Sir Charles NAPiER 
 
CORNELL 
 
 UNIVERSITY 
 
 LIBRARY 
 
 GIFT OF 
 
 David G. Flinn 
 
Cornell University Library 
 «8.12.N12B88 
 
 Life of General Sir Charles Napier, G.C, 
 
 3 1924 008 533 089 
 
^9r 
 
 act ' 1^^ 
 
Cornell University 
 Library 
 
 The original of tliis book is in 
 tine Cornell University Library. 
 
 There are no known copyright restrictions in 
 the United States on the use of the text. 
 
 http://www.archive.org/details/cu31924008533089 
 
GENEEAL SIE CHAKLES NAPIEE 
 
£//ji/-ii.vfi/ by i^.TShhtarl iwm. cipialurR^'y Sdwiv. J'f'lki/ms 
 
LIFE OF 
 GENERAL SIR CHARLES NAPIER 
 
 G. C. B. 
 
 BY 
 
 WILLIAM NAPIEE BRUCE 
 
 WITH PORTRAIT AND MAPS 
 
 LONDON 
 
 JOHN MUEEAY, ALBEMARLE STREET 
 
 1885 
 
PKEFACE. 
 
 In 1857 Sir William Napier published his lAfe, of Sir 
 Charles Napier in four volumes. It was composed in 
 the midst of great bodily and mental suffering, and in 
 the expectation that death would interfere and pre- 
 vent its completion. In spite of certain defects of 
 taste and arrangement, due mainly to these circum- 
 stances, the book is remarkable, like all the author's 
 writings, for the force and grandeur of its language 
 and for the spirit of passionate hero-worship which 
 animates it throughout; but it was far too long to 
 obtain the durable popularity which the reputation of 
 the writer and the interest of the subject deserved. 
 
 There are few men in the world's history about 
 whom four volumes are read by a generation that has 
 hot known them. Least of all can such assiduous 
 devotion be expected where, as in the present case, 
 the man has been limited to a field confessedly too 
 narrow for the full exercise of his powers. And yet, 
 if Sir Charles Napier's career does not possess any 
 great historical interest, a brief record of his life and 
 opinions may stUl be well worth the attention of his 
 countrymen. 
 
VI PREFACE. 
 
 " Disce, puer, virtutem ex me verumque laborem, 
 Fortunam ex aliis." 
 
 The man to whose military genius Wellington appealed 
 to save India — whose capacity for government excited 
 the admiration of Sir Eobert Peel — of whom Lord 
 Hardinge, with all his experience, military and civil, 
 said, " he had the rarest coihbination of great qualities 
 of any of our contemporaries," — should not be allowed 
 without a protest to sink into oblivion, or be re- 
 membered merely as an eccentric and unmanageable 
 officer. 
 
 His character was essentially of the heroic type. 
 He exercised a fascination over the popular mind 
 which was, perhaps, out of proportion to anything 
 which Fortune allowed him to accomplish. He 
 occupied a place apart, and would have seemed in 
 some respects hardly to belong to the age in which he 
 lived, had it not been that he inspired the people 
 wherever he went with the belief that, whatever his 
 differences with men in power, he was moved by the 
 most intense devotion to themselves and to the cause 
 of every one who was poor or oppressed. 
 
 Sir WUliam Napier's four volumes were constructed 
 almost entirely out of his brother's journals and letters, 
 and in consequence his book contains the bulk of the 
 materials for the present volume. But the general 
 arrangement and treatment of the subject differ in 
 many respects from Sir William Napier's work ; and 
 he is not responsible for any opinions expressed in the 
 course of the narrative, except such as are actually 
 
PREFACE. vn 
 
 attributed to him. In addition to the copious writings 
 of Sir Charles and Sir William Napier, the admirable 
 articles in the Quarterly Beview (January 1857 and 
 October 1858), attributed to Mr. Elwin, and such 
 incidental notices of Sir Charles Napier as have ap- 
 peared in later works connected with India, I have had 
 the advantage of conversations with General Sir M. 
 M'Murdo, who was Sir Charles Napier's son-in-law, 
 and served on his staff during nearly the whole of his 
 Indian career, and with the late Sir Bartle Frere who 
 ruled Scinde for seven years and had special oppor- 
 tunities of estimating Sir Charles Napier's work. In 
 the account of the transactions which led up to the 
 conquest of Scinde I have relied upon the letters and 
 despatches of the various actors published in the 
 Correspondence Belative to Scinde presented to Parlia- 
 ment in 1843 and 1844. 
 
CONTENTS. 
 
 CHAPTER I. 
 
 EARLY YBAES. 
 
 Charles Napier's Journal, page 1; His lineage — Anecdote of Lord 
 March, 2 ; Lady Sarah Napier, 3 ; Colonel George Napier, 4 ; 
 "The Eagle's Nest"— Birth of Charles Napier— Home-life— Molly 
 Dunne, 5 ; Short-sight and hero-worship — Instance of courage, 6 ; 
 First service — ^School-days — Volunteer corps, 7 ; Irish insurrec- 
 tion, 8; Terrible accident, 9; Ideas on sport, 10; Eifle Corps — 
 Correspondence with Lady Sarah Napier — Duelling, 11; Poverty 
 — General Fox's staff, 12 ; Professional prospect — Charles Fox, 14 ; 
 Death of Colonel Napier — Thoughts on death, 15; Light Divi- 
 sion — Sir John Moore and the Napiers, 16; Exchange into 50th 
 Eegiment — Expedition sent to Spain — End of inactivity, 18. 
 
 CHAPTER II. 
 
 PENINSULA BERMUDA AMERICA STUDIES. 
 
 Napier joins 50th at Lisbon — Moore's campaign, 19 ; Battle of Coruna 
 — Napier's story, 21; John Hennessy, 36; Fate of Guibert the 
 drummer, 37 ; Nay's noble conduct — Change in Napier's appear- 
 ance — "The Napiers always get hit," 38; Volunteering with the 
 Light Division, 39; Wellington — Reflections — Wellington at 
 Talavera, 41; Craufurd on the Coa, 42; Napier's criticism of the 
 "bitter fight" on the Coa, 43; After the battle, 46; Battle of 
 Busaco, 47 ; Scene at the convent, 48 ; Kide to Lisbon — Sufferings 
 — Letters to Lady Sarah Napier, 49 ; His sailor cousin, 50 ; Ke- 
 treat of Masseua — Napier rides 90 miles on one horse to join the 
 army — Brothers wounded, 51; Wellington employs Napier on a 
 confidential mission, 52 ; Complaint of unfair treatment — 
 Colonelcy of 102d — Leaves Peninsula, 53; Reputation of the 
 
CONTENTS. 
 
 Napiers— George Napier — Letter from Wellington to Lady Sarah 
 Napier, 56; Bermuda, 56; Dislike of military life — Captain 
 Robertson's opinion of Napier, 57 ; Longing for home — American 
 war, 59; Character of warfare, 60; Evils of divided command- 
 Exchange into 50th, 61; Scheme for conquest of America by slave 
 emancipation, 63; Reflections — Military college — The hundred 
 days,64 ; Narrow escape from drowning — Study — Advice to a young 
 ofScer, 65 ; Political views, 66 ; Extracts from note-books — Popular 
 wars, 67; Commanders, 68; Alexander the Great, 72; Order of 
 battle, 74; Cavalry, 75; Commander of a regiment, 77; Gibbon 
 and the British Constitution, 78 ; Rienzi and a free press, 79. 
 
 CHAPTER III. 
 
 IONIAN ISLES AND GEEECE. 
 
 Inspecting field-officer in Ionian Isles — Journey, 82 ; State of Italy — 
 Sir Thomas Maitland, 83 ; Mission to Ali Pasha — Napier's scheme 
 for making Ali the liberator of Greece, 84 ; England and Russia, 
 85 ; Ali sends for Napier too late — Napier devotes himself to the 
 Greek cause, 86; "Quo fata meant" — Tour in Greece — Fortifica- 
 tion of isthmus of Corinth, 87 ; Appointed military Resident of 
 Cephalonia, 89 ; State of the island, 90 ; Public works — Manner 
 of life — Captain Kennedy, 91; Difference between ruling and giv- 
 ing orders, 92; Interest in the Greek war, 93; Lord Byron, 94; 
 His opinion of Napier, 95; A/^fe in Cephalonia, 97; Bishop of 
 Cephalonia, 98 ; "Wolff the missionary, 99 ; Napier turns mission- 
 ary too, 100; Offered the command of the Greek army — Condi- 
 tions, 101; Refusal — Memoir on public works and finance, 102; 
 Death of Lady Sarah Napier — Napier marries — Wellington 
 Premier, 103; Differences with Sir F. Adam, 104; Summary of 
 Napier's work, 105; Corvfe— A portrait— Self-criticism, 107; 
 Quits Cephalonia — Unfounded accusations brought by Sir F. 
 Adam, 108; Economy of Works— Hatred of oppression— Enduring, 
 gratitude of the peasants, 109. 
 
 CHAPTER IV. 
 
 RETIREMENT NORTHERN DISTRICT. 
 
 Enforced idleness— Death of Mrs. Napier, 110 ; Education of child- 
 ren, 111 ; Prospect of government of Australian Colony, 113 ; 
 
CONTENTS. XI 
 
 Second marriage, 114 ; Politics at Bath — Napier a Radical — 
 Tories better than Whigs, 114 ; Eepnblie contrary to nature — Ire- 
 land, 115 ; Condemnation of English rule, 116 ; Captain Ken- 
 nedy's model farm and agricultural education scheme, 117 ; 
 "Were I Dictator "—Literature, 119 ; State of England in 1839, 
 120; Chartism and Anti- Corn-Law League — Byron's Miss Cha- 
 worth, 121 ; Napier appointed to command the Northern District, 
 122 ; View of the situation — Concentration of troops, 124 ; Soldiers 
 not to he used as police — Necessity of an effective police force, 
 125 ; Colonel Wemyss, 128 ; Colin Campbell, 129 ; Plan of ac- 
 tion, 130 ; Meeting on Kersall Moor — Interview with Chartist 
 leaders, 134 ; Small accidents decide events, 135 ; Success of pre- 
 cautions, 186; Visit to the "Lake country" — York, 137; Per- 
 sonal hardiness, 138 ; The Queen's levie, 138 ; Physical -force 
 Chartists, 139 ; Dislike of routine— Devotion to duty, 140 ; Pre- 
 sentiments of future activity, 141. 
 
 CHAPTER V. 
 
 INDIA, OCT. 1841 DEO. 1842. 
 
 Appointment on the Indian Staff, 142 ; Soldier's hat should cover his 
 family — Afghan war, 143 ; Napier's advice asked — Personal 
 appearance, 144; Habits — Power of work — Generosity, 145; Con- 
 flicts with ofB-cial world, 146 ; Faults of temper — Military ambi- 
 tion — ^War an art, 147 ; Prefers administration to war — ^Views of 
 Government, 148; Eevolt against "Laissez Faire" — Religious 
 views — "Central Sun," 150; Mode of exercising troops — Napier 
 and the sword-player, 152 ; Musket mrsus matchlock, 153 ; Plan 
 for retrieving Afghan disasters — Sent to Scinde, 154; Indian 
 baggage — Cromwell's day, 155 ; Cholera on board ship — Bad acci- 
 dent, 156 ; Scinde — History of British intercourse with the Ameers, 
 167 ; Lord Auckland's anti-Russian policy, 158 ; Seizure of terri- 
 tory, 161 ; Lord Ellenborough — Instructions to Outram, 163 ; 
 Arrival of Napier — Interview with Ameers, 165 ; Political work 
 at Sukkur — First impressions, 166 ; Complaints against Ameers, 
 167 ; Report on Scinde (Question, 169 ; Treasonable correspond- 
 ence of Ameers, 172 ; Comparison of seals — Wild retinue, 173 ; 
 "Leaf out of Cromwell's book" — The new treaty, 174 ; Military 
 discipline — Humorous order, 175 ; Plan of operations, 176 ; 
 Enemy's numbers, 177 ; Passage of the Indus — Reflections, 179. 
 
xu CONTENTS. 
 
 CHAPTEE VI. 
 
 CONQUEST OF SCINDE. 
 
 Eoostum and Ali Moorad, 181 ; Napier resolves to surprise Emaum 
 Ghur, 182 ; Baggage — Difficulties of enterprise, 184 ; Camel-corps 
 — General M'Murdo's recollections, 185 ; The speU broken, 186 ; 
 Emaum Ghur blown up, 188 ; Return march, 189 ; Wellington's 
 praise, 190 ; Negotiations — Napier's forbearance, 191 ; Outram 
 at Hyderabad, 191 ; His advice, 192 ; Attack on the Residency, 
 193 ; Advance of the army, 195 ; Enemy's numbers, 196 ; Battle 
 of Meeanee — Sir "William Napier's description, 197 ; " The 
 shambles have it all to themselves," 202 ; Notes by General 
 M'Murdo, 203 ; Weapons, 204 ; Sword mrsus bayonet, 205 ; 
 Napier's miraculous escape — Letter to Lord Fitzroy Somerset — 
 The Lion of Meerpoor, 206 ; Surrender of Ameers — Napier's pre- 
 cautions after the battle, 207 ; WeUingtou's opinion, 208 ; De- 
 sign of Ameers to " Cabul " the army, 209 ; Activity of the Lion 
 — Stack's column — " Glibborne's men are all in buckram," 210 ; 
 Napier's good fortune, 212; Preparations for battle— Battle of 
 Dubba or Hyderabad, 213 ; Napier's confidence, 218 ; Advance 
 on Meerpoor, 218 ; Brown's ride from Omercote — Noble conduct 
 of Sepoys and wounded soldiers, 219 ; Great combination to sur- 
 round the Lion, 221 ; Operations of Col. Roberts, 222 ; Napier's 
 anxiety— Sunstroke, 223 ; End of the war, 224 ; Policy of the 
 conquest— Different views, 225 ; Controversy with Outram— 
 " The Bayard of India," 230 ; Causes of quan-el, 231. 
 
 CHAPTER VII. 
 
 THE SETTLEMENT OP SCINDE. 
 
 Napier made Governor of Scinde, 235 ; Proclamation— Treatment of 
 Chiefs— Wullee Chandiah, 236 ; The Queen's picture, 237 ; Police, 
 238; "The Padisha is just "—Character of Government, 239; 
 Military Government quickest road to civilisation and self- 
 government, 240 ; Dislike of Indian system, 241 ; The Dii-ectors 
 —The " Old Indian," 242 ; Napier's subjects— The Hindoo— The 
 Scindee— The Beloochee, 244 ; Framework of Civil Government, 
 245 ; Eardars, 246 ; Judicial system, 247 ; Suttee, Napier's way 
 of stopping it, 249 ; His ill-health—" Un petit giniral," 250 ; 
 Natural wealth of Scinde, 262 ; Antiquities— Alexander the Great, 
 253 ; Management of waters— Fighting camel-corps, 255 ; Longing 
 
CONTENTS. XUl 
 
 for rest, 257 ; Secret of governing, 258 ; Moves to Kurachee — 
 Public works — Future greatness of Kurachee, 259 ; Blenkins' 
 model market-garden, 260 ; Slow progress of works, 262 ; His 
 engineers — Napier and Mr. G. T. Clark, 263 ; Characteristic 
 anecdote, 265 ; Public works and expenditure, 266 ; Strange 
 malady, 267 ; Malaria and barracks, 268 ; Kumours of wars — Ali 
 Moorad, 269 ; Review of first year's work, 270 ; Large correspond- 
 ence : letter to Private James Neary, 272 ; Submission of Western 
 chiefs, 273; "By Allah! a moving wall!" 275; Great Durbar, 
 276 ; The land question, 277 ; Lord EUenborough recalled, 279 ; 
 Thanks of Parliament to Sir G. Napier, 280 ; Peel on Napier as a 
 ruler and a writer, 282. 
 
 CHAPTER VIII. 
 
 HILL CAMPAIGN SIKH WAR ADMINISTRATION. 
 
 Mountain tribes on the North of Scinde, 284 ; Beja Khan, attempt to 
 surprise him at Poolagee fails, 285 ; Severe general order, 286 ; 
 Napier moves up the west bank of the Indus, 287 ; Capture of 
 robbers, 288 ; Slavery, method of dealing with it, 289 ; Embassies 
 from Herat and Khiva, 290 ; Napier's superstitious feelings, 291 ; 
 Difficulties of a campaign against the robbers, 292 ; His prepara- 
 tions — Abuse and incredulity of the press, 293 ; Character of the 
 hostile tribes, 294 ; Napier's ruses, 295 ; A race across the desert, 
 296 ; "The great devil's brother" — Single combat, 298 ; Cutchee 
 Hills, 300 ; Enemy spared for sake of their families, 301 ; 
 Curious passages in Journal, 302 ; Enters the hills, 303 ; Enemy 
 vanished, 304 ; Desertion of camel-men, 306 ; Exploit of camel- 
 corps, 308 ; Miracles, 309 ; Pursuit of enemy, 310 ; Trukkee, 313 ; 
 Plan for storming it, 315 ; Heroism of Sale's veterans — The red 
 thread, 317 ; Surrender of the chiefs, 318 ; Two essential qualities 
 of a soldier, courage and zeal, 320 ; Anecdote, 321 ; Treatment of 
 conquered tribes, 322 ; Russia and Indian foreign policy, 323 ; 
 Internal policy, native states, 324 ; " Go straight to the door of 
 the ryot," 325 ; Punjab must be annexed — Hardinge and Gough, 
 326 ; Camel baggage-corps, 328 ; War — Napier's exertions and 
 plans, 333 ; Summons to Lahore, 335 ; Criticism of battles, 336 ; 
 "Result will be another war," 337 ; Frederick of Prussia's instruc- 
 tions, use of maxims, 338 ; Kismet, 339 ; Cholera, death of John 
 Napier, 340 ; Relations with Court of Directors, 341 ; Reduction 
 of military force in Scinde — Irrigation system, 345 ; Land tenure, 
 346 ; Native magistrates, 348 ; Prosperity of Scinde, 350 ; Testi- 
 mony of his successors to the excellence of his government, 351. 
 
xiv CONTENTS. 
 
 CHAPTER IX. 
 
 HOME — OOMMANDBE-IN-CHIBF IN INDIA LAST TBAE8. 
 
 Resignation of Government, 352 ; "Were I Emperor of the East, " 352 ; 
 Christianity — Politics, 353 ; George Napier— Soult, 354 ; London 
 society, 354 ; Brougham — Carlyle, letter to Sir W. Napier, 355 ; 
 Outbreak of Second Sikh War, 357 ; Call for Sir C. Napier— Con- 
 duct of Directors — Interview with Wellington, 358 ; ChiUian- 
 wallah — Lord Gough, 359 ; Napier's hesitation — Interview with 
 Lord John EusseU, 360 ; Banquet, 361 ; Thackeray's " Story of 
 Koompanee Jehan," 362 ; Napier reaches India and finds no war, 
 364 ; Affection for Lord Gough — Wish to return to England, 365 ; 
 Lord Dalhousie, 366 ; Protest against employment of soldiers as 
 police, 367 ; Discipline, 368 ; Court-martial — Letter to Sir Colin 
 Campbell on extravagant living, 369 ; Campbell's appreciation of 
 his efforts, 370 ; Thoughts on war — Dislike of his position — "The 
 house that Jack built is a joke to it," 371 ; Tour of inspection — 
 Delhi, 372 ; "Were I King of England," 373 ; Mr. Thomason, 373 ; 
 Economical reform — Sample of daily work, 374 ; Eohat expedition, 
 375 ; Memoir on defence of India, 377 ; The Punjab, 379 ; Want 
 of police, 380 ; Barracks, 381 ; Native army, 384 ; Relations of 
 officer and private, European and native, 385 ; Mutiny the 
 standing menace of our Empire, 386 ; Regiments in Punjab refuse 
 pay, 387 ; Delhi — Govindghur, 388 ; Ghoorkas enlisted, 389 ; 
 Wuzzeerabad — Suspension of regulation, 390 ; Napier repri- 
 manded, 391 ; Wellington and Napier, 392 ; Resignation, wounded 
 feelings, 393 ; Oration to the 22d, 394 ; Reception in Scinde, 
 Bombay, 397 ; England— Wellington, 398 ; Letter to Sir Colin 
 Campbell, 399 ; Book on defects of Indian Government, 400 ; Life 
 at Oaklands, 401 ; The working-man and machinery, 402 ; Love 
 of soldiers, 403 ; Prospect of French invasion, 403 ; Pamphlet on 
 volunteers and militia, 404 ; Funeral of Duke of Wellington, 405 ; 
 Napier's last iUness — Red Rover, 406 ; Death-scene, 407 ; Funeral 
 -Sir W. Napier's speech, 408 ; Napier's appeal to history, 409. 
 
 APPENDIX. 
 
 Minute in the Assistant Quartermaster-General's Office, and General 
 Order of Sir Charles Napier relative to the Scinde Camel Baggage 
 Corps. 
 
MAPS AND PLANS. 
 
 PoETEAiT OF SiK Chaeles Napiee : from the 
 Picture by Edvrin Williams . 
 
 } 
 
 End of the look. 
 
 Map op Soindb . 
 
 Map of the Cutoheb Hills 
 
 Plan of Battle of Mbeanbb . . . Opposite page 199. 
 
 Plan of Battle of Hyderabad . . Opposite page 2\i. 
 
■#1 
 
 TRUKKBE. 
 
 SOUTHERN ENTRANCE FBOH EXTERIOR (seO page 314), 
 
 To fiux jjoje 1. 
 
CHAPTER I. 
 
 EAKLY YEARS. 
 
 Few men of action have left such a full 'contemporaneous 
 record of their deeds, motives, and character as Sir Charles 
 Napier. From beginning to end of his stirring career he 
 used his pen with a vigour and assiduity that would have 
 done credit to one who had never drawn a sword or left 
 home except for a holiday. It was his custom, after the 
 day's work of twelve to fifteen hours, to compose his mind 
 by pouring out on paper his hopes, fears, and plans for the 
 morrow, reflections on current events, the most exhaustive 
 examination of military tactics in time of war, varied or 
 mingled with self-searchings, religious opinions, personal 
 reminiscences, and not infrequent explosions of wrath at 
 the conduct of some one or other of the official world : and 
 all expressed in language clear, forcible, and faithfully 
 reflecting his constant and rapid transitions from public 
 cares to home afiections, from lofty aspirations to grotesque 
 humour. Manifestly such a man unconsciously sets forth 
 his own self, with his peculiar strength and weakness, better 
 than any other can do for him. So he has been left in this 
 volume to speak for himself throughout, the present writer 
 merely supplying a general view of each period, or explan- 
 atory links where they are required. " A wayward hf e of 
 adventure," he himself caUs it ; "a good romance it would 
 make, fuU of accidents by flood and field, stories of love 
 and war and shipwreck, and escapes of aU kinds." 
 
 B 
 
2 SIR CHARLES NAPIER. [ohap. 
 
 Romance and genius hold conspicuous places in Charles 
 Napier's lineage. On his father's side he was descended 
 from John Napier of Merchiston, the inventor of logarithms, 
 and from the brilliant Montrose. On his mother's side he 
 was sixth in descent from Henry the Fourth of France. 
 "Hence," says Sir W. Napier, "the blood of the white- 
 plumed B6amois commingled with that of the heroic High- 
 lander in his veins, and his arm was not less strong than 
 theirs in battle." His maternal grandfather, the second 
 Duke of Richmond, was called from college to marry Lady 
 Sarah Cadogan, daughter of Marlborough's favourite general 
 — a match arranged between the parents to cancel a gambling 
 debt. The bride was stiU in the nursery, and when Lord 
 March caught sight of her he exclaimed, " Surely you are 
 not going to marry me to that dowdy ? " Married he was, 
 however, and sent off at once for a tour on the Continent 
 with his tutor. After three years of travel he returned, 
 and, not feeling any ardent desire to renew his acquaint- 
 ance with the " dowdy," he went to the theatre. There he 
 was so much struck by the beauty of a young lady that he 
 asked who she was. "The reigning toast, the beautiful 
 Lady March," was the reply. Their married life was singu- 
 larly beautiful and happy, and her death, which occurred 
 within a year of his, was said to have been due to her in- 
 consolable grief for his loss. They left many children, all 
 remarkable for their beauty and talents, three of whom 
 became the mothers of distinguished men : Lady Caroline, 
 who married the first Lord Holland, and was the mother of 
 Charles James Fox; Lady Emily, wife of the Duke of 
 Leinster, and mother of the unhappy Lord Edward Fitz- 
 gerald ; and Lady Sarah, who had refused a king,^ married 
 
 ' The best account of this transaction is to be found in the 
 Ecurly History of Charles James Fox, by Mr. Trevelyan, pp. 53, 
 56. 
 
r.] EARLY YEARS. 3 
 
 to the Hon. George Napier, and mother of eight children,^ 
 the eldest of whom is the subject of this biography. All 
 lovers of Sir Joshua Reynolds are familiar with Lady Sarah 
 Napier's beauty. "Lady Sarah," writes Walpole, "was 
 more beautiful than you can conceive ; " she shone besides, 
 according to the same writer, " with all the graces of un- 
 affected but animate nature." To the end of her long life 
 she inspired the deepest love and veneration in her children. 
 Her correspondence with her warlike sons was on both 
 sides regular and frequent up to her death; and in the 
 affections of Charles, her first-bom, she filled perhaps a larger 
 space than his deeply affectionate nature gave to any other. 
 
 Colonel the Hon. George Napier was a father worthy of 
 such sons. Strong and beautiful in body, powerful in 
 mind, he seemed to his sons superior to any man they ever 
 knew. "He was six feet three inches," says his son 
 Charles, " and the handsomest man I ever laid eyes on. I 
 do not think there was a perceptible fault in his figure. 
 Sir Joshua Reynolds said the only failing was that his neck 
 was too short. I have known him take a pewter quart and 
 squeeze it flat in his hand like a bit of paper." Of his 
 mental capacity he says, " Why fate cast his lot so differ- 
 ently from some men of ordinary abilities is to me not 
 easily conceivable, but it may, in a great measure, be from 
 his want of subserviency; men in power feared him." 
 
 In his youth he was the pupil and friend of David 
 Hume, and, though better suited for war, showed great 
 capacity for science and civil affairs. He served with dis- 
 tinction in the American War, but on the voyage home was 
 attacked by fever, and his recovery was considered so hope- 
 less that his commission was sold for him. Shortly after 
 
 ^ Charles ; Emily (married to the late Gen. Sir Henry Bunbnry) ; 
 George (Gen. Sir G., Governor of Cape) ; 'William (Gen. Sir W., author 
 oi HiMory of Peninsular War); Riohard (Q.C.); Henry (Capt. E.N., 
 author of History of Florence) ; Cecilia and Caroline died in youth. 
 
4 SIJ; CHARLES NAPIER. [chap. 
 
 he entered the Guards, and was appointed Comptroller of 
 the Woolwich Laboratory, where he introduced some 
 valuable improvements in the manufacture of gunpowder. 
 After a short period of service under Lord Moira he lived 
 in retirement in Ireland until Lord Oornwallis' appoint- 
 ment as Lord-Lieutenant. That nobleman pressed on him 
 the ComptroUership of Army Accounts, saying, " I want an 
 honest man, and this is the only thing I have been able to 
 wrest from the harpies around me." His work in that 
 office is faithfully recorded on his monumental slab in 
 Eedland Chapel, near Clifton : — 
 
 " He restored the military accounts of Ireland to exact 
 order, when years of neglect and corruption had plunged 
 them into a confusion productive of great loss to the 
 country and great injustice to individuals. He recovered 
 several millions of money for the public treasury, and by 
 his probity and disinterestedness made his office a model 
 for patriotic public servants. His first act was to abolish 
 all fees, thus voluntarily reducing his own salary from 
 twenty thousand to six hundred pounds per annum." 
 
 His disinterested zeal in the public service, his hatred 
 of oppression and meanness, and, it must be added, his 
 " want of subserviency," were inherited by his children, as 
 well as his personal beauty. He seems to have taken great 
 pains with them all while they remained with bim, and so 
 long as he was spared to them ; and the home circle of the 
 Napier boys must have been as happy as it was remarkable. 
 The neighbours called it " The Eagle's Nest." i 
 
 ^ Two instances of the elder Napier's sagacity merit a grateful 
 remembrance: (1) He was in the same regiment with Erskine, and 
 had a great share in persuading him to leave the army for the bar. 
 (2) When Ensign Arthur Wellesley was spoken of in Irish society as 
 a "shallow saucy stripling," Napier thought otherwise, and said, 
 "Those who think lightly of that lad are unwise in their generation : 
 he has in him the maiings of a great general." 
 
I.] EARLY YEARS. S 
 
 Charles James Napier, the eldest child of these remark- 
 able parents, was born at Whitehall, London, on the 10th 
 of August 1782. When he was only three years old the 
 family moved to Celbridge, a small town on the Liffey, ten 
 miles from Dublin, and close to Castletown, the seat of Mr. 
 ConoUy, who had married Lady Louisa Lennox. But fine 
 houses and aristocratic society had less share in moulding 
 the character of the young Napiers than the wild life and 
 legends of the Irish peasantry among whom they lived. 
 Their English nurse, Susan Frost, was a woman, says Sir 
 William Napier, "of wonderful spirit and strong natural 
 sense, full of noble sentiments, compassionate and chari- 
 table, but passionate and vehemently eloquent in a rough 
 way; she was just fitted to fashion a child of high aspira- 
 tions into a hero." The man-servant, Lauchlin Moore, 
 seems to have been no less serviceable in the same Une, for 
 he knew "the ancient legends of Ireland, spoke of O'Shean 
 and Fin Macoul, Ossian and Fingal, was a good horseman, 
 a brave old fellow with a loving heart." Outside the house 
 the chief object of their veneration was a wonderful dame, 
 one hundred and thirty-five years old by her own reckoning. 
 " She was indeed a woman of awful age and recollections," 
 says Sir WiUiam. 
 
 " To sit in the sun at her porch was what Molly Dunne 
 loved; and an awful weird -looking woman she was — a 
 Michael Angelo model for the Witch of Endor. Tall, 
 gaunt, and with high sharp lineaments, leaning on an antique 
 staff, her head bending beneath a cowled Irish cloak of deep 
 blue, her eyes fixed in their huge orbs, and her tongue dis- 
 coursing of bloody times, she was wondrous for the young 
 and fearful for the aged." 
 
 Through the misconduct of a nurse Charles Napier was 
 sickly as a child, and for the same reason, perhaps, never 
 attained the fine proportions for which his family were 
 
6 SIR CHARLES NAPIER. [chap. 
 
 remarkable ; but rigid temperance and an admirable consti- 
 tution enabled him to endure bodily sufferings and mental 
 labours such as few men have undergone. He was demure 
 and thoughtful as a child, and the bent of his mind was 
 shown at an early age. When ten years old he was deep 
 in Plutarch's lives, and rejoiced to find he was short-sighted, 
 because his chosen author said Philip, Sertorius, and Hanni- 
 bal were one-eyed, and Alexander's eyes were of different 
 colours. Love of fame and the most compassionate sensi- 
 bility were his chief characteristics. His nature was too 
 sensitive to make him indifferent to danger, though he often 
 seemed to court it. Even when most reckless his courage 
 was rather the result of the ascendency of the spirit over 
 the body than constitutional ignorance of what fear meant. 
 This characteristic was very early shown, as the following 
 story told by his brother testifies: "A wandering show- 
 man, a wild-looking creature, short of stature but huge of 
 limb, with thick matted red hair and beard and a thunder- 
 ing voice, was displaying his powers on the esplanade at 
 Castletown. ' After some minor displays, the man, balancing 
 a ladder on his chin, invited or rather with menacing tones 
 ordered a sweep to mount and sit on the top. The boy 
 shrank in fear from the shouting, gesticulating ogre, and 
 Charles Napier, then six years old, was asked by his father 
 if he would venture. Silent for a moment, he seemed to 
 fear, but suddenly looking up said 'Yes,' and was borne aloft 
 amidst the cheers of the spectators." 
 
 Such education as he had for the first ten or twelve 
 years of his life, besides the poetic or legendary outpour- 
 ings of Lauchlin Moore and Molly Dunne, was due to his 
 own passion for reading military history and biography, 
 and to his being the constant companion of his fatter. His 
 enjoyment of home-life was destined to be of the shortest 
 duration, for in 1794, when just twelve years old, he 
 
I.] EARLY YEARS. 7 
 
 obtained a commission in the SSd Eegiment. He was 
 soon transferred to the 89th, and went with his father to 
 Netley Camp, Colonel Napier being Assistant - Quarter- 
 master-General to the force stationed there under the com- 
 mand of Lord Moira. Thus the poor little subaltern began 
 an honourable and brilliant military career of sixty years 
 under happy auspices. When the camp broke up for 
 foreign service he exchanged into the ith Eegiment ; but, 
 instead of joining, was placed with his brother William 
 as a day-scholar at a large grammar school in Celbridge. 
 " At school he was noted for a gentle but grave demean- 
 our," says his brother, " as if he felt that he was an officer, 
 not a schoolboy; he never quarrelled or fought." But 
 he soon displayed his commanding character by organising 
 his schoolfellows as a volunteer corps. He persuaded the 
 parents to equip their sons, and provided wooden fusils 
 with well-hardened bayonets. That he should have con- 
 ceived and executed the design of raising a corps from 
 among boys whose parents were nearly all Eoman Catholics, 
 and at that time (1796) in no very loyal frame of mind, is 
 remarkable as an early instance of the audacious originality 
 which characterised the more serious actions of his public 
 life. But to those who know from experience the rigidly 
 aristocratic constitution of public-school life, the unques- 
 tioned authority that attaches to superior strength and 
 skill in games, it will seem much more astonishing that a 
 small and reserved boy of fourteen should be elected to 
 command, and should, moreover, preserve the strictest dis- 
 cipline amongst boys, so many of whom were eighteen years 
 of age and his superiors in learning and sports. 
 
 He was soon called away from his first command to 
 face the stern and horrible realities of civil war. 
 
 "When the insurrection of 1798 broke out," says Sir W. 
 Napier, " many families took refuge in Dublin. The elder 
 
8 SIR CHARLES NAPIER. [chap. 
 
 Napier would not do so. In that time of trouble and terror 
 he fortified his house, armed his five sons, and offered an 
 asylum to aU who were wiUing to resist the insurgents. 
 About a dozen came, and with them he long awaited an 
 attack, which was often menaced, yet never made, although 
 an insurgent camp too strong to be meddled with by any 
 military force available at the time was but a few mUes off. 
 Finally he removed to Castletown, where a company of the 
 Derry Militia, of which Mr. Conolly was colonel, soon arrived. 
 The elder Napier was, from his kinship and knowledge of war, 
 virtually accepted as the commander of all, and frequently 
 scoured the country, Charles Napier being always at his side. 
 One very dark night they came suddenly upon an armed 
 body; both sides halted, and a fight seemed impending; 
 but, suspecting the truth, Colonel Napier gave a loud mili- 
 tary order as a test, and a cry of recognition was heard : 
 the grenadiers of the Cork Militia were in front ! At that 
 moment the moon shone out, and Charles Napier, very 
 diminutive for his age, was seen with his small fusil charging 
 bayonets in opposition to Tim Sullivan, the biggest man of 
 the Cork Militia. Tim looked down in astonishment an 
 instant, and then, catching his small foe up in his arms, 
 kissed him." 
 
 In 1799 he became aide-de-camp to Sir James Duff, an 
 old family friend, commanding the Limerick district. His 
 brother George, then a lieutenant in the 4:6th, was his con- 
 stant companion, and things were going very pleasantly 
 till one of the most serious, though not the first, of the 
 innumerable accidents that befell him nearly brought his 
 career to a sudden close. His own description of the acci- 
 dent is a good specimen of his graphic and humorous 
 style : — 
 
 "When seventeen I broke my right leg. At the instant 
 there was no pain, but, looking down, I saw my foot under 
 my knee, and the bones protruding; that turned me sick, and 
 the pain became violent. My gun, a gift from my dear father. 
 
I.] EARLY YEARS. 9 
 
 was in a ditch, leaping over which had caused the accident. 
 I scrambled near enough to get it out, but this lacerated the 
 flesh and produced much extravasated blood. George came 
 to me ; he was greatly alarmed, for I was very pale, and we 
 were both young — he but fifteen. Then came Captain Craw- 
 ford of the Irish Artillery, and I made him hold my foot 
 while I pulled up my knee, and in that manner set my leg 
 myself. The quantity of extravasated blood led the doctors 
 to tell me that my leg must come off, but they gave me 
 another day for a chance. Being young and vain of good 
 legs, the idea of hop-and-go-one with a timber toe made me 
 resolve to put myself to death rather than submit to amputa- 
 tion, and I sent the maid out for laudanum, which I hid 
 under my pUlow. Luckily the doctors found me better, and 
 so saved me from a contemptible action. Perhaps if it had 
 come to the point I might have had more sense and less 
 courage than I gave myself credit for in the horror of my 
 first thoughts ; indeed, my agony was great, and strong doses 
 of the laudanum were necessary to keep down the terrible 
 spasms which fractures of large bones produce. The doctors 
 set my leg crooked, and at the end of a month my feet would 
 not go together ; one leg went in pleasant harmony with the 
 other halfway between knee and ankle, but then flew off in 
 a huff at a tangent. This made me very unhappy, and the 
 doctors said if I could bear the pain they would break it 
 again or bend it straight. My answer was, ' I will bear any- 
 thing but a crooked leg.' Here, then, was I, at seventeen, 
 desperately in love with a Miss Massey, having a game leg in 
 prospective, and in love with my leg also ; so I said to the 
 leg-carpenter, ' Let me have one night for consideration.' All 
 that day and night were Miss Massey's pretty eyes before mine, 
 but not soft and tale-telling ; not saying ' Kg, will you marry 
 me ? ' but scornfully squinting at my game leg. There was 
 Miss Massey, and there was I, unable to do anything but hop. 
 The per contra were two ill-looking doctors torturing me, and 
 the reflection that they might again make a crooked job after 
 the second fracture, as they had done after the first ! How- 
 ever, my dear Miss Massey's eyes carried the day, and, just 
 
10 SIR CHARLES NAPIER. [chap. 
 
 as I had decided, she and her friend Miss Vandeleur came in 
 the dusk, wrapped up in men's greatcoats, to call on me. This 
 was just lite the pluck of a pretty Irish girl, and quite repaid 
 my courageous resolve. I would have broken all my bones 
 for her. So, after letting me kiss their hands, off my fair in- 
 cognitas went, leaving me the happiest of lame dogs. The 
 night passed with many a queer feel about the doctors coming 
 like devil-imps to torture me. ' Be quick,' quoth I, as they 
 entered ; ' make the most of my courage while it lasts.' It 
 took all that day and part of next to bend the leg with 
 bandages, which were tied to a wooden bar and tightened 
 every hour day and night. I fainted several times, and when 
 the two tormentors arrived next day struck my flag, saying, 
 ' Take away your bandages, for I can bear no more.' They 
 were taken off, and I felt in heaven ; not the less so that the 
 leg was straight ! And it is now as straight a one, I flatter 
 myself, as ever bore up the body of a gentleman or kicked a 
 blackguard." 
 
 Temperate habits and a sound constitution effect speedy 
 cures ; and, very soon after he was on his legs again, Charles 
 Napier rode from Limerick to Dublin, a hundred and ten 
 miles, on one horse, between sunrise and sunset, and 
 "neither horse nor horseman complained of fatigue." 
 Though to the end a daring horseman, he was too fond of 
 animals and of too sensitive a nature to be a sportsman. 
 
 "We are all," he wrote in 1843 of himself and his 
 brothers, "a hot, violent crew — with the milk of human 
 kindness, though. We were all fond of himting, fishing, and 
 shooting ; yet all gave them up when young, because we had 
 no pleasure in killing little animals. Lately in the camp a 
 hare got up, the greyhounds pursued, and the men all shouted 
 to aid the dogs. My sorrow was great and I rode away ; yet 
 at dinner I ate a poor fowl. It is not principle, therefore, on 
 which we act, it is painful feeling. As to cat-hunting and 
 dog-fighting, feeling and principle unite to condemn. A 
 domestic animal confides in you and is at your mercy; a 
 
I.] EARLY YEARS. ii 
 
 wild animal has some fair play, a domestic one none. Cat- 
 hunters and dog-hunters are therefore not only cruel but 
 traitors ; no polished gentleman does these things.'' 
 
 In the autumn of 1800 he was appointed to a lieutenancy 
 in the 95th or Eifle Corps, then just formed at Blatchington 
 by a selection of men and officers from the whole army. 
 On joining he found himself under the command of Colonel 
 Stewart, and learnt two lessons that he never forgot — that 
 "the greatest secret of war is discipline," and that "to 
 know soldiers requires experience, and is a most important 
 part of war." 
 
 He now began a correspondence with his mother which 
 continued to her death, and in which he pours out his inner 
 thoughts and feelings with a combination of simplicity and 
 fun, of light and dark shades, which is the best voucher for 
 their truthfulness. In October 1801 he writes to confess 
 that he has narrowly escaped a duel with a brother officer, 
 but the other officers had intervened, and finally made 
 them shake hands. " We were uneasy, thinking it 
 might appear shyness, yet thinking likewise it would 
 be foolish to oppose the opinions of all our brother 
 officers, and still more foolish to knock one another over. 
 This last, between you and I, was of weight, and we shook 
 hands." 
 
 He was proud to the end of his life that he had never 
 fought a duel, gambled, or been intoxicated. His economi- 
 cal difficulties gave him almost more trouble than his moral 
 temptations. Like many a young subaltern, then and now, 
 he found it hard to make both ends meet, and it was made 
 harder to him by his high connections. For an agreeable 
 young man who was fond of society his outfit was certainly 
 not extravagant. He can't go to London because he has 
 "no coloured clothes, and they are expensive to buy." 
 And later on, when he has got to London, the "coloured 
 
12 SIR CHARLES NAPIER. [chap. 
 
 clothes " seem to have been obtained at the expense of the 
 uniform, for " my pantaloons are green and I have only one 
 pair ; my jacket twice turned ; a green waistcoat, useless ; 
 one pair of boots without soles or heels ; a green feather, 
 and a helmet not worth sixpence ! This is the state of my 
 Rifling kit." To avoid the temptations of the messroom he 
 takes to books ; but " reading all day long tires me. I 
 quit the mess at five o'clock, and from thence to ten o'clock 
 gives five more hours' reading. . . . There is a biUiard- 
 table, but feeling a growing fondness for it, and fearing to 
 be drawn in to play for money, I have not touched a cue 
 lately." 
 
 The negotiations for the Peace of Amiens made him 
 despair of gaining promotion. " How the ' old lieutenant ' 
 sticks in my gizzard," he exclaims. "Sometimes my 
 thought is to sell my commission and purchase one in Ger- 
 many or elsewhere ; but my secret wish cannot be fulfilled, 
 which is to have high command with British soldiers." 
 He had not even the resource of studying at the Staff 
 College, where he so profitably employed his leisure a few 
 years later ; for the teaching at High Wycombe in 1801 
 " more than verged on the ridiculous," says Sir W. Napier. 
 "One of the students, being invited by Sir J. Moore at 
 Shomcliffe to move his brigade as a test of his acquirements, 
 coolly answered that he had not been taught to direct less 
 than 100,000 men ! " 
 
 In 1803 he was placed on the staff of his cousin. General 
 Fox, commanding the London district. He had, too, the 
 satisfaction of seeing his brothers, George and William, 
 gazetted to the 52d, and under the command and friendly 
 notice of their hero, Sir John Moore. But his depression 
 about himself only increased, partly owing to the expenses 
 of London life, partly to a dislike of the army, which 
 nothing but continuous employment and his natural thirst 
 
I.] EARLY YEARS. 13 
 
 for fame could subdue. The following extracts from his 
 letters in December 1803 show his state of mind, and what 
 relief he found in his inextinguishable sense of humour : — 
 
 " The expense of London is dreadful ; it absorbs aU my 
 pay, and here I cannot go such a blackguard figure as in 
 Dublin. This is exclusive of casual expenses and travelling, 
 of which there will be a great deal ; six months will destroy 
 me ; and to live in dread of tradesmen and abominate the 
 sight of a biU is a life not to be borne. We are going to 
 Guildford, where there is, I hear, a fine new gaol. That is to 
 me significant. Last night I sat up tiU two o'clock, writing 
 on the old subject of grievances, and lashing myself into a 
 fury with everything. Abusing the army, pulling off my 
 breeches, cursing creditors, and, putting out the candle all in 
 a minute, I jumped into bed and lay there, blaspheming, 
 praying, and perspiring for two hours, when sleep came. 
 What I wrote i§ not worth sending, however, being full of 
 jokes, politics, and blue-devils. I live in fear of my creditors, 
 but that shall not last ; I will not be a tailor's slave. 
 
 " 26<A Dec. — William has recovered from his fever, and 
 is gazetted in the 52d ; would I were in the same regiment ; 
 but no more of what you call my madness. What a curse to 
 have a turn of mind similar to mine ! Misery to oneself and 
 teasing to others, unless disguised, which can only be with 
 those not really loved. Great exertion or perfect tranquillity 
 is necessary to me, who have not that superior intellect which 
 can regulate itself; there is more of Cassius than Brutus 
 in me. 
 
 "29iA Dec. — Green has offered me a thousand guineas 
 and his company in the 67th for mine in the Staff Corps. 
 I could get a troop of light dragoons for that sum, but would 
 sooner go into the militia than the cavaby, light or heavy. 
 Getting this company is like receiving an obligation from a 
 man one wishes hanged. I was before attached to the army 
 by five shillings and eightpence ; now by fourteen and seven- 
 pence, and the felicity of being called Captain. It is not my 
 meaning that General Fox should be hanged, but the army. 
 
14 SIJR CHARLES NAPIER. [ohap. 
 
 My comfort is the chance of peace, when I shall be Captain 
 N. on half-pay, with £100 per annum, and a much happier 
 man than Captain N. with £600 or £800 full pay. At one 
 time my hope was that a company would cure me of my 
 aversion to the army, though nothing could make me like it ; 
 but the first feeling is not to be conquered, or surely being a 
 captain at twenty-one would create in a warm imagina,tion 
 ideas of future honours, of hopes, and wishes to rise to the 
 head of my profession, and all the deuce knows what which 
 such reveries lead to. But not one thought of pleasure or 
 happiness from promotion could be forced up. No ! not one 
 would come at my call. How different are George's feelings. 
 He will be in paradise, though up to his ears in mud at 
 Hythe. How happy he is to be thus contented with present 
 pleasures, and sanguine as to the future ! To me military 
 life is like dancing up a long room with a mirror at the end, 
 against which we cut our faces, and so the deception ends. 
 It is thus gaily that men foUow their trade of blood, thinking 
 it glitters, but to me it appears without brightness or reflec- 
 tion — a dirty red ! And for the future ! Ay ! the future ! 
 what is it ? Under a long feather and cocked hat, trembling 
 though supported by stiff Hessian boots, gold-headed cane 
 and long sword, I see the wizened face of a general grinning 
 over the parapet of a fine frUl, and telling extraordinary lies, 
 while his claret, if he can afford claret, is going down the 
 throats of his wondering or quizzing aides-de-camp. Such is 
 the difference between a hero of the present time and the 
 idea formed of one from reading Plutarch! Yet people 
 wonder I don't like the army ! " 
 
 While on the London staff he saw much of his cousin 
 Charles Fox, and used to describe with vivid humour, says 
 his brother, " the manifestations of the orator's natural and 
 earnest disposition. How at cricket he would strike at the 
 ball and recklessly run for a score, bat on shoulder, his 
 Sancho Panza figure fully displayed, and his head thrown 
 back, laughing in childish delight amidst reproachful cries, 
 while his opponents struck down the wickets behind him." 
 
I.] EARLY YEARS. 1$ 
 
 The cheerful society at St. Anne's Hill was a pleasant 
 interlude in the troubles that now came thick upon him. 
 In April 1804 he lost the dearest friend of his youth, a 
 Lieutenant Cameron; and in the following October his 
 father died.^ These heavy sorrows made the young soldier 
 reflect deeply on religious topics ; though his letters to his 
 mother, full as they are of his own views of death, are as 
 free from all morbid tendencies as from religious doubts. 
 
 " The idea of a future state never enters my head when 
 danger is near ; yet when in no danger, my wish is to know 
 what that state is ; not from doubt of its being a happy one, 
 but to know what that happiness is. Does Cameron know 
 what we are about, what I think of him 1 Is the little he 
 saw of us here forgotten ? Perhaps he has not a conception 
 that there is for us a world that he has quitted. My nerves 
 do not like the idea of dying, but my mind is deHghted at 
 the thought of being dead. It would please me to lose fifty 
 years and take my chance at the end ; yet were a man to 
 come into my room to destroy me, fighting him would be 
 my only thought, and eternity forgotten. How odd that 
 we should be so attached to life. My feelings are incom- 
 prehensible. I cannot pity Cameron, being sure he is in 
 regions of bliss far beyond what we can conceive ; but my 
 own dislike to die puzzles me. Eun away in the beginning 
 of an action I would not ; the feeling within does not make 
 me wish to do that ; it is more the fear of being mangled 
 that would affect me; dislike to being maimed is greater 
 than to being killed, and my internal conviction is that I 
 shall be wounded very slightly, but never killed or seriously 
 hurt in action." 
 
 The next year, with the menace of invasion from 
 Boulogne, brought greater activity, and Charles Napier, to 
 his delight, found himself under Sir John Moore at Hythe. 
 
 ' Hia last words were to his wife, " Sarah, take my watch ; I hare 
 done with time." 
 
i6 SIR CHARLES NAPIER. [chap. 
 
 " To awaken the faculties of those under him," says Sir 
 W. Napier, "was one of Sir J. Moore's qualifications for 
 command. At Shorncliffe Camp he devised such improve- 
 ments in drill, discipline, dress, arms, formations, and move- 
 ments, as would have placed him for miKtary reforms beside 
 the Athenian Iphicrates, if he had not the greater glory of 
 dying like the Spartan Brasidas. His materials were the 
 43d, 52d, and Eifle regiments, and he so fashioned them, that 
 afterwards, as the Light Division under Wellington, they 
 were found to be soldiers unsurpassable, perhaps never 
 equalled.' The separate successful careers of the officers 
 strikingly attest the merit of the school ; so long a list of 
 notable men could not be presented by three regiments of 
 any service in the world. In it will be found above ninety 
 who attained the rank of field officer, or higher grades, 
 and amongst them four who commanded armies, three being 
 celebrated as conquerors, two adjutant-generals of the 
 British army, three military secretaries, sixteen governors of 
 colonies, and two organisers of the Metropolitan and Irish 
 Constabulary, many generals who have commanded districts, 
 one who commanded a foreign army, several persons noted 
 in science and literature, or by peculiar missions and organi- 
 sations, also belong to the roll ; and nearly aU were of some 
 fame in battle, though unequal in merit and reputation." 
 
 Among these distinguished men the three Napier 
 brothers were not the least conspicuous, and soon attracted 
 the special notice of Moore. George Napier was his aide- 
 de-camp at the battle of Coruna ; and to Charles Napier 
 and Charles Stanhope was addressed the famous exclama- 
 tion, " Well done, my majors ! " during the same battla 
 
 Under Moore's eye Charles Napier made rapid progress 
 in the knowledge of his profession, giving up all his spare 
 time to the study of military history and engineering, and 
 kindred subjects lying outside the sphere of his regular 
 duty, but the knowledge of which proved invaluable to him 
 in later years in Oephalonia and Scinde. 
 
I.] EARLY YEARS. 17 
 
 Mr. Fox, on his accession to power in 1806, gave Charles 
 Napier, then in his twenty-fourth year, a majority in a 
 regiment destined for the Cape; but being delayed by 
 contrary winds at Portsmouth, he made such friends with 
 the oflBcers of the 50th Eegiment, that they proposed to 
 him an exchange at a small cost. He refused to pay 
 money, as contrary to the regulations; whereupon they 
 contrived to get him gazetted — he never knew how. For 
 the next year and a half he remained practically in com- 
 mand of a battalion of the 50th, and gnashing his teeth 
 with vexation at seeing his brothers start without him on 
 the Copenhagen expedition, and at not being able to 
 accompany Moore to Sweden or Spain. He welcomed the 
 latter expedition as a movement in combination with the 
 fiery patriotism of a whole people taking the place of petty 
 diversions now in one comer of Europe, now in another, 
 and everywhere ineffectual. "Why should we attempt 
 Italy 1" he says to his mother. "If we succeed in Spain 
 it will be the best diversion in favour of Italy ; for Napoleon 
 wiU draw troops from there and the north to restore his 
 power; then will be the time for attacking him nearer 
 home. If he leaves Brest defenceless, as he has often done, 
 we could strike a blow, which you have often heard of, 
 before he could help himself. In this mode we might help 
 ourselves, but his arms will crush everything in Spain which 
 they can reach. Nevertheless a hostile population is a 
 powerful weapon, and no man can say what it will effect." 
 
 These words were written in July 1808, and with them 
 end Charles Napier's boyhood and inaction. He was now 
 twenty-six years old, and had held his commission fourteen 
 years. The trials of a soldier's life at home had been faced 
 with a spirit that augured well for his conduct in a wider 
 field. His boyish illusions as to the happiness of military 
 life were broken, but there remained in undiminished force 
 
 C 
 
i8 Sl/i CHARLES NAPIER. [chap. i. 
 
 the devotion to duty, the lofty aspirations after honest 
 fame, the conviction that warfare is an art for which the 
 most laborious study and unceasing preparation are re- 
 quired. Poverty and love of study had made him shun 
 the society of the messroom; but that the attractive gentle- 
 ness of his manners and his natural delight in society were 
 not lost is testified by the affection of the officers of the 
 50th, and by many allusions in his letters to his mother 
 and sisters to the alarming susceptibility of his heart. The 
 young lady who so kindly encouraged him at the time of 
 the terrible accident to his leg seems to have been sup- 
 planted, owing to the course of time and removal to Eng- 
 land, by a beautiful Miss G , who in turn is replaced 
 
 by "a dear little Scotch thing, with a beautiful face and 
 beautiful figure, a beautiful dancer and beautiful genius. 
 My heart is a cinder, and as heat is said to cure heat, I 
 stand by the fire all day to draw out my flame.'' However, 
 society, study, and regimental routine, all were brought 
 suddenly to an end by a summons to take his part in the 
 struggle with Napoleon. 
 
CHAPTER II. 
 
 PENINSULA — BERMUDA — AMERICA — STUDIES. 
 
 Directly after the battle of Vimiera, 21st August 1808, 
 Charles Napier and his friend Major Stanhope, nephew of 
 Mr. Pitt, were ordered to join the 1st battalion of the 50th 
 at Lisbon. Owing to his colonel's absence Napier was in 
 command, and Sir John Moore, who had previously deter- 
 mined not to take the regiment, now incorporated it in the 
 army going to Spain. "It is well known," says Sir W. 
 Napier, " how the truly great and iU-used Moore was sent 
 into the heart of Spain by incapable ministers to find, not 
 arlnies, nor enthusiasm, nor energetic government, nor 
 military aid, all of which he had been promised, but in 
 their stead the greatest mUitary genius of the world before 
 him, with troops so numerous that their cavalry alone 
 doubled his whole force. It is known also with what a 
 mastery of war he extricated himself from that raging 
 storm ; with what firmness he conducted his retreat ; and 
 how, turning at Coruna, he ended his glorious life amid 
 the fires of victory." 
 
 The three Napier brothers all took part in the terrible 
 retreat : George being aide-de-camp to Sir J. Moore, 
 William with his company of the 43d, and Charles in com- 
 mand of the 50th, justifying his General's high opinion of 
 him by bringing his regiment with full ranks to the decisive 
 battle. "Puissant was the shock,'' says Sir William, 
 " with which they met the greatest assailing French column 
 
20 SIS CHARLES NAPIER. [chap. 
 
 on that fatal field, driving it back with fire and steel 
 beneath the eyes of the General, who with exultant ap- 
 plause gave instant orders to support the impetuous counter- 
 stroke." But at that moment Moore fell, and the charge 
 of the 50th was not supported. Charles Napier has left 
 an account of his own adventures in and after the battle 
 which is unsurpassed by anything of its kind. Mr. Elwin, 
 in an admirable review of his life, has well remarked that 
 he is not, like his brother Sir William, " a master of classic 
 composition, but there is a native raciness in his language 
 which bears the stamp of his character. . . . Above all, 
 there is a vividness in his descriptions which brings the 
 scenes with more than the reality of pictures before the 
 mind, and this without the slightest efibrt, in the natural, 
 easy, even careless style of a man who aspires only to truth 
 and has not bestowed one thought upon effect" 
 The narrative is styled 
 
 " MY PART m THE BATTLE OP OOKUNA, AKD THAT OF 
 JOHN HENNESSY. 
 
 " On the 16th of January 1809 the British army was 
 opposed to the French at Coruna. The Imperial troops, 
 being on higher ground, hung over us Uke threatening clouds, 
 and about one o'clock the storm burst. Our line was imder 
 arms, silent, motionless, yet all were anxious for the appear- 
 ance of Sir John Moore. There was a feeling that under 
 him we could not be beaten, and this was so strong at all 
 times as to be a great cause of discontent during the retreat 
 wherever he was not. 'Where is the Gteneral V was now heard 
 along that part of the line where I was, for only of what my 
 eyes saw and my ears heard do I speak. This agitation 
 augmented as the cries of men stricken by cannon-shot arose. 
 I stood in front of my left wing on a knoU, from whence the 
 greatest part of the field could be seen, and my pickets were 
 fifty yards below, disputing the ground with the French skir- 
 
II.] PENINSULA. 21 
 
 mishers ; but a heavy French column, which had descended 
 the mountain at a run, was coining on behind with great 
 rapidity, and shouting 'En avant, tue, tue, en, avant tue I' their 
 camion at the same time, plunging from above, ploughed the 
 ground and tore our ranks. Suddenly I heard the gallop of 
 horses, and turning saw Moore. He came at speed, and 
 pulled up so sharp and close he seemed to have alighted from 
 the air ; man and horse looking at the approaching foe with 
 an intenseness that seemed to concentrate all feeling in their 
 eyes. The sudden stop of the animal, a cream-coloured one 
 with black tail and mane, had cast the latter streaming for- 
 ward, its ears were pushed out Uke horns, while its eyes 
 flashed fire, and it snorted loudly with expanded nostrils, 
 expressing terror, astonishment, and muscular exertion. My 
 first thought was, it wiU be away like the wind ! but then I 
 looked at the rider and the horse was forgotten. Thrown on 
 its haunches, the animal came sliding and dashing the dirt 
 up with its forefeet, thus bending the General forward almost 
 to its neck, but his head was thrown back and his look more 
 keenly piercing than I ever before saw it. He glanced to 
 the right and left, and then fixed his eyes intently on the 
 enemy's advancing column, at the same time grasping the 
 reins with both his hands, and pressing the horse firmly with 
 his knees; his body thus seemed to deal with the animal 
 while his mind was intent on the enemy, and his aspect was 
 one of searching intenseness beyond the power of words to 
 describe ; for a while he looked, and then galloped to the left 
 without uttering a word. 
 
 " I walked to the right of my regiment, where the French 
 fire from the village of Elvina was now very sharp and our 
 pickets were being driven in by the attacking column ; but I 
 soon returned to the left, for the enemy's guns were striking 
 heavily there, and his musketry also swept down many men. 
 Meeting Stanhope, I ordered him to the rear of the right 
 wing, because the ground was lower ; it was his place, he 
 was tall, the shot flew high, and I thought he would be safer. 
 Moore now returned, and I asked him to let me throw our 
 grenadiers, who were losing men fast, into the enclosures in 
 
22 SIR CHARLES NAPIER. [ohap. 
 
 front. ' No,' he said, ' they will fire on our own pickets in the 
 village.' ' Sir, our pickets and those of the 4th Kegiment also 
 were driven from thence when you went to the left.' ' Were 
 they? then you are right; send out your grenadiers,' and 
 again he galloped away. Turning round I saw Captain 
 Clunes of the 50th just arrived from Coruna, and said to 
 him, ' Clunes, take your grenadiers, and open the ball.' He 
 stalked forward alone, like Goliath before the Philistines, for 
 six feet five he was in height, and of proportionate bulk and 
 strength ; his grenadiers followed, and thus the battle began 
 on our side. 
 
 " Again Sir John Moore returned, and was talking to me 
 when a round shot struck the ground between his horse's feet 
 and mine. The horse leaped round, and I also turned 
 mechanically, but Moore forced the animal back and asked 
 me if I was hurt. 'No, sir !' Meanwhile a second shot had 
 torn off the leg of a 42d man, who screamed horribly, and 
 rolled about so as to excite agitation and alarm with others. 
 The General said, ' This is nothing, my lads, keep your ranks, 
 take that man away; my good fellow, don't make such a 
 noise, we must bear these things better.' He spoke sharply, 
 but it had a good effect ; for this man's cries had made an 
 opening in the ranks, and the men shrank from the spot, 
 although they had not done so when others had been hit who 
 did not cry out. But again Moore went off, and I saw him 
 no more. It was a little in front of this spot that he was 
 killed. The French pointed out the place to me two months 
 afterwards. There it was he refused to let them take off his 
 sword when it hurt his wound ! that dreadful wound ! poor 
 fellow ! Yet why poor fellow ? Is death to be regretted 
 when accompanied by victory, glory, admiration ? rather let 
 those sigh who live and rot, doing nothing, and having nothing 
 to do, until, poor miserable drivellers, they sink under a 
 tombstone ! 
 
 " Lord William Bentinck now came up on his quiet mule, 
 and, though the fire was heavy, began talking to me as if we 
 were going to breakfast ; his manner was his ordinary one, 
 with, perhaps, an increase of good-humour and placidity. 
 
II.] PENINSULA. 23 
 
 He conversed for some time, but no recollection of what lie 
 said remains, for the fire was sharp, and my eyes were more 
 busy than my ears ; I only remember saying to myself, 'This 
 chap takes it coolly or the devil's in it ! ' Lord William and 
 his mule, which seemed to care as little for the fire as its 
 rider, sheltered me from shot, which I liked well enough ; 
 
 but, having heard officers and soldiers jeer at Colonel 
 
 for thus sheltering himself behind General 's horse at 
 
 Vimiera, I went to the exposed side ; yet it gave me the most 
 uncomfortable /«eZ experienced that day. Lord William 
 borrowed my spy-glass; it had been Lord Edward Fitzgerald's, 
 and was a very fine one ; I never saw it more. He went to 
 the 4th Kegiment and was not seen by me again during the 
 fight ; nor did I receive an order from him or anybody, un- 
 less Sir John Moore's permission to move my grenadiers for- 
 ward may be called one ; neither did I see a single staff 
 officer during the battle, except Sir John and Lord William. 
 " When Lord William went away I walked up and down 
 before the regiment, and made the men shoulder and order 
 arms twice, to occupy their attention, for they were falling 
 fast and seemed uneasy at standing under fire. The colours 
 also were lowered, because they were a mark for the enemy's 
 great guns ; this was by the advice of old John Montgomery, 
 a brave soldier who had risen from the ranks. Soon the 42d 
 advanced in line, but no orders came for me. ' Good God ! 
 Montgomery,' I said, 'are we not to advance?' 'I think we 
 ought,' he answered. ' But,' said I, ' no orders have come.' 
 ' I would not wait,' he said. The 4th did not move, the 42d 
 seemed likely to want our aid, it was not a moment for hesi- 
 tation, and John Montgomery, a Scotchman, said laughingly, 
 ' You cannot be wrong to follow the 42d.' I gave the word, 
 but forbade any firing, and to prevent it and occupy the 
 men's attention made them slope and carry arms by word of 
 command. Many of them cried out, ' Major, let us fire ! ' ' Not 
 yet,' was my answer, for having advanced without orders, I 
 thought to have them more under command if we were wrong, 
 whereas, if firing once began we could not change. At that 
 moment the 42d checked a short distance from a wall and 
 
24 
 
 S/Ji CHARLES NAPIER. [chap. 
 
 commenced firing, and though a loud cry arose of ' Forward ! 
 forward!' no man, as I afterwards heard, passed the wall. 
 This check seemed to prove that my advance was right, and 
 we passed the 42d. Then I said to my men, ' Do you see 
 your enemies plain enough to hit them?' Many voices 
 shouted, ' By Jasus, we do !' ' Then blaze away ! ' and such a 
 rolling fire broke out as I have hardly ever heard since. 
 
 " After passing the 42d we came to the wall, which was 
 breast high, and my line checked, but several oflScers, Stanhope 
 one, leaped over, calling on the men to follow. At first about 
 a hundred did at a low part, no more, and therefore, leaping 
 back I took a halbert, and, holding it horizontally, pushed 
 many over the low part ; then, again, getting over myself, I 
 ran along, followed by my orderly-sergeant, Keene, with his 
 pike. As we passed four or five soldiers levelled together 
 from the other side, but Keene threw up their muskets with 
 a force and quickness which saved me from being blown to 
 atoms ; as it was my face was much burned. Soon all got 
 over ; yet it required the example of officers and the bravest 
 men to get them over. 
 
 " Now the line was formed beyond the wall, and I, recol- 
 lecting Voltaire's story of the Guards' officers laying their 
 swords over the men's firelocks to keep their level low, did so 
 with the halbert to show coolness and being cool, though 
 the check at the wall had excited me and made me swear 
 horribly. We soon got to marshy ground, close to a village, 
 where the fire from the houses was terrible, the howitzers 
 from the hills pelting us also. Still I led the men on, followed 
 closely by Ensigns Moore and Stewart, with the colours, until 
 both fell, and the colours were caught up by Sergeant Magee 
 and another sergeant. My sword-belt was shot off, scabbard 
 and all ; but, not being hit, I pushed rapidly into the street, 
 exactly at the spot where, soon after, I was taken prisoner. 
 Many Frenchmen lay there, apparently dead, and the soldiers 
 cried out, ' Bayonet them, they are pretending.' The idea was 
 to me terrible, and made me call out, ' No, no ! leave those 
 cowards ; there are plenty who bear arms to kill ; come on !' 
 
 " At this place stood the church, and towards the enemy a 
 
II.] PENINSULA. 25 
 
 rocky mound, behind which, and on it, were the Grenadiers ; 
 yet no oflScer met my sight, except Captain Harrison, Lieu- 
 tenant Patterson, and Lieutenant Turner, and my efforts 
 were vain to form a strong body; the men would not 
 leave the rocks, from which they kept up a heavy fire. 
 No time was to be lost, we could not see what passed 
 on our flanks, we had been broken in carrying the village 
 of Elvina, and, as a lane went up straight towards the 
 enemy, I ran forward, calling out to follow; about thirty 
 privates and the above-named officers did so, but the fire was 
 then terrible, many shells burst among us, and the crack of 
 these things delafened me, making my ears ring. Halfway 
 up the lane I fell, vrithout knowing why, yet was much hurt, 
 though at the moment unconscious of it ; a soldier cried out 
 ' The major is killed.' ' Not yet, come on.' 
 
 " We reached the end of this murderous lane, but a dozen 
 of those who entered it vrith me fell ere we got through it. 
 However, some shelter was found beyond the lane; for 
 Brooks of the 4th had occupied the spot with his picket the 
 day before, and had made a breastwork of loose stones, which 
 was known to me, having been there and nearly killed the 
 evening before, when visiting the picket as officer of the 
 day. The heap remained, and about a dozen of us lodged 
 ourselves behind this breastwork, and then it appeared to me 
 that by a rush forward we could carry the battery above ; and 
 it was evident we must go on or go back, we could not last 
 long where we were. Three or four men were killed at my 
 side, for the breastwork was but a slender protection, and 
 two were kiUed by the fire of our own men from the village 
 behind. The poor fellows kept crying out as they died, ' 
 God, Major, our own men are killing us! O Christ God, 
 I am shot in the back of the head ! ' The last man was so, 
 for he fell against me, and the ball had entered just above 
 the poll. Eemembering then that my father had told me he 
 saved a man's life at the siege of Charleston by pulling a 
 ball out with his finger before inflammation swelled the parts, 
 I thought to do the same, but could not find it, and feared to 
 do harm by putting my finger far in. It made me feel sick, 
 
26 
 
 SIR CHARLES NAPIER. [ohap. 
 
 and the poor fellow, being laid down, continued crying out 
 that our men had killed him, and there he soon died. 
 
 " This misery shook us all a good deal, and made me so 
 wild as to cry and stamp with rage, feeling a sort of despair 
 at seeing the soldiers did not come on. I sent Turner, 
 Harrison, and Patterson, the three officers with me, to bring 
 them on, and they found Stanhope animating the men, but 
 not knowing what to do, and calling out, ' Good God ! where 
 is Napier?' When Turner told him I was in front, and 
 raging for them to come on for an attack on the battery, he 
 gave a shout and called on the men to follow him, but on 
 taking a dozen strides cried out, ' O my God!' and fell dead, 
 shot through the heart. Turner and a sergeant, who had 
 been also sent back, then returned to me, saying they could 
 not get a man to f oUow them up the lane. Hearing this I got 
 on the wall, waving my sword and my hat at the same time, 
 and calling out to the men behind among the rocks ; but the 
 fire was so loud none heard me, though the lane was scarcely 
 a hundred yards long. No fire was drawn upon me by this, 
 for a French captain afterwards told me he and others prevented 
 their men firing at me ; he did not know, nor was he told by me, 
 who it was ; but he said, 'Instead of firingathim, I longed to run 
 forward and embrace that brave officer.' My own companions 
 called out to jump down or I should be killed ; I thought so 
 too, but was so mad as to care little what happened to me. 
 
 "Looking then along the field from the height of the 
 wall, our smoke appeared to be everywhere retiring; but 
 the French smoke was not advancing, which gave me com- 
 fort. However, it was useless to stay there, and, jumping 
 down, I said to Harrison, ' Stay here as long as you can ; I 
 will go to the left and try to make out how the 42d get on.' 
 No one was to be seen near our left from my standing-place 
 near the wall ; but there was some brushwood and a ridge 
 with a hedge on the top which debarred further sight, and 
 the thought came to me that, instead of being foremost, we 
 might be in line with some of the 4:2d, and though the 4th 
 had not advanced, if fifty men of the 42d and 50th could be 
 gathered, we might still charge the battery above us ; if we 
 
II.] PENINSULA. 27 
 
 failed, there was a house near into wMch we could force our 
 way, and, as it was conspicuous from the English position, 
 Moore would send me support. 
 
 "Telling this to Captain Harrison, I went off along a 
 lane running at right angles from the one we were in, and 
 parallel to our position ; this exposed me to the English, not 
 to the French fire, but being armed with only a short sabre, 
 useless against a musket and bayonet, and being quite alone, 
 short-sighted, and without spectacles, I felt very cowardly 
 and anxious. Pursuing my course, however, for about a hun- 
 dred yards, I came near a French officer lying on his back 
 wounded, and being myseK covered with blood and my face 
 smeared, for two of the killed men had fallen in my arms, my 
 look was no doubt fierce ; and though I approached him out of 
 pity, he thought it was to kill him ; his feet were towards me, 
 and as he raised his head he cried out to some comrades above 
 him,', pointing with a quick convulsive motion towards me. 
 Those whom he addressed could not be seen, for the ridge was 
 about six feet high, nearly perpendicular, with a thick hedge 
 at top ; but my danger was soon announced through the roots 
 of the hedge by a blaze of fire, poured so close as to fiU the lane 
 with smoke. All went over my head, being evidently fired with- 
 out seeing me, or my body must have been blown to pieces. 
 
 " Giving myself up for lost, the temptation to run back 
 was great ; but the thought that our own line might see me, 
 made me walk leisurely, in more danger, indeed, yet less 
 alarmed than when going forward without knowing what 
 would happen. The whole excursion along the lane was the 
 most nervous affair I ever experienced in battle ; nor was my 
 alarm lessened on getting back, for Harrison and the others 
 were gone ! They could not stand the fire. I felt very 
 miserable then, thinking the 50th had behaved iU ; that my 
 not getting the battery had been a cause of the battle being 
 lost, and that Moore would attribute all to me. The battle 
 seemed nearly over ; I thought myself the last man alive 
 belonging to our side who had got so far in front, and felt 
 certain of death, and that my General would think I had hidden 
 myself, and would not believe me to have done my best. I 
 
28 SIR CHARLES NAPIER. [chap. 
 
 thought also my little party had been taken. Lord William 
 Bentinck afterwards told me that he had ordered my regiment 
 back, in direct contradiction of Moore's design, who had, he ad- 
 mitted, told him not to recall me, but send men to myassistance ! 
 " In this state of distraction, and still under a heavy fire, 
 I turned down the lane to rejoin the regiment, and soon came 
 on a wounded man, who shrieked out, ' Oh, praised be God, 
 major ! my dear major ! God help you, my darling ! one 
 of your own 50th.' 'I cannot carry you,' was my reply; 
 'can you walk with my help?' 'Oh no, major, I am too 
 badly wounded.' ' You must lie there then till help can be 
 found.' 'O Christ God, my jewel, my own dear major, 
 sure, you won't leave me ! ' The agony with which he 
 screamed was great ; it roused all my feelings and, strange to 
 say, alarmed me about my own danger, which had been for- 
 got in my misery at finding Harrison was gone from the 
 corner, and thinking the battle lost. Stooping down I raised 
 the poor fellow, but a musket ball just then broke the small 
 bone of my leg some inches above the ankle ; the pain was 
 acute, and, though the flesh was not torn, the dent made in 
 my flesh remains to this day, and is tender to the touch. 
 Telling the man of my own wound my course was resumed ; 
 his piteous cries were then terrible, and fell bitterly as 
 reproaches for my want of fortitude and courage. Yet what 
 could be done by a man hardly able to walk, and in great 
 pain, with other duties to perform? I felt it horrible to 
 leave him, but selfishness and pain got the better, and with 
 the help of my sword, limping, and with much suffering, I 
 arrived at a spot where two other lanes met at the corner of 
 a church ; three privates of the 50th and one of the 42d, an 
 Irishman, were there, who said we were cut off, and indeed 
 Frenchmen were then coming up both lanes — one party from 
 the position of the 50th, the other from that of the 4th. The 
 last appeared the least numerous and the nearest ; they were 
 not thirty yards from us, and forgetting my leg then, though 
 I had not pluck to do so for the poor wounded man left 
 behind, I said to the four soldiers, ' Follow me, and we'll cut 
 through them ;' then with a shout I rushed forward. 
 
II.] PENINSULA. 29 
 
 " The Frenchmen had halted, but now ran on to us, and 
 just as my spring and shout was made the wounded leg 
 failed, and I felt a stab in the back ; it gave me no pain, but 
 felt cold, and threw me on my face. Turning to rise I saw 
 the man who had stabbed me making a second thrust ; where- 
 upon, letting go my sabre, I caught his bayonet by the 
 socket, turned the thrust, and raising myself by the exertion 
 grasped his firelock with both hands, thus in mortal struggle 
 regaining my feet. His companions had now come up, and I 
 heard the dying cries of the four men with me, who were all 
 bayoneted instantly. We had been attacked from behind by 
 . men not before seen, as we stood with our backs to a door- 
 way, out of which must have rushed several men, for we were 
 all stabbed in an instant, before the two parties coming up 
 the road reached us ; they did so, however, just as my 
 struggle with the man who had wounded me was begun. 
 That was a contest for life, and being the strongest I forced 
 him between myself and his comrades, who appeared to be 
 the men whose lives I had saved when they pretended to be 
 dead on our advance through the village. They struck me 
 with their muskets clubbed, and bruised me much ; where- 
 upon, seeing no help near, and being overpowered by numbers, 
 and in great pain from my wounded leg, I caUed out, ' Je me, 
 rends,' remembering the expression correctly from an old 
 story of a fat officer, whose name being James, called out, 
 'Jemmy Bound.' Finding that they had no disposition to 
 spare me I kept hold of the musket, vigorously defending 
 myself with the body of the little Italian who had first 
 wounded me, but soon grew faint, or rather tired. At that 
 moment a tall dark man came up, seized the end of the 
 musket with his left hand, whirled his brass -hUted sabre 
 round, and struck me a powerful blow on the head, which 
 was bare, for my cocked hat had fallen off. Expecting the 
 blow would finish me, I had stooped my head, in hopes it 
 might fall on my back, or at least on the thickest part of the 
 head, and not on the left temple ; so far I succeeded, for it 
 fell exactly on the top, cutting into the bone, but not through 
 it. Fire sparkled from my eyes ; I fell on my knees blinded. 
 
