In Times of Peril: A Tale of IndiaHenty, G. A. (George Alfred)
History
In Times of Peril: A Tale of India
Henty, G. A. (George Alfred)
India -- History -- Sepoy Rebellion, 1857-1858 -- Juvenile fiction
tithe of the loss which would have resulted in their extermination
within the walls of Delhi.
Up to the 20th the palace still held out. This was a fortress in
itself, mounting many cannon on its walls, and surrounded by an open
park-like space. On that morning the engineers began to run a trench,
to enable a battery to be erected to play upon the Lahore gate of the
palace. Before, however, they had been long at work, a party of men of
the Sixty-first, with some Sikhs and Ghoorkas, ran boldly forward, and
taking shelter under a low wall close to the gate, opened fire at the
embrasures and loopholes. The answering fire was so weak that Colonel
Jones, who was in command of the troops in this quarter--convinced that
the report that the king with his wives and family, and the greater
part of the garrison of the palace, had already left was
true--determined upon blowing in the gate at once. Lieutenant Home was
appointed to lead the party told off for the duty, which was happily
effected without loss. The British rushed in, and found three guns
loaded to the muzzle placed in the gateway, but fortunately the Sepoys
who should have fired them had fled.
The news that the palace was taken spread rapidly, and there was a rush
to share in the spoil. But few of the enemy were found inside; these
were at once bayoneted, and then a general scramble ensued. The order
had been given that no private plundering should be allowed, but that
everything taken should be collected, and sold for the general benefit
of the troops. Orders like this are, however, never observed, at any
rate with portable articles; and Sikhs, Ghoorkas, and British alike,
loaded themselves with spoil. Cashmere shawls worth a hundred pounds
were sold for five shillings, silk dresses might be had for nothing,
and jewelry went for less than the value of the setting.
The same day the headquarters of the army were removed to the palace of
Delhi. As the Union Jack of England ran up the flagstaff on the palace
so lately occupied by the man crowned by the rebels Emperor of India,
the seat and headquarters of the revolt which had deluged the land with
blood, and caused the rule of England to totter, a royal salute was
fired by the British guns, and tremendous cheers arose from the troops
in all parts of the city.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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