disorder increased, by being exposed in an uncovered vessel to the damp of the night air, and the raging heat of the sun in the day, and of being arrested by the hand of death in my way. By the time I had got down the coast as far as Mangalore, my complaints increased to an alarming height; and I became speechless, and unable to stand. Fortunately there happened to be a Company’s vessel then lying at anchor off that place, the Captain of which had the goodness to invite me to remain on board with him, strenuously advising that I should give up the thoughts of proceeding immediately on my voyage to Anjengo, which I could not possibly survive, and to forward my dispatches by another hand. The Surgeon of the ship joining the Captain in opinion that I could not survive if I attempted it, and my own judgment coinciding with their’s, I at length consented, and remained there.
Tranquillity, kind treatment, and good medical assistance, produced, in the space of two or three weeks, so material a change in my health, I was in a condition to avail myself, at the expiration of that time, of a ship bound to Anjengo, and which offering the additional inducement of touching at Tellicherry, determined me to take my passage in her. When I arrived at Tellicherry,and during my stay there, the great attentionshewnshewnme by Mr.Freeman, the Chief of that place, and the comforts of his house, restored me to a great share of health and spirits——And here a very singular circumstance occurred.
One day a vessel arrived; and perceiving a boat coming on shore from her, Mr.Freemanand I walked down to the beach, to make the usual inquiries——such as, where she came from? what news she brought? &c. &c. As soon as the boat touched the shore, a Gentleman leaped out of it, whose person seemed familiar to me: upon his nearer approach, I discovered that it was Mr.Brodey, a Gentleman who had been kind enough to take upon him the office of my Attorney, upon my leaving India some years before——not myAttorneyin the ordinary acceptation of that word, but a liberal and disinterested friend, who obligingly undertook the management of my affairs in my absence, without the smallest hope of advantage, or rather under circumstances which served as preludes to further obligations. I was certainly pleased and surprised to see him; but his astonishment to see me amounted almost to a distrust of his eye-sight: he had received such indubitable proofs of my death, that my sudden appearance on his landing, at the first rush of thought, impressed him with the notion of adeceptio visus. My identity, however, was too positive for resistance; and his wonder melted down into cordial satisfaction, and congratulations on my safety. He then took out a pocket account-book, in which, for security against accidents, he keptaccounts-current, written in a brief manner——and shewed me mine, settled almost to the very day, upon which was transcribed a copy of a letter he had received, and which he thought was a testimony of my death. So, cutting out the account, and presenting it to me, he expressed, in the most cordial and handsome manner, his joy that it was into my own hands he had at last had an opportunity to deliver it. This Gentleman is now in this Kingdom, and too well known for me to describe him. Suffice it to say, that in England, as well as in India, he has always enjoyed the esteem and respect of all his acquaintances, to as great an extent as any other person I know.
I again embarked to proceed on my voyage, and had hardly got on board when a ship dropped anchor along side of us, in which CaptainCampbellof Comby, a very near connection of mine, was passenger. On hailing one another, he heard that I was on board, and immediately was with me. Those who sincerely love each other, and whose hearts confess the fond ties of consanguinity, can alone conceive what our mutual pleasure was at meeting so unexpectedly in so remote a corner of the world. He was then on his way to join the army. This amiable young man now reposes in the Bed of Honour at Mangalore! He fell, after having distinguished himself in the very gallant defence made by that place against the whole force ofTippoo. With regret we parted; and in due time I arrived at Anjengo without any accident befalling me, which was rather extraordinary.
Leaving Anjengo, I set out for Madras, designing to go all the way by land——a journey of near eight hundred miles. I accordingly struck through the Kingdom of Travancore, whose Sovereign is in alliance with the English; and had not long entered the territories of the Nabob of Arcot, before MajorMacneal, an old friend of mine, and Commandant of a fort in that district, met me, preceded by a troop of dancing girls, who encircled my palanquin, dancing around me until I entered the Major’s house.