30 S/j; CHARLES NAPIER. [chap. 
 
 yet witliout quite losing my senses, and holding still on to 
 the musket. Kecovering in a moment I regained my legs, 
 and saw a florid handsome young French drummer holding 
 the arm of the dark Italian, who was in the act of repeating 
 his blow. Quarter was then given, but they tore my 
 pantaloons in tearing my watch and purse from my pocket, 
 and a little locket of hair which hung round my neck ; they 
 snatched at everything ; but while this went on two of them 
 were wounded, and the drummer, Guibert, ordered the dark 
 man who had sabred me to take me to the rear. When we 
 began to move, I resting on him, because hardly able to 
 walk, I saw him look back over his shoulder to see if Guibert 
 was gone ; and so did I, for his rascally face made me suspect 
 him. Guibert's back was towards us, he was walking off, and 
 the Italian again drew his sword, which he had before sheathed. 
 I called out to the drummer, ' This rascal is going to kill me ; 
 brave Frenchmen don't kill prisoners ! ' Guibert ran back, 
 swore furiously at the Italian, shoved him away, almost 
 down, and putting his arms round my waist, supported me 
 himself ; thus this generous Frenchman saved me twice, for 
 the Italian was bent upon slaying. 
 
 " We had not proceeded far up the old lane when we met a 
 soldier of the 50th walking down at a rapid pace. He instantly 
 halted, recovered his arms, and cocked his piece, looking fiercely 
 at us to make out what it was. My recollection is that he levelled 
 at Guibert, and I threw up his musket, calling out, ' For God's 
 sake, don't fire, I am a prisoner, badly wounded, and can't help 
 you ; surrender. ' ' For why would I surrender 1 ' he cried aloud, 
 with the deepest of Irish brogues. ' Because there are at least 
 twenty men upon you.' There were five or six with us at the 
 time. ' Well, if I must surrender, there,' said he, dashing down 
 his firelock across their legs and making them jump ; ' there's 
 my firelock for yez.' Then coming close up he threw his arm 
 round me, and giving Guibert a push that sent him and one 
 or two more reeling against the wall, shouted out, 'Stand 
 away, ye bloody spalpeens ; I'll carry him myself, bad luck to 
 the whole of yez !' My expectation was to see them fall upon 
 him, but John Hennessy was a strong and fierce man, and. 
 
11.] PENINSULA. 31 
 
 moreover, looked bigger than he was, for he stood upon the 
 higher ground. Apparently they thought him an awkward 
 fellow to deal with ; he seemed willing to go with me, and 
 they let him have his own way. In this manner we pro- 
 ceeded about a hundred yards beyond the corner where 
 Harrison and the rest had left me, and found a large force 
 under General Eenaud. He asked me my rank and how I 
 was taken. My reply was, 'Taken because my regiment 
 would not come on ! ' I was in great anger, and altogether 
 ignorant of Lord William Bentinck having ordered them 
 back ; for the staff officer sent by him had not chosen to 
 come up to me. My thought was that the regiment had 
 given way, which made me very unjust in abuse of the 
 glorious old 50th, for they had gone farther than any other 
 corps in the army. Had Moore's orders for the 4:2d and 4th 
 to support us been obeyed by Lord William, we should have 
 carried the hiU in a few minutes ; that this was the cause of 
 their going back is true, for Lord William afterwards told me 
 so himself. General Eenaud ordered a surgeon to dress me, 
 and he put a plaster on my head ; but my leg was so swollen 
 he could not get off my boot without cutting, which I would 
 not allow, hoping to escape, in which case the loss of a boot 
 would be irreparable. They took me up the hill to where 
 the Spanish magazine on the top had been exploded. 
 
 " Soon after leaving Eenaud, being supported by one of 
 his officers and Hennessy, with a guard, we passed a large 
 gap in a wall, on which the English fire was still very heavy. 
 The French soldiers cried out, ' Don't cross there except on 
 your knees, or you will be shot,' whereupon the French 
 officer desired Hennessy and me to do so, but we refused, and 
 Hennessy said low, 'Be Jasus, they're afraid.' My desire 
 was to be seen by our own people, and therefore my walk 
 with Hennessy and the officer was erect and slow ; but seeing 
 the French guard crawl on their hands and knees I said to 
 the captain, ' Crawl you too, or you will be hit ; I can't run 
 away.' This anxiety for an enemy greatly amused the 
 Frenchmen, and it was afterwards told to the Marshals Soult 
 and Ney; Eenaud also mentioned it when a prisoner in 
 
32 SIR CHARLES NAPIER. [chap. 
 
 London ; however, the officer would only stoop, and none of 
 us were hit. On the summit of the position my bodily 
 agony was so great that Hennessy and the French captain, 
 seeing some straw near a fire, laid me on it; my leg and 
 side were giving me excruciating pain ; it was dark, and 
 Hennessy went away for a while with the captain ; then a 
 French officer came and stood over me, a tall handsome man ; 
 he looked at me for some time, and said, ' War ! war ! war ! 
 My God, will this horrid work never cease ! Poor yoimg man, 
 I fear you are badly wounded.' He gave me some drink, 
 and tears rolled down his cheeks ; but then he turned away, 
 and several others sat down round the fire without noticing 
 me. Soon, however, came the man whose straw I had been 
 laid upon ; he gave me two kicks, and dragged me by the 
 neck off his bundle, hurting me much. I said nothing 
 except ' God damn you ! ' and two or three Frenchmen 
 starting up took my part. Then the tall officer returned 
 and was very angry, but the beast who kicked me would not 
 let me be put back on the straw, which he claimed. The 
 officer told them to take me into the ruin of a blown-up 
 house or magazine, where some officers had had a fire in the 
 remains of a room, the fireplace being indeed nearly all that 
 existed of the building; he left me, and then the men took 
 me into another ruined room, and threw me into the filth 
 with which it was filled, and began to laugh at me. I was 
 very angry, wished myself dead at once, and said something 
 violent, whereupon they seemed to consult about killing me, 
 and my hopes of life fled ; indeed, my wish was not to live, 
 but at that moment the officer came back with two or three 
 more, and with two soldiers who had before left the place, I 
 think to call them and save me. These officers were very 
 angry, but my understanding was faint, and my desire was 
 to be put out of misery, for I thought we had lost the battle, 
 and my pain of body was past bearing. They, however, 
 carried me to the other part of the building near the fireplace, 
 and there was Hennessy. They offered me broth and wine ; 
 I could touch nothing from the agony of my wounds, and 
 groaned at times, for the pain was no longer supportable. 
 
11.] PENINSULA. 33 
 
 even before an enemy. Not being able to lie down, Hennessy 
 held me in Ms arms in an upright posture. The French 
 officers did all they could for me, as far as kind words went, 
 and soon one of their own officers was brought in wounded; 
 it was the captain who had been with me when first taken. 
 General Eenaud now sent an officer with my sword, desiring 
 me to wear it, for I had used it well. I wrote my name and 
 rank on a piece of paper, and requested the officer to give it 
 and my sword to Marshal Soult, with a request to speak to 
 him. That officer did not return. 
 
 " Hennessy, having occasion to go out of the ruin, set me 
 in an angle of the fireplace, and never came back, being 
 seized and marched off, as he afterwards told me. Before he 
 left me he unbuckled my spurs and whispered, ' The spurs 
 are silver, the spalpeens would murder you for them.' When 
 he did not return my idea was that he had made his escape, 
 and took the spurs with that intention ; at least my hope 
 was so, that he might tell my brother George where I was, 
 for what fretted me most was that no flag of truce came in 
 for me. I thought Moore was angry, that myseK and the 
 regiment had been disgraced, and therefore he would not 
 send in, nor let George come; then the fancy came that 
 George was killed, but my thoughts were all wild and sad 
 that night. Very vrretched in body and mind was I now, and 
 in about two hours after Hennessy had gone the French 
 officers went away, one after another. The fire was out, and 
 it was dreadfully cold, yet pain kept me from feeHng it so 
 much, and all that long and horrible night and next day did 
 I lie wishing for death, and expecting it if a stray soldier 
 should see me. There was no roof, only a few feet of wall 
 standing, and the following evening, about dusk, being in less 
 pain, I crawled out, reckless of being killed or not. Outside 
 there was a Frenchman cooking; he was a kind man, and 
 gave me some broth, but I could not eat it. He went away, 
 yet returned with another soldier, and they made up a little 
 more fire, rolled themselves in their greatcoats and other 
 warm things, and lay down. Pain kept me waking, and the 
 fire went out soon, for there was no fuel. I had no waistcoat 
 
34 
 
 SIR CHARLES NAPIER. [chap. 
 
 or drawers, only a uniform coat and torn trousers, and the 
 cold was dreadful, for it was January, and the hiH high. An 
 oilskin was on my hat, I pulled it off to cover my head and 
 face ; then, putting my hands on my mouth, warmed myself 
 with my breath, but could not lie down. My feet and legs 
 lost all feeling, and the wounded leg ceased to pain me, 
 except when moved. About midnight the two Frenchmen 
 went their way, and promised to tell their commandant of 
 my state, yet the second dreadful night passed and no one 
 came. Next day, about three o'clock, a musician came near 
 me, and I persuaded him to take me to his regiment, but to 
 walk was agony. I was, however, very kindly received by 
 all the French officers, who were seated round a fire, and 
 especially so by their commander, a man with a very red 
 face, and perfectly white mustachios and hair ; they treated 
 me well, and finally forwarded me on to Marshal Soult's 
 quarters. We passed through Elvina, amidst all the bodies 
 of my poor 50th soldiers, scattered about ; and many wounded 
 were still alive in a house, and very clamorous for food ; 
 scarcely able to speak from weakness I was supported by two 
 men, yet at last reached Soult's quarters, and being shown 
 into the kitchen, sat down in much suffering. Monsieur 
 de Chamont, aide-de-camp to Soult, came to me ; he was all 
 kindness and attention, and offered me money, which was 
 declined, but I told him his men had been expert in robbing 
 me ; that every one who met me as I was borne to the rear 
 had asked, ' Est-il pille ? ' And the reply always was, ' Oh 
 pour fa oui, jolvment.' 
 
 " It was impossible to be kinder than De Chamont, and 
 that kindness was continued by the Marshal and his staff, 
 and again by Ney and his staff. On my telling Soult of the 
 wounded starving English soldiers lying in the village, he 
 promised to have them helped immediately, and sent me to 
 his own quarters, where a bed was provided, and food ; the 
 latter was, in truth, much needed, for none had been taken 
 since my breakfast on the 16th, and this was the 18th. The 
 pain in my side gave me little rest, and next morning, being 
 ordered to go into Coruiia, I was put on a horse, attended 
 
11.] PENINSULA. 35 
 
 by a dragoon, and entered the town with the troops. At the 
 gate there was a crowd, and a Spaniard hustled against my 
 leg, which put me to such torture I cursed him aloud in Eng- 
 lish, and gave him a blow on the head with as great force as 
 the pain left me strength to do. The stupid brute knew of 
 my wound, for I had pushed him twice away before, and 
 showed him how my leg was tied up. The delight of the 
 French soldiers at my striking the Don was very great ; he 
 deserved it. I was now very well treated. My billet was 
 on M. Barrifere, a banker, who lived with his brother-in-law, 
 Marchesa, an excellent kind fellow, with a pretty Spanish wife. 
 There my state was as comfortable as kindness on the part of 
 my host and the French ofiBcers, particularly Baron Clouet, 
 Ney's aide-de-camp, could make it — but I was a prisoner. 
 
 " Such were my own adventures in the battle of Coruna, 
 told without modesty or concealment ; for I write not this 
 for the public, but from old notes for my wife and children, 
 with no desire to make them think more or less of my actions 
 than the reality. I felt great fear for a few minutes at one 
 period of the fight ; yet it was not such as to influence my con- 
 duct, and at no other period did a thought of my own safety 
 cross my mind. It was when alone in the lane, and expect- 
 ing to meet numbers in personal combat that my nerves were 
 most afifected ; for, as my short-sightedness disabled me from 
 seeing what was going on, and what was to be met, I feared 
 to fall unseen and unknown. Afterwards, when wearing 
 spectacles, the nervous feeling was not so strong, but the dis- 
 advantage of bad sight is tremendous when alone, and gives 
 a feeling of helplessness. With aU this, alarm was not my 
 feeling when the men told me we were cut off; nervousness 
 then ceased, and only the thought of how to break through the 
 enemy remained ; had it not been for the stab in my back, 
 and the sudden lameness, I should have done it, for my 
 resolution was that no man should go before me that day, 
 and no man did, unless Hennessy. Where he had been, or 
 came from, is to me unknown, I could never make it out 
 from him ; he spoke but little English, and explained himself 
 with difficulty." 
 
36 SIR CHARLES NAPIER. [chap. 
 
 Such were his own adventures ; but the story is incom- 
 plete without an account of those that still awaited John 
 Hennessy and the pair of silver spurs. On leaving his 
 major, as he thought, dying, he was at once marched o£f 
 with other prisoners towards the Pyrenees. At Pampeluna 
 he escaped and reached Oporto; being very hungry he 
 sold one of the spurs on the way. He took part in the 
 defence of Oporto against Soult, was again captured, but 
 released soon after by the arrival of the British troops 
 and the withdrawal of the French. He fought at Talar 
 vera, and having found George Napier there, showed the 
 remaining spur, but would not give it up, for his major 
 had said to him when he took it off, " When you escape, 
 give that to my sister." The spurs had been given to 
 Charles Napier by his sister, and were received with these 
 words, "Now I am your knight" George Napier was, 
 however, content to hear for the first time that his brother 
 had survived the battle. 
 
 At the end of the campaign our friend John rejoined 
 the 50th, and soon saw Charles Napier alive and at liberty 
 again. Not a word passed as to the spur, but his major 
 obtained for him the grade of corporal in recognition of his 
 bravery. He soon got leave of absence to see his wife and 
 child at Cork, taking with him a letter from Napier to the 
 collector of 'customs. On reaching England he travelled 
 about two hundred miles round to find Miss Napier, and 
 delivered the spur to her. But, strangest of all, when at 
 last he got to Cork, he delivered the letter to the collector 
 before going to see his wife and children. The collector 
 told him that Charles Napier had gone off to fight again in 
 the Peninsula as a volxmteer. " Ogh ! murder ! is he gone 
 back and the regiment not with him 1 By my soul, they will 
 never stop behind him ; I must be off." " Well, Hennessy, 
 you must do as you please, but go and see your wife and 
 
11.] PENINSULA. 37 
 
 child ; come to me in the morning, and. tell me what I can 
 do for your wife and family if you .do go back." " Ogh ! 
 good luck to the wife and child, I'll not go near them, but 
 off this minute ! " He went back with his regiment to Spain, 
 was more than once punished for drunkenness and theft, 
 and " afterwards behaved well, for him, and on all occasions 
 showed the greatest courage, until in the Pyrenees a cannon 
 ball carried oif his head." 
 
 Gruibert — the gallant, humane Guibert — received the 
 Cross of the Legion of Honour for his good conduct. " It 
 was, alas ! a fatal reward for Guibert," says Sir W. Napier. 
 " The result was thus told to the writer by a French ser- 
 geant-major who deserted to his regiment at the lines of 
 Torres Vedras ; and from diflferent quarters afterwards 
 came confirmation. An officer, or sous-officier, disputed 
 Guibert's right to the cross, saying himself, not the drum- 
 mer, had rescued the English major. Falsehood or favour 
 prevailed, and Guibert, stung to madness, attempted to 
 desert, was taken and shot ! The saviour and the saved 
 are now beyond human knowledge ; but if spirits are per- 
 mitted to commune, they have met where it will not be 
 asked under what colours a noble action was performed." 
 
 We left Napier a prisoner of war. His family mourned 
 
 for him as dead, but nevertheless induced the Government 
 
 after three months to send to ascertain his fate. Clouet 
 
 received the flag and hastened to inform Ney, who replied, 
 
 " Let him see his friends, and tell them he is well and well 
 
 treated. Clouet looked earnestly but moved not, and Ney, 
 
 smiling, asked why he waited. " He has an old mother, a 
 
 widow, and blind." " Has he ? Let him go then, and tell 
 
 her himself that he is alive ! " ^ 
 
 ' Heuuessy, Guibert, and C. Napier are dead and gone long ago ; 
 but the poor little spur, after so many perils and an additional seventy 
 years of travel and adventure, now rests quietly in the home of General 
 Sir M. M'Murdo, E.C.B. 
 
38 SIR CHARLES NAPIER. [chap; 
 
 Charles Napier recovered his liberty on 20th March, his 
 father's birthday — " one of many notable coincidences," 
 says his brother, " attending him through life, and always 
 accepted with a half-superstitious satisfaction." Wounds 
 and sufiferings were soon cured and forgotten ; but he had 
 not confronted death for nothing. " Up to this period his 
 countenance had been very comely, yet grave and sedate ; 
 his dark lustrous eyes alone giving signs of the fiery spirit 
 within. Previously he had been inclined to care for out- 
 ward appearances, although without regard to fashion'; but 
 after Coruna dress was disregarded, and his manner 
 became eager and restless, with sudden spasmodic move- 
 ments, springing partly from his wounds, partly from pre- 
 vious ill-health." And again, " His coimtenance assumed a 
 peculiarly vehement, earnest expression, and his resem- 
 blance to a chained eagle was universally remarked." 
 
 Ney, on releasing him, had exacted parol© not to serve 
 until exchanged. The English Government offered two 
 midshipmen very improperly as an equivalent for the com- 
 mander of a regiment. This occasioned some delay, and it 
 was not until January 1810 that he rejoined his regiment, 
 and renewed his letters to his mother. Almost the first 
 recounts an addition to his chapter of accidents. " Got a 
 devil of a tumble the day before yesterday, which makes 
 me glad, because I could not do better than have my yearly 
 accident without being really hurt ; to run twelve months 
 without some petite cliose pour passer le terns is not for me." 
 His poor mother, with three sons in the army and one in the 
 navy, had a terrible load of anxiety to bear. "Are we cats 
 that we live and bear such wounds 1 " said Charles of himself 
 and his brothers. His two years of fighting in the Penin- 
 sula produced six wounds ; and Marshal Beresford told him 
 that Lord Wellington would not let him have a Ca9adore 
 regiment, "because the Napiers always get hit, and he will 
 
II.] PENINSULA. 39 
 
 be killed ; they have had enough of wounds." By making 
 light of their sufferings and by frequent letters the brothers 
 did what they could to comfort their mother ; Charles even 
 goes so far as to argue that the number of their wounds is 
 a sort of insurance against being killed. 
 
 " Last year's occurrences should do anything but frighten 
 you, and your supposing that misfortune must come is a 
 fault ; riding out to meet evil is bad. Yet you bear it when 
 it does come as you ought. My trust is that your fortitude 
 won't be tried now, and that all wiU be safe. I also am 
 anxious about my brothers, but it is not an anxiety that gives 
 me uneasiness, it only makes me eager for news ; predestina- 
 rianism is too strong in me to aUow of my suffering from these 
 things; it is only what can be altered by ourselves that 
 agitates me. Do not make arrangements as if something 
 shocking was decidedly to happen ; no spirits can stand that. 
 Your sons come home full of fighting and without clothes ; 
 we shall be very merry ; and if George's ardent wish to lose 
 a^re^ be granted, we shall dress his stump. I join him not 
 in that desire, and hope to see him ^atu quo ante bellum as 
 to legs and arms." 
 
 In May 1810 he joined the Light Division as a volunteer, 
 beyond the Coa, under Craufurd, "who with less than four 
 thousand men was braving the whole French army on a 
 plain, having only a fordable river between them." Great 
 events had taken place in the Peninsula since Corufia. 
 Wellington had committed his one serious blunder in 
 advancing on Talavera, and had now retreated on Portugal, 
 where he awaited Massena. He was very unpopular with 
 the army, and was called, says Sir W. Napier, "a mere 
 favourite of power, rash and unskilful. The deep design, 
 the strong resolution, the far-seeing sagacity, the sure 
 judgment, destined to amaze the world, were then un- 
 
 ' George Napier afterwards had his arm twice broken in fight, and 
 finally lost it at Ciudad Eodrigo. 
 
40 SIR CHARLES NAPIER. [chap. 
 
 known. Wellington was pronounced a bad General!" 
 Charles Napier criticises the operations of Talavera, which 
 Wellington himself condemned, but by no means joined in 
 the general mistrust of his commander's talents. On his 
 way to headquarters he passed through scenes that recalled 
 his sufferings of the former year ; his reflections on that 
 and the campaign of Talavera are the subjects of two 
 interesting entries in his journal : — 
 
 "Journal, Slst May 1810. — Once more at Sacavem. On 
 the 28th October 1808 I was here commanding the 50th 
 Regiment. What are the pleasures of memory ! I greet her 
 ' as the fiend to whom belong the vulture's ravening beak, 
 the raven's funeral song.' Standing under an olive, my 
 thoughts were of my friend ; for under that very tree Charles 
 Stanhope had then breakfasted with me, and hope of glory, 
 and admiration for Moore, were our themes ! Two short 
 years, and lo ! here am I again ; but Moore ! Stanhope ! 
 where are ye ? Napoleon talks of peace ; would to God he 
 wished for it as sincerely as I do. Oh that I might pluck 
 a branch and give peace to the world, as an offering to the 
 manes of my friend ! I feel low. Stanhope ! Stanhope ! 
 every turn of this road, every stone brings you before my 
 eyes, and often prevents my seeing them; and my dear 
 brothers, how I long to reach you ! Shall I see you even 
 now \ But what brings me here \ honour ! Damn honour ! 
 Falstaff is right, by Jove ! Yet, can one be happy without 
 honour ? No, no ; forward, then, and never reason while in 
 low spirits. Of one thing I am sure, namely, that a man is 
 a fool to live till he is old, for he loses the greatest comfort 
 of life thereby, and gets cornuted probably into the bargain. 
 Enough ! old bachelors are fools notwithstanding ! 
 
 " Celorico, 15th June 1810. — Waited yesterday on Lord 
 Wellington, who was very civil, and signed my certificate of 
 exchange. Dined with him. He told me the French made 
 the most regular retreats he ever saw at Roriga and Talavera ; 
 query, did he foUow their example ? People say his march 
 from Talavera to Alemtejo was very bad; but those who 
 
ir.] PENINSULA. 41 
 
 criticise Generals do not always know their motives of action, 
 and often have motives of their own for criticising. Never- 
 theless we must think, and I think, Lord Wellington committed 
 a great error in that campaign by trusting to the Spaniards 
 after what Moore had experienced ; and another in advancing 
 too far, when his retreat might be cut off. He was wrong 
 also, I think, in fighting, when victory did him no good, and 
 defeat must have destroyed him ; his information was bad, 
 and he trusted it too implicitly. Again, why did he stay in 
 the destructive marshes of the Alemtejo until nearly the 
 whole of his army fell from sickness? It is not easy to 
 comprehend all this, and I have heard no good answer to it. 
 Every officer I have seen and spoken to about the matter has 
 told me the same story — viz. that the battle of Talavera was 
 lost if the French had made one more attack ; and that the 
 whole army expected to be beaten next day. Now Lord 
 Wellington might have had ten battalions more in the fight — 
 viz. the brigades of Lightbourne and the two Craufurds. 
 Why were they in the rear? The thing is not easily ex- 
 plained to his advantage; he did not expect a battle, and 
 yet, had the French delayed a few days, he must have laid 
 down his arms or been cut to pieces. Altogether his general 
 operations are difficult to be defended. But his conduct in 
 the battle showed great coolness and the most perfect self- 
 possession; and by what I observe since I came here, he 
 seems to have gained a lesson from Talavera. Still the 
 whole of that campaign is discreditable to him as a great 
 captain, and he appears to have deserved the epithets of rash 
 and imprudent ; not that of fool though, as many say ; his 
 errors seem to be more those of inexperience and vanity than 
 want of talent. England has paid dearly in men and money 
 for his education indeed, yet if he has thereby been made a 
 good general, the loss is less ; we have very few capable of 
 being made worth a straw, though all the blood and gold in 
 Europe and India were lavishly expended on them." 
 
 After the capture of Ciudad Eodrigo Ney advanced 
 upon Almeida on the Coa ; Craufurd received orders to put 
 
42 SIR CHARLES NAPIER. [chap. 
 
 the river between himself and the French, but disobeyed 
 them, and remained with about 5000 men to fight 30,000 
 of the enemy. His outposts were driven in, 21st July, 
 and " our cavalry," says Charles Napier, " retreated through 
 Val de Mula, skirmishing till near Almeida, about two and 
 a half miles ; we lost seven or eight horses and two men 
 wounded, and made one charge with our skirmishers, 
 neither able in conception nor bold in execution, doing no 
 honour to General or men. After that a more ridiculous 
 attempt was made with haK a squadron. I saw that 
 Craufurd's ignorance of cavalry disheartened the men; 
 some of whom got near broken ground, whence the French 
 could in safety fire on them at twenty yards' distance. 
 They were afraid to regain their own ground when Crau- 
 furd ordered them, whereupon I galloped up and called 
 them to follow, and they did so, and we drove the French 
 back, receiving a sharp fire. English troops must always 
 be led, but they will certainly follow their officers, who 
 will generally be as certainly ready to lead. Altogether 
 we had much firing to-day and little danger. Craufurd 
 does not please me as a General " On the evening of the 
 23d Craufurd halted at Almeida in a most disadvantageous 
 disposition : most of his cavalry in an open plain in front, in 
 his rear a deep ravine, at the bottom of which was the 
 Coa, with only one narrow bridge for a retreat. Of the 
 "bitter fight" that ensued on the 24th Napier gives a 
 graphic account in his journal the same day, with a very 
 severe criticism upon General Craufurd, of whom Sir 
 William says that "at one time he was all fire and in- 
 telligence — a master spirit in war; at another, as if pos- 
 sessed by the demon, he would madly rush from blunder 
 to blunder, raging in folly." On this occasion the demon 
 of folly was strong. 
 
 "Mth July. — At daybreak our pickets were attacked. 
 
a.] PENINSULA. 43 
 
 The French threw forward some infantry among the rocks, 
 and were met by two companies of the 95th Rifles. In 
 about two hours the enemy increased in numbers, our cavahy 
 retired, the riflemen and Captain Campbell's company of the 
 5 2d covering their retreat, till we reached the guns, when a 
 cannonade opened on both sides ; but the enemy soon pushed 
 men down both flanks, and our guns fell back. At this time 
 we could count fifteen strong squadrons of French cavalry in 
 line, besides detached parties and skirmishers, which may be 
 reckoned at five more — altogether about three thousand 
 cavalry. Their infantry we estimated at ten thousand, and 
 they had the power of bringing up thirty thousand if they 
 pleased. When our guns retired the light troops kept firing 
 until we got close to Almeida, and a gun was fired from near 
 a tower, 800 yards from that town; a subaltern and some 
 men of the 52d occupied the tower, and our cavalry and 
 artillery were drawn up in line behind. At this time the 
 enemy closed on our infantry, and the action then began by 
 the dislodging of Campbell's company and the riflemen from 
 the enclosures. I was ordered to tell Colonel Barclay to faU 
 back from the plain and regain the enclosures behind him, 
 which he did, and the fire became very heavy. Barclay's 
 horse was killed, mine was wounded, and threw me, but I 
 remounted and rejoined Craufurd, who then sent me to tell 
 the 52d, 43d, and 95th, to maintain the enclosures until he 
 got the cavalry and guns over the Coa, leaving two pieces to 
 cover the retreat. I gave Barclay and Major MacLeod and 
 Colonel Beckwith these orders, but they were all hotly 
 engaged, and could no longer keep their ground, lest the 
 enemy should turn their flanks and reach the bridge before 
 them. I had great difficulty to return, and joined the 43d, 
 where I found Campbell wounded, and, fearing he would be 
 taken, gave him my mare, making the best of my own way 
 on foot through the vineyards. The fire was hot, and the 
 ground very difficult for us, but much easier for the enemy, 
 because we made passages for ourselves, and thus made them 
 for the French also ; this caused the 43d and 95th to lose 
 many men. I think we retired too fast in this part ; it was 
 
44 SIR CHARLES NAPIER. [chap. 
 
 owing to the murderous position whicli kept us in fear of 
 being cut off from the bridge ; but we were thus driven in 
 among our cavalry, and the French cavalry got up to the 
 95th, and made some prisoners. 
 
 " Now we formed in rear of the cavalry on the main road 
 and went down towards the bridge, firing .the whole way. 
 On arriving there Brigade-Major Eowan called to the Kifles 
 and Portuguese Cazadores and part of the 43d to charge up a 
 hill and to retain it ; while I rode by order of Colonel Beck- 
 with to draw off the 5 2d Eegiment, then nearly a mile up the 
 river on the right. The French were trying to push between 
 them and us, and they would have done so had they been in 
 force enough and that Eowan's charge had not checked them. 
 I had little hope of reaching the 52d alive, but escaped, 
 though a dragoon horse which I had caught and mounted was 
 shot in the leg just as I reached Barclay, and at the same 
 moment his cap was shot off. However, the 52d effected 
 their junction, passed the bridge, and took the right of our 
 position beyond the river, down to the edge of which my 
 brother George's company was pushed, and from thence kept 
 up a strong fire. The 52d were followed over the bridge by 
 the 4:3d and 95th and Cazadores, covered by three companies 
 of the 43d, Dalzel's, Lloyd's, and my brother William's ; and 
 then the French pushed down to the bridge, and a cannonade 
 commenced from both sides of the river. The bridge was 
 defended by the 43d and riflemen, with a long and murderous 
 skirmish, destructive as it was useless, by which many men 
 and officers lost their lives and many were wounded, amongst 
 the latter my brother William. Finally this ceased, and the 
 bloody business closed with as much honour for the officers 
 and men as disgrace for Craufurd's generalship. His errors 
 were conspicuous, and the most prominent shall be noticed 
 for my own teaching : — 
 
 "1st. He fought knowing he must retreat from an over- 
 whelming force, and having no object in fighting. 
 
 " 2d. He occupied a position a mile in front of a bridge, 
 thus voluntarily imposing on himself the most difficult opera- 
 tion in war — viz. passing a defile in face of a superior enemy 
 
II.] ' PENINSULA. 45 
 
 and in the confusion of a retreat ! The result might have 
 been destruction — it was great loss. 
 
 " 3d. He detained the cavalry and guns in a position 
 where they could not act till the infantry were beaten back 
 on them ; thus he risked the destruction of all three ; for the 
 defile became choked, and had the French charged down the 
 road there would have been a bloody scene. This was so 
 evident that I rode up to my brother WiUiam and asked him 
 to form a square with his company to resist cavalry. The 
 idea had already struck him, and Major MacLeod and Captain 
 Patrickson also ; it was general. 
 
 " 4th. The position was amongst vineyards, with walls 
 averaging nine feet high, and he ought to have thrown down 
 enough to open communication to the rear. The want of this 
 caused our chief loss, for while we were pulling down the 
 enemy were firing, and followed our paths. 
 
 " 5th. He sent no guns over to defend the passage and 
 cover the retreat until after the troops had commenced retir- 
 ing. Had one gun broken down, or the horses been killed on 
 the bridge, the troops would have been delayed and ezposed 
 to a destructive fire from the heights around while in a mass 
 of confusion. 
 
 " 6th. He suffered the 52d to be nearly cut off, and never 
 sent them an order to retire after having given them one to 
 defend their post obstinately ; his small division was therefore 
 disjointed and nearly paralysed by extension. 
 
 " 7th. His retreat over the bridge was confused, though 
 every officer and soldier was cool and ready to execute any 
 order, and there was no excuse for hurry. 
 
 " 8th. When the passage of the bridge was made he left 
 no men to defend it, and had I not halted some who were 
 going up to join their colours, the bridge would have been for 
 a quarter of an hour without being enfiladed or exposed to a 
 single musket shot. This was afterwards rectified, but the 
 43d were placed in a most exposed position, when a few 
 breastworks previously made would have covered them. 
 
 " 9th. He made our guns fire at the enemy's guns instead 
 of their men. In short, there seemed a kind of infatuation 
 
46 SIR CHARLES NAPIER. [chap. 
 
 upon him, and nothing but the excellence of his men and 
 officers saved the division." 
 
 His journal in 1840 contains a picturesque description 
 of the way he spent the night after the battle. 
 
 " This day thirty years I slept sound and happy on a rock, 
 with my feet to a fire, on a Portuguese mountain. Having 
 come away from the bridge about twelve at night with 
 General Craufurd, Eowan, and others, I reached the 52d 
 bivouac about one in the morning, wet to the skin, rain hav- 
 ing fallen in torrents. George and his company were on an 
 immense plate rock, the rain was over, they had a good fire, 
 and a supper of beefsteaks with tea. I had not eaten that 
 day, except a bit of bread George gave me during the fight, 
 and was fairly done up, as the fancy say, being tired, starved, 
 anxious about William's wound, and depressed at our having 
 fought so uselessly, throwing away lives so recklessly. I 
 stripped, and the soldiers, who were then dry and had supped, 
 took — one my shirt, another my coat, and so on, to dry them. 
 I sat, meanwhile, naked, like a wild Indian, on the warm rock. 
 It was very pleasant, drinking warm tea and eating steaks 
 half-raw, taken off the poor beast which had drawn our 
 baggage all day. One cannot be sentimental about bullocks 
 on such occasions. We regretted the poor fellows who were 
 slain — there were a great many ; but the excitement of battle 
 does away with much regret ; there is no time ; it is idleness 
 that makes people grieve long, or rather bitterly." 
 
 After the fall of Almeida the army retired. Massena 
 followed along the line of the Mondego, and many skir- 
 mishes took place between his advanced guard and the Light 
 Division, to which Charles Napier was attached. At last 
 Wellington halted on the precipitous ridge of Busaco and 
 confidently waited to be attacked. 
 
 " A very beautiful fight it was," wrote Charles Napier 
 on a distant anniversary. " The French were in the valley, 
 shrouded in mist when the morning broke, and the running 
 
II.] PENINSULA. 47 
 
 fire of the outposts began. Soon an irregular but very sharp 
 musketry rang through the gradually dispersing fog, which, 
 mingled with smoke, came up the mountain, and from it 
 many wounded men broke out. The pickets then ap- 
 peared, being driven back, but firing so hard that our line 
 loudly cheered them from the crest above. Following fast 
 came the enemy's columns, and eighty pieces of cannon opened 
 with a roar from the summit of the mountain, sending shrap- 
 nels, shells, and round shot down on them. The battle was 
 thus begun, and soon they reached us. The firing rolled loud 
 and heavy, the shouts of our men were grand, and their 
 charges in different parts of the line went fiercely home." 
 
 His own place was with Wellington, and he remained 
 on horseback when the fire was so terrible that all the staff 
 and all the volunteers, except his cousin, afterwards Admiral 
 Sir Charles Napier, had dismounted. The sailor urged him 
 to dismount, as he was the only man in a red coat. " No ! 
 This is the uniform of my regiment, and in it I will show 
 or fall this day." He had hardly spoken when a buUet 
 entered on the right of the nose, and lodged in the left jaw 
 near the ear. As he was borne away Lord Wellington 
 asked who he was ; he could not answer, but took off his 
 hat and waved it, muttering, "I could not die at a better 
 moment." Apparently dying he was removed to the con- 
 vent of Busaco. "Poor Napier !" he heard some one ex- 
 claim, "after all his wounds he is gone at last." "The 
 observation," he says, " made me uneasy ; for when a fellow 
 has no life they are sometimes, on a field of battle, over 
 quick in burying him ; so with a slight twist I intimated, 
 ' alive but not merry.' " 
 
 "I was carried into a small chapel of the convent of 
 Busaco ; it had a large arch ia the wall, only partly built up 
 from below, so that I heard people, officers high of rank, in 
 the next room, eating and drinking though the battle was not 
 
48 SIR CHARLES NAPIER. [ohap. 
 
 yet over ! Some talked of my father and mother, praising 
 them and their extraordinary beauty. I was so delighted at 
 this as hardly to feel pain ; but iinally, disgust at these men 
 for being out of the battle so excited me that I got up from 
 the pallet on which I had been laid, walked clean out, and 
 got to the convent door, looking for my horse. I was, how- 
 ever, seized instantly by Edward Pakenham, and led back 
 with this expression, ' Damn it, Napier, are you mad to think 
 you can go back in this state to the action 1 Be quiet, for 
 God's sake.' I could not speak plain, as my jaw was broke, 
 and blood flowed freely from my mouth, so my looks were 
 worse than the reality. 
 
 "While these men were eating and drinking my two 
 brothers were in the field, and sent me word they could not 
 come to see me. How proud and happy this message made 
 me ! I gloried in them ; yet, thinking I would not live long, 
 I was very anxious to see them, especially as I heard George 
 had been wounded. He was gallantly leading a charge, and 
 while half turned, with his sword up, was shot by a French- 
 man through one side of the antipodes to my wound. The 
 muzzle was so close the fire scorched his clothes, and the 
 wound, though not dangerous, was very severe indeed. 
 William had been shot through the hip two months before, 
 but did not go to the rear, and went into action here with his 
 wound still open. Well, we are now (1849) all three still 
 alive and old men. We were then young, strong, and as 
 handy men as any in the army. We have had fifteen or 
 sixteen wounds amongst us, and being very fond of each 
 other, it made a talk amongst our comrades — noble, brave, 
 and excellent comrades they were ! Poor Edward Pakenham 
 was wounded at Busaco, which was what brought him to the 
 convent, and having been dressed, he was returning to the 
 battle, when he caught me trying to do the same. We three 
 brothers went into battle that day with sad hearts, for our 
 cousin Lord March had told us our beloved sister Caroline, 
 just twenty-two years of age, was dead ! Our hearts sank 
 with sorrow ; we said nothing, but embraced each other and 
 went to our posts ; mine was with Lord Wellington." 
 
II.] PENINSULA. 49 
 
 In spite of his wound he was at Coimbra, a day's march, 
 by next morning ; but, as the enemy were still advancing, 
 he made his way to Lisbon, a ride of several days, under a 
 burning sun. The 50th Eegiment passed him on its way 
 to the front, and gave him three cheers. At Lisbon he 
 rested some months, in great suffering from his wound ; for, 
 after the lapse of three months, he writes : " My jaws are 
 crooked, and, the doctors say, will always be so ; my lip is 
 very uneasy, and will always be so. My cheek is better, 
 and the swelling may go away. My mouth opens but 
 stiflfly. My eye still stares, yet is stronger, more easily shut, 
 and sees farther ; it is said that sight may be lost, but it is 
 not dim, and if it goes — why, Hannibal had only one eye ; 
 I have a mind to pluck it out.'' In 1849 he says, "Now, 
 thirty-nine years after, the horrid suffocation of that wound 
 is scarcely endurable. Oh, it shakes my very soul, the 
 horror of this feeling does ! " Nevertheless, he made fun 
 of it all to his mother, and did his best to comfort her in 
 her many sorrows. 
 
 " 20*A Oct. — Children and parents, dear mother, should 
 be friends, and should speak openly to each other. Never 
 had I a petty dispute with you, or heard others have one, 
 without thanking God for giving me a mother, not a tyrant. 
 Such as your children are, they are your work. We are a 
 vain set of animals indeed, yet feel the gratitude you deserve, 
 though we don't bow and ma'am you at every word, as some 
 do. The Almighty has taken much from you, but has left 
 much ; would that our profession allowed us to be more with 
 you ; yet even that may happen, for none know what is to 
 come, and peace — ^blessed peace ! — may be given to the world 
 sooner than we think. It is war now, and you must have 
 fortitude, in common with thirty thousand English mothers 
 whose anxious hearts are fixed on Portugal ; and who have 
 not the pride of saying their three sons had been wounded 
 and were all alive ! How this would have repaid my father for 
 
 E 
 
50 SIR CHARLES NAPIER. [chap. 
 
 all anxieties, and it must do so for you. Why, a Eoman 
 matron would not have let people touch her garment in such 
 a case. In honest truth, though, my share of wounds satis- 
 fies me ; not that I agree with those who exclaim, ' How un- 
 fortunate ! ' There is no shame for wounds, and no regret where 
 no limb is lost, no faculty gone ; and if there were, many 
 lose them in less honest ways. The scars on my face will be 
 as good as medals— better, for they were not gained — 
 meritorious actions! — by simply being a lieutenant -colonel, 
 and hiding behind a wall ! " 
 
 The process of getting well was as tedious and wanting 
 in incident as usual. He amused himself, as well as he 
 could, by his own humour, which was always strongest under 
 adverse circumstances, and was now stimulated by the pres- 
 ence of his eccentric sailor cousin. Black Charles, as the 
 future admiral was called, left him in the winter, having 
 written the following remarkable epistle to the First Lord 
 of the Admiralty, asking for employment : — 
 
 " SiE — My leave of absence is just out. I dotft think it 
 worth remaining here, for I expect you will give me a ship, 
 as I am almost tired of campaigning, which is a damned rum 
 concern. C. N." 
 
 We have one comical glimpse of the wounded man's 
 domestic economy at Lisbon. Having casually invited 
 some friends to walk back tp his lodgings and dine with 
 him, he asked his servant if dinner was ready. " Quite, 
 sir." " What is there ? " " There's no soup." " Anything 
 elsef "There's no sosingers." "What more?" "There's 
 no pratees." " What next ? " " There's no visibles— vege- 
 tables." "So it seems, go on." "There's no nothing." 
 "Hum, a good negative dinner; you must borrow." "There's 
 no time." "Buy." "There's no money." "Credit." 
 "There's no tick." "Are there no rations?" "Yes, sir, 
 I ate the beef." 
 
II.] PENINSULA. Si 
 
 During the winter of 1810-11 the British army had 
 been resting securely in the lines of Torres Vedras ; but in 
 March 1811, Massena, having exhausted his means of sub- 
 sistence, retreated, says Sir W. Napier, " with a skill which 
 balanced the errors of his advance, justifying Napoleon's 
 remark that it was only in danger and difficulty he became 
 a General. On that retreat, day after day, Ney — ^the in- 
 domitable Ney — offered battle with the rear-guard, and a 
 stream of fire ran along the wasted valleys of Portugal 
 from the Tagus to the Mondego, from the Mondego to the 
 Coa. Combat followed combat, the Light Division led in 
 pursuit, and Charles Napier, with his wound still bandaged, 
 rode above 90 miles on one horse, and in one course, to 
 reach the army.'' His journal for 12th and 13th March 
 contains the record of this ride : " Eode all night, and 
 having made 92 miles, reached the army between Eedinha 
 and Condeixa. This distance was done with only three 
 hours' halt at Tom Napier's quarters, who gave me a 
 positively bad, but comparatively good dinner. My poor 
 , horse had 2 lbs. of Indian corn, on which he performed 
 this severe journey in twenty-two hours, including the 
 three hours' halt !" On the 14th he advanced with his 
 regiment, and hearing the sound of the Light Division's 
 combats in front, he had " hourly to ask," says Sir William, 
 " if his brothers were living. Thus advancing he met a 
 litter of branches, borne by soldiers and covered with a 
 blanket. '"What wounded officer is that?' 'Captain 
 Napier of the 52d — a broken hmb.' Another litter fol- 
 lowed. ' Who is that ? ' ' Captain Napier, 43d — mortally 
 wounded ; ' it was thought so then. Charles Napier looked 
 at them and passed on to the fight in front.'' 
 
 Massena retreated through a country which was already 
 eaten up by his troops, and in consequence both pursued 
 and pursuers were threatened with starvation. '' I make 
 
S2 SIR CHARLES NAPIER. [chap. 
 
 no apologies," says Charles to his mother, " for the dirt of 
 this note ; for flead, bugged, centipeded, beetled, lizarded 
 and earwigged cleanliness is known to me only by name. 
 Moreover, a furze bush makes a bad table for writing on, 
 and a worse chair, when breeches are nearly worn out 
 with glory — oh ! oh ! " 
 
 In May Wellington entered Spain, and, leaving a small 
 force to besiege Almeida, which, with Ciudad Eodrigo, com- 
 mands the northern road, he went himseK to superintend 
 Beresford's arrangements for the siege of Badajos, but was 
 speedily recalled by the news that Massena was marching 
 to the relief of Almeida. On his arrival the battle of 
 Fuentes d'Onoro was fought, and the French evacuated 
 Almeida after blowing it up. So little could Wellington 
 trust his lieutenants that he had to hurry back at once to 
 the south, but did not get there quite in time. The siege 
 of Badajos had been raised, and the battle of Albuera 
 fought, but "so hardly won that the master's hand was 
 required to stamp it as success." Troops were called from 
 the Northern Division to assist in renewing the siege ; 
 Charles Napier went with them, and soon found work for 
 himself and his indefatigable steed, Blanco, in executing a 
 confidential mission with which he was charged by Lord 
 Wellington. "This mission displeases me," he tells his 
 mother. "My duty will be to get information of the 
 enemy ; but I will not go near him to risk being taken, not 
 being a spy. No danger, but great responsibility, which I 
 don't like; be sure, however, of my keeping within safe 
 bounds, not having the least desire to be taken in a ridicu- 
 lous way, and my orders are not to risk anything. I have 
 only a new coat and a greatcoat ; the first was designed 
 for smart days ; but, lest the Spaniards should think me a 
 spy, I wear my blazing uniform, and so wear it out. Blanco 
 and I are like meteors ; we cannot go near the French, and 
 
II.] PENINSULA. S3 
 
 so I send Spans. This, however, will only last the siege, 
 and is because an active, intelligent officer was required. 
 What a bore to be so clever ! " The report which he made 
 upon this mission was, says Sir William Napier, " adopted 
 by. Lord Wellington as ground of action." 
 
 Charles Napier complained much at this time that im- 
 proper influences in high places were withholding his pro- 
 motion. He seems to have had some reason to think so, 
 for, although he had been a major throughout the war, and 
 had seen much hard service, and received six wounds, he 
 says, " In the latest Gazette I believe there has hardly been 
 a major promoted who was not junior to me in standing ; 
 many younger as men, I believe — nearly all younger as 
 soldiers. Several have been subalterns since I held the 
 rank of major." However, about June 1811, he received 
 official notice that he had been promoted to the lieutenant- 
 colonelcy of the 102d Regiment ; and the state of discipline 
 in that corps required that he should join it without loss of 
 time. The change was not exactly what he wished for ; 
 the glories and dangers of war under a chief whom he had 
 now learnt to venerate were done with. He had to leave 
 his brothers and the army, just entering on a career of 
 victory, and take command of a regiment which had returned 
 in a thoroughly bad state from Botany Bay to Guernsey. 
 Nothing could be better than the spirit in which he accepts 
 his altered position : " To get a regiment that is in bad order 
 is agreeable ; my fear was a good one, where no character 
 could be gained and some might be lost. Caution is, however, 
 necessary with these heroes ; for, not making the regiment, I 
 unmake myself. My wayis clear enough, but my desire is not 
 to see their faces for a year, staying quietly at home to recover 
 my health. A little employment, however, with eagerness 
 and anxiety, does good to body and mind ; and it is my 
 nature to have both about everything, to a certain degree." 
 
54 SIM CHARLES NAPIER. [chap. 
 
 He embarked for England on 25th August, with Blanco, 
 who was doubtless glad of a change to plenty of forage and 
 an easy life, instead of long marches and foodless halts, in 
 which he " curls his nose into a thousand wrinkles, cursing 
 Buonaparte," beside a master whose last biscuit has " run 
 away on maggots' legs.'' Napier remained at home for some 
 months, very happy in his mother's society, but suffering 
 much from ague and the effects of his wounds and hard- 
 ships. Lord Liverpool gave him the sinecure government 
 of the Virgin Isles, an appointment which he resigned on 
 the creation of pensions for wounds. He took the command 
 of his new regiment in January 1812; and among the first 
 letters which reached him in Guernsey, where he was 
 quartered, was one conveying the news that his brother 
 George had lost an arm while leading one of the storming 
 parties at the assault of Ciudad Eodrigo. Two other 
 letters conveying the news to other members of the family 
 are a remarkable proof of the admiration excited by the 
 gallantry of the Napier brothers. 
 
 Charles Stuart, afterwards Lord Londonderry, writing 
 to Lady Louisa ConoUy, says, " The gallant spirit of those 
 Napiers leads them ever in the foremost ranks to danger, 
 and honour is sure to be their just reward. George Napier, 
 commanding three hundred as brave fellows as himself, 
 stormed one of the breaches in the walls of Ciudad Eodrigo, 
 and, sad to relate, received a wound in the right arm, which 
 has been since amputated, and he is doing as well as possible. 
 His conduct equalled that of his brother Charles, to surpass 
 it would be hard ; but the gallantry of the Napiers is as 
 proverbial in the army as the fame of our chief." 
 
 The next letter is from the chief himself, and it is not 
 the first occasion on which he had found time to give Lady 
 Sarah the earliest news of the wounds, conduct, and safety 
 of her sons. 
 
11.] BERMUDA. SS 
 
 " My dbae Madam — I am sorry to tell you that your son 
 George was again wounded in the right arm so badly last 
 night, in the storm of Ciudad Rodrigo, as to make it necessary 
 to amputate it above the elbow. He, however, bore the opera- 
 tion remarkably well, and I have seen him this morning quite 
 well, free from pain and fever, and enjoying highly his success 
 before he had received his wound. When he did receive it he 
 only desired that I might be told he had led his men to the 
 top of the breach before he had fallen. Having such sons I 
 am aware that you expect to hear of these misfortunes, which 
 I have had more than once to communicate to you ; and, not- 
 withstanding your affection for them, you have so just a notion 
 of the value of the distinction which they are daily acquiring 
 for themselves by their gallantry and good conduct that their 
 misfortunes do not make so great an impression upon you. 
 Under these circumstances I perform the task I have taken 
 on myself with less reluctance, hoping at the same time that 
 this win be the last occasion on which I shall have to address 
 you on such a subject, and that your brave sons wiU be spared 
 to you. Although the last was the most serious, it was not the 
 only wound which George received during the siege of Ciudad 
 Rodrigo : he was hit by the splinter of a shell in the shoidder 
 on the 16th. — Ever, my dear madam, yours most faithfully, 
 
 " Wellington." 
 
 Charles Napier's hope of leading his new regiment to 
 the Peninsula was soon extinguished by an order to embark 
 for Bermuda. The only consolation he finds in this double 
 banishment from glorious warfare and from his mother is 
 " that not a day passes at Bermuda without opportunities 
 of sending letters, and the ordinary run is but three weeks — • 
 two delightful things ; for to be far from you is hateful, and 
 with all my ill-temper at the cross ways of London, never 
 do I go to bed so happy as under _your roof, if you are 
 there. Take care of my other dear mother, Susan Frost, 
 and make her go into the country." The regiment left 
 Guernsey in July, and, owing to the roughness of the 
 
56 SIR CHARLES NAPIER. [chap. 
 
 weather, did not reach Bermuda till September. On 
 10th August he wrote in his journal: "This day, thirty 
 years old. In 1808 my birthday was spent in Lisbon; 1810, 
 in the valley of the Douro ; 1811, again in Lisbon ; and now, 
 1812, in the midst of the Atlantic. Where next? Perhaps 
 at the bottom. Well, when not with those I love, no matter 
 where." 
 
 He now found himself on an island about 35 miles long, 
 and varying in width from a few yards to about 3 miles, 
 with a population of 11,000, half being slaves. Idleness 
 and rum were the main difficulties he had to contend with 
 as a commander. "My greatest dread is that the idleness 
 of others will corrupt my gents; they are, however, now 
 good, and proud of their military knowledge, which keeps 
 up the military spirit. But to what end is all this work t 
 To be starved in Bermuda, and become pioneers when tools 
 come from England ; it is hateful to think of. Every officer 
 of mine, except three young ones, can now exercise a bat- 
 talion ; in one year of working parties they will be only 
 thinking of making money and gardens, and the men will 
 be ditch-diggers ! How can we pester men with drill for 
 that end ? I only do it to keep them from drink and my- 
 self from rust" 
 
 News of the battle of Salamanca reached him in October, 
 and made him "turn with disgust to the dulness of drill" 
 In such times of inaction hatred of soldier-life always added 
 itself to the longing for home which never left him, even 
 amid the triumph of victory. For he was one who 
 
 " Though thus endued as with a sense 
 And faculty for storm and turbulence. 
 Is yet a soul whose master-bias leans 
 To homefelt pleasures and to gentle scenes." 
 
 On the other hand, when the time for action came he could 
 
II.] BERMUDA. 57 
 
 not repress his inward sense of his capacity for command. 
 Nor, indeed, even in Bermuda had he failed to make a deep 
 impression on the minds and affections of those amongst 
 whom he was thrown. Captain Robertson,^ Eoyal Artillery, 
 records that 
 
 " When the 102d landed in Bermuda even casual observers 
 perceived it was commanded by no common man ; while those 
 of his acquaintances who enjoyed the edification of his con- 
 versation on professional subjects — and he delighted to dwell 
 on them — could not but entertain something like prophetic 
 views of future greatness. There was such earnestness of 
 character, such a high estimate of his profession, such enthusi- 
 astic stern devotion, that he could not fail to influence all 
 who had a spark of chivalry in their nature. He made 
 soldiers of all under him, and had the rare quality of making 
 the most familiar intercourse compatible with absolute 
 authority. . . . The hills and cedar groves of Bermuda were 
 his places of instruction, where men and officers were made 
 to study ground and movements ; and with infinite care, and 
 a peculiar happy manner, he taught. Instead of condemning 
 mistakes he would put questions, as if seeking for informa- 
 tion, yet so framed as to bring conviction of error, where such 
 existed, and to suggest improvement. His was no adjutant's 
 regiment; he was himself drill-master, and master also of 
 every detail ; with exception of beating a drum there was no 
 part of a soldier's duty, from the sentinel to the sergeant- 
 major's, which he could not teach, and do as smartly as the 
 smartest non-commissioned officer. Nor was his knowledge 
 restricted to his own arm ; he was conversant with engineers' 
 duties, and with those of artillery, whose practice he generally 
 attended." 
 
 It is only by keeping in mind the perpetual conflict in 
 Charles Napier's breast between the promptings of his 
 
 ^ Father of the Eev. Fred. W. Kobertson, who had a picture of Sir 
 C. Napier hung in his study, and used to call it his household god. 
 See his lAfe and. Letters, vol. i. pp. 8-11. 
 
58 S/Ji CHARLES NAPIER. [chap. 
 
 genius and his aifections that the foregoing account can be 
 reconciled with his own letters to his mother, of which the 
 following is a good specimen : — 
 
 "20iA April 1813. — Now for your Christmas letter. 
 A year's pay to have seen aunt dance — the idea is delight- 
 ful; God bless her! Oh, my wish is to be dancing with 
 those I love, or beating them, or anything, so as to be 
 living with you, and to pitch my sword where it ought to be 
 — with the devil ! Henry says if it were so the wish would 
 come to have it back ; but my craving for rest is such that 
 twenty years would hardly serve to satisfy me, and that is 
 probably ten more than I am Hkely to live — a soldier nowar 
 days is old at forty. I could get on with a duck, a chicken, 
 a turkey, a horse, a pig, a cat, a cow, and a wife, in a very 
 contented way. Why, gardening has become so interesting 
 to me here as to force me to give it up lest neglect of busLaess 
 should follow. It is a kind of madness vrith me. Gardening 
 from morning to night should be my occupation, if there was 
 any one to command the regiment ; it won't let me think of 
 anything else. So hang the garden, and the sweet red and 
 blue birds that swarm around ; and hang Dame Nature for 
 making me love such things, and women's company, more 
 than the sublime pleasure of cutting people's throats and 
 teaching young men to do so ! Henry is wrong ; I would 
 not be tired of home. My fondness for a quiet life would 
 never let me desire to roam in search of adventures. A few 
 centuries back I should have been a hermit, making free, 
 however, with the rules of the order by taking a wife instead 
 of a staff : one cross-grained thing is as good as another. It 
 is certain that a civil life would give me one thing which a 
 military life would not — that is, I should never, my own 
 blessed mother, get tired of the power of living with you ; 
 that would make up for all the affliction and regret of not 
 murdering my neighbours, of living an exile, with the inter- 
 esting anxiety of believing those I love suffer even to death, 
 while imagination amuses itself with castles for months before 
 it can be known what is their fate. How shocking to give 
 
II.] AMERICA. 59 
 
 up such delights for the painfulness of peace and quiet and a 
 beloved society ! Be assured it will not be easy to persuade 
 me of that ; and quit the army with joy will I when the 
 power to do so is mine ; but my luck will not go so far.'' 
 
 Whatever the future might have in store, the charms of 
 tranquillity were soon dismissed from his mind. Monoto- 
 nous drill beneath the enervating skies of Bermuda was 
 exchanged for the command of a brigade of marines, his 
 own regiment, and a corps of Frenchmen enlisted from the 
 war prisons. He was second in command to Sir Sydney 
 Beckwith, and at once found himself "in most excellent 
 tranquil spirits, having much to do." He was confident 
 that his own regiment would do right, but for the marines 
 he felt " all the anxiety of a lady sending her daughter to 
 Court the first time ; very anxious also I am to ascertain 
 my own force in command of an awkward brigade, for 
 the marines, being ever on board ship, are necessarily un- 
 drilled, and the foreigners under me are d/uherms. Fight 
 these last shall ; all men will fight when they begin, but 
 delay enables rogues to evaporate. My self-confidence 
 makes me wish for the chief command ; yet am I fearful of 
 estimating my powers too high, and much I dislike sacking 
 and burning of towns ; it is bad employment for British 
 troops. . . . Nevertheless, a pair of breeches must be 
 plundered, for mine are worn out.'' 
 
 General Beckwith's force was destined to take part in 
 the desultory and not very creditable operations against the 
 United States of America. The principal interest settled 
 on the attack and defence of the Canadian frontier, but 
 detachments of British troops made diversions at various 
 points along the American seaboard. 
 
 The expedition with which we are now concerned chose 
 Chesapeake Bay as the scene of its operations after some 
 uncertainty, resulting from the naval and military authorities 
 
6o SIR CHARLES NAPIER. [chap. 
 
 having independent commands. " It was a council of war," 
 says Napier, " and what council of war ever achieved a great 
 exploit?" 
 
 The fleet anchored in Lynehaven Bay, with a view to 
 attack Norfolk, but was driven by a storm to the mouth of 
 Elizabeth Eiver. Here Oraney Island was seized, and, 
 after some aimless night attacks, the town of Hampton was 
 taken and disgracefully plundered. Napier was justly 
 proud of the conduct of his own brigade, with the exception 
 of the French war prisoners, who had to be sent away. He 
 had some difficulty in keeping his own men in the ranks, 
 but the marine artillery " behaved like soldiers ; they had 
 it in "their power to join in the sack and refused." The 
 following letter gives an account of the general character of 
 the operations : — 
 
 " Potomac. — We have nasty sort of fighting here 
 amongst creeks and bushes, and lose men without show 
 — altogether above a hundred, with three officers. The 
 Yankees, however, get their share, for at Hampton we killed 
 on the spot above a hundred. It is an inglorious warfare. 
 7000 men are at Baltimore, and we have no such force ; stiU 
 my opinion is that if we tuck up our sleeves and lay our ears 
 back we might thrash them — that is, if we caught them out 
 of their trees, so as to slap at them with the bayonet. They 
 will not stand that. But they fight unfairly, firing jagged 
 pieces of iron and every sort of devilment — ^nails, broken 
 pokers, old locks of guns, gun-barrels — everything that will 
 do mischief. On board a 20-gun ship that we took I found 
 this sort of ammunition regularly prepared. This is wrong. 
 Man delights to be killed according to the law of nations, and 
 nothing so pleasant or correct ; but to be doused against aU 
 rule is offensive. We don't then kick like gentlemen. A 
 24-lb. shot in the stomach is fine — we die heroically; but 
 a brass candlestick for stuffing, with a garnish of rusty 
 twopenny nails, makes us die ungenteeUy and with the cohc. 
 . . . Nothing can be more interesting than our landings. 
 
II.] AMERICA. 6i 
 
 which have been always by moonlight. Numbers of boats 
 fiUed with armed men gliding in silence over the smooth 
 water, arms glittering in the moonshine, oars just breaking 
 the stillness of night, the dark shade of the woods we are 
 pushing for, combining with expectation of danger to affect 
 the mind. Suddenly 'Cast off' is heard, and the rapid dash 
 of oars begins, with the quick ' Hurrah ! hurrah ! hurrah ! ' as 
 the sailors pull to shore. Then the soldiers rush into and 
 through the water. We have generally had two or three 
 miles to row, the boats tied together and moving slowly ; but 
 when in reach of shot every boat casts loose and they pull 
 furiously vrith shouts — the 102d excepted, which no shouting 
 hath ! I forbid all noise until they can rush on the enemy ; 
 then they have leave to give a deadly screech, and away ! 
 away ! " 
 
 In August he was detached with Admiral Cockbum to 
 the coast of North Carolina; but he was not allowed to 
 have his own way, and the expedition was as fruitless 
 as the rest. It provoked some bitter reflections in his 
 journal on divided command : " I have seen enough to 
 refuse a joint command if ever offered to me. It is certain 
 disgrace and failure from the nature of things : the two 
 services are incompatible. ... A General in a blue coat, 
 or an Admiral in a red one, is mischief." He was 
 heartily glad when he was able to exchange back into 
 the 50th. He received a sword of honour from the 
 officers of the 102d, and sailed for England in September 
 1813. 
 
 The war in America had been a painful and inglori- 
 ous experience. "It is quite shocking," he writes, "to 
 have men who speak our own language brought in 
 wounded ; one feels as if they were English peasants, and 
 that we are killing our own people.'' And again, " There 
 are numbers of officers, of the navy in particular, whose 
 families are American, and their fathers in one or two 
 
62 SIR CHARLES NAPIER. [chap. 
 
 instances are absolutely living in the very towns we are 
 trjdng to bum." He had, in addition, the mortification 
 of seeing confusion and mismanagement on every side, 
 while he could obtain no hearing for his own suggestions 
 and plans. One of these, which bolder men than Beck- 
 with and the two admirals might well have shrunk from 
 even discussing, was afterwards described by himself in 
 connection with some remarks on the War of Independ- 
 ence in Greece. 
 
 " My proposal to Ali Pacha was the second great plan of 
 war addressed by me to governing powers, both rejected with 
 folly, though undoubtedly calculated for success. The other 
 was made on my American expedition, where our landings on 
 the coasts of Maryland, Virginia, and Carolina, made it soon 
 manifest to me that we did no good to EngUsh fame, no real 
 injury to America. I was then but thirty years old, but, 
 having seen much of war, was confident of being able to 
 execute whatever entered my imagination as feasible. My 
 plan was as follows : — may it yet be executed ! — Seeing a black 
 population of slaves ruled by a thin population of whites, 
 the blacks thinking the English demigods and their Yankee 
 masters devils, I said to the authorities, ' Give me 200,000 
 stand of arms, and land me in Virginia with only the officers 
 and non-commissioned officers of three black regiments — ^that 
 is to say, about one hundred persons accustomed to drill black 
 men. Let the ships with store of arms lay off while I strike 
 into the woods with my drill men, my own regiment, and 
 proclamations exciting the blacks to rise for freedom, forbid- 
 ding them, however, to commit excesses under pain of being 
 given up or hanged. The multitude of blacks who nightly 
 come to our ships, and whom we drive back to death or 
 renewed slavery, shows that we can in a week assemble a 
 million — certainly 100,000 before any force can reach us — 
 indeed before the American Government can be aware of our 
 descent, as we shall lie hidden in the forests until the influx 
 of blacks discovers us. 
 
 " 'All the blacks can use arms, and in twelve hours can be 
 
II.] AMERICA. 63 
 
 organised in regiments and brigades, each commanded by an 
 officer more experienced than American militiamen ' — for the 
 American regular forces were then in the north, and even they 
 had but small experience at the time. ' When this vast mass 
 shall be collected and armed we shall roll down to the coast, 
 and our large fleet can pass us into the Delaware country, out 
 of which we shall instantly chase the whole population. 
 Then, with half our fleet in the Delaware River, with pro- 
 visions in the Delaware country — and a handful of corn or 
 rice is all a black slave will want for that occasion — we shall 
 people the deserted space, set all the women and children to 
 cultivate the ground, and with our enormous mass of males 
 will have entrenched a position across the isthmus in twenty- 
 four hours, for the fleet will supply us with tools, powder, 
 cannon, engineers, and marines.' Such was my proposal. 
 Nothing could have approached us, and in a month a drilled 
 army of 200,000 men, well appointed, would have been 
 formed, vdth 100,000 in reserve to supply losses. At the 
 head of that army I would have sallied from our lines and 
 taken Washington, while Sir George Prevost from Canada 
 followed the American army, which must, perforce, have 
 retired on the flrst alarm either to the Indian country or to 
 the south; the British force from Canada could then have 
 joined my black force at Washington, and we could have 
 dictated peace. Had this plan been accepted two things 
 must have happened : we should have dictated peace and 
 abolished slavery in America." 
 
 The vastness, originality, and astounding audacity of 
 this scheme cannot but excite admiration ; but we can 
 hardly join Napier in his indignation at the folly of the 
 Government which refused to adopt it. Such a conception 
 was a proof that he possessed the creative and imaginative 
 faculty which distinguishes a soldier of genius from the very 
 ablest tactician. But it also reveals a weak point in his 
 judgment — a weakness excusable indeed in a man of thirty, 
 and which, if it reappears now and again in later years, was 
 
64 S/Ji CHARLES NAPIER. [chap. 
 
 kept in check by experience of affairs, and the matured 
 reason of a really statesmanlike mind. He could not always 
 confine the promptings of his genius as a soldier within the 
 limits of political possibility. It is hard to say whether the 
 success or failure of his negro scheme would have most 
 embarrassed the British Government. The struggle with 
 Buonaparte was at its fiercest ; England had already shown 
 that she had neither the power nor the inclination to throw 
 much vigour into the American War ; yet, if he had failed, 
 the terror and hatred which his threatened overthrow of 
 slavery would have excited throughout the length and 
 breadth of a land already more bitter against the mother- 
 country than at the time of the War of Independence, 
 would have recoiled with a force that might have driven 
 the last British subject back over the Atlantic, to say 
 nothing of the vengeance that would have awaited the 
 unhappy blacks. If he had succeeded, and had dictated 
 peace at Washington, it is impossible to believe that a 
 high-spirited and angry people would have adhered to a 
 treaty which, however generous, must have included the 
 abolition of slavery without compensation ; there would 
 have been another War of Independence ; or, if the slave 
 question had been waived by England, the blacks, with 
 arms in their hands and a powerful military organisation, 
 would have maintained a servile war. 
 
 When Napier reached England the war with France 
 was over, and he was reduced on half-pay. He seized the 
 opportunity afforded by the peace to enter the Military 
 College at Faxnham, where he was joined by his brother 
 William. But hardly had he begun his studies when 
 Napoleon escaped from Elba, and the astonished nations 
 had once more to rush to arms. Charles Napier went, as a 
 volunteer, to Ghent ; but, doubtless to his intense disgust, 
 Waterloo was fought and won before he could join the 
 
n.] STUDIES. 65 
 
 anny. He took part in the storming of Cambrai, and 
 marched into Paris, where he stayed only a few days, and 
 then returned to Farnham. As usual he was not destined 
 to escape from a campaign, however short, without an 
 accident of some sort. As he was leaving Ostend the ship 
 sank at the mouth of the harbour. He swam to some pUes, 
 but the beam was too slippery to climb, and each swelling 
 wave overwhelmed him. While thus slowly drowning, he 
 was luckily spied and picked up by a boat. 
 
 War was now over, and the prospects of a soldier on 
 half-pay were not cheering. But it was not in Napier's 
 nature to be easily discouraged. Fortune might come late, 
 but he was resolved she should not find him unprepared. 
 Thirty years later he writes to Ensign Campbell : " By 
 reading you wiU be distinguished ; without it, abilities are 
 of little use. A man may talk and write, but he cannot 
 learn his profession without constant study to prepare, 
 especially for the higher rank, because he then wants 
 knowledge and experience of others improved by his own. 
 But when in a post of responsibility he has no time to 
 read, and if he comes to such a post with an empty skull, 
 it is then too late to fill it, and he makes no figure. Thus 
 many people fail to distinguish themselves, and say they 
 are unfortunate, which is untrue ; their own previous idle- 
 ness unfitted them to profit by fortune." 
 
 He remained at the Military College from 1815 to the 
 end of 1817, deep in military and political history, but with 
 many an excursion, as his note-books testify, into general 
 literature, agriculture, commerce, building, especially struc- 
 tures for the poor, and political economy. The sufferings 
 of his countrymen and the tyrannous incapacity of the 
 Tory administrations in the first years of peace were fast 
 making a Eadical of him. At the end of 1816 he writes to 
 his mother, in words that show a degree of political sense 
 
66 S/H CHARLES NAPIER. [chap. 
 
 and an independence of judgment rarely possessed by men 
 of his profession : 
 
 " Tell Aunt Conolly I won't attack her friend Lord Castle- 
 reagh to her ; but reformation advances at the pas de charge, 
 and no earthly power can arrest the progress of freedom. The 
 people are in motion, and those who oppose them wiU be 
 crushed like pebbles under a rolling stone. That the said 
 stone may not swerve from the gravel walks of petition and 
 reform ought to be the prayer of every one, and especially of 
 those who wish the cause well, for thus all will be gain and 
 no reaction — that is to say, there wiU be no going beyond 
 justice. If this does happen the glory of England wiU be- 
 come brighter than the battles of the last twenty years have 
 made it. The freedom of this country being rendered com- 
 plete, Louis XVin. and his brood will be lost, for our 
 example will be followed all over Europe. That excessive 
 suffering to individuals wiU result is certain, but everybody 
 who takes physic has the colic. As to your seeking for an 
 asylum against coming troubles, you shall have my reasons 
 for being in no fear for you. No revolutionary spirit exists 
 in England; the starving people only seek bread. Those 
 who have their confidence — and generally they place it justly — 
 tell them parliamentary reform and food wUl come together : 
 it is this they seek. The reformers, Cobbett at the head, tell 
 them not to riot, not to be personal, not to commit excesses ; 
 but to petition daily, hourly, one and all, for in that is their 
 safety, their remedy. They see this is true, and the great 
 security against bloodshed and revolution is to tell the 
 multitude truth. Show the real evils and the real remedy, 
 and they will not be half so dangerous or so unjust as when 
 suffering in ignorance of the cause, for it is then they go 
 furiously ahead, and nothing can stop them. 
 
 " No power ever yet could stem popular vigour in action, 
 and, as it is always just at bottom, it should be directed by 
 timely information. Let a mob know that a minister is a 
 villain, and give them to know him by sight, and they will 
 not tear an innocent man to pieces by mistake ; but if you 
 do not give them this knowledge, they wiU tear any man to 
 
II.] STUDIES. (fj 
 
 pieces that anybody points at ; and they will as suddenly fall 
 on his family — ay, even on the street where he lives ! All 
 such excesses arise from the infatuation of treating the lower 
 orders as if they were fools, when they have really a greater 
 number of great men amongst them than the higher orders, 
 in proportion to their greater numbers. England is instructed, 
 the people see their remedy, thanks to Cobbett, Burdett, and 
 others ; and though these men have their errors, it wiU be to 
 them we shall owe personal safety, and constitutional instead 
 of revolutionary reform. It is easy to laugh at Cobbett, and 
 to call him aU sorts of names, but it is not easy to disprove 
 his great abilities. A reform will be effected, though to resist 
 it Lord Castlereagh would risk civil war, I believe ; but I do 
 not believe he has power. Should it be so, with three sons 
 soldiers, one a sailor, another a lawyer, it vrill be hard if 
 you don't swim, for these are the three finest trades in such 
 cases ; so don't trouble yourself with anticipating evils." 
 
 This chapter shall be concluded with a few extracts 
 from his note-book, interesting both for themselves and as 
 examples of his method of studying war and government. 
 They were not all written at the Military College, but are 
 selected from the note-books he used from 1809 to 1824 
 
 "Popular Wars, 1809. — It is generally found that wars 
 arising from popular enthusiasm have been excited by 
 oppression, bad government, or bad faith — in short, that the 
 populace has good cause for anger. Those who wish to 
 direct popular troop^, and those also who are inclined to lend 
 assistance, must be very cautious, or else resign caution 
 entirely, risking all on chance. The heated imagina- 
 tions of enthusiasts, who are generally weak men, see no 
 reverses ; each has victory in his ovm plan, and aU will make 
 mountains of mole-hiUs, and mole-hiUs of mountains. The 
 last is indeed a minor evU, for a man may dare any danger 
 successfully, but must never forget to estimate accurately his 
 own powers. False estimates are the cause of failure in all 
 such enterprises. Those who engage in them always exagger- 
 ate their numbers and resources, and to deceive yourself is 
 
68 ■ SIS CHARLES NAPIER. [chap. 
 
 to fight for tlie enemy. Another cause of failure is that 
 when coining to action every man is confident in his own 
 particular plan, and will not give it up, or at most but coldly 
 acts on his neighbour's plan ; hence dissensions, the cry of 
 traitors, and all the evils of jarring interests. Military plans 
 require despotism. Great men may when shackled by con- 
 trol do much, but they would do more if unshackled. 
 
 " In popular wars you must not attempt to form armies 
 or combine movements unless a powerful body of regular 
 troops is already embodied ; in which case, a despotic govern- 
 ment must direct all the operations. Spain fiumishes the 
 proof of this. Instead of attempting to meet the discip- 
 lined warriors of France in battle, she should have made a 
 partisan war. Small corps of foot should have acted in the 
 mountains, fought in the defiles, and watched the fords; 
 small parties of cavalry should have eternally harassed the 
 enemy's marches, and beat up his quarters when halted. At 
 first these parties could not be too smaU ; but in the towns 
 every house should have barricades, be pierced with loop- 
 holes, and turned into a redoubt which its master should 
 defend or die. Ten towns like Zaragoza, or Gerona, woidd 
 save Spain ; one, if that were Madrid. In the plains forage 
 might be destroyed, or collected in towns. Cavalry could not 
 get it in the mountains occupied by active partisans, who, as 
 they acquired experience, would gradually become formidable 
 corps equal to combined movements. The armies of France 
 could then only gain ground with loss of blood, and their 
 system of concentration be unavailing. Armies in mass could 
 not pursue a hundred men; the bodily endurance of the 
 Spaniards would tell, and their losses be supplied by a 
 present population, while those of France could only be 
 repaired from a distance, and scantily in comparison.'' 
 
 "Commanders, 1810. — ^A commander should concentrate 
 his own forces, divide his enemies, and never think himself 
 strong enough when he can be stronger. Yet he should 
 remember that additional numbers do not always give 
 strength. He should never voluntarily attempt anything 
 where failure would be ruin, whatever be the temptation; 
 
II.] STUDIES. 69 
 
 he may, however, be forced to do so. Attempt anything, 
 the more daring the better, if you can bear defeat. But 
 always when you do attack, do it with all possible fury ; be 
 sudden and rapid, and if possible, unexpected. Always 
 attack if you cannot avoid an action. And when you do 
 attack, throw your whole power also upon one point, and let 
 that point be a decisive one ; the day is your own if it is 
 carried ; your other points are safe, because your enemy can- 
 not maintain his ground, much less advance, if the key of his 
 position be in your power, even though he should be successful 
 anywhere else. If the key point can be turned it is still 
 better, and there are many ways of attacking a position 
 abstractedly. 
 
 " Let your guiding principles be first to form plans of 
 campaign on the largest scale possible, then to have your 
 army compact and your movements well combined, concentric, 
 and rapid. If your enemy is strongest, faU on his weakest 
 points and avoid his strong ones. If you are more powerful, 
 fasten on his vitals and destroy him. If he is strong, provoke 
 him to separate ; if he is weak, drive him to a corner. Never 
 separate your own force unless your detachments are equal to 
 the enemy's, and even then it is bad, though sometimes it 
 must be done — the fable of a bundle of sticks ought always 
 to be in a General's mind. The place to strike at your enemy 
 is not so much when you are sure of success in battle as 
 where your blow will be decisive in the consequences. Sup- 
 pose an army has only one road by which he receives supplies; 
 if he preserves that the beating his left or right or centre 
 may be glorious, yet will be unavailing — he remains in the 
 field ; but once gain that road and all is over. These things 
 appear simple, but how few Generals do we find able to act 
 on them ! 
 
