From the year 1817, when we first took possession of the Sâgar and Nerbudda Territories, almost all the detachments of troops we required to keep at a distance from the headquarters of their regiments were posted in these old deserted fortifications. Our collections of revenue were deposited in them; and, in some cases, they were converted into jails for the accommodation of our prisoners. Of the soldiers so lodged, I do not believe that one in four ever came out well; and, of those who came out ill, I do not believe that one in four survived five years. They were all abandoned one after the other; but it is painful to think how many hundreds, I may say thousands, of our brave soldiers were sacrificed before this resolution was taken. I have known the whole of the survivors of strong detachments that went in, in robust health, three months before, brought away mere skeletons, and in a hopeless and dying state. All were sent to their homes on medical certificate, but they almost all died there, or in the course of their journey. Notes: 1. December, 1835. The name of the village is spelled Behrole by the author. 2. The Dasân river rises in the Bhopâl State, flows through the Sâgar district of the Central Provinces, and along the southern boundary of the Lalitpur subdivision of the Jhânsî District, United Provinces of Agra and Oudh. It also forms the boundary between the Jhânsî and Hamîrpur Districts, and falls into the Betwa after a course of about 220 miles. The name is often, but erroneously, written Dhasân. It is the Sanskrit Dasârna. 3. This emblem is a lotus, not a rose flower. The latter is never used in Hindoo symbolism. The lotus is a solar emblem, and intimately associated with the worship of Vishnu. 4. It rather indicates that the husband was on horseback when killed. The sculptures on satî pillars often commemorate the mode of death of the husband. Sometimes these pillars are inscribed. They usually face the east. An open hand is often carved in the upper compartment as well as the sun and moon. A drawing of such a pillar will be found in _J.A.S.B._, vol. xlvi. Part I, 1877, pl. xiv. _A.S.R._, vol. iii, p. 10; vol. vii, p. 137; vol. x, p. 75; and vol. xxi, p. 101, may be consulted. 5. The 'newly-acquired territories' referred to are the Sâgar and Nerbudda Territories, comprising the seven districts, Sâgar, Jubbulpore, Hoshangâbâd, Seonî, Damoh, Narsinghpur, and Baitûl, ceded in 1818, and now included in the Central Provinces. The tenor of the replies given to Lord Amherst's queries shows how far the process of Hindooizing had advanced among the European officials of the Company. Lord Amherst left India in March, 1828. See _ante._ Chapter 4 and Chapter 8, for cases of satî (suttees). For a good account of the suttee discussions and legislation, see D. Boulger, _Lord William Bentinck_ (1897), chap. v, in 'Rulers of India' Series. No other biography of Lord William Bentinck exists.