It would be difficult to give you an adequate notion of those dancing girls. Trained up from their infancy to the practice of the most graceful motions, the most artful display of personal symmetry, and the most wanton allurements, they dance in such a style, and twine their limbs and bodies into such postures, as bewitch the senses, and extort applause and admiration where in strictness disapprobation is due: nor is their agility inferior to the grace of their movements——though they do not exert it in the same skipping way that our stage dancers do, but make it subservient to the elegance, and, I may say, grandeur, of their air. They are generally found in troops of six or eight, attended by musicians, whose aspect and dress are as uncouth and squalid, as the sounds they produce under the name of music are inelegant, harsh and dissonant. To this music, from which measure as much as harmony is excluded, they dance, most wonderfully adapting their step to the perpetual change of the time, accompanying it with amorous songs, while the correspondent action of their bodyand limbs, the wanton palpitation and heaving of their exquisitely formed bosoms, and the amorous, or rather lascivious expression of their countenance, excite in the spectators emotions not very favourable to chastity. Thus they continue to act, till, by the warmth of exercise and imagination, they become seemingly frantic with ecstacy, and, sinking down motionless with fatigue, throw themselves into the most alluring attitudes that ingenious vice and voluptuousness can possibly devise.
That such incitements to vice should make a part of the system of any society, is to be lamented: yet, at all ceremonies and great occasions, whether of religious worship or domestic enjoyment, they make a part of the entertainment; and the altar of their gods, and the purity of the marriage rites, are alike polluted by the introduction of the dancing girls. The impurity of this custom, however, vanishes in India, when compared with the hideous practice of introducing dancingboys.
The Major, after having entertained me in the most hospitable manner, accompanied me to Palamcotah, to the house of DoctorDott, who lived in a generous and hospitable style. I had once had an opportunity of evincing my good disposition to this Gentleman, when he was most critically situated; and the reception he gave me demonstrated, that he then retained a lively sense of my conduct to him.
Leaving Palamcotah, I continued my route through Madura. This Country is rendered remarkable by the revolt of the famousIsif Cawn, who made a bold and well-conducted attempt to erect himself into the Sovereignty of that Province, independent of the Nabob of the Carnatic, in whose service he was: and as the affair occurs to my thoughts, I will, for your information, notwithstanding its being unconnected with my story, digress into an account of it. As soon as the revolt ofIsif Cawnwas known, GeneralMonson, an Officer of great military skill and personal merit, went against him at the head of the King’s and Company’s troops, and invested the fort of Madura, in which that rebellious Chief was posted. The General made a practicable breach, and, in storming, was beat back with great slaughter byIsif; and the setting in of the monsoons immediately after, retarded the further operations of our army against the place; and in the interim, peace having been concluded between the Courts of St. James’s and Versailles, the King’s troops were withdrawn.
On the recal of the King’s troops, an army of Company’s troops was formed, to proceed against Madura, in order to reduce this gallant turbulent rebel to subjection; and the renowned GeneralLawrencebeing rendered incapable of actual service, and obliged to remain at the Presidency by extreme age and infirmity, the chief command devolved upon my father by seniority: he headed the expedition; and, after overcoming innumerable difficulties thrown in his way by the inventive genius and enterprising spirit ofIsif Cawn, again made a breach, which was deemed practicable by the chief engineer, now SirJohn Call. An assaultwas made with no better success than the former; for our army was again repulsed with incredible slaughter: more than two thirds, I believe, of our European Officers, were among the killed or wounded; and the death of MajorPreston, second in command, a man endeared to the army by the possession of every advantage of person, heart and talents—an active, intrepid and able Officer—aggravated the calamities of the day.
If, impelled by my feelings, or tempted by remembrance of the past, I sometimes digress from the direct path of my narrative, myFrederickwill accompany me, not only with patience, but I dare say with pleasure: I cannot refrain, therefore, from mentioning a memorable occurrence during that siege, not only as it is somewhat extraordinary in itself, but as it relates to a very near and dear connection. ColonelDonald Campbell, who then commanded the Cavalry, received no less than fourteen sword-wounds and a musquet-ball in his body—yet continued doing his duty with such cool intrepidity, that brave soldiers who were witnesses to it, expressed the utmost astonishment: upon being requested to quit the field, he replied, that as his family were provided for, he had nothing to fear; and as it was very unlikely his life could be saved, he would not deprive his Country of any advantage that might be derived from his exertions for the short residue of it, but continue to the last moment at his duty. With all this firmness and magnanimity, he was gentle, good-humoured, modest and unassuming; and was admired for his greatpersonal beauty, as well as military talents, particularly by the Duke ofCumberland, under whom he served in the war in Germany as a subaltern Officer, in so much that His Royal Highness had his picture drawn. It was to him the Company were first indebted for the introduction of perfect military discipline into their army in India. In the various relations in which he stood, whether domestic or public, as, the subject, the citizen, the father, or the friend, he was so uniformly excellent, that the shafts of malevolence, which the best and wisest of men have but too often felt, seldom reached him; and he may justly be reckoned amongst that very small number of created beings, of whom scarcely any one had the audacity to speak ill. Upon my first arrival in India, I was put under his command, and lived in his family——when, instead of deporting himself towards me with that reserve and austerity which rank and reputation like his, coupled with the circumstance of his being my uncle, might in some sort have justified, he took me into his confidence, treated me with the greatest affection, and acted rather as the brother and the equal, than as the parent and superior; and thus, his gentle admonitions had more effect in restraining the sallies of youth, and impetuosity of my temper, than the sour, unpalatable documents of a supercilious preceptor could possibly have had.