 "Is your army of cavalry or infantry chiefly? If the 
 former take the open plains if you can ; if the latter an inter- 
 sected country should be generally preferred; but that depends 
 more on your enemy's force than your own. Indeed on so 
 many things that to say absolutely what should be done is 
 folly ; circumstances must direct. However, the first of all 
 
70 SIS CHARLES NAPIER. [chap. 
 
 objects is the commissariat. Your troops may wrest arms out 
 of the enemy's hands, and if they fail they can run ; but if 
 they want food the game is up, they must surrender. The 
 means of securing food must therefore be fixed — not left to 
 chance or promises. The ^General should be sure, if it is in 
 his power ; if it is 'not he must give up all at once, unless 
 the nature of affairs demands the risking the destruction of 
 his army. Lord Wellington did so in Portugal, whether 
 properly or not is for those who know how things stood to 
 judge. I do not. 
 
 " Discipline should be enforced with rigour. Death is the 
 only effectual punishment on service. The life of a criminal 
 must not be thought of when it gains a point of far more im- 
 portance than a post, in attacking which a hundred honour- 
 able men may fall. Discipline is necessary for health, for 
 safety, for combinations, for keeping up numbers, seeing that 
 the loss of men killed or taken singly in consequence of 
 plundering and drink is inconceivable. Policy and humanity 
 to the wretched inhabitants of the seat of war command that 
 marauders should die without mercy. But the supply of food 
 must be sufficient or discipline goes ; no man wiU starve for 
 fear of being shot. The commissary is the very life of an 
 army; if his department goes wrong the General can do 
 nothing ; disorganisation and disease follow his heglect. A 
 General should also watch the drill of his army, but that is 
 the easiest part of his duty. Eegiments must, however, take 
 all means of perfecting and adapting it to the country 
 acted in. 
 
 " With these precautions a General may take the field with 
 confidence in himself, if he is also cautious, daring, active, 
 deceitful, searching his enemy with spies in all directions, but 
 giving little credit to their stories, save where corroborated 
 by circumstances or on proved fidelity. He should acquire 
 accurate personal knowledge of the country, and make his 
 staff departments do the same. When in movement let him 
 be careful to prevent his troops being kept standing long 
 under arms — waiting either for quarters at the end^ or for 
 orders at the beginning of a march ; nothing is more harassing 
 
II.] STUDIES. 71 
 
 to men and officers, nothing so likely to produce sickness in 
 hot, cold, or wet climates. Seize all intoxicating liquors when 
 they can be found, and let them be immediately distributed 
 as far as may be without injury ; if that can't be destroy 
 them, for to guard them with English troops is impossible. 
 
 " Guard well against surprise. To be surprised is inex- 
 cusable in a General, if it happens from his neglect of proper 
 posts ; if his troops are surprised in good posts they must be 
 in a dreadful state, which can hardly be the fault of any one 
 but the General. Never call a council of war ; a General is to 
 command his officers, not to obey them. This need not pre- 
 vent his receiving the opinion of any officer, or of every 
 officer, in regard to their peculiar duties. Leave every officer 
 power and responsibility in his own post, according to his 
 worthiness. A General publicly avows his embarrassments 
 when he tells inferior officers he does not know what to do, 
 and that they do ; his army loses confidence, magnifies every 
 difficulty, and either becomes panic-stricken or despises the 
 chief, or both. In council also each will believe he knows 
 better than his neighbours, and be dissatisfied if his advice is 
 not followed. The man who says, ' Do that because I order 
 you,' is obeyed with confidence and decision. What would 
 not Marlborough have done but for the councils of war which 
 the Dutch deputies forced on him ! Lord Wellington as- 
 sembled one council of war in the Peninsula, but only to hear 
 all that could be urged against a resolution he had taken ; 
 for it was said the Generals were unanimous, and in two hours 
 after orders were issued for a march directly opposed to their 
 opinion ! As to fighting battles. Marshal Saxe said they were 
 won by legs more than arms, and certainly battles are decided 
 by rapid well-directed raarches more than anything else ; but 
 I do not see much wisdom in the apophthegm, for it is the head, 
 arms, and legs united that win battles, and not any one of 
 them. The head has clearly the best share, fqr the best legs 
 and arms with a bad head will rarely conquer, whereas bad 
 legs and arms with a good head may." 
 
 " Berrrvuda — Alexander the Great. — He warred against the 
 Persians 334 years before Christ, and it is remarkable that the 
 
72 SIR CHARLES NAPIER. [ohap. 
 
 two most renowned warriors of history should have commenced 
 their great enterprises with such small armies. Alexander 
 invaded Persia with only 30,000 foot and 5000 horse ; Hanni- 
 bal entered Italy with but 20,000 foot and 6000 horse. How 
 much more depends upon the chief than on the numbers of an 
 army ! Alexander's mode of warfare indicates that the vast 
 plan he executed was pre-calculated, and did not spring 
 merely from success. At first he moved along the coast of 
 the Propontis, because Mount Ida was naturally strong, and 
 Memnon was there, well fortified, and having also prepared 
 obstacles on the coast of the ^gean Sea. By this march 
 eastward, which, being much longer, was quite unexpected, 
 Alexander turned aU those obstacles. 
 
 " At the Granicus, being opposed, contrary to Memnon's 
 advice, he concentrated his force on the right and defeated 
 the Persians^ — that is, the Persian king's army, for the forces 
 were chiefly Greek mercenaries, and Memnon was a Greek. 
 After the victory he divided his forces, and with one half 
 took Sardis and all the towns along the iEgean coast ; but by 
 that time the enemy had collected on the frontier of Syria 
 under Darius, whereupon Alexander concentrated his scattered 
 forces, marched upon Darius and defeated him at Issus. Two 
 things are noticeable here. First, Alexander had grown 
 careless from conquest and from deficiency of intelligence. 
 Darius, displaying talent and activity, got in his rear, seized 
 the Armanic gate, and nearly got the Syrian gate also. These 
 were the only passes through the mountains by which Alex- 
 ander could retreat. The danger was seen and the fault 
 remedied by a rapid night march, which placed Alexander's 
 army at the Syrian gate before Darius could get it. Alex- 
 ander could then have declined a battle if he chose, but that 
 was not his game, and he attacked. 
 
 " The second noticeable thing was the judgment with 
 which he did. attack. Darius drew up his forces with his 
 right to the sea, his left resting on the mountains, his front 
 covered by the Issus. Alexander feU on the Persians' left 
 with the greatest part of his troops, leaving Parmenio on his 
 own left with the cavalry, to make the best fight he could. 
 
11.] STUDIES. 73 
 
 If defeated Alexander could have gotten into the mountains, 
 and by his right have reached the previously-conquered 
 countries, or Greece by a detour; for his left being weak 
 would have been first beaten, and its retreat have been pro- 
 tected by his right. Had he taken a different course his 
 right would have first retired, and his whole army been 
 thrown back on the sea, or into the plains of Mesopotamia, 
 where it would have been destroyed. Victorious, he equally 
 gained by this disposition ^ for he, as actually happened, threw 
 the Persian army on to the sea and destroyed the greater part. 
 Having won the battle, he marched along the coast of Phoeni- 
 cia, gaining many ports and ships ; then he took Egypt ; and, 
 thus getting the whole coast, formed a large fleet and cut 
 Darius off from the Persian party in Greece, which, under 
 Demosthenes and others, had been hitherto very dangerous ;. 
 and it had been the able Memnon's plan to invade Macedonia. 
 
 " Few things more strongly mark Alexander's vast designs 
 and genius than the way he treated the people of the con- 
 quered districts, always making them his warm friends. 
 Pausanias says he never erected trophies, though usual then. 
 The only difference to the conquered was that they changed 
 an old king who made them pay heavy tribute and never saw 
 them for a young one who was among them and exacted 
 much less in tribute. He gave them great commands, and 
 he was liberal, but withal very economical and anxious to 
 prevent all expense that was not useful and just ; very gener- 
 ous but not extravagant. 
 
 " Having secured his rear and all the sea communications 
 with Greece, he pressed forward into the heart of Darius' 
 empire, and beat him at Arbela by attacking, as usual, with 
 his own force concentrated. Being much outnumbered he 
 displayed two equal lines, so as to be able to form squares in 
 case the Persians surrounded him ; and with this formation 
 first bore down on their centre, but so obliquely towards his 
 own right as to compel them to make a flank movement to 
 prevent his gaining their flank, and at that moment attacked 
 them. The battle was well contested, but he won it. His 
 motive for obliqueing when moving against them was, seem- 
 
74 SIR CHARLES NAPIER. [chap. 
 
 ingly, to avoid the ground they had cleared for their chariots. 
 His subsequent movements were very rapid. After the battle 
 he took Babylon, and pursued "his conquests to India; and it 
 is a proof of his wisdom that the towns he built have most of 
 them remained to this day, showing that he foresaw the 
 channels in which commerce would flow. The Egyptian and 
 the Paropamisan Alexandrias were the most noted ; but the 
 works begun and proposed at Babylon, just before his death, 
 evinced his design to make that the capital of the world. 
 
 " The battle of Granicus was won by placing the greatest 
 force on the right, so that his attack was made with troops 
 more concentrated than those of the enemy. This seems to 
 be the main point in aU battles ; for you thus overwhelm a 
 certain portion of the enemy, and, being always compact, can 
 meet his subsequent efforts to recover the day with an ad- 
 vantage difllcult to withstand, as the enemy must come up in 
 detail to reinforce his defeated troops." ^ 
 
 " Order of Battle. — Jomini's method of forming three 
 lines by dividing regiments into three grand divisions, one 
 behind another, would sacrifice fire and be imhandy. For 
 English troops the single line, two deep, has been found 
 strong enough. If men have solid nerve that formation is 
 sufficient ; if they have not three lines will equally faU, and 
 the rear Une wiU be shooting the front lines. If you distrust 
 your troops the column is best to break an adverse line, 
 because disorder and flight from line is destruction ; whereas 
 the most frightened troops can keep in a body, and be able 
 to make terms if not able to resist with effect, and in the 
 attack they force each other forward ; but no general rule can 
 
 ^ Marginal note written nearly forty years afterwards, when Com- 
 mander-in-Chief in India : — 
 
 " It is curious that I should have written this in Bermuda, 1812, 
 and be here in 1850, at Simla, having just returned from passing over 
 Alexander's march from the Indus to the Hyphasis. I am at the head 
 of an army larger than his ; hut I am more than double his age, having 
 only half his strength, and none of his power. If I had his power I 
 would, without a hundredth part of his genius, go near his glory, and 
 would win all he won — and more ; for I have a better army, and our 
 Europeans amalgamate better with the natives than did his Greeks." 
 
II.] STUDIES. 75 
 
 be given in these matters. Should I ever command an army 
 it shall be kept, so far as the ground will admit, in a wedge- 
 like form, which may, according to circumstances, be com- 
 pressed to an oblong, or displayed as a line. When required 
 to act it may be done by companies, regiments, or brigades, 
 according to the need. Six regiments are in line; twelve 
 may follow in straight column behind each flank, or divergent 
 in ichelon, thus offering the oblong or the wedge form as the 
 ground dictates. Behind the centre should march the reserve." 
 
 " Cavalry. — In the British army we have not considered 
 this arm much in a scientific point of view — ^that is to say, its 
 use in the field and its equipment as suited to its duties and 
 dependent on them. It appears to me that in battle infantry 
 must have the greatest effect, but cavalry in the campaign. 
 Infantry grow accustomed to cavalry, but the tendency of 
 cavalry is to become fearful. This a good General should take 
 great pains to obviate. The infantry soon learn that close 
 formation and steadiness gives them safety. They take ad- 
 vantage of ground, and thus gain confidence ; but the cavalry 
 must lose it, because they find the foot-soldier grow firmer in 
 resistance and delivering a closer fire. Thus attacks become 
 more dangerous for man and horse, and both become faint- 
 hearted. The dispute is finally decided by the complete 
 superiority of the musket and bayonet over the sabre. One 
 simple fact, will account for this. The foot-soldier can kill 
 his adversary at some hundred yards ; the horseman cannot 
 hurt his enemy until the latter is within reach of his sword, 
 and then six foot-soldiers are opposed to each file of horsemen ! 
 Is it fair to expect they should cope with such odds for any 
 length of time ? 
 
 " I do not mean that cavalry are not to charge infantry ; 
 they must charge anything they are ordered to charge, and 
 they win frequently break and annihilate infantry ; moreover, 
 it may be requisite to charge with the certainty of defeat. 
 These are not points becoming for cavalry to consider ; they 
 wholly belong to the General. My aim is to show that in- 
 fantry will have greater force in battle than cavalry. It may 
 be said that artillery will break the infantry ; but the latter 
 
76 SIR CHARLES NAPIER. [chap. 
 
 have artillery also, and my decided opinion is that infantry, 
 even in line, may oppose cavalry, particularly when accidents 
 of ground cover their flanks, in want of which a company 
 wheeled back will answer the purpose. I will go further, and 
 will, after a deal of personal service in the infantry, say that 
 a line charged over by cavalry will, if the men do not endea- 
 vour to escape by flight, lose very few, and wUl finally beat the 
 cavalry. Artillery therefore makes little difiference, and solid 
 formations are not essential, though preferable. Cavalry may, 
 nevertheless, act with prodigious effect accidentally. Great 
 conduct and great misconduct will not submit to principles. 
 
 "With regard to the equipment of cavalry, we could 
 hardly alter for the worse. I will not enter into details, but 
 the chief objects are to have two classes — viz. light dragoons 
 and heavy dragoons; that is larger men, not heavier baggage. 
 All should have straight cut -and -thrust swords, thirty-five 
 inches in the blade, and light muskets for acting on foot, as 
 the French do. No trappings ; the horse must not be killed 
 by useless weight. A dragoon should have no kit but a 
 cloak, a pair of shoes, two flannel shirts, and a piece of soap. 
 These, wrapped up in an oilskin, would go in the right holster 
 pipe, and a pistol in the left. To make cavalry effective in 
 the long run they must move rapidly, and for that they must 
 be light ; therefore good cavalry consists in the strong horse 
 and light weight. This gives one beast fair play ; and to 
 give t'other beast fair play also, teach him to trust to his 
 sword, by teaching him how to use it; then, when a rigid 
 course of discipline has taught him to follow his commander 
 in a charge, he will repay all trouble and expense at the 
 enemy's cost. The absolute force of cavalry is very little ; 
 for what becomes of the force of a horse when struck by a 
 shot? What of a squadron when many horses are down? 
 No ! it is certainly not force but rapid movement that gives 
 cavalry value, the application of which requires gumption in 
 the commander ; the power of obeying him depends on the 
 weight the horse carries ; the courage of the rider depends 
 on rigid discipline, in a collective sense, and on a knowledge 
 of his weapons individually." 
 
II.] STUDIES. 77 
 
 " Commander of a Regiment, — He should be steady in 
 system, that which demands change must be bad : change is 
 in itself an evil of magnitude. He should issue as few orders 
 as possible; there is scarcely a greater evil than long and 
 frequent orders. He should enforce the orders he does issue, 
 a habit of obedience is the great spring of military arrange- 
 ments; but when subject to constant orders men's minds, 
 especially young minds, become fatigued and heedless ; dis- 
 obedience, or at best inattention follows, for no commanding 
 officer can be a constant spy on his officers, nor would it 
 become him if he could. How then can this natural weakness 
 of men's minds be met ? By not overloading them, by short, 
 simple, and few orders, by seeing to their execution, and 
 making severe examples of the disobedient in matters of con- 
 sequence. Sharp reprimands for slight neglect are necessary, 
 not because the matter signifies much in itself, but that a 
 habit of disobedience grows, and steady checking makes men 
 dread disobedience more than the trouble of duty. They 
 reason thus : ' The orders are few, but necessary ; I am bound 
 in honour to obey them, and neglect subjects me to un- 
 pleasant treatment.' When this feeling arises a lieutenant- 
 colonel has little to do beyond admonishing the careless ; and 
 on service he will find that while others are overwhelmed 
 with exertion and yet disobeyed, he and those under him 
 scarcely feel the difference. 
 
 " This is real subordination, real responsibility. It is not 
 saying to a lieutenant-colonel ' I hold you responsible,' that 
 succeeds ; the same speech goes through each gradation down 
 to the drummer; and when the thing is not done the 
 lieutenant-colonel, being responsible to the General, cannot 
 say, 'The major disobeyed me,' for that would bring the 
 General and the drum-boy face to face to settle the matter, 
 which would be the reverse of responsibility. The colonel 
 should be able to say to the General, ' I cannot see this order 
 executed with my own eyes, but, having taught my officers 
 the necessity of obedience, I will be responsible for its execu- 
 tion.' Here is the true ' chain of responsibility,' which is not 
 to be found by throwing your own duty on the shoulders of 
 
78 SIR CHARLES NAPIER. [chap. 
 
 your juniors. Let the commander do his own duty, that is 
 the great secret; neither rewards nor punishments have so 
 much effect as example. In battle a leader who cries 
 ' Forward,' may see his men fly disgracefully ; but he who, 
 sword in hand, rushes on the enemy will generally be 
 followed. 
 
 " The fewer reprimands the fewer punishments, and more 
 effect; nothing more disagreeable to oneself, nothing more 
 useless than scolding — ^it is weak and contemptible. The 
 voice of a commander should seldom be heard La anger, and 
 then it wiU be feared and heeded ; if frequent it will ezcite 
 ridicule, often indignation. Its course is first teasing, then 
 impertinent, ungentlemanlike, finally unjust and insulting; 
 then an apology is due to the misused person, and you are no 
 longer respected. Such are the results of habitual rowing ; 
 but an occasional touch up is invigorating, only let it come 
 out at once like the devil, haU, rain, thunder, and lightning. 
 When this is justified by the matter it never creates enemies 
 or discontent. British oflScers won't bear insult, but they 
 know that duty must be done, and idle fellows are thus 
 worked up." 
 
 " Gibbon. — He says, ' The principle of a free Govemment 
 is irrecoverably lost when the legislative power is nominated 
 by the executive.' What freedom can we boast of, then, when 
 our members of Parliament hold places under Government ? 
 When our peers are placemen ? When the power of voting 
 at elections is restricted to a certain number of persons, in- 
 stead of being the right of the people? When a seat in 
 Parliament is so valuable as to make it worth while to expend 
 £100,000 to carry one election? When the riches of the 
 Treasury can be applied to the venal inclinations of a Parlia- 
 ment ? When the higher offices of the executive are identified 
 with those in whom the legislative authority is vested ? And 
 when the innumerable executive offices in the lower classes 
 are held by voters who elect the legislative body — at least 
 that part supposed to be the chief bulwark against tyranny 1 
 Our legislative is not only nominated by the executive, but 
 
11.] STUDIES. 79 
 
 is in fact itself ; the two powers exist in the same men, and 
 the attempts made to assert freedom and the real spirit of the 
 constitution are called treason — everything that is bad ! Very- 
 natural however is this — ^we cannot expect thieves to condemn 
 their own robberies. Ministers and opposition are alike in- 
 terested to preserve this dreadful system, menacing destruction 
 to the British Constitution ; this system of aristocracy devised 
 to make the crown a cypher and the people slaves. The 
 remedy is to reform abuses by short parliaments, and an 
 equal distribution of the right to elect members, having no 
 placemen in the House. Able men have said that these 
 things would be effectual, and I have heard no convincing 
 argument against them.'' 
 
 "Nicholas Biend GaJbrini, 1824. — When at Kome and 
 Naples I thought those towns might be reformed, but was 
 assured it was quite impossible by Sir W. Gell, with whom I 
 had an argument, and whose talents do not appear to me to 
 be above the blue-stocking description ; however, knowing so 
 little of him, I may be wrong. The recollection of what had 
 been accomplished by Eienzi was not then fresh in my 
 memory, but reading history again convinces me I am right 
 and Gell wrong. All that Eome requires is a free press, 
 which would have indeed less vigour, less enterprise, than the 
 tribune, but would be less corrupt, more persevering, and 
 would not die; he cured by the actual cautery, the press 
 would be only an alternative — both would be best. But the 
 press would soon produce a Eienzi in a town full of men with 
 high natural talent and well-cultivated minds ; full of noble 
 feelings also, though great blackguards because it is a moral 
 impossibility they should be otherwise. If you were to keep 
 the most delicate lady in London for a week in a stable, she 
 would smell as strong as a postilion. 
 
 "Eienzi forced the nobles to retire to their estates. If 
 this was done now, and none allowed to live more than three 
 months in the capital, except those whose estates were in the 
 most dangerous parts as to health, where would the robbers 
 be ? Would the rich people, now shut up in their palaces at 
 Eome or Naples, then suffer gangs of robbers ? Would the 
 
8o SIR CHARLES NAPIER. [chap. 
 
 peasantry prefer robbers to nobles who spent fortunes amongst 
 them ? In a year necessity and interest combined would find 
 means to destroy robbers; and in a few years cultivation 
 would begin to conquer malaria ; even the Pontine Marshes 
 would be rescued from agues and frogs. What has been done 
 there proves what may be done. . . . Farms would require 
 hands, and the 50,000 lazzaroni of Naples would with good 
 management diminish. By good management I mean cor- 
 rections through a thousand channels — ^no one measure could 
 purify that stagnant mass. Amongst the most obvious would 
 be colonising other parts of the kingdom, and recruiting the 
 marine force and the army from them ; vigorous execution of 
 the laws, establishing schools of industry, and enforcing laws 
 against vagrants and idlers; finally, a free press would 
 soon let you know a thousand secrets for clearing away the 
 pests. 
 
 " The more I see of the countries of the world, the more 
 certain it appears to me that morality, private and public, is 
 the sine quA non for good government ; and the sine quA non of 
 morality is a free press. The fear of exposure deters man 
 and woman from crime ; both will risk death, any punish- 
 ment, to gratify the ruling passion ; we risk death for trifling 
 gratifications, but fear of exposure acts constantly, and no 
 punishment is more just, being generally exactly suited to the 
 crime. Sometimes it may be hard, being, like aU things, 
 liable to exceptions ; but it would be difficult to show an un- 
 just outcry raised by the press against an innocent person, 
 which the same press has not sooner or later exerted itseU to 
 redress. It also holds the tribunals of justice to such correct 
 principles that the injured find a redress there, even against 
 the press, which thus corrects itself. What makes the higher 
 classes of English society more moral than those of other 
 countries but being the butt of the press? The English 
 peasantry are not superior to that of other countries in 
 proportion. The peasantry are in all countries the best 
 classes. But English gentlemen and noblemen certainly far 
 exceed in honourable feeling the same classes in other countries, 
 whereas the Spanish and French peasants are as good fellows 
 
n.] STUDIES. 8i 
 
 as those in England ; not so independent, however, because' 
 no newspaper will expose the oppressor and report the poor 
 man's sufferings. 
 
 " Whatever evils spring from a free press vpill, in the long 
 run, be remedied by a free press. No other institution can 
 say this, nor has any other so few evils to correct. In aU things 
 human there exists a perfect arrangement, a truth, because 
 God creates not imperfections. I speak as a believer, not a 
 sceptic. The universal search after this truth is best aided 
 by a free press, which sifts and sifts till it reaches the desired 
 point; and it unites talent and dulness, bad passions and 
 good passions, prejudice and sound judgment, in the pursuit. 
 Whoever first hits the truth gains at once an ascendency over 
 his opponents, however feeble he may be, because a thousand 
 pens of power start up to aid him. In a word, a free press 
 is an emphatic term for unceasing inquiry, unceasing pursuit 
 of truth and right, unceasing exposure of wrong. My opinion 
 is that if the earth is to be regenerate and goodwill towards 
 men to be universal, which I do not altogether believe, it is 
 by a free press the Almighty means to work. War, indeed, 
 it may put an end to, if it gains ground all over the earth, 
 but that wiU require time sufficient to tranquiUise the fears of 
 aU half-pay officers of the present day ! " 
 
CHAPTEE III. 
 
 IONIAN ISLES AND GEEECB. 
 
 SircCESSFUL examinations at the Military College were held 
 to give a claim for stafif employment. But Napier, in spite 
 of obtaining the first certificate in 1817, had to wait in 
 enforced idleness until May 1819, when he was appointed 
 an inspecting field-officer in the Ionian Islands. 
 
 He travelled across Prance to Geneva, and thence over 
 the Simplon. " The vast precipices above and below, the 
 overhanging rocks of stupendous magnitude, the wild savage 
 appearance of nature, mingling with all that is beautiful, 
 so far as wood, water, rocks, clouds, snow, ice, sunshine, 
 rainbows, storms, in aU their varieties, make beauty; in 
 fine, all that imagination can paint as landscape is to be 
 found between Geneva and MUan, until the eye and the 
 mind alike grow weary of admiring.'' 
 
 His eye was as keen to observe the signs of moral and 
 material welfare among the people, as to enjoy the solemn 
 beauty of the Alps. 
 
 " Italy can be improved by forcing the gentry to live in 
 the country ; but to effect that it must be made their interest. 
 A prince who would assist the agriculturist, and have the 
 goodness of heart and nerve to grant a free press, would soon 
 find himself the most powerful of Italian princes. The King 
 of Naples thus acting would blow the Pope off and be King 
 of Italy, despite of the Holy Alliance. A free press would 
 tell him how to protect agriculture, would tell him also that 
 
CHAP. HI.] IONIAN ISLES AND GREECE. 83 
 
 he would thus have rich farmers, that rich farmers would 
 employ peasants, and so destroy brigands more than by all 
 the executions. With rich farmers he could boldly attack the 
 privileged nobles and equalise taxation. Theji one step more ! 
 Let the people be represented in a Parliament, and the hearts 
 of all Italians, if not their persons, would be devoted to him. 
 . . . Very little feeds an Italian ; the end of a tallow candle 
 in a quart of hot water, with a tablespoonful of oil and some 
 slices of bread, delights their insides. On twenty sous they 
 , can feast ; and a halfpenny will purchase fruit enough to give 
 a bowel-complaint for a week ; hence the peasantry are not in 
 want, and L£ they had but a very small share of freedom 
 would be happy, become clean and industrious. Now they 
 are idle, very ! Perhaps climate has a share in this, but I 
 doubt. No ! it is the accursed government which lays a 
 leaden hand on industry, and with privileges and monopolies 
 crushes emulation ; the spirit of enterprise is lowered, but the 
 people have it in them, and strongly, though now down.'' 
 
 After a flying inspection of Eome, Naples, and Otranto, 
 he reported himself at Corfu, the capital town and seat of 
 government of the Ionian Islands. These islands, seven 
 in number, had been placed under the protection of Great 
 Britain by the Treaty of Paris (1815), and received a Con- 
 stitution in 1818. England was represented at this time 
 by a Chief Commissioner, Sir Thomas Maitland — a coarse, 
 shrewd man, who did not allow the new constitution to 
 interfere too much with the free exercise of a very despotic 
 temper. 1 But even an absolute High Commissioner could 
 not find much work for the new inspecting field-officer. 
 
 ' On one occasion, the Senate having been assembled in the saloon 
 of the palace, waiting in all form for his Excellency's appearance, the 
 door slowly opened and Sir Thomas walked in, attired in a shirt, a red 
 nightcap, and a pair of slippers. In this state he walked into the 
 middle of the room with his hands behind him, looked round at the 
 assembled senators, and then said, addressing the secretary of the 
 
 Senate, " Damn them, S y, tell them all to go to hell ! " and 
 
 walked back to his room with a grunt. 
 
84 SIR CHARLES NAPIER, [chap. 
 
 " I have nothing to do," was Napier's constant cry, and in 
 consequence he caught the island fever. " Too weak still 
 to go out, say the doctors," he writes to his mother, " and 
 as they only get trouble and no guineas by patients they 
 may be right. My head was shaved, my beard is enormous, 
 as big as Ali Pacha's, and very black, which, with my dark 
 eyebrows, gives me a patriarchal look." On his recovery 
 he visited loannina, where Ali Pacha had his court ; and 
 the following year, as Greek affairs were engaging the 
 attention of Europe, he was sent on a confidential mission 
 to the wily Pacha himself, who had revolted from the Porte, 
 and was most anxious to obtain the help, or, at least, the 
 countenance of England. Napier's conduct of his mission, 
 and the impressions derived from what he saw, are described 
 by him in his report, and in a sketch of his connection with 
 Greek affairs, written in 1825, when the conunand of the 
 Greek army was offered to him. 
 
 " He (AU) was a strange fellow. Cunning, cruel, resolute, 
 enterprising, and faithless, he was fitted for the day and for 
 the wild race he ruled, if we can caU fit what is not directed 
 to improvement. . . . Love of money made and unmade him ; 
 first it made him hoard until his riches gave him power, which 
 enabled him to increase those riches ; but when the hour of 
 danger came he would not expend his money, and so fell. 
 
 " I brought him stores in abundance, his magazines were 
 full, he had quantities of cannon ; and though loannina is in a 
 plain, mountains and the sea surround All's territory. I pro- 
 posed to form for him a complete artillery corps of fifty pieces, 
 which were, with all appurtenances, in his magazine ; and also 
 to drill and organise his troops, which he called 30,000, but 
 never showed me more than 5000 ; however, all he had could 
 have been organised before the Turks came. To this was j oined 
 a plan for the immediate establishment of telegraphs at each 
 pass, but he would not let me examine his country. With this ' 
 plan of communication my advice was to push small corps to 
 each defile, and as far beyond as possible, with orders to harass 
 
III.] IONIAN ISLES AND GREECE. 85 
 
 tlie Turks in flank, and when the latter reached the pass which 
 they designed to force, to close on their rear and cut off their 
 communication. Every pass was to have men strongly en- 
 trenched for defence, while his main body assembled in the plain 
 of loannina. AU this I offered to do for him. No 1 Ali would 
 not. He would not have a regular army, though it was his only 
 safe course, and might place him on the throne at Constanti- 
 nople ; he would not have his mountains entrenched, nor tele- 
 graphs; he would do nothing, it was too expensive, he was too 
 poor ! The Turkish army therefore passed the mountains unop- 
 posed, and Ali was besieged and taken, hoarding to the last !" 
 
 This bold but well-considered plan had a far nobler end 
 in aim than the aggrandisement of Ali. Napier saw that 
 the rebellious Pacha's only chance of success or safety lay 
 in summoning to his aid the enthusiasm of the Greek 
 nation, and, in advising Ali, he designed merely to use him 
 as the humble instrument for the expulsion of every 
 Turk from Greece. It is curious to note that his imagi- 
 nation as a soldier, once set free, bore him far beyond the 
 limits his reason would have imposed, and presented to 
 him the spectacle of a Christianised Ali at the head of 
 a Greek crusade, which should storm Constantinople and 
 be as fatal to the Turk as Marathon and Salamis to the 
 Persian. His report to his own Government insists upon the 
 importance of encouraging any insurrectionary movement 
 in Greece in order to forestall Eussia, whose blind tendency 
 to expansion always seemed to him one of the gravest of 
 political facts. If England did not encourage Greece, he 
 argued, Eussia would avail itself of the pretext to make a 
 dependent province of it. " Eussia must indeed go to war 
 for this acquisition, but what legs has any system to stand 
 on which depends upon peace between Eussia and Turkey ? " 
 England, on the contrary, would not be suspected of 
 wishing to annex Greece, and might effect its liberation 
 without actually joining in the struggle. She might then 
 
86 SIR CHARLES NAPIER. [chap. 
 
 compel Ali to accept a constitution favourable to the Greeks, 
 and " form of those people a vigorous nation — strong from 
 the nature of the country, strong in a fine race of men, and 
 strong in self-opinion, because full of enthusiasm on getting 
 free from foreign slavery." 
 
 When it was too late Ali sent for Colonel Napier, and 
 offered him an unlimited command. He received the fol- 
 lowing answer : " Have you fortified the positions pointed 
 out to you when I was at loannina 1 No ! Then you have 
 neglected to do that in time which would have saved you, 
 and you must now abide your fate. You want to give my 
 head to save your own, but you shall not." What astonished 
 Ali a good deal more than this plain speaking was that the 
 letter was accompanied by the sum of £6000, which had 
 been given by him to Colonel Napier for recruiting pur- 
 poses — ati act of common honesty entirely inconceivable by 
 the Oriental imagination. 
 
 Though this and two other visits to Ali had no direct 
 results, Napier had seen much of the Greek character in all 
 its strength and weakness. Of the latter he says, " Know- 
 ing that a man requires leading in the dark, and every 
 Greek likes to be a leader, they all strive to keep a stranger 
 in the dark, and teU him that all other Greeks whom he 
 may seem to favour are the very rogues of God's earth 
 This is a natural result of their superior talent and abject 
 slavery." But in spite of lies and roguery his heart was 
 won to the cause : " On leaving loannina my mind was 
 full of Greece, and how to serve her, and my feeling was 
 that time, patience, and prudent conduct might so raise my 
 character amongst the Greeks that they would caU me to 
 head their armies. Full of such thoughts, on approaching 
 Arta I said to myself, ' Shall I succeed or not ? Let chance 
 decide ! Quo fata mcwnV I always confided in it, and, 
 seeing a large thistle, all gorgeous, prickly, and shooting up 
 
in.] IONIAN ISLES AND GREECE. 87 
 
 high, said, ' If I can reach and cut off that thistle's head with 
 my whip I shall command the Greek army some day ; if 
 not, my fate is to jog on my own sad worm-like life.' 
 Striking at it then, and staggering my horse in the attempt, 
 for it was far off, I cut it clean down, and from that hour 
 have remained coniident of going to Greece and succeeding. 
 How weak is human nature ! Why should this feeling 
 influence my mind ? Yet it has irresistibly done so." How 
 far this most strange appeal to Chance was answered will 
 shortly appear. Meanwhile he did not neglect less mysteri- 
 ous methods of preparing himself for the command which 
 he felt to be his destiny, for in the spring of 1821 he 
 obtained leaVe to travel in Greece. Making straight for 
 Corinth he studied the military advantages of the isthmus 
 with the enthusiasm of a genuine artist. 
 
 " Corinth, 29th April. — The isthmus is easy to defend. A 
 steep ridge runs from the Acrocorinthus towards Cenchrese ; 
 this ridge, the Aero itself, and some works between the latter 
 and the sea, would present a position hardly to be forced. . . . 
 
 " 1st March. — Kode along the ruins of the ancient walls, 
 and traced the cut made by Caesar, which is one-fourth of the 
 way, and may be carried the whole length without difficulty. 
 How it could be made to answer as a commercial communi- 
 cation I will not decide ; but have little doubt of the utility 
 in that way : in a military view it would present an immense 
 ditch, which would be impassable. The rock in the hardest 
 part seems of a rotten kind, generally a soft sandstone, and 
 in some places shelly. Following the bend of a natural ravine 
 would diminish the labour, and in one part the canal would 
 be commanded by Mount Geranion ; yet that part of the 
 Mount admits of being strongly fortified as an advanced 
 work, and would therefore strengthen the line. ... A second 
 line of great strength might be made by works either de- 
 tached or connected from the north of Cenchrese towards 
 Hesamila, and north of it, turning down to the sea ; these 
 heights are strong, and in one or two places fortifications 
 
88 Sm CHARLES NAPIER. [ohap. 
 
 were begun by the Venetians. A third line would be the 
 great ridge of precipitous rocks extending from the tower 
 towards the Acrocorinthus, and nearly perpendicular the 
 whole way. These three lines, of such massive works, would 
 be, no doubt, a vast undertaking, but the extent would be 
 only six miles for one, and three-and-a-half miles for the other. 
 And I am not looking for the execution to men hired by 
 a Government, but to 200,000 Greeks in arms for liberty, 
 labouring day and night to form a refuge for the whole 
 nation, in which to defy the force of Turkey. A man who 
 knows how to animate an army would make them work with 
 enthusiasm, and they would cut the isthmus like magic !" 
 
 From Corinth he rode to Argos by the plain of Cleone, 
 where, he thinks, " the Greek army should try one general 
 action after losing the isthmus, because able, if beaten, to 
 escape ; and, if victorious, sure of destroying the enemy." 
 After six days in the Morea his impression is that it " fur- 
 nishes the strongest positions in abundance ; the great 
 difficulty would be to move guns, but industry and resolu- 
 tion would carry a 6-pounder wherever a goat could go : 
 it is hard to say where guns cannot go. Mountain guns, 
 4-pounders, are very useful, notwithstanding the contempt 
 with which some inexperienced officers of artillery treat 
 them; this arises from forgetting that each arm must be 
 an aid to the others, and all four united." Eetuming to 
 Corinth he crossed over to the Piraeus, where his attention 
 was distracted between the means for strengthening the 
 harbour and the " gentle pleasing manners " and unaffected 
 conversation of the " Maid of Athens." Traversing Attica 
 and Plataea he reached his northernmost point at Thermo- 
 pylae. " It is not the pass it was, but is stiU a great point ; 
 the sea has receded, but the marsh would defy the passage 
 of an army; the pass is only wider, and could still be 
 defended by 3000, instead of 300." He returned by Delphi, 
 Lepanto, and Patras ; and, being shortly after sent to 
 
m.] IONIAN ISLES AND GREECE. 89 
 
 England with despatches, he published a pamphlet entitled 
 the War in Greece. He had hardly left Greece when the 
 insurrection broke out at Patras. He remarks thereon, 
 1825: "This was, however, nothing to me ; my task was to 
 wait long and patiently ere mixing with a people too vain to 
 admit foreigners until misfortune should show them their 
 ignorance. Every Greek robber thought himself a perfect 
 general ; and yet to me it was clear that good or bad events 
 would be accidental on either side. Wherefore I gave no 
 heed to the war as it went on, knowing it must go on, and 
 details would not influence general principles ; defeat would 
 lurk behind victory, and in the despair following an over- 
 throw I could see the groundwork of success. My convic- 
 tion was that Greece must finally be victorious, but that 
 her hour of glory could not be tolled unless foreigners 
 taught her how to war, and defeats made her hearken to 
 the stranger." 
 
 Colonel Napier returned to Corfu in the beginning of 
 1822, and in March of the same year was appointed Military 
 Eesident of Cephalonia. This office, created by Maitland, 
 conferred almost absolute power on the holder, and was 
 designed to protect the people against feudal oppression. 
 The island was distracted by private factions ; much blood 
 had been spUt, and justice had become such a mockery that 
 it was not unusual for a seignor to sit in court and direct 
 the judges. " I know what prejudices will rise up in fury," 
 writes Napier, " when I say the free use of despotic power 
 is far preferable to law ; nay, that it is absolutely neces- 
 sary in these Grecian islands : yet I do say it. Foster all 
 institutions which educate the people, schools, a free press, 
 etc.; they are good, and they are compatible with the 
 despotism I mean ; but we have to deal with an ignorant, 
 demoralised people, whose occupation is to rob and injure 
 each other, — one fact of a hundred shall be adduced in 
 
go SIR CHARLES NAPIER. [chap. 
 
 illustration : sixty -five peasants perjured themselves in 
 one day, to take the life of a prisoner, innocent, but be- 
 longing to another faction." 
 
 Napier's tenure of his new oflSce was probably the 
 happiest period of his whole life. Endowed with absolute 
 power over a people possessed of rare natural gifts, bodily 
 and mental, and living in a land that would amply repay 
 any labour expended on it, he could look nowhere without 
 seeing the pressing need for reforms — political, social, and 
 commercial ; lawless habits, corrupt justice, abominable 
 prisons, agriculture in primitive rudeness, inland traffic 
 unthought of, commerce and fisheries languishing uncared 
 for. The people were indolent, ignorant, and oppressed 
 by their feudal lords, who were, without exception, bitterly 
 opposed to any step in the direction of reform or improve- 
 ment, which they recognised, truly enough, as so many 
 nails in the coffin of privilege. Until the civil courts 
 could be reorganised the population of Cephalonia, 60,000 
 people, was placed under martial law, so that the Eesi- 
 dent had five or six civil suits a day to attend to, besides 
 all the financial, criminal, and military business of the 
 island. The margin of time and energy that remained for 
 reforms would, in the case of an ordinary man, have been 
 small. "My predecessor," he writes to his mother, "is 
 going home half dead from the labour; but to me it is 
 health, spirit, everything ! I Uve for some use now." At 
 the end of a month he is able to tell her that, besides 
 having his government well in hand, a new lazzaretto is 
 nearly finished and new quays are begun. " Now tell me 
 all your goings on, dearest mother ; every moment left me 
 for thinking of you is so applied, and with regret that my 
 otherwise pleasant life is passed far from you." Another 
 month saw the civil courts established and martial law 
 gladly put aside, and a great road begun across the range 
 
HI.] IONIAN ISLES AND GREECE. 91 
 
 of mountains that divides Cephalonia (6380 feet high). 
 His next letter gives a lively account of his manner of life 
 and work 
 
 " 10<A June. — Health besets me. Up early and writing 
 till eight ; then feed and work in office till twelve, sometimes 
 till three o'clock, swim, dine, and then horseback visiting the 
 road-making. Sometimes on horseback at twelve o'clock; 
 for having many public works in hand, other business must 
 at times lie by for a day, but getting up at four o'clock brings 
 up lost time. I take no rest myself, and give nobody else 
 any : all were getting too fat, and my workmen must be 
 watched or they would do nothing. I do watch and work. 
 I have begun to dry up a portion of a large marsh near the 
 town; this gives great satisfaction, as the summer-sickness 
 comes from the marsh. Expect no letters from me save about 
 roads. My head is so full of them that I think more of 
 M'Adam than of anything else, save a pyramidal pedestal 
 for Maitland's statue; that is very interesting because it 
 pleases the people, who consider the statue itself a great 
 effort of genius. Their pride is great on this subject, and 
 my dislike of old Tom will not lead me to make war on his 
 statue." 
 
 Every line written by him to his mother or in his journal 
 breathes the same spirit — delight in the unsparing exercise 
 of an overflowing and benevolent energy. In his public 
 works he received invaluable assistance and counsel from 
 Captain Kennedy of the Eoyal Engineers, a man of great 
 capacity and taste as an architect, and well known in later 
 years as secretary to the Devon Commission in Ireland, 
 and as engineer of the Bombay and Baroda Eailway. The 
 relation of commander and subordinate was soon forgotten 
 in the growth of a friendship which continued unclouded 
 and ever-growing till Napier died.^ But the Eesident, 
 
 '^ "Never did we differ," ■writes Napier in 1843, "except in the 
 slope of a road ; but if he ever reads this journal he will learn that I 
 
92 SIR CHARLES NAPIER. [chap. 
 
 though he gained much .by his friend's science and powers 
 of designing, was his own pioneer and clerk of the works. 
 When he returned three years later from his hohday, and 
 found that his works had suffered by the withdrawal of his 
 ever-|watchful eye, he exclaims : " How entirely all things 
 depend on the mode of executing them, and how ridiculous 
 mere theories are! My successor thought, as half the 
 world always think, that a man in command has only to 
 order and obedience will follow. Nothing is more easy 
 than to order, consequently nothing so easy as to command. 
 In this light nine-tenths of the world view the matter, 
 never dreaming of the constant reflection, constant watch- 
 fulness, writing, reading, consultations, and other details, 
 required to ensure obedience and give vigour of execution 
 to the most common commands. Hence they are baffled, 
 not from want of talent, but from inactivity, negligence; 
 vainly thinking that while they spare themselves every one 
 under them wiU work Hke horses." Works conducted on such 
 principles and under such an eye went on apace. His letters 
 to his mother mark their progress through the autumn. 
 In October he is able to tell her not only that he has 
 finished his lazzaretto, but that it has given him the means 
 of increasing the accommodation for his soldiers during the 
 sickly season, and so no lives were lost, though forty had 
 died at the same season of the previous year. There is 
 also a bridge building, " which excites the people's curiosity; 
 they never saw one before, having but one river, which is 
 fordable, except in floods. . . . Meanwhile Cephalonia is 
 
 was right about the slope. He has it now all his own way in the 
 north of Ireland ; but, John Kennedy, a, constant slope for 25 miles 
 wUl not do. You have but one fault, you would keep a horse on 
 the drag for 25 mUes ; and for that you will hereafter have to walk 
 up a hot-iron slope, one in twelve, with bare feet !" Elsewhere 
 he says: "If ever man or woman differs from John Kennedy they 
 are wrong." 
 
in.] IONIAN ISLES AND GREECE. 93 
 
 turned upside down with the quantity of my works begun, 
 and gradually being completed. No going home for me 
 now ; it would be wrong to leave a place where so much 
 good is being done until aU is so advanced that it must go 
 on. My market-place is roofed. My pedestal is a tremen- 
 dous job, but two months more will finish that also. My 
 roads will not be finished by me : four years are required 
 with me, and six years without me won't do the job. The 
 two months demanded by the pedestal wiU also suflSce for 
 laying the foundation of the prison, and raising it so high 
 that it must be continued. It wiU not cost less than 
 80,000 dollars, but will be beautiful as well as useful. The 
 courts of justice, of police, and the treasury, will all be in- 
 cluded in the building; and the front will have a portico 
 of eighty-seven columns, each of a single stone eighteen 
 feet high." 
 
 This was very satisfactory progress for the first nine 
 months of rule, and not the less so because his works ap- 
 peared, by a comparison of accounts, to have been executed 
 at a less cost than those in the island of Corfu, and owing 
 to the remunerative character of some of them, such' as the 
 market-place, he found himself each year paying a hand- 
 some surplus into the Government Treasury. 
 
 Meanwhile pressure of work was not so great but that 
 he found time to keep himself well informed of all that 
 was passing in Greece. He received constant demands for 
 advice from Prince Mavrocordato, whose brilliant defence 
 of Missalonghi had lost much of its effect owing to the in- 
 action of the Senate which controlled his operations. Napier 
 sent the Greek Government a masterly memoir on the 
 military situation, including a plan of operations and a 
 strong recommendation to appoint Mavrocordato dictator ; 
 for " the first principle of war is unity, the concentration 
 of moral and physical forces — that is, to unite in one man 
 
94 SIR CHARLES NAPIER. [chap. 
 
 much power, and as many men in one body as can be, to 
 secure a favourable ending. All history teaches the necessity 
 of confiding command to a single man, that he may direct 
 the warlike energy of the nation with fuU effect." 
 
 In the summer of 1823 his interest in Greece was still 
 further stimulated by the arrival in Cephalonia of Lord 
 Byron. The letters to his mother during the following 
 autumn contain many allusions to their pleasant intercourse. 
 " Lord Byron is here, and I like him very much. He is 
 going to Greece, but it is hard to get there, harder to get 
 back ; and if the Turks catch him off goes his poetical nob ! 
 He lives in his ship, but comes ashore to my house. . . . 
 Lord BjTon teUs me he has touched up the Duke of Well- 
 ington in Don Juan ; he means to write one hundred and 
 fifty cantos, and he gets £2000 a canto ! Good trade a 
 poet's ! . . . Lord Byron is still here (13th November) — a 
 very good feUow, very pleasant, always laughing and joking. 
 An American gave a very good account of him in the news- 
 papers, but said his head was too large in proportion, which 
 is not true. He dined with me the day before the paper 
 arrived, and four or five of us tried to put on his hat, but 
 none could; he had the smallest head of all, and one of 
 the smallest I ever saw. He is very compassionate, and 
 kind to every one in distress.'' Napier soon discovered that 
 Byron, besides being a poet and a humorous, agreeable 
 companion, was capable of proving himself a vigorous man 
 of action ; while the poet, in his turn, was not slow to see 
 that Napier's great military abilities and resolute character 
 marked him out as the very man to lead a nation in arms. 
 Writing to the Greek Committee in London, Byron says : — 
 
 " Colonel Napier will present to you this letter. Of his 
 military character it were superfluous of me to speak ; of 
 his personal, I can say from my own knowledge, as well as 
 from all rumour and private report, that it is excellent as 
 
III.] IONIAN ISLES AND GREECE. 95 
 
 his military. In short, a better or a braver man is not easily 
 to be found. He is our man to lead a regular force, or to 
 organise a national one for the Greeks. Ask the army ! 
 ask anybody ! He is, besides, the personal friend of 
 Mavrocordato, Colonel Stanhope, and myself ; and in such 
 concord with aU three that we should pull together — an in- 
 dispensable as well as a rare point, especially in Greece at 
 present." 
 
 The impression made by him on Byron was lasting. Mr. 
 Trelawny {Records of Shelley, Byron, etc., vol. ii. p. 158) says, 
 "When Byron was on his deathbed, and wandering in 
 his mind, Napier was uppermost in his thoughts ; he cursed 
 the mercenary and turbulent Zuliotes, exclaiming, ' When 
 Napier comes I will have them all flayed alive.'" Shortly 
 before he became insensible he remarked on a letter from 
 Loriotti to the Prince, " This is their damned Greek policy ; 
 they are aU rascals ; but when Napier comes I wiU work 
 them all." The bold vigour of Napier's advice must have 
 been very refreshing after months of dawdling correspond- 
 ence with the ignorant and impracticable enthusiasts on the 
 London Committee. He warned him the Greeks would want 
 to get hold of his money, and that if he wanted to do good 
 he should take into his pay some foreign troops. "With this 
 force seize Napoli, and open the gates to all the people of 
 Greece, but exclude the warlike chiefs. Invite all the civil 
 chiefs, whatever faction they belong to, but hold the sword 
 and the purse yourself. A few enlightened men, like 
 Tricoupi and Mavrocordato, will see that you are doing 
 what alone can do good, and they will stick to you and 
 support you, particularly while you hold sword and purse, 
 which secures your power and the faith of the mass of 
 men. Once established in that impregnable fortress of 
 Napoli, and allied with Hydra, etc., use every means in your 
 power to conciliate, short of giving up the purse, which in 
 
96 SIR CHARLES NAPIER. [chap. 
 
 your case I would not trust to my own brother." He was 
 then to send out troops, both to put down anarchy and to 
 fight the Turk ; and when the government was consolidated 
 the purse might be handed over. " Indeed, you would be 
 obliged to do so, because you could only retain it as a 
 sovereign, and I question whether the army would consent 
 to that, unless you were your own General. Then, indeed, 
 you might clearly possess yourself of all you conquered ; 
 but yourself, or your General, would perhaps find your fame 
 and safety both increased by remaining simply' members of 
 a republican government." He was at the same time 
 maturing his own plans, which were, says Sit W. Napier, 
 " if he could obtain acknowledgment and support as a com- 
 mander from the Greek Committee in London, first to fix 
 himself at Napoli de Malvasia, or some other stronghold in 
 the south of the Morea, where he could defy attack from 
 the Turks. There he designed to gather men willing to be 
 controlled and disciplined, having beforehand combined the 
 means for collecting them, in number according to the 
 pecuniary sources available; for, being resolved to com- 
 mand as well as lead, he would have no more soldiers than 
 he coidd pay. With a regular force thus formed, he de- 
 signed to force his way as a conqueror to Corinth, and there 
 establish a great base, according to the plan laid down in 
 his notes on that isthmus." 
 
 In the beginning of 1824 he returned to England and 
 put himself in communication with the Greek Committee. 
 But as that body was much occupied in sending out brass 
 bands and boxes of Newman's water-colours to develop the 
 martial and artistic talents of the people, he thought he 
 could spend his time more profitably in writing a second 
 pamphlet to enlighten the public as to the situation and its 
 real needs. He also published a memoir on the roads of 
 Cephalonia, with observations on the best sites for barracks. 
 
III.] IONIAN ISLES AND GREECE. 97 
 
 Poor-law problems and the management of prisons also 
 received a careful study, with a view to his own works in 
 Cephalonia. In May 1825 he was back again in his own 
 kingdom, and found Sir Frederick Adam High Commis- 
 sioner in the place of Maitland, who was dead. He received 
 a cheerful welcome in true Homeric style. 
 
 "My subjects of Luxuri have given me a magnificent 
 dinner in my own market -house, the room being above a 
 hundred feet long. There was also a boat-race. One boat 
 was moored far at sea, while close under the window of the 
 market-house a flag floated with my name on it, and from 
 the flag a lane of several hundred yards towards the distant 
 boat was formed by two rows of ships and small craft, chiefly 
 filled with ladies. Four twelve-oared boats started, and came 
 dashing in towards the goal in a beautiful and exciting manner, 
 for there was a dead calm, and they strove to break each other's 
 oars. On the other side of the room the windows looked on 
 the market-square, where, from a large booth, six men threw 
 provisions and handed wine to the mob for four hours ; you 
 see how handsomely the affair was conducted. About 8000 
 people received me with cheers on landing, and I could not 
 help saying to a foreigner near me, ' How lucky it is not for 
 my execution; these things are all accidental, and equally 
 entertaining to the spectators.' We drank horrid Greek 
 radical toasts, such as Prince Mavrocordato, Orlando, the 
 cause of Greece. But to neutralise that we screeched for the 
 King and Sir Frederick; and as to the Resident, his health was 
 drunk every half -hour while we were sober, every half -minute 
 when drunk, and my fear was they would take to kissing him. 
 The Greek way of feeding the peasants while the gentlemen 
 feast has a kind appearance, and belongs to old times ; there 
 were some six or eight pipes of wine given to the people.'' 
 
 The next letter alludes to his promotion and other 
 pleasant matters : — 
 
 " (ith July. — Not sorry to be a fuU colonel, but less pleased 
 at my own than at George's promotion, as he wished it so 
 
 H 
 
gS SIJi CHARLES NAPIER. [cHAp. 
 
 much. As to my works here, they go on. Twenty columns 
 have been cut, in single stones, from my quarry ; they shall 
 be boiled in oil to hinder the sea-air injuring them, and when 
 cooked they will be sausages for the giant who bobbed for 
 whales. I have buUt eight bridges since my return, and 
 made a road from the quay to the town of Luxuri — 3 
 miles. My long quay, a mile long, is completed, and looks 
 magnificent. Meanwhile, to bless us, we have got a bishop 
 appointed — an excellent pious man, who formerly lived by 
 sheep -stealing, which he now calls his pastoral life. His 
 depth of learning and length of beard are both admirable ; 
 he piques himself on a thorough knowledge of the canon law 
 of Justinian, which chiefly rules the Greek Church, and he 
 assured me the said Justinian wrote the Code Napoleon out 
 of friendship for Buonaparte, as they had been at the school 
 of Brienne together. Disputing this fact, I asserted that 
 Justinian was King of England in the reign of Solomon, and 
 that an ancestor of mine had been sent to Jerusalem to teach 
 logarithms to the architect who buUt the temple. This greatly 
 disturbed my bishop's theory as to Brienne; but he is comforted 
 by Adam giving him about twice my pay — an extravagance not 
 to be accounted for. I am only fourth in salary here, though 
 governors are generally the best paid. We Eesidents are, how- 
 ever, paid enough ; it is the others who are overpaid." 
 
 About this time he made the acquaintance of another 
 ecclesiastic, as singular in his way as the new bishop, hut 
 a man of real worth and even genius. The Eev. Joseph 
 Wolff, afterwards so famous for his adventurous travels as 
 a missionary through Persia, Bokhara, and Afghanistan, 
 passed through the Ionian Isles in 1825, on his way to 
 Palestine. His ship was dashed to pieces on a rock off 
 Cephalonia, and he reached the harbour in an open boat, 
 perfectly destitute. He was thus accidentally thrown 
 across the man for whom he subsequently conceived such 
 an extraordinary admiration that he believed him to be 
 a prophet with a special divine mission. The following 
 
lit.] IONIAN ISLES AND GREECE. 99 
 
 account of their first meeting is taken from Dr. Wolff's own 
 narrative (vol. i. pp. 401-405) : — 
 
 " Soon after their arrival the greatest man whom not 
 only England but aU nations have for centuries had — a man 
 whose fame resounds from England to Bokhara and to the 
 walls of China — made his appearance on the shore, with 
 convulsive eyes and shoulders, with fire-flashing glances, and 
 a pleasant countenance. The first thing that extraordinary 
 man said was, ' I know your sister-in-law. Lady Catherine 
 Long, very weU. She is one of the prettiest women I ever 
 saw.' This was spoken to Wolff through the iron grating 
 of the lazzaretto, in which all new-comers are placed before 
 being allowed to go on shore. He then added, 'Now, 
 Wolff, I know you, too, very well I know that you are 
 going about preaching that the world is to come to an end 
 in the year 1845. It serves them right ! ' " 
 
 Poor Wolff, thus abruptly challenged, hastens to explain 
 that 1847 was the .correct date, and that he foretold the 
 renovation, not the destruction of the world, the coming of 
 the Messiah, and the restoration of the Jews. 
 
 " Now, Wolff," he continued, " you are not allowed to 
 land, but I and my friend Kennedy and Dr. Muir will 
 often come to see you. I shall send you victuals from 
 shore, and you can do just what you like. You must 
 remain here twenty-six days, for we don't wish to catch 
 the plague, though it's all a humbug. But we must submit 
 to humbug. I shall come to-morrow, with the Jews and 
 Greeks, to whom you may preach. You may teU them 
 that there is no difference between Jew and Greek — for 
 they are both rogues alike !" 
 
 "Next day he actually came with a great crowd of 
 both Jews and Greeks, and said, ' Now ! here I am come 
 to stand by you. If you cannot convert them, they shall 
 get a d — d licking !' Wolff reproved Napier for swearing, 
 
100 SIR CHARLES NAPIER. [chap. 
 
 to which he answered, ' I deserve the reproof, for I swear 
 like a trooper.' " 
 
 After Wolff had been for some days in that horrible 
 lazzaretto he wrote to Napier a long letter, giving six 
 reasons why he should be let out sooner than the twenty- 
 sixth day. His answer was, "You gave me six reasons 
 for letting you out; I will give you seven reasons for 
 keeping you in. One of the reasons is — that if I let you 
 out the Lord High Commissioner of the Ionian Islands 
 would cut off my head ! " Having at last been Hberated, 
 Wolff became the guest of the Resident, and maintains 
 that he never saw " a man who set a better example by 
 having daily family prayers in his home." Wolff read the 
 service and preached on the Sunday, under circumstances 
 as strange and unconventional as any that befeU him in 
 Bokhara. Himself a converted Jew, his most strenuous 
 efforts at this time were directed to the instruction of the 
 rest of his race. The despotic Resident, in honour of his 
 guestj summoned all the Jews to his house. The sensations 
 of the unhappy Israelites must have closely resembled those 
 of their brethren on Holy-Cross Day at Rome. To those 
 who could read Napier gave the Bible. One of the Jews 
 asked for one. "Do you know how to read?" "Yes," 
 said the Jew. Napier then said " Read," and put a Bible 
 into his hands. The man did not know how to read, upon 
 which Napier exclaimed, " I have a good mind to give you 
 a d — d licking ! — the soundest licking you ever got." 
 Neither preacher nor prophet relates how many souls were 
 rescued from darkness by these singular efforts. Wolff 
 went his way, and Napier probably felt unequal to such 
 labours single-handed. 
 
 In September the event for which he had confidently 
 waited since he cut down the thistle on the road to Arta 
 came to pass. Barely twelve months had elapsed since the 
 
in.] IONIAN ISLES AND GREECE. loi 
 
 London Committee had refused his proffered services. Bat 
 the man whose masterful spirit and irrepressible energy- 
 frightened steady-going officialism in calm or prosperous 
 times was destined more than once to be entreated to come 
 to the rescue amid disaster and confusion. Ibrahim Pacha 
 was now ravaging the Morea, and the Greeks turned to 
 Napier for safety. 
 
 "From Mavrocordato and Tricoupis," says Sir W. 
 Napier, "in Greece, from Orlando and Luriotis in London, 
 and from others of the islands, came letters saying that his 
 capacity and energy, his military knowledge and resolution, 
 and, still more, the nice judgment with which he had per- 
 formed his duty to a neutral Government without losing 
 the goodwill of the Greeks, had attracted the attention of 
 the Hellenes, and they expected their salvation from him. 
 Greece wished for and expected him. Such were the 
 phrases used, and they were enough to stimulate a great 
 spirit to a rash course ; but truly he said of himself that a 
 wild enthusiasm was no part of his nature ; he could grasp 
 and appreciate all the calculable chances of a great enter- 
 prise, and dare anything ; but he would not accept any un- 
 certainty capable of being solved beforehand." 
 
 The following conditions were sent by him to his 
 brother WiUiam, who, with Mr. Bickersteth, afterwards 
 Lord Langdale, negotiated on his behalf : — 
 
 " 1. £12,000 deposited in your hands for me, as remuner- 
 ation for sacrificing thirty years' service, rank, and future 
 prospects. 
 
 " 2. £2000, to be paid in the proportion of £1000 to each 
 of two scientific officers, who have agreed to accompany me, 
 and who are masters of modern Greek. 
 
 " 3. £150,000, or at least £100,000, to be secured to the 
 satisfaction of Mr. Eicardo, for the exact payment of the 
 soldiers during the first six months, or as long as that sum 
 lasts. 
 
102 SIS CHARLES NAPIER. [chap. 
 
 "4. 10,000 muskets, bayonets, pouches, and belts, must 
 be immediately sent to Napoli di Komania, eacb pouch to 
 contain sixty rounds of ammunition. 
 
 " 5. The £12,000 for myself is to be considered as defini- 
 tive, and precluding any further demand on my part for pay, 
 allowances, or remuneration; for that I bind myself to the 
 Greek service, except in the event of a war with England. 
 
 " 6. At least 500 Englishmen, or Irishmen, or Scotsmen, 
 equipped and armed like British soldiers, are to be sent to 
 this island to accompany me to Greece." 
 
 But it was not to be. The Greek Government allowed 
 themselves to be persuaded by the London Committee to 
 spend on a fleet, which could do nothing efiectual, the money 
 which might have furnished Napier witL an army. They 
 were still, however, so eager to secure his services that 
 they offered him a larger amount of remuneration than he 
 had stipulated for ; but to be a hireUng dependent on the 
 mismanagement and intrigues of the Greek Government 
 was not his aim, and there was nothing for it but to forget 
 his disappointment in renewed exertions for the civilisation 
 of Gephalonia. 
 
 There, with all his zeal for public works, he found 
 himself obliged to preach moderation and economy to 
 Sir F. Adam, who was desirous of raising a loan. The 
 following is an extract from the Eesident's memoir 
 in remonstrance: — "Bacon, in his essay on Colonies, says, 
 ' Speedy prosperity is not to be neglected, so far as it may 
 stand with the good of the plantation, but no further.' In 
 this view all money, above a small sum retained in the 
 treasury to meet unforeseen expenses, should be employed ; 
 but to borrow money for increase of production when a 
 large sum exists in the treasury seems absurd. The pro- 
 gress of improvement should be steady and vigorous ; all 
 projects should repay expenses, and follow, not precede, 
 public wants. Improvements should be gradual; when 
 
III.] IONIAN ISLES AND GREECE. 103 
 
 forced they cost too much, and generally fail. The exer- 
 tions of a state under an energetic administration with good 
 management are natural ; those stimulated by foreign loans 
 are unnatural and detrimental." He himself had lately 
 been able to reduce his expenditure on public works by 
 i£100 a month, without impairing in any way the efficiency 
 of that department. Indeed, he had further added to the 
 list of his undertakings a model vegetable garden and the 
 settlement of a colony of Maltese agriculturists, which were 
 occupying his time very pleasantly, when he was suddenly 
 called to England by the terrible news of Lady Sarah 
 Napier's death. She was in her eighty-second year, but 
 to those who have seen in his letters how passionate and 
 ever-deepening was his affection for her, it will not seem 
 strange that her loss almost crushed him. 
 
 In April 1827 he married a widow, much older than 
 himself, and returned with her in July to Cephalonia. His 
 chief correspondents henceforward are his sisters, to whom 
 his accounts of good work accomplished are resumed, with 
 occasional exclamations of joy at hearing that the Duke of 
 Wellington was Premier at home. " The best chance for 
 England is having the greatest man of Europe for her ruler. 
 He has done all he ever had to do well, and we are too far 
 gone to care about Whig or Tory ; it is an aflfair of exist- 
 ence. ' But he is a fool ! ' Ay ! but then how got he 
 there ?J^as Mrs. Siddons said of the French minister who 
 died in his bureau, which she interpreted an escritoire." He 
 dwells with much pleasure on the success of his agricultural 
 experiments. " I feel proud of this colony ; it is being of 
 use to our kind — to have taken three hundred starving 
 people and made them turn a desert into a garden." But his 
 benevolent enjoyment of power was now suddenly turned to 
 mortification and anger by the interference of the High 
 Commissioner. Tor some time he had felt conscious of 
 
104 S/J? CHARLES NAPIER. [chap. 
 
 having aroused the jealousy of his superior; he was con- 
 stantly thwarted in slight matters, and a little incident 
 occurred which boded ill for the continuance of friendship. 
 Adam drew Napier's attention to a regulation of the Horse 
 Guards forbidding officers to wear moustachios. Napier, 
 who was working fourteen hours a day, and had not much 
 time or inclination to peruse regulations of such a Mnd, was 
 indignant at their application in such an out-of-the-way 
 place, and at a time when a coolness between himself and 
 Adam made the order look like an afifront ; so he cut ofif 
 the offending appendages and despatched them with his 
 compliments to Government House, Corfu. The Ul-feehng 
 was fomented by feudal proprietors, who complained of 
 Napier's tyrannical conduct in making them accept the 
 duties as well as the privileges of their position ; and the 
 affair assimied a very grave aspect, for him at least, when 
 Adam passed an Act for taking the roads and other pubhc 
 works out of the control of the Eesident without consulting 
 him or giving him any notice, and declaring, so Napier was 
 told, that he meant it to " tie up Napier's hands." Apart 
 from all personal matters, Napier felt that the measure 
 must be fatal to the progress of all his best schemes. 
 
 " Allowing the regent and municipal body to decide on 
 works is a sure way to stop all improvement. They will 
 never tax themselves. My mole'' and market-place, and 
 other improvements of ArgostoU, were effected in despite of 
 that body, which moved heaven and earth to baffle me. Had 
 this Act been passed seven years ago Argostoli would be 
 now what it was then. And the mode of raising the fimds 
 by the new Act leaves the country gentlemen to value their 
 own property ; consequently the greatest liar is least taxed, 
 for the municipal body will not swear him to facts, unless 
 from some family feud, or because the lie is too outrageous. 
 They do not want to call forth remarks on their own pro- 
 
III.] IONIAN ISLES AND GREECE. 105 
 
 perty." Feeling that the time was over in which he could 
 hope to effect real good for the island, he sums up what he 
 had done in his six years of office for Cephalonia : — 
 
 "1. I have built two market-places, and established two 
 markets. Before my time she had none. 
 
 "2. A mole from the bridge to the lazzaretto — one mUe 
 and a haK. It was previously a dirty sea-beach. 
 
 " 3. More than 100 miles of road — 40 miles blasted out 
 of the solid rock. 
 
 " 4. Spacious streets constructed instead of dirty lanes. 
 
 "5, 6, 7. More town improvements. 
 
 " 8. I established Dickson's school for girls at the expense 
 of the convents. 
 
 " 9. The Maltese colony at Prousos has been planted by me, 
 and a barren waste without inhabitants, though naturally the 
 most fertile district of Cephalonia, has thus been rendered 
 the best cultivated of the island. 
 
 "10. My new prison, nearly completed, and the market- 
 place at Luxuri, are magnificent structures." 
 
 Other points are enumerated, among them the intro- 
 duction of spinning-wheels, and the list is closed with the 
 remark that for all these things and some more his pay 
 (four dollars a day) was good, " more than enough for my 
 labour ; for as to labouring for pay we are none of us better 
 than we should be.'' 
 
 A summary account of his road-making shows what 
 energy, audacity, and economy he brought to bear on his 
 works. 134 miles of road had been constructed over a 
 rugged mountain range more than 5000 feet high, and only 
 21 miles were incomplete when the control was taken out 
 of his hands. 113 miles were fit for carriages, 96 miles 
 having been cut or blasted through the living rock. Many 
 bridges had been cast, milestones and guarding parapets 
 raised. Much of the road led over ground where none but 
 goats had been before, and yet the gradient was never 
 
io6 SIJi CHARLES NAPIER. [chap. 
 
 steeper than one in twelve. This stupendous work was 
 executed by labour on the oarvie system, and at the marvel- 
 lously small cost of £150 a mile. The wriiie system was 
 established by the supreme Government ; but the Kesident 
 was responsible for the details of its organisation. Every 
 one was made to work or pay, he himself doing both. 
 
 "Had it admitted exemption for a privileged class it 
 would have been an insufferable cruelty and injustice. 
 Still this question remains. How far may forced labour be 
 justly demanded by a Government? My conviction was 
 that four days in a month was not too much for men who 
 can in three months earn full subsistence for a year, the 
 other nine months being spent in idleness or worse. The 
 general Government decided that one day in a fortnight 
 should be the rule, and so it was for six years.'' Of the 
 moral effect of the system he says, " The Resident worked, 
 the engineer worked, British sergeants and soldiers worked : 
 who then could laugh at or contemn work ? No one did. 
 Having worked for Government, they now in numbers work 
 for themselves ; and the women of several districts praise 
 the Cffrvie, saying, 'Our men do not leave all the digging 
 to us, and we have time at home to spin.' " 
 
 In spite of mortification and diminished power, he had 
 grown too much attached to his work and his people not to 
 struggle to make the best of things. The portraits he 
 draws of himself for his sister are still those of a hard- 
 worked man, though the extravagant style is, as usual with 
 him, a sign that he is ill at ease. 
 
 " I am so thin, so sharp, so black, so Jewish, so rascally, 
 so knavish a looking son of a gun, that mayhap Nature never 
 turned such a one before out of her lathe. She could not 
 have turned me, the tools would have been blunted. The 
 north-east wind turns south-west when it meets me on the 
 mountains ; the thermometer falls to freezing-point under my 
 
III.] IONIAN ISLES AND GREECE. 107 
 
 look, and while shaving I admire my courage in trusting a 
 razor in the hands of such an ill-looking rascal as the glass 
 reflects. Well, God send I may not be hanged, for unless 
 more fat and less modesty comes, it wiU be impossible for me 
 to assert my innocence at the gibbet. My horse kicked me 
 yesterday for no apparent reason ; he must have thought I 
 was going to steal his shoes. 
 
 " I am glad you mean to live a hundred years. My wish 
 is for all I love to outlive me ; yet I think my life vnU last 
 until unable to walk without treading on the tombstone of 
 some one dear to me. One thing is, however, certain : I shall 
 never waste away until mummies perspire and skeletons grow 
 greasy. What makes you think I overwork myself % When 
 I reflect how well England pays us, my feeling is that the 
 account cannot be fairly balanced, much less that more has 
 been done for it than there ought to be. If those who employ 
 me are satisfied that my work is enough, well and good ; at 
 the same time I hope they won't ask my own opinion on the 
 subject." 
 
 The judgment he passes, in his private journal, on the 
 career of usefulness which he now felt to be over is still 
 more severe. 
 
 " On a conscientious examination of my six years' 
 government, four may be called lost from dawdling — or 
 rather, two lost and two that a more decided, energetic man 
 would have made more of. Yet I have seen others lose the 
 whole six years ! How idle men are ! Two years ought to 
 have sufficed for all my works, and yet I have a name for 
 being active, and am so compared with the drones around, 
 but not when conscience is called in to witness, and when 
 the sense of what a man can do if all his energies are put 
 forth is consulted. Man ! man ! thou art a beast in whose 
 sides the spur should be ever plunged ! " 
 
 Early in 1830 Mrs. Napier became so ill that her hus- 
 band was forced to take her to England, and accordingly 
 left Cephalonia, never to return. They touched at Corfu, 
 
io8 SIX CHARLES NAPIER. [chap. 
 
 where the High Commissioner bade them good-bye, saying, 
 " Stay as long as you please, but remember that the longer 
 you stay the worse for us." Unhappily, his deeds did not 
 correspond with his words. The works in Cephalonia were 
 at once stopped ; and five months after the departure of 
 the Eesident the High Commissioner visited Cephalonia, 
 called there by a religious disturbance. This he attributed 
 to Colonel Napier's oppressive and illegal conduct ; and, in 
 a report to the Home G-ovemment, brought seventy specific 
 charges against him, publicly declared he could not allow 
 him to return, and seized his public papers. Lord Gode- 
 rich, being appealed to, called for a specification of the 
 ofiFences. Nineteen were selected, the rest acknowledged 
 to be false. Those adopted hardly required an answer, the 
 gravest being that he had suspended the Act abolishing the 
 cmvie, whereas he had left the island some time before the 
 Act referred to had been promulgated. None of the charges 
 had been made before his departure, although many Cepha- 
 lonians held high office at Corfu ; and Lord Goderich must 
 have been fully satisfied with the answers given to the 
 whole nineteen accusations, as he offered Colonel Napier 
 the Eesidency of Zante, a higher post than that of Cepha- 
 lonia, in amendment. But Napier considered his character 
 would not have been vindicated unless he was restored to 
 Cephalonia. This was refused ; and he thus found himself 
 driven into retirement in the prime of life and the full 
 maturity of his powers. 
 
 That he had done much for the prosperity and civiUsa- 
 tion of the island the foregoing pages will have shown. 
 That, in his enthusiasm for public works, he had overstrained 
 the resources of the people is sufficiently disproved by the 
 following facts : — The annual revenue of Cephalonia, the 
 means for raising which were devised by the general Govern- 
 ment at Corfu, averaged from 1820 to 1827 £32,111. The 
 
III.] IONIAN ISIES AND GREECE. 109 
 
 yearly expense of the local Government was £13,385 j 
 leaving a balance of £18,726 to be paid into the general 
 Treasury at Corfu. Colonel Napier had further undertaken 
 to reduce the expense of his government to £10,000, while 
 the revenue was steadily growing. No doubt, in his hatred 
 of feudal oppression, he had done many things which to 
 the feudal chiefs must have seemed nothing short of the 
 grossest tyranny ; but the opinion of the bulk of the popu- 
 lation was very different. One day a poor man bought a 
 very fine fish in the market of Argostoli, but a great sig- 
 ner's steward came up and insisted on having it for his lord. 
 The peasant and salesman hesitated, but at that moment 
 Napier was seen on horseback at the farther end of the 
 market, and the salesman instantly said to the poor man, 
 " Take your fish ; we have laws now, and here comes the man 
 who win enforce them!" Finally, he could not have left 
 behind him the reputation of a harsh and oppressive ruler, 
 for, when he had left Cephalonia for ever, the Greek peasants 
 voluntarily cultivated a small piece of land which he had 
 left uncared for, and year by year they never failed to 
 transmit to him the value of the produce, without disclosing 
 their names. It is not thus that the memory of the oppressor 
 is cherished by the oppressed. 
 
CHAPTER IV. 
 
 RETIREMENT — 'NORTHERN DISTRICT. 
 
 Loss of employraent and income under singularly mortify- 
 ing circumstances ; an invalid wife and two children to 
 support; future employment rendered doubtful by the 
 hostility of the oflScial world — such were the disagreeable 
 facts to be faced when Napier returned to England ia his 
 fiftieth year. The extreme simplicity of his habits made 
 the reduction of income a small matter so long as his life 
 was spared ; but enforced idleness never failed to plunge 
 him in melancholy and seriously aifect his health. 
 
 After short sojourns in Berkshire and Hampshire, 
 where he devoted himself to gardening and the care of the 
 poor, he settled in Bath, and continued there until the 
 autumn of 1833. The state of the country at that time 
 was not calculated to soothe him. " I hate to think of our 
 state altogether," he writes, " and, if my wife were young, 
 would go to New South "Wales to get out of the Way, and 
 rear young kangaroos to play with Susan and Emily." The 
 composition of a book on his government of Cephalonia, 
 and a severe attack of cholera, prevented his taking an 
 active part in politics; and soon a most terrible shock 
 almost overset his mind : on the 31st of July 1832 his 
 wife died. The agony of his grief finds vent in a few 
 sentences in his private journal. " God ! merciful, 
 inscrutable Being, give me power to bear this thy behest ! 
 Hitherto I had life and light, but now aU is as a dream. 
 
CHAP. IV.] RETIREMENT. in 
 
 and I am in darkness — the darkness of death, the loneliness 
 of the desert ! I see life and movement and affection around 
 me, but I am as marble. O God, defend me, for the spirit 
 of evil has struck a terrible blow ! I too can die, but thus 
 my own deed may give the dreadful spirit power over me, 
 and I may, in my haste to join my adored Elizabeth, divide 
 myself from her for ever ! My head, my head seems to 
 burst. Oh, mercy ! mercy ! for this seems past endurance." 
 He soon removed to Caen, in Normandy, and devoted 
 himself to the education of his two girls. He considered 
 the subject with his usual thoroughness and independence; 
 and if his theories are sometimes singular — his daughters 
 were to learn cooking in case a revolution should throw 
 them on their own resources — it must be granted that he 
 was ahead of his age in perceiving that the possession of 
 accomplishments was not the sole or proper aim of educa- 
 tion, even for young ladies. He sketches his plan in a letter 
 to Miss Napier : — 
 
 " 29<A January 1834. — I will teach my girls only useful 
 things. French, for example, because it will be of real use, 
 and it would be painful to them not to know what so many 
 fools know. But my object will be to teach only one thing 
 at a time, and useful things first ; you remember my father 
 always said the advantage of Scotch education was that it 
 taught but one thing at a time. By useful I mean : 
 
 "1. Eeligion as the foundation; to this I trust for steadi- 
 ness. 
 
 " 2. Accounts, to teach the value of money, and how to 
 regulate a house. 
 
 " 3. Work, that spare hours may not be lost if rich ; and, 
 if poor, that they may make their own things. 
 
 " 4. Cooking to a certain extent, that they may not be at 
 a loss if a revolution throws them on their own resources ; 
 and also to guard against servants' waste. 
 
 "5. French, that they may not be dumb in a foreign land, 
 
112 SIR CHARLES NAPIER. [chap. 
 
 which would kill them. These things I can teach them, if I 
 live until they are fourteen ; then they shall learn anything 
 to which their tastes incline. They begin to make out French 
 when they like. Walking in the street a French lady made 
 an observation not intelligible to me, but Susan whispered, 
 'Papa, I know what that lady said.' 'What, my dear?' 
 'What two pretty children those are;' then after a while 
 added, ' I think that was a very pretty woman ' — she being 
 very like an ourang-outang.'' 
 
 A little later he reports progress, and says : 
 
 " My children's next acquirement shall be arithmetic, one 
 not sufficiently attended to in women's education. If they 
 are taught French, dancing, needlework, and to be good 
 accountants at twelve years old, they will have enough learn- 
 ing and accomplishment. Knowing two languages they can 
 teach themselves any other, and be at home in any country. 
 My object is to give them means to work, and then they may 
 become as blue as burning brandy." 
 
 Time and an increasing interest in his children were now 
 doing their work of consolation ; and, meanwhile, his public 
 reputation opened the prospect of a new career of useful- 
 ness. In August 1834 an Act was passed, declaring that 
 certain parts of Australia were waste and unoccupied, the 
 natives' existence being ignored, and a company received a 
 charter to settle there, under certain conditions as to govern- 
 ment. Amongst the chief parliamentary promoters of the 
 enterprise was Mr. Charles Buller, who proposed that 
 Charles Napier should ask for the governorship. Napier 
 refused to ask anything from a Whig Government, but said 
 he was ready to go if a great body of colonists thought 
 him worth asking for, and so got him appointed. Though 
 the colonists petitioned for his appointment many months 
 of suspense elapsed, chiefly owing to changes at the Colonial 
 Office. The time thus lost was employed by Napier in 
 composing a work on Colonisation, in which he explicitly 
 
IV.] RETIREMENT. 113 
 
 declared his resolution to protect the rights of the Aborigines 
 in property and life. But while he was still preparing 
 himself thus an insurmountable bar to his colonial projects 
 was interposed. He was in May officially informed that his 
 nomination was ready, but his terms would not be com- 
 plied with by the Commissioners : these were, tKe right to 
 draw for £100,000 for the colonists, in case of distress, 
 200 soldiers, and a ship of war. He told the Commis- 
 sioners that, while there was sufficient security for the 
 supply of labour, there was none for supply of capital to 
 employ that labour ; and, it not employed, the consequences 
 must be disastrous. That to provide against that, and 
 other unforeseen but inevitable dangers, there must be a 
 reserve of money and soldiers ; for he would not attempt 
 to govern a large population in a wilderness, where much 
 inconvenience must be suffered, without a force to protect 
 the good against the bad ; the colony would be as an army 
 without discipline ; suffering privations, yet with plenty of 
 liquor ; danger might not arise, but he would only go pre- 
 pared. Unmoved by this reasoning, the Committee desig- 
 nated their scheme as founded on a self-supporting principle 
 — a fine phrase, which he instantly demolished by showing it 
 to be a loan-supported principle. The Commissioners had 
 their way, chose a new governor, expended actually more 
 money than had been asked for as a reserve, and finally 
 were compelled to send soldiers. Unforeseen difficulties 
 abounded, and the colony fioundered on amid debt and 
 distress, until the discovery of gold changed the aspect of 
 the whole community. 
 
 "Having refused this government,'' says Sir William, 
 " he was again cast adrift on the ocean of life. Sink he 
 could not ; but he was to struggle for a long time with an 
 augmented family and diminished means ; for, having 
 placed the savings of his life in the Philadelphian funds, 
 
 I 
 
114 SIR CHARLES NAPIER. [chap. 
 
 he was temporarily, in common with so many others, made 
 the victim of a national dishonesty which at once disgraced 
 a"nd bewildered civilisation." 
 
 While the negotiations with regard to the colony were 
 still proceeding he married the widow of Captain Alcock, 
 R.N. This lady, who survived Sir Charles Napier some 
 years, was the devoted companion of his remaining life, and 
 was loved by him, as their correspondence testifies, with 
 the full strength of his ardent nature. With her and his 
 children he once more settled in Bath at the end of 1836 ; 
 and in the following January he and his brother George, 
 who was soon to become Governor of the Cape, became 
 major-generals by brevet. 
 
 At Bath, which was at that time one of the most 
 vigorous reforming cities in the kingdom, Charles Napier 
 entered warmly into the politics of the day and avowed 
 himself a Radical. But his political opinions, though de- 
 cided and well defined, were not of the kind to make it 
 easy for him to co-operate heartily with any party. He 
 had that aversion to party government, as an institution, 
 which is not uncommonly met with in men who are con- 
 scious of a capacity for ruling their f eUow-men, and have 
 put it to the test. His views on the merits of Tories and 
 Whigs are set forth in a letter to his brother William, who 
 was taking a most active part as a reformer, and had been 
 invited to stand for Bath, Nottingham, Birmingham, and 
 Glasgow, among other places : " A Tory, well chastised 
 and taught that he is like other people, is well enough; 
 but Whigs have all the Tory faults, and their own besides. 
 . . . Tories by birth are not to be hated, Tories from sub- 
 serviency are. The institutions of the country make the 
 first ; he has no choice, unless he be a man of extraordinary 
 talent and character. A high-born Whig, who has not 
 courage or talent to be a Radical or Tory, is hateful." His 
 
IV.] RETIREMENT. 115 
 
 programme was unmistakably radical. All Members of 
 Parliament were to be required to pledge themselves to 
 the ballot, short parliaments, an extension of the suffrage 
 far beyond what had just been granted by the Eeform Bill 
 of 1832, and protection for the factory children ; he re- 
 garded with horror and alarm the evils, moral and physical, 
 which were growing with the growth of the new manufac- 
 turing centres ; but, with the keenest sympathy for the 
 people and their sufferings, he combined the most fervent 
 loyalty to the Crown and the principles of constitutional 
 monarchy. " I was an ultra-radical," he said, " and not a 
 republican." Eepublics, he thought, were contrary to 
 nature. " God has created us of different sizes, both 
 morally and physically ; He has also ordained that we 
 should walk upon our feet, and under the direction of our 
 heads. Now, a republican form of government seems as if 
 we were all to agree to be cut to an equal length, and that 
 all who had heads and feet left should walk on the one or 
 the other, according as the fashion should be decided by a 
 general vote passed every four years ! Now, this I do not 
 like. I am very fond of my feet; I buy good worsted 
 stockings and good boots for them ; I keep them warm 
 and dry with great care ; but I have no idea of their 
 pretending to wear my hat, and making my head do their 
 work." 
 
 The question of home politics which interested him 
 most continuously and most deeply was that of Ireland. 
 He and his brothers bore through life a passionate affection 
 for that unhappy country ; its name brought back to them 
 the recollection of the few years of home life that had pre- 
 ceded their early entrance into the army; of their mother, 
 before age, and sorrow, and blindness had marred her 
 beauty ; of the noble presence and lofty character of the 
 father under whose guidance they had first learnt to reflect 
 
Ii6 SIJi CHARLES NAPIER. [chap. 
 
 on the great principles of war and government. In Ireland 
 they first donned their uniform, and had been something 
 more than spectators in the dreadful troubles and misery 
 that preceded the Union. Their sympathy with the people, 
 first awakened by the stories of their nurse, Susan Frost, 
 and old Molly Dunne, the witch of the village, was quickened 
 by the example of tibieir father, who many a time stood 
 between a harsh government and a misguided people. 
 Finally, when Charles Napier grew to be a man, and had 
 practical experience of the eflFect of a just and vigorous 
 policy on alien and misgoverned peoples, he could not re- 
 press his indignation at the injustice and want of states- 
 manship which had marked English rule in Ireland during 
 his life. 
 
 " Oh the Whigs ! Oh that Stanley ! Oh that Lord Grey ! " 
 he exclaims in 1832 to his sister. "They are the men who 
 are sending more bayonets and bullets to Ireland, justice 
 halting a long way after military execution. God forgive 
 me, but if one did not know the King is a good fellow him- 
 self, this is enough to shake loyalty ! Eeform tithes, establish 
 poor-laws, and drive absentees home to do their duty to 
 starving labourers ; and then, if outrage continues, send your 
 bayonets, and welcome ; but then they would never go, for 
 Ireland would be quiet and happy. I am of no party, but 
 when I see people starving in the midst of abundance my 
 blood first runs cold with horror, and then boils with indig- 
 nation. It is said there is over-population. Mr. Nimmo, 
 the Government engineer, affirms that he has surveyed five 
 millions of acres, which he will engage to put into complete 
 cultivation for nine guineas an acre, and the first crop shall 
 sell for ten guineas an acre. Sir Humphrey Davy said every 
 acre of this ground could be made a mass of manure ! These 
 five millions of acres could support fifteen millions of people, 
 and all Ireland has but eight milhons. Yet they are left 
 barren, and the Almighty, who has sent such means, is accused 
 of over-populating ! I have had ten years' experience in 
 
IV.] RETIREMENT. 117 
 
 governing, which is something, and I would stake my life to 
 make every sixpence of tithes be paid up to the parsons 
 without the aid of a soldier or policeman ; and in six months 
 not a man should starve. Stanley would make blood flow to 
 produce love ! Coercion, damnable coercion ! What has been 
 the ruin of Ireland but this accursed coercion, which those 
 Whigs have been crying down for forty years, and now cry 
 up, being in office ! Had Stanley said, ' Every parish that 
 pays up its arrears to the parson shall be relieved from tithes,' 
 he being at the same time prepared with another church 
 establishment for the future, all would have paid at once. 
 O'Connell is called a devil, but he is doing an angel's duty. 
 Fools that the Whigs are ! Can they put down famine with 
 bayonets ? Starve my wife and children, and see if bayonets 
 will put me down, except by death." 
 
 In 1838 he made a short tour in Ireland, and visited 
 with delight his friend Captain Kennedy's model farm at 
 Griasnevin — the commencement of a scheme for combining 
 useful education with an improved system of agriculture. 
 One of the results of this visit was a pamphlet, entitled 
 " An Essay addressed to Irish Absentees on the State of 
 Ireland," in which he gave an interesting sketch of Captain 
 Kennedy's scheme : " Under the auspices of the Education 
 Board, to which he is attached, he proposes to divide Ire- 
 land into twenty -five districts of about 35 miles square, 
 and attach to each a principal model farm of 40 acres ; 
 another farm of 5 acres he gives to each secondary educa- 
 tional school; and to each primary school a farm of 1 
 acre. For the instruction of the directors of these farms 
 he has already formed a central school and model farm 
 of 75 acres at Glasnevin, where many directors are 
 in training for the subordinate farms. They are taught 
 not only to be schoolmasters, but overseers of public works 
 in aid of the new poor-laws, by preparing estimates and 
 organising employment ; and they are also rendered capable 
 
n8 SIR CHARLES NAPIER. [chap. 
 
 of becoming bailiffs to large estates, being instructed in 
 draining, road-making, building, and farming scientifically." 
 This remarkable plan did not receive the support it deserved, 
 and went no farther than Glasnevin, though, with a little 
 encouragement, it might have prevented or done much to 
 mitigate the horrors of the potato famine. During that 
 awful time, when the magnitude of the Irish problem 
 seemed more than ever beyond the grasp of parliamentary 
 government, the thought passed through many minds, 
 What a blessing for all if Ireland could be put under the 
 strong and benevolent hand of some great Indian adminis- 
 trator. "People write to me," says Napier in 1847, "that 
 I should be made Dictator of Ireland ; that would be worth 
 living for. In one year it should be the quietest country 
 of Europe, and one of the happiest in two ; but sectarians 
 in politics would crucify me for saving their lives and pro- 
 perties ; for such is bigotry, and such the result of mixing 
 Church and State together, against the Divine command ! 
 Were I Dictator, the whole of the bishops and deacons, as 
 by 'law established,' should go to New Zealand, there to 
 eat or to be eaten by the cannibals. The poor tenant 
 should be secured, Kennedy's system of agriculture en- 
 forced, and all uncultivated land taxed ; noisy editors of 
 newspapers should hang, and their property be divided 
 amongst their relations, who should also have places to 
 make them bless my justice in execution. I would bestow 
 grape on the first mob, and hang the leaders, especially if 
 they were Catholic priests ; and I would make the country 
 keep the families of the slain in great Itixury. These, and 
 a few more steps of the kind, would make Paddy as tame 
 as a house cat." 
 
 1838 found Napier in his fifty-sixth year, still unemployed 
 and in bad health. His activity found vent, however in- 
 adequately, in literature ; among the works published by 
 
IV.] RETIREMENT. 119 
 
 him at this time were, A Dialogue on the Poor-Laws, to 
 which he was stimulated hy a dispute with O'Connell ; An 
 Essay on Milita/n/ Law ; Lights a/nd Shadows of Military Life, 
 a volume containing translations of Count A. de Vigny's 
 SeriAtvde et Gramdeur MUitadres, and Elz6ar Blase's Military 
 Life in Bivouac, Camp, Garrison, etc., to which he added 
 original essays combating the French author's notions of 
 the military character, obligations, and feelings as false if. 
 applied to the British army. But his principal work was 
 a military romance suggested, during his residence at Caen, 
 by the many vestiges of William the Conqueror in that 
 country. The book, entitled Harold, was sent to Mr. 
 Colbum for publication ; that gentleman was unwilling to 
 publish it without the author's name, and this Napier would 
 not consent to. Years after, when Napier was in India, 
 Lytton's romance of the same title appeared ; and Napier's 
 manuscript, which remained hidden away until some time 
 after his death, was finally published under the title of 
 William the Conqueror. 
 
 In July 1838 he and his brother George received the 
 rank of Knight-Commander of the Bath. " I do feel proud 
 of this," he writes, " and wish my father had lived to see 
 two of his sons Knights of the Bath, and to know that 
 a third will also be one. Have I a right to supporters? 
 If so, one shall be a French drummer for poor Guibert's 
 sake." 
 
 But honours without work could not cure his melancholy; 
 he writes the same month to his brother William, "AU 
 things in Ireland look threatening, but whether the storm 
 wiU burst in our time God knows. Would to God I had 
 been a farmer, thick-skinned and without a thought beyond 
 my plough, and that always going in the same track ; in- 
 terests, habits, feelings, all in one furrow, going on. You 
 and I and George are broken off like worms chopped by 
 
120 SIR CHARLES NAPIER. [chap. 
 
 the spade ; we twist about, heads and tails separated, and 
 not knowing where to look for each other ; yet we are 
 better off than many, and so must jog on till the hour of 
 peace arrives. The anxieties of life press closer as we grow 
 old, and we are less able to bear them ; but with me the 
 strong conviction of a future state gives me a philosophy 
 to bear that I should not possess without it ; this conviction 
 is never shaken, though I confess we are so bepreached 
 sometimes that it provokes me almost out of my opinions.'' 
 
 But early in 1839, to use his brother's words, " The road 
 to fame was open again, and instantly he strode along it 
 with a giant's step.'' 
 
 The ten years which had passed since Charles Napier 
 put off his harness had been years of exceptional suffering 
 and misery to thousands of his f eUow-countrymen. Steam- 
 engines and power-looms had enormously increased pro- 
 duction, stimulated population, and thoroughly disorganised 
 the industrial world, without bringing any immediate com- 
 pensation to the working-classes. Year after year, too, the 
 fields were deluged with rain, until bad seasons and the 
 iniquitous effects of the Corn Laws brought the people to 
 the brink of starvation. It was not merely the idle, the 
 improvident, the unskilful, who were starving. Thomas 
 Cooper tells us in his autobiography how he was converted to 
 Chartism by finding some of the best artisans in the Leicester 
 stocking-trade working far into the night for wages at the 
 rate of four and sixpence a week. "At this moment," 
 writes Napier in 1839, "the best hand -loom weaver can 
 only earn five shillings a week, the price of food being such 
 that this will not give him bread, without firing, clothes, 
 or lodging; hence a good workman in full wages must 
 starve ! " 
 
 When such men saw their wives and children without 
 bread, and their own redoubled efforts and lengthened 
 
IV.] NORTHERN DISTRICT. 121 
 
 hours of toil of no avail, what wonder that they laid the 
 blame on bad laws ! They thought they had been shuffled 
 out of their share in the benefits of the Eeform Bill by the 
 selfishness of the Whigs. Consequently they were eager to 
 follow those who told them that, until the people had 
 gained effective control of the national counsels through the 
 franchise, Parliament would govern in the interest of the 
 governors — the landowners and the trading community, and 
 never in the interests of the governed — the great mass of 
 producers of the national wealth. Thus Chartism, which 
 after all was but a reproduction of the programme of 
 Charles Napier's uncle, the Duke of Eichmond, ofi'ered a 
 valuable means of organisation to many who, without being 
 political enthusiasts, were bent upon finding some remedy 
 for the misery and hunger in their homes ; and Chartism 
 was a serious popular movement only until some better 
 means of making existence tolerable could be found. The 
 Chartist leaders saw this plainly enough, and therefore 
 denounced the formation of the Anti-Corn-Law League. 
 "Win the charter," they said, "and the Corn Laws are 
 doomed ; desert the charter, and you are only repeating the 
 sacrifice of yourselves for the benefit of the middle class 
 that you made in 1832." 
 
 But until the famous league had fairly asserted itself 
 there was real danger of an appeal to physical force. In 
 the manufacturing districts of the north there were constant 
 riots, and, owing to the utter inefficiency of the police force 
 of that time, the military were in as constant request. 
 There had been a few cases of shocking outrage. The 
 Duke of Newcastle's house was burnt ; that of Mr. Musters 
 was attacked by the same mob. " His wife — Byron's Miss 
 Chaworth," says Sir Charles, "was very ill in bed; her 
 children and servants threw themselves on their knees, 
 entreating the rioters to take everything but not to go into 
 
122 SIR CHARLES NAPIER. [chap. 
 
 their mother's room, as the fright would kill her. They 
 drove the children into the woods on a dark night, locked 
 up the servants, went into the sick woman's room, and set 
 fire to her bed ! A few — no one knows whether one, two, 
 or three — rushed into the room, rolled her in a blanket, and 
 got her out through a window ! " 
 
 In 1839 the command of the troops in the northern dis- 
 trict was vacated by Sir Richard Jackson, and was offered 
 by Lord Hill to Sir Charles Napier. The month or so 
 which intervened between his acceptance and taking over 
 the command was spent by him in collecting trustworthy 
 information, in maturing his own opinions and plans, and 
 in preparing by anxious self-examination for the awful re- 
 sponsibility which would rest on him, when a single act of 
 indiscretion, a moment's loss of self-control, might bring 
 on himself the blood of his countrymen, or, as seemed 
 possible, might plunge England into the horrors of civil 
 war. He was in a peculiar position, in some respects, for 
 he held, and had openly avowed, political opinions practically 
 undistinguishable from Chartism; but he had also dwelt 
 in his writings on " the folly of riotous assemblies assuming 
 to represent the whole people of England and the right to 
 change laws by violence." The conflicting emotions of com- 
 miseration for the people and military zeal find admirable 
 expression in his journal : — 
 
 " Journal, March 1839. — The northern district embraces 
 eleven counties, and it is said arms are being provided for 
 insurrection : this is a result of bad government, which has 
 produced want, and the people are rather to be pitied than 
 blamed. They are indeed putting themselves in the wrong, 
 but that does not make those right whose misgovernment 
 has produced this terrible feeling, leading them to believe in 
 every demagogue who preaches violence as a remedy for dis- 
 tress. Poor people ! It is very painful to those who, like 
 
IV.] NORTHERN DISTRICT. 123 
 
 my brothgr William and myself, have long foreseen the result 
 of Whig and Tory policy, to find now what we feared come 
 to a head; however, the Crown and the Constitution are 
 not to be overset because a portion of the people follow the 
 mad counsel of men like O'Connor, when by a juster course 
 they could gain their rights without convulsion. My hope 
 is that some better advisers will keep them quiet ; for, though 
 of all misfortunes of this nature the most terrible is to fire 
 on our countrymen, there is no shrinking from duty, and 
 mine shall be done at all hazards ; but accursed be they who 
 cause or begin civil war. 
 
 " I expect to have very few soldiers and many enemies ; 
 hence, if we deal with pikemen, my intent is to put cavalry 
 on their flanks, making my infantry retire as the pikemen 
 advance. If they halt to face the cavalry the infantry 
 shall resume fire, for if cavalry charge pikemen in order the 
 cavaby will be defeated ; the pike must be opposed by the 
 musket and bayonet, in which the soldiers must be taught to 
 have confidence : it is the master weapon. I am inclined to 
 use buckshot, which would seldom kill or wound dangerously; 
 yet with mobs it would hurt so many that fright would cause 
 dispersion. The great point is to defeat without killing. 
 With a foreign foe, who recovers to fight you again, we must 
 kill ; but insurgents we should seek to save, not destroy, be- 
 cause the chances are that the rebellion will be over before 
 the wounded can reassemble ; having no hospitals they will 
 fiy to their homes. A General brings up his recovered men ; 
 an insurgent chief does not even know where they are, 
 and they will not come back of their own accord ; a brave 
 enthusiastic man, here and there, may rejoin, but generally 
 wounds will be an acquittance of further fight which men will 
 profit from." 
 
 " 27<A March. — ^A summons from Lord John KusseU. 
 
 "29<A March. — In London twenty-four hours after re- 
 ceiving the summons ! Well done steam ! Smoke, thou art 
 wonderful, and a reformer ! The Government seem to be 
 alarmed, and yet not vigorous. My hope is, if civil war be- 
 gins, to moderate that monstrous spirit of inhumanity which 
 
124 SIR CHARLES NAPIER. [chap. 
 
 history and my own experience teaches me to have prevailed 
 on such dreadful occasions." 
 
 "Journal. — Sir Richard Jackson, my predecessor, writes 
 to Lord Fitzroy that in half an hour he can tell me all he 
 knows ; and for all the light got from the Home Office I am 
 as blind as a new-born puppy. If insurrection is going to 
 break out. Government is strangely ill-informed. However, 
 nearly 4000 men are under me, and if May is to produce a 
 rising they shall be gradually drawn together, lest the in- 
 surgents should begin by picking off small detachments — a 
 danger that does not seem to have been considered here. 
 These pikes are but six feet long, which shows their military 
 advisers are not much up to their work." 
 
 The District under his command comprised the eleven 
 northern counties. An outbreak was expected to take place 
 in the month of May, and might occur at any point ; con- 
 sequently every place, and almost every magistrate, was 
 nervously calling out for military protection. To deal with 
 this wide area and these uncertain dangers he had a force 
 of rather under 4000 men, but so dispersed that, on his 
 arrival at Nottingham. to take the command, he found they 
 were in twenty-six detachments, spread over half England. 
 Nor was this the worst : at Halifax there were forty-two 
 troopers in twenty-one billets ! Writing to the magistrates 
 to remonstrate, he says, "Fifty resolute Chartists might 
 disarm and destroy the whole in ten minutes ; and believe 
 me, gentlemen, that a mob which has gained such a 
 momentary triumph is of all mobs the most ferocious and 
 most dangerous to the inhabitants." Such a state of things 
 arose from the anxieties of individual magistrates, whose 
 nervousness, together with the danger of raising disputes 
 between the civil and military authorities, and the strong 
 party feelings which divided the magistrates one from 
 another, demanded infinite tact, firmness, and patience on 
 the part of the General. The wisdom of his plans was at 
 
IV.] NORTHERN DISTRICT. 125 
 
 once recognised by the Home Secretary, Lord John Eussell, 
 who gave him his cordial support. The three points on 
 which he insisted most strenuously were : the concentration 
 of troops, and, where detachments had to be granted, 
 proper quarters for them, so as to keep them together ; that 
 magistrates, instead of clamouring for troops, should rally 
 loyal citizens round them for self-defence ; that the army 
 should be used as a reserve force, and that, therefore, it was 
 the duty of Government to establish a strong police force 
 throughout the country — a measure which was soon to be 
 dealt with by Sir Eobert Peel. 
 
 On the first two points he says, " I lay down as an 
 axiom, and our first, greatest principle, that the Queen's 
 troops must not be overthrown anywhere, because the effect 
 in the three kingdoms would be fearful. If only a corporal's 
 guard was cut off, it would be ' total defeat of the troops ' 
 ere it reached London, Edinburgh, and Dublin ; and before 
 the contradiction arrived the disaffected, in the moral 
 exaltation of supposed victory, would be in arms.'' 
 
 On the third point, the necessity of a proper police, he 
 wi'ites fully his thoughts in his journal : — • 
 
 "As matters stand, I am for a strong police; but the 
 people should have universal suffrage — it is their right. The 
 ballot — it is their security and their will, and therefore their 
 right also — and the new poor-law should be reformed ; but 
 while doing these things, I would have a strong police to 
 stand between the soldiers and the people. My reasons for 
 this are as follows : Good government consists in having 
 good laws well obeyed. England has abundance of bad 
 laws ; but is every man to arm against every law he thinks 
 bad % No ! Bad laws must be reformed by the concentrated 
 reason of the nation gradually acting on the legislature, not 
 by the pikes of individuals acting on the bodies of the 
 executive. The law, good or bad, is to be obeyed, and the 
 magistrate is to enforce obedience. How? By his con- 
 
126 SIR CHARLES NAPIER. [chap. 
 
 stables. But there are now so many people who think the 
 law ought not to be obeyed, who have armed themselves for 
 disobedience, and are, moreover, so well instructed in the 
 quibbles of law, by which it may be safely broken under 
 cover of its own protection, that the magistrate is frightened, 
 morally and physically. How is he to be obeyed ? Where 
 are his constables ? Two or three, perhaps two or three dozen 
 shopkeepers, quailing under fears of all kinds— natural fears, 
 fear of exclusive dealing, of private vengeance. Men as 
 helpless as their magistrate are thus opposed to a rough set, 
 who are perfectly aware that these constables are helpless, 
 and are themselves, therefore, every man a hero in the crowd, 
 ready to commit any crime his heart may devise. What is 
 the result % Outrage ! Call in the troops ! But to that 
 there are two objections. 
 
 " First, you must have an immense force, with its expenses, 
 to give every magistrate a guard — all the troops in the 
 northern district would not furnish a single county ; and then 
 the second objection arises : dispersion of troops, which 
 destroys discipline. In a few years they would become 
 amalgamated in opinion with the people ; you would have a 
 Chartist army, not a royal one,' and one you had armed and 
 drilled ! What then would become of the throne and con- 
 stitution ? Lost ! There would be no ' kicking against the 
 pricks,' the bayonet would be master. "^ My principle is not 
 to risk such danger. Correct bad laws, and do the people 
 justice ; this is indispensable, if we would have peace. But 
 I am talking of supporting the laws as they are. To avoid 
 danger to the throne, you must keep the army clear of the 
 people, and fortify it in principle against treason. How then 
 are you to support the magistrates ? By an effective police 
 force, constituted either on the principle of concentration or 
 that of local election ; or, if you please, a compound of both. 
 Manufacturers have formed an artificial state of society — a 
 dense polluted population, dependent for food on accidental 
 variations of trade, one day in full work and high wages, the 
 
 ^ Talleyrand was of the same mind: "On pent s'appuyer smr lea 
 baionettes ; il ne faut pas s'y asseoir." 
 
IV.] NORTHERN DISTRICT. 127 
 
 next neither work nor wages, and all willing to break the 
 laws. For these reasons we should, in our present state of 
 bad government, public debt, manufacturing and general dis- 
 content, have stipendiary magistrates and an armed police. 
 
 " Let us suppose the whole people wanted, and could force, 
 a republic. What would result ? A desperate struggle be- 
 tween the manufacturing and landed interests, ending in a 
 civil war, to be decided finally by a military chief, who would 
 not be fool enough to wear a hat when a crown was in his 
 hand. Nor such a rogue either; for what patriotic man 
 would let his country be governed by dozens of squabbling 
 republican fools, when his own good sense and single will 
 could rule and guide her aright % " 
 
 In the beginning of April he entered on his command 
 at Nottingham, feeling, as he said, " like a bull turned out 
 for a fight after being kept in a dark stall." 
 
 However, by the end of a week he had formed his 
 opinion of the general situation, as may be seen from the 
 following letter to his brother William : — 
 
 " Colonel W. Napier, ^th April. — I have drawn a plan of 
 the district, containing only the towns where detachments are, 
 and marking the number of troops in each ; thus, if suddenly 
 turned out of bed by the Chartists, my hand can be laid on 
 the soldiers without fumbling for half an hour through a 
 brigade-major's returns, smothered in the details of his craft. 
 The troops are in twenty-six detachments, spread over half 
 England, some 200 miles from me ! The magistrates are 
 divided into Whigs, Tories, and personal enmities ; and every 
 mother's son of them ready to go any length for his sect and 
 creed. The town magistrates are Liberal from fear of the 
 populace ; the country bucks are too old, and too far gone 
 Tories, to have hopes of gaining popularity now by being 
 Eadical ; so they labour to get troops near their own houses. 
 Funh is the order of the day, and there is some excuse, for 
 the people seem ferocious enough. But this fear has pro- 
 duced a foolish dispersion of the troops, these magistrates 
 being powerful fellows. Jackson could not manage them. 
 
128 S/Ji CHARLES NAPIER. [chap. 
 
 and probably I shall be also obliged to give way, seeing that 
 in their ranks are the Dukes of Portland, Newcastle, and so 
 forth. Nevertheless, my efforts shall be to get my people 
 together. Detachments of one hundred, well lodged, do not 
 alarm me ; but having only thirty-six dragoons amongst the 
 ill-disposed populace of Halifax, with a man in billet here, 
 and his horse there, that does. My intent is to talk to these 
 magistrates thus : ' If there is danger, as some of you insist 
 upon, instead of finding safety from soldiers, you will only 
 get them kiUed like sheep. If there is no danger, a great 
 expense is incurred, and discipline injured without reason.' 
 This, and insisting on quarters which will make the troops 
 very cosy, and be very troublesome to the magistrates, may 
 produce a rational view of the subject, for no doubt there are 
 many gentlemen and sensible men among them. 
 
 " The state of the country is bad enough, but in the dis- 
 tress of the people is the great danger ; they make pikes, but 
 it is doubtful if they could turn out 10,000 armed men, and 
 not 1000 in any one place. There appears less fear of a 
 rising than of the growth of a base, murderous, servile 
 character, for these qualities were distinct in the mob here 
 when they burned the Duke of Newcastle's house. Eemember, 
 however, that this is my first e<mp d'ceil, and may be a very 
 erroneous one ; I would not give it to Lord Fitzroy, or Lord 
 John, as that might commit me to views which may be 
 reasonably changed." 
 
 Unlike the "bull turned out for a fight," he was by no 
 means friendless. His predecessor. Sir Richard Jackson, 
 whom he describes as " a very good and a very clever man," 
 gave him the benefit of his experience; he was fortunate, too, 
 in his subordinates. Sir Hew Eoss, who lived to be a field- 
 marshal, and Colonel Wemyss, and he cordially recognises 
 their claim to his confidence. They were generally at some 
 distance from headquarters, and the state of the country 
 made it probable that they would have to act to a great 
 extent on their own discretion. Sir Charles gives Colonel 
 
IV.] NORTHERN DISTRICT. 129 
 
 "Wemyss his views at once on the relations to exist between 
 himself and his lieutenants. 
 
 " Colonel Wemyss, 22d April. — As to your writing freely, 
 why, that is just what I wish beyond all things ; I am not 
 such a vain fool as to think a General has more brains than 
 his neighbour because his head is under the dreadful plume 
 they have stuck in his hat ! No ! I want both you and Eoss 
 to write to me just what you think ; and heartily I rejoice at 
 having two men so well known to me, and for whom I have 
 such regard ; but this will be of little use unless you write 
 like old comrades, freely, and at your ease. I do not promise 
 to be always guided by either, because we may differ in our 
 views, and I must pay the piper if anything goes wrong ; but 
 I think we all three hold nearly the same views, and if we 
 differed I should feel great mistrust of myseK, being just 
 come, and as yet ignorant." 
 
 But the man most after his own heart was Colin- 
 Campbell, afterwards Lord Clyde, and at that time in 
 command of the 98th Eegiment. When things were at 
 their worst the General writes, " Great anxiety about the 
 coUieries in the north. I have sent Campbell, 98th, there 
 from Hull. The colliers had better be quiet, they will have 
 a hardy soldier to deal with ; yet he will be gentle and just, 
 or he should not be there." And later on he says, "If we 
 have a war Campbell will be a first-rate leader of a brigade," 
 — a prediction nobly justified in the Punjab and the Crimea. 
 " Campbell, on his side," says General Shadwell in his Life 
 of Lord Clyde, "conceived an esteem and respect for the 
 noble soldier under whose command he had been so for- 
 tunate as to find himself placed, which speedily developed 
 into a feeling of affectionate regard, well-nigh amounting to 
 veneration ; for Colin Campbell, the most sensitive of men 
 in all matters affecting his professional reputation, was 
 deeply moved and honoured by the confidence which Sir 
 
130 SIJi CHARLES NAPIER. [chap. 
 
 Charles Napier, ever disposed to encourage zeal and 
 military talent in a subordinate, forthwith extended to 
 him." 
 
 The manner of their first meeting was so characteristic 
 of the one, and so highly creditable to the other, that I 
 cannot resist giving it in General Shadwell's words : — 
 
 " The 98th had been ordered from HuU to Newcastle-on- 
 Tyne, and was marching in three divisions. The head- 
 quarters had reached York on a Saturday, and were halted 
 for the Sunday, as is the custom of the service, in that town, 
 where accommodation had been provided in billets. Sir 
 Charles Napier, who happened to be returning from a tour of 
 inspection in the northern part of his district, arrived by the 
 coach at noon, and descended, in his ordinary travelling 
 dress, at the inn, where dinner was provided for the pass- 
 engers, and in which Colin Campbell was bUleted. Seeuig 
 a bugler of the 98th at the door, he inquired if the com- 
 manding oflScer was inside, and, on being told he was, at once 
 introduced himself. Looking at his watch, and remarking 
 that the coach stopped so many minutes, the appointed time 
 for dinner, he asked if it would be possible to collect the men 
 under arms before the coach resumed its journey. Without 
 any hesitation Colin Campbell replied in the afiSrmative, 
 remarking that the billets were pretty handy, and that it was 
 just the hour when the officers would be visiting the men at 
 their dinners. The ' assembly ' was sounded, and as the men 
 were being collected and formed up in front of the inn Sir 
 Charles Napier invited him to partake of the meal, cross- 
 questioning Colin Campbell the while on various points con- 
 nected with the interior economy of the regiment. He then 
 inspected the troops, and on finishing the last company, just 
 as the horses were put to, he mounted the box, remarking 
 ' That's what I caU inspecting a regiment.' " 
 
 Signs of disafiection were now visible in every direction ; 
 a considerable number of firearms and pikes were being 
 made and circulated ; small bodies of men were constantly 
 
IV.] NORTHERN DISTRICT. 131 
 
 surprised at drill ; fragments of a letter were found showing 
 that barricades were contemplated, and men were overheard 
 planning the surprise of soldiers in billets, and the necessity 
 of cutting the railroads between towns. 
 
 Under these circumstances Sir Charles wrote to Mr. 
 PhiUipps, the Under-Secretary at the Home Office, giving 
 his plans in case of a general rising. After a summary of 
 events and suspicious signs, he says : — 
 
 "With the foregoing general view of the subject I have 
 constantly asked myself, What is to be done by me as a 
 military man % The answer is — Secure your detachments from 
 surprise as far as practicable, seek for information, and abide 
 events. 
 
 " As to positions for occupation, they must depend on the 
 enemy's operations, holding always as a general prLnciple the 
 maintaining of my communications with Koss or Wemyss, or 
 both, rather than with London ; and, if requisite, calling for 
 aid from Ireland, which I am authorised to do. My reason 
 for abandoning the communication with London is, that the 
 force which could be drawn round the capital is large enough 
 to hold its ground, and if the insurgents moved in that 
 direction the forces under my command would press their 
 rear and flanks, and protect the country from being widely 
 ravaged." 
 
 In a subsequent letter to the same person he goes into 
 the question of the proper way to act against towns when 
 in the possession of the mob, and points out the necessity 
 of concentrating the troops : — 
 
 "AU detachments should be composed of infantry and 
 cavalry, none ought to be less than two companies and a 
 troop ; none should be in barracks situated amidst houses in 
 the centre of a town, because fire applied to the houses would 
 burn out the troops, who would probably be massacred while 
 escaping the flames ; the cavalry horses would inevitably be 
 destroyed. Shut up among houses, even if not fired, soldiers 
 
132 SIR CHARLES NAPIER. [chap. 
 
 could not profit from discipline, and attempts to issue forth 
 would generally be destruction, as the enemy, being prepared 
 to prevent escape, would oppose barricades and have marks- 
 men in the opposite houses. If a detachment remained shut 
 up, it would be useless as a protecting force, and its own 
 danger great. Officers with small detachments are generally 
 separated from their men, and in a night attack would be 
 killed while seeking to rejoin their soldiers. Small detach- 
 ments are easily shut up, and may be forced to surrender 
 from hunger and thirst before they can be succoured, 
 especially as their sixty rounds of ammunition would be 
 quickly exhausted. 
 
 "A strong detachment quartered on the outskirts of a 
 town is free. It can make head against an enemy, keeping 
 him at gunshot distance ; it can get out, if necessary, and 
 attack; it can receive other detachments which strive to 
 unite from the country. In case of arson the soldiers can 
 issue and take possession of other buildings, or keep to the 
 country. It can send a part to aid the inhabitants, or retreat 
 if necessary to some other post; in short, a strong detach- 
 ment lodged in the outskirts of a town commands that town, 
 whereas, posted in the middle of a town, it is commanded." 
 
 Later on he answers some inquiries from Sir Hew Eoss 
 on the same subject : — 
 
 " In answer to your question, I think a mixed force is the 
 best ; because, if the Chartists take proper means of fighting 
 in a town, we know cavalry can do little better than get out 
 of it with all possible speed. Horsemen cannot charge people 
 in garrets, and they cannot sit in their saddles while chests of 
 drawers, bedsteads, stones, tiles, etc., to say nothing of 
 musketry, are poured from the said garrets. Therefore 
 cavalry are only useful to bully a mob and save the life of 
 those who compose it, by chopping them a little instead of 
 destroying them by firearms. A hundred fellows may get 
 ugly-looking gashes that would frighten a thousand of their 
 companions into the vigorous use of their legs ; but ninetj' 
 of the chopped hundred men would be as well as ever in a 
 
IV.] NORTHERN DISTRICT. 133 
 
 week, and so proud of their wounds as to resolve to live all 
 their lives on their past glory, and never again look a dragoon 
 in the face. My own opinion is that, had a troop of horse 
 alone been at Newport, the men would have been destroyed or 
 defeated, and a pretty ^arg-wp would have run like wildfire to 
 Carlisle. I have been long preaching to the Government to 
 unite both arms, but they will not, though they give me no 
 refusal. I am shackled by 'Will be fully considered' — 
 there is no such a pair of manacles in all Newgate as that 
 sentence. I only hope that the full consideration may not be 
 given in shape of a coroner's inquest over the bodies of thirty 
 dragoons in billets. There are things which vrill not bear the 
 future tense, and this is one. I am for joining horse and foot 
 together on all excursions. If hard pressed the dragoons 
 could take the infantry behind them for 10 miles, which 
 would enable the latter to make 30 miles a day without 
 any great fatigue. It would be well to practise them at this. 
 I will do so here, and tell you how we get on. But though 
 I have given you my opinion, let it not bind you. We are 
 too far asunder for any interference, should we be turned 
 out." 
 
 Although he was too good a soldier not to provide for 
 every possible contingency that could suggest itself, one is 
 glad to find that he thought a general rising highly improb- 
 able, and that his efforts to prevent it were as strenuous as 
 his preparations to quell it if it could not be avoided. On 
 1st May he writes : "My command is better in hand now. 
 At first all was darkness; I groped about like a mole. 
 "Will there be civil war % My opinion is that it will only 
 be a row at Manchester and its vicinity, which will be put 
 down ; but that will not put down the sufferings of the 
 people, nor their hatred] of the rich, and winter is to be 
 feared more than now, for they will then suffer more.'' 
 
 The Chartists were now making great preparations for a 
 monster meeting on Kersall Moor, near Manchester, and 
 talked confidently of mustering 300,000 men. The neigh- 
 
134 SIR CHARLES NAPIER. [chap. 
 
 bourhood was much alarmed at the prospect, and Sir Charles 
 took the bold step of getting a secret introduction to a meet- 
 ing of Chartist leaders, whom he addressed as foUows : — " I 
 understand you are to have a great meeting on Kersall Moor 
 with a view to laying your grievances before Parliament. 
 You are quite right to do so, and I will take care that neither 
 soldier nor policeman shall be within sight to disturb you. 
 But meet peaceably, for if there is the least disturbance I 
 shall be amongst you, and, at the sacrifice of my hfe, if 
 necessary, do my duty." The terrible day came and passed 
 quietly enough. Not more than one-tenth of the expected 
 numbers arrived, and the speakers expressed orderly pohti- 
 cal opinions, which Napier characterises as " very much like 
 my own.'' There is an account of it in his journal a 
 fortnight later : — 
 
 " Too busy to keep my journal for a month. From the 
 10th of May my time has been constantly employed, and the 
 various reports which came in from all quarters, to the effect 
 that the intended meeting would decide the fate of the 
 country, were harassing. All the best informed of the rich 
 people and the magistrates asserted that this district could 
 easily turn out 300,000 people on Kersall Moor, and the 
 Chartist newspapers asserted that they would turn out 
 500,000. I did not believe this, but secretly thought 100,000 
 might be assembled — quite enough to render my position veiy 
 dangerous. My 2000 men and four guns were indeed enough 
 if well handled, but not enough to afford mistakes. I had 
 been long out of practice myself ; my troops had been but 
 lately brought together, were all young soldiers, and not a 
 dozen of the officers had ever seen a shot fired : all this was 
 awkward. But, allowing that no error occurred, what a 
 slaughter ! Good God, what work ! to send grape-shot from 
 four guns into a helpless mass of fellow-citizens, sweeping the 
 streets with fire and charging with cavalry, destroying poor 
 people whose only crime is that they have been iU-governed, 
 and reduced to such straits that they seek redress by arms, 
 
IV.] NORTHERN DISTRICT. 135 
 
 ignorant that of all ways that is the most certain to increase 
 the evils they complain of. 
 
 " The redoubted 25th of May came, and not 300,000 but 
 30,000 assembled. At this meeting Wemyss addressed a few 
 of the people in high Tory oratory, and argued with a drunken 
 old pensioner, fiercely radical and devilish sharp. In ten 
 minutes an eighth of the whole crowd collected round Wemyss 
 and cheered him. These certainly were not Chartists. Some 
 days before this I had a meeting with a gentleman intimate 
 with the Chartist leaders, if not one himself, and begged him 
 to show them how impossible it would be to feed and move 
 300,000 men; that armed, starving, 'and 'interspersed with 
 villains, they must commit horrid excesses ; that I would 
 never allow them to charge me with their pikes, or even 
 march 10 miles, without mauling them with cannon and 
 musketry, and charging them with cavalry when they dis- 
 persed to seek food ; finally, that the country would rise on 
 them, and they would be destroyed in three days. He said 
 peace had put us out of practice, and we could not use our 
 artillery ; but he was soon convinced that was nonsense, and 
 reported my observations to the leaders. I offered him no 
 abuse, said many Chartists who acted on principle were to be 
 honoured, others to be pitied as acting from ignorance, and 
 certain to bitterly repent when they saw the terrible mischief 
 that would ensue. This, I believe, had a good effect, and, 
 saying only what in my conviction was true, it is probable I 
 spoke well, for he seemed struck with the evils pointed out 
 as inevitably attending even a disciplined army. At all 
 events, my meaning was good, urged by my dread of the 
 havoc impending ; for every one believed that 300,000 men 
 would assemble. Such a force in one mass had never met 
 my eyes, and I was resolved not to let them come near me, 
 but to fight vsdth my guns, keeping cavalry on their fianks to 
 prevent small parties foraging. 
 
 "How small accidents affect men's minds and decide 
 events ! The 1st Dragoons and 10th Foot came from Ireland 
 with the 79th, but the last, being in kilts, terrified the 
 Chartists more than a brigade of other troops. Again, not 
 
136 SIR CHARLES NAPIER. [chap. 
 
 being sure if the first outbreak would not be at Birmingham, 
 where the mulcibers are bolder than the weavers, the 10th 
 were kept at Liverpool as a reserve. Birmingham was quiet, 
 and the 10th came to Manchester by wings — one with the 
 band, the other marching with drums and fifes : so I had 
 ordered. The Chartists thought two regiments had joined, 
 
 and Mr. B says this supposed increase of force decided 
 
 them not to attack. Thus the kilt, which was no force at 
 all, and the division of the 10th, which was weakness, con- 
 tributed largely to our security." 
 
 The terrors of the 25th of May having been so happily 
 dispelled, the district quieted down. The Government 
 regarded Chartism as extinct, and those who had been 
 loudest in proclaiming the peril of the State and in clamour- 
 ing to have the mob chastised with grape-shot now spoke 
 slightingly of what real danger there had been, and of the 
 man who had done so much to avert it. For, considering 
 the character and size of the population he had to deal 
 with — the " lambs " of Nottingham, the weavers of Lancar 
 shire, the miners of Durham and Northumberland — it was 
 surely not wholly due to good luck that, while there had 
 been serious riots outside his district, at Newport, Devizes, 
 and Birmingham, on no occasion had a soldier under his 
 command acted against his feUow-citizens. 
 
 His time was ■ still much occupied with routine work, 
 and especially the revision of the decisions of courts-mar- 
 tial, of which " four or five a day come, and some are very 
 difiicult. This is earning bread dearly, because unnecessary ; 
 it is doing badly what a regimental commanding officer 
 would do well, and is, with my extensive command, oppress- 
 ive, and not to be rightly done." 
 
 Another time, when rendered more desperate than 
 usual by the piles of reports around him, he complains 
 that, "if Napoleon, Alexander, and Csesar were one man, 
 he could not fill up one inspection return honestly, examin- 
 
IV.] NORTHERN DISTRICT. 137 
 
 ing everything he signs, and I have eleven." In June he 
 found some relief in making a tour of inspection, which 
 led him through the Lake country; and the sight of its 
 fresh summer beauty stirred up in his breast a longing for 
 the quiet English home life, which had such attractions for 
 him whenever his active benevolence was thwarted or un- 
 provided with an adequate sphere. 
 
 '■^Journal, I'Ath July. — Lancaster delighted me, so far as 
 a flying visit enabled me to judge. Westmoreland and its 
 lakes are delightful. The beauty of all that scenery is great. 
 Those gems of bright waters, in their rude mountain setting, 
 bursting on one's sight in fresh changing forms, with all their 
 lights and shadows, their mists and showers, exhilarate the 
 spirits, and give a calmness and happiness to the aching mind 
 which seems like the peace of heaven still lingering on earth, 
 though driven from the usual haunts of man. My mind 
 wants peace and quiet. I could live on the banks of one of 
 those lakes and feel happy. I always am so when cahn 
 scenery and calm people are around me ; but my lot is cast 
 in trouble, or rather it has been so chosen. Nothing happens 
 to man that is irksome but what he has himself chosen ; all 
 may be traced to his own folly: and yet, who made us foolish? 
 Let that pass, suffice it that we are so, unless we take the 
 only course that is left for wisdom : take things as they are, 
 and make the best of them ; there is no real wisdom but 
 that." 
 
 The sight of York and its noble minster aroused similar 
 reflections. " How many hypocrites have entered there to 
 preach and blaspheme and oppress the poor; it almost 
 makes me wish the burning had been complete ; but it is 
 so pretty ! What a magnificent pile ! I would like to live 
 near it, and go in and pray and be calm, if but for an hour. 
 Yet it is not God's palace ! The border of the lake, the 
 top of the mountain, — there, there is calmness, there is 
 God's temple! There He may be worshipped, there one 
 
138 SIR CHARLES NAPIER. [chap. 
 
 can live in peace and die fearlessly, the soul unraffled! 
 My command is great. No, not command : responsibility, 
 great and irksome, but no power. I see wrong, but dare 
 not put it right, and that is called command. There is 
 nothing to flatter ambition, absolutely nothing; it is, in- 
 deed, better than a miserable lodging in Bath or Dublin, 
 but it is not so good as the healthy and more noble one of 
 a country life." In the matter of lodgings, it may be re- 
 marked, his command had wrought no great change for the 
 better, as may be judged from his reply to an ofiScer, who 
 complained that one haK of the accommodation for himself 
 and his detachment was stone-floored. "My dear sir, I 
 have been for nine months in a lodging with stone floors, 
 and my wife and daughters bear them very well ; soldiers 
 must not be so delicate ; my own room is just seven feet by 
 ten, and stone-floored ! " But, in spite, or perhaps in con- 
 sequence, of his hardiness, he was sufiiering much from 
 rheumatism, ague, and weakness in the eyes, which made 
 him dread blindness, and "forced from him," says Sir 
 William Napier, "the one and only groan of his life for 
 himself." 
 
 In June he went to London to be invested with the 
 insignia of the Bath. The picturesque account he gives of 
 the scene shows how exhausted was his worn and battered 
 frame, and how entirely he seemed' to, feel that his work 
 was done, and that he already belonged to the past. 
 
 " In the midst of embroidery, gold lace, stars, orders, titles, 
 and a crowd of soldiers, I met many an old comrade of the 
 Peninsular war, — worn, meagre, gray -headed, stooping old 
 men, sinking fast ! I, too, have one leg in the grave. When 
 we had last been together we were young, active, full of high 
 spirits, dark or auburn locks ! Now all are changed, all are 
 parents, all fuU of cares. Well, the world is chained hand to 
 hand, for there were also young soldiers there, just fledged, 
 
IV.] NORTHERN DISTRICT. 139 
 
 meet companions for their young Queen ; they, too, will 
 grow old, but will they have the memory of battles when, 
 like us, they hurry towards the grave ? 
 
 " There was our pretty young Queen receiving our homage, 
 and our old shrivelled bodies and gray heads were bowed 
 before her throne, intimating our resolution to stand by it as 
 we had stood when it was less amiably fiUed : I wonder what 
 she thought of us old soldiers ! We must have appeared to 
 her like wild beasts, and I dare say she looked at us as she 
 looks at the animals in the Zoological Gardens. Lord Hill is 
 old, and has lost his teeth ; poor Sir John Jones looked like 
 a ghost, and Sir Alexander Dickson is evidently breaking. 
 Thinking how these men had directed the British thunders 
 of war, I saw that Death was the master, the brilliance of 
 the Court vanished, and the grim spectre stared me in the 
 face ; his empire is creeping over all ! Yes, we are in the 
 larder for worms, and apparently very indifferent venison ! " 
 
 As the summer wore on his district was once more 
 thrown into a panic by a resolution formed by the Chartist 
 leaders of keeping August as a " sacred month,'' in which 
 no one was to labour, in order that the ruling classes might 
 be brought to discuss the Charter in a better frame of 
 mind. "Egregious folly," said Napier; but, nevertheless, 
 it vastly increased his labours and his impatience at the 
 magisterial terrors. 
 
 " Journal, 30<A July. — Alarm ! trumpets ! Magistrates 
 in a fuss. Troops ! troops ! troops ! north, south, east, west. 
 I screech at these applications like a gate swinging on rusty 
 hinges, and swear ! Lord, how they make me swear ! " 
 
 But, as for the idea that the " physical force " Chartists, 
 as they were called, were really to be feared, he laughed it 
 to scorn. 
 
 "Poor people, they will suffer ! They have set all England 
 against them and their physical force ; fools ! We have the 
 physical force, not they. They talk of their hundred thousands 
 
140 SIR CHARLES NAPIER. [chap. 
 
 of men. Who is to move them when I am dancing round 
 them with cavalry, and pelting them with cannon-shot % 
 What would their 100,000 men do with my 100 rockets 
 wriggling their fiery tails among them, roaring, scorching, 
 tearing, smashing all they came near % And when, in desper- 
 ation and despair, they broke to fly, how would they bear 
 five regiments of cavalry careering through them ? Poor men, 
 poor men ! How little they know of physical force ! " 
 
 On the day he completed his first year of command, the 
 remainder of which proved happily uneventful, his journal 
 records a growing weariness of routine work and a longing 
 to find a worthier field for his restless energy. " This day 
 year my command of the Northern District began. My 
 time has been one of labour and anxiety without reward, 
 for nothing can be shovm ! I have ten times the pen-work 
 that Cephalonia gave me, and nothing to show. There I 
 protected the poor, regulated justice, and executed really 
 great works. Forty miles of road hewn out of the living 
 rock, and many fine buildings, and horses with carts intro- 
 duced into a country previously without them, were things 
 to make a man feel he had lived for some good. Here my 
 time is lost in drivelling correspondence and reading coiuts- 
 martial, with much additional gribble-grabble ! I command 
 10,000 men, but never see them together. Well, patience ! 
 duty must be done. What have I to do with ambition \ " 
 How little his dislike of official drudgery interfered with 
 the proper discharge of his duty may be judged from a 
 letter written by his brother. Captain Henry Napier, R.N., 
 to Sir W. Napier : " Charles works too much j he is often 
 not in bed until one or two, and always up at five or a little 
 after, and is eternally writing, at an average about fourteen 
 or sixteen hours a day. He has a cough, complains of short 
 breath and weakness, and is allowing his zeal to carry him 
 too far for his own health. I doubt his being able to go on 
 
IV.] NORTHERN DISTRICT. 141 
 
 thus. The fatigue of reading and writing is very great, for 
 I see that, as corporal punishment has diminished, courts- 
 martial have increased, and he reads every word of all. 
 His purse, too, is pretty well pulled by these visits of in- 
 spection, for he receives a travelling allowance that will not 
 cover the bare posting when forced to take four horses ; 
 and he and his aide-de-camp, all things included, cannot get 
 out of an inn much under two pound a day, although he 
 burns taUow candles, and left the best hotel in Manchester 
 because they objected to give them to him." 
 
 1840 was occupied by continued quill-driving and man- 
 ful struggles against his increasing infirmities, in the midst 
 of which he makes a curiously exact prophecy : " My life 
 has but twelve years to run." At times he seemed to feel 
 that he had lived his life, and had done with ambition and 
 glory; but the news of his cousin, the Admiral, fighting in 
 the Levant, and rumours of wars in India, joined to the 
 unsettled state of England and the mutterings of the coming 
 storm on the Continent, rekindled his military ardour, and 
 on his fifty-eighth birthday he exclaims, " I dare swear few 
 men have had more adventures than myself, and yet, event- 
 ful as my life has been, my present high position and the 
 threatening state of the country render it probable that the 
 short portion which is left for me of life may be the most 
 eventful of the whole ! " 
 
CHAPTER V. 
 
 INDIA, OCT. 1841 — DEC. 1842. 
 
 Hardly had the room " just seven feet by ten and stone- 
 floored" been exchanged for more luxurious quarters at 
 Calvelly Hall, near Chester, when the following entry 
 occurs in the journal : — 
 
 "21st April 1841. — My scheme for passing some years 
 here is already ended. Lord Fitzroy Somerset has called to 
 offer me, from Lord Hill, a place on the Indian Staff, but he 
 gives me leave to decline the offer, which is very honourable 
 treatment ; it must be considered, but my wish is to go." 
 
 He consulted his brother William, who replied, " Go if 
 you feel a call for such a service ; if not, remain at home." 
 His mind was soon made up. 
 
 " The appointment is accepted. My hope is to get there 
 safe, but to move my family is fearful ! I go overland, and 
 shall insure my life for two years. If there is war in the 
 Punjab, which seems likely, a good command may fall to 
 me ; it will be sorrowful to leave you all, for it is late in life, 
 and I am much worn.'' 
 
 A few days later, however, he writes again: "My 
 spirits were very low until my mind was fixed for India, 
 then they rose." And yet his prospects were not such as 
 would tempt most men to elation. In his sixtieth year, 
 with a body worn by wounds and toil, with two children 
 unprovided for, he was going forth to expose himself to 
 
CHAP, v.] INDIA, OCT. 1841 —DEC. 1842. 143 
 
 fresh dangers and undertake arduous duties in a land where 
 the climate alone, in the opinion of those who knew him, 
 would be more than he could bear. . He tried to get his life 
 insured for two years, but no office would accept him : " My 
 conviction that the objection is sound is just why I wish to 
 insure." In after years he said, "When I look back to 
 the desperation which made me come to India at sixty 
 years of age, and on the dreadful journey to Marseilles with 
 so many women, I feel how strong is my love for my girls. 
 Had I then died, not a farthing was left for them. My 
 passage to Suez was paid beforehand perforce, and my 
 pockets were empty. It was one of those bold adventures 
 which amount to rashness, but my resolution was to risk 
 all for my girls. At Bombay the purser received my last 
 money, a bill for £500, in payment of the voyage from 
 Suez, and returned two pounds ! " 
 
 He resigned his command of the Northern District in 
 October, and assumed command at Poona on 28th December. 
 Being new to Indian life the difficulty of getting settled 
 was great, and drew from him the reflection that " a soldier 
 should not have wife or daughters ; his hat should cover 
 his family." But private troubles were soon forgotten in 
 the absorbing interest of public affairs. Never had our 
 arms and statesmanship in India been so tarnished and 
 disgraced. The folly and injustice of Lord Auckland's 
 interference in Afghanistan had ended in the most terrible 
 military disaster. Elphinstone's army had been massacred 
 in retreating from Oabul. Sale was besieged in Jelalabad 
 with the Khyber Pass between him and Peshawur ; Colonel 
 Palmer was shut up with 1000 men at Ghuznee ; Nott was 
 at Candahar, opposed by the main body of the enemy ; and 
 Brigadier England was at Quetta, in support of Nott, but 
 with the Bolan Pass between him and the nearest British 
 force, at Sukkur on the Indus. With the army thus dis- 
 
144 S/J! CHARLES NAPIER. [chap. 
 
 membered and disheartened by disaster, with the central 
 government paralysed by the greatness of the calamity, the 
 new year (1842) dawned gloomily on British India. At 
 the critical moment, however. Lord EUenborough arrived 
 to supersede Lord Auckland, and the first person to whom 
 he turned for advice was Charles Napier. This was the 
 starting-point of the best known and most brilliant portion 
 of his career ; and, as there are still men who • remember 
 him at this time, we may pause to view him more closely 
 before he goes forth to battle. 
 
 Charles Napier was now sixty years old, and had been 
 forty-eight years in the army ; but although eight deep 
 wounds, much sickness, and the hardships and exposure he 
 had undergone, had burdened him with many infirmities, 
 he could tire out many a younger man, and still did not 
 know what it was to feel fatigue in the saddle. In appear- 
 ance he was as unlike as possible the statue in Trafalgar 
 Square — a short, lithe man, without an ounce of spare flesh, 
 muscular and springy in his gait ; a tendency to hoUowness 
 in the chest gave him the appearance of being a little bent 
 when standing. He was quick and energetic in all his 
 movements, and had a nervous habit of \ tightening his 
 elbows into his sides. The spare frame was surmounted 
 by a head which, without being regularly handsome, had a 
 noble and strange appearance that caught the eye and awoke 
 interest ; quantities of dark hair standing well ofi' a bold, 
 expansive forehead; the nose "curved, cut, and coloured 
 like the eagle's claw"; a falcon's eye, flashing with a 
 brilliancy intensified by the spectacles which he could not 
 do without ; the mouth firm and regular, but with a smile 
 of remarkable sweetness. His terrible wounds at Cormia 
 and Busaco had left behind a spasmodic jerking of the head 
 and jaws, so that the teeth would often snap together. He 
 was scrupulously neat and orderly in his habits, but im- 
 
v.] INDIA, OCT. 1841 — DEC. 1842. 145 
 
 patient of luxury and seK-indulgence, and had a -wardrobe 
 probably of smaller dimensions than that of the poorest 
 subaltern under his command. Temperate and abstemious 
 by inclination and on principle, he rarely took wiue, and 
 would often go many days without meat. His powers of 
 work were prodigious, he seldom gave more than five hours 
 to sleep ; to do his utmost ia the service of the State and of 
 the community in which he found himself was an imperative 
 necessity of his nature ; yet when fourteen, sixteen, or even 
 eighteen hours had been given to the pubKc service, there 
 always remained a margin of time and energy for a large 
 correspondence, a minute diary, professional study, and 
 religious self-communings. Exercise, which could generally 
 be combined with inspection and supervision of work, was 
 taken in the saddle. The wilder the horse's spirit, the 
 better he was pleased ; rider and steed seemed one, and the 
 only pace known was full gallop. 
 
 When at home and at leisure he loved to get young 
 people round him, and keep them in roars of laughter at 
 his odd stories and grotesque humour, though he sometimes 
 flavoured both rather too strongly after the manner of 
 Rabelais. Many of his young relations, however, had to 
 thank his warm and affectionate nature for much more than 
 laughter and fun. On one occasion he heard that one of 
 his nephews, who was prevented by misfortune from earn- 
 ing his own living, had not the means to marry ; he at once 
 sent him £5000, at a time when he himself was sacrificing 
 health and ease, and struggling agaiast age and infirmities, 
 in order to provide for his own children. In fact, though 
 he practised the strictest economy as one of the duties of 
 a good father and a good citizen, he never counted the cost 
 when a kind or generotis action was to be done. When 
 one of his subordinates in Scinde wished to get home to 
 see a dying and only sister, but had heavy financial 
 
 L 
 
146 SIR CHARLES NAPIER. [chap. 
 
 responsibilities whicli were an obstacle to his leave, Sir 
 Charles, learning the difficulty, became his security for 
 eleven lakhs of rupees. 
 
 In general society he was very gentle and courteous. 
 He had not the brilliant conversational powers of his 
 brother Sir WiUiam, yet if the talk turned upon questions 
 of war, government, history, or kindred subjects, on which 
 he had read much and thought deeply, he would join in 
 readily; and the vehement earnestness of his voice and 
 manner, the flashing eye, the vivid language, and quaint 
 illustrations, gained him a ready hearing. 
 
 Endowed with keen practical insight and power of sus- 
 tained thinking, he clothed his ideas with peculiarities of 
 manner, and sometimes with a half-humorous exaggeration, 
 that gave a colour to the vulgar charge of eccentricity. Im- 
 practicable he may have been. His independence, his fearless 
 honesty, and passionate hatred of injustice, brought him 
 frequently into conflict with the official world." That it should 
 be so is one of the inevitable drawbacks of our political in- 
 stitutions. On the one hand, you have a man with a heroic 
 sense of duty and patriotism, with talents vastly superior 
 to those of ordinary men, of clear insight and indomitable 
 will, driven by an irresistible instinct to do the work ap- 
 pointed him in the manner which seems to him best. On 
 the other hand, you have a Government subject to the con- 
 stant, and often factious, criticism of its opponents and of 
 every section of the community whose interests are threat- 
 ened by the action of the Government's servants — a Govern- 
 ment brought into power by a bare majority, and depending 
 for its existence very largely on its skill in conciliating op- 
 posing interests, and, in spite of patriotic aims, compelled to 
 rest content with half measures and halting progress. Under 
 such conditions Napiers and Gordons, even supposing them 
 to be burdened with a less than ordinary share of the 
 
v.] INDIA, OCT. 1841 — DEC. 1842. 147 
 
 infirmities incident to such natures, will always be called 
 impracticable. 
 
 Eevolt against oppression, a longing to set the crooked 
 straight, was Napier's ruling passion. He would, like a 
 Paladin of old, go forth to redress the wrongs of the world 
 with a high hand, and if the oppressor withstood him, 
 topple him over, horse and man. Faults of temper he had, 
 and he was fully conscious of them. " We are a hot, violent 
 crew," he says ; " but if we Napiers are violent, it is only 
 for a moment; neither George, nor Richard, nor Henry, 
 are the least revengeful ; William and myself are, but only 
 where resistance continues." His explosions, though pretty 
 frequent, were sometimes designed, and very rarely ineffect- 
 ual. " No man," he was fond of saying, " can command 
 without having a bit of the devil in him ;" and certainly 
 no man was ever better obeyed. He could not help being 
 conscious of his power as a leader of soldiers, but ever 
 fought against it as a temptation of the devil. " Charles 
 Napier," he wrote when he was sent to Scinde, " take heed 
 of your ambition for military glory ; you had scotched that 
 snake, but this high command will, unless you are careful, 
 give it all its vigour again. ' Get thee behind me, Satan.' " 
 Though he hated war he was devoted to the study of it as 
 an art, both from natural inclination and from a deep sense 
 of his responsibility for unnecessary bloodshed. " To this 
 my great and admirable father reared me ; to this he, 
 whose like I have never seen for grandeur or for gentleness 
 of nature, whose body and mind were both cast in the 
 richest forms of strength and beauty, reared me, not as a 
 ruffian to delight in blood, but as a soldier to save blood 
 where it could be saved ; and to wage war for England 
 with a heart bent to soften its miseries to man." And 
 again, speaking of his professional studies : " How else 
 could I command with honour ? How answer for the lives 
 
148 SJH CHARLES NAPIER. [chap. 
 
 of those entrusted to my charge ? An ignorant General is 
 a murderer; all brave men confide in the knowledge he 
 pretends to possess, and when the death trial comes their 
 generous blood flows in vain ! Merciful God ! How can 
 an ignorant man charge himself with so much blood ? I 
 have studied war long, earnestly, and deeply, yet tremble 
 at my own deficiencies." 
 
 His military enthusiasm, strong as it was at times, was 
 transient, and always followed by a strong revulsion of feel- 
 ing ; it excited, but never satisfied his nature. " The exer- 
 cise of the creative faculties is my nature, my bent, my 
 happiness. War is natural to me, but I love it not, I hate 
 to destroy." Undoubtedly the years in Cephalonia were 
 the happiest of his life ; and no sooner was Scinde conquered 
 than he grew glad with the hope of setting to work again 
 to "do good, to create, to end destruction and raise up 
 order." Few men had done more to prepare themselves 
 for government, as far as that can be done, by reading; 
 and to reading he had added close observation of human 
 nature in many countries, and the actual test of experience 
 in Cephalonia. It hals already been seen, in relation to 
 English politics, that in his desire to see pohtical rights 
 conferred on the greatest possible number of his fellow- 
 citizens, in his belief in the beneficent power of public 
 opinion finding utterance through a free press, in his respect 
 for honest labour and hatred of privilege, he was a radical 
 of the radicals. His trust in the people was implicit. Going 
 beyond Burke's declaration that in all disputes between the 
 people and their rulers " the presumption is, at least, upon 
 a par in favour of the people," he writes in Scinde in 1844 : — 
 
 " The poor people come to me with earnest prayers ; they 
 never come without cause ; but are such liars, and so bad at 
 explaining, that were their language understood by me it 
 would be hard to reach facts. On all these occasions my 
 
v.] INDIA, OCT. \.%s,\—DEC. 1842. 149 
 
 plan is a most unjust one. For against all evidence I decide 
 in favour of the poor, and argue against the argument of the 
 Government people so long as I can. My formula is this : 
 Punish the Government servants first, and inquire about the 
 right and wrong when there is time ! This is the way to pre- 
 vent tyranny, and make the people happy, and render public 
 servants honest. The latter know they have ' no chance of 
 justice ' if they are complained against, and consequently take 
 good care to please the poor. If the complaint is that they 
 cheat Government, oh ! that is another question ; then they 
 have fair trials and leniency. We are all weak when temptation 
 is strong. Your ' doctrinaire,' who is incapable of ruling men, 
 looks awfully grave when the poor complain, even majestic. He 
 holds the scales with the dignity of Minerva herself ; he puts 
 all the arguments of one side — the lies which he cannot per- 
 ceive, but which, nevertheless, exist — into one scale, and all the 
 blundering falsehoods of ignorant suffering into the other. But 
 he leaves out human nature — he leaves out the gross ignorance 
 of the sufferers, whose agonies break down vulgar powers of 
 compression, and, combined vsdth terror of the great, drive them 
 to desperation almost convulsive in their efforts for redress." 
 
 It was the indignant revolt against the doctrine that self- 
 interest is a trustworthy guide for men — against the assump- 
 tion that men not only know their own interests, but are 
 capable of following them — that separated him from the 
 radicals of his time. He felt and worked in the spirit which 
 inspired Carlyle's " Chartism,'' with as vivid a belief in the 
 necessity for the vigorous interposition of Government to 
 remedy and prevent the mischiefs that followed in the train 
 of the industrial revolution which was changing the face of 
 the world ; convinced, like Garlyle, that the meaning of the 
 clamour for popular rights was not the desire to be let alone, 
 but the longing to be truly and wisely governed. Con- 
 sidering our Factory laws. Education laws, and Land laws, 
 considering the rather unexpected tendency of Democracy 
 to hero-worship, who shall say they were false prophets? 
 
ISO SIR CHARLES NAPIER. [chap. 
 
 The faults of such a character are not hard to discover; 
 they arise, to a great extent, from a certain excess of those 
 very qualities which excite our admiration. It is far harder 
 to appreciate the unwearying watchfulness with which the 
 temptations of that eager, masterful spirit were met, or the 
 depth of the conviction that every act was done under the 
 eye of God. When warring with the predatory tribes of 
 Scinde, he says, " As if some outward power moved events, 
 aU my minutest projects have come to pass. Errors, 
 neglect, and sound calculation — aU have turned out right in 
 the end ! Can I, then, feel proud of my ability ? No ! It 
 is a power unseen, though to me evident, that has guided 
 me ! " His was a faith that had no need of dogmatic 
 theology; always a "swallower of formulas,'' he had the 
 greatest aversion to what he considered the pretensions of 
 the priesthood. "When men become their own priests, 
 and have death before their eyes, they will take the right 
 road without promptings. When men aUow priests to 
 think for them, they pursue their own interests, leaving 
 their souls to the priests. Men now daUy find they must 
 think for themselves, and are becoming really religious, and 
 casting dogmas to old women of both sexes ; in time they 
 will act rightly in the eyes of God, and then Christ wiU 
 rule the world." The essence of Christianity to him was 
 the life of Christ. " Whatever may be the arguments of 
 some who question His divinity, one thing they cannot 
 deny — that He was the most perfect character the world 
 ever saw before or since, and His teachings from the Mount 
 are sufficient guidance to any man." His journals contain 
 many passages in the same strain, generally accompanied 
 by passionate longings for the life beyond the grave, where 
 he would again find all he had loved. " This is the twelfth 
 anniversary (April 1847) of my marriage with my present 
 wife, who is all goodness and virtue. God spare her to me 
 
v.] INDIA, OCT. 1841 — DEC. 1842. 151 
 
 till He takes me out of this world. She will rejoin me 
 hereafter in the central svm, where I suppose we shall all go. 
 For there must be a centre to the heavens as to all things, 
 and in that centre we may believe the Deity dwells, and 
 there receives His creatures after deatL May my sins not 
 prevent my being there, with all of mine who have gone 
 before in recognition and love. What is to happen to us ? 
 A very short time will now let me into the secret, and 
 curiosity is strong within me, increasing as the time draws 
 nearer. I do not think my balance-sheet will be white ; no 
 man's is. I try hard to do my duty, but do not satisfy 
 myself ; and God will not make me judge my own soul, or I 
 am a lost man. Yet, if so, there must be a purgatory, for 
 I could not honestly 'pronounce myself worthy of heaven 
 nor altogether of eternal damnation." 
 
 In war and government opportunities are seized most 
 successfully by those who have taken most pains to prepare 
 themselves in time of leisure. It is too late to think out 
 political problems when one is called on to administrate ; 
 and in war though chance plays so great a part, yet nothing 
 should be left to her that human foresight and ingenuity 
 could prevent. This was a guiding principle of Charles 
 Napier's life ; his family motto — "Ready, aye Eeady'' — was 
 exactly made for him. No sooner was his family housed at 
 Poona than he put his principle into practice. " My wish 
 is to be left quiet a little while in each day, to obtain an in- 
 sight of Indian wars, history, and country; for knowledge and 
 thought only can enable us to act wisely in such positions. 
 This the world will not believe, and idle talk is thought 
 more important than reason and reflection. If my morning 
 hours only were secure from worry it would content me ; 
 but only ^ay snatches can needful knowledge be obtained." 
 
 His energy in command seems soon to have provoked 
 hostile criticism. His journal (20th June) says : — 
 
1 52 SIJ? CHARLES NAPIER. [chap. 
 
 " The worries of command here are great, it is a bore to 
 be thwarted by fools who will stand up against what is good 
 and useful ; one shakes, indeed, finally into ease, but a horse 
 just taken from grass don't like harness and a fool for coach- 
 man. All the stuff in the United Service Gazette about myself 
 and my drill is pure nonsense ; they are very few, and more 
 to get my own hand in than anything else, for it requires 
 habit to move large bodies ; there are two awkward things to 
 think of in a field — viz. what to do, and how to do. These 
 three arms have never been worked together, and the infantry 
 only in the same dull formal round on the same smooth piece 
 of ground, which tired them to death. Now, they go out aU 
 together and over the hills, which they like ; my belief is no 
 one before did this, so it makes a talk. The sepoys are capital 
 soldiers." 
 
 Like a true pupil of Sir John Moore, Napier attached 
 the greatest importance to obtaining a moral influence over 
 his troops by cultivating personal relations with them. In 
 order to find out what stuff his oflScers were made of, he 
 called for volunteers to bring him in surveys of various 
 portions of district embraced by his command. How he 
 secured the confidence and kindled the enthusiasm of the 
 men two anecdotes vnll show. 
 
 The first has reference to a feat, not so uncommon now 
 as it was then, and which I have seen at assaults-of-anns 
 described on the programme as " Sir Charles Napier's.'' 
 At a public festival at Poena a sword-player offered to cut 
 an orange in halves on a man's hand, without injury to the 
 member. No one coming forward, the General offered his 
 right hand, but the swordsman declared it was unfit for 
 the experiment; he presented the left hand, and it was 
 admitted to be properly formed. Still the man was nervous 
 and refused to display his skill on a man of such rank, but 
 Napier sternly insisted, and then the swordsman, with a deep- 
 drawn breath, cut downwards, and the orange fell in halves, 
 
v.] INDIA, OCT. 1841— DEC. 1842. 153 
 
 the skin below being slightly razed, but not cut through. The 
 second story is told by himself in a letter to Sir W. Napier : 
 
 " You ask about the muskets. I found everybody running 
 mad about the superior range and accuracy of the matchlock," 
 — the Afghan weapon, hence the peculiar danger of the idea 
 — -"and it seemed a settled point that the musket had no 
 chance. To put an end to such a siUy and dangerous opinion, 
 I bet five guineas with a great stickler for the matchlock that 
 I would with a common musket beat the best Mahratta 
 matchlock man he could produce. I got some officers and 
 privates to practise with me every day, until the best shot 
 was ascertained. He and myself then contended. He put 
 in eleven out of twenty rounds at one hundred and fifty 
 yards ; my hits were only eight ; but the whole camp thus got 
 interested, and at the end of two months Captain St. John 
 owned that no matchlock man would have a chance, and paid 
 his bet. He could not reckon upon firing above five or six 
 shots in half an hour, as the matchlock takes so long to load 
 and prepare ; we reckoned on sixty shots in that time, and at 
 least twenty in the target. I cannot describe how entirely it 
 was settled before that the musket had no chance; the 
 soldiers were persuaded they would be shot before they could 
 get within range of their own arms. I explained that the 
 error arose from having fought matchlock men ensconced on 
 high mountains, where a shot downwards reached and hit the 
 uncovered climbing man, while his musket could neither 
 ■ reach nor hit when fired almost perpendicularly upwards at 
 men well covered; the strength of the position was thus 
 taken as the measure of the weapon. It was my firing myself 
 with the soldiers that did the job ; preaching till doomsday 
 would have been useless." 
 
 On hearing of the Cabul disasters he drew up a plan of 
 a campaign, " being mad to see so many lives thrown away 
 by foolish men;" but it remained in his desk until Lord 
 EUenborough reached India, and wrote to him asking for 
 a statement of his views on the military situation. The 
 
154 SIR CHARLES NAPIER. [chap. 
 
 memoir was at once despatched, with an informal letter 
 summarising its contents. After recommending the prompt 
 relief of Sale as the first object to be attained, and paying 
 an enthusiastic tribute to his splendid defence of Jelalabad, 
 he recommends the formation of two strong columns to 
 move on Cabul — one from Peshawur, the other from Can- 
 dahar, by Ghuznee. 
 
 Cabul retaken, what should follow? "Perhaps, if a 
 noble, generous, not a vindictive warfare, be pursued by 
 our troops, as I sincerely hope, it might be very practicable 
 to retire immediately with honour from Afghanistan, leaving 
 a friendly people behind us. The Afghans are a noble 
 race, and although their mode of warfare is abhorrent to 
 civilisation, a sanguinary inroad would be disgraceful to us 
 and would not give them more humane ideas." Alas ! that 
 one should have to compare these noble words with the 
 destruction of the bazaar at Cabul, and the vindictive spirit 
 which characterised the operations by which our disasters 
 were retrieved. The memoir concluded by pointing out 
 the advantages of abandoning Afghanistan, occupying the 
 left bank of the Indus, and putting back Dhost Mohammed 
 on the throne. It was despatched 4th March 1842. 
 
 In the following month the Bombay Government 
 applied to have Napier in command of Upper and Lower 
 Scinde, and in August he was ordered to take the command 
 there. He was under the impression that the appointment 
 was made in view of approaching war in the Punjab, and 
 his distrust of "these widespread combined movements" 
 was so great that he recorded in his journal his intention 
 of following his own reason in a manner which might have 
 excited considerable uneasiness at headquarters. 
 
 " My design and hope is to find excuses for acting on 
 my own responsibility, and going right before there is time 
 to set me wrong ! Assuredly, if there be war, I will not 
 
v.] INDIA, OCT. \%it\—DEC. 1842. 155 
 
 wait for orders, as Pollock and Nott have done, letting the 
 enemy gather moral and physical strength, -while both run 
 from us in streams.'' 
 
 At the outset he had to contend with an evil which in 
 after years he did much to remedy. "Being determined 
 to cut down the baggage of the Indian army I must begin 
 with myself ; it will be a job, but shall be done if I live ; a 
 trencher more or less in my train seems a trifle, but the 
 soiu-ce of the Indus is but a stream melting from a handful 
 of snow ! Unless a man be right himself his house is not 
 built on a rock, and cannot stand ; the words of Christ are 
 true even in our unrighteous calling.'' 
 
 But baggage was not the only difficulty. "What a 
 government, what a system ! I go to command in Scinde 
 with no orders ! no instructions ! no precise line of policy 
 given ! How many men are in Scinde % How many soldiers 
 to command % No one knows ! I am, if sharp enough, to 
 find that out when there ! They tell me I must form and 
 model the staff of the army altogether ! This is easy to do ; 
 but is it in 1842 that the Indian staff should be modelled? 
 our empire being nearly one hundred years old and existing 
 by military force ! That I must act for myself is clear, or 
 rather by my own lights in their interest, for they know 
 nothing. Feeling myself but an apprentice in Indian 
 matters, I yet look in vain for a master." However, pre- 
 parations were made with his usual alacrity, and on 
 3d September he set sail from Bombay, noting the date 
 with a half-superstitious satisfaction. 
 
 "3c? Sept. — Off in three hours, and this is old OHver's 
 day — the day he won Dunbar and Worcester, and the day he 
 died ; and a very good day to die on, as good as the second 
 or the fourth ! ' A crowning victory.' Strange ! Why are 
 we superstitious? Why is there a devil? It puzzles man, 
 and so he is superstitious." 
 
iS6 SIR CHARLES NAPIER. [chap. 
 
 Fortune was anything but favourable on the voyage. 
 Cholera broke out at starting, and many died. " The dark- 
 ness of the night, the pouring rain, the roaring of the waves, 
 the noise of the engine and the wheels, the dreadful groans 
 of the dying, all in horrid convulsions, the lamentations of 
 men and women who were losing wives, husbands, children, 
 the solemnity of the burial service read by the glimmer of 
 a solitary lanthorn held up to the book, presented alto- 
 gether a dreadful scene. No man knew whose turn would 
 be next." 
 
 Fifty-four lives were lost before Kurachee was reached, 
 and then, " on making the land, both mates got drunk, and 
 such a night scene of confusion I never saw. We were 
 nearly as possible on a reef of rocks ; we fired guns and 
 rockets, but no help came ; had we struck, all must have 
 perished — at least, all the sick, eighty in number ; at last 
 we cast anchor, and luckily on good holding ground." 
 
 Three days after landing he took the opportunity 
 afforded by a review of the Kurachee garrison — 2000 in 
 number — to try some rockets he had brought with him. 
 The first went off well, but the second burst, and inflicted 
 a severe wound on the General, tearing right through the 
 calf of his leg. In ten days he was walking about again, 
 but it was a severe trial to his strength at his age and in 
 so hot a climate. Three weeks later he says, " My leg is 
 swelled and painful, it ought to be well. What an unlucky 
 devil am I ! 2000 soldiers were standing around, every man 
 within reach of mischief, and I alone was hurt ! Sinclair 
 and Munbee were close — Sinclair, a giant, rather closer than 
 me. How did we escape being blown to atoms % Ovx hour 
 was not come ! The blow was like that of a bruise ; it has 
 given me a shake." In spite of the wound, however, he 
 was only a week at Kurachee before he started up the 
 Indus ; and in that time he had taken vigorous measures 
 
v.] INDIA, OCT. 1S41— DEC. 1842. 157 
 
 for the health of his fellow-passengers and of the troops, 
 who were suffering from scurvy as well as cholera. He had 
 also framed a report on the great commercial future of 
 Kurachee, including projects for a boat-bridge over the 
 creek, a better water-supply, a lighthouse, and vegetable 
 gardens. But as he is now fairly launched on his new 
 command, it is time to take a short survey of the political 
 condition of the people with whom he had to deal. 
 
 The population of Scinde, which numbered rather more 
 than one million, contained four distinct elements : Scindians 
 proper, Hindoos, Beloochees of the plain, and Beloochees of 
 the mountains. Scindians and Hindoos had long been 
 accustomed to alien rulers. Among the fierce and un- 
 manageable settlers, who at different times left their moun- 
 tains for the fertile banks of the Indus, came a Belooch 
 clan called the Talpoorees, who dethroned the reigning 
 dynasty near the close of the last century, and established 
 their own chiefs as Ameers or Lords of Scinde. The chief- 
 tainship was divided, and, at the time we are now dealing 
 with, there were the Ameers of Khjrrpoor or Upper Scinde, 
 the Ameers of Hyderabad or Lower Scinde, and the Ameer 
 of Meerpoor, on the borders of the desert which formed the 
 eastern boundary of the country. These chiefs, of whom 
 those at Hyderabad were the most important, had exercised 
 the supreme power, after the usual Eastern fashion, for 
 nearly seventy years. The Scindians and Hindoos were 
 treated with the grossest tyranny, ground down by taxa- 
 tion, while their most fertile land was taken for the 
 hunting-grounds, and their daughters for the zenanas of 
 their masters. The Beloochees of the plain held lands by 
 military tenure ; those of the hills vaguely acknowledged 
 the Ameers as their feudal superiors. 
 
 Our intercourse with Scinde received its first public 
 recognition in the treaty of 1809, which provided for 
 
iS8 SIR CHARLES NAPIER. [chap. 
 
 mutual intercourse by envoys and the exclusion of the 
 French. On the renewal of this treaty in 1820 an article 
 was added settling disputes as to the border on the side of 
 Cutch, which then formed the frontier province of the 
 British Empire ; it is to be remarked that this article was 
 not obtained without an armed demonstration on the part 
 of England. The next important step was an exploration 
 of the Indus, ordered by the Board of Control, and under- 
 taken by Lieutenant (afterwards Sir Alexander) Bumes in 
 1831. " The mischief is done, you have seen our country,'' 
 cried a prophetic native to the traveller. Bumes was 
 followed the next year by Colonel Pottinger, who nego- 
 tiated the first treaty which gave England positive rights 
 in Scinde. Its chief provisions were : That the Indus 
 should be free for commerce, but not for ships of war or 
 military stores ; and that a tarifif should take the place of 
 arbitrary tolls. It was reserved for Lord Auckland de- 
 finitely to overstep the boundary, never very scrupulously 
 attended to in our dealings with Indian States, between 
 commercial treaties and political interference or dictation. 
 In 1836, alarmed by the steady growth of Bussian influence 
 in Asia, Lord Auckland set to work to obtain an active 
 influence over the Afghans, and as a first step to the attain- 
 ment of his aims he resolved on strengthening British in- 
 fluence in Scinde. An opportunity soon presented itseK. 
 The Maharajah of the Punjab threatened to invade Scinde, 
 and the warlike Beloochees were fully prepared to face him 
 unaided, and let him do his worst. Before commencing 
 operations, however, the Maharajah applied to the British 
 for a supply of arms to be sent to him up the Indus. His 
 attention was at once drawn to the article of the Scindian 
 treaty whereby the conveyance of military stores up the 
 Indus was forbidden. At the same time Colonel Pottinger 
 was sent to Hyderabad to offer British protection to the 
 
v.] INDIA, OCT. 1841 — DEC. 1842. 159 
 
 Ameers against the Sikhs, and to suggest the introduction 
 of a British force into Scinde. This proposal, which was 
 quite uncalled for, was subsequently embodied in a modified 
 form in the treaty of 1838, whereby England undertook to 
 mediate between Scinde and the Sikhs, on condition of the 
 Ameers receiving a political agent at Hyderabad, with an 
 escort of British troops, of such a number as the British 
 Government should deem suitable — the troops to be paid 
 by the Ameers. 
 
 The desired footing in Scinde having been obtained, 
 Lord Auckland was free to execute his measures for check- 
 mating the Eussian invasion of India. How was this to be 
 done? "Surely," says Sir W. Napier, who accurately 
 expresses Sir Charles's thoughts on the subject — "surely 
 by cultivating the goodwill of the high-spirited Afghans, 
 the wild Toorkmans, the keen-witted Persians. To speak 
 to their self-interest by commerce and by presents, to their 
 sagacity by missions, and to trust their instincts of self- 
 preservation for the rest.'' Lord Auckland thought other- 
 wise. He resolved to invade a nation which at that time 
 bore us no ill-will ; and further, to injure that nation in the 
 most ofifensive manner by setting up an unworthy puppet 
 in the place of the vigorous, popular, and not unfriendly 
 Dhost Mohammed. We have not here to teU again the 
 shameful story of the first Afghan War, but only to point 
 out how it afiected our relations with the Ameers of 
 Scinde. Lord Auckland, who does not seem to have been 
 much troubled by military considerations, became a party 
 to a triple treaty with Shah Sooja and the Maharajah, 
 whereby the latter accepted English mediation in his 
 quarrel with Scinde, while Shah Sooja relinquished his 
 rights as suzerain over that country on condition of 
 receiving arrears of tribute. The object of this treaty was 
 to secure a line of operations against Afghanistan through 
 
i6o SIR CHARLES NAPIER. [chap. 
 
 Scinde — that is to say, a line about thrice the distance of 
 the Punjab line, through the terrible Bolan Pass and the 
 barren highlands of Afghanistan, with communications 
 threatened by the incensed Ameers and the Belooch tribes 
 of the hills, and with the strong fortresses of Candahar and 
 Ghuznee to pass before reaching Cabul. Well might the 
 Duke of Wellington say, "The troops wUl force their way 
 through a wild disunited people, only to find the com- 
 mencement of their difficulties." The march, however, was 
 executed by Lord Keane, with the loss of hundreds of 
 soldiers and about 40,000 camels on the way. 
 
 Meanwhile the tripartite treaty was sent to Pottinger, 
 who was instructed to tell the Ameers that Shah Sooja 
 would be at Shikarpoor in November, that the arrears of 
 tribute must be paid then, or the town and district of 
 Shikarpoor would be seized. He was also to announce the 
 suspension of the article forbidding the transport of mihtary 
 stores by the Indus, and that any connection with Persia 
 would be considered an act of hostility to England. 
 Pottinger replied that he " would not fail to tell the Ameers 
 that the day they connected themselves with any other 
 Power than England would be the last of their independ- 
 ence, if not of their rule ; and neither the ready power to 
 crush and annihilate them nor the will to call it into action 
 were wanting, if it appeared requisite, however remotely, 
 for the safety or integrity of the Anglo-Indian empire or 
 frontier.'' Considering our relations with Shah Sooja, no 
 one will wonder at another remark in the report with 
 respect to the tribute, that " many besides the Scindees wiU 
 believe that we are making a mere use of Shah Sooja's 
 name to revive a claim which has been long obsolete." So 
 the Ameers thought, and if they had any doubt as to our 
 further designs it was soon removed. Burnes was sent to 
 Khyrpoor to arrange for the passage of the Bengal army 
 
v.] INDIA, OCT. 1841— DSC. 1842. 161 
 
 through Upper Scinde, with instructions to demand the 
 loan of Bukkur, a fortified rock in mid-stream of the Indus, 
 but to evade any question as to remuneration. During 
 these negotiations Lord Auckland determined on sending 
 5000 men from Bombay to seize Shikarpoor. Pottinger 
 advised delay, for he saw what danger to our communica- 
 tions with Afghanistan would arise if the Ameers were 
 driven to extremities. He was fairly staggered, too, by the 
 Ameers producing formal discharges from Shah Sooja of his 
 sovereign rights over Scinde — a fact which put him in the 
 position of asking them to pay for a second relinquishment. 
 But the Governor-General would not pause. One army 
 was descending the Sutlej ; another reached the mouths of 
 the Indus from Bombay. Pottinger then boldly urged the 
 seizure of the district between the Hala mountains and the 
 Lower Indus, to give " a compact territory, complete com- 
 mand of the river, and the only seaport ; when, Sukkur and 
 Bukkur being occupied by British troops on the Upper 
 Indus, and British agents placed in Khyrpoor and Hydera- 
 bad, British supremacy would be as fully established in 
 Scinde as though it had been entirely subjugated." Eoos- 
 tum, the head of the Khyrpoor Ameers, surrendered Bukkur, 
 and declared his territory a British dependency; but no 
 sooner had the two armies put themselves in motion than 
 Lower Scinde broke out into open violence. The British 
 stores at Hyderabad were plundered, and Lieutenant East- 
 wick, the sub-agent, was driven from the Residency, where- 
 upon the British seized Kurachee. The Ameers, however, 
 did not feel themselves strong enough to fight, and on 
 '11th March 1839 was signed the treaty which, together with 
 that already concluded with Roostum, formed the basis of 
 the relations between Scinde and the Anglo-Indian Govern- 
 ment when Sir C. Napier arrived upon the scene. It was 
 distinguished from all former treaties by the circumstance 
 
 M 
 
1 62 SIR CHARLES NAPIER. [chap. 
 
 that it dealt with the Ameers no longer collectively but 
 separately. Eoostum had acknowledged British supremacy 
 and the right of the British to occupy Bukkur in time of 
 war. He imdertook to have no foreign policy but that 
 dictated by England ; to accept arbitration in case of dis- 
 putes ; to render aid, if required, in the Afghan war ; to 
 co-operate in the development of the commercial advantages 
 of the Indus ; and to receive a Resident. He received in 
 return an assurance that England would not covet his pos- 
 sessions, that he should be absolute in his own territory, 
 and that complaints from his subjects should not be 
 listened to. 
 
 The main stipulations of the treaty with the Ameers of 
 Hyderabad were as follows : — 
 
 A British force to be quartered in Scinde, its strength 
 to be determined by the Governor-General. 
 
 Noor, Nusseer, Mohammed, each to pay one lakh to- 
 wards the maintenance of the force ; Sobdar to be exempted 
 as a reward for previous friendship. 
 
 The Ameer's territories to be under British protection. 
 
 The Ameers to be absolute with respect to their sub- 
 jects ; but quarrels among themselves were to be referred 
 to British mediation. 
 
 Their foreign policy was to require the sanction of the 
 English Government, and they were to furnish a force for 
 defence when required. 
 
 Tolls on trading -boats up or down the Indus were 
 abolished. 
 
 On the conclusion of these negotiations, Pottinger re- 
 cords his opinion that if ever the British military strength 
 was to be again exerted in Scinde — an event which he did not 
 anticipate — it must- be carried to subjugating the country. 
 
 In 1840 he was succeeded by Major Outram, and there 
 was a brief respite, imtil the disaster at Cabul threw our 
 
v.] INDIA, OCT. 1841 — DEC. 1842. 163 
 
 Government into such confusion that the nations on our 
 borders thought the end of our rule was at hand, and the 
 Ameers took courage to prepare for the opportunities for 
 vengeance which the general commotion seemed so likely to 
 offer. Suspicion was aroused by the discovery of a corre- 
 spondence between Nusseer Eian, the head of the Ameers, 
 and the Sikh chief of Mooltan, and between Eoostum of 
 Khyrpoor and Shere Sing, Maharajah of the Punjab. But 
 at this moment Lord Auckland was succeeded by Lord 
 EUenborough, and hesitation, panic, and confusion were at 
 an end. 
 
 The new Viceroy, in spite of his well-known vanity and 
 inordinate love of oratorical display, had the vigour of 
 mind and body, the unfailing self-confidence, the unflinching 
 hatred of corruption, that fit a man for a great emergency; 
 and those qualities had never been more needed in India. 
 An army had been annihilated, Ghuznee surrendered, Jalala- 
 bad was not relieved, Brigadier England had been driven 
 back upon Quetta, and Nott was in the utmost peril. 
 Within our frontiers the Anglo-Indian community was in a 
 state of prostration, and there was the greatest need for a 
 strong will to check abuses and infuse fresh energy and 
 public spirit into the civil service. 
 
 Accepting the political situation of Scinde as he found 
 it — and, indeed, he could hardly have done otherwise, con- 
 sidering the perilous position of the troops to be rescued — 
 he lost no time in giving Major Outram a clear indication 
 of the policy he meant to pursue : — 
 
 " The Governor-General is led to think you may have seen 
 reason to doubt the fidelity of one or more of the Ameers of 
 Scinde. He therefore forwards three similar letters to be 
 addressed, according to circumstances, and at your discretion, 
 to those of the Ameers whom you may have grounds for sus- 
 pecting of hostile designs against the British Government. 
 
i64 SIR CHARLES NAPIER. [chap. 
 
 And you will distinctly understand that the threat contained 
 is no idle threat intended only to alarm, but a declaration of 
 the Governor-General's fixed determination to punish, cost 
 what it may, the first chief who shall prove faithless by the 
 confiscation of his dominions. But there must be clear proof 
 of such faithlessness, and it must not be provoked by the 
 conduct .of British agents, producing in the minds of any 
 chief a belief that the British Government entertains designs 
 inconsistent with its interests and honour." 
 
 Outram withheld the three letters, which were no less 
 plain in their language, on the ground that the Ameers 
 were so conscious of treasonable designs that Lord Ellen- 
 borough's menacing tone might drive them to extremities. 
 But his conduct, which was approved by Lord EUenborough, 
 does not seem at that time to have been dictated by any 
 regard for the character and rights of the Ameers ; for he 
 states that he has it in his power to expose the hostile in- 
 trigues of the Ameers to such an extent as might "be deemed 
 sufficient to authorise the dictation of any terms to those 
 chiefs, or any measure necessary to place British power on 
 a secure footing. He also sent Lord EUenborough a draft 
 of a proposed new treaty, on the ground of the frequent 
 violations of former treaties by the Ameers and their 
 treasonable designs against the British troops in Scinde. 
 He recommended that, in lieu of tribute, the Ameers should 
 cede Sukkur, Bukkur, and Kurachee, or Shikarpoor and 
 its territories instead of the last-named place. Lord EUen- 
 borough, in reply, rejected these proposals on the ground 
 that, though he was determined to punish faithlessness, he 
 was anxious to avoid any sudden change in our political 
 relations with the Ameers. At this stage, however. Sir 
 Charles Napier arrived and took over the management of 
 affairs, as Lord Ellenborough's instructions directed him to 
 " exercise entire authority over all political and civil officers" 
 
v.] INDIA, OCT. 1841— DEC. 1842. 165 
 
 within the limit of his military command. We may now, 
 therefore, resume the thread of our narrative. 
 
 We left General Napier sailing up the Indus from 
 Kurachee. On 25th September he reached Hyderabad, 
 and had his first interview with the Ameers of Lower 
 Scinde. 
 
 " Nusseer Khan pays his court to me thus : first a great 
 man meets me on the Indus, and on landing forty men come 
 with trays of sweetmeats ; again, at the house of the political 
 agent, Lieutenant Mylne, sixty more trays come, with ten 
 sheep and vegetables. I dress in full uniform, with decora- 
 tions. A magnificent palanquin, covered with scarlet cloth, 
 lined with scarlet, and pillowed with cushions of green velvet, 
 awaits me, and camels, having rich housing, are there for my 
 retinue. My wound prevents me riding, or a horse would 
 have been sent ; but fifty of the Scinde irregular horsemen, 
 the political agent's guard, attend me — wild, picturesque 
 fellows, with their brilliantly-coloured trappings, very much 
 like stage banditti. Crowds of Scindian peasants, armed and 
 unarmed, flock to see the Sahib. We approach the city ; the 
 Sirdars meet us, all mounted and with mounted retainers, 
 their horses lean and small, but active and showy. Some few 
 of the riders have spears, all have sabres, and each a shield 
 on his back. This and the coloured trappings, the men's own 
 dresses of variegated shawls and silks, the turbaned heads 
 interspersed amongst the handsome Scindian caps, and the 
 exceeding grace of all, presented a thoroughly Eastern scene, 
 very beautiful. Nor were the high castellated and orna- 
 mented ramparts of Hyderabad, towering above the armed 
 men, and crowded with figures similar to those below, 
 calculated to render the picture less curious." 
 
 Through this shouting and gesticulating throng the 
 procession moved slowly past the armed gates to the palaces 
 of the Ameers. 
 
 " They arose and helped me to rise, which my lameness 
 rendered difficult, and seated me on the right hand of Nusseer 
 
i66 SIR CHARLES NAPIER. [chap. 
 
 — a large, fat man, not handsome, yet not ill-looking. . . . They 
 would all try on my spectacles, were puzzled by ttem, and 
 repeatedly asked if I was very happy and very comfortable. 
 In return my interpreter continually asked if they were very 
 happy and very comfortable. This was the more incumbent 
 on me, as having just written a hillet-dcnix to them which 
 could by no means add to their comfort or happiness ; it was 
 to request they would not break treaty by levying tolls on 
 the river, and hinted that if they did so my next visit would 
 be less welcome." 
 
 He was off again the next day on his way to Sukkur. 
 The sight of the rich banks of the Indus, as he sailed past 
 them, filled him with a longing to set to work, as in the old 
 Cephalonian days, to turn the wilderness into a garden. 
 
 "What immense produce might burthen this running sea! 
 Civilisation would soon bridle this mad river. The Dutch 
 control the rude northern seas, and a few dams run obliquely 
 down the stream would restrain the vagaries of the Indus. 
 Would that Sehwan were mine ; quickly it should defy the 
 river, and have quays and agriculture for 20 miles around, 
 while vast canals should carry the waters through the 
 land. Science would play with the Indus ; but it cannot be 
 controlled by misery, poverty, ignorance, and a tyranny cal- 
 culated to destroy the earth and man." 
 
 At Sukkur his political work began. The excitement 
 among the Ameers created by our late reverses was at its 
 height, and the position of General England's force, retreat- 
 ing on the Indus through the Bolan Pass with most of 
 General Nott's incumbrances, made the situation a critical 
 one. In the middle of September Napier writes: "My 
 position here is very ticklish, but danger from war none. 
 My difficulty will be to act with judgment as chief political 
 agent. I believe Lord EUenborough's intentions are just 
 and honourable, — I know my own are, — but hell is paved 
 with good intentions, and both of us may have difficulties 
 
v.] INDIA, OCT. 1841— Zi£C. 1842. ■ 167 
 
 to encounter. Still I feel neither diffidence nor hesitation ; 
 my plan is formed, so is Lord Ellenborough's, and "my belief 
 is that they are alike.'' 
 
 There seems little doubt that, after reading Lord Ellen- 
 borough's instructions, which reached him at Sukkur, and 
 after what he had himself seen and heard from Outram and 
 others, he had made up his mind that the practical annexa- 
 tion of Scinde by peaceful means was inevitable and not 
 very far distant. On 8th October he writes to Outram : 
 " The Ameers are, like all barbarians, ignorant and cunning. 
 They will get on the rocks ; however, the length of their 
 tether is the treaty, and they have been given to understand 
 that they shall not go an inch beyond it ; if they do, they 
 must take the consequences. I know what that would be 
 were I master, and suspect what it is Kkely to be." The 
 Governor -General's instructions were that any Ameer or 
 chief convicted of having evinced hostile designs during the 
 late disastrous events should be visited with a signal 
 punishment to deter others, but the proof of such guilt 
 must be absolutely clear and convincing. He added his 
 conviction that any report Napier might make would be 
 such as he could safely act upon. This despatch was 
 founded on Outram's reports, and was in accordance with 
 the intention the Governor-General had already announced 
 of punishing all acts of faithlessness to the treaties made 
 with his predecessor, which, in face of the perilous military 
 situation, he felt bound to insist upon, however much he 
 might disapprove of the policy which had dictated them. 
 
 The first complaint against the Ameers was that they 
 were levying tolls, in violation of Pottinger's treaty. Their 
 explanation was that they levied them on their own sub- 
 jects, to whose complaints we were bound, by the same 
 treaty, to give no attention. "Verily your Highnesses 
 speak truth," replies Napier (Journal, 7th October), " and 
 
i68 SIR CHARLES NAPIER. [chap. 
 
 I will not listen to a word your subjects may say against 
 you ; but the treaty says no tolls shall be levied. It is not 
 your subjects, therefore, but we who complain." A week 
 later he writes again : " My mind is made up that we ought 
 to enforce the treaty and set commerce free on the Indus. 
 I am not an admirer of commerce, God knows, when it is 
 to be favoured and all rascality practised towards the poor 
 to forward its progress ; but here our interest and that of 
 the Scindian people are on this point one. Wherefore I 
 avow wanting only a just pretext for forcing the Ameers to 
 do right for their people, and for themselves. The Ameers 
 won't fight, my force is too strong, and this is the moment 
 to do the job ; because, being strong, it could be done 
 without bloodshed, could be done with my pen ! Major 
 Outram is of my opinion, and I like him much, for that 
 reason probably, for I confess not to like those who differ 
 in opinion with me. I may love and respect them, but do 
 not like them as companions." 
 
 A much more serious breach of the treaty, however, 
 was discovered in the shape of negotiations with neigh- 
 bouring tribes for an offensive alliance against the hated 
 British, whose power was supposed to have received a crush- 
 ing blow in Afghanistan. Both Eoostum of Khyrpoor and 
 Nusseer of Hyderabad were detected in a secret corre- 
 spondence with other tribes. The list of charges brought 
 against Nusseer embraced also the assembling of troops to 
 attack Shere Mohammed of Meerpoor, upon a boundary 
 dispute which had been referred to British arbitration; 
 exacting tolls, and otherwise obstructing the navigation of 
 the Indus; opposing the free supply of the bazaar at 
 Kurachee, and exciting the chief of the Bhoogtee tribe 
 to attack British troops on their retreat from Afghanistan. 
 In addition to these transgressions, Eoostum and Nusseer 
 concluded a secret treaty of alliance, and were sending 
 
v.] INDIA, OCT. 1841— DEC. 1842. 169 
 
 messages to prepare for war to their feudatories and to the 
 chiefs of the hill tribes. In view of these facts General 
 Napier drew up an exhaustive report on the political situa- 
 tion, of which the following is a somewhat condensed ver- 
 sion. It must be borne in mind that the correspondence 
 touching Pottinger's negotiations had not then been made 
 public, so that he could not do otherwise than assume that 
 the Ameers had voluntarily entered into the treaties which 
 he was directed to see enforced. 
 
 "Report, 17th October. — ^It is not for me to note how we 
 came to occupy Scinde, but to consider the subject as it 
 stands. We are here by right of treaties entered into by the 
 Ameers, and therefore stand on the same footing as them- 
 selves. 
 
 " The English occupy Shitarpoor, Bukkur, and Kurachee, 
 by treaties which, if rigidly adhered to by the Ameers, would 
 render those princes more rich and powerful, and their sub- 
 jects more happy, than they now are. If sticklers for abstract 
 right maintain, as no doubt they will, that to prevent a man 
 from doing mischief is to enslave him, it may be called hard 
 to enforce a rigid observance of these treaties. But their 
 evident object is to favour our Indian interests by aboKshing 
 barbarism and ameliorating the condition of society ; by 
 obliging the Ameers to do, in compliance with those treaties, 
 that which honourable civilised rulers would do of their own 
 accord. It is necessary to keep this in view, because, though 
 the desire to do good would not sanction breach of treaty, it 
 does sanction the exacting a rigid adherence to treaty from 
 the Ameers. 
 
 " By treaty, the time for which we may occupy our present 
 camps is unlimited ; but there is such hostility to us on the 
 part of the Ameers, such a hatred of the treaties, and such 
 resolution to break them in every way ; there is also among 
 their people, Scindees and Hindoos, not Beloochees, such a 
 growing attachment to British rule, that the question arises, 
 Whether we shall abandon the interests of humanity and of 
 
170 SIR CHARLES NAPIER. [chap. 
 
 the Britisli Government, which in this case are one, and at 
 once quit Scinde, or take advantage of existing treaties to 
 maintain our camps permanently 1 But, if we evacuate the 
 country, future events will inevitably bring us back to the 
 Indus. If we remain our camps will quickly grow into 
 towns, and the people within them will carry on a transit 
 trade along the Indus to the exclusion of the Ameer's people 
 without. 
 
 "This produces another question, Can such things long 
 continue ? A Government hated by its subjects, despotic, 
 hostile alike to the interests of England and of its own people, 
 -^will not such a Government maintain an incessant petty 
 hostility against us ? I conceive such political relation cannot 
 last; the more powerful Government wiU, at no distant 
 period, swallow up the weaker : would it not be better to 
 come to that result at once ? I think it would be better, if it 
 can be done with honesty. Let me then consider how we 
 might go to work on a matter so critical. 
 
 " Several Ameers have broken treaty in the various in- 
 stances stated in the accompanying ' Eeturn of Complaints.' 
 I have maintained that we want only a fair pretext to coerce 
 the Ameers, and I think the various acts recorded give abun- 
 dant reason to take Kurachee, Sukkur, Bukkur, Shikarpoor, 
 and Subzulcote for our own ; and for obliging the Ameers to 
 leave a trackway along both banks of the Indus, stipulating 
 for a supply of wood : at the same time remitting all tribute 
 and arrears of tribute in favour of those Ameers whose con- 
 duct has been correct. Finally, to enter into a fresh treaty 
 with one of those princes as chief." 
 
 After enlarging on the military and commercial import- 
 ance of Shikarpoor, he continues : — 
 
 "I have drawn up this memoir entirely on my own con- 
 sideration of the subject, but, since Major Outram's arrival, 
 which was just as the last paragraph was finished, he has 
 given me every possible assistance. He concurs in all I have 
 said, but has added to my knowledge, and in justice to the 
 Ameers I must, with this increase of knowledge, enlarge on 
 
v.] INDIA, OCT. 1841— Z>£C. 1842. 171 
 
 what has been stated. The Ameers say they did not under- 
 stand Article XI. to prohibit the tolls on their own subjects. 
 This may be, and I would wUlingly, if possible, suppose they 
 really did conceive the treaty gave them toUs on their own 
 subjects ; but they have attempted to levy on the boats of 
 Bhawulpoor, which the treaty assuredly does not give a right 
 to do; and they have fired into the boats of Bhawulpoor 
 merchants. 
 
 " The second point Major Outram has drawn my attention 
 to is a very strong one. He tells me the tribes on the river, 
 above that part possessed by the Ameers, do levy tolls, and 
 that there is no treaty or public document forthcoming in 
 virtue of which we can call on the Ameers, even of Upper 
 Scinde, not to levy tolls on their own subjects. It is evident, 
 therefore, that to call upon the Ameers of Hyderabad not to 
 levy tolls, and to allow the tribes above to do so, would be 
 unjust — that is to say, it would be unjust to allow the others 
 to levy tolls, but not unjust to prevent the Ameers." 
 
 Lord Ellenborough sent back the draft of a new treaty, 
 based on the report, but required the very strictest proof of 
 Nusseer Khan's letter to Beebruck Bhoogtee inviting him 
 to arm against the British, and of Eoostum's letter to the 
 Sikh Maharajah. This despatch was preceded by instruc- 
 tions to Napier to effect a sweeping reform in his political 
 staff just when he was inost in want of it. " If I have not 
 been worked, no matter. Lord E. first sent for my views 
 on our position in Scinde. Why, I have hardly been in 
 Scinde ! However, by labour, my letter of the 17th, finished 
 on the 27th, went, and rest was really required after read- 
 ing quires of written paper. Well, my letter had just gone, 
 when down comes Lord EUenborough's order to abolish, at 
 one slap, the whole of the political agency ! One hundred and 
 fifty people in this house alone turned out, without warning 
 or thanks ! And Outram, who has worked Kke a horse, at 
 the head of them !" Eest, however, was not to be thought 
 
172 SI/l CHARLES NAPIER. [chap. 
 
 of. The first task was to prove the Ameers' letters. Writing 
 to Lord Ellenborough on the subject, he says: "Major 
 Outram, Major Clibbome, Lieutenant Brown,, and my con- 
 fidential moonshee, hitherto employed in the political 
 agency, agree that the seal is that of Nusseer Khan." But 
 this was not enough to satisfy the General ; he had recourse 
 to his compasses, and found that, on measuring the details 
 of the suspected seal with authenticated seals of the Ameer, 
 " they do not exactly coincide in size and distance between 
 the letters. They agree in all other respects I am told by 
 those who can read Persian, and the discrepancy is ac- 
 counted for thus : it is notorious that the Ameers have two 
 seals — one to be used for secrecy, that, if discovered, they 
 may deny it, and adduce their ordinary seal in proof, 
 pointing out the want of coincidence. I have been trying 
 to get one of these secret seals through the same people 
 who intercepted the letter, but they have been unable to 
 obtain one. This is very strong presumptive proof that the 
 letter is not a forgery of theirs, because the object of a first 
 forgery would be secured by a second, and the instrument 
 would be in their hands." 
 
 The very next day, however, he writes : " I have pro- 
 cured not only a seal similar to that of Nusseer Khan, but 
 on the cover of the letter it is attached to is writing known 
 to be that of Chokram, the Ameer's confidential moonshee." 
 The next point was the authenticity of Eoostum's letter 
 to the Maharajah. With regard to this he says, "There 
 are doubts on Major Outram's mind as to his being privy 
 to this letter ; but of its having his seal, and being written 
 by his minister, Futteh Ghoree, there is no doubt. Is the 
 doctrine to be admitted thatj if a prince gives his signet 
 and power blindly to his minister, such folly is to excuse 
 him from the consequences f 
 
 While waiting for Lord EUenborough's decision the 
 
v.] INDIA, OCT. 1841 — DEC. 1842. 173 
 
 General had an important interview with Ali' Moorad, a 
 younger brother of Roostum, and to whose sincerity and 
 trustworthiness Major Outram had borne emphatic testi- 
 mony. Ali Moorad wanted the promise of the " turban,'' 
 which was the sign of supreme authority among the Ameers. 
 Napier's answer was, " Your Highness is brother of Eoos- 
 tum Khan, who now wears the turban ; while he lives you 
 cannot hold the chieftaincy ; but you are by law his heir 
 to the puggree, and, as the treaty binds us to support each 
 Ameer in his rights, you shall be supported in yours." 
 Roostum also made an appointment, but broke it ; and when 
 the General refused in a very peremptory manner to meet 
 him at another spot, he broke up his camp and retired to 
 his castle. Napier moved at the end of November to 
 Shikarpoor, the march only bringing more forcibly before 
 him the natural wealth of the country and the iniquity of 
 the Government. " I am gathering up my reins, my feet 
 are in the stirrups, my hand is on my sword, and if I do not 
 put these chaps to rights with vigour, and without rigour, 
 great is my mistake. It wiU be Lord EUenborough's fault, 
 not mine ; but I think he vrill support any blow struck by 
 me to free these poor people. They Hve in a larder and 
 yet starve ! The robber is master ! The Ameers rob by 
 taxes, the hiU tribes by matchlocks. . . . Almost every 
 man I met this day bore sword and shield, for all are in- 
 cUned to rob, and all have life to lose, if nothing else." In 
 fact, his surroundings might have made him a little uncom- 
 fortable, but for his guard of thirty irregular Scinde horse, 
 who were all "adepts in throat- slicing, and looked it; 
 never were seen more picturesque figures ; with their wild 
 locks of thin matted hair, matchlocks on shoulder, sabres 
 and shields slung on their back, and their loose yeUow 
 tuiiics and turbans of bright scarlet. These feUows would 
 have aU died round me sooner than let me be looted ; yet 
 
174 SIR CHARLES NAPIER. [chap. 
 
 at the holding up a finger they would have sacked the 
 village with delight." 
 
 Next day he was back at Sukkur, and was met by the 
 news that the Ameers had again broken the treaty by 
 levying tolls on a Bhawulpoor merchant. Having ascer- 
 tained that Eoostum was the offender, the General de- 
 spatched a stiff letter to him, insisting upon the repayment 
 of the tolls and the expenses to which the injured merchant 
 had been put, under pain of being treated as an enemy. 
 " They shall have a leaf out of Oliver Cromwell's book. I 
 forced from them a command to their agents on the river 
 not to levy more tolls ; they have levied one since, and it 
 was by me passed over, contrary to Lord Ellenborough's 
 orders, which were to enforce the matter rapidly. Now 
 they have got together 20,000 or 30,000 men — it is even 
 said 60,000 ; they know my camp is sickly, that 500 men 
 are down with fever, and they say they can sweep away 
 the Feringhees as the Afghans have done." Eoostum paid 
 up the money promptly, but, according to the General's 
 spies, he at once summoned a secret durbar, and said the 
 British should have aU the money they asked for, even to 
 the women's jewellery ; but if they did not leave Scinde he 
 would collect his troops and drive them out. From another 
 quarter came news that the Beloochee chiefs were to meet 
 in arms on 7th December. But on 30th November came posi- 
 tive orders from Lord Ellenborough that the new treaty, 
 based upon Napier's report, was to be at once enforced. 
 
 The presentation of the treaty produced strong remon- 
 strances from both Khyrpoor and Hyderabad. " Now, then, 
 what is my position V writes Napier ; " these people will try 
 to spin out the cold weather in negotiation, and then we 
 cannot put our noses out of the shade : this shall not be. 
 Their remonstrance shall go to Lord Ellenborough, but 
 meanwhile the districts of Subzulcote and Bhoong-Bara 
 
v.] INDIA, OCT. 1841— DEC. 1842. 175 
 
 must be occupied, unless they state some very staggering 
 arguments to hold my hand, which cannot, I believe, be 
 done." Hearing rumours that the Ameers were planning a 
 surprise of his camp at Sukkur, he wrote a letter to Eoos- 
 tum warning him of the consequences : " Your subjects, it 
 is said, propose to attack my camp in the night-time. This 
 would of course be without your knowledge, and also be 
 very foolish, because my soldiers would slay those who 
 attack them; and when day dawned I would march to 
 Klyrpoor, transplant the inhabitants to Sukkur, and destroy 
 your capital city, with the exception of your Highness' 
 palace, which I would leave standing alone as a mark of 
 my respect for your Highness and of my conviction that 
 you have no authority over your subjects." This letter was 
 speedily followed by assurances from Upper and Lower 
 Scinde that the treaty would be accepted. On 15th 
 December the British troops commenced the passage of the 
 Indus in order to occupy the territories mentioned in the 
 treaty. This act practically closes the period of negotia- 
 tions, and we must now turn to the military aspect of the 
 situation. 
 
 The anxiety and labour which his diplomatic functions 
 entailed had not been allowed to interfere in any way with 
 the command of the 6000 men encamped at Sukkur. " The 
 military have been all at sixes and sevens," — Journal, 18th 
 November, — " and it requires vigour to pull the jokers up, 
 but it shall be done. It is a very fine force — fine oflBcers, 
 fine men ; but they have had no commander, the camp is 
 full of suggestors, who would make a mob of the force in 
 a week." One of the "jokes'' most in need of correction 
 was the furious riding of young ofiieers through the camp 
 and bazaars ; it was put a stop to by a general order, which 
 is a delightful specimen of the combination of humour 
 and authority which made him the idol of his soldiers. 
 
176 SIR CHARLES NAPIER. [chap. 
 
 " Gentlemen as well as beggars, if they like, may ride to 
 the devil when they get on horseback ; but neither gentle- 
 men nor beggars have a right to send other people to the 
 devil, which wUl be the case if furious riding be allowed in 
 the bazaar. The Major-Greneral has placed a detachment 
 of horse at the disposal of Captain Pope, who will arrest 
 offenders and punish them, as far as the regulations permit. 
 And Captain Pope is not allowed to let any one escape 
 punishment, because, when orders have been repeated and 
 are not obeyed, it is time to enforce them — without 
 obedience an army becomes a mob, and a cantonment a 
 bear-garden. The enforcement of obedience is like physic 
 — not agreeable, but necessary." 
 
 The necessity for organisation and discipline was press- 
 ing; for, though Napier fully expected to execute Lord 
 EUenborough's policy without bloodshed, the time in which 
 military operations, if necessary, could be safely carried on 
 was very short. " I have calculated upon the average of 
 the thermometer being under 80° till April, when it will 
 rise: the mean heat last March was 71°; the average 
 maximum only 83°. Therefore we have weather for mihtary 
 operations till 1st April, and even April would not be 
 very dangerous." At the same time he tells Lord Ellen- 
 borough that within certain limits nothing would be lost by 
 delay : — . 
 
 "Because one cannot be too cautious in securing firm 
 moral ground to base the defence of whatever events may 
 arise. The Ameers also grow weaker, delay exhausts their 
 treasury, and they cheat their soldiers, who of course leave 
 them. This also is the season of fevers along the banks of 
 the Indus, and if the Ameers' pride should produce hostihties 
 I should have a large hospital on my hands in a few days. 
 If obliged to move on Hyderabad, I must do so by the road 
 along the river or that through the desert ; and to supply 
 
v.] INDIA, OCT. 1841 — DEC. 1842. 177 
 
 comforts for the sick along the last would be difficult, per- 
 haps impossible. That along the river would quickly double 
 the size of my hospital ! 
 
 " Shoidd the Ameers take the field, my mind is made up 
 to cross the Indus and march on Hyderabad by land. For — 
 (1) The water is so low that boats get along with difficulty, 
 even when not heavily laden ; (2) If filled with troops, guns, 
 ammunition, they would not only ground, but stick for days. 
 I do not think I could float above 1000 men with guns, etc., 
 and half might stick in the mud within reach of matchlocks ; 
 (3) Nothing would be gained here by rapidity, though all 
 went down stream without accident, for the enemy has no 
 positions to fortify, no works he can strengthen, no stronger 
 place to retire to. It is, therefore, the same to go in three 
 or thirteen days ; and by land we march compact, to beat or 
 be beaten all together : slow and sure is an adage suited to 
 my position. Moreover, by land I take IQiyrpoor at once, 
 and can throw myself between the northern and southern 
 Ameers." 
 
 According to the reports of his spies and agents, the 
 Ameers had various bodies of armed men moving about the 
 country, to the number of 20,000 or 30,000, or, according 
 to some, even as many as 60,000. The total British force 
 in Scinde numbered 8000, of whom about 2000 were at 
 Kurachee, while a considerable portion of the remainder 
 were Bengal troops, which were shortly to be sent to 
 Ferozepoor. Lord Ellenborough ofiered to let the Bengal 
 troops remain, and to send up the Bombay troops under 
 General Nott, but both offers were declined. On 6th 
 December Napier writes to Sir Gr. Arthur, Governor of 
 Bombay : " It is said the Ameers have 60,000 men. I can- 
 not beUeve tjiey have so many in one mass ; but, though it 
 be so, this division would go headlong on them with their 
 bayonets, for my men are young and mad for service. I 
 have secret information that if the Ameers go to war, they 
 
 N 
 
178 SIR CHARLES NAPIER. [chap. 
 
 mean to harass us night and day, till we call out, ' God, 
 what have we done that thou shouldst let loose such devils 
 upon us \ ' This passed in their durbar, and a very good 
 plan too. They also propose to assemble a large force at 
 Sehwan, ready to march on Sukkur the moment I march 
 on Khyrpoor ; this also is sensible, but pays a poor compli- 
 ment to my forecast; they may, perhaps, find men at 
 Sukkur, and we may perhaps fight like devils as well as 
 pray ! I suspect the most fervent prayers in camp are that 
 we may fight, and that I am the only one who prays that 
 we may not." 
 
 As soon as his plans were matured and his troops well 
 in hand the new treaty was presented to the Ameers, the 
 Bengal troops were pushed across the Indus, and Eoree was 
 occupied. Then came the remonstrances from the Ameers, 
 followed quickly by assurances of submission. These, how- 
 ever, were only meant to gain time, as was proved by an 
 intercepted letter from Nusseer to Eoostum, complaining 
 that the Ameers Sobdar and Hussein were, like Ali Moorad, 
 in the British interest, but aU the chiefs of tribes and of the 
 armed men were with him, and if Eoostum was ready the 
 sword should be drawn. In addition to this, the Ameers' 
 agents at Sukkur attempted to corrupt the soldiers, and the 
 Boordee tribe was excited to attack the Bengal troops on 
 their march to Ferozepoor. " On one side there was," says 
 Sir W. Napier, " the strong warrior armed in steel, brand- 
 ishing a heavy but sheathed weapon in warning, for his 
 desire was peace ; on the other a crouching savage, tirged 
 by fury and hatred, troubled by fear and doubt, yet 
 constantly creeping forward, knife in hand." 
 
 On 15th and 16th December the main body of the 
 troops crossed the Indus from Sukkur. Napier fixed his 
 headquarters at Eoree, where, with his right resting on the 
 river and his left on the desert, he barred the Ameers from 
 
v.] INDIA, OCT. 1841— D£C. 1842. 179 
 
 Subzulcote and Bhoong-Bara, which were taken possession 
 of by the Bengal troops. Thus the objects of the treaty 
 with Roostum were gained without quitting the defensive ; 
 the position at Roree was very strong, and could be rein- 
 forced by the Bengal troops. The Beloochees could only 
 pass his flank by the desert, and could be intercepted by a 
 short movement. Sukkur, indeed, was exposed to the 
 attack of a strong body of the enemy at Larkhana, on the 
 right of the Indus, but it was strongly entrenched, and 
 contained enough men to resist heavy odds. The passage 
 of the river, though difficult, was effected without accident. 
 " The baggage of an Indian army is an awful affair," wrote 
 Napier, whose mind, already burdened with the anxiety 
 caused by the political situation, was further troubled by 
 the illness of a favourite nephew, John Napier, who was on 
 his staff. 
 
 "Journal, 17th December. — Nearly done up, and fearful 
 John will die. Six times have I gone full gallop to see him, 
 though my character is at stake. This labour of mind is 
 extreme, so many people depending on me, and a great 
 political and military movement on hand, when my poor boy 
 is so ill ! To help me over the stile I have, besides diarrhoea, 
 an infernal rheumatism in my left shoulder which faUs on my 
 nerves." 
 
 At last even the baggage was settled, his nephew grew 
 better, and he had time to reflect on his position. His 
 journal shows what those reflections were : — 
 
 "Roree, 21st December. — 10,000 fighting men and their 
 followers are encamped here at Alore, a town built by Alex- 
 ander the Great. My tent overlooks this most beautiful en- 
 campment. The various sounds, the multitude of followers — 
 I suppose 20,000 — the various costumes and languages, and 
 the many religions, produce a strange scene that makes a man 
 think. Why is all this 1 Why am I, a miserable little wretch, 
 
i8o SIR CHARLES NAPIER. [ohap. v. 
 
 supreme here ? At my word all this mass obeys — multitudes 
 superior to me in bodily and mental gifts ! A little wretched 
 experience in the art of killing, of disobedience to God, is all 
 the superiority that I, their commander, can boast of ! My 
 God ! how humbled I feel when I think ! How I exult when 
 I behold ! I have worked my way to this great command, 
 and am gratified at having it, yet despise myself for being so 
 gratified ! Yes, in the depth of my soul I despise myself. 
 Not as feeling unworthy to lead, for I am conscious of 
 knowing how to lead, and my moral and physical courage are 
 equal to the task ; but I despise my worldUness. Am I not 
 past sixty? A few years must kill me; a few days may! 
 And yet I am so weak as to care for these things. No ; I 
 do not. I pray to do what is right and just, and to have 
 strength to say, ' Get thee behind me, Satan ! ' Alas, I have 
 not that strength ! there was but one Being who could say 
 that. All that I can do is to feel that I cannot say it ; the 
 weakness of man and the pride of war are too powerful for 
 me, or I should not be here. He who takes command loves 
 it! 
 
 "Well, this comfort remains — with a wish for war, and 
 having the power of bringing it on, I have avoided it 
 studiously. These Ameers deserve everything; but I have 
 not done aught to draw down war on them : so ends my 
 soliloquy. I must go to work, but will first walk out, to see 
 aU the camp fires spar klin g on their long line. Oh, what a 
 magnificent sight ! If we had but an enemy in our front ! " 
 
CHAPTEE VI. 
 
 THE CONQUEST OF SCINDE. 
 
 While the new treaty was being presented and acted upon, 
 important communications had passed between the General 
 and Eoostum of Khyrpoor. That aged Ameer had deter- 
 mined to resign the Turban ; and his turbulent sons, who 
 had been for some time gathering together bodies of armed 
 men, -were anxious to secure the succession to one of them- 
 selves, to the exclusion of Ali Moorad, who had a better 
 legal title. Eoostum, terrified by the violence of his family, 
 made a secret offer to enter the British camp. The General, 
 in reply, advised him to seek the protection of his brother, 
 Ali Moorad, but at the same time offered the British camp 
 as an alternative refuge. This answer was sent with the 
 utmost secrecy; but for the benefit of the unruly sons a 
 public letter was also written, complaining of robbery of 
 mails, and calling for the instant disbandment of all armed 
 bodies. Eoostum took his advice, and fled with his wives 
 and attendants to Ali Moorad's fortress of Dejee. This 
 step most effectually disconcerted the hostile designs of 
 Eoostum's family. Ali Moorad became all-powerful in 
 Upper Scinde, and more firmly attached to the British 
 cause, for the sake of securing the succession to the Turban. 
 " Now,'' writes Napier, " having complete power over the 
 brother (Moorad), we have power over all, without any 
 chief-making, and without apparent interference, or any 
 disturbance of the order of succession. The result is a fair 
 
i82 SIR CHARLES NAPIER. [chap. 
 
 prospect of a permanent and peaceful state in Scinde with- 
 out maintaining a large force." 
 
 On 26th December he felt himself strong enough to send 
 away the Bengal troops ; but, as Roostum's sons had taken 
 refuge in the desert, and their armed bands had not yet 
 dispersed, he resolved to strike a blow where it was least 
 expected, and teach the Ameers at once that not even in 
 their deserts were they beyond the reach of his arm. 
 
 "Journal, 25th December.— My present project is this: 
 All the malcontents have congregated under the son-in-law 
 and nephew — he is both — of Koostum, at Emaum Ghur, 
 which is 100 miles in the desert. I cannot take my two 
 12-pounder iron guns nor my two 8-inch mortars, the depth 
 of sand and the want of water and forage are too great ; but, 
 leaving those guns, the 136 camels carrying the heavy shot and 
 shells will be available for water and forage and the supply 
 of my guns and 12-pound howitzers, and these twelve good 
 pieces shall take Emaum Ghur. But why take it 1 For this 
 reason : It is so far in the desert the Ameers believe it 
 invulnerable, and not to be reached ; they believe they can 
 harass us by petty warfare, and, if we assemble a large force, 
 that they can fall back on Emaum Ghur and the bank of the 
 Narra, where we cannot follow. While this feeling exists 
 they win always think themselves independent and safe ; but 
 I think Emaum Ghur may be reached, and they be taught 
 that they have no refuge from our power, no resource but 
 good behaviour : Scinde wiU then be quiet. I know I shall 
 do it, but the risks are very great. The last 25 miles will be 
 in deep sand, a regular succession of hills, steep, and without 
 a drop of water ! " 
 
 Before this daring plan could be executed news arrived 
 which considerably modified his ideas. Eoostum, having 
 resigned the Turban in favour of Ali Moorad, fled to join 
 his family, who had contracted a close alliance with the 
 Ameers of Hyderabad and had collected a laxge force at 
 
VI.] THE CONQUEST OF SCINDE. 183 
 
 Dhingee, which was further reinforced by about 15,000 more 
 from Larkhana, where they had been waiting an oppor- 
 tunity for falling upon Sukkur ; while about 2000 held the 
 forts of Shah Ghur and Emaum Ghur in the desert. 
 
 " You wiU see that I am threatened from four points " — 
 Napier to EUenborough, 29th December. — " The impossibility 
 of getting camels obliged me to leave three regiments and 
 a hundred cavalry behind at Sukkur, also four field-pieces. 
 Lieutenant-Colonel Roberts, an officer selected for the com- 
 mand there, is well able to hold his own against the Lark- 
 hana force and against the Shah Ghur force ; the 8th N. L 
 garrison Roree, and I have halted Colonel Wallace 20 
 miles off; he can, in one march, reach Roree. My rear is 
 therefore safe, even should Ali Moorad be a traitor, which I 
 have no reason to believe, but calculate upon nevertheless. I 
 cannot tell you what the Ameers are at, but beheve they mean 
 to fight at Dhingee. My intention of marching direct on 
 Emaum Ghur is therefore changed. I will march upon Laloo, 
 about five marches, and when there my spies will have brought 
 intelligence of the intentions of the Ameers, and their strength 
 at Dhingee and Emaum Ghur. This intelligence will make 
 me move to either flank, or direct on Hyderabad." 
 
 The march into the desert, besides its moral effect, was 
 designed to disconcert the hostile force at Dhingee. For, 
 by choosing the desert instead of the ordinary road by the 
 river, the position at Dhingee would be turned and the 
 Beloochees forced to retire southwards upon Hyderabad. 
 Sir Charles had some reason to suspect that the Dhingee 
 force had already retired to Emaum Ghur, and his mind 
 was quickly made up to follow them, or anticipate them, 
 before any considerable force could collect at Hyderabad 
 and take him in the rear. "Emaum Ghur is," he says, 
 " their fighting cock, and before three weeks pass my hope 
 is to take off his spurs. "^ Taking about 3000 men with 
 
 1 Emaum Ghur belonged to the wearer of the Turban for the time 
 
i84 SIS CHARLES NAPIER. [chap. 
 
 him, Napier left Eoree on 26th December, and for the first 
 time fully realised the difficulty of moving an Indian army. 
 Hear him after the first da/s march : — 
 
 " Oh ! the baggage ! the baggage ! it is enough to drive 
 one mad. We have 1500 camels with their confounded long 
 necks, each occupying fifteen feet ! Fancy these long devils 
 in a defile ; four miles and a quarter of them ! Then there 
 are the donkeys and ponies, and led horses and bullocks in- 
 numerable. I think our baggage would reach from this to 
 Pekin ; yet aU the Indians exclaim, ' Never saw a force with so 
 little baggage ! ' They say I have done wonders in reducing 
 it so much ; but I have done nothing, except appealing to the 
 good sense of the officers and reducing my own baggage. It 
 is said no Indian General ever marched with less than sixteen 
 camels for his own share, generally with several hundreds; 
 Lord Keane had 300 ; Mr. Koss BeU, the political, 600. I 
 have four camels, and one for my office papers, stationery, 
 etc., which could not be carried in my small portmanteau, for 
 I have but one, and a pair of canteens, with two camp tables, 
 a bed, and a private soldier's tent.'' 
 
 After some delay, owing to the camels not being able to 
 march in wet weather, Dejee was reached (4th January 
 1843), and a halt made to confer with Ali Moorad and to 
 receive the latest intelligence before plunging into the 
 desert. The fortress of Emaum Ghur was in the midst of 
 the great desert that forms the eastern boundary of Scinde ; 
 its exact site was unknown to the General, but it was be- 
 lieved to be about eight long marches from Khyrpoor, over 
 vague, ill-defined tracks; the wells were uncertain as to 
 supply, and so unevenly distributed that some marches 
 would have to be made without a chance of finding them. 
 
 being. The Turban had been ceded by Eoostum Khan to Ali Moorad, 
 and in assisting the latter to recover the fortress from his rebellious 
 relatives Napier was not making war, but fulfilling our treaty obliga- 
 tions. Ali Moorad consented to the expedition, accompanied it, and 
 had a personal share iu the final destruction of the fortress. 
 
VI.] THE CONQUEST OF SCINDE. 185 
 
 The emissaries, for whose reports he had halted, drew such 
 a dismal picture of arid sands and empty wells that the 
 General at once abandoned the idea of marching with his 
 whole force. Nevertheless, he resolved to go on with a 
 picked body. " We moved with 350 of the Queen's 22d 
 Regiment, all mounted on camels, two soldiers on each. 
 We have two 24-lb. howitzers, with double teams of camels, 
 and 200 of the Scinde Horse, and provisions for fifteen 
 days, water for four." He and his gallant 500 had many 
 risks to run besides scanty water and uncertain roads. 
 The guide might be false, the wells might be poisoned, or 
 the waterskins cut in the night ; they might be harassed by 
 the desert horsemen on the march, and they might meet 
 with a fierce and prolonged resistance from the 2000 men 
 who garrisoned Emaum Ghur itself. " It is rare,'' says Sir 
 W. Napier, "to see great prudence in war tempering the 
 heroic valour and confidence of a youthful General ; more 
 rare to find the sanguine daring of early years untamed by 
 age and its infirmities." 
 
 The march began in the night of 5th January 1843, and 
 wonderful was the scene as the sun rose on the desert and 
 discovered to the General his 300 Irishmen taking their 
 first ride on camel-back, and dotted over the sandy plain 
 more like a fleet of herring -boats than a smart British 
 regiment. General Sir M. M'Murdo, K.C.B., then lieu- 
 tenant in the 2 2d, who was charged with the duties of 
 Quarter-Master-General to the army in Scinde, has a very 
 lively recollection of the opening scene. He says, "It 
 became clear from the beginning that the camels would be 
 no party to secrecy, for acute diflferences at once arose 
 between them and the soldiers ordered to bestride them, 
 speedily culminating in an uproar which continued long 
 after the column was in motion ; for the mingled beUovrings 
 and outcries of quadruped and biped were occasionally 
 
i86 SIJi CHARLES NAPIER. [chap. 
 
 heard in the distance, proving that some refractory brutes 
 were carrying away their riders." The guides could not 
 find the track in the darkness, so they had to wait till the 
 dawn disclosed the plain " dotted in the distance with red 
 specks and dun-coloured camels in every form of conten- 
 tion. But order was soon brought out of these incongruous 
 elements. Colonel Pennefather, who had formerly served 
 in the Dragoons, conquering his first feeling of disgust at 
 the ungainly species of mount assigned to his men, suc- 
 ceeded eventually in mutually reconciling men and camels, 
 and even in training them to certain simple manoeuvres." 
 
 "Of the great deserts of the world," says the same 
 witness, " that I have seen, none equals the Thur or Great 
 Sandy Desert in its grim aggressive character. The part 
 traversed by the force consisted of a succession of monstrous 
 waves of sand, varying in height from about 40 to 80 or 
 perhaps 100 feet, and in width many miles, uniform in their 
 direction (roughly taken, north and sou^h). Some of them 
 were curled forward at the top, like a wave before it breaks. 
 Our way lay obliquely across this trackless ocean for 80 
 miles, resting at night in the hollows between the waves." 
 
 Twenty-five miles were accomplished in the first march ; 
 the second brought them to the springs of Doom. "A 
 short march," says the General, "plenty of water, road 
 heavy, country covered with jungle, but there are trees, 
 and therefore probably a substratum of soil. The upper 
 sand is full of sea-shells, cockles, mussels, and the spiral 
 unicorn's horn -shell. Air delightful, not a man sick." 
 Forage was now so scarce that 150 horsemen were sent 
 back, but the rest persevered. 
 
 "Journal, 9th Jan., Luk. — A better name than Doom! 
 This march 11 miles, the road hilly, sand deep, but we 
 arrived safe, and are in a punch-bowl, or small plain, without 
 an opening ; with rain we should be quickly flooded. I dug 
 
VI.] THE CONQUEST OF SCINDE. 187 
 
 nine wells, good water in all ; had we failed there was plenty 
 on the camels. Our march to-morrow begins with a very- 
 steep sandhill, and very deep, so I turned out the 2 2d soldiers 
 this evening, and they run the guns up it with cheers in five 
 minutes, though from bottom to top is not less than 400 
 yards ! What fellows British soldiers are ! all laughing and 
 joking, and such strength ! We all thought it such a job that 
 dinner was put off an hour, thinking there would be two of 
 labour ; the faith of the Ameers will vanish ; the spell has 
 been broken in five minutes ! " 
 
 So for eight days the gallant little band pressed on, 
 sometimes finding water, sometimes not, but always cheery 
 and resolute ; and on 12th January Emaum Ghur was 
 reached. " It seemed," says Sir M. M'Murdo, " as if some 
 story of the Arabian Nights was about to be realised when the 
 staff stood on one of an amphitheatre of sandhills looking 
 upon a well-built and even handsome fort in the hollow ; 
 sparkling in the morning sunlight, and seeming super- 
 naturally near through the rarefied atmosphere of the desert. 
 But the solitude around, and the complete silence about 
 the place strained the nerves somewhat ; and I longed to 
 order a bugle to sound to break the enchantment. Our 
 own soldiers even appeared to me under a spell, as the 
 camels with noiseless step carried them past, their faces 
 all turned in the direction of the castle, with a curi- 
 ous sameness of expression in the fixed stare at the strange 
 apparition beneath them. Emaum Ghur was indeed evacu- 
 ated ; and the clatter of our horses' hoofs in the courtyard 
 awoke only echoes from long corridors and empty chambers, 
 with their doors standing open. On the towers we found 
 the cannon loaded, with priming freshly laid ; for the gar- 
 rison, numbering, it was stated, 2000 men, had marched 
 out but a few hours before ! " Thus the impregnable refuge 
 of the Ameers, which no European had ever seen — which 
 they had boasted no European could ever get to see — fell 
 
i88 SIX CHARLES NAPIER. [chap. 
 
 into the General's hands, without the loss of a single man. 
 The worst effects produced by eight days' hard marching 
 are described in the following letter to Sir George Arthur, 
 Governor of Bombay : — 
 
 " Emawm Ghwr, \6th Jan. — Our eyes are full of sand, 
 ears full of sand, noses full, mouths fuU, and teeth grinding 
 sand ! Enough between our clothes and skins to scour the 
 latter into goldbeater's leaf ; one might as well wear a sand- 
 paper shirt. Our shoes are in holes from dryness, and we 
 walk as if we had supplied their places with sand-boxes ; our 
 meat is all sand, and, on an average, every man's teeth have 
 been ground down the eighth of an inch, according to his 
 appetite. It is lucky, indeed, we are so well scoured with 
 sand, for there is not a clean shirt in camp ! We look on our 
 shirts with the same regret that we do on faded beauty : 
 alas ! will she ever be pretty again ? Alas ! will they ever be 
 clean again 1, We turn them and turn them, yet all remains 
 dark and dirty. We brought no baggage, and all the dandies 
 look at me as they would at a bad washerwoman.'' 
 
 After three days' rest, during which the captured grain 
 was distributed to the soldiers, the price being first paid to 
 Ali Moorad, twenty-four mines were loaded vrith gun- 
 powder, and the fortress was blown up. " Princes," wrote 
 the General to Lord EUenborough, " are not always faith- 
 ful, and if Ali Moorad should fall off from our alliance this 
 stronghold in the desert might prove vexatious, and require 
 another perilous march to retake it. Meanwhile its exist- 
 ence fosters a false confidence in all the other Ameers, and 
 its sudden destruction wiU tell on them with sudden effect." 
 Other motives as powerful as these are disclosed in his 
 journal : — 
 
 "\bth January. — ^Emaum Ghur is shattered to atoms 
 with 10,000 lbs. of powder ! The light was grand and heUi^ 
 beyond description ; the volumes of smoke, fire, and embers 
 flying up were a throne fit for the devil ! I do not Uke this 
 
VI.] THE CONQUEST OF SCINDE. 189 
 
 work of destruction, but reason tells me two things : First, 
 it will prevent bloodslied, and it is better to destroy temples 
 built by man than temples built by the Almighty ; second, 
 this castle was buUt and used for oppression, and in future 
 its ruins will shelter the slave instead of the tyrant. M'Pher- 
 son dreamed all night of the explosion. I dreamed of my 
 beloved mother, her beauteous face smiled upon me ! Am I 
 going to meet her very soon % Well, we shall all meet again, 
 unless this dreadful work of war sends me to hell, which is 
 not improbable." 
 
 On the night of the 16th the little band turned their 
 backs upon the ruins of Emaum Ghur, over which the 
 smoke still hung like a pall, and toiled back with their 
 guns over the billowy sandhills. The excitement of expect- 
 ation gone, the labour seemed harder than ever. " On one 
 occasion,'' says General M'Murdo, " the General perceived 
 that the Madras Sappers were not doing their best ; and, 
 dismounting from his camel in a rage, he snatched a tool 
 from the nearest man and flung himself upon the work 
 with a vigour of stroke (and language) that astonished 
 them." While on the march Sir Charles received news by 
 a swift rider that the tribes were gathering fast at Dhingee. 
 This determined him to make at once for the Indus, but 
 not by the same route ; for, in order to increase the moral 
 effect of the capture of Emamn Ghur, he resolved to make 
 his retreat from that place an offensive operation, by 
 emerging from the desert by a southerly route even more 
 suddenly and unexpectedly than he had plunged into it, 
 and falling like a thunderbolt on the flank of the tribes. 
 
 Once more the march, toilsome though it was for man 
 and beast, was accomplished without the loss of a life. The 
 force at Dhingee dispersed, and the General, ordering sup- 
 plies to be sent down the Indus, halted for the main body 
 of his troops at Peer Abubekr, whence he could fall, if 
 necessary, either upon the Ameers of Hyderabad or those 
 
190 S/X CHARLES NAPIER. [chap. 
 
 of Khyrpoor: thus ended the desert expedition. "The 
 desert march of Marius," says Sir W. Napier, "against 
 Jugurtha's town of Capsa is perhaps the only enterprise of 
 antiquity resembling this exploit of Charles Napier." The 
 judgment of the Duke of Wellington, who knew so well 
 the difficulties of Indian warfare, is still more emphatic : — 
 " Sir Charles Napier's march upon Emaum Ghur is one of 
 the most curious military feats which I have ever known to 
 be performed or have ever perused an account of in my Hfe. 
 He moved his troops through the desert against hostile 
 forces ; he had his guns transported under circumstances of 
 extreme difficulty, and in a manner the most extraordinary, 
 and he cut off a retreat of the enemy which rendered it 
 impossible for them ever to regain their position." 
 
 Hostile demonstrations in Upper Scinde ceased, and the 
 armed bands made themselves invisible on the sudden 
 reappearance of the little force from the desert ; but the new 
 treaties were not yet signed. On the fall of Emaum Ghur 
 Napier had despatched Outram to Khyrpoor as his commis- 
 sioner, with instructions to issue a proclamation caUing on 
 the Ameers of both provinces to appear there in person or 
 by vakeels on 20th January to complete the treaty. Out- 
 ram, on his way, came upon Eoostum, who was moving 
 with 7000 men and some guns to join his nephews at 
 Dhingee. Accepting the Commissioner's invitation to Khyr- 
 poor, he promised to follow him thither the next day, but 
 as soon as Outram's back was turned he marched to the 
 south, and encamped at Khoonhera, on the borders of the 
 desert and of Lower Scinde, where he was within easy 
 communication with the Ameers of Hyderabad. These 
 princes were sufficiently alarmed by the desert expedition 
 to send envoys to Khyrpoor, but at the same time they 
 hastened the gathering of their feudatories, and even 
 charged their envoys to the British camp with secret mess- 
 
VI.] THE CONQUEST OF SCINDE. 191 
 
 ages for the tribes on the western bank of the Indus. As 
 the summons to Khyrpoor produced no effect on the Ameers 
 of Upper Scinde, and only one envoy from Hyderabad had 
 brought sufficient instructions, the time for assembly was 
 extended to 25th January. When this day too was past, 
 the General once more put his army in motion and moved 
 slowly southward. He reviews his position thus : — 
 
 " I cannot lose time, the hot season approaches, and these 
 barbarians must not treat the British power with contempt. 
 Their intentions are doubtful, their conduct suspicious ; armed 
 men are hastening to them from every quarter ; it is neces- 
 sary to approach near to ascertain their real position and 
 views. If, as it is said, the Ameers of Lower Scinde have 
 refused to make common cause with those of Upper Scinde, 
 or to let them enter their country, the latter will be found on 
 the frontier, where they may be attacked in front, while 
 Jacob turns their right from the desert. The steamboats 
 will be on their left, Hyderabad closed against them ; they 
 must win the battle or be destroyed, or submit and sign the 
 treaty. If they fly to the desert no place of refuge is there, 
 Emaum Ghur is destroyed. They must go northward, where 
 they will meet Ali Moorad and other British troops.'' 
 
 Feeling sure of the military soundness of his position, 
 he was all the more inclined to give way to his natural 
 desire to avoid bloodshed. Outram, at his own request, 
 was allowed to go to Hyderabad, the General writing to 
 him : " I am sure they will not resist by force of arms, but 
 I would omit no one step that you or any one thinks can 
 prevent that chance." The time for signing the treaty 
 was further extended from 25th January to 1st February, 
 and again to 6th February. Nowshera was reached on 
 30th January. 
 
 " This day,'' he writes, " deputies from the Ameers met 
 me when riding ahead of the advanced guard ; they knew me 
 by my retinue, but I passed without noticing them, glad they 
 
192 SIR CHARLES NAPIER. [chap. 
 
 were there though. For the troops just then appeared, and 
 these Scindian grandees were on a slight rise, and saw the 
 column, which could not have been less than a mile and a 
 half long. We had a long confab ; the fat knaves did their 
 best to make me procrastinate, for the hot weather was in 
 their heads and in mine also. However, I gave them six 
 days to bring in the Khyrpoor Ameers, which they said they 
 could not do if I moved. After making a great objection to 
 halting I pretended to yield ; my object really being to wait 
 for supplies from Sukkur, and for Outram's arrival at Hyder- 
 abad. Now they are gone, convinced that their arts held me 
 back, though able to go on, which on necessity I indeed 
 could, but would rather not. My foundation for defence, if 
 attacked in England, is thus widened, having given seven 
 days beyond the period of right to act vigorously." 
 
 Now, leaving Napier at Nowshera, it will be convenient 
 to follow Outram to Hyderabad, where the diplomatic 
 drama was being played out to its inevitable conclusion. 
 Outram reached the city on 8th February, and immediately 
 held a conference with the Ameers, in which he pressed 
 them to accept the new treaty. He was met by the 
 demand that the Turban should be restored to Eoostum, 
 and that the march of the British troops should be at once 
 arrested. If the latter condition were not complied with, 
 they said they could not restrain their Beloochees from 
 plundering far and wide : thus admitting that their retainers 
 were actually assembled in arms. But now that the tide 
 of events was running so strongly against the princes, 
 Outram's chivalrous feelings led him more and more to take 
 their part. Their tyranny, profligacy, faithlessness, their 
 tortuous intriguing policy, which none had judged with 
 clearer eyes than he a year or two before, were all forgotten 
 in his sympathy for them in their approaching downfall, 
 which he was striving in vain to avert. This frame of 
 mind, natural as it might be towards men with whom he 
 
VI.] THE CONQUEST OF SCINDE. 193 
 
 had always been on friendly terms, was not well adapted 
 to such an emergency. So unwilling was he to admit the 
 truth of the reports of warlike preparations on the part 
 of the Ameers that Sir 0. Napier was greatly perplexed 
 and embarrassed by his assurances that not a man in 
 arms was at Hyderabad, and that the only thing want- 
 ing to bring affairs to a peaceful conclusion was that 
 Sir Charles should leave his army and go in person to 
 Hyderabad. Major Outram's great local experience gave 
 such weight to all that he wrote and said that the General 
 would have had great difficulty in rejecting his advice had 
 he not had excellent reason to feel certain that the facts 
 were not as Major Outram believed. The spies reported 
 that upwards of 25,000 men were collected within 6 miles 
 of Hyderabad, 10,000 of the Chandiah tribe were coming 
 down the left bank of the Indus, 7000 of Roostum's men were 
 in the rear of his left flank at Khoonhera, and 10,000 under 
 Shere Mohammed were marching from Meerpoor, while 
 in the mountains, on the right bank of the Indus, thousands 
 were but waiting for the signal to pour down upon the 
 plains. This estimate, which the events of the ensuing 
 week and subsequent information proved to be rather under 
 than over the mark, gave the General and his handful of 
 2800 a force of 25,000 in his front, and the certainty of 
 seeing that number at least doubled in the course of a few 
 days. But so earnest was Outram in his belief in the 
 pacific intentions of the Ameers, that he not only asked 
 Napier to go to Hyderabad, but to send his troops to 
 Meerpoor. On this proposal the General remarks, "My 
 throat would have been cut, of course, and the troops, 
 having lost their General, and having been removed 40 
 miles from their line of communication — viz. the Indus — 
 would have been placed as follows : — 
 
194 
 
 SIR CHARLES NAPIER. 
 
 [chap. 
 
 Indus. 
 
 Hydera- 
 tad. 
 
 Enemy, 60,000. 
 
 2800 British. 
 
 Desert. 
 
 I n I Desert. 
 Meerpoor. 
 
 Eesidency was to 
 
 On February 9th deputies from the 
 " Ameers sealed a written pledge to sign 
 the new treaties. On the 12th Outram 
 and his staff met the Ameers, who, with 
 the exception of Nusseer Khan, signed 
 and sealed the draft treaties with full for- 
 malities. But the excitement in the city 
 became more and more intense, and on 
 theirway back to their quarters Outram 
 and his retinue were threatened and in- 
 sulted. The next day two deputies 
 from the Ameers waited on him to say 
 that, as he had given no pledge to re- 
 store Roostum to his rights, the chief- 
 tains and tribesmen were determined 
 to fight, and the Ameers could no longer 
 restrain them. Even then Outram was 
 not convinced. His despatch to the 
 General, giving an account of the 
 interview, ended with a postscript to 
 the effect that he was told that the 
 be attacked in the night ; but he 
 
 regarded such a threat as empty boasting. On the 14th 
 he at last saw cause to believe that open hostility was 
 intended, and on the 15th the Eesidency was attacked. 
 Luckily, Napier expected some such occurrence and had 
 sent a few men to his aid. It is weU known how Outram 
 and Conway and their gallant band of only 100 men with- 
 stood the attack of 8000 Beloochees with six guns for four 
 hours, and finally effected a skilful retreat to the steamers, 
 which bore them off to rejoin the main force. 
 
 Meanwhile Napier waited on at Nowshera in spite of 
 the rapidly increasing heat until 6th February, which he 
 had announced would be the ultimate limit to his forbear- 
 
VI.] THE CONQUEST OF SCINDE. 19S 
 
 ance. "It was on 18th December that, by Lord Ellen- 
 borough's orders, I directed them to dismiss their troops, 
 and to this day I have refrained : my patience has been 
 great, and if I delay longer it will be disobedience of orders, 
 and risking the safety of my troops. Outram is therefore 
 directed to tell them that if their armed men are not dis- 
 missed instantly they shall be by force of arms." On 11th 
 February he halted at Outram's request at Sukurunda. 
 
 "13iA February, Journal. — The Ameers did not sign the 
 treaty on the 11th because it was the last of the Moharum, or 
 holy feast. They are humbugging Outram again. He writes 
 that the Ameers had not yet signed; this was on the 12th. 
 Another despatch at 3 p.m.' — they had not then signed ! He 
 says, ' Not a man in arms is at Hyderabad.' Why, they have 
 been marching on that place from many directions, and 
 thousands have got there ; all our spies are agreed on this. 
 I am puzzled. He prays me not to move. I must move. 
 
 "The twenty -five chiefs seized yesterday are all of the 
 great Murree tribe. What luck for me ! On their leader, 
 Hyat Khan, chief of the whole tribe, was found an order 
 from Mohammed Khan, the Hyderabad Ameer, who is assuring 
 Outram that there is no intention to resist, directing Hyat to 
 assemble every male able to wield a sword and join his 
 victorious Beloochee troops at Meeanee on the 9th." 
 
 " 14</t — Syndabad. — At midnight we march for Hala, 
 where there will be choice of two roads — one by the river, by 
 which we come slap on their front, leaving their rear open ; 
 one by my left, through Shaki and Jamalaka-Tanda, which 
 turns their right ^and forces them to battle with their back to 
 the Indus : to this my inclination bends, but it is dangerous 
 — 1st, because 2800 men will be opposed to 25,000 or 
 30,000, and those are stiff odds ; 2d, a reverse would cut me 
 off from the river and my supplies ; 3d, a repulse would add 
 20,000 men to the enemy — for barbarians hold no faith with 
 the beaten, and numbers are now abiding the issue of the first 
 fight. On the other hand, if victorious, I should utterly 
 extirpate the Beloochee army, and I am as sure of victory as 
 
196 SIR CHARLES NAPIER. [chap. 
 
 a man who knows that victory is an accident can be. Now 
 for the river road ; it is shorter, and my right flank is secure. 
 If worsted my provisions are safe in the steamers. The 
 nearer the river the more ditches, and, as the Ameers have 
 most cavalry, that suits me best. They have 20,000 horse- 
 men ; mine are but 80Q, and a victory will not therefore be 
 so decisive ; still I can pursue them with vigour. Yes ! I 
 will march along the river, and trust to manoeuvring in the 
 battle for turning their right without losing the river myself." 
 
 On the 16th he was at Muttaree, 16 miles from Hyder- 
 abad. Towards evening he heard that the enemy were 
 10 miles off, entrenched in the bed of the FuUaillee. 
 Only 15,000 were said to be entrenched, but from 25,000 
 to 30,000 would be found there on the 18th, and as many 
 more were on the British flanks and rear. Later in the 
 same evening news came of a fresh accession of strength to 
 the enemy, but the news only confirmed Napier in his 
 determination to fight at once. 
 
 The lowest estimate of the enemy's number formed 
 before and after the battle, and adopted by Napier in his 
 despatches, was from 22,000 to 25,000 ; according to some 
 spies it was as much as 40,000. Sir W. Napier, with 
 pardonable pride in his brother's achievements, estimates 
 the number at 36,000 : " The best spies had said they 
 exceeded 3.5,000, but one spy rated them only at the num- 
 ber adopted ; he was right at the moment, yet two strong 
 tribes had afterwards suddenly crossed the Indus in the 
 night and joined for battle. Charles Napier's rooted dislike 
 of vaunting made him adopt the lowest number; but 
 subsequently the Ameers' pay-roll was found, and more 
 than bore out the highest estimate of the spies." On the 
 other hand, the General seems to have somewhat overesti- 
 mated his own strength. The Adjutant -General Wyllie 
 was desperately wounded, hence no morning return of the 
 army was made out, and the General in his despatches 
 
VI.] THE CONQUEST OF SClNDE. 197 
 
 hastily adopted a return of the week before, which gave 
 2800 men fit for duty; but sickness had reduced them; 
 Outram had gone off with 200 for the purpose of firing the 
 forest on the enemy's flank ; 400 men were in charge of the 
 baggage, and less than 500 of the whole remaining force 
 were Europeans ! 
 
 However it was, the lowest estimate makes the odds 
 more than ten to one, and should suffice for any man's 
 glory. The account of the battle in Sir W. Napier's Con- 
 qmst of Scinde, subject to the above remarks on the possible 
 exaggeration of numbers, is fully worthy of the author of the 
 Peninsular War, and is here given with some condensation : — 
 
 " Marching on the night of the 16th, his advanced guard 
 discovered the enemy at eight o'clock next morning, and at 
 nine o'clock the British line of battle was formed. Thirty-six 
 thousand enemies were in front ; their position was 1200 yards 
 wide, along the bed of the Fullaillee, whose high bank, sloping 
 towards the plain in front, furnished a rampart. Eighteen guns, 
 massed on the flank in advance of the bank, poured their shot 
 on the troops while forming the line, and the Beloochee wings 
 rested on shikargahs, which lined the plain so far as to flank 
 the advance on both sides. They were very large and dense, 
 and that on the Beloochee right intersected with nullahs of 
 different sizes, but all deep, carefully scarped, and defended 
 by matchlock -men. Behind this shikargah the Fullaillee 
 made a sudden bend to the rear, forming a loop, in which the 
 Ameers' cavalry was placed. The shikargah on the enemy's 
 left was covered towards the plain by a wall having one 
 opening, not very wide, about half-way between the two 
 armies. Behind this wall 5000 or 6000 men were posted, 
 evidently designed to rush out through the opening upon the 
 flank and rear of the British when the latter advanced." 
 
 To turn or force the shikargah on either flank the General 
 deemed impracticable, and the delay might bring more re- 
 inforcements to the enemy. 
 
198 S/J! CHARLES NAPIER. [chap. 
 
 "To fall on hardily remained, but 36,000 foes were in 
 front, and the British force was reduced by the detachment 
 under Outram to 2400 ! And from that number a strong 
 baggage guard was to be furnished, lest the enemy should, 
 during the battle, strike at the camp-followers and animals, 
 whose numbers made the fighting men appear a mere handful. 
 There was no village with walls near ; and the embarrassment 
 was great ; but, with a happy adaptation of the ancient 
 German and Hunnish method, the General cast the mass into 
 a circle close in his rear, surrounding it with camels, which 
 were made to lie down with their heads inwards, having their 
 bales placed between them for the armed followers to fire 
 over." 
 
 This improvised fortress was guarded by 250 Poona 
 horsemen and four companies of infantry under Captain 
 Tait, while the order of battle was framed as follows : — 
 
 " Twelve guns under Major Lloyd, flanked by 50 Madras 
 sappers, under Captain Henderson, were on the right. On 
 Lloyd's left stood the 22d Queen's Kegiment, under Colonel 
 Pennefather. Less than 500 they were, half Mshmen, all 
 strong of body, high-blooded soldiers, who saw nothing but 
 victory. On the left were the swarthy sepoys of Bombay ; 
 small men of low caste, yet hardy, brave, and willing. '' 
 
 Of these the 25th Eegiment were immediately on the 
 left of the 22d, and next to them the 12th under Major 
 Eeid. Finally came the 1st Grenadiers, under Major Glib- 
 borne, — the whole in the dchelon order of battle. Closing 
 the extreme left, but somewhat held back, rode the 9th 
 Bengal Cavalry, under Colonel Pattle. Skirmishers were 
 thrown out in front of the right wing, and the Scinde horse- 
 men, under Captain Jacob, were pushed forward on the 
 left, to make the enemy show their position and numbers. 
 The Beloochees were about 1000 yards off, the last 300 
 yards having been cleared to give free play to their match- 
 locks. The order was given to advance, and the General 
 
VI.] THE CONQUEST OF SCINDE. 199 
 
 and his staff rode forward under a heavy fire from the 
 enemy's guns. 
 
 " A village called Kotree covered the enemy's right, and 
 was filled with matchlock -men; there was no weak point 
 there, but on their left a flaw was detected. Observing the 
 wall enclosing the shikargah, the General rode near, and saw 
 it was about 10 feet high, and that some matchlock-mgn, who 
 were astride on it, disappeared suddenly. Kiding nearer he 
 found there were no loopholes, and, still approaching an 
 opening in it, he looked behind, and saw there was no scaf- 
 folding. Then, with the inspiration of genius, he instantly 
 thrust a company of the 22d into the space, telling their cap- 
 tain. Tew, to block the gap and die there, if necessary ; his 
 orders were obeyed. Tew died, but the gap was maintained, 
 and thus 6000 men were paralysed by only 80 ! It was, on 
 a smaller scale as to numbers, Marlborough's game at Blen- 
 heim repeated. 
 
 " The main body advanced in columns of regiments, the 
 right, passing securely under the wall, were cheered and elated 
 by the rattling of Tew's musketry, now reinforced by a gun. 
 The left was meanwhile refused, to avoid a fire from the 
 village of Kotree, which Clibborne's grenadiers were directed 
 to storm. The 22d, when within a few hundred yards of the 
 Fullaillee, opened into line, and all the columns formed in 
 succession, each company, as it arrived, throwing its fire at 
 the top of the bank, where the faces of the Beloochees could 
 just be seen, bending with fiery glances over their levelled 
 matchlocks. But the British front was stUl incomplete, when 
 the voice of the General, shrill and clear, was heard command- 
 ing the charge. Then arose the British shout, four guns 
 were run forward, and the infantry, at full speed, closed on 
 the Fullaillee, and rushed up the sloping bank. The Beloo- 
 chees, sternly quiescent, with matchlocks resting on the sum- 
 mit, let their assailants come within 15 yards before they 
 delivered their fire, but the steepness of the slope inside, 
 which rendered their footing unsteady, and the rapid pace of 
 the British, falsified their aim — the execution was not great. 
 
200 SIR CHARLES NAPIER. [chap. 
 
 The next moment the 2 2d were on the top of the bank, think- 
 ing to bear down all before them, but staggered back at the 
 forest of swords waving in their front. 
 
 " Thick as standing corn and gorgeous as a field of flowers 
 were the Beloochees in their many -coloured garments and 
 turbans. They filled the broad deep bed of the Fullaillee ; 
 they were clustered on both banks, and covered the plain 
 beyond. Guarding their heads with large dark shields, they 
 shook their sharp swords, gleaming in the sun, and their 
 shouts rolled like a peal of thunder as with frantic might and 
 gestures they dashed against the front of the 22d. But, with 
 shrieks as wild and fierce, and hearts as big, and arms as 
 strong, the British soldiers met them with the queen of 
 weapons, and laid their foremost warriors wallowing in blood. 
 Then also the few guns that could be placed in position on 
 the right of the 22d, flanked by Henderson's small band of 
 Madras sappers, swept diagonally the bed of the river, tearing 
 the rushing masses with a horrible carnage. Soon the sepoy 
 regiments, 12th and 25th, prolonged the line of fire to the 
 left, coming into action successively in the same terrible 
 manner. 
 
 "Now the Beloochees closed in denser masses, and the 
 dreadful rush of their swordsmen was felt, and their shouts, 
 answered by the pealing musketry, were heard along the line, 
 and such a fight ensued as has seldom been told of in the 
 records of war. For ever those vsdld, fierce warriors, with 
 shields held high and blades drawn back, strove with might 
 and valour to break through the British ranks. No fire of 
 small arms, no sweeping discharges of grape, no push of 
 bayonets could drive them back ; they gave their breasts to 
 the shot, their shields to the bayonets, and, leaping at the 
 guns, were blown away by twenties at a time, their dead 
 rolled down the steep slope by hundreds ; but the gaps were 
 continually filled from the rear, the survivors pressed forward 
 vsdth unabated fury, and the bayonet and sword clashed in 
 full and frequent conflict. 
 
 " Thus they fought, never more than five yards apart, 
 often intermingled, and several times the different regiments 
 
VI.] THE CONQUEST OF SCINDE. 201 
 
 were violently forced backwards, staggering under the might 
 and passion of the swordsmen. But always their General 
 was there to rally and cheer them." 
 
 More than three hours this storm of war continued, 
 until nearly every European officer was killed or wounded. 
 Tew's company still held the gap in the wall manfully, 
 though their leader had fallen; but, on the left flank, 
 Clibborne was still skirmishing with his grenadiers instead 
 of carrying the village by storm. 
 
 " Such was the state of the field, when that inevitable 
 crisis of every battle which offers victory to the ablest General 
 arrived at Meeanee. Clibborne's error was grave, the right 
 was sorely pressed, and there was no reserve save the cavalry, 
 which was in a manner paralysed by the village of Kotree ; 
 yet the battle must be won or lost within twenty minutes ! 
 The General could not quit the right, so thick and heavily 
 the Beloochees pressed on, so stern and dreadful was their 
 fighting, so wearied and exhausted were his men ; but his eye 
 caught the whole field, and on his left he saw victory beckon- 
 ing to him. Wherefore, urging his men by his voice and 
 example firmly to sustain the increasing fury of their foes, he 
 sent Colonel Pattle orders to charge with the whole body of 
 Bengal and Scinde horsemen on the enemy's right. It was 
 the command of a master spirit, and with fiery courage obeyed. 
 Spurring hard, the Eastern horsemen passed the matchlock- 
 men in the village, and galloped unchecked across the small 
 nullahs and ditches about it, which were, however, so numer- 
 ous and difficult, that fifty of the troopers were cast from 
 their saddles at once by the leaps. But, dashing through the 
 Beloochee guns on that flank, and riding over the high bank 
 of the Fullaillee, the mass crossed the deep bed, gained the 
 plain beyond, and charged With irresistible fury. Major 
 Storey, with his Bengal troopers, turning to his left, fell on 
 the enemy's infantry in the loop of the upper Fullaillee ; 
 while the Scindian horse, led, though not commanded, by 
 Lieutenant Fitzgerald, wheeling to their right, fell on the 
 
202 SIR CHARLES NAPIER. [chap. 
 
 camp, thus spreading confusion along the rear of the masses 
 opposed to the British infantry. Then the barbarian swords- 
 men, whose fury could scarcely be resisted before, abated 
 their fighting, and looked behind them. The 22d perceived 
 this, and, leaping forward with the shout of victory, pushed 
 them backwards into the deep ravine, there closing in combat 
 again. 
 
 " The battle was now lost for the Ameers, and slowly their 
 gallant swordsmen retired, not in dispersion, nor with fear, 
 but in heavy masses, their broad shields slung over their 
 backs, their heads half turned, and their eyes glaring with 
 fury. The victors followed closely, pouring in voUey after 
 volley. Yet those stern implacable warriors stiU preserved 
 their habitual swinging stride, and would not quicken it for 
 a run though death was at their heels ! All were now in re- 
 treat, but so doggedly did they move, and seemed so inclined 
 to renew the conflict on the level ground, where the British 
 flanks were unprotected, that the General, unwilling to pro- 
 voke a second trial, recalled his cavalry, and formed a large 
 square, placing his baggage and followers in the centre." 
 
 Such was the battle of Meeanee, fought on the 17th of 
 February 1843. Twenty British officers, including four 
 field officers, went down in the battle — six killed — and with 
 them 250 sergeants and privates, of whom more than fifty 
 were killed. The loss of the Beloochees was between 6000 
 and 8000 men ! No quarter was given or taken. The 
 General, seeing a 2 2d soldier going to kill an exhausted 
 chief, called out to spare, but the man drove his bayonet 
 deep, exclaiming, "This day. General, the shambles have 
 it all to themselves !" The Beloochees, on the other hand, 
 fought with the fury of fanatics. At one moment a soldier 
 of the 22d drove his bayonet into the breast of a Beloochee ; 
 instead of falling " the rugged warrior cast away his shield, 
 seized the musket with his left hand, writhed his body 
 forwards on the bayonet, and vnth one sweep of his keen 
 blade avenged himself: both fell dead together!" That 
 
VI.] THE CONQUEST OF SCINDE. 203 
 
 the British troops with all their desperate valour were able 
 to hold their ground at all was due to the generalship of 
 their leader, which had made him attack the enemy where 
 they could not avail themselves of their overwhelming 
 numbers ; and still more to the flash of inspiration which 
 bade him send the heroic Tew and his company to fill the 
 gap in the wall and hold 6000 of the foe at bay ! 
 
 General M'Murdo, who was on the staff until his horse 
 was killed, and then plunged with his regiment— the 22d — 
 into the thick of the fight, has supplied me with some ad- 
 mirable notes of the points in the battle that came under 
 his personal observation. His description of the enemy's 
 fighting recalls so many incidents of the late brilliant 
 achievements of our soldiers in the Soudan, that it will be 
 read with interest by those who have paid attention to the 
 many tactical questions which have been under discussion 
 during the war in that country.^ As to the conduct of the 
 men on both sides he says : — 
 
 " The behaviour of our men (22d), when they charged to 
 
 1 A critic of the " square formation " says, in Blackwood^ s Magazine, 
 May 1884, "At Meeanee the British force numbered 2200 men, all 
 told, of whom 700 were cavalry, and only 800 were Europeans. All 
 were armed with the old ' Brown Bess ' musket. Sir C. Napier, who 
 had twelve guns, advanced to attack the enemy in ichelon of battalion 
 lines from one flank, the 22d leading. In that formation he utterly 
 routed the Beloochees after three hours' hard fighting, killing and 
 wounding 6000 of the enemy, and himself losing 20 ofloers and 250 
 of other ranks. The causes of his success are not far to seek, and 
 they are these : the General had confidence in his own skill, and every 
 musket was brought to bear. Here is a different picture : At the 
 battle of Tamasi, 4500 British troops, all Europeans, all armed with 
 ireechloaders, of whom 750 were mounted troops, with twelve guns and 
 six machine guns, encountered lOjOOO savages, a very small proportion 
 of whom had firearms, the remainder swords and spears, and they had 
 no artillery. Yet, with all these advantages, the British force was 
 disposed in two cumbrous squares, the effect of which was to impede 
 their mobility, and to reduce the front of fire to one-fourth of what it 
 might have been." 
 
204 SIR CHARLES NAPIER. [chap. 
 
 the edge of the bank of the Fullaillee, surprised me exceed- 
 ingly ; but as the fighting went on I saw that they had 
 judged rightly; and their example was implicitly followed 
 by the native regiments on their left. The line recoiled some 
 six or eight paces, and there remained deaf to all orders and 
 entreaties to renew the charge : the men advancing only to 
 deliver their fire into the thick masses of the enemy in the 
 river bed, and returning to load ; this mode of fighting was 
 continued for the greater part of one hour. The behaviour 
 of the Beloochees was equally strange and unexpected ; but 
 perhaps equally natural under the circumstances. Their fire, 
 beaten down in volume by our rolling musketry, was only 
 sustained in a desultory manner. They could not make any 
 impression upon our line beyond forcing it back a few paces. 
 They could not retreat, because they were pressed upon from 
 behind by the masses of which they formed the front rank. 
 Driven desperate by the unceasing musketry the masses 
 frequently charged with sword and shield over the bank ; 
 but as these rushes were not made in concert along their line, 
 our men were able to lap round their flanks and hurl them 
 back over the edge.'' 
 
 With respect to the weapons of the combatants General 
 M'Murdo's remarks on some of the peculiarities of the old 
 musket will sound strangely to those who have known 
 nothing but the breechloader. After about half an hour's 
 fighting, "I observed," he says, "along the line what I 
 judged to be about ten per cent of the men engaged con- 
 stantly with their locks ; either in wiping moisture from the 
 pan, or in chipping their blunted flints ; and I saw some 
 even change them for new ones ! thus involving quite a 
 mechanical operation with the screw of the hammer. But 
 in doing these things the men did not fall out to the rear, 
 as on parade, but stood their ground in line with their 
 bayonet points to the enemy. One other observation I 
 made at this time. I saw the men dispense at last with 
 their ramrods ; the cartridge of the old smooth-bore fitted 
 
VI.] THE CONQUEST OF SCINDE. 205 
 
 SO loosely in the barrel that the weight of the ball, accom- 
 panied by a sharp stroke of the butt upon the ground, was 
 suflScient to send it home." 
 
 After remarking on the superiority of the musket, with 
 aU its defects, to the matchlock, he continues : " I am unable 
 to assign the same superiority to the bayonet over the 
 sword and shield in circumstances of individual fighting. 
 The dexterity of the Belooch in parrying with his shield 
 the point of the bayonet ; the diiSculty of thrusting it 
 home when it did take eifect, because of the ample folds of 
 the cummerbund protecting the body almost to the arm- 
 pits (in some instances the bayonets were twisted by the 
 resistance) ; and lastly, the quick swinging cut of the sharp 
 curved sword : these made the Belooch no mean anta- 
 gonist for the single soldier ; but in the wMie of a charge, 
 or even where two or three soldiers were together, the 
 superiority of the bayonet was unquestionable." 
 
 Many are the anecdotes of desperate valour and heroic 
 devotion shown by all ranks; but when the General, 
 emerging scatheless from the fight, exclaimed, " The enemy 
 are beaten ! God save the Queen !" the army with one 
 shout hailed him the hero of the day. His escape was in- 
 deed miraculous. He had maimed his hand before the 
 battle, and was in such pain that he could hardly hold the 
 reins ; but from the time that the 22d first recoiled from 
 the edge of the river bed to the end of the battle he walked 
 his horse slowly up and down between them and the enemy. 
 " I held my life as gone," he said, " for, as to escaping, all 
 idea of that vanished when I saw the 22d giving way, and 
 was obliged to ride between the fires of two lines not 
 20 yards apart. I expected death as much from our 
 men as from the enemy, and I was much singed by our 
 fire ; my whiskers twice or thrice so, and my face peppered 
 by fellows who, in their fear, fired high over all heads but 
 
2o6 SIJ! CHARLES NAPIER. [ohap. 
 
 mine, and nearly scattered my brains." At one moment 
 he saw a chief advancing towards him with long strides. 
 " My hand having been broken, I could not cope with such 
 a customer, but held half my reins, with great torture, in 
 the broken hand, designing to give Eed Eover a chuck 
 that should put his head between me and the coming blow. 
 The Belooch was only four paces from me when Lieutenant 
 Marston, on foot, passed my right side and received the 
 swordsman's blow on his shoulder-strap.'' At another time 
 he was alone for several minutes in the midst of the enemy; 
 they stalked round him with raised shields and scowling 
 eyes ; but, apparently affected by some superstitious feel- 
 ing, none lifted sword against him, and he emerged un- 
 harmed. At midnight, when all the camp was buried in 
 sleep, he rode once more alone amidst the heaps of slain, 
 and called aloud upon the Deity to absolve him. 
 
 In a letter to Lord Fitzroy Somerset, dated two days 
 after the battle, after stating his conviction that the enemy's 
 numbers would have been doubled if he had retreated or 
 even refrained from attack, he continues : "If my conduct 
 be approved of by the Duke, Lord Hill, and yourself, it will 
 fully reward me for my great anxiety to do right. The 
 Duke's letter on Colonel Monson's retreat decided me never 
 to retreat before an Indian army. If I have done wrong 
 abstractedly success like charity covers sins, and it was the 
 great master led me into error ; but my conviction is that 
 I am right, and that my admiration and study of his deeds 
 and words as rules for war have caused this victory." 
 
 The morning after the battle it became known that the 
 " Lion of Meerpoor," Shere Mohammed, was a few miles off 
 with 10,000 men. So confident had the Ameers been of 
 victory, that this chief had purposely kept aloof, to avoid 
 swelling the triumph of his rivals. He was now undecided 
 what to do ; wherefore Napier resolved at once to attack 
 
VI.] THE CONQUEST OF SCINDE. 207 
 
 him, having first summoned Hyderabad to surrender. To 
 the Ameers' vakeels, who came to ask the terms, he replied, 
 "Life, and nothing else. Decide before midday, for the 
 dead will then be buried, and my soldiers will have had 
 their breakfasts." Six Ameers forthwith issued from the 
 citadel, and laid their swords at his feet. Napier instantly 
 returned them. "Their misfortunes are of their own 
 making," he wrote to Lord EUenborough ; "but as they 
 were great, I gave them back their swords." He was now 
 in a position to make a dash at the Lion before the latter 
 had recovered from his astonishment at the news of 
 Meeanee ; but unhappily Major Outram was still disposed 
 to think that there was no really hostile intention, and 
 that if he were allowed to write a letter, aU could be 
 peaceably arranged. Once more the General, in his anxiety 
 to avoid bloodshed, consented to forego his advantage, 
 and delay his march, saying, " Write, then, what you like, 
 and I will sign it." The result was that the Lion, thankful 
 for a respite, retreated upon Meerpoor, found himself in a 
 few days at the head of 25,000 men, and rekindled the 
 war. 
 
 Sir Charles Napier was now in a position that called 
 forth all his powers. His force was greatly reduced, the 
 thermometer was over 110° in the shade, and rapidly rising, 
 and Hyderabad, in which he was obliged to place a garrison 
 of 500, was too far from the Indus to serve as a base or 
 MfU, as he had no carriage. To move in the heat against 
 Shere Mohammed, who had a desert fastness, called Omer- 
 cote, to fall back upon as well as Meerpoor, he felt to be 
 too great a risk. He knew that Ameer to be the best 
 soldier of his race, but without much wealth ; therefore he 
 resolved to give him time to recruit his army with the 
 Beloochees who had been beaten at Meeanee, and were now 
 flocking to Meerpoor, calculating that a large army and a 
 
2o8 S/R CHARLES NAPIER. [chap. 
 
 diminished treasury would compel the Lion to attack the 
 British camp, and so save the troops from long marches in 
 tropical heat. Immediately after the battle he had sent to 
 Sukkur for all available troops to come by river; three 
 regiments of infantry, Chamberla3me's Horse, and the 3d 
 Bombay Cavalry, had been despatched from the Upper 
 Sutlej, and a third body was being sent by Colonel 
 Eoberts from Sukkur by land. Meanwhile Napier en- 
 trenched a camp close to the Indus and a strong fort on 
 the other side of the river to protect his steamers. In the 
 camp he placed his hospitals and stores, and then, with 
 every appearance of excessive caution, in strange contrast 
 to his previous tactics, he sat down to wait. His use of 
 the moral forces of war during this time of inaction was 
 very subtle; for, while promulgating stories of his own 
 fears and weakness in order to increase the Lion's con- 
 fidence, he ridiculed his defensive works before his own 
 men, and made them camp outside in contempt of the 
 enemy. ^ This wary conduct elicited a magnificent eulogium 
 from his hero and master, the Duke of Wellington. " Sir 
 C. Napier gained the camp of the enemy, got possession of 
 his guns, and obtained the most complete victory, taking 
 up a position in which he was not again likely to be 
 attacked. Not only did he secure Hyderabad and the 
 portion of the Indus which lay in his rear ; he brought up 
 a reinforcement, and placed himself at the head of a 
 stronger army than that which he commanded before the 
 battle. He manifested all the discretion and ability of an 
 officer familiar with the most difficult operations of war.'' 
 
 One most serious difficulty attending these operations 
 was unknown to the Duke. The Ameers, having been 
 
 ' "At Meeanee those of my troops who had seen service before had 
 all been defeated by natives, and none of them knew me. This told 
 against me." 
 
Ti.] TBE CONQUEST OF SCINDE. 209 
 
 deposed by the Governor -General's proclamation, were 
 detained as prisoners of war in a large and pleasant garden 
 of their own near the entrenched camp. They had every 
 luxury, an unlimited number of attendants, and free inter- 
 course with the city and the country. Their women re- 
 mained in the zenanas which formed part of the fortress of 
 Hyderabad. They were scrupulously respected ; but it was 
 discovered that the Ameers had left with them, under the 
 name of attendants, 800 Belooch warriors fully armed, who 
 were constantly going to and fro between the garden, the 
 city, and Shere Mohammed's camp. In the garden the 
 attendants, 500 in number, were also warriors. These 
 men were constantly spying out the condition of the 
 English camp, and sending the result of their observations 
 to Shere Mohammed. They openly boasted that the 
 British .General would be "Gahuled" — a prediction which 
 was cheerfully echoed by the Bombay press. Sir C. Napier, 
 feeling that his liberal treatment of his captives was being 
 abused, went with his staff to remonstrate with the Ameers ; 
 the whole garden was crowded with armed men, who be- 
 haved with such rudeness that the staff drew close together, 
 expecting violence ; but the Ameers calmly professed ignor- 
 ance of any but their ordinary Hindoo attendants being 
 there. This determined the General to disarm the 
 attendants ; and when this measure, coupled with repeated 
 remonstrances, failed to stop the Ameers' intrigues, he was 
 finally compelled to confine them on board a river-steamer 
 until they were sent to Bombay. 
 
 As the hot March days wore on, the waiting game be- 
 gan to show promise of the issue that had been predicted. 
 
 " Ibih March. — All well. Shere Mohammed comes nearer, 
 he is but 12 miles off, and lately sent an insolent offer to let 
 me quit the country if I liberated the Ameers and restored 
 what we had taken. Just as Ms messengers delivered this 
 
 P 
 
210 S/J! CHARLES NAPIER. [ohap. 
 
 letter the evening gun was fired. ' There,' said I, ' do you 
 hear that ? ' ' Yes ! ' ' Well, that is your answer ! ' Off they 
 went, and the Ameer will now in his pride lay plans to cut off 
 ■ my column from the north." 
 
 The next day he received a shocking proposal to assas- 
 sinate the Lion, made by the intended victim's brother ! 
 He instantly sent a messenger to warn the Lion of the 
 intended treachery, but at the same time adding : " If you 
 do not surrender yourself a prisoner of war before the 23d 
 instant, I will march against you." 
 
 All interest now centred on the movement of Major 
 Stack's column, which was marching down the bank of the 
 Indus from Sukkur. The junction was looked for on the 
 22d, but the Lion's army lay between the column and the 
 camp. On the 21st Stack reached Muttaree, and received 
 orders to force his marches. The Lion, wishing to inter- 
 cept him, moved the same evening with his whole force to 
 Dubba. Major Clibborne, who had charge of the intelligence 
 department, and was aware of this movement, sent a 
 messenger to Stack with the following message in a small 
 quill, " Halt, for God's sake ! You will be attacked by at 
 least 40,000 men to-morrow." Stack, greatly perplexed, 
 sent on the message at once to the General, and asked for 
 positive instructions. The General received the message 
 while entertaining a great body of officers in his tent. 
 Being uneasy about the bad moral effect, he read it aloud, 
 and then added in pencil, " Clibbome's men are all in buck- 
 ram. Come on ! " Thus amended, he sent it once more 
 to Stack. The joke ran round the camp, and confidence 
 was restored. "I was by no means sure," he wrote, 
 "Clibbome's information was not true, but he had no 
 business to send it to Stack ; for whether 20,000 or 40,000 
 were there, I was watching them as a cat does a mouse." 
 Still the situation made him very anxious. There were 
 
VI.] THE CONQUEST OF SCINDE. 211 
 
 three places where the Lion could fall on Stack with 
 advantage — -Muttaree, Meeanee, and Loonar. Napier's 
 combinations depended on his forecast of the enemy's 
 choice. He did not hesitate. " Muttaree is distant, the 
 plain of Meeanee is covered with the bleaching bones of 
 chiefs and warriors ; the Beloochees are superstitious, they 
 never will go there. Loonar will be the place of action ; 
 there I will march." Meanwhile he sent Captain M'Murdo 
 with 250 Poona horse to try the road to Muttaree, and, if 
 he found it open, to join Stack ; this M'Murdo effected on 
 the morning of the 22d. Jacob and the Scinde horsemen 
 then followed on the same road, and shortly after him went 
 the General with the Bengal Cavalry and some guns, sup- 
 ported at a short interval by the infantry. Stack marched on 
 the morning of the 22d from Muttaree, and, as the General 
 anticipated, crossed the field of Meeanee without seeing 
 the enemy. Knowing that he was now only 4 or 5 miles 
 from the head of Napier's column, he began to press on to 
 effect the junction of forces with a careless haste that nearly 
 proved disastrous. On his left flank lay a thick wood 
 skirting the banks of the Fullaillee, and affording a secure 
 place of concealment for the enemy. His baggage should 
 therefore have been well in advance on the reverse flank, 
 and his troops compact and well in hand ; instead of which, 
 the guns were pushed on, and the baggage left straggling 
 behind. No sooner had the baggage-train reached Loonar, 
 than the enemy issued from the wood in large masses and 
 opened fire. Happily M'Murdo was in the rear, and with 
 only six Poona horsemen kept the enemy's skirmishers at 
 bay until Stack was able to call up his troops. The baggage 
 being for the moment secure. Stack resumed his march, 
 upon which the danger once more became so menacing that 
 M'Murdo obtained leave to bring back two guns from the 
 front, with which he opened a flanking fire upon the 
 
212 SIR CHARLES NAPIER. [chap. 
 
 Beloochees, which checked their advance until the arrival 
 of Jacob's cavalry. The baggage then closed up, and the 
 column finally joined Napier at midnight, after a most 
 exciting and harassing day's work. Had the Lion vigor- 
 ously attacked the baggage, nothing could have saved it. 
 His forbearance was due to his chivalry. Seeing a great 
 number of women with the train, he said, " The English 
 General treated our women very generously at Hyderabad, 
 and I will not let his women suffer now." 
 
 Though Stack's conduct might have involved the loss 
 of the baggage, the General was disappointed at finding it 
 had not provoked the Lion to attack the troops, as the 
 Beloochees would in that case have speedily found them- 
 selves between two fires. As it was, nothing but the 
 fatigue of Stack's men prevented Sir Charles attacking on 
 the morning of the 23d, without waiting for the reinforce- 
 ments that were on their way down the river from Sukkur, 
 and up from Bombay and Kurachee. But his star was 
 now in the ascendant. While he was sitting at breakfast 
 with his staff on the 23d, he suddenly exclaimed, " Now, 
 my luck would be great if I could get my other reinforce- 
 ments from Sukkur, from Kurachee, or from the mouth of 
 the Indus ; but it cannot be, they will not be here for a 
 week, and I will not let the Lion bully me any longer, I 
 will fight him to-morrow." Scarcely had he spoken, when an 
 officer called out, "There are boats coming up the river!" 
 All rushed out, and there was the aid from Bombay ! 
 " There are more boats — a fleet coming down the river !" 
 cried another, and as he pointed, they turned round, 
 and lo ! there were the troops from Sukkur ! By seven in 
 the evening the whole force was drawn up in front of the 
 camp to give men and officers a lesson, and accustom them 
 to their posts and duties, for the brigades were under majors, 
 the regiments under captains, and the staff were all young 
 
VI.] THE CONQUEST OF SCINDE. 213 
 
 men. Just as the line was formed, envoys came from the 
 Lion with a final summons to the British General to sur- 
 render. Silently he led them along the front, and then 
 told them to report what they had seen. Then came 
 another envoy, and they adjourned to the General's tent 
 and kept talking till two in the morning trying to discover 
 his intentions. At that hour he dismissed them, and lay 
 down " finished with fatigue." In two hours more he was 
 in the saddle again and marching straight upon the enemy. 
 Another happy omen greeted him as he set out. "The 
 Governor -General's letters, thanking us for Meeanee and 
 promising rewards, reached me just six hours before battle, 
 the only letters that did come, the others were all cut off." 
 The march was directed diagonally in front of Hydera- 
 bad upon Dubba, which was 8 miles north-west of that 
 city. For 10 miles they pushed on in a compact body, 
 through a country so covered with houses, gardens, nullahs 
 and forests, that 50,000 men might have been awaiting 
 them undiscovered within a mile. At last came news that 
 the enemy were 2 miles to their left. The direction of 
 the column was at once changed, the irregular horse pushed 
 forward, and the General, galloping out, found himself in 
 sight of the enemy and the field of battle. About 26,000 
 men and fifteen guns were drawn up against him. Two lines 
 of infantry were entrenched, and a heavy mass of cavalry 
 was in reserve. Their right rested on the Fullaillee, and 
 could not be turned, as there was a large pond of soft 
 mud in the bed, while the bank was clothed with dense 
 forest. In front was a nullah 20 feet wide, 8 deep, and 
 scarped. Behind this obstacle the first line of infantry ex- 
 tended for 2 miles to another wood which appeared to 
 be the left flank of the position ; in reality, however, the 
 left wing prolonged the line behind another nullah, which 
 sloped ofi' in a diagonal direction to the rear. All the 
 
214 •S'/^ CHARLES NAPIER. [chap. 
 
 cavalry were massed on the left, and behind the right wing, 
 close to the river, stood the village of Dubba filled with 
 men. The enemy's second line and guns were behind 
 another nullah running parallel with the first for about a 
 mile, and prepared in the same manner to resist attack. 
 The position was in every way admirably chosen and 
 utilised ; it was held by at least 26,000 men armed with 
 matchlocks and supported by guns, while the attacking 
 force numbered 5000, 1100 being cavalry, with nineteen 
 guns, five of which were horse artillery. 
 
 " I could not, before attacking " — Journal, same day — ''see 
 the second ditch, the village of Dubba was on their right and 
 rear, and I thought, as did every one, that it was not occupied; 
 their line did not seem to reach there, and my hope was to 
 gain their right flank by rapidity at the intervals. Hence, 
 ordering the horse artillery from right to left of the Hne, I 
 advanced by echelon of battalions, the horse artillery leading, 
 but having in support two cavalry regiments resting on the 
 FuUaillee, which ran perpendicular to the enemy's position.^ 
 Then the Beloochees closed at a run to their right, and the 
 village was already full of men. My reasons for the echelon 
 attack were two : First, there was a large wood away on our 
 right out of which several enemies had come singly, apparently 
 to watch us, and my strong expectation was that a column 
 would issue on our flank when we attacked. If so, my right, 
 being in echelon, could have been thrown back and present a 
 defensive front, having also two regiments of cavalry on its 
 right, ready to sweep down on the left of the attacking enemy. 
 Second, my troops were all young, but haK-drilled, and had 
 scarcely been together in brigade. Had they advanced in a 
 long line of eleven regiments they would have wavered to and 
 fro, like a sea, and got into confusion before the nullah was 
 
 ^ This plan is a remarkable instance of the value of the habit of 
 constant study, which Napier ever practised and preached. The plan 
 was formed while he was exposed to a heavy fire ; yet in explaining it 
 to his brother he says, "Blenheim came into my mind, where some- 
 thing of the kind happened." 
 
VI.] THE CONQUEST OF SCINDE. 215 
 
 reached; but in single battalions they did it well, even 
 beautifully." 
 
 The battle began at nine o'clock, the horse artillery 
 opening a raking fire from the junction of the first nullah 
 with the river, and doing terrible execution, while the in- 
 fantry were pushed on towards the village. It was soon 
 discovered that neither the village nor the nullah in front 
 of it had been neglected. The 22d, who led the way, as at 
 Meeanee, were met by a destructive fire, and the General, 
 for the first time, discovered the existence of the enemy's 
 second line. The struggle that ensued is splendidly de- 
 picted by Sir William Napier {Oonguest of Scinde, p. 233) : — 
 
 " Now the General saw that he had undervalued the Lion's 
 skill, and that the rush of men towards the village had been 
 a fine military impulse to strengthen that flank. He had 
 neither time nor means to countercheck them, and as generally 
 happens even with the greatest captains, had to remedy Ms 
 error by courage. Hence with the foremost of the 22d he 
 rode, meaning in person to lead the charge, when suddenly 
 came a horseman from the right, to tell him all the cavalry 
 of that wing was charging. Then concluding that the wood 
 was vomiting forth its ambushed warriors, and that his flank 
 was turned, he desired Major Poole of the 22d to lead the 
 attack on the nullah, and went at full speed to the right. 
 The report was correct. The cavalry of the right wing was 
 madly charging across the minor nullahs covering the enemy's 
 left, not because the Beloochees from the wood had moved, 
 but that, seeing numbers of the enemy still hurrying in 
 apparent confusion towards the centre, the horsemen, thinking 
 it a panic, had gone headlong down upon their left wing. 
 Stack had thus uncovered the fiank, and exposed the whole 
 army to a defeat, if the wood had really been filled with the 
 Belooch division appointed for the counter-stroke. 
 
 " It was a great error, but could not be remedied. The 
 whole body of cavalry was at full speed, dashing across the 
 smaller nullahs, the spurs deep in the horses' sides, the. riders 
 pealing their different war cries, and whirling their swords in 
 
2i6 SIR CHARLES NAPIER. [chap. 
 
 gleaming circles — there the fiery Delamain led the gorgeous 
 troopers of the 3d Cavalry, there the terrible Fitzgerald 
 careered with the wild Scindian horsemen, their red turbans 
 streaming amid the smoke and dust of the splendid turmoil. 
 For a moment the General gazed, at first with anger, then 
 with admiration, and seeing no indications of mischief from 
 the wood, while the redoubled thunder of his artillery recalled 
 him to the left, trusting all to fortune and courage he went 
 back with such speed as to reach the 2 2d at the moment it 
 was rushing to storm the first nullah. Riding to the first 
 rank he raised that clear high-pitched cry of war which had 
 at Meeanee sent the same fiery soldiers to the charge. It 
 was responded to with even greater ardour, for here no check 
 occurred, though the danger and difliculty was greater. 
 Lieutenant Coote first gained the summit of the bank, and 
 tearing a Belooch standard from its bearer, waved it in 
 triumph, while he reeled along the narrow edge, fainting from 
 a deep wound in his side. Then with a deafening shout the 
 soldiers leaped into the midst of the swordsmen. 
 
 " Murderous was the fire of the British guns and musketry, 
 and the bayonet clashing with the sword bore back the bravest 
 and strongest Beloochees, or levelled them in the dust, until 
 the struggling crowd was forced into the second and deeper 
 nullah, where with desperate fury the fight was renewed, as 
 if the previous struggle had been as nothing. But stUl with 
 conquering strength, and wasting fire, and piercing steel, the 
 22d forced its bloody way through the dense masses, being 
 well supported by the sepoys of the 25th, who, striving on its 
 right, kept pace and stroke in this terrible conflict. Soon 
 the victorious troops passed the second nullah, pressing with 
 undiminished fury on the rear of the retreating swordsmen 
 until they reached the village of Dubba, where the Lugarees 
 and Nizamanees, two of the most warlike tribes of Scinde, 
 were well entrenched in the houses, and once more contended 
 for the victory. The two regiments, thus opposed, im- 
 mediately lapped round the nearest point of the village, while 
 the cavalry of the left wing turned the place, partly by the 
 bed of the Fullaillee, partly by passing the nullahs." 
 
VI.] THE CONQUEST OF SCINDE. 217 
 
 In a few more minutes Dubba was completely encircled 
 by the infantry, while the cavalry and horse artillery were 
 repeatedly charging the retiring masses in the plain beyond. 
 No one fled. " They cannot,'' said their conqueror, " escape 
 when beaten, but as to running, devil a bit ! they lounge 
 off, as at Meeanee, slowly, and indifferent to your musketry, 
 though volleyed into their backs at 5 yards' distance. They 
 are most determined fatalists, and most terrible swordsmen ; 
 they cut through everything. Heads fly off at a blow ! it 
 has been repeatedly done, and it is the same with an arm." 
 So furiously, however, did the cavalry press upon them, 
 that Fitzgerald and Delamain on the right actually got 
 sight of the Lion's elephant and camel ; in a few moments 
 he would have been taken or slain, but Colonel Pattle, 
 second in command, thinking the dispersion of the cavalry 
 too great, stopped further pursuit. The battle, which had 
 lasted three hours, was now over. The General, after 
 leading the storm of Dubba, and pursuing with the cavalry 
 on the left for some miles, returned to be greeted with 
 ringing cheers by the infantry. Five thousand of the enemy 
 lay dead, while his own loss amounted to 270 men and 
 officers, of whom 147 were of the 22d Regiment. When 
 it is remembered that he led that regiment in person at the 
 most critical moments his own escape was not less extra- 
 ordinary than at Meeanee. His orderly's horse was struck 
 down behind him, and the hilt of his sword was struck by 
 a ball. "No Beloochee assailed me personally,'' he says, 
 " though several came near, and one I covered but did not 
 shoot, having great repugnance to kill with my own hand 
 unless attacked, which by some fatality was not the case." 
 Towards the end of the battle a field magazine, left by the 
 enemy, blew up and killed all around the General, he alone 
 remaining unhurt, although his sword was broken in his 
 , hand and his clothes singed. Fortune owed him com- 
 
2i8 SIR CHARLES NAPIER. [chap. 
 
 pensation for Coruna and Busaco. The moral effect of 
 Meeanee was powerful on all sides. At Meeanee the men 
 had shown hesitation and wonder. " At Dubba they were 
 like cucumbers. As to myself I felt a different man, my 
 confidence in the soldiers and in myself being complete ; T 
 felt at ease, and could have changed my whole order of 
 battle in the fight if it had been wanted." 
 
 The fruits of the victory had still to be gathered. 
 Having arranged for the transmission of the wounded to 
 Hyderabad, written his despatch, and reorganised his army, 
 in eight hours he was marching on Meerpoor. 
 
 "The desert was before Mm, the Lion's force was still 
 four to one, and it had two fortified towns, Meerpoor and 
 Omercote, on which to rally. The mercury stood at 110° on 
 the day of the battle, and the heat was hourly augmenting. 
 The troops had marched 12 miles to find the enemy, had 
 fought for four hours and only rested eight, if that can be 
 called rest when they had to gather the wounded, to receive 
 fresh ammunition, and to cook within the time. But aU this 
 was disregarded by their General when he foimd himself 
 greeted with cheers wherever he moved, and remembered 
 Caesar's saying that ' nothing was done while ought remained 
 to do.' Nor were his hopes baffled by his men's weakness, 
 for, notwithstanding their fatigue and the withering heat, 
 they advanced 20 miles without a halt " {Conquest of Scinde, 
 p. 237). 
 
 The 27th March saw them at Meerpoor, unopposed, for 
 the rapidity of their advance had given the Lion no breath- 
 ing space. Abandoning his capital, he fled with his family 
 and treasure to Omercote. The Scinde Horse and a camel 
 battery were at once laid on his traces, but the General re- 
 mained at Meerpoor. New dangers were arising. The time 
 for the inundation of the Indus was at hand, and, if it arrived 
 with unusual rapidity or violence, it would be difiicult or even 
 impossible to regain Hyderabad. On the other hand, Omer- 
 
VI.] THE CONQUEST OF SCINDE. 219 
 
 cote was strongly fortified, and had eleven guns mounted, 
 besides an ample garrison. A messenger was sent after the 
 Lion to ofier him the same terms as before the battle, while, 
 at the same time, the irregular troops were pushed rapidly 
 forward, supported cautiously by a succession of detachments 
 of artillery and infantry, so as to enable him to recall the 
 whole force as rapidly as possible in case of inundation, or 
 to press on to the assault of Omercote if that course were 
 thought advisable. Eeports from both sides were discourag- 
 ing. The Indus was said to be rising before its time, and 
 with unusual rapidity, and Omercote would not open its 
 gates. Reluctantly he ordered a retreat. The order reached 
 the officer farthest in advance when he was 20 miles from 
 Omercote, and had just received news of the evacuation of 
 that place. He halted and sent back Lieutenant Brown for 
 instructions. That young officer rode 40 miles under the 
 burning sun, reached Meerpoor at noon, received his orders, 
 and rode back in the afternoon on one of the General's horses 
 without stopping for rest. On 4th April, ten days after 
 the battle of Dubba, the troops entered Omercote, though 
 it was 100 miles distant and in the heart of the desert. 
 
 "These operations" (Conquest of Scinde, p. 241) "could 
 not have been successfully conducted without astonishing 
 exertions and resolution, illustrating the character of the 
 troops. On one of the long marches, which were almost 
 continual, the 25th Sepoys, nearly maddened by thirst and 
 heat, saw one of their water-carriers approaching; they 
 rushed towards him, tearing away his load, with loud cries of 
 ' Water ! water ! ' At that moment some haU-dozen exhausted 
 soldiers of the 22d came up and asked for some. At once 
 the generous Indians forgot their own sufferings, and gave the 
 fainting Europeans to drink. Then they all moved on, the 
 sepoys carrying the 22d men's muskets for them, patting 
 them on the shoulders, and encouraging them to hold out. 
 They did so for a short time, but soon fell, and it was found 
 
220 SIR CHARLES NAPIER. [chap. 
 
 that those noble fellows were all wounded, some deeply ! 
 Thinking there was to be another fight, they had concealed 
 their hurts and forced nature to sustain the loss of blood, the 
 pain of wounds, the burning sun, the long marches, and the 
 sandy desert, that their last moments might be given to their 
 country on another field of battle ! " 
 
 The war was now virtually over. On 8th April the 
 General was back at Hyderabad, having in sixteen days, 
 with 5000 men, defeated more than 26,000 in battle, cap- 
 tured two great fortresses, and marched 200 miles under a 
 Scindian sun. Shere Mohammed, however, was still at 
 large, and as the conquest could not be said to be complete 
 until his final downfall, it will be better to give a rapid 
 sketch of the military operations which deprived him of his 
 army before turning to consider the measures taken for the 
 pacification and government of the conquered territory. 
 
 After the fall of Omercote the Lion fled northwards 
 with a few followers. "There," said his conqueror, "he 
 may wander for a time, he may even collect another force, 
 but he cannot base a warfare on sand; he must come 
 sooner or later to the cultivated districts, where he will be 
 met by the British.'' It was now that the real importance 
 of the destruction of Emaum Ghur was manifest. He 
 could only hope to prolong his resistance (1) by retiring far 
 away to Shah Ghur on the borders of Jessulmeer, whither 
 Eoostum's son had retreated; (2) by passing through 
 Scinde and across the Indus, where his brother had a small 
 force, and where he might rouse the hill tribes ; or (3) by 
 plunging boldly into the Delta and collecting the predatory 
 bands ^which had been ravaging that district since the 
 battles. The weather was becoming almost fatal to Euro- 
 peans, and if the Lion were left during the summer months 
 to gain adherents on both sides of the Indus, the whole 
 work of conquest might have to be repeated in the follow- 
 
VI.] THE CONQUEST OF SCINDE. 221 
 
 ing autumn. Sir Charles Napier, under these circumstances, 
 resolved to brave the dreadful sun, and once more take the 
 field. He immediately put into operation a scheme for the 
 capture of his most dangerous foe. On the north side 
 Chamberlayne's Horse moved from Eoree to support Ali 
 Moorad, and prevent the Lion passing through to the Sikh 
 country, or to Shah Ghur by that route. Colonel Eoberts 
 was ordered to bring a column of all arms down the right 
 bank of the Indus from Sukkur to Sehwan, and to destroy 
 all boats on his way, so as to prevent the Lion from crossing 
 to the tribes on the right bank, and the tribes from joining 
 him on the left. Connecting posts were established between 
 Meerpoor and Hyderabad, so as to shut him out from the 
 Delta, while Napier himself was at Hyderabad ready to 
 pounce on the victim as soon as he made known his where- 
 abouts. To give an idea of the distances embraced by 
 these combinations it may be stated that Sukkur was 160 
 miles from Sehwan; from the latter to Hyderabad, 80 
 miles ; from Hyderabad to Omercote, 100 ; while Shah 
 Ghur and Deessa were respectively 100 and 200 miles from 
 Omercote. Yet the troops were moved to their stations 
 and the circle completed round the Lion without his dis- 
 covering his danger. That prince was driven by want of 
 water to Khoonhera in the end of April. He passed his 
 family over the Indus, whence he had received promises of 
 an army of 20,000 hillsmen. Soon reports came that he 
 was moving nearer the Indus, and had ensconced himself 
 in the waste of jungles and nullahs somewhere between the 
 four points of Sukurunda, Khoonhera, Hyderabad, and 
 Meerpoor. The General at once prepared to close upon 
 him and drive him to the Indus, but was prevented from 
 executing his plan by the caprices of the Indus, which twice 
 overflowed its banks, and, contrary to all calculations, sub- 
 sided again. Until it was known how far the waters would 
 
222 SIR CHARLES NAPIER. [ohap. 
 
 spread he dared not advance into an unknown country. 
 This uncertainty lasted until 2 2d May, when news came 
 that the tribe of Lukkees were preparing to cross the 
 Indus. Lieutenant Anderson was at once despatched with 
 100 Sepoys by river, and was successful in destroying all 
 the enemy's boats. On the 29th Colonel Roberts reached 
 Sehwan with 1500 men, thereby cutting off the Lion from 
 all intercourse with the western bank of the river, and 
 making the first stage of the combination complete. His 
 orders were to cross to the left bank of the river on the 
 night of 9th June, and march towards Khoonhera, upon 
 which point also Jacob was to move from Meerpoor, and 
 the General himself from Hyderabad, while Ali Moorad and 
 Chamberlayne's Horse were moving down towards Lower 
 Scinde. But before Eoberts crossed he took prompt advan- 
 tage of a piece of luck that fell in his way. 
 
 " Eoberts has done a famous job. The Lion's brother 
 must, forsooth, move his 3000 men within 15 miles of 
 Sehwan to see what Eoberts is about, and have credit for 
 driving him away when he shall cross the river. It is dan- 
 gerous. Master Shah, for beasts to go near an old huntsman. 
 Eoberts got wind of him, turned, and surprised him at day- 
 break, killed a hundred of his men, burnt his camp, and 
 took himself ; and here is Shah Mohammed a prisoner in 
 Hyderabad ! " On the 9th Eoberts crossed, and the follow- 
 ing day Jacob and the General moved from Meerpoor and 
 Hyderabad in the direction of Shah-i-Kianta, 16 miles 
 north of Ali-ka-Tanda. The Lion had been at the former 
 place, but was in retreat up the river. The circle was now 
 rapidly contracting. On the 13th Napier was at Ali-ka- 
 Tanda, and heard that the Lion, having for the first time 
 become aware of the existence of Eoberts' force, had sud- 
 denly returned to Shah-i-Khanta. Thither Sir Charles 
 made a night march with cavalry and guns ; but the Lion 
 
VI.] THE CONQUEST OF SCINDE. 223 
 
 had again moved eastward, though it was evident from 
 his uneasiness that he knew every outlet was guarded. 
 Although these marches were made by night, the troops 
 resting by day with wet cloths on their heads, yet as many 
 British soldiers succumbed to the sun as would have sufficed 
 to win a battle. Even the General's good destiny could 
 not preserve him scathless. He had left Hyderabad with 
 a fever on him, and to illness and anxiety about his com- 
 binations was added the labour of dealing with the accumu- 
 lated correspondence of four months, which, owing to 
 delays in the mail, reached him in a mass while he was on 
 the march. On the morning of 15th June Jacob's guns 
 were heard to the east, but the sound ceased so suddenly 
 as to suggest that he was overwhelmed and the circle 
 broken. Napier's anxiety was painful. 
 
 " Journal. — I cannot go to the east ; it is too sandy and 
 too hot. My Europeans could not stand it ; our livers are on 
 the simmer now, and wiU soon boil. The natives cannot stand 
 it, and I have been obliged to take Eed Eover into my tent, 
 poor beast, where he lies down exhausted and makes me very 
 hot. I did not bring a thermometer. What use would it be 
 to a lobster boiling alive ! " 
 
 The booming of the guns made him too anxious to 
 write more. He walked to the door of his tent, stepped 
 out, and instantly fell from a sunstroke. " Forty-three 
 others were struck, all Europeans, and all dead within 
 three hours except myself ! I do not drink ! That is the 
 secret. The sun had no ally in the liquor amongst my 
 brains. Unable to walk, I flung myself on a table, and 
 luckily one of my staff came in, I think M'Murdo. He 
 called the doctors ; two were with me in a twinkling ; wet 
 towels were roUed round my head, feet in hot water, bleed- 
 ing, and two men rubbing me. I was so drowsy as to be 
 angry that they would not let me sleep. Had they done 
 
224 SIR CHARLES NAPIER. [chap. 
 
 so it would have been hard to waken me ! " In another 
 place he says, " Just as they bled me, a horseman came to 
 say Jacob was victorious and the Ameer's force dispersed. 
 I think it saved me ; I felt life come back." The news was 
 true. The Lion, at last finding that he was in the toils, 
 had made a dash at Jacob, who received timely warning 
 and marched to meet him. The Lion's force had suffered 
 so much by desertion that he could only muster 4000, with 
 three guns in line. The memory of Meeanee and Dubba 
 was too strong. There was a brief cannonade, a cloud of 
 smoke and dust, and the Beloochees were gone. The Lion 
 escaped to his family beyond the Indus, and, after taking 
 refuge with the Beloochees of Khelat and the Afghans, 
 rendered all hopes of return to Scinde impossible by taking 
 part in the devastation of some villages in company with 
 the predatory tribes of the Cutchee hiUs. Finally he took 
 refuge at Lahore, and ended his life in fatuous sloth. 
 
 The war was now at an end. The closing operations 
 had been completed without the loss of a man in action, 
 but more than sixty officers and soldiers died from sun- 
 stroke, and a greater number afterwards from sickness. 
 But the conquest was achieved. "We have taught the 
 Belooch that neither his sun, nor his desert, nor his jungles, 
 nor bis nullahs can stop us. He will never face us more." 
 
 It would not be within the scope of this work to discuss 
 at any length the merits of the policy that culminated in 
 the conquest and annexation of Scinde ; nor, on the other 
 hand, can the subject be dismissed without any remark. 
 There were many misconceptions current at the time as to 
 the conduct of the General and the circumstances under 
 which he had taken such decided measures. So great was 
 the opposition to his policy on various grounds that the 
 thanks of Parliament for the victories of Meeanee and 
 Dubba (or Hyderabad as the battle came to be called) were 
 
VI.] THE CONQUEST OF SCINDE. 225 
 
 withheld for a year ; and with regard to one man at least, 
 political differences grew into a personal controversy which 
 was famous at the time, and cannot be explained or noticed 
 here without some general reference to the character of 
 the events in which it originated. The misconception that 
 created the first unfavourable impression is thus noticed ■ 
 
 by Sir Charles Napier : " says, ' I wish you had not 
 
 been opposed to men fighting for their independence.' How 
 they do blunder in England ! Why, we have fought for 
 the liberties of the people ! Even Belooch himself is glad 
 of getting a good master for a bad one." The Ameers 
 were aliens to the mass of their subjects whom they had 
 ruled for barely seventy years, during which period they 
 had certainly done little to win their affections. " The 
 oppressive nature of their government is positively un- 
 equalled in the world," said Pottinger. "It is an iron 
 despotism," wrote Sir Alexander Bumes. " They have all 
 the vices of barbarians without their redeeming virtues,'' 
 was the observation of Mountstuart Elphinstone. When 
 the Ameers were removed to Bombay, Napier gave their 
 wives the option of going with them or staying behind, 
 and not one was found willing to follow her lord into 
 an exile that was by no means comfortless.^ How 
 the revolution affected the down -trodden Scindee will 
 shortly appear; as for the Beloochees, not a single chief 
 remained unreconciled to the conqueror within five months 
 of Meeanee. 
 
 The more durable ground of opposition was that the 
 Ameers had fallen victims to Lord EUenborough's love of 
 aggrandisement, that the war had been forced upon them 
 by unjust demands roughly backed up by threats of 
 
 ^ Sir Charles brought home among his trophies a whip of twisted 
 brass wires which hung ready for application in the zenana of one of 
 the Ameers. 
 
 Q 
 
226 SIR CHARLES NAPIER. [chap. 
 
 military coercion, and that the Governor -General's un- 
 scrupulous policy had found only too willing an instrument 
 in the eccentric war-loving soldier to whom he had in- 
 trusted its execution. This argument, replied Ellenborough 
 and Napier, entirely ignores the Scindian policy of Lord 
 Auckland and the disastrous moral effect of the Afghan 
 war. When Sir Charles Napier and Lord Ellenborough 
 arrived upon the scene, the result of Lord Auckland's 
 policy was that treaties had been forced upon Scinde which 
 gave us the right of maintaining a force there, together 
 with the possession of Shikarpoor, Sukkur, Bukkur, and 
 Kurachee; all for an indefinite time, with the exception 
 of Bukkur, which was granted "during the existence of 
 war." 
 
 Both Napier and Ellenborough condemned these trans- 
 actions ; but they found themselves face to face with the 
 greatest danger that had yet threatened our Lidian Empire 
 — the intense excitement roused by our disasters at Cabul 
 along the whole north-west frontier : an excitement which 
 our subsequent reprisals did comparatively little to allay, 
 as they were necessarily accompanied by our withdrawal 
 from Afghanistan. The affair of Scinde was no isolated 
 event. It was, to use Napier's graphic expression, " the 
 tail of the Afghan storm." It was no time for making con- 
 cessions. Mr. Gladstone, in a passing reference to Scinde 
 {Gontempora/ry Review, November 1876), says: "That con- 
 quest was disapproved, I believe unanimously, by the 
 Cabinet of Sir Eobert Peel, of which I can speak as I had 
 just entered it at the time;^ but the Ministry were power- 
 
 ' The Scinde question is divided into three stages — (1.) Was it 
 right to take advantage of the fruits of Lord Auckland's policy, and 
 further present a treaty to the Ameers for the permanent cession of 
 territory in lieu of tribute ? Napier and Outram said yes ; Sir R. 
 Peel's Government gave no opinion. (2.) Was Napier justified 
 in using the army as his chief diplomatic instrument after the time 
 
VI.] THE CONQUEST OF SCINDE. 227 
 
 less, inasmuch as the mischief of retaining was less than 
 the mischief of abandoning it." For the same reason the 
 Indian Government accepted the state of things in Scinde 
 as they found it. Outram's disclosures as to the treacher- 
 ous correspondence of the Ameers and their repeated 
 violations of the treaties convinced Napier and the Govern- 
 ment of the necessity for a new treaty, which Outram had 
 already suggested, and for a clear understanding with 
 the Ameers that any further violations of treaty obligations 
 would be sternly punished. Before the new treaty was 
 presented to the Ameers their followers were gathering 
 in considerable numbers. On 14th November 1842 the 
 Governor -General wrote to Napier : " The designs of the 
 Ameers would seem to be of a defensive character only; 
 but I know that the least sign of hesitation on our part 
 would at once convert these defensive preparations into 
 measures of a hostile nature, and that to yield the smallest 
 point in negotiation would have all the effect of defeat in 
 the field." 
 
 Up to this point Major Outram and Napier seem to have 
 been in thorough accord, but thenceforward their views 
 rapidly diverged. Outram, with the natural tendency of 
 
 first fixed for the acceptance of the new treaty had gone by, on the 
 ground that he believed any other course would imperil his army ? 
 Outram said no. Sir K. Peel, in the debate on Lord Ashley's motion 
 for the liberation of the Ameers (7th February 1844), said, " It is my 
 firm belief that but for his (Napier's) personal courage and desperate 
 fidelity to the cause of his country, not one man of the British army 
 would have been left alive. I think he has exhibited not only a noble 
 example of British courage and military skill, but the greatest civil 
 sagacity." In which view Lord John EusseU seems to have concurred. 
 (3.) After the battle should Scinde have been formally annexed, or 
 should the Ameers have been kept on the throne and some other 
 modus Vivendi found ? Outram thought the latter. Napier warmly 
 approved of Lord EUenborough's decision, though it was a complete 
 surprise to him, as he had expected up to the last some sort of veiled 
 protectorate. 
 
228 SIR CHARLES NAPIER. [chap. 
 
 the " Political " to be influenced rather by the divinity that 
 hedges princes than by the evils of their rule, fuUy believed 
 that the Ameers could be gradually induced by his personal 
 influence to accept anything that England could decently 
 demand, and that any indication of hostility was due to a 
 blustering nervousness which might be safely disregarded. 
 The treaty once accepted, he thought the benefits of our 
 Government in the ceded districts would force the Ameers 
 to make corresponding reforms in order to prevent then- 
 people deserting to our settlements. Napier could assent 
 to none of these views. He thought things had already 
 gone too far for personal influence. That the Ameers were 
 glad to listen to arguments he did not deny ; but he was 
 convinced it was solely with the view of passing the time 
 during which the cool weather would enable us to back our 
 arguments by force. In his utter disbelief in the Ameers' 
 good faith he agreed with Pottinger, who had said in a 
 despatch of 11th March 1839: "There is no nation with 
 whom we have been brought into contact in Asia towards 
 whom I deem it so highly necessary to be undeviatingly firm 
 as the Scindees . . . the good effect of such a principle 
 upon a Government and people who may be said to be 
 destitute of veracity and good faith, as well as of foresight, 
 needs not to be enlarged on." 
 
 Whether Napier or Outram had the clearer insight into 
 the Ameers' character and intentions wiU always remain 
 a matter of opinion. But with regard to indications of 
 hostility, at any rate, Napier seems to have been better 
 informed. Five days before the battle Outram assured 
 Napier that the Ameers had not any armed men about 
 them except their personal attendants. At that moment 
 the army of the Ameers was assembled at Meeanee, only 
 6 miles from Hyderabad. At the moment he was writ- 
 ing, his house was surrounded by 8000 Beloochees, with 
 
VI.] THE CONQUEST OF SCINDE. 229 
 
 eight pieces of cannon, preparing for their attack on the 
 Residency. 
 
 Napier's view of the matter exactly one month before 
 the battle is clearly given in the following letter : — 
 
 " 1 6<A. January 1 843. — I found the Ameers and our Govern- 
 ment in the position in which a treaty made by Lord Auck- 
 land placed them. I had no concern with its justice, its 
 propriety, or anything but to see it maintained. I found 
 that all the politicals had gone on, from the beginning, 
 trifling ; sometimes letting the Ameers infringe the treaty 
 without notice, at others pulling them up, and then dropping 
 the matter : in short, I saw it was a long chain of infringe- 
 ment, denial, apology, pardon, over and over. I therefore 
 resolved not to let this, which old Indians call 'knowing 
 the people,' -go on; and I wrote to the Ameers saying I 
 would not allow it to continue ; they of course continued 
 their game, and I, as I had threatened, reported the infringe- 
 ments to Lord Ellenborough, who agreed with me that their 
 irritating, childish, mischievous, secret warfare and intrigue 
 should not continue. And as letters from the Ameers were 
 intercepted, proposing to other powers to league and drive us 
 out of Scinde, Lord Ellenborough thought, and I think justly, 
 that a new treaty should be entered into, which he sent me. 
 I had laid before him the proposal, and I think my treaty 
 was a more fair treaty, at least a more liberal treaty, than 
 his ; but I do not, as far as I have been able to consider it, 
 think his unjust. Mind, I always reason on affairs as Lord 
 Ellenborough and myself found them. I cannot enter upon 
 our right to be here at all, that is Lord Auckland's affair. 
 Well, I presented the draft of the new treaty. The Ameers 
 bowed with their usual apparent compliance, but raised troops 
 in all directions. These I was ordered by the Governor- 
 General to disperse. To disperse irregular troops, they 
 having a desert at their back and 400 miles of river to cross 
 and run up the mountains ; and all this with their chiefs 
 swearing they submitted to everything to get me into the 
 hot weather, when I could not move, and thus cut off all 
 our communications at their ease, was no trifle." 
 
230 SIR CHARLES NAPIER. [chap. 
 
 The Governor -General, in his despatch to the Secret 
 Committee (13th March 1843), bears witness to the for- 
 bearance the General showed in executing his orders. " Sir 
 Charles Napier had my instructions more than three months 
 before the battle of Meeanee. He was during aU that period 
 at the head of a preponderating force; but, acting with 
 extreme forbearance, in the true spirit of a generous soldier, 
 he earnestly endeavoured to effect the objects of the Govern- 
 ment without using the military means at his disposal. 
 The firmness of the language he adopted, and the energy 
 of his measures, were best calculated to control a barbarous 
 durbar ; and, had the Ameers been entirely masters of their 
 own troops, it seems to be doubtful, even now, whether he 
 would not have effected his purpose, and carried the treaty 
 into execution without actual hostilities." 
 
 The personal controversy between Napier and Outram 
 seems to have arisen in the following manner : — They had 
 begun work together in Scinde on the most friendly terms. 
 It is well known that it was Napier who dubbed Outram 
 the " Bayard of India " in a speech which is too character- 
 istic to be omitted. 
 
 " Gentlemen — I have told you there are only to be two 
 toasts drunk this evening. One, that of a lady — the Queen 
 — you have already responded to. The other shall be for a 
 gentleman. But before proceeding further, I must tell you 
 a story. In the sixteenth century there was in the French 
 army a knight renowned for deeds of gallantry in war and 
 wisdom in council — indeed, so deservedly famous was he, that 
 by general acclamation he was called the knight ' sans peur et 
 sans reproche.' The name of this knight, you may all know, 
 was the ChevaHer Bayard. Gentlemen, I give you the ' Bay- 
 ard of India,' sans peur et sans reproche, Major James Outram . 
 of the Bombay army ! " 
 
 Even when Outram left for England after the battle of 
 
VI.] THE CONQUEST OF SCINDE. 231 
 
 Meeanee, although Sir Charles Napier no longer entertained 
 a very high opinion of his insight or political ability, their 
 parting was that of cordial friends. The immediate cause 
 of the rupture was, that Major Outram laid before the 
 Secret Committee of the East India Company his notes of 
 conferences with the Ameers at Hyderabad the week before 
 the battle. The production of these notes created a pain- 
 ful impression. They brought into prominence the pro- 
 testations of the Ameers, that they had no hostile designs 
 against the British Government, that if the General would 
 only delay his march for a day or two, they could calm their 
 Beloochees, and discuss the terms of the treaty amicably ; 
 and that their chief objection to the peace was the wrong 
 inflicted upon the Ameer Eoostum. This prince stoutly 
 maintained that he had been made to resign the Turban in 
 favour of Ali Moorad by a mixture of force and fraud, 
 which was the result of an agreement between AJi Moorad 
 and Sir Charles Napier. The impression thus created was 
 intensified when it became known that these notes had 
 been apparently suppressed by Napier, and had never been 
 forwarded to the Supreme Government. What angered 
 Napier in this proceeding was, that Outram, who had so 
 many opportunities of imparting his views to ministers and 
 directors, should have put before them statements of such 
 a damaging nature as those of Eoostum, unaccompanied by 
 the General's absolute denial of their truth, and statement of 
 the real facts set out in a letter from him to Outram. Lord 
 EUenborough demanded an explanation of Napier, which 
 was promptly supplied. " The notes of the meeting with 
 the Ameers on the 12th of February were probably sent to 
 me, but I did not receive them. The notes of the meeting 
 on the 8th of February I received on the 11 tk These I 
 could not forward to your Lordship, because, after the 13th, 
 our communications were intercepted; but the enclosed 
 
232 , SIR CHARLES NAPIER. [chap. 
 
 copy of a letter to Major Outram shows that I intenxied to 
 do so, although I did not think it necessary, as we were on 
 the eve of a battle, which I knew could not take place if 
 the Ameers were honest, and spoke the trutL After the 
 action the Ameers placed my small force in so much danger 
 by their intrigues with Meer Shere Mohammed, that I never 
 thought more of Outram's ' Minutes ' till I received your 
 Lordship's present letter." He then remarks that the value 
 of the notes depends entirely on the weight due to Major 
 Outram's judgment, and on the sincerity of the Ameers. 
 He regarded the notes from first to last as so much waste- 
 paper, because he was convinced, from his knowledge of the 
 warlike preparations going on, that Major Outram was being 
 deceived. The papers captured on the Murree chiefs on 
 12th February contained orders from the Ameers to bring 
 all available forces to Meeanee by the 9th, as the Ameers 
 had no intention of yielding to the British demands. Con- 
 sequently, Napier felt no inclination to believe in their 
 sincerity. On this point he says : " The Ameers did not 
 want to have peace, they were confident of victory, and had 
 accurately calculated the day I should arrive at Meeanee — 
 namely, 17th February, and they knew they could not 
 assemble their full force of 50,000 men till the night of the 
 17th or the morning of the 18th. Therefore all their 
 diplomacy of dissimulation, procrastination, and protesta- 
 tion, was put in force to deceive Major Outram, and obtain 
 a pledge that I should halt, if only for a day." 
 
 The quarrel developed rapidly. Lord EUenborough was 
 at that time the object of themost virulent attacks on the part 
 of the Indian press, and was on no very good terms with the 
 Court of Directors at home. Outram's notes were seized 
 upon as excellent materials for new attacks on the Governor- 
 General. Their purport was so grossly exaggerated and 
 falsified, that Sir William Napier called upon Outram to give 
 
VI.] THE CONQUEST OF SCINDE. 233 
 
 a public contradiction to the falsehoods of the press, on the 
 ground that they were founded on passages in his notes that 
 Sir Charles Napier had shown to be due to a misconception 
 of the facts. Outram refused on the ground that he could 
 not undertake to answer for the opinions of newspapers. 
 Thereupon Sir Charles broke off all intercourse with him. 
 Sir "William Napier, ever fiercely jealous of his brother's 
 fame, and rendered irritable by pain and sickness from 
 which he was never free, took up the cudgels, and a fierce 
 war raged for years between him and Outram, both sides 
 finding many partisans. Sir "William, when roused to anger, 
 was not accustomed to use very measured language, and 
 harsh things were said and written by him, to many of 
 which Outram's subsequent career was a sufficient answer. 
 But abuse was answered by abuse, and Outram, too, in the 
 heat of dispute, brought many charges against Sir Charles 
 Napier, which he afterwards saw had no foundation. Sir 
 Charles Napier himself, though he concurred in his brother's 
 opinions and found no fault with his way of expressing 
 them, took no part in the controversy. He justified himself 
 to Lord Ellenborough, and he twice appealed to the Indian 
 Government to protect him from the attacks of a junior 
 officer, but otherwise he never once took up pen to defend 
 himself. Writing to his brother WUHam on the subject, he 
 says : " I have indeed been obliged to write a letter to Lord 
 EUenborough, and send you a copy ; it will, I fear, injure 
 Outram, which I regret, but must defend myself, and have 
 told Outram so ; do not therefore make use of my letter 
 unless you think defence of my character requires it." 
 And again he writes : "Do not take up my defence, 
 unless I die here. You will then get my letter-books 
 and journal, eight volumes. . . . Meanwhile my public 
 letter to Lord E. will probably be printed, and set me 
 right about Outram; a paid-up revenue, with general 
 
234 SIR CHARLES NAPIER. [chap. vi. 
 
 order, and no risings, will defend me in the long run from 
 all others." 
 
 There is no need to pursue this subject further ; on the 
 main issue, that the native designs were genuinely hostile, 
 Napier convinced most impartial and capable judges. The 
 bitter personal tone of the controversy is, from beginning 
 to end, matter for nothing but regret, and as such is now 
 gladly dismissed. 
 
CHAPTER VII. 
 
 THE SETTLEMENT OF SCINDE — 1843-45. 
 
 Until the final collapse of the Lion in June, the conquest 
 of Scinde could not be called complete ; but the ■work of 
 pacification and settlement had been vigorously carried on 
 side by side with the later military operations. Lord EUen- 
 borough had made Napier Governor of Scinde after the 
 battle of Dubba, enjoining the abolition of slavery, but 
 otherwise leaving him to deal with the conquered country 
 as he thought fit. " Now my fearfid. work of settling the 
 country begins,"— he writes, 7th April, — " and the heat is 
 violent. I have to collect revenue, administer justice, 
 arrange the troops, survey the coimtry, project improve- 
 ments, form civil officers, and appoint proper fimctionaries. 
 I have to get a thorough hold of a conquered country, and 
 establish a Grovemment ; and have really hardly any one to 
 assist me : all is confusion, and the military movements are 
 still going on." His proclamation to the people was short 
 and decisive. "The Talpoors have been overthrown by 
 the British, and are dethroned — Scinde belongs to them no 
 longer. All revenues paid to the Ameers are now to be 
 paid to the EnglisL Hitherto armed men have been 
 treated as soldiers fighting by the orders of their masters. 
 From this time forward armed men assembled shall be 
 treated as robbers and outlaws. Slavery is abolished 
 throughout the land, and all people are invited to return 
 and live peaceably at their homes." 
 
236 SIJi CHARLES NAPIER. [chap. 
 
 His first object was to secure the submission of the great 
 Belooch chiefs on either side of the Indus. It was no easy 
 task; at Bombay i^ was pronounced impossible; Outram, 
 who had seen a great deal of the wild tribes on the west of 
 the Indus, foretold ten years of guerilla war ; but by a mix- 
 ture of generosity and sternness all the chiefs were recon- 
 ciled in haK as many months. To every chief he offered 
 complete forgiveness and confirmation in his possessions. 
 "Exceptions," he said, "only turn cut-throats into heroes, 
 and I would rather pardon a cut-throat thsin fight with a 
 hero." To Wullee Chandiah, the most powerful and respect- 
 able of the western chiefs, he wrote : " I honour you for 
 your obedience to the Ameers, but God has decreed that 
 they are to rule Scinde no more. The British Government 
 is now master; serve it faithfully as you have done the 
 Ameers, and honour and respect will be shown to you. 
 But mind what I say, keep your own side of the river. 
 Woe to the mountain tribes that cross the Indus." The 
 chief was soon after treacherously seized by AJi Moorad, 
 and brought by him to the General, who expressed his 
 regret at what had occurred, and set him free. The inter- 
 view was a curious one. " He (Wullee) is exactly like an 
 owl, with white hair, long hooked nose, great beard, and 
 two enormous black eyes, which were fixed on me without 
 a move or wink till I had done speaking ; then he said to 
 the interpreter, 'Is it true? May I go?' 'Yes.' Up he 
 jumped, flew out of the room like a bird, and never stopped 
 till he got to his hiUs. I said, ' There he goes to make war 
 on us.' Not a bit. All along the western bank of the 
 Indus he praised me to the skies, and swore neither he nor 
 any of his tribe should lift sword or shield against the 
 Bahadoor Jung again; and he has kept his word." In a 
 few weeks over 400 chiefs had submitted, and had their 
 swords returned to them as a mark of the General's con- 
 
vii.] THE SETTLEMENT OF SCINDE. 237 
 
 fidence, but accompanied by a stern warning. " Take 
 back your sword. You have used it with honour against 
 me, and I esteem a brave enemy. But if, forgetful of this 
 voluntary submission, you draw it again in opposition to 
 my government, I will tear it from you and kill you as a 
 dog." He spared no means of striking their imaginations. 
 One device is described in a letter to his brother William. 
 
 "I introduce all the chiefs who come in to Chalon's 
 print of the Queen ; if this is forgotten they ask for the 
 Padisha. A curtain hangs over it, and they are told servants 
 and common people must not look at her. They, however, 
 do not xmderstand a woman ruling, and one shrewd Beloochee 
 said, ' Sahib, she did not beat me at Meeanee, you are every- 
 thing now.' Another asked, ' How far oflf is she V 'So and 
 so.' 'You are next to her?' 'No, the Governor-General.' 
 ' Oh ! how far off is he ?' ' At Calcutta.' ' I have heard of 
 Calcutta, it is far off, you are at Hyderabad, I am your 
 slave.' I always joke, and teU them what fine fellows they 
 are in battle, and that my wish is to go against the Afghans 
 at their head, and plunder all the way to Persia : this they 
 like, and I am going, if Lord E. agrees, to make all their 
 jaghires^ their own property. We shall resign all right to 
 turn them out, and exchange their mihtary service for that of 
 assisting to open watercourses, so far as those run through 
 their lands. If I retained the Governor's right to military 
 service, it would continue their right to have armed retainers, 
 and I have forbidden the bearing of arms : not by proclama- 
 tion though, for that would excite apprehension, but practi- 
 cally, for I disarm every man seen with weapons, giving the 
 latter to the soldiers as plunder." 
 
 The next step was the formation of an efficient police. 
 Owing to the disturbed state of the Afghans and Sikhs it 
 was of the greatest importance that the troops in Scinde 
 should be concentrated with a view to strategical effect. 
 
 ^ i.e. Land held on an uncertain tenure, military services being 
 required of the tenant. 
 
238 SIR CHARLES NAPIER. [chap. 
 
 But it was, besides, Sir Charles Napier's firm conviction that 
 the civil and military forces should be kept entirely distinct 
 in their support of Government. " Soldiers," he said, " were 
 instituted to fight declared enemies, not to be watchers and 
 punishers of criminals ; they should be, in thought and in 
 reality, identified with their country's glory — the proudest 
 of her sons — and never employed to enforce the behests of 
 the civil administration until the civil power is found too 
 weak." He therefore embodied a poKce force, the organi- 
 sation of which was afterwards practically adopted, though 
 without acknowledgment, by the Governments of the 
 Punjab, Bombay, and Madras. The men selected were 
 chiefly Scindians, but as they were still timid from oppres- 
 sion and impatient of discipline, their ranks were stiffened 
 by a sprinkling of Patans, Rajputs, and even minor chiefs 
 who had fought at Meeanee. A military organisation under 
 European officers and a handsome uniform soon gave them 
 steadiness and courage enough to make them valuable 
 auxiliaries in the field. The force, which eventually 
 numbered 2500, was divided into three classes, city, rural, 
 and mounted ; the two latter, besides the ordinary duties 
 of police, having to act against marauding parties from the 
 hill tribes, to protect the mails, and guard small stations ; 
 they were also trained to be an exceUent guide -corps in 
 case of war. One month after the second battle the pohce 
 were at work, and enabled the General to make a speedy 
 manifestation of his determination to protect the life and 
 property of the humblest of his subjects. "I hanged a 
 Beloochee lately," he writes, " to the astonishment of his 
 chief. 'What? hang a Beloochee for killing a Scindian 
 woman ? ' The life of a Scindian woman under the ' Pat- 
 riarchs 'was worth about 200 rupees." Another instance 
 of severity created a still greater impression. "Two 
 Beloochees, armed and mounted, plundered and murdered 
 
vii.] THE SETTLEMENT OF SCINDE. 239 
 
 a merchant on the road ; they were caught, the proof was 
 complete, the crime not denied but thus palliated : ' Our 
 chief ordered us, the goods are in his house.' He was a 
 Lumree chief in the hills; I ordered his tribe to deliver 
 him to my police, and it was done. He was tried and 
 hanged with his two followers on the same gallows, 60 
 miles from any soldier save Marston, the chief of the 
 police, who had only 150 policemen, and not a finger was 
 raised ; nay, the poor all approved of the deed. I passed 
 the gallows on my journey here, and could not but pray 
 that my doings were justifiable : murder must be stopped. 
 These men went to death with great indifference ; the rope 
 broke with one, he fell, and his first words were, ' No harm 
 done, accidents will happen, try again ! ' " The result was 
 that the people said, " The Padisha is just ; he kills nobody 
 for himself." And a native, being asked if the country was 
 quiet, replied, " Yes ; if you catch a wasp in your hand it 
 does not sting you ! " 
 
 Sir Charles Napier's government of Scinde was miUtary 
 and despotic ; and his administration was conducted almost 
 entirely by means of soldiers. He has been, in consequence, 
 much abused by writers on Indian affairs as an advocate of 
 military in preference to civil government, and as enter- 
 taining an invincible objection to the employment of civil 
 servants. The able biographer of Lord Lawrence^ has 
 gone so far as to assert that Napier founded not only a 
 Scinde school of supporters of military as opposed to civil 
 government, but also the policy of annexing Afghanistan 
 and the adjacent regions with a view to defeating the 
 designs of Russia. Napier's opinions on the Afghan ques- 
 tion as it had arisen in his time have already been touched 
 upon, and his views on Indian foreign policy will be 
 referred to again ; but it must here be observed that he 
 ' Life of Lord, Lawreiux. By E. Boswortli Smith, vol. i. p. 335. 
 
240 SIR CHARLES NAPIER. [ohap. 
 
 never considered that military government as a permanent 
 form was either possible or desirable. His one object was 
 to render the people of Scinde as speedily as possible capable 
 of receiving the civil institutions which he laboured to found. 
 Having regard to the military and feudal character of the 
 Belooch tribes whose pacification was the most difficult part 
 of his task, he judged a military despotism to be most in 
 accordance with the character and habits of the country. 
 " These people have no idea of the troops being under one 
 person and the civil government under another. These 
 countries cannot be ruled by the mere official arrangements 
 of a civil government. The rulers must be for some years 
 military, and enter into frequent intercourse with the chiefs, 
 forming the best judgment they can of the character of those 
 warlike chiefs and of the mode of deahng with them ; and 
 they form a tolerably correct opinion of our characters. 
 Nature simple, and military nature, must be both studied 
 in dealing with barbarians. They will not subinit to 
 theoretical arrangements made in the closets of non- 
 military men, crossing their habits and offending their 
 prejudices every hour of the day : to a soldier they readily 
 bow in submission." Such reasoning he believed to be 
 applicable to many parts of India besides Scinde, but every- 
 where he wished only to make military rule the stepping- 
 stone to a larger amount of self-government than has yet 
 been vouchsafed to India. Before he left Scinde he had 
 gone as far in the appointment of native magistrates as the 
 authorities would allow, and with regard to his hopes for 
 the future of Scinde, he says, " Were power vested in me, 
 a civil government of its own people should be established 
 in Scinde, and in fifty years it would regenerate the people, 
 if not squashed by our government. However, I inoculate 
 them as much as possible with justice and ' ammr propre ' ; 
 this in time will do good." 
 
vn.] THE SETTLEMENT OF SCINDE. 241 
 
 Another reason for his preference for military govern- 
 ment in the case of a newly-conquered people is to be found 
 in his desire to save them from the ordinary Indian system 
 until they had had time to become in some degree acquainted 
 with British rule. He had the strongest sense of the incon- 
 gruity of so great an empire being governed largely under 
 the auspices of a trading company, however great and however 
 much accustomed to government. The following picture is 
 too strongly coloured, but by no means devoid of truth. 
 
 " To the genius of some Governors-General and some mili- 
 tary commanders, and to the constant bravery of the troops, be- 
 longs all the greatness ; to the Courts of Directors, designated 
 by Lord Wellesley as the ' ignominious tyrants of the East,' all 
 the meanness. Not that directors have been personally less 
 honourable than other gentlemen, but that they are always 
 in a false position, as merchants ruling a vast and distant 
 empire solely for their private advantage. No man ever 
 seeks to be a director from mere patriotism or thirst for 
 military glory unaccompanied by pecuniary profit ; and 
 hence, when the Court does send out a Governor-General of 
 great mind, which is not often nor willingly done, it treats 
 him as if he were unworthy to possess power at all. This is 
 natural. Their objects are not alike. His will be the wel- 
 fare, the aggrandisement, the unity of one hundred and twenty 
 millions of people committed to his charge ; theirs the obtain- 
 ing all profit from the labour of those people. The merchant, 
 unable to distinguish between wars for self-preservation and 
 conquest, objects to both as lessening immediate gain ;. and 
 it must be admitted that the former has in India always in- 
 volved the latter. . . . The truth being, that men moment- 
 arily possessed of power at hoine object to war lest it should 
 diminish immediate profits ; but when the soldier has won 
 new dominions, the successors of those ephemeral sovereigns 
 hastily gather the private advantages." 
 
 Such a system, he held, corrupted the civil servants to 
 whom it gave employment; and, owing to a widely pre- 
 
242 SIJi CHARLES NAPIER. [chap. 
 
 vailing nepotism, those civil servants were, he maintained, 
 " with splendid exceptions, ignorant of great principles, 
 devoid of business habits, and therefore wasteful of new 
 resources." The " old Indian " he denounced in some vehe- 
 ment sentences which have been unfairly quoted as applied 
 to the whole civil service, whereas they only condemn, and 
 were only meant to condemn, a class which at that time was 
 undoubtedly too numerous. Alluding to Mr. Thomason, 
 the distinguished Governor of the North- West Provinces, 
 he says: "He is not what I call an 'old Indian,' — that is 
 to say, a man full of curry and bad Hindustanee, with a 
 fat liver and no brains, but with a self-sufficient idea that 
 no one can ' know India ' except through long experience 
 of brandy, champagne, grain -fed mutton, cheroots, and 
 hookers." Against the theory that Indian human nature 
 was widely different from other human nature he ever re- 
 belled. "Length of residence," he remarked, "and sensual 
 indulgence weaken body and mind, a,nd give only aptness 
 for official details without enlargement of ideas ; and most 
 of those persons generalised as ' old Indians ' because they 
 have worn out originally vigorous appetites and feeble 
 minds while enjoying large salaries and the adulation of 
 black clerks, who do all their duties, imagine they only 
 know the East. Despising and avoiding the society of the 
 natives, they yet pretend to know the characters of those 
 natives, and call themselves the statesmen of India ! There 
 are, however, among those vegetations of a rank soil men 
 who do study the people, who know their customs and their 
 history, applying minds of a high order and powerful ener- 
 gies to their work ; and pre-eminent in that class are the 
 uncovenanted servants, whose enterprise has brought them in 
 mature life to India — men who cannot live in luxurious ease, 
 and therefore the most valuable of the Company's dependants. " 
 If the foregoing picture is limited in its application to a 
 
vn.] THE SETTLEMENT OF SCINDE. 243 
 
 large section of the civil service of that date in the older 
 provinces of India, few people would question its truth. 
 The routine work of the older governments, and the low 
 tone of Anglo-Indian public opinion up to the period of 
 the Afghan war, had greatly demoralised the civil service. 
 The abler and more enterprising men sought employment 
 in the frontier provinces, and it was through their example, 
 and in the force of public opinion from home, which the 
 troubled state of India from 1840 to 1850 aroused, that the 
 civil service was already undergoing its regeneration at the 
 time Sir Charles Napier wrote. 
 
 His objections to civil servants were unhappily confirmed 
 by experience, for at the outset he had wished to secure 
 the services of some of them. " I am aware," he wrote to 
 Sir J. Hobhouse, " that inconvenience arises from the ex- 
 tensive employment of military men in civil government ; 
 and I have introduced four or five uncovenanted civil ser- 
 vants with good efiect, because, with one exception, they 
 have conducted themselves with diligence and modesty; 
 but three covenanted servants sent to me by Lord Ellen- 
 borough were quite useless. They were, I have no doubt, 
 clever and gentlemanlike young men, yet a dozen such 
 would have paralysed my government." These young 
 gentlemen, he says in a private letter, are " useless and in 
 despair. They came to shoot, to hunt, to live well, and to 
 sign their names to whatever a host of clerks should lay before 
 them. I give them no clerks and a good deal of work. They 
 are furious at Lord EUenborough, who ' quite deceived them 
 as to work ' ! " Such men would have rendered impossible 
 the work to which Napier now applied himself, so he deter- 
 mined to depend for the settlement of the country on the 
 men who had followed him so stoutly to its conquest. 
 
 Before settling the form of his civil government, it was 
 necessary to have a clear idea of the various classes and 
 
244 SIS CHARLES NAPIER. [chap. 
 
 interests for whom he was about to legislate. They are 
 as follows : — 
 
 " The money-seeking Hindoo goes about all eyes, and with 
 fingers supple as his conscience, robbing everybody by subtlety 
 as the Beloochee robs them by force. To him the conquest 
 must be as a feast and a blessing of grace. 
 
 " The Scindee, strong and handsome, is indolent from the 
 combined effect of heat and slavery ; but he has fine natural 
 qualities, and, his bondage being of recent date, he may be 
 reclaimed and fitted for independence— to him also the conquest 
 is a blessing, and it shall be my business to make it a feast. 
 
 " The Beloochee, though fierce and habituated to acquire 
 property by violence, is shrewd, and has a strong though 
 savage sense of dignity and honour according to the customs 
 of his race. A combination of coercion, of respectful treat- 
 ment, of generosity and temptation, may therefore bend him 
 to better habits, without breaking the chivalric spirit which 
 is now his best quality. He fought desperately for the 
 Ameers, because to fight and plunder was his vocation ; but 
 neither he, nor his particular chief, nor the Ameers, fought 
 from national feeling. The Beloochee warrior loves his race, 
 his tribe, not the general community, which he regards but 
 as a prey and a spoil. The chiefs allegiance to the sovereign, 
 being feudal, is slight, and more easily snapped, because the 
 Ameers, personally odious, are captives; a consideration of 
 weight in aU countries, but especially so in the East, where 
 the fealty is to the throne, not the person. 
 
 " Strongest of the influences which brought the warriors 
 to battle was their natural fierceness, excited by unbounded 
 confidence of success, and the hope of plundering an army 
 more affluent than that which had been despoiled the year 
 before in Afghanistan. But there was also latent fear. For, 
 conscious of their own ferocious design to massacre every 
 European in Scinde, they thought the English had discovered 
 the project — as indeed they had — and meant to revenge it 
 in kind. With men of this temper a change of dynasty will 
 be Httle regarded if their own dignities and possessions are 
 
VII.] THE SETTLEMENT OF SCINDE. 245 
 
 respected, and, as it is a desire to obtain property, and not any 
 abstract love of glory wMcli impels them to war, their contempt 
 for industry may be abated by the attraction of honest gains — 
 when debarred of profit by violence they will seek it in com- 
 merce and agriculture, if openings are furnished to them. 
 
 " To meet the requirements of these different races in the 
 present circumstances, my policy must be, while fastening on 
 the country a strong military gripe, to apply all softening 
 and healing measures to the vanquished race, all protective 
 and encouraging measures to the liberated popidations — to 
 make strong even-handed justice be universally felt — to draw 
 forth the abundant natural resources of the country, and 
 repair the terrible evils of the Ameers' misgovernment." 
 
 '^ As far as the thing was possible he availed himself of 
 the framework of government that existed under the 
 Ameers. " Make no avoidable change in the ancient laws 
 and customs " — he said to his subordinates — " the conquest 
 of a country is sufficient convulsion for the people without 
 abrupt innovations in their habits and social life.'' 
 
 Immediately below himself came the Secretary to the 
 Government, Captain Brown, a young officer who had a 
 considerable acquaintance with the country, having been 
 attached to the political agency under Outram. To him 
 were referred all matters relative to taxes and customs for 
 examination and report in the first instance. The whole 
 country was divided into the three districts of Sukkur, 
 Hyderabad, and Kurachee, at each of which was a chief 
 collector, with three sub-collectors and their stafis. The 
 chief collectors sent a monthly statement of receipts and 
 expenditure to the Secretary, who reported on them to the 
 Governor, without whose authority no expense could be 
 incurred. At the end of each month a report was made to 
 the Governor-General ; stating the disbursements in gross, 
 the receipts, the balance, the average price of labour, and 
 cost of food for five persons, with explanatory notes. Ap- 
 
246 SIR CHARLES NAPIER. [chap. 
 
 pended was a memorandum upon the extent of country 
 newly irrigated, the length' of roads made, the progress of 
 public works, and the height of the waters of the Indus. 
 
 Below these English officials the Governor adapted to 
 his schemes the official system and personnel which had 
 existed under the Ameers. He found the land divided into 
 districts of varied extent, called kardarats, over each of 
 which was a kardar or headman. The kardars had theo- 
 retically power to decide small causes, and punish and fine 
 to a small extent ; they were also the collectors of the land 
 revenue and customs. In both these capacities they had 
 been guilty of the grossest oppression. Their powers as 
 magistrates they had extended to the infliction of death 
 and torture, while as collectors they had been invariably 
 harsh and extortionate. But Sir Charles Napier recalled the 
 saying of the Duke of Wellington, that one of the greatest 
 dangers from every new acquisition of territory in India 
 was " the throwing out of employment and of means of 
 subsistence all who had previously managed the revenue, 
 commanded or served in the armies, or plundered the 
 country.'' So he boldly confirmed them in their office of 
 revenue collectors, while depriving them of their judicial 
 functions, and in order to prevent extortion for their own 
 advantage he gave them large fixed salaries, and attached 
 them to the coUectorates with a warning that they only 
 held office during good behaviour. If the villagers brought 
 a just complaint against their kardar, he was removed and 
 punished. It was not to be expected that such a system 
 would move smoothly at the outset. The kardars would 
 not all at once believe that a Government which received its 
 proper revenue would trouble itself to inquire too carefully 
 how it was raised ; while the villagers were slow to credit 
 the glad news that the time had come when the complaint of 
 the poor man against his powerful oppressor would be heard 
 
VII.] THE SETTLEMENT OF SCINDE. 247 
 
 and treated with impartial justice. Many severe examples 
 had to be made, but in the end the system triumphed, and 
 proved, as it was designed to be, a most important contribution 
 to the nourishment of native public spirit and self-respect. 
 The judicial system was attached to the coUectorates, 
 the collector being the superior magistrate, and the sub- 
 collectors and officers commanding certain stations having 
 an inferior jurisdiction. The military magistrate made a 
 preliminary investigation, having native assistance in ascer- 
 taining the Mahometan law and local customs, but decid- 
 ing, where he had power to do so, according to his own 
 judgment. When the property in litigation exceeded 25 
 rupees the evidence was to be recorded in Persian. Every 
 military magistrate was bound to report once a month to 
 the collector all cases decided by him; and no suits involving 
 the right of property in land could be decided by any save 
 chief collectors or their immediate assistants. 
 
 " In addition; there are for civil cases what are termed pun- 
 chayets " — Napier to Sir J. Hohhouse — "I have made a slight 
 change in these : formerly they had no remuneration ; but I give 
 them an allowance, just sufficient to cover their loss of time. 
 They are something like our juries ; perhaps courts of arbitra- 
 tion would be a better appellation. Hitherto I have confined 
 their functions to civil cases, reserving the trials of all crimi- 
 nal cases for Englishmen; but my wish is to enlarge the 
 operations of these tribunals, which, under another name, I 
 found existing in Greece, and very useful. The subject de- 
 mands much consideration, as a cautious mode of gradually 
 inducing the people to take part in the government of their 
 own country ; but it is very possible the directors do not think 
 that so advisable and wise as it appears to me." 
 
 In the criminal jurisdiction a number of specified minor 
 offences could be summarily dealt with by the assistant 
 magistrates. When there was no appeal the maximum of 
 punishment was six months' imprisonment, or three months 
 
248 S/J! CHARLES NAPIER. [chap. 
 
 ■with hard labour; twenty-four lashes, or a fine of 100 
 rupees ; but only one of these penalties could be inflicted 
 for a single ofience. 
 
 "Those crimes which are of a deeper dye," — Napier to 
 Hohhouse — " such as murder, robbery with violence, etc., are 
 first examined by the magistrates ; and the preliminary depo- 
 sitions on oath are sent to the Judge-Advocate-General. He 
 submits them to the Governor, who orders thereupon, if he 
 judges it fitting, a trial by a military commission consisting 
 of a field-officer and two captains ; or, if officers are scarce, a 
 subaltern of not less than seven years' service and a deputy 
 , judge-advocate conduct the form of proceeding, but without 
 a voice as to finding or sentence. The minutes of trial go to 
 the Judge-Advocate-General, who makes a short report upon 
 the sentence, and submits the whole to the Governor. If the 
 Court, the Judge-Advocate-General, and the Governor all 
 concur, the last confirms the sentence and orders execution. 
 If the Court and Judge- Advocate-General differ, the Governor's 
 opinion decides. Under this system justice, as quick as I can 
 ensure it, though not so quick as I wish, is administered, and 
 the prisoners have, in fact, the opinion of three courts : (1) 
 the Commission ; (2) the Judge-Advocate ; (3) the Governor. 
 I read all the trials with great attention, frequently twice or 
 thrice over, especially when the sentence is capital ; and never 
 order execution till I have given at least two, often several 
 days' consideration to the matter." 
 
 Murder was rife until it was discovered that the Gene- 
 ral was resolute to hang all murderers. On one occasion a 
 chief asked for pardon for a retainer who was sentenced 
 for wife-murder. " No ; I will hang him ! " " What ! you 
 will hang a man for only killing his wife 1 " " Yes ; she 
 had done no wrong ." " Wrong ! No ! but he was angry, 
 why should he not kill her ? " " Well, I am angry, why 
 should I not kill him ? " Very similar was the argument 
 by which he suppressed the practice of suttee, which hap- 
 pily was not common in Scinde. When he made known 
 
VII.] THE SETTLEMENT OF SCINDE. 249 
 
 his intention of suppressing it, the priests came to him to 
 protest on the ground that all nations had customs which 
 should be respected, and suttee was a very sacred one. 
 Napier, affecting to be struck by the argument, replied : 
 "Be it so. This burning of widows is your custom ; pre- 
 pare the funeral pile. But my nation has also a custom. 
 When men burn women alive we hang them, and confiscate 
 all their property. My carpenters shall therefore erect 
 gibbets on which to hang all concerned when the widow is 
 consumed. Let us all act according to national customs." 
 
 So much of the work of pacification and settlement as 
 has been described above was conceived and put into opera- 
 tion in the midst of the military movements against Shere 
 Mohammed. " The last alone," he says, " are enough to 
 occupy one mind, and but for young M'Murdo I should 
 hardly get on. I am gradually finding out fine fellows, but 
 there are no great number to select from ; I am a stranger 
 to many, and those I am most acquainted with have duties 
 already. It is a fine field to work in, but I am too old, 
 and the climate is not invigorating." By the 1st of June 
 he was seriously ill with fever and dysentery — so iU, in his 
 own words, " as to think I was ; " and just as the campaign 
 ended he went down with sunstroke. Of the forty-four 
 Bien struck by the sun that day he alone survived. He was 
 carried to Hyderabad, yet so unquenchable was his spirit, that 
 in three days he was writing long despatches to the Gover- 
 nor-General, instructing his own subordinates in the civil 
 government, and working off the arrears of a large corre- 
 spondence ! As the heat increased he felt his strength gradu- 
 ally failing, but there was no abatement in work, and even 
 the Journal is as copious as ever. On 30th July he writes : — 
 
 " I am very weak, and my legs have fallen away, yet they 
 swell at night, and with a tired feeling hardly bearable, 
 though keeping to my room all day. I have been overworked, 
 
2S0 Sm CHARLES NAPIER. [chap. 
 
 body and mind, under this sun ; I am sinking. However, I 
 have now quieted all Scinde, despite of Outram's predictions 
 of war for ten years. Four months have sufficed for tranquillity. 
 Last week I ordered eighty police, Scindees, to march a man 
 from Kurachee to Tattah, 100 miles, and hang him ; and it 
 was done on the right bank of the Indus, amongst all the 
 mountain tribes, without disturbance ! We shall have peace. 
 
 " All my troops are now in cantonments, and I am relieved 
 from much labour. My staff also is now excellent : my 
 nephew William, M'Murdo, Green, Drs. Grey and Gibbon, 
 and last Macpherson, who diversifies my letter-books thus — 
 having to copy 'between Scylla and Charybdis,' he wrote 
 ' between scythes and carabines :' quite as good. Then Brown, 
 Kathborne, Pope, Blenkins, and young Nixon, are all excellent : 
 the four first rare fellows indeed in their departments ! Mean- 
 while my brothers' and sisters' affection to me is great, their 
 letters are dearer to my heart than all the honours Her 
 Majesty can give, for which I care not. It is curious that 
 William sent me his speculations, and everything he proposed 
 was done before his letters arrived. What a General England 
 lost by not employing my father ! I am not bad. I have by 
 long experience and some study made myself ' un petit general,' 
 as Napoleon would call me ; that is to say, a third-rate chap, 
 like Blucher and Marmont and others ; but not a first-rate 
 like Napoleon, Wellington, Moore, and perhaps Soult. I 
 may indeed do amongst some of our Indian Generals, such as 
 
 , with his nose full of grog, and heels full of Highland 
 
 reels, but that is the length of my tether. 
 
 " I am, however, so done up that to get through another 
 campaign would be impossible : to mount my horse even is 
 an exertion. I who, ten years ago, did not know what 
 fatigue was, and even at Poona knocked off 54 miles in the 
 heat, am now distressed by 4 miles ! Well, a man must 
 die somewhere and some time, and I am ready. Where my 
 services are wanted, there they must be given, and assuredly 
 they are wanted here : live or die, here I must remain till a 
 successor arrives. He should come soon though, for more 
 fighting is not in me, this last illness has floored me, and 
 
vil.] THE SETTLEMENT OF SCINDE. 251 
 
 even my mind has lost energy ; yet it is good to die in har- 
 ness. To see my brothers and sisters once more, and Kennedy, 
 is my wish but not my expectation, and I fear to tell them how 
 ill I am. Prize money before going I hope for, to leave to 
 my wife and children, and to my nieces ; as to myself, money 
 was never cared for by me except for those I love." 
 
 Happily the next few days brought cooler weather, 
 arrears of official correspondence were worked through, 
 and the consciousness of the rapid and satisfactory progress 
 of his administrative measures infused a certain amount of 
 vitality into his worn-out frame. Some extracts from a 
 voluminous epistle to Sir W. Napier, covering the whole 
 ground of Scinde affairs, will give some idea of his energy 
 and versatility. The passages referring to the structure of 
 his civil government are omitted. 
 
 " My thought is to tell Lord Ellenborough he must find 
 another Governor, yet I feel the cool weather already favour- 
 , able ; if it proves so, no flinching in spite of doctors ; they 
 / / want me to go at once, but I am not so easily beaten as they 
 suppose, and absolute necessity only shall make me abandon 
 Lord E. To go just as these Beloochee chaps have knocked 
 under might make them rise again, and a new coachman 
 would have his horses off before he could gather up the reins. 
 If we did not carry matters here with a high hand, John 
 Company would find some of his allies in Hindostan very 
 restive ; we must be everywhere dictators. The Afghan work 
 is not over. Everywhere but in Scinde we are considered 
 beaten cocks, who left Cabul because we could not stay." 
 
 After explaining his treatment of the Belooch chieftains, 
 he continues : — 
 
 " This is a wonderful land unlocked to civihsation, before 
 unknown, but teeming with resources ; and when we establish 
 barracks and good houses the climate will be healthy ; now 
 we have not proper protection. As to carpenters, smiths, 
 etc., there are none ; the Ameers drove them away. When 
 any one worked, the Ameers took half his earnings, and out 
 
252 SIR CHARLES NAPIER. [chap. 
 
 of the other half he had to give a moiety to the tax-gatherer 
 as a present, so all left the land. None but Hindoos could 
 earn bread; but when any of them were too rich to hide 
 their prosperity the Ameers used gentle persuasion, according 
 to the value the man put on his nose or ears and other parts, 
 which he had to bid for with his own money ! The progress 
 of improvement is slow everywhere, but in this exhausting 
 climate almost hopeless. A man who can live on a handful 
 of grain, and will not work while he can live without doing 
 so, is a hard fellow to deal with. An increased population 
 will increase the price of food, and give a stimulus to exertion ; 
 it is in them, and so far as the Scindians were concerned the 
 Ameers took it out of them. The Beloochee struts with 
 sword and shield ; the Scindian sleeps till kicked ; the Hindoo 
 goes about all eyes, and fingers as supple as his conscience, 
 robbing everybody : to him the English are as a feast. 
 Since we came the Hindoos have grown fat, swelling visibly, 
 like the ladies at the teetotal drinkings, and as we do not 
 interfere with their projections are happy beyond measure. 
 
 "A deputation of these Banians tried to turn me to 
 account. They claimed from me a debt, of God knows how 
 many rupees, due by the Ameers ; I had, they said, taken all 
 their treasure and ought to pay their debts. ' Your claim,' 
 said I, ' was no doubt just on the Ameers ; but I never heard 
 of people fighting to pay other men's debts, and cannot 
 possibly set such an example.' ' But then we shall starve and 
 die.' 'Just what is wanted, for I am making a beautiful 
 burying-ground and you shall be buried there gratis. Set 
 your hearts at rest.' This joke settled the business. The 
 whole treasury would not cover such debts. I collect no 
 taxes due previous to 17th February, and will pay no debts 
 previous to that period. This is certainly a little despotic, 
 but my conscience is quite easy; these money-lenders are 
 only unhanged rascals, and the whole story is generally be- 
 lieved to be a lie. 
 
 " I have no time to study antiquities, but strongly suspect, 
 from the formation of ground, that Hyderabad is the site of 
 the ancient Patala. If a little leisure comes I wiU read what 
 
VII.] THE SETTLEMENT OF SCINDE. 253 
 
 the wise say : that is, if good books can be got, but they are 
 seldom worth reading. The real study is the ground. Look 
 at the grand features which a thousand years cannot change, 
 not at small matters which a dozen years would alter. I 
 observe that Hyderabad is built on a mass of rocks, which, 
 with some high ground near Meeanee, must always have split 
 the river and formed the basin of the Delta. Burnes, Del 
 Hoste, and Wilson, make conjectures upon ruins, and on 
 channels through a flat alluvial soil, every part of which 
 changes annually. From a boat I have seen 20 acres go 
 under the river in an hour's time ! But Sehwan and Hyder- 
 abad are fixtures, and if the river split at the last, as it must 
 because of the rocks, it would run one branch down at the 
 foot of the hills to Kurachee; the other would frisk at 
 pleasure through the flat land to the East, changing its 
 channels a thousand times since Alexander's day. Now we 
 trace Alexander below Alore, and evidently at Roree ; and 
 even below Sehwan, and near Hyderabad, he must have been. 
 At the time he was here we must suppose the Fullaillee was, 
 as it is now, a great river, and my intent is to trace its course, 
 of which we know nothing ; to examine also the point above 
 Meeanee where it branches oflf; and I think ere the cold 
 season passes, to form a good guess where Patala stood, taking 
 rocks as my guides. 
 
 " Mismanaging the waters is one cause of poverty. The 
 Persian wheel is their great resource, but being expensive 
 and a fixture, does not do for the poor. Eathborne was 
 going to send for a newly-invented hydraulic machine ; but 
 it struck me that the Archimedean screw is the thing, and I 
 am trying to make them of pottery, in which the Scindians 
 are very expert. It can be carried by a man and laid down 
 where necessary, and thus little rills, so much wanted, can 
 be spread. When going to Emaum Ghur we crossed a fine 
 ridge of rich hills in the desert, with wood and control of the 
 Narra river, on the west bank, where it has water. Lord E. 
 has, at my request, given a corps of engineers to survey this 
 line ; and my hope is, if I remain, to make this dry bed a 
 canal full of water without injury to the Indus. Then for a 
 
254 S//? CHARLES NAPIER. [chap. 
 
 desperate fight with the desert ; for I am sure, except where 
 the great sand-track rises, which no mortal can deal with, a 
 great strip of what is now desert may be made like Kent. 
 I shall never see the result, but if it is shown that this fertile 
 land, 10 or 12 miles broad and 400 or 500 miles long, can 
 be cultivated ; that it is rich and has healthy hiUs for retreat 
 in the heat; I shall do much for the people of this grand 
 country, to which I have done no injury, no wrong. 
 
 " The frontier is not yet settled, the heat will not let me 
 go there at once in my weak state ; but the moment it abates 
 I will examine the range of hills running from Soonomeeanee 
 to Shikarpoor. That will be a jo^', for I must take a strong 
 escort, as all on that side are wild Beloochees, quite up to 
 'taking a dirty advantage.' Meanwhile I am forming a 
 fighting camel corps, and I have long since proposed to form 
 the army baggage also into a regular corps, able to manoeuvre 
 as well as the army, and if necessary defend itself. At 
 Meeanee the camels were made to squat down in a circle 
 with their heads inwards, having the men between their 
 necks ; it was a living redoubt, impenetrable for cavalry. 
 My arrangements for the baggage corps are very minute and 
 require time, but my fighting corps wiU soon be formed." 
 
 It is a remarkable proof of Napier's fertility and fresh- 
 ness of mind, that at the age of sixty, when most men 
 have stiffened in military and all other notions, with only 
 a short experience of Indian warfare, and with such a 
 burden of military and civil business laid upon him, he 
 should have conceived and carried into effect two such 
 valuable ideas as those of the fighting and baggage camel 
 corps. It was a curious coincidence that the letters of 
 Napier asking leave to form a camel corps and of Ellen- 
 borough suggesting that he should do so, crossed one 
 another. Both had it probably in their minds to imitate 
 Napoleon's dromedary corps in Egypt ; but the organisation 
 of the Scinde camel corps was entirely Napier's own.'^ The 
 
 ' Napier has had long to wait for a public recognition of the value 
 
VII.] THE SETTLEMENT OF SCINDE. 255 
 
 following description of the fighting camel corps is taken 
 from a memorandum by General Sir M. M'Murdo, published 
 in the Fall Mall Gazette, 18th June 1884 :— 
 
 "The unit composed of a camel and his two riders is 
 arranged thus : a double-seated saddle-frame of light wood- 
 work rests upon a wadded leather pad, and is held in its 
 place by the hump. The sirwan or camel-driver occupies the 
 front seat, his arm being a carbine ; the hind rider is the 
 infantry soldier, armed with rifle and bayonet. The seat of 
 
 of this invention. If its organisation had not been first interfered 
 with and then destroyed altogether by the Indian Government, the 
 late history of England in the Soudan might have been very different. 
 To the Seinde camel corps the march from Suakim to Berber after 
 General Graham's victories would have been a simple affair. Since 
 then Lord Wolseley has recognised its value, though he has departed 
 from Sir Charles Napier's plan in some important respects. The Seinde 
 camel corps was composed entirely of infantry soldiers ; in Egypt, two- 
 thirds were cavalry. Another variation, the reason for which is hard 
 to conceive, consists in the selection of two-thirds of the force from 
 heavy regiments — the Guards and heavy cavalry. The Seinde camel 
 corps could never have ridden 70 miles in one night, seized a robber 
 chief in bed and surrounded by his tribe, and have been back again 
 with their prisoner by the following evening, if the men had not been 
 picked for their light wiry figures. But the most important variation 
 lay in putting only one man on the camel instead of two. The essence 
 of Napier's organisation was that every camel should carry a driver 
 and a fighter ; that the driver should be armed in order to defend the 
 camels when the fighters were detached, but that his primary duty 
 was to manage his camel in the field or in camp. This division of 
 labour is essential for two reasons. A single man on a camel, if 
 attacked, can manage neither his beast nor his arms. Again, camels 
 have a strangely delicate constitution, requiring the most constant and 
 careful attention. This the British soldier has not time or knowledge 
 to give. He doesn't know that his camel feels a sore back more than 
 a horse does, or that if it once gets ill it never recovers. Nor has 
 he time, at the end of a long march, to let it browse in its own way 
 off the desert shrubs, which are almost its natural food. And the 
 result wiU always be, as it was in the case of the Heavy Brigade on 
 the NEe, that the poor camels die by scores or by hundreds, leaving 
 their riders to find some other carriage, or walk home as they can. 
 
256 SIR CHARLES NAPIER. [chap. 
 
 the saddle is arranged witi a small camel-hair saddle-bag 
 (procurable everywhere in Eastern countries) for carrying 
 food, and over it is laid the rider's quilt or blanket. The 
 greatcoats when not worn were, I think, laid across the 
 hump. Then a flat leathern water-bottle is hooked to the hind 
 part of the saddle, while the ' massallah ' (balls of pounded 
 spice, etc.), by which the camel is sustained on long 'daurs' 
 (forays) or journeys, is carried in the same manner in front. 
 The pace is an easy shuffle, not at all tiring to the rider. 
 
 " The method of fighting is very simple. When the enemy 
 is found, the commander selects the ground where the camels 
 are to remain with the reserve during the action, sheltered 
 from fire, yet chosen with a view to defence, and if in the 
 vicinity of water, so as to command it. The corps then forms 
 a square from column, or, if more convenient, from column of 
 route, the camels facing outwards in single rank. The order 
 is then given to dismount, when the camels sit down, and 
 the drivers secure the thong of the nose-stud round the camel's 
 knee, so that the animal cannot rise. The infantry soldiers, 
 having in the meantime dismounted, form in quarter column 
 of companies on their coverers within the square, vhen the 
 commander makes his dispositions for fighting. Two or three 
 of the camels are then made to rise to create an interval for the 
 companies to pass out, when the living fort is reformed, the sir- 
 wans taking post behind their respective camels, with carbines 
 unslung. No cavalry will charge such an obstacle. Horses 
 recoil from seated camels. It is on record that in the early 
 part of this century our cavalry, when in pursuit of a band of 
 marauding Jutts, were repulsed on the Eunn of Cutch in 
 their attack on this formation. It should be borne in mind 
 that neither baggage nor commissariat supplies accompanies 
 a camel corps on its ' daur.' The principle of the corps is to 
 cast itself loose and act on its own resources ; and if the 
 expedition should extend beyond ordinary limits — say 300 
 miles — or over three days, special arrangements must be 
 planned for feeding both men and camels." 
 
 The Scinde camel corps was capable of marching 80 or 
 
Til.] THE SETTLEMENT OF SCINDE. 257 
 
 90 miles without a halt. It was placed under the command 
 of Fitzgerald, a young man of heroic strength and daring, 
 who soon became the terror of the robber tribes. '^ The 
 baggage corps was only sanctioned by Government after two 
 years of earnest solicitation, and will be noticed later on. 
 
 By the middle of August the troubles which were 
 naturally to be expected from the continuation of the 
 Ameers' kardars in office began to be felt, but the Journal 
 shows in what spirit they were met. 
 
 " Eoberts has come from the Delta, and brought up two 
 scoundrel kardars who have been riding roughshod over the 
 ryots. I will make such an example as shall show the poor 
 people my resolution to protect them. Yes ! I will make 
 this land happy if life is left me for a year ; nay, if only for 
 sis months they shall be sorry to lose the Bahadoor Jung 
 (Lord of war). I shall then have no more Beloochees to kill. 
 Battle ! Victory ! O spirit-stirring words in the bosom of 
 society ! but to me, O God ! how my heart rejects them. 
 That dreadful work of blood, sickening even to look on : not 
 one feeling of joy or exultation entered my head at Meeanee 
 or Dubba ; all was agony, I can use no better word. I was 
 glad we won, becaiise better it was to have Beloochees slain 
 than Englishmen, and I well knew not one of us would be 
 spared if they succeeded : to win was my work for the day, 
 and the least bloody thing to be done. But with it came 
 anxiety, pain of heart, disgust, and a longing never to have 
 quitted Celbridge, to have passed my life in the ' round field ' 
 and the ' devil's acre,' and under the dear yew trees on the 
 terrace among the sparrows : these were the feelings which 
 flushed in my head after the battles. Well, we are born for 
 war in this good world, and will make it while men have 
 
 ^ His fame as a daring and skilful soldier was increased by his 
 extraordinary feats as a sportsman. He killed fifty-three tigers in one 
 year at Dera Ismail Khan, and thus cleared the jungle for his camels 
 to browse in. The pulpit in St. Paul's Cathedral was erected to his 
 memory. 
 
 S 
 
2S8 SIR CHARLES NAPIER. [chap. 
 
 teeth, and women have tongues. But away with these feel- 
 ings ! Let me go to work, let me sink in harness, if so God 
 pleases ; he who flinches from work, in battle or out of it, is 
 a coward. 
 
 " There is one great secret in the art of governing long 
 since learned by me. People think, and justly sometimes, 
 that to execute the law is the great thing : this they fancy 
 to be justice ! Cast away details, good man, and get a 
 general view; take what the people call justice, not what 
 the laws call justice, and execute that. Both legal and 
 popular justice have their evils, but assuredly the people's 
 justice is a thousand times nearer to God's justice. . . . 
 
 My good friend is full of protecting his kardars. They 
 
 were only getting what was really due to Government. Yes ! 
 such dues, so collected, would soon show us the road to 
 Hindostan out of Scinde, and cause half a dozen battles ; I 
 shall teach this sort of chaps, these kardars, to find a way 
 of doing their duty without unpopularity ; there is no smoke 
 without fire; justice must go with the people, not against 
 the people ; that is the way to govern nations, and not by 
 square and compass." 
 
 In the beginning of September he was warned that he 
 must go to Kurachee and rest, if he wished to live. Eest 
 he would not, but he left Hyderabad and went down the 
 river on a steamer, where he " slept continuously for several 
 days." So refreshed was he by the voyage and change, 
 that in a fortnight he wrote to Lord Ellenborough : " I feel 
 again equal to my own work, which really overwhelmed me 
 in June, July, and August. I seemed to have lost all 
 power to labour from overpowering weakness ; I hope now 
 to earn my pay more honestly, for I assure you I have not 
 been satisfied with myself for the last three months. Had I 
 not seen the youngest and most powerful men equally crushed, 
 I should have thought my constitution broken, and that duty 
 to the public and your lordship demanded my resignation." 
 
 His energies were at once devoted to laying the founda- 
 
VII.] THE SETTLEMENT OF SCINDE. 259 
 
 tions of the commercial greatness of Kurachee. Much 
 had been already done in the way of public works while 
 the Government was at Hyderabad. He had paid attention 
 at once to what was always uppermost in his mind — the 
 welfare of the private soldier. Spacious barracks were 
 built at Hyderabad, with rooms 25 feet in height, double 
 roofs and upper ventilation. At Kurachee the Indian 
 Government had already begun barracks on the old inferior 
 models ; these however were improved by the addition of 
 verandahs, and in time barracks for the horse artillery 
 were added, which were long a pattern of excellence. He 
 had also, while at Hyderabad, repaired the fortress, strength- 
 ened his own entrenched camp, organised a station for river- 
 steamers, and tried the experiment of controlling the ravages 
 of the Indus by fixing long and heavy stakes backed with 
 brushwood along the banks. The fortress of Aliar-ka- 
 Tanda had been restored, and communication with Meer- 
 poor secured by throwing bridges over the greater nullahs 
 that intersected the country. Higher up the river docks 
 and a commercial d&pU were projected at Sukkur; and 
 preparations were made for a causeway to connect Sukkur 
 and Shikarpoor, and for a dike to check the inundations 
 which rendered the lands between those places so malarious. 
 But the centre of his hopes and dreams was Kurachee. 
 Writing to Sir George Arthur, then Governor of Bombay, 
 he says, " You know Kurachee was my hobby long before 
 I came to Scinde, and now that I know the place I am 
 more sanguine than ever. I am going to put in force the 
 Bombay custom-house regulations, for our intercourse will 
 be so intimate, that the same rules should prevail at both 
 to facilitate mercantile afifairs. . . . Suez, Bombay, and 
 Kurachee will hit Calcutta hard before twenty years pass ; 
 but Bombay will beat Kurachee, and be the Liverpool, if 
 not the London of India." 
 
26o SIR CHARLES NAPIER. [chap. 
 
 Considering the natural obstacles to be overcome these 
 were bold visions. The neighbourhood of Kurachee was 
 hilly, but the seashore was so flat and the harbour so 
 shallow that it was always difficult, and during the mon- 
 soons impossible, for vessels to make the port. To remedy 
 these evils a lighthouse was erected and a pier commenced, 
 which was designed to run out two miles into the sea. 
 "The mole which I have not only proposed but begun, 
 confident that Lord E. will sanction it, will enable troops, 
 stores, and merchandise to land with perfect ease, in- 
 dependent of tides; and my hopes are that we shall be 
 able to communicate with Bombay all the year round. 
 This is too nautical a question for me to speak of, but I 
 shall examine the bar well, and find out if we cannot cut 
 it away ; such things have been done I suppose, and if not, 
 it is a reason the more for trying now.'' The next difficulty 
 was that, though the future of Kurachee depended on its 
 connection with the Indus, it was not built on any of its 
 mouths. There were, however, the remains of an ancient 
 watercourse called the Ghara Canal, which was at once 
 taken in hand, repaired, and continued untU it joined the 
 port and the river. Besides the works designed to protect 
 and fortify the city, swimming baths were built for the 
 troops ; and under the direction of Major Blenkins a tract 
 of ground was appropriated as a Government garden. 
 
 " Major Blenkins, my commissary, is one of those Eobin- 
 son Crusoe fellows gifted with the power of turning a wilder- 
 ness into a paradise. His operations are magical. He arrived 
 at Hyderabad after the battle of Meeanee, and before Dubba 
 was fought his house was built, and all domestic animals that 
 ever entered Noah's ark were in his compound. In two 
 months more he had a magnificent garden which supplied the 
 whole army with vegetables. When I reached Kurachee I 
 found all my orders for forming and improving a garden 
 
VII.] THE SETTLEMENT OF SCINDE. 261 
 
 there had been neglected, though the means were at hand. 
 I brought Blenkins down from Hyderabad. In one month 
 his house was built, and a piece of land, before fiUed with 
 weeds, though called the ' Government garden,' was by him 
 instantly filled with camp-foUowers at work. The Govern- 
 ment of Bombay was persuaded to allow 60 rupees a month, 
 and the garden now (1845) pays 800 rupees a month, furnish- 
 ing quantities of every kind of vegetable : for one rupee you 
 may buy eighteen pounds weight of esculents ! " 
 
 From this garden the soldiers were supplied without 
 charge, and scurvy, which had been a terrible scourge, 
 rapidly disappeared. To water the garden and the town 
 pipes were to be laid down from a small river about 12 
 miles distant, and, after feeding gardens,' fountains, and 
 private houses, were to be carried out to the end of the 
 pier to save vessels the trouble and expense of sending to 
 shore for their water supply. But this useful scheme, 
 though the estiinated cost was only £1000 a mile, could 
 never obtain the sanction of the Supreme Government. 
 Though in his enfeebled state, and with the various demands 
 upon his time and strength, Napier could not bestow on 
 these works the time and attention he had given in Ceph- 
 alonia, still his immense knowledge of detail enabled him 
 constantly to make the most valuable suggestions to his 
 engineers, and helped to keep them working at the full 
 stretch of their powers towards the development of the 
 natural resources of the country, to which he at all times 
 and places attached the very highest importance. " Con- 
 trol the robbers," he says, "control the waters; open the 
 communications, and the natural riches of the land and the 
 variety of produce will do all the rest." 
 
 Things did not move nearly fast enough to please him. 
 The Scindian was a lazy workman. One can imagine the 
 governor's frenzied feelings at witnessing the following 
 
262 S/H CHARLES NAPIER. [chap. 
 
 sight: "When sick, and sitting in my room at Hydera- 
 bad, my attention was fixed on some workmen employed 
 to draw bricks up a wall a little more than 20 feet high. 
 Four men loaded little baskets, into which they put eight 
 bricks and drew up one basket, mind ! one basket in five 
 minutes by my watch : thus four men took five minutes to 
 supply eight bricks to the workmen above, whose operations 
 were exactly conformable ! the idleness of both being dove- 
 tailed and nicely fitted with the putty of interesting con- 
 versation." To idleness was added scarcity of labour, for 
 the oppressive conduct of the Ameers had driven good 
 artisans from the country. To attract workmen, and from 
 a sense of justice to their class, Napier abolished the 
 " abominable old Indian system of regulating the price of 
 labour by a tariff; the market for labour was at once 
 thrown open, and wages rose from forced labour, nearly 
 unpaid, to 3d. or even 4d. a day. This met with opposi- 
 tion from the English, and, strange to say, I have hardly 
 been able to enforce this rule yet. A tarifi" on labour is 
 said to prevail in India at this moment; but this is not 
 known personally to me, and I can hardly beheve in such 
 foul injustice and tjrranny towards the labouring class.'' 
 
 Occasional growls broke from him at the slowness of 
 his engineers, but more often at the stinginess of the 
 Government in not allowing him a larger staff Sir George 
 Arthur was evidently exercised by his insatiable demands. 
 "Have you no conscience?" he had written to Napier, 
 who replies, " What a question to ask a Governor ! No, to 
 be sure I have not. Did you ever know of a Governor who 
 had ? He would, if discovered, be stuffed and sent to the 
 museum ! However, so far as I am personally concerned, 
 drying would be unnecessary; Scinde has done that. I 
 feel like a mummy mmnt, traveUing to see iihe difference 
 between posterity and the times of Sesostris. However, 
 
VII.] THE SETTLEMENT OF SCINDE. 263 
 
 whatever I am, 'no conscience about engineers' troubles 
 me." After two years' experience his judgment of his 
 engineers was not unfavourable. He complains of the 
 slow progress of works, but adds — 
 
 " Waddington would be a capital engineer for Methuselah ; 
 he is, however, a first-rate soldier, and few would suit me better 
 for a siege, being clever, resolute, and up to his work, which 
 he finally does beautifully ; so does Scott, who is a trump ; 
 he is a nephew of Sir Walter Scott. Indeed, when I come to 
 analyse, my remarks are not just : the laziness of their work- 
 men, not the engineers' slowness, should certainly be blamed. 
 Scott has no slowness ; Maxwell is all energy, and so is Peate ; 
 yet work goes on Kke a tortoise. Well, patience is the 
 remedy. I have lost Baker; he is very clever and very 
 active ; it is a great loss for Scinde.'' 
 
 Another " great loss for Scinde " may be said to have 
 occurred in the failure to secure the services as engineer of 
 Mr. G. T. Clark, so well known since to the industrial 
 world as the manager of the Dowlais Steel Works, and to 
 the learned for his original and masterly writings on 
 military architecture in the Middle Ages. Mr. Clark was 
 then staying at Government House, Bombay, whither he 
 had been led by his intimate friendship with the late Sir 
 Bartle Frere, then Secretary to the Governor. He has 
 kindly sent the present writer an account of the negotiation 
 for his services. 
 
 " My point of contact with Sir Charles Napier was narrow, 
 but on his part characteristic. The study of Sir Charles's 
 papers must, I feel sure, have made known to you that, 
 although circumstances forced upon him the conquest of 
 Scinde by the sword, what lay very near his heart was the 
 desire to exercise his great administrative talents in the civil 
 government of the province, and, as a corollary, in the 
 development of its natural resources and the native industry. 
 
264 SIR CHARLES NAPIER. [chap. 
 
 He thus hoped to raise the character of the people, and to 
 make the acquisition a strength instead of a weakness to our 
 Indian Empire. Good roads, a canal, the improvement of the 
 port of Kurachee, and the construction of a lighthouse^ there, 
 were contemplated as his first steps, and he wished to place 
 the construction of these works in the hands of some engineer, 
 not in the regular service of the East India Company, and 
 therefore not trammelled by the official delays of which Sir 
 Charles was by no means tolerant. During the year 1843 he 
 had urged this plan upon the Governments of India and 
 Bombay, and in consequence, Sir George Arthur and Mr. 
 Frere, then his private secretary, had named me to Sir Charles 
 as likely to suit him, and had ascertained from me that, under 
 certain conditions, I was both willing and anxious to be en- 
 gaged. While these negotiations were pending, I met one 
 day, at Government House, a captain in the Indian navy who 
 had just returned from Kurachee. ' Sir Charles,' said he, 
 ' has been talking to me about you, and asked me all sorts of 
 queer questions ; I ezpect he rather distrusted you as a friend 
 of the Governor's, and he remarked that you wrote from 
 Parell' (Government House). 'Does he wear varnished 
 boots % ' ' Upon this latter point,' said the captain, ' I was 
 able to satisfy him, for the last time I saw you, you were in 
 fisherman's boots, and up to the knees in mud, taking the 
 particulars of a salt-marsh.' ' That's the man I want,' said 
 Sir Charles. The result was a letter from Scinde, asking 
 my terms. I stipulated for the pay and allowances of 
 a lieutenant of Bengal Engineers, and to this Sir Charles 
 agreed, but said he must have the sanction of the Supreme 
 Government. This sanction Lord EUenborough refused as 
 irregular, and there, with a pleasant letter of regret from Sir 
 Charles, the matter ended. He took my stipulation as to 
 terms as reasonable. ' No man,' wrote he, ' not in the ser- 
 vice, is likely to prosper, because he can have no foundation 
 in case of iUness.' I regretted the result exceedingly, for my 
 tents were packed, horses ready, and instruments all in order, 
 and I had been much attracted both ty the energy and con- 
 sideration shown throughout by Sir Charles." 
 
VII.] TBE SETTLEMENT OF SCINDE. 265 
 
 The anxious question about " varnished boots " was very 
 characteristic. His hatred of any affectation that interfered 
 with honest hard work is illustrated by another story, which 
 also shows how he turned a violent temper to good account. 
 It is told in the words of General Sir M. M'Murdo ; Sir 
 Charles's tent at Hyderabad was the scene. 
 
 " The Bombay Government had intimated their intention 
 of sending some frigates to the mouths of the Indus to take 
 the wounded to Bombay. But as that coast was little known, 
 and much dreaded, it was desirable to have the boats, with 
 the wounded in them, ready to come out over the bar on a 
 given day. I had to calculate therefore the time required for 
 the voyage down the river, in addition to the arrangements 
 for getting them into the boats. My iirst step was an urgent 
 requisition on the Indus flotilla for the necessary number of 
 native boats to be collected and covered in with reeds. Now 
 the commandant of this flotiUa had just joined from some 
 smart appointment in Bombay, and seemed quite too big for 
 his boots ! No notice had been taken of my urgent demand 
 that I could discover, and I went and presented myself to the 
 great man on board his vessel, to ask what had been done in 
 the matter ; and, without rising from his chair, he said, ' Do 
 you suppose a man of my rank is to collect boats for you ? ' 
 ' Oh, I beg pardon ! ' I exclaimed, ' good-morning ! ' There- 
 upon I went to the General, and told him how matters stood. 
 ' Send for him at once ! ' So he shortly arrived in full naval 
 uniform amongst us ragged, unshaven chaps, and we 'run 
 him in ' to the General, who had been writing in his shirt 
 and trousers, but for the occasion threw on his imiform coat. 
 It did not require a dozen words to pass for him to twig the 
 man he had to deal with ; and he let out at him accordingly. 
 ' I have enough to do, sir, in establishing order and govern- 
 ment — oUed though the machinery may be by a competent 
 
 staff; but when clogged by a pebble like you, sir! ' or 
 
 something to that effect, for the words were lost in the 
 superior effect of the General's fist shaken in the direction of 
 the astonished officer. Glaring at the shiny-buttoned coat. 
 
z66 SIJi CHARLES NAPIER. [chap. 
 
 he shouted, ' When work has to be done, I like a man to take 
 off his coat to it ! ' And off went the General's own coat, 
 
 which he flung to the comer of the tent ! quietly got 
 
 to the other side of the table, in the belief, most likely, that 
 the General would assault him ! But the boats were collected, 
 I can tell you ! and in the early dawn I had them moored 
 from the hospitals, and I remember having my head and 
 shotdders under one of the awnings, arranging a poor fellow 
 on the straw, when I recognised the General's voice behind 
 me, 'Is a man of your rank to put wounded soldiers into 
 boats?' And when I scrambled out, the merry twinkle in 
 his eye told me that the scene in the tent of apparently 
 ungovernable rage was meant for the man he had to deal 
 with." 
 
 The works of Kurachee, which have been briefly 
 alluded to, could not be executed without considerable 
 expenditure, and many were the outcries at the Governor's 
 extravagance. 
 
 " How strangely people confuse things," he retorts ; 
 " scarcely can one , be met who discriminates between 
 economy and extravagance ; they won't do it ! People, 
 generally of good sense, cannot see that £100,000 may be 
 expended with a view to the most rigid economy, and be 
 the most economical thing ; while the not spending it would 
 be most extravagant and impoverishing to a country. This 
 mole will be, I am told, ruinous ; yet it will change Kurachee 
 from a mud-built hamlet to a large flourishing city, and save 
 money in other ways ! Three years ago they would not build 
 a storehouse here for the Commissariat, from economy ! I 
 have had an exact calculation made, and fifteen thousand 
 pounds, — I vrnie it, so none of your cock-up-nose look, with 
 'that is an error of figures, he means 1500 rupees,' — fifteen 
 thousand pounds sterling worth of costly stores have been 
 destroyed by exposure to weather, which would have been 
 saved by laying out £500 on a storehouse. This stupidity 
 runs through all our ' economy.' In India economy means 
 
VII.] THE SETTLEMENT OF SCINDE, 267 
 
 laying out as little for the country and for noble and useful 
 purposes as you can : and giving as large salaries as you can 
 possibly squeeze out of the public to individuals, adding large 
 ' establishments.' What is an establishment ? An immense 
 nimiber of half-caste and native clerks to do the work that 
 ought to be done by the head of the office." 
 
 Before the Governor's headquarters had been fixed at 
 Kurachee a month, Scinde was visited, simultaneously with 
 many other provinces, by a strange and unknown pestilence. 
 The mortality was small, but no one escaped the sickness, 
 which brought with it not only bodily prostration, but a 
 lassitude of mind that led in many cases to suicide. Euro- 
 peans and natives were struck down alike, the chief mor- 
 tality being among the latter. The army could not stir ; 
 public works and agriculture were at a standstill. 
 
 " To Sir G. Arthur, 29*A October. — ^We are in a fearful 
 way at Hyderabad, and worse at Sukkur. The sickness is, I 
 hear, the same all over India. We do not lose many lives, 
 but neither of those garrisons can relieve their guards ! A 
 thousand men are sick in the entrenched camp at Hyderabad, 
 and there are only native doctors ; I have sent them four, but 
 cannot spare one more. The 28th Regiment here cannot parade 
 more than forty-four men, and haK of those are convalescents ! 
 I trust a few weeks will improve us, or the whole force in 
 Scinde will be helpless. The country people are as Ul as we 
 are; no workman can be had. Can you send me medical 
 men 1 ours are all Ul ; Shikarpoor has not one, and a hundred 
 men are in hospital ; sixteen hundred are iU at Sukkur with 
 only two doctors ! Two thousand eight hundred are sick at 
 Hyderabad, and only two doctors able to work ! " 
 
 The sickness was confined to the banks of the river, 
 about 10 miles on each side of it. Napier had little doubt 
 that it was the result of the unusually high inundation of 
 the past spring ; but he also wrote strongly to Sir H. Gough 
 about the remedy as well as the cause. 
 
268 SIR CHARLES NAPIER. [chap. 
 
 " General Lumley's letter asks, what measures the medical 
 men recommend to prevent a recurrence. Nothing in the 
 power of Government can prevent it ; while the Indus over- 
 flows its banks and rain falls, malaria will prevail in Scinde.^ 
 Bat it may be diminished. By cultivation, which will sub- 
 stitute crops for decayed vegetable matter. By filling up 
 all hollows containing stagnant water. Where that cannot 
 be done without inconvenience to the inhabitants, by turning 
 the ponds into tanks with sides of masonry. By building 
 good barracks, especially for the Europeans. The stench of 
 a low bad barrack is in the morning horrible. No European 
 barracks should be less than 30 feet high; the number of 
 men should be painted on the doors, and officers in command 
 held responsible for this being observed. The heat of this 
 country is tremendous, and if men have not thick walls and 
 lofty rooms, sickness is inevitable. Such barracks are expen- 
 sive, no doubt; so are sick soldiers; so are dead soldiers. 
 But the difiference of these expenses is, that the first is once 
 and done with ; the second goes on increasing like compound 
 interest, and quickly outstrips the capital." 
 
 Internal prostration was not the only evU. While all 
 labour was suspended, while the army was in such a state 
 that, at last, there was no one to make out a report, and 
 the gates of Hyderabad were fastened because there was no 
 one to relieve guard, there seemed every probability that 
 external foes were gathering to the aid of the plague. 
 Gwalior was on the point of declaring war ; the Sikhs were 
 in arms, and, though in a state of complete anarchy, might 
 at any moment find a leader and pour across the Sutlej ; 
 while the air was thick with rumours of preparations by 
 the Afghans for a religious war. It was not surprising, 
 
 ' There was supposed to be some connection between the sickness 
 and the moon. Napier says, " It is strange, but true as gospel, that 
 at the changes of the moon down we all go in fever here ! The wise 
 men in England may laugh, but no doctor here daughs ; they pitch in 
 quinine at full and new moon." 
 
vii.] THE SETTLEMENT OF SCINDE. 269 
 
 therefore, that the hill tribes, too, should be, to use Napier's 
 words, "like banditti listening for the sound of carriage 
 wheels;" the Scindian Beloochees on the west side of the 
 river, "between a growl and a bite;" and "Ali Moorad 
 apparently turning traitor in the midst of the sickening 
 troops." In the midst of these troubles the General him- 
 self, only just recovering from his sunstroke, was struck by 
 the new disease ;' but while all around him struggled un- 
 availingly against the depression and weakness of mind 
 which were the peculiar effects of the disease, his spirit re- 
 mained erect and firm. Thinking that now was the time 
 to test the moral force that his victories and the benevolent 
 justice of his administration had given him, he assumed 
 the sternest and haughtiest tone, though with hardly an 
 escort to back up his menaces, towards Ali Moorad and the 
 wild chieftains on the west bank of the river, until the 
 abatement of the sickness in December speedily restored 
 him to the power of fulfilling his words. He was soon 
 happily assured that the mass of his subjects were with 
 him. In the Delta, which had been a nest of robbers, the 
 collector's escort were disabled by the sickness, but the 
 peasants voluntarily supplied him with a guard. Officers 
 travelled everywhere without protection, alone or in com- 
 pany. The Hindoo merchants supplied him readily with 
 information, and he was satisfied from every source that he 
 had no one to fear in Scinde except Ah Moorad and some 
 of the greater chiefs. His own force was strengthened by 
 the arrival at Sukkur of Sir Robert Sale, the noble defender 
 of Jelalabad, with the 13th Regiment. 
 
 Ali had put forward various claims in insolent language 
 while the sickness was at its worst. As soon, therefore, as 
 some guns had reached Sukkur, he received a menacing 
 reply that promptly brought him to his knees. 
 
 "You will be glad to hear," — to Richard Napier, — 
 
270 SIR CHARLES NAPIER. [chap. 
 
 " that Ali has been bullied by me. Sir Jasper Nichols was 
 here ■when my letter to Ali went, and he and the Bombay 
 folk all thought Ali would be furious and not bear it ; even 
 Sir Gr. Arthur thought so. I knew my man. Ali says I 
 am his 'fountain of joy;' that 'his back was bent with the 
 weight of my displeasure ; now his heart dances Hke sun- 
 beams on the waters of delight.' My displeasure would 
 have taken the shape of twelve bomb -shells, tumbling 
 every five minutes on his bent back, and perhaps prevent- 
 ing it ever becoming straight again !" 
 
 Having thus put an end to internal dangers, he felt 
 comparatively tranquil about those from without. The 
 troops were recovering their strength. Colonel Eoberts 
 had organised an irregular force in Cutch, with such good 
 effect that some of the predatory chiefs asked leave to settle 
 quietly in Scinde. Shikarpoor was reinforced, so as to be 
 strong enough to defy Afghans and hillmen together; armed 
 steamers patrolled the Indus, and Fitzgerald with his 
 camel-corps had pushed up the western bank to Larkhana. 
 
 So ended the year of conquest. The summary of its 
 events by Sir W. Napier shows that Sir Charles was not 
 mistaken in his prophecy at Chester that perhaps the years 
 he had yet to live would be the most eventful even of his 
 chequered life. 
 
 "He marched at the head of troops about 1000 miles, 
 more than 200 being in the desert. 
 
 " He won two great battles against 60,000 enemies, and 
 by his skilful combinations dispersed 12,000 more. 
 
 "He took four great fortresses, repaired three, and con- 
 structed one, and a large entrenched camp. 
 
 " He received the submission of and conciliated 400 chiefs, 
 some of whom could bring 20,000 men into the field. 
 
 " He arranged the military occupation of the country : no 
 slight matter in a country where there were few buildings, 
 and where a most pestiferous climate had to be encountered, 
 
VII.] THE SETTLEMENT OF SCINDE. 271 
 
 joined to the difficulty of ruling a conquered race and keeping 
 in awe innumerable hostile neighbouring tribes. 
 
 "He established a civil government in all its branches, 
 social, financial, and judicial, and organised a powerful effective 
 police, horse and foot, for the public security. 
 
 " He examined in person the principal mouths of the 
 Indus with a view to commerce, commenced several import- 
 ant public works, and planned others. And during the 
 execution of these things, though twice struck down by most 
 formidable diseases and reduced to the point of death, he 
 conscientiously read and reflected on every court-martial of 
 his military, and every serious criminal trial of his civil govern- 
 ment ; and, with a very extensive private correspondence, 
 conducted a public one which presents a mass of eight hundred 
 and fifty documents, many being long and profoundly reasoned 
 memoirs upon war, policy, and government, aU of them 
 original, pointed, and serious, displaying a mind that never 
 sank under labour.'' 
 
 The new year opened with a brighter prospect. Sir 
 Hugh Gough's victory at Maharajpoor had put an end to 
 the Grwalior war, and had made a general rising in the 
 north-west unlikely, though the state of the Punjab still 
 caused great uneasiness. The strength of the troops re- 
 vived, and Napier's confidence and military ardour grew 
 with it. His dreams sometimes went far beyond India. 
 "How easily, were I absolute, I could conquer all these 
 countries and make Kurachee the capital. With the 
 Bombay soldiers of Meeanee and Hyderabad I could walk 
 through all the lands. I would raise Belooch regiments, 
 pass the Bolan in a turban, and spread rumours of a dream 
 and the Prophet : pleasant would be the banks of the Hel- 
 mond to the Bombay troops, and to a host of Mahometans, 
 who would foUow any conqueror. I have them now as 
 enemies, and so must deal with them, but the Afghans 
 cannot, I am sure, come through the Bolan." 
 
272 SIJi CHARLES NAPIER. [ohap. 
 
 While he was thus scheming improvements, planning 
 defences, and writing memoirs and despatches, the Journal 
 and private correspondence seem to swell rather than 
 diminish. Besides his relatives and friends in England, 
 his wife and daughters were still at Bombay. His interest 
 in his children's education was as lively as ever, and, 
 so incredible was his industry that, during the whole year 
 of labour and anxiety that had parted them, he had never 
 ceased to receive by the mail proofs of their studies in 
 mathematics or other subjects, and to return them with 
 corrections, remarks, and a fresh programme. Many a 
 night he would deprive himself of his well-earned sleep to 
 write long letters to some young officer who was acting 
 foolishly or was in trouble, and whom he had no time to 
 talk to in the day, — letters full of noble views of duty and 
 fine religious feeling, expressed with a mixture of firmness 
 and tenderness such as a father would use to a misguided 
 son. Even private soldiers were amongst his correspond- 
 ents, and his way of addressing them helps to explain their 
 enthusiasm for him. Here is a good specimen. 
 
 " Peivate James Nbakey — I have your letter. You tell 
 me you give satisfaction to your officers, which is just what 
 you ought to do ; and I am very glad to hear it, because of 
 my regard for every one reared at Castletown ; for I was 
 reared there myself. However, as I and all belonging to me 
 have left that part of the country for more than twenty years, 
 I neither know who Mr. Tom Kelly is, nor who your father 
 is ; but I would go far any day in the year to serve a Cel- 
 bridge man ; or any man from the Barony of Salt, in which 
 Celbridge stands, — that is to say, if such a man behaves him- 
 self like a good soldier and not a drunken vagabond like 
 James J , whom you knew very well, if you are a Castle- 
 town man. Now, Mr. James Nearey, as I am sure you are 
 and must be a remarkably sober man, as I am myself, or I 
 should not have got on in the world so well as I have done : 
 
VII.] THE SETTLEMENT OF SCINDE. 273 
 
 I say, as you are a remarkably sober man, I desire you to 
 take this letter to your captain, and ask him to show it to 
 your lieutenant-colonel, and ask the lieutenant-colonel, with 
 my best compliments, to have you in his memory; and, if 
 you are a remarkably sober man, mind that, James Nearey, 
 a remarkably sober man, like I am, and in all ways fit to be 
 a lance-corporal, I will be obliged to him for promoting you 
 
 now and hereafter. But if you are like James J , then 
 
 I sincerely hope he will give you a double allowance of 
 punishment, as you well deserve for taking up my time, 
 which I am always ready to spare for a good soldier, but not 
 for a bad one. Now, if you behave well, this letter will give 
 you a fair start in life ; and, if you do behave well, I hope 
 soon to hear of your being a corporal. Mind what you are 
 about, and believe me your well-wisher, Charles Napier, 
 Major-General, and Governor of Scinde, because I have always 
 been a remarkably sober man." 
 
 At the end of March the Governor's firm attitude 
 during the late troubles, backed up by the wonderful 
 marches of Fitzgerald and his camel-corps, which was now 
 in full work on the right bank of the river, produced a 
 happy and unlooked-for result. The mountain chiefs 
 offered to submit in a body. Sir Charles Napier received 
 them at Kurachee. 
 
 " All the mountain chiefs have made salaam. One hun- 
 dred and fifteen arrived here two days ago. A dozen miles 
 off they halted with their armed followers and sent me word, 
 ' They were come.' 'Very welcome ! Make your salaam, but, 
 if you come with arms, woe betide you.' Down went the 
 arms. I received them haughtily, asking why they had hung 
 back so long. ' We were frightened, and dared not appear 
 in your presence.' ' Of what were you afraid V ' We do not 
 know. You are our king, we now lie at your feet and pray 
 for pardon.' 
 
 " 'Chiefs, have I done evil to any man except in battle?' 
 ' No ! You have been merciful to all, everybody says so.' 
 
 T 
 
274 SIR CHARLES NAPIER. [chap. 
 
 '"Why, then, were you afraid?' ' We do not know. Par- 
 don, and we will guard all our country from enemies.' 
 
 " ' I do not want you to guard anything : you saw my 
 camel-corps. What I want is that you should be good ser- 
 vants to the Queen, my mistress.' ' We wUL' ' Salaam, then, 
 to her picture;' they did so, and then I said, 'There is peace 
 between us. All Scinde belongs to my Queen : we are now 
 fellow-subjects, and I am here only to do justice. But mark ! 
 If, after this, any chief plunders, I will enter his country and 
 destroy his tribe. You all know the battles were won with 
 a few thousand men. Now we have here 15,000, and 
 100,000 more will come at my call : hence my threat is 
 not an idle one. I give now to each man his jaghire, and 
 all he had under the Ameers.' Then they cried out, ' You 
 are our king. Let it be so, we are your slaves.' 
 
 " Having thus assured them, I said, ' My soldiers shall be 
 shown to you in order of battle to honour you.' They did 
 not seem to like this ; few had ever seen Europeans before, 
 and seemingly they feared a massacre was designed; then- 
 terror was evident. Then 1 sought to reassure them, by 
 asking questions about the battles of some who had been 
 there and knew me. ' Why did you run away at Dubba when 
 the cavalry charged?' One quickly answered, 'Because we 
 were frightened ; and that is the reason why I was unwilling 
 to come before you now, for they say you like those best who 
 fought best, and don't like those who ran away.' The Moon- 
 shee said to another chief, ' You were in our rear at Meeanee 
 with 10,000 men.' 'No, only 8000,' he answered instantly. 
 He is a shrewd old fellow, and told me of all the tribes that 
 were then bearing down on us ; we should have had 80,000 
 within a few days. His account tallies exactly vrith my 
 knowledge, only he makes out that it would have taken six 
 days ; but the place he mentions as that where they heard of 
 the battle proves that they were much closer. Thus I amused 
 them for a good hour, laughing and joking about the battles ; 
 but there were three or four stern, unbending, savage-looking 
 ruffians, evidently ripe for mischief and only yielding to cir- 
 cumstances, and I resolved they should see our troops, 
 
VII.] THE SETTLEMENT OF SCINDE. 275 
 
 "They obeyed my invitation, despite of their fears, and 
 at four o'clock attended on horseback at my door. We rode 
 to the field with my escort, under Ali Bey, who watches over 
 me like a cat over a mouse. I took my guests to a hill in 
 front, and threw out skirmishers ; that they seemed to hold 
 cheap, but when the line advanced it was different. ' That's 
 the way you came on at Dubba,' said a Lugaree clansman, 
 and the others called out, ' By Allah ! it is a wall, a moving 
 wall ! Nothing can stand that ! Oh, Padisha, you are 
 master of the world ! Who can stand before you V ' Now, 
 look again,' I said, and, as previously ordered, a long sustained 
 file fire went on until the air was well agitated, and we could 
 not hear each other speak, and then the line charged with 
 shouts. These things surprised them most, and drew forth 
 exclamations of ' Oh, Padisha,' etc. The guns kept a good 
 fire also, and then we formed square, and, darkness having 
 fallen, the sheets of flame covering each square and the rapid 
 march of the guns over some rocky heights delighted them. 
 Seeing this I dismissed them, saying, 'You have now had 
 the same honour as we pay to kings.' This was agreeable, 
 and I think we may count upon their fears for a long time. 
 So much for the mountaineers." 
 
 Encouraged by the success of this meeting, as well as 
 by the general tranquillity of the country and the rapid 
 recovery of his own troops. Sir Charles Napier, in concert 
 with Lord EUenborough, determined on a still greater ex- 
 periment. A summons was issued to all the Scindian 
 Beloochee chiefs to meet in durbar at Hyderabad on Her 
 Majesty's birthday, and there do homage. When the pro- 
 clamation was issued neither Napier nor the G-ovemor- 
 General had expected the numbers to exceed two or three 
 thousand, but, as the 24th May drew near, it became known 
 that 30,000 would be nearer the mark, and that the risk 
 must be run of assembling what was really a large Belooch 
 army. 
 
 The General cheerfully accepted this new anxiety as an 
 
276 SIR CHARLES NAPIER. [chap. 
 
 opportunity for proving conclusively that the tranquillity 
 of the country was genuine, and not due merely to the 
 coercion of the troops. Nevertheless, he took ample pre- 
 cautions for the safety of the lives and interests under his 
 charge. " Caution, coolness, and pluck wiU put all right,'' 
 he said ; " the first I abound in ; the second it is hard to 
 be in the month of May with the mercury at 105°; the 
 last my soldiers have plenty of." In order to diminish the 
 multitude to a certain extent, and under pretence of sparing 
 the chiefs a long journey, those of Upper Scinde were in- 
 vited to make salaam to General Simpson at Shikarpoor. 
 At Hyderabad the place of conference was fixed between 
 the FuUaillee and the Indus ; the Western tribes to assemble 
 on the right bank of the Indus opposite the entrenched 
 camp ; the Eastern tribes on the right bank of the Fullaillee, 
 and so on the left bank of the Indus. In and around the 
 fort and entrenched camp were massed the troops, 4000 men 
 with sixteen guns, while the steamers moved up and down 
 the river. The Beloochees were to be called over by tribes, 
 and chieftains only were to wear arms. The meeting is 
 briefly noticed in Sir Charles's Journal. 
 
 "■Hyderabad, 22d May. — Beached this place in forty-eight 
 hours from Kurachee. I believe it has only once before been 
 done so quick. The chiefs begin to collect. 
 
 "24<A May. — Eeceived the salaams of about 1500 chiefs 
 this morning. Their eagerness was such that four whacking 
 Irish sentries and several officers could hardly keep the crowd 
 back, yet all were quiet and orderly. There are more than 
 20,000 men assembled here, and I confess to being nervous ; 
 it would be terrible to have more blood shed. 
 
 "25iA May. — The assembly is nearly over. The chiefs 
 alone came armed, having my permission. Every great chief 
 made salaams ; in all about 3000, each having a lot of fol- 
 lowers ! Chiefs and jaghirdars showed the greatest good- 
 humour and content, and express the latter openly : their 
 
VII.] THE SETTLEMENT OF SCINDE. 277 
 
 conduct indeed bespeaks their satisfaction, for everywhere we 
 are quiet. This time last year I had conquered but had not 
 quieted Scinde, the country was in arms against me, and I 
 was personally very ill ; now all is peace and I am well."i 
 
 The most important political business dealt with at the 
 durbar was the settlement of the land question. Under 
 the Ameers the chiefs had held their land — jaghire — as 
 tenants at wUl, on condition of rendering military service. 
 Immediately after the conquest the Governor had substi- 
 tuted assistance in the execution of public works for mili- 
 tary service; but he now felt himself strong enough to 
 introduce fixity of tenure and low rents, and thus to sap 
 the foundations of the Belooch feudal system. He began 
 by restoring their fathers' lands to the sons of all the 
 chiefs who had fallen in battle against him, and then offered 
 them and all others the choice of paying rent instead of 
 holding on the service tenure. If the jaghirdar said he 
 had no money to pay rent with, then he could purchase 
 his jaghire for life, or for a hundred years, by cutting 
 oif from it such a piece as would yield to Government 
 a sum equivalent to the rent charged upon him. "This 
 strip," he says, "is divided among ryots at low rents, pay- 
 able for the present in kind; and these poor people do, 
 and will, industriously cultivate their small farms, and 
 teach the great jaghirdar to cultivate his large holding." 
 
 The manner of fixing the rent is described in a letter to 
 Lord Fitzroy Somerset. 
 
 " Now please to observe that this rent is not to be fixed 
 according to the value of the produce of his jaghire; if I 
 attempted to levy rent in that way they would quickly be in 
 arms : it is estimated thus. The jaghirdar is bound to bring 
 
 1 To prove the truth of the last assertion, on 6th June, with the 
 thermometer at 110°, he rode from Tattah to Kuraohee, 72 miles, 
 without sleeping. 
 
278 SIR CHARLES NAPIER. [chap. 
 
 say ten soldiers into the field, which would cost him 80 
 rupees a month. Ay, says he, but you are not going to war 
 every month. No, nor every year, so the Grovernment will 
 only ask from you 40 rupees every year instead of 80 
 every month, which it can claim. He consents, and returns 
 to the Government a portion of his jaghire, which wiU yield 
 a rent of 40 rupees yearly. It will, I know, take years to 
 complete this plan, but meanwhile the Government loses 
 nothing but what it will never ask for — viz. military service ; 
 and the jaghirdar, no longer a tenant at will, cultivates what 
 he thus acquires a life interest in, or, what is better, a long 
 lease. I think this will so consolidate the conquest of Scinde, 
 and so change the idle character of the Belooch, that in fifty 
 years this may be the richest province and most industrious 
 people in India ; but, until men have a property in what they 
 hold, they will be idle and unsteady. Having established a 
 rent, I am indifferent to its being paid for some years ; the 
 tenant will feel that he cannot be turned out, while the neigh- 
 bouring jaghirdar can, and this feeling wiU do its work in 
 time." 
 
 By leaving to the jaghirdars the choice between his 
 new system and the old, he was well aware that he was 
 damaging the prospects of the revenue ; but he was confi- 
 dent that the forced comparison of the two systems would 
 be entirely favourable to his own, and his object, to use 
 his brother's words, was " not revenue, but civilisation." 
 
 This sketch of the settlement of Scinde may be fitly 
 closed by the notice of two pieces of news exciting very 
 different feelings in Napier's breast. One was the recall 
 of Lord Ellenborough ; the other was the arrival of the 
 reports of the speeches in Parliament on the vote of thanks 
 to the army in Scinde. 
 
 The departure of Lord Ellenborough was spoken of by 
 Napier as an irremediable misfortune for himself, although 
 he knew that in Sir Henry Hardinge, the new Governor- 
 
VII.] THE SETTLEMENT OF SCINDE. 279 
 
 General, he had a brother veteran of the Peninsula, a 
 sincere personal friend, and one who might be expected 
 to have a soldier's sympathy with a soldier ; but for the 
 G-ovemor of Scinde there could be no friend like Lord 
 EUenborough. It was Lord EUenborough who had first 
 given him an opportunity of coming to the front in India, 
 who had sent him to Scinde, and in the execution of whose 
 policy he had become its conqueror and pacificator. Scinde 
 and its ruler had received during his term of office an 
 amount of attention and generous encouragement that 
 could not be expected from any other Governor-General. 
 " Lord EUenborough is my great support," he had written 
 to Lord Eitzroy Somerset, "for right and wrong are not 
 the rules in India, and but for him I should have been 
 unable to get through my work. They who think he 
 leaves everything here to me are wrong; he looks with 
 indefatigable energy into everything, and directs all the 
 chief points. His mind is most searching, it gauges every- 
 thing ; and his plans are noble and generous to the people." 
 To his brothers he poured out his feelings about the coming 
 change, and his dread that Hardinge's want of special 
 interest in the province would give his enemies in the 
 official world new chances of tormenting him. " No man 
 can supply Lord E.'s place to me. Hardinge must hurt 
 me ; common sense tells me he must have his own plans or 
 he would be a fool, which he is not. Lord E. left every- 
 thing military in my hands, and overthrew all opposition 
 at Calcutta. This I can no longer expect, and plans will 
 now come to me to execute." And again: "The mind 
 works smoothly when following its own invention, and the 
 body feels no fatigue till after. However, fate settles all 
 these things, and my best shall be done wherever placed ; 
 but I told Lord E. truly that India, since he left the 
 Government, appears to me like an empty house. I did 
 
28o SIR CHARLES NAPIER. [chap. 
 
 not tell him it was full of cursed bugs also, but dare say he 
 knows that well enough, and Hardinge will soon find it 
 out." 
 
 The thanks of Parliament for the success of the military- 
 operations in Scinde were not voted until 12th February 
 1844 — that is to say, within a few days of a year after the 
 battle of Meeanee. But Napier had not been entirely 
 without consolation for this tardiness. He was personally 
 entirely satisfied by the praise of the great Duke. " The 
 Duke of Wellington has written me a note in his own hand, 
 using this expression, ' The two glorious battles of Meeanee 
 and Hyderabad.' This is enough. He and my brother 
 William think well of my work, and I care for no other 
 opinions. . . . To be thanked or reprimanded by Parha- 
 ment is nothing to me — the thanks of Joe Hume, par 
 exemple, after his Greek loan. I want no thanks from the 
 place-hunters who infest St. Stephen's. I care indeed for 
 Peel, and the Duke of Wellington, and Koebuck, and half 
 a dozen fellows having either ability or conscience, but not 
 for the mass congregated there." Still he felt the delay 
 keenly as a slight upon his reputation, and still more for 
 the sake of his soldiers, who had received no recognition of 
 their heroic courage and endurance. When at last the 
 speeches reached him he cotdd not help giving vent to his 
 exultation at the praises showered on him by his revered 
 leader and by Sir Robert Peel. " Now I ought to die," he 
 exclaims, " and have the Duke's speech graven on my 
 tomb.'' The Duke gave an admirable summary of the 
 military operations, and a general estimate of Napier's 
 abilities, which, coming from a man of such absolute 
 sincerity, was enough to justify Napier's remark that the 
 Duke's speech alone put him at the top of the tree. The 
 Duke said, " My Lords, I must say that, after giving the 
 fullest consideration to these operations, I have never 
 
VII.] THE SETTLEMENT OF SCINDE. 281 
 
 known any instance of an officer who has shown in a higher 
 degree that he possesses all the qualities and qualifications 
 necessary to enahle him to conduct great operations. He 
 has maintained the utmost discretion and prudence iA the 
 formation of his plans, the utmost activity in aU the pre- 
 parations to ensure his success, and, finally, the utmost zeal 
 and gallantry and science in carrying them into execution." 
 Sir Eobert Peel, who had seen much of Napier's private 
 correspondence as well as his despatches, was enthusiastic 
 in his admiration. After remarking that, when all honour 
 had been given to the army, the General was still the hero 
 of the campaign, he proceeds to say : — 
 
 " It is most fortunate that at such a crisis, and under cir- 
 cumstances of such difficulty, the command of the British army 
 was committed to a man, one of three brothers, who have en- 
 grafted on the stem of an ancient and honourable lineage that 
 personal nobility which is derived from unblemished private 
 character, from the highest sense of personal honour, and from 
 repeated proofs of valour in the field, which have made their 
 name conspicuous in the records of their country. Sir, each 
 of those three brothers learnt the art of war under an illustrious 
 commander, during the whole of those memorable campaigns of 
 which one of them has been the faithful, impartial, and elo- 
 quent historian ; and the exploits of those three brothers 
 during the whole of those campaigns entitle them to the 
 gratitude of their country. . . . The quality of actions, sir, 
 chiefly depends on the character of those who superintend 
 them. The actions which have been performed by the 
 members of the Napier family may appear foolhardy to the 
 pusillanimous, they may appear the mere result of a lucky 
 chance to the superficial ; but however desperate they may 
 appear when they are undertaken and superintended by 
 ordinary minds, they are, nevertheless, reconcilable with the 
 soberest calculations of prudence when directed by such a 
 man as Sir Charles Napier. 
 
 "Sir, there is one point I am desirous of adverting to. 
 
282 S/Ji CHARLES NAPIER. [chap. 
 
 because I know if rasliness could be imputed to Sir Charles 
 Napier — if it could be imputed to him that he had needlessly 
 led the British army into the conflict — no praise which we 
 could bestow on his valour would compensate him for the 
 painful reflections which such an imputation would give birth 
 to in his mind. I think it is impossible for any one to peruse 
 the papers relating to this question without coming to the 
 conclusion that not only was that the wisest course which 
 Sir Charles Napier could take — namely, that of at once 
 encountering the enemy, but that if he had pursued any 
 other course, the safety of the army would have been com- 
 promised. ... In estimating the conduct of Sir Charles 
 Napier, I do not think the chief praise is due to his military 
 skill — I do not think it is due even to his personal valour ; 
 but I do think it is due to him for the course which he took, 
 and his opposition to those who advised a postponement of 
 hostilities, in at once engaging the enemy. Having pondered 
 on the consequences of retreat — ^knowing the shock which our 
 Indian Empire would sustain by a repetition of a disaster like 
 that of Cabul — ^he, on his own responsibility, with less local 
 knowledge than was possessed by many around him, had the 
 courage to act in opposition to the advice he received, and 
 committed that army and his own reputation to the fate of a 
 doubtful war. It is chiefly for that exhibition of moral 
 courage that I think him entitled to the thanks of the House." 
 
 The generous warmth of expression and feeling through- 
 out the speech shows that Peel's imagination was reaUy 
 kindled by the subject ; nor was his praise exhausted by 
 an official speech. After a careful study of Napier's 
 despatches he often expressed a profound admiration alike 
 for their matter and their form. " No one," he said, " ever 
 doubted Sir Charles Napier's military powers, but in his 
 other character he does surprise me — he is possessed of 
 extraordinary talent for civil administration." His opinion 
 of Napier's style is recorded by the Eeverend Edward 
 Coleridge : — 
 
-VII.] THE SETTLEMENT OF SCINDE. 283 
 
 "-E'tow College, I8tk Sept. 1853.— Some time in 1843 or 
 1844 Sir Robert Peel said to me, 'You are acquainted, I 
 think, with the Napier family ? ' ' Yes, in some degree with 
 three members of it.' ' To which of them do you award the 
 palm in literature 1 ' Expressing surprise I answered that I 
 had never regarded Sir Charles Napier as a writer, but as the 
 most heroic and generous of soldiers. ' Well,' he said, ' I can 
 assure you that I am much inclined to rank him above his 
 brother. Not I only, but all those of the Government who 
 have read his letters and despatches from Scinde, are 
 immensely struck by their masterly clearness of mind arid 
 vigour of expression, and feel with me that he is as great 
 with his pen as he has long proved himself with his sword. 
 I have no hesitation in placing them in comparison with the 
 Gurwood despatches, or with the best things of the kind which 
 have ever been written. Edwaed Coleeidge.'' 
 
 It was somewhat surprising after such language that 
 the only honours bestowed on Sir Charles Napier were the 
 colonelcy of the 22d Regiment and the Grand Cross of the 
 Bath. "Sir R. Peel's speech," writes Napier, "has made 
 people here believe that I am to be made a peer. I do not 
 believe this to be the case, and I do not wish that honour 
 to be conferred, because I will on no account take a pension 
 with it, to end my career by robbing my starving country- 
 men." He was quite content with the praise he had 
 received, deeply grateful to Peel, and exultant at the great 
 Duke's less eloquent but not less weighty words. In a 
 letter to Sir Henry Hardinge he says of Wellington and 
 himself : " The hundred-gun ship has taken the little cock- 
 boat in tow, and it will follow for ever oyer the ocean of 
 time ! " 
 
CHAPTEE VIII. 
 
 HILL CAMPAIGN — SIKH WAR — ADMINISTRATION. 
 
 Sir Charles Napier's name wiU go down to posterity in 
 Indian military history in connection with the battles of 
 Meeanee and Hyderabad. Those achievements had direct 
 political results of considerable importance in themselves, 
 and of a nature to attract general attention. But brilliant 
 as they were as pxu-e feats of arms and generalship, they 
 are surpassed in daring originality of conception and exe- 
 cution by the expedition of 1845 into the fastnesses of the 
 robber tribes. 
 
 The submission of the Western tribes has already been 
 noticed, but there remained yet the most troublesome of 
 aU the neighbours of Scinde — the tribes on the northern 
 frontier. Between Mooltan and Scinde rises a range of 
 mountain rocks, separated from Scinde by a considerable 
 stretch of desert, and trending from the Indus to the Soli- 
 man and Hala ranges. These rocks, called the Cutchee 
 Hills, were the almost inaccessible home of the Murrees, 
 Jackranees, Mazzarees, Bhoogtees, Doomkees, and other 
 predatory tribes owning a nominal allegiance to the ruler 
 of Mooltan, or the Khan of Khelat, but practically inde- 
 pendent, and always engaged in fighting one another or 
 plundering their more industrious neighbours. Of these 
 tribes the Doomkees under Beja Khan were the most 
 audacious and formidable. This chief, who was supposed 
 to be receiving encouragement from Mooltan and from the 
 
UHAP. VIII.] HILL CAMPAIGN. 285 
 
 exiled Shere Mohammed, made a foray into Scinde in the 
 spring of 1844, and committed acts of the most barbarous 
 cruelty. Forty people were killed, and the hands of little 
 children were cut off for the sake of their bangles. This 
 outrage could not be tamely borne. Beja Khan's fortress 
 was at Poolajee, on the edge of the desert. Fitzgerald 
 persuaded the Greneral to let him take a small force and 
 surprise him there. The unfortunate result of the expedi- 
 tion is related as follows : — 
 
 " Fitzgerald and Tait wrote that they could catch Beja 
 in his bed at Poolajee, as Fitz had lived a year there and 
 knew the place. With a bushel of cautions and orders about 
 supports, to protect the retreat after the capture, I consented. 
 They then discovered that Poolajee was protected by a fort, 
 with 500 matchlock men, and that there must be a regular 
 attack, the place being fortified, which Fitzgerald never told 
 me. Tait wrote to me for further orders, and they were ' not 
 to stir a foot ; ' but the boiling courage of Fitzgerald over- 
 powered the more sober Tait with taunts, and oJ0f they went 
 with 500 horse and 200 foot (camel-men) to attack Poolajee. 
 They lost their way, arrived at Poolajee about eight o'clock 
 instead of night, man and beast knocked up — grilled with the 
 sun, and no water. Fitzgerald led his men slap at the gate, 
 with a sack of powder carried by the same sergeant who 
 carried the bag of powder at Ghuznee. A terrible fire opened, 
 ten were killed, the poor sergeant one, and twenty were 
 wounded. How Fitz escaped no one knows — differently 
 dressed from the men, and striding at their head, lots of men 
 on the walls knowing him well, distinguished also by his 
 giant size and daring courage ! 
 
 "Unable to make any impression, they all retired, and 
 with great difficulty reached Chuttar Bazaar, a fort in the 
 desert, where they got water, the enemy having luckily for- 
 gotten to fill up the well. They afterwards got back to 
 Khangur, nearly dead, having marched 77 miles without a 
 stop, except to drink at Chuttar ! And in this sun ! ! The 
 
286 SIR CHARLES NAPIER- [chap. 
 
 courage of the sepoys was conspicuous. Fitzgerald and Tait 
 have been in bed ever since from fatigue, chagrin and fear of 
 my reproaching them, which I ought to do, but the will and 
 the courage were so good I cannot bring myself to be very 
 angry; yet the death of the ten gallant men grieves me 
 deeply." 
 
 Napier at first thought of going north in person, but 
 restrained himself, for he would not appear in arms unless 
 to strike a heavy blow, and that could not be done till the 
 next cool season. In order to keep Beja occupied during 
 the hot weather he accepted the services of WuUee 
 Chandiah, the old chief whom he had restored to liberty, and 
 who now came forward to prove his gratitude by declaring 
 war against his benefactor's enemies. No further disturb- 
 ance occurred until June 1844, when Beja Khan again 
 swooped down and surprised a party of grasscutters and 
 their escort; 200 men were killed and 50 wounded. 
 Owing to the presence of soldiers the occurrence was 
 magnified into a victory, and the fame of it spread to 
 Candahar. The officer commanding the detachment which 
 furnished the escort subsequently attacked and defeated 
 another band of robbers, but as nothing further could be 
 done owing to the heat, the General had to content himself 
 for the time with issuing a severe order on the subject of 
 discipline on the frontier : — 
 
 " The Major-General desires that the European officers of 
 the irregular cavalry shall never quit their saddles, day or 
 night, when a detachment is out of their cantomnent. The 
 European officer who commands at an outpost must be eter- 
 nally on his horse, with his sword in his hand ; he should eat, 
 drink, and sleep in his saddle. An outpost officer has no right 
 to comfort or rest except when all is safe ; and that can never 
 be in the presence of such an active enemy as these mountain 
 robber tribes are in every country where they exist. It is 
 
viii.] HILL CAMPAIGN. 287 
 
 ignorant work for officers to gallop their troops over country 
 after mischief has been done. This is to harass their men 
 and horses, and is a mark of inexperience in outpost duty ; it 
 is to pjay the game of the enemy." 
 
 All that summer and autumn Napier meditated deeply 
 how this new danger to his government should be dealt 
 with. Action of some sort had become imperative. 
 Besides the loss of life and property, a repetition of such 
 forays would bring discredit on the Government and 
 weaken its authority. Outside, again, there was the 
 danger that the exaggerated accounts of Beja's successes 
 would attract all the roving swordsmen between the Sikh 
 country and Beloochistan, and swell the numbers of the 
 robber tribes, which already amounted to 18,000 men, 
 into a host that might prove perilous not only to Scinde 
 but to India. He attempted successfully to divide the 
 tribes and make them fight one another, but his allies, to 
 whom he had promised their enemies' lands if they con- 
 quered, were defeated by Beja so thoroughly as to extin- 
 guish all hope of effecting his purpose by such means. 
 This failure only confirmed his resolution to put down the 
 mischief, and set him free to do it in his own way. Early 
 in November he quitted Kurachee, designing to march 
 through the western hills up to Sukkur, a tract of country 
 still unknown to him. The journey was meant not only to 
 prepare for a decisive settlement of the border troubles but 
 to ascertain how his government was working in the 
 wildest part of his province. Before setting out he gave a 
 most practical and crushing reply to the repeated assertions 
 of a hostile party in Bombay that the whole province was 
 eagerly waiting an opportunity to revolt from his rule, by 
 sparing, at the earnest request of the Bombay Government, 
 one European and one native regiment ; and still more by 
 filling their places with two regiments which he raised from 
 
288 S//i CHARLES NAPIER. [chap. 
 
 among the very Beloochees in whose eyes he was said to 
 be so detestable. 
 
 Everywhere on his liiarch he was struck by the natural 
 resources of the country and the goodwill of the people, 
 but, owing to the ravages of the late sickness, Government 
 had become somewhat slack and freebooters very audacious. 
 Shortly after he set out two robber chiefs were captured, 
 one, Nowbut Khan, by WuUee Chandiah. The Governor 
 rewarded Wullee by giving him Nowbut's sword, which 
 secured a blood-feud between them. But Nowbut's crimes 
 had been so atrocious, and the necessity for a severe example 
 was so great, that he was sentenced to be hanged with his 
 fellow-captive. This second capture had been made by 
 Fitzgerald, who had taken his camel-corps 65 miles in the 
 night, and surprised the chief when most of his followers 
 were away on a foray. 
 
 "All the people,'' writes Napier, "are rejoicing at the 
 capture of these murderous fellows. A man placed as I am 
 must have nerve for his work, but it is very painful May 
 God make just my decisions, for my mind being once fixed, 
 I strike ! If self-defence is permitted, I am justified to IdU 
 these men as if struggling for life with an assassin : this 
 some think contrary to the Christian religion ; perhaps so, 
 but then government must cease, and ruffians rule : human 
 nature cannot go this length. Hence with a heart free from 
 all feeling but that of duty to society, I will put down the 
 Scindian robber in three months, unless it be God's will 
 that I should fail." 
 
 His progress through the country was slow, for at many 
 villages the people came to him with complaints, and he 
 would not stir from the spot until the truth had been made 
 clear to his mind, and the ofienders punished. Errors of 
 government and scattered instances of oppression he had 
 expected, but he found, besides, to his indignation, that in 
 
viii.] HILL CAMPAIGN. 289 
 
 many parts his decree prohibiting slavery was a dead letter. 
 " Slavery, these villains carry it on to an immense extent, 
 and treat their slaves cruelly. I have arrested several, and 
 am marching them as prisoners, meaning to punish rigor- 
 ously ; the whole country is in alarm — i.e. the slaveholders. 
 This is what I want. They talk of their property — they 
 bought the slaves. In fine I have a fuU dish of 'vested 
 interests,' 'rights of property,' and all the cant of old; but 
 being a sensible man, the right of the child not to be sold 
 or bought is uppermost. My answers to the Beloochees, 
 who argue their claims to slaves as well as if they were 
 professors of Brougham's London College, are handcuffs, 
 the scourge, and working on the road." 
 
 The subtlety of his method of dealing with the slave- 
 owning chiefs is well shown in the following passage : — 
 
 " Take two men, the same crime, everything the same in 
 the eye of the law ; hang one and all the country will bow to 
 your justice ; hang the other and the country wiU rise in arms. 
 Now Wullee would handle a caravan as well as Nowbut ; but 
 Wullee is a holy man as well as chief and robber, and my 
 friend. He could turn out 20,000 men to mend the matter, 
 and he took Nowbut prisoner ! It would never enter the 
 head of a civil servant to consider how far our strength would 
 go. But here is another affair for management. Wullee has 
 slaves, and so have his chiefs. So I took advantage of having 
 done him the favour of hanging Nowbut, to make an oration 
 against slavery in general, and, growing gradually more 
 violent, swore in the midst of a great assembly, I would have 
 vengeance on any man who thus defied the Queen's orders ; 
 and then told Wullee to warn aU the sirdars against it ; I had 
 ten of them prisoners in my camp as felons, all Ms friends. 
 . . . But my policy is so little understood, that I have even 
 had trouble to keep my highest officers from making Wullee 
 Chandiah revolt ; they class all natives alike as rascals, but 
 they are not so ; their robberies are their trade, and not in 
 their eyes dishonourable ; and I do not rest my anger on the 
 
 U 
 
zgo SIS CHARLES NAPIER. [chap. 
 
 ground of any man being a robber, but that he does not obey 
 the orders issued by me." 
 
 In these durbars he often felt profoundly his ignorance 
 of the native language, but no doubt his vigorous gestures 
 and flashing eyes did much to make up for that deficiency. 
 On one occasion he says, "I took fire in excellent style; 
 Kean never acted better, and the scene was perfect. I 
 swore to bury myself and my army in Scinde, or destroy 
 slavery ; I made my interpreter roar aloud that the Queen 
 was the Father of all the poor ; that every person should be 
 as free as I was myself ; and having thus laid down the law 
 in a way that no man there Kked to dispute — ^lo ! the per- 
 fect freedom of Scinde ! — I went ofi" in a eulogy on old 
 Wullee Chandiah's high character, faith to Government, 
 and ended by giving him Nowbut Khan's sword, which, by 
 the way, I wished to keep myself, but thought it too like 
 thieving." 
 
 By the middle of December he had reached Sukkur, 
 having meditated and seen enough to convince him that 
 war with the hill tribes was inevitable. The march through 
 the country had helped him in many respects. It had given 
 a new impulse to the loyalty of the population. "The 
 people here come from afar and squat down 50 yards from 
 my tent, to see their ' king.' " The fame of his progress, 
 too, had spread far into the west. 
 
 "In my camp now there is a prince, ambassador from 
 Khiva, who has with great danger effected his journey. He 
 assures me that the King of Ourgan, or Khiva, hates Kussia 
 and the Khan of Herat ; and, if we will march against Herat 
 and Bokhara, he will work them from the west, and my suc- 
 cess is certain ! And if I will attack Cabul, he will, at the 
 word, be at the Afghans. To confirm his goodwill he gave me 
 presents, which I accepted, made a return from our gift d^t, 
 and sold his by auction, which put ten rupees profit into the 
 
VIII.] HILL CAMPAIGN. 291 
 
 Company's purse. Well, KMva was too late. An ambassador 
 from Yar Mahomed of Herat had got here first, and gave 
 me a fine horse — ^good beast ! he is close to my tent asking 
 for a biscuit ; I bought him, however, at auction. This 
 ambassador was accredited for the Bombay Government, but 
 on reaching Scinde, heard that I was the man to bribe. . . . 
 The greatest honour for them is to show our strength and 
 discipline, our rapid firing, our artillery. I sent a troop of 
 horse artillery full gallop up a rocky height for this man ; it 
 delighted him, and he will teH such Eastern lies as will do 
 good all over Asia." 
 
 Meanwhile the constant strain of body and mind was 
 again telling on his diminished strength. Marching, re- 
 dressing grievances, meditating on the coming campaign all 
 day, and writing the greater part of the night, he was 
 wearing himself out. He had started, feeling "as strong 
 as Red Rover," his pet charger ; but in ten days fever was 
 upon him again. "I feel very unwell," he writes, "and 
 know not what ails me ; my spirits flag in an unwonted 
 manner; perhaps my end is near." Bad spirits gave a 
 gloomy turn to the superstitious feelings which were so 
 habitual with him. "Things do not please me; strange 
 events occur of a dark nature ; men receive warnings. I 
 went back to my home the 12th of November, when one 
 march from Kurachee, at the beginning of this journey; 
 my horse fell, and how I escaped is strange, for he rolled 
 over me. I never quitted the saddle, and one foot was fast 
 in the stirrup, yet I got free, because my boot came ofi". 
 Red Rover stood still, but he, my favourite horse, fell ! 
 Again, I went to see the Sir Charles Napier steamer, I fell 
 down the hold, and that from the cabin, where I thought I 
 was safe ! These things afiect me. Am I to fail, or fall, 
 in the raid against the robbers ? If to fall, well, • of that I 
 am not afraid ; but am I to fail ? " 
 
 If he had failed, it would certainly not have been from 
 
292 SIR CHARLES NAPIER. [chap. 
 
 underestimating the dijficulties before him, or from want of 
 forethought in preparing to overcome them. 
 
 " Troops must be moved over a desert, and through moun- 
 tains, with much privation, and my age disables me as to the 
 personal labour required to stimulate soldiers to endurance ; 
 and when they lie down to sleep, I must write. Pretty refresh- 
 ments for an exhausted man ! Some of the marches also are 
 likely to be in snow, and cold is death to the poor sepoy, while 
 the heat of the desert kills Europeans. The passes also will 
 be formidable, and if the Murrees should turn out foes, there 
 will be many defiles to deal with. These Murrees are the 
 men who defeated CHbbome, and destroyed Clarke; and 
 though success seems to me certain, defeat would be equally 
 so if want of caution gave those warlike men an advantage. 
 I shall take foot artillery, being sure they are best in moun- 
 tains ; they jump off the gua in an instant, and on again ; 
 whereas the horse artillery have led horses to mind while their 
 riders are with the guns. If there are very bad passes, the 
 guns can be taken to pieces, but the horses add to the delay, 
 by as much as their number exceeds that of a foot battery ; 
 this is a trifle, but on such occasions trifles tell heavUy. Foot 
 artillery can move as quick as horse artillery, or any infantry 
 on a mountain road ; the men always walk half the march, 
 but the horsemen never. My plan is to have light 6-pounders, 
 with a great power of draught. I have furnished 125 horses 
 to a foot battery. I am now getting some moimtain guns 
 ready to put on camels or mules. It is everything to have a 
 gun up, no matter if it carries but a pound ball. As to my- 
 self, I am conscious of having gained much as to a battle ; I 
 cannot describe it, but feel myself a better man, able to 
 attempt, not more perhaps than I have done, but with more 
 confidence." ^ 
 
 By the beginning of January 1845 his plans were 
 matured; both Lord EUenborough and Sir H. Hardinge 
 
 ' The Duke of Wellington once said to Sir W. Napier, "I have 
 fought many battles, and have acquired an instinct about them which 
 I cannot describe, but I know how to iight a battle. " 
 
VIII.] HILL CAMPAIGN. 293 
 
 had approved of them, and the troops were ready to carry 
 them into execution. 
 
 " My preparations have all been made so quickly as to 
 give no alarm ; yet 2000 infantry, 1100 cavalry, twenty-three 
 guns, and two elephants, are ready for Beja. Amongst my 
 ordnance will be four mortars and six howitzers, and I have 
 a strong corps of pioneers and artificers for preparations of 
 carriage and the opening of roads ; miners are also provided, 
 and weU-siokers, with plenty of jumpers, and steel to renew 
 them, for they wear fast if the rock be hard. Bags of hme 
 also I have provided, which in blasting rocks saves powder ; 
 nor have water-skins been forgotten, in case they should poison 
 the desert weUs, which is probable. 
 
 " 'Ml January. — Plot thickens, but no impatience, Charles 
 Napier ! No jumps to conclusions ! Step -by -step work is 
 this ; things must go on deliberately, and settle down ; one order 
 must be well understood before another is issued, or horses will 
 be overloaded and asses crushed. Thought first, arrangement 
 next, and then for rapidity without confusion ; thus before 
 Beja thinks I am out of bed he shaU find me on his track." 
 
 When his designs became known they were received 
 with an outburst of incredulity and ridicule. The Bombay 
 press had poured torrents of abuse upon him ever since he had 
 been in Scinde ; in their columns he was generally described 
 as " an imbecile ruffian, delighting in carnage, faithless, 
 rapacious, a liar who disgraced the army, and stained the 
 glorious age of Wellington." " The sordid and shameless 
 leader of Scinde." "The liar at the head of the Scinde 
 Government," and so on. It was not surprising therefore 
 that such critics should now remark that " he was an insane 
 old man about to lose all his troops ; was in utter ignorance 
 of these terrible mountaineers' strength ; they would baffle, 
 would laugh at him, and then destroy." But there were 
 many Indian officers of experience who were equally dis- 
 couraging, though less abusive. It was said in military 
 
294 SIR CHARLES NAPIER. [chap. 
 
 circles that Sir Charles Napier was too confident from his 
 previous successes — he did not know how terrible those 
 mountaineers were in their fastnesses. Even the Scinde 
 army was infected by the feeling that success was hopeless, 
 and M'Murdo was said to be the only man on the staff who 
 believed the plan to be feasible. There was plenty of 
 reason for doubt. A desert of sand, with few wells, and 
 all protected by forts, lay between the Indus and the gloomy 
 mass of precipitous rocks amidst which 18,000 daring 
 swordsmen were lying hid. It was their boast that for six 
 hundred years no king had ever got beyond their first 
 defiles ; they had massacred one English force and defeated 
 another. If followed into their fastnesses they contested 
 every pass and every rock with matchlock, sword, and 
 stones. On a foray they rode small high-blooded mares of 
 wonderful speed and endurance; the horse's food being 
 tied under its belly, while the man carried a coarse cake 
 and arrack over his shoulder. " Every man," says Napier, 
 " has his weapon ready, and every man is expert in the use 
 of it ; they shoot with unerring aim, they occupy positions 
 well, and strengthen them ingeniously, and their rush on a 
 foe is very determined ; they crouch, they run, covered with 
 protruding shields, which they thrust in their adversaries' 
 faces, and with a sword, sharp as a razor, give a blow that 
 cuts through everything, lopping heads and limbs." 
 
 In the face of such opponents and such difficulties Sir 
 Charles Napier showed himself as wily as he was daring. 
 He moved columns on many directions in Scinde to encour- 
 age a notion that he was preparing for a march of conquest 
 into Central Asia. This imposed on the Scindian chiefs 
 and many surrounding nations, and received a certain colour 
 from the arrival of the envoys of Herat and Khiva. He 
 forced Ali Moorad to take the field, whereby he not only 
 kept that Ameer under his eye, but secured the aid of his 
 
VIII.] HILL CAMPAIGN. 295 
 
 subjects, the Boordees. He induced the Khan of Khelat 
 to favour the enterprise, though his chiefs were all secretly 
 partisans of Beja. While he was pushing on his prepara- 
 tions with the utmost speed and secrecy he spread the 
 report that the sickness of the troops at Sukkur would 
 prevent him stirring before the following year ; and letters 
 to the same effect were sent to the Khan of Kielat by a 
 route which would ensure their falling into Beja's hands. 
 By 11th January 1845 all was ready for the start.^ "In 
 executing my general plan," he writes, "all accidental 
 circumstances must be carefully observed to make them 
 bear on my leading principle — ^namely, a course of action in 
 direct contradiction of that great principle of war, which 
 prescribes concentration of your own forces and the aiming 
 to divide that of your enemy. My object shall be to drive 
 the hUlmen into masses ; because all history tells us that 
 neither barbarous nor civilised warriors of different tribes 
 or nations long agree when compressed.^ To drive their 
 cattle into masses along with their masters is another object, 
 for then will follow want of water for man and beast, 
 and they must fight or perish." With the completion of 
 preparations came happier omens. " This time two years 
 I marched against the Ameers and a comet appeared : three 
 
 ^ His force, exclusive of Wullee Chandiali's followers and Ali 
 Moorad's contingent, was composed as follows : the Scinde Horse, 
 6tli and 9th Irregulars, and the horsemen of the Bundelcund legion, 
 about 2000 in aU. Infantry — the Company's 2d Europeans, two weak 
 native battalions, the foot of the Bundelcund legion, and the camel 
 corps : altogether 2500. Siege artillery : 21 pieces, of which 13 were 
 mortars or howitzers. Field artillery : 16 pieces, 9 being howitzers, 
 3 mountain guns, and the rest 6-pounders. 
 
 2 The Duke of Wellington said to Mr. Rogers, " Napoleon should 
 have waited for ns at Paris." "Why?" "Because 800,000 men 
 would then have gathered round him." " Is not that the reason why 
 he should not ? " "No ! why he should ; for when 800,000 men get 
 together there's a damned deal of jostling ! " 
 
296 SIR CHARLES NAPIER. [chap. 
 
 days ago another comet appeared. Does this argue the 
 same success ? How these strange coincidences strike the 
 mind ! — at least they do mine : they have not much influ- 
 ence on me, but they have some. Accident has also given 
 me the 16th of January" (Coruna) "for crossing the 
 frontier. God's will be done, whether evinced by signs or 
 not : my business is to do my duty." 
 
 The first object the General had in view was, by push- 
 ing with unexpected rapidity across the desert, to seize the 
 principal defiles leading into the Cutchee HUls.^ These 
 were five in number — Poolajee, Tonge, Zuree-Kooshta 
 leading to Zuranee, Gundooee, and Seebree. Beyond 
 Zuranee were the double defiles of Lallee and Jummock. 
 Fronting these defiles were the protected watering-places 
 of the desert. Chuttar, leading to Poolajee ; Ooch, leading 
 to Zuranee ; and Shahpoor between them, leading either to 
 Poolajee or Tonge. On the 13th Napier marched with an 
 advanced guard of cavalry and guns from Sukkur to Shikar- 
 poor, 26 miles. A detachment of sappers and well-diggers 
 under Lieutenant (now General) Harley Maxwell pushed 
 forward to Khangur; while Jacob and Fitzgerald, in support 
 of the Ghandikas in advance on their left, were to start 
 the same day from Larkhana to surprise Poolajee. The 
 infantry, artillery, and commissariat remained at Sukkur 
 under Brigadiers Hunter and Simpson, who had orders 
 to follow at a stated time. All Moorad being instructed 
 to march at a still later period. On the 14th Napier 
 marched 13 miles to Jaghur, and 16 miles next day to 
 Khangur. Here he heard that Jacob's force was at Eojan, 
 14 miles on his left, but suffering much from fatigue and 
 thirst. It was further reported that the enemy were at 
 Shahpoor, deceived by the General's intercepted letter, and 
 ignorant of his approach. WuUee Chandiah, marching on 
 1 See Map No, 1 at the end of the book. 
 
vni.] HILL CAMPAIGN. 297 
 
 Jacob's left, was still making for Poolajee ; so the General 
 modified his plans as follows : " If WuUee Chandiah be 
 true, he will this night attack Poolajee, and though Jacob's 
 horsemen are too distressed to reach that place for the 
 morning combination, they can reach Shahpoor; and an 
 attack there, coupled with that of the Chandikas at Pool- 
 ajee, wiU still drive the hillmen eastward, and cut them off 
 from the western mountains, which is the first great object 
 of the campaign. Ooch is the next watering-place east of 
 Shahpoor, and only 16 miles from it: to Ooch, then, the 
 enemy will naturally retire, unless he defeats Jacob at 
 Shahpoor, and Beja may still be intercepted." When he 
 wrote this the troops had already marched 16 miles, and 
 Ooch was 40 miles distant, the sand heavy, and the track 
 unknown. But orders were at once sent to Jacob to 
 advance on Shahpoor, and Captain Salter with two guns and 
 somb fresh cavalry stationed at Khangur were despatched 
 against Ooch. Hardly had Salter gone when news came 
 of another hostile force at Ooch ; whereupon the General, 
 fearing Salter might be overpowered, set ofi' after him with 
 two guns and 200 irregular cavalry. This little force, in 
 spite of their previous 16 miles, accomplished the additional 
 40 before daybreak. " Being a httle tired," says the General, 
 who was now in his sixty-third year, "with riding and 
 incessant thought, from daybreak on the 15th tiQ daybreak 
 on the 16th, I fell asleep on my horse and was awaked by 
 his stopping : then I found that the advanced guard, with 
 which I was, saw lights not far oflf, but when we looked for 
 the cavalry and guns they were lost ! This was very 
 awkward, for we were but fifty men in a desert, close to 
 a numerous enemy. Still we hoped to find. Salter. Day 
 broke, M'Murdo rode to the top of a sand-cliff and returned 
 to me, saying he saw Beloochees firing in the plain below. 
 I drew up our handful of troopers, in whose pluck, it must be 
 
298 SIR CHARLES NAPIER. [chap. 
 
 confessed, I had not much confidence, but thought they would 
 stick by the ' Sahibs ' of the staff. Having removed out of 
 matchlock fire from the sand-cliff, we awaited adventures, 
 and at that instant our errant guns and main body came 
 round another hillock of sand to my no small satisfaction ; 
 for fifty tired men and horses were not in a state to give 
 battle to many hundreds of good swordsmen quite fresh." 
 
 The firing in front was from Salter's force. That officer 
 had come up with the enemy in the night, and at once 
 engaged them. The hillmen had stood firm at first, but on 
 hearing the artillery they dispersed, crying out, " The 
 Sheitan-ka-Bhace (the great devil's brother) himself is 
 there " — such was the General's name and reputation among 
 the robbers. Three thousand head of cattle were captured, 
 and the number would have been greater but for the fatigue 
 of the troops. While the camp was being pitched for the 
 day some members of the staff suddenly caught sight of a 
 body of hillmen on a rocky height close by. Instantly 
 M'Murdo, John Napier, and Lieutenant Byng galloped off 
 towards them. Byng got separated from the other two, 
 and suspecting an ambuscade, rode back for some cavalry. 
 Meanwhile occurred an incident that might have happened 
 five or six hundred years before, round St. Jean d'Acre, or 
 have been described in the Talisman. Riding to the top 
 of the ridge the two young men foimd no foe, but looking 
 down on the other side they saw the hillmen in retreat — a 
 brightly-coloured mass of human beings and cattle stretching 
 far away, and moving confusedly but rapidly in the direc- 
 tion of the hills. As they sat motionless in their saddles 
 watching this strange spectacle there suddenly emerged 
 from behind a rocky knoll a splendidly -mounted and 
 accoutred chief, armed with a matchlock and two swords, 
 and riding his active little mare as only the warriors of the 
 desert can. He pulled up on seeing the two Englishmen ; 
 
VIII.] HILL CAMPAIGN. 299 
 
 but when M'Murdo drew his sword and trotted towards 
 him alone, he too seemed eager for the fray. Twice and 
 thrice they charged with desperate stroke and parry, wheel- 
 ing round to face one another again after each charge as if 
 they were in the tournament ring. At last M'Murdo, whose 
 horse was tired out with the long march, said to Napier, 
 who had been an excited but motionless spectator, " Johni 
 I am tired ; you may try him." But the chief, seeing a 
 new opponent advance, began to set off after his comrades. 
 Napier pursued, followed hard by M'Murdo. The chief, 
 seeing himself pressed, bent low down on his horse and 
 handled his matchlock. M'Murdo's quick eye caught the 
 movement, and knowing the extraordinary skill with which 
 such men could hit the mark while at full speed, knowing, 
 too, that Napier was quite ignorant of their ways of fight- 
 ing and would be taken at a disadvantage, he hastily drew 
 a pistol and fired. The robber fell, and in an instant the 
 young men were kneeling at his side, eager to bind his 
 wound, M'Murdo overwhelming himself with reproaches 
 for having been so hasty with his pistol when they were 
 two to one, and the chief clutching his sword as though 
 more anxious to give another blow than to accept their help. 
 They did what they could for him, but he soon expired. 
 
 About noon the same day a horseman rode into the 
 camp with the news that Jacob had surprised Shahpoor. 
 The General immediately remounted, and reached Shahpoor 
 that evening, having ridden altogether upwards of 70 nules 
 and having been thirty hours in the saddle. It was only 
 after writing his despatches and issuing orders for concen- 
 trating the infantry and artillery that he went to rest. 
 " Tired out," as he says, " I thought I should never awake 
 again." Thus the passage of the desert was brilliantly 
 accomplished. WuUee Chandiah too had been successful, 
 and the General found himself in possession of Poolajee, 
 
300 
 
 Sm ChIrLES NAPIER. [chap. 
 
 Shahpoor, and Ooch, with the loss of only eighteen men. 
 The original design of moving upon Poolajee and connecting 
 the army with the Murree tribe, who were on the north 
 side of the hills and had declared in his favour, was now 
 abandoned; for although he still designed to cut the robbers 
 off from the west and drive them eastward, they had 
 shortened the operation by abandoning the western passes 
 and moving on the southern side of the hills along the edge 
 of the desert. Accordingly, the infantry, artillery, and 
 supplies, which had not yet finished the passage of the 
 desert, were directed upon Shahpoor ; Salter remained at 
 Ooch, and Jacob's cavaby was detached to hold Poolajee 
 and Lheree with the Chandikas, so as to awe the Elelat 
 tribes and join hands with the Murrees on the north. 
 
 The Cutchee hills ^ are spht,. roughly speaking, east and 
 west, by long parallel vaUeys or ravines, arid during the 
 greater part of the year, but torn by foaming rivers in the 
 wet season. These ravines could only be entered from the 
 south by a series of cross defiles or narrow clefts between 
 almost perpendicular rocks. There were no maps of the 
 country ; the movements of the army had to be governed 
 by the finding of water, and the guides were as firmly con- 
 vinced of the absolute impregnability of the inner recesses 
 as were the robbers themselves. The army now occupied 
 two sides of a square, one stopping the western ends of the 
 valleys, the other menacing the cross defiles from the south. 
 On 18th January Napier writes : "My change of plan is 
 because I am sure Beja is now on the south side of the hiUs, 
 between a low ridge that hides him from the desert and a 
 high one to the north. I examined my good friend Yarro 
 lOiosa " — a double spy — " this morning. There is, he says, 
 plenty of good water at a point behind the low ridge, but 
 very little at two other places, and very bad as well as 
 ^ See Map No. 2 at the end of the book. 
 
viil.] HILL CAMPAIGN. 301 
 
 scarce. At a third it is, he says, plentiful and excellent. 
 Now it appears very improbable that water should abound 
 at the two places, and be scarce and bad at one which is 
 just between them. Wherefore I am sure Yarro Khosa is 
 in Beja's hands, and that Beja himself is at the place said 
 to be without water, called Tonge. Yarro and I, how- 
 ever, immediately agreed that we could not march there." 
 Having blinded the spy, he ordered Jacob to block the 
 ravines opening on Poolajee and Lheree with 600 men and 
 two guns. Then up one ravine, the bed of the Teyaga, he 
 sent the Mugzee tribe, and up the next to the south he sent 
 Wullee Chandiah to try the way up to Tonge, where the spy 
 said there was no water. He meant to move in person by 
 Ooch on the Zuranee pass, and sent orders to Ali Moorad, 
 who had not yet come up, to proceed to the Gundooee pass, 
 and there wait till the enemy were pushed eastward upon 
 him. This fresh combination had a rapid and decided 
 effect. Wullee Chandiah dispersed a small body of Bhoog- 
 tees, killing several men and capturing a large flock of 
 goats ; whereupon Beja, alarmed lest the Chandikas should 
 be merely covering the British advance, forsook the fastness 
 of Tonge and moved across the British front in the direction 
 of Zuranee. On the 22d Napier writes : " I could easily 
 have caught Beja Khan, and I can now catch him as he 
 passes by a flank march across my front; but, as he 
 marches with his families, it is most probable he would cut 
 their throats if menaced, and I want to avoid such a dread- 
 ful catastrophe ! . . . I at first thought of sending Geddes 
 at once against him, but now think it wiser to go leisurely, 
 as it will give more time for the women and children to go 
 off to their distant places of refuge, and I shall not risk a 
 repulse by being over hasty." The Chandikas were now 
 reinforced with a squadron of cavalry, and were posted at 
 TuUar to watch the Tonge defile, which, as Napier had con- 
 
302 SIR CHARLES NAPIER. [chap. 
 
 jectured, was well supplied with water. Colonel Geddes 
 was sent with a column to Zuree-Kooshta to watch the 
 Zuranee defile. A battle seemed imminent, but the General 
 still lingered at Ooch. " There is no need for haste," he 
 says ; "a check at any point might force me to retrograde ; 
 that would be dishonouring, and would weaken the effect 
 of the first surprise. My army hems the enemy in on the 
 south and west, the Murrees hem him in on the north. All 
 Moorad ought to be now marching on the Gundooee defiles, 
 and the hillmen's provisions are decreasing, while mine are 
 increasing by the arrival of supplies and the captures of 
 cattle. All the young men are eager for fighting, but I will 
 not indulge them unless Beja goes to the Zuranee defiles, 
 for I must force the passes there. Meanwhile every man's 
 life ought to be as dear to me as my own, and I will not 
 lose any by provoking fights with small detachments to 
 hasten results, when my measures are, it appears to me, 
 sufficient to ensure final success." On the 23d General 
 Hunter arrived with provisions and the Company's second 
 regiment of Europeans — "not big, but with a big spirit," as 
 Napier remarked. Geddes wrote from Zuree-Kooshta that 
 they found the water very bad ; but the General's eye for 
 difficulties was getting as bad as Nelson's at Copenhagen. - 
 " When they grumble and cry out ' no water ! ' I answer 
 ' dig.' When they growl ' bad,' I say ' boil ; ' and I will go 
 on, bad or good." 
 
 His Journal shows that, exciting as his position was, it 
 did not occupy all his mind. Interspersed with military 
 plans there occur passages which are more like the soliloquies 
 of a hermit than the casual thoughts of a General in the 
 field. For instance, on the 24th, he says : — 
 
 "This desert of sand is full of life. I dropped a bit of 
 butter, and in a moment a little animal, an aldermanic insect, 
 was upon it. One, two, three — it is covered ! These creatures 
 
vni.] HILL CAMPAIGN. 303 
 
 feed birds, birds feed men, and men die to feed vegetables, 
 which are again eaten ; the world is one seK-consuming, self- 
 creating animal ! So much for matter ; but for mind ! The 
 grosser appetites belong to matter, they exist for its reproduc- 
 tion, they are wholly material, and have no apparent use 
 except for reproduction. It is easy to see so far ; but then 
 the union of the body and spirit ! There is the insuperable 
 difficulty, unless we admit that two powers are at strife — the 
 evil labouring for matter, the good for spirit. Bad minds, 
 which seek to give pain, belong to the dark spirit of evil, 
 whose very essence is cruelty. Those who abhor the infliction 
 of pain to either mind or body of others belong to the brilliant 
 spirit of light, ever on the watch to receive our adoration ; 
 not from vanity but pure benevolence, for of what could such 
 a being be vain % Merciful spirit of light ! I in all this 
 work of war labour to do right in your sight, and abhor 
 giving pain. Self-defence and social order and harmony are 
 of thy own ordination, and for them alone am I in war. Yet 
 I feel the vain desire of doing my work well. Can I without 
 that desire do it well ? " 
 
 Having received his supplies and given time to the 
 enemy to send their families out of danger, he left Ooch on 
 the 25th. The exact position of the hostile force he did 
 not know, but suspected it was gathered within the hills 
 for the defence of the Zuranee and Gundooee passes. 
 Marching in person towards Zuranee, he sent Simpson with 
 a column from Shahpoor to Poolajee with orders to push 
 up the Tomb Valley to Deyrah, a distance of seven marches. 
 He was supported, as the auxiliary tribes had been, by 
 Jacob's force, stationed at Lheree and Poolajee, and the 
 object of his movement was to scour the valley until he 
 could turn the cross defiles of Lallee and Jummock, while 
 the main body assailed them in front. Two marches of 21 
 and 23 miles brought the headquarters to Zuranee past 
 Zuree-Kooshta with great labour to man and beast; the 
 cold, too, as they advanced into the hills, occasioned great 
 
304 SIR CHARLES NAPIER. [chap. 
 
 suffering to the sepoys, though it braced the Europeans. 
 The pass of Lallee now lay immediately in front of them, 
 and behind that the pass of Jummock. It was considered 
 certain that the robbers would contest every inch of these 
 important positions ; and on the 28th, accordingly, the 
 British -force advanced eager for battle, though their leader 
 was resolved to try all that mortars and howitzer batteries 
 could do before he sent his infantry between those terrible 
 mountain walls. But the enemy had vanished ; Simpson's 
 movement, as foreseen, had been magniiied into the approach 
 of a great army, and the passes were abandoned. "Not 
 being defended, both passes are mine," writes Napier, " and 
 my camp is between them. So far all is right. Simpson 
 wiU be in two days at Tomb, and the robbers be thus 
 driven eastward. We occupy from Tomb to Zuree-Kooshta ; 
 that is a line 30 miles across the Bhoogtee country, driv- 
 ing Jackranees and Doomkees upon the Bhoogtees, who 
 have not much to eat and will not like to have visitors." 
 The camp was now fixed between the Lallee and Jummock 
 passes, both of which were strongly fortified. The General 
 describes his position as foUows : " From Poolajee and 
 Tonge run, nearly to the Indus, two rocky ranges, walls 
 they may be called, and I am between them. The lowest 
 on the south is of sandstone rock, rising from 50 to 150 
 feet perpendicularly ; and through this wall the first en- 
 trance from Zuranee is through the Lallee Pass, and then 
 through the Jummock to Deyrah : the Bhoogtees should 
 have defended both. In this situation I am anxiously look- 
 ing for Simpson's arrival at Deyrah ; for his march, being 
 beyond the second range, is very important, as my object 
 is, not to defeat only, but to destroy the robbers : I do not 
 mean kill them, but to root them entirely out of their 
 rocks." Until news came from Simpson's force Napier 
 employed himself by exploring, the ravine, in which he had 
 
viii.] HILL CAMPAIGN. 305 
 
 pitched his camp, at the head of a strong column. While 
 thus picking his way over ground of inconceivable rugged- 
 ness he heard a true Hibernian voice from the ranks ex- 
 claim in a pathetic tone, " Och ! when God made the world- 
 He threw the rubbish here ! " The result of his exploring 
 was to convince him that the enemy had gone eastward. 
 This they had in fact done. Frightened by the approach 
 of Simpson's force from passing at once from Jummock 
 into their principal fastness called Trukkee, which lay but 
 a short distance northward, they had moved eastward up 
 the ravine, and then issuing by the Gundooee defile back 
 into the desert and skirting the southern slopes of the hills 
 they re-entered them at Dooz-Kooshta, the easternmost 
 defile, leading to the Mazzaree Hills. Had Ali Moorad 
 been at his post at Gundooee instead of halting ten days 
 on the road to observe a feast, Napier's first well-calculated 
 combination would have been perfectly successful; the 
 robbers would have been forced to fight, surrender, or at 
 once shut themselves up in Trukkee, where they could be 
 blockaded. 
 
 " Journal, 30<A Jarmary. — Well, I chew the cud very much, 
 and it has come into my head that we must have left men 
 behind us in the hills, for some of our people have been killed 
 on the line of communication. Wherefore 300 infantry 
 shall try back, and a squadron pf cavalry skirt the ridge 
 along the plain, searching : both to meet at Tonge. I offered 
 
 this command to , but he had been infected with the 
 
 camp nonsense. ' Oh, we can never catch these fellows.' 
 Our two surprises of the robbers surprised these talkers, but 
 
 still many hold this tone; and so I cut short, saying, 'I see 
 
 you have no confidence, and a man shall command who has. 
 Get your corps ready.' I sent John Napier, who has zeal and 
 spirit and head; very likely nothing may be found, but I 
 will have my own way. The more wrong everybody thinks 
 me the more resolved am I to carry into effect my own 
 
 X 
 
3o6 SIR CHARLES NAPIER. [chap. 
 
 opinions. I do not form them on light grounds, so to-night 
 Jack marches, resolved to do all he, can to succeed: it will 
 give him the habit of command in a night march. 
 
 " Z\st January. — Jack has come back : he saw no robbers, 
 but has brought in 2000 head of cattle, which is as- good — ^it 
 starves them. This proves that there were lurking bands 
 behind us, and that all their cattle could not have been carried 
 off. We have now taken 6000 cattle, and a vast quantity of 
 grain : I am a good robber at all events.'' 
 
 Meanwhile Captain M'Murdo was sent with some cavalry 
 and two guns to find Simpson. The latter had exactly exe- 
 cuted his instructions, and was at Deyrah, which was unde- 
 fended. M'Murdo therefore returned; Salter's cavaby 
 were charged with the communication between Simpson 
 and headquarters, while, in the rear, the pass of Lallee 
 and the way to Shahpoor were entrusted to Smallpage and 
 his mounted police. Things were now in order for anoliher 
 advance; but the curious behaviour of the enemy was 
 increasing the despondency with which the ultimate success 
 of the expedition was viewed in camp. It was bad enough 
 to know that many of the oflScers did not conceal their 
 belief that Beja could not be caught; but on 1st February 
 despondency took a disagreeably practical turn. "The 
 rascally camel -men, to the tune of 500, have refused to 
 bring up provisions past Shahpoor, and I am fairly put to 
 my trumps. Well, exertion must augment : I will use the 
 camel-corps, and dismount half the cavalry if need be ; I 
 will eat Eed Rover sooner than flinch before these robber 
 tribes : my people murmur, but they only make my feet go 
 deeper into the ground." In spite of the bold front he 
 showed to this unlooked-for misfortune he was fully con- 
 scious of its gravity. The chief dangers to be apprehended 
 were : — " 1. Checking my rapidity of operations, for which 
 all my previous preparations had been made. 2. This check 
 
VIII.] HILL CAMPAIGN. 307 
 
 would induce surrounding nations to think the British had 
 again failed, as they had before done in the hills at Seebree, 
 at Moostung, at Noofusk, at Sartoof, and at Khaheree : for 
 600 years, it was said, no force had entered the hUls and re- 
 turned unscathed ; and the tribes, being thus unconquered, 
 were by all Asiatic nations deemed unconquerable. 3. This 
 opinion might easily turn the Murrees and the troops of 
 Khelat against us, and then a flame of war would have 
 been kindled in all the hill ranges, for the Cabul massacre 
 was a source of pride with these nations : there was a 
 burning zeal to repeat it, and from all the mountain-tops 
 keen eyes were bent upon the British force. 4. Worse 
 than this check, however, was to be apprehended. It might 
 be necessary to go back even to Shahpoor for sustenance, 
 and there is no sa3dng what misfortunes want of carriage 
 will entail on an Indian army : success may be within its 
 grasp, and yet be lost in a moment. Had I retreated, a 
 shout of victory would have pealed along the Cutchee hUls 
 to Seebree, would have reverberated in the Bolan rocks, and 
 echoed along the Hala range to Sehwan : and then a wild 
 storm of swords, shields, and matchlocks would have swept 
 the plain." Well might he quote Napoleon's opinion that 
 war amongst deserts is the most difficult of any. He was 
 having a most practical demonstration of its trutk " To 
 get supplies is difficult," he says; "to move is difficult; 
 to find a road is difficult ; in short, it is a chain of diffi- 
 culties that no other country presents. And we have here 
 the agreeable addition of mountains and rocks, all barren 
 and wild, and full of passes : desert behind, rocks before ! 
 Well, it teaches a man his trade, though with me too late, 
 for I grow perceptibly weaker, principally from extreme 
 anxiety lest I should blunder." 
 
 At this embarrassing conjuncture the four principal 
 robber -chiefs sent to offer to surrender, and to ask for 
 
3o8 SIR CHARLES NAPIER. [chap. 
 
 terms. Here was a tempting opportunity for escaping 
 without disaster or disgrace from a most critical position. 
 But Napier held obstinately to his resolution to make an end 
 of the robbers. His reply was, "Let Beja Khan lay his 
 arms at my feet, and be prepared to emigrate with his fol- 
 lowers to a district which I will point out on the left bank 
 of the Indus, and he shall be pardoned. If he refuses these 
 terms, he shall be pursued to the death, and the hundred 
 Doomkees who are my prisoners shall be hanged." Dur- 
 ing the delay caused by these negotiations he strained 
 every nerve to reorganise his carriage for supplies. A 
 moonshee was sent to collect more camels in the country 
 of the Khan of Khelat; but as some time must elapse 
 before that mission could produce any effect, the General 
 was obliged to call the camel-corps to his aid. Then the 
 extraordinary capabilities of that new instrument of war 
 were strikingly displayed. To get to Shahpoor and biing 
 provisions back, the ordinary sumpter camels took six 
 days and nights without counting the time occupied by 
 loading, and they required in addition a strong escort to 
 protect them from robbers. Fitzgerald's men, who were 
 their own escort,' marched 50 miles at a stretch, scouring 
 the Tonge ravine on the way, and reaching Shahpoor in 
 one night ; loaded their camels with 45,000 lbs. of flour, and 
 were back in camp only three days and two nights after 
 they had started ! Having received this welcome supply 
 Napier moved (8th Feb.) eastward to Seebree, leaving 
 General Hunter in charge of Lallee and Jummock. On the 
 13th Hunter rejoined him, the passes being left to the 
 camel-corps ; and on the 17th headquarters advanced still 
 farther eastward to Dooz-Kooshta. By this time the nego- 
 tiations for surrender had failed, and a halt was made to 
 prepare for new combinations. 
 
 During the halt his pen is busy reviewing and forecast- 
 
viii.] HILL CAMPAIGN. 309 
 
 ing, though, as usual, not to the exclusion of other thoughts, 
 many of which crop up strangely out of a bed of military 
 details. For example — 
 
 " \^ih February. — Last evening we were again gasping for 
 water, when down came from the hills, through the middle 
 of our camp, a river some 60 yards broad and 2 feet deep ! 
 I expected this Fiumara, knowing them of old in Portugal, 
 Spain, Italy, and Greece. The soldiers were delighted, and 
 a miracle could have been made of this by riding towards the 
 mountain, awaiting the torrent, and then galloping back at 
 the head of the rushing stream from the pass ! How many 
 phenomena there are in this country admitting of a miracu- 
 lous gloss ! In the desert, Ali Bey, my orderly, brought me 
 a handful of manna, saying, ' Look, sir, this is a miracle, it 
 is on the bushes, it is food ! It comes from God ! Down 
 from heaven ! ' Ali was quite right : it does come from 
 God, it is food, and it is a miracle — but one that God works 
 all the days of the year. All that comes to feed man is mira- 
 culous ; reading and writing are miraculous ; it is a miracle 
 that we are born, one that we live, one that we die. Whence 
 we come we know not ; what we do we know not ; what is 
 around us we know not. Merciful God ! what are we ? 
 
 " But we have a part to perform in this drama ! Yes ! 
 So has the bug that bites us ! Which has the most important 
 part of the two ? We both act by the direction of our nature, 
 and who shall presume to decide ? The bug may produce a 
 sleepless night for the body, and to the ingenious mind thtis 
 kept wakeful some great invention may occur. Who is the 
 originator ? The bug which sucks blood, or the man who 
 unwillingly lies awake under the operation of bug-grazing ? 
 Yet the invention may overturn the order of things, perhaps 
 enable us to reach the moon ! O vain and miserable man ! 
 Take a beautiful horse, and place it alongside of a fat, red- 
 nosed bumboat woman of Portsmouth : woman is divine ! 
 But if this be our divinity, what is her adorer — man ? Is not 
 the beautiful horse at her side more divine ? More beautiful, 
 more clean, more gentle, more innocent? Look at the ele- 
 
310 S/X CHARLES NAPIER. [chap. 
 
 gantly formed gnat that stings her : is he not more divine with 
 his light glistening wings ? But he bites ! Yes ! and ask a 
 bullock what she does. Now put her beside a luxurious 
 bishop. Where is the difference \ He is full of wine, as she 
 is of gin : is the vine a finer plant than the juniper ? She 
 dresses her own beefsteak, obtained by her labour ; his is 
 dressed by a skiKul cook, and paid for by others' labour ! 
 O vain miserable man ! ' we deceive ourselves, and the truth 
 is not in us ! ' Well, I am only laughing at the absurdities 
 of the vanity which claims superiority in the eyes of God." 
 
 On the 19th the campaign was renewed. News came 
 from Deyrah that the enemy, 8000 strong, were posted at 
 Shore, opposite the Goojroo pass, and about 24 miles north- 
 east of Dooz-Kooshta. This place was just on the border 
 of the Mazzaree hills, which were Sikh territory, and, owing 
 to the hostility of the Mazzarees, the robbers could move no 
 farther eastward. Napier resolved to surprise them there. 
 Having called up the camel-corps and ordered AH Moorad 
 to follow from Heeran, where he had been posted to be out 
 of mischief, the General marched through the night over 
 terribly rugged ground, passing the defiles of Lotee. But, 
 just as success was in his grasp, it was snatched from him 
 by an act of disobedience. In spite of strictest orders to 
 the contrary, a fire was lighted by some camp-followers, 
 and his approach was betrayed. After being twenty-two 
 hours in the saddle without food, he reached Shore only to 
 find himself baffled. The only consolation was the oppor- 
 tune capture of 150 camel-loads of baggage, including much 
 wheat. So certain had he been that the final struggle 
 would take place at Goojroo that he had called up Simpson 
 from Deyrah. That officer reached him on the 20th ; Ali 
 Moorad arrived the following day, and thus nearly the 
 whole army was concentrated at this new and unknown 
 spot. "Finding myself," says Napier, "in the midst of 
 terrible mountain rocks, I took a detachment to explore 
 
VIII.] HILL CAMPAIGN. 311 
 
 Goojroo, a desperate pass. Eiding in it a mile, I sent 
 officers with parties to the summits on either hand, who 
 saw the enemy's camp a few miles off. My first thought 
 was to dash through at them; but my troops had been 
 twenty-two hours in movement, it was nearly dark, and 
 the danger of being destroyed in the pass decided me to 
 halt for the night. Moreover, I then knew, for the first 
 time, exactly where the enemy was ; that he could retreat 
 no farther, and would likely push for Deyrah to regain his 
 rocks ; or that he would throw himself into Trukkee, a 
 celebrated stronghold, its site unknown to me." Another 
 inspection of Goojroo determined him to have nothing 
 to do with it. "It is about 20 miles long, with perpen- 
 dicular sides of rock — a long stone trough ! Flanking 
 parties could not move at top because of the numerous 
 narrow deep cross - clefts, and for 12 miles no water 
 could be sent up to them : yet without such parties the 
 enemy would kill us with stones." Two courses, he calcu- 
 lated, were now open to Beja ; he might seek refuge in the 
 mysterious Trukkee, which was to be desired, or he might 
 make a dash westward and try to break through Jacob's 
 force, which still plugged up the western extremities of the 
 ravines. Supposing Beja chose the latter course, being on 
 the north side of Goojroo, he could reach Deyrah before 
 Napier. Wherefore, leaving a force under Captain Beatson 
 at Shore, supported by Ali Moorad at Lotee,' and sending 
 Hunter back to Jummock in case Beja tried to turn that 
 pass from Deyrah, Napier hurried to Deyrah in person. If 
 the enemy, learning these movements, should attack and 
 overpower Beatson, that officer was to fall back on Ali 
 Moorad at Lotee, and Hunter's column, if necessary, could 
 turn in support. For, if the General reached Deyrah before 
 Beja, Hunter's position at Jummock would be chiefly valu- 
 able as shortening the line of communication with Shahpoor. 
 
312 SIR CHARLES NAPIER. [ohap. 
 
 If the enemy followed headquarters to Deyrah, Beatson 
 and Ali Moorad were to close up in his rear, and Hunter 
 was to move to Dusht-Goran, due north of Dooz-Kooshta. 
 
 On the 23d the General was at DeyraL " Here lie the 
 bones of Clarke's detachment within sight of my tent, and 
 hard by is Noofusk, with its near neighbour Sartoof, the 
 scene of Clibbome's defeat. . . . We are now so placed that 
 if the enemy attempts to descend into the plain of Deyrah 
 we shall attack him when in a confused enormous mass of 
 men, women, and children, cattle and baggage. This 
 would be a dreadful slaughter, and I had avoided such an 
 attack before on the 18th of January. These poor creatures, 
 however, have never believed that we spare life : some 
 children found here have regularly asked every day, ' When 
 are we to be killed V I have them close to my tent, and 
 have found two of their own women to look after them, and 
 they are as merry as grigs. 
 
 " The gist of my operations is patience ; slow, consum- 
 ing time is my weapon, the robber's food is hmited, mine 
 now inexhaustible. He lives on his capital, I on my in- 
 terest ; he writhes in agony, I am on a bed of roses^ — ^that 
 is, ever since we discovered that he had been refused en- 
 trance into the Mazzaree and Keytrian countries, the one on 
 the east, the other on the north, while we are on the south 
 and west." 
 
 Meanwhile the enemy had moved from Goojroo north- 
 ward to Partur, on the Keytrian frontier. Hearing this, 
 Sir Charles resolved to make Beatson's position his pivot, 
 and hem the robbers in still closer by sweeping round with 
 his left and centre. The crisis came quicker than he had 
 expected. 
 
 "28<A February. — On the 24th I had ascertained that 
 Trukkee was in this neighbourhood, and felt sure that the 
 robbers would finally go there, where they could be shut up ; 
 
VIII.] HILL CAMPAIGN. 313 
 
 the exact locality was not known, but I would not allow any 
 detachments or single men to go in the direction, lest it 
 should prevent the enemy doing what he wished. Mean- 
 while all was prepared for the march northward on Partur, 
 when this evening, while alone at dinner, a trooper came in 
 at full gallop, saying the enemy had attacked a convoy within 
 3 miles of the camp, and the escort was engaged. Out I 
 sallied with my guard, ordering a regiment of irregular cavalry 
 to foUow, feeling assured the robbers had at last got into 
 Trukkee, and that the game was safe. There were some fifty 
 robber cavalry before us, who retreated and were foolishly 
 attacked by my staff officers before I could restrain them. 
 My anger was great, it was altogether improper, and in this 
 instance especially; for my object was to entice the enemy 
 to stop and show what sort of men, of arms and horses, were 
 before me, and to know if their people would come out to 
 support them ; in fine, by letting them alone, to ascertain 
 what they were. Suddenly they disappeared in a chasm 
 among the rooks, and my guide exclaimed ' Trukkee !' though 
 he had before said it was two marches off. 
 
 " The cool, quiet manner in which these robber horsemen 
 vanished in the cleft convinced me that Trukkee was indeed 
 there ; wherefore, placing the cavalry at the entrance to 
 guard it, I returned to the camp, and sent 300 infantry to 
 support them for the night, resolved to march there with the 
 whole army at daylight. On reaching my tent I found a spy, 
 who told me aU the tribes, led by Beja, and marching from 
 Partur, had entered Trukkee by a northern entrance, and 
 that they had 3000 men. Instantly I sent a swift camel- 
 rider with orders to Beatson and AH Moorad to force a march 
 over the Murrow plain, and block that northern entrance ; I 
 also despatched the camel-corps, taking on their animals 300 
 hardy veterans of the 13th. Thus in a short time Trukkee, 
 one of the strongest holds in the world, wUl be beleaguered, 
 to the no small surprise of the enemy, who does not believe 
 we can get to the northern entrance." j 
 
 It was not until the morning of the 5th of March that 
 
314 SI/? CHARLES NAPIER. [chap. 
 
 Beatson and Ali Moorad were able to close up the northern 
 entrance. Their march was one of the finest episodes of 
 the whole campaign. For nearly 60 miles they marched, 
 or rather climbed, almost without a halt, over rocks and 
 sharp loose stones, and arrived ragged, shoeless, but full 
 of spirit. Meanwhile the General sent his cavalry 
 patrolling westward to Tomb, and thence north and east 
 until they met Beatson, and completed the circuit. 
 Having thus satisfied himself that he could command 
 all possible entrances into Trukkee and enforce a 
 blockade, he proceeded to form his plans for an assault, 
 if such a desperate course should become necessary. 
 The position and the projected plan are described by him 
 as follows : — 
 
 "This famous hold is about 12 miles in length, with an 
 average of 6 in breadth. The interior is a mass of small 
 rocky hillocks with precipitous sides ; so that in any part a 
 strong position could be occupied in this enormous crater, for 
 such it appears to be. It is enclosed by a belt of perpen- 
 dicular walls, and no minute examination could be made of 
 that, because the whole country around was, for a great dis- 
 tance, one mass of loose stones, which destroyed the shoes 
 and feet of the horses ; thirty -two shillings were paid for 
 shoeing one ! Outside, the rocky belt of Trukkee could not 
 be ascended, but from the interior it could; wherefore this 
 great, rude, natural basin could only be entered by the passes, 
 or rather passages, for the rocks met overhead ; they are 
 splits in the wall. This was the southern side. On the 
 north the inside is precipitous, the outside accessible; and 
 when Beatson's men got up there, they saw the enemy trying 
 to move from one part to another, swinging their cattle down 
 rocks, and hauling them up others with ropes, showing the 
 rough nature of the ground. There was abundance of water 
 inside, and a mineral spring, hot, yet good for drinking, 
 issued from the southern entrance ; but it was not for us. 
 
vm.] 
 
 HILL CAMPAIGN. 
 
 31S 
 
 being commanded by the enemy's fire from the overhanging 
 rocks. 
 
 " My plan for storming this natural fortress was thus : — 
 
 " The entrance F is approached by crossing a rocky valley, 
 parallel to the high rocks of the basin, and itseM difficult to 
 get into from the loose stones heaped about. This valley 
 was perhaps 800 yards wide, and the screen of rocks form- 
 ing it, in opposition to the Trokkee precipices, is, though 
 lower than them, about 600 feet high. These two walls of 
 rock run parallel to each other for about 25 miles westward, 
 but the Trukkee rocks are prolonged eastward to Shore, pre- 
 senting altogether 50 miles of crags. 
 
 " In the narrow valley a mortar battery and one of field 
 guns were to be placed at E, the last to play on the entrance 
 F, the mortars to throw shells upon G, which would drive 
 away the men perched on landing-places to cast down rocks : 
 these shells would also have cast down stones, and some 
 would have fallen into the entrance before bursting. The 
 infantry in line were to have formed on the left of E, firing 
 at the enemy along the crest of the heights B, C, D, but 
 not a man was to go or be seen to the right of the battery. 
 A detachment was also to have gone early far to the left, to 
 
3i6 SIR CHARLES NAPIER. [chap. 
 
 climb the rocks there, if possible, as a diversion ; and, if it 
 could get up, was to work a way along the crest towards us. 
 Meanwhile the real storming party of volunteers,'' — 250 
 picked Europeans, — " under Fitzgerald, was to lie perdu on 
 our right, awaiting orders. The party on the left was to 
 show first, making much display ; it was to skirmish, retire, 
 breakfast, dine, and show every disposition of intending mis- 
 chief, while our artillery was being drawn ostentatiously 
 through the chasm in the outward screen of rocks, and placed 
 at E in battery. Towards evening the infantry were to form 
 out of matchlock range. 
 
 " Now the hill A, at first occupied by the enemy, had been 
 secretly watched by myself, Simpson, and our staff for several 
 nights, and we observed that the fire there burned at first all 
 night; but, as I expected, the enemy being undisciplined 
 soon got tired of sending a picket up there every night in the 
 cold, and after some nights the fire was not seen ; the time 
 for storming was then come, and the orders were issued. 
 First the guns, mortars, and infantry were to open fire with 
 all possible violence, the desire being that the direct noise and 
 reverberation of sound, the smoke and din, should attract the 
 enemy's whole attention to the entrance F, and prevent his 
 hearing or observiiig the ascent of Fitzgerald and his volun- 
 teers at HH. They were too far off to be disclosed by the 
 momentary flashes of the guns, and the stones they might roU 
 down by their ascent would have been unheard. Every man 
 was to have been sworn to silence, even when wounded. . . . 
 If discovered, they were to push up strongly and fight ; if not 
 observed, to light a fire and then attack, reserves being ready 
 to support them ; and at that period the entrance F was to 
 be stormed, or not, according to circumstances — that is, if 
 Fitzgerald gained the top and could hold his footing, the 
 whole force was to file up after him. If he was beaten, F 
 was to be stormed before the failure could become known 
 along the enemy's line and give him heart. 
 
 " That this storming would be difficult and sanguinary I 
 knew well, but to attempt it was necessary, and my troops 
 were men capable of anything ; the whole European regiments 
 
VIII.] HILL CAMPAIGN. 317 
 
 were eager to go at A in broad day, and wHle the enemy 
 were on the top ! My intent was not to order the storm of 
 F, but to let the soldiers advance voluntarily, firing ; for I 
 judged their natural ardour and the excitement of noise, 
 smoke, and combat, would get up their blood that they 
 would by degrees approach and finally dash into the chasm 
 of their own accord. Meanwhile the attack was to have been 
 aided by the diversion on the left, and by the simultaneous 
 assault of Ali Moorad and Beatson on the northern entrance ; 
 not a false attack, but one with