unless he persisted in supporting her in rebellion, and that by consenting to my terms he would save both her and himself. Talk to the Ranee,' he answered; 'it's no use. speaking to me; I obey her orders only.' Diplomacy had failed with these stubborn characters, and there was nothing left but to make the best of our way out of a hornets' nest. Captain Hutt, being in uniform, had his sword, but otherwise we were unarmed and entirely at their mercy. The two princes, the elder about eighteen, the other two years younger, had accompanied us from their mother's apartment, as enjoined by Durbar etiquette; and now, as I mounted my horse, one seized my right and the other my left leg, exclaiming as they did so that I must not leave them, that they looked to me to uphold the just claim of the family, and so on, mingled with urgent expressions of hope and despair. The Arabs rushed out after their young masters and completely surrounded me. Here was a scene. Turning to my companion, who was not molested, I said, ' God knows how this may end. At present I am decidedly in A what Yankees call a fix. You had better go off while you can, and lose no time in getting the troops ready for action. If I am killed or made prisoner, use your own discretion; if possible, I will join you soon.' Perhaps it was fortunate those around me did not understand English, or he might have been stopped before my speech was done; but as it was he put spurs to his horse and galloped off to the force. Left alone, I kept urging my horse forward, using meanwhile every persuasion to induce the princes to return to the house, appealing to their sense of dignity not to demean themselves by acting as grooms; but in vain, they would not leave my stirrup leathers nor the Arabs my bridle. It was evident they had not made up their minds how to act, and I took advantage of this indecision to push my horse on, and gradually gained ground. Thus we went slowly forward, until on suddenly turning a corner we faced the encamping ground of the troops. Here drawn up in line were horse, foot, and artillery, and I pressed on to the centre front. 'I'll The ringing of the muskets as the men loaded and the glistening of the port fires of the guns acted somewhat as a shower-bath to cool the ardour of my troublesome escort; but they would not leave me, and I was their prisoner. Meanwhile Captain Hutt galloped up towards me, and I shouted to him that I hoped with prudent management we might still get through without bloodshed. ply these fellows vigorously with talk,' I said, 'while you, as if executing a parade movement, file your men, ranks opened out, through this crowd, and let each man pinch out the match of the Arab near him, after which, as gently as possible, let them seize the matchlock, but on no account touch the side-arms unless driven to it by their using them.'1 The whole plan was admirably carried out. The Arabs found themselves prisoners before they well knew what our men were about, and were sent off under a strong guard, with the promise that if they behaved well they should be forgiven. Then 1 Bloodshed has often been needlessly caused by the endeavour to deprive Arabs of their side-arms. The retention of them is a point of honour, and many will die rather than give them up. F addressing the princes still by my side, I said, 'See to what a condition your refusal to listen to my advice has brought you. I cannot let you go back in the degrading way you chose to come. You shall return as befits your position, on horseback, and with a suitable escort.' This was soon arranged, and the officer in command had instructions to accompany the princes to the palace, and once inside to keep there. The few armed men remaining within were unequal to any opposition, and the guard of honour quietly became masters of the place. The Queen was detained prisoner until she furnished satisfactory security against any further disturbance of the peace, when she was released, and a suitable maintenance allotted to her. The rebellion being thus quietly suppressed, the force broke up, not, however, before many had been struck down by the fever prevalent at that time of year. Amongst those who fell victims was its commander, Captain Richard Hutt, an excellent officer, to whose skilful management and cordial co-operation much of the successful termination of the case was due. |