The wonderful effects of this happy temper in swaying the stubborn disposition of headstrong youth, was exemplified in another instance—of which, since I am on the subject, I will informyou. Mr.Dupres, then Governor of Madras, wrote to him about a young Gentleman, in the following words:
“My dear Colonel,
“In the list of Officers appointed to your garrison, you will see the name of ——-. This young man (nephew to Mrs.Dupres), with abilities that might render him conspicuous, I am sorry to say, stands in need of a strict hand. All the favour I have to request of you is to shew him no favour: keep him rigidly to his duty; and, if he requires it, rule him with a rod of iron. Should his future conduct meet your approbation, it is unnecessary for me to ask it, as you are always ready to shew kindness to those who merit it.â€
The peculiar style of this letter made such an impression on my memory, that I am able to give the exact words. ColonelCampbell, however, took his own unalterable method, mildness——treated the young Gentleman in such a manner as to raise in him a consciousness of his dignity as a man, the first and best guard against misconduct——and appointed him to the grenadiercompanycompany. The result was answerable to his expectations; for the young man’s conduct, both as an Officer and a Gentleman, was such in the sequel as to reflect credit on himself and his family; and his very honourable and hopeful career was at last terminated by a cannon-ball at the siege of Tanjore.
If the veneration in which I shall ever hold this most dear and respected relative admitted of increase, it would certainly receive it from the contrast I am every day obliged to draw between him and the wretchedbutterflieswho sometimes flutter round us under the name of Men: for, how can I help contrasting his inflexible courage, united to angelic mildness, with the insolence of lilly-livered Hectors, who, conscious of the most abject cowardice, dare to give an insult, and basely skulk from honest resentment beneath the arm of the Law!——fellows who, likeBobadilin the play, can kill a whole army with the tongue, but dare not face a pigmy in the field!——and, while they want the prudence to restrain the torrent of effeminate invective, have patience enough to bear a kicking, or a box in the ear!——who bluster and vapour to hide the trembling limb and poltroon aspect, as children whittle in the dark to brave the ghosts they dread! Beware of all such wretches as you would shun plague or pestilence. I hope you do not imagine that I have so little common sense or philanthropy as to censure those who, from physical causes or constitutional delicacy, are averse to contest: No, no——I do assure you, on the contrary, that my observation leads me to think such men, though slow to quarrel, and inoffensive in conduct, are very gallant when honour or duty demand from them a conquest over their weakness. I have, in my time, seen such men at first the sport, and at last the terror of your blustering bullies; and I have always thought, that in such a triumph over their feelings, they had more true meritthan men constitutionally courageous: the latter has his valour in common with the mere animal; the other possesses the valour of sentiment. I mean that most ignominious of all beings, who, prodigal in offence, yet reluctant in reparation——who, hoping to find some person passive as themselves over whom to triumph, hazard the giving of an insult, with the malignant view to gasconade over him if he submits——and, if he resents, to wreak the whole vengeance of Law upon him. In society with such men, there is no safety; for they leave you only the casual alternative to choose between shame and ruin. Him who submits, they call poltroon; and him who resents, they fleece in form of Law. There are others who, to bring their fellow-creatures down to their own level, brave the execrations of Mankind, and the vengeance of Heaven; such harpies do exist, who, though bold enough to insult, are tame enough to receive chastisement without resistance; and, though tame enough to submit to chastisement, are so furiously vindictive as to proclaim their shame, their cowardice, perhaps in the face of an open Court, in order to glut their revenge by the pillage of their adversary’s purse. Let such men enjoy the fruits of their machinations, if they can——To their own feelings I consign them; for I can wish a villain no greater curse than the company of his own conscience, nor a poltroon a more poignant sting than that which the contempt of Mankind inflicts upon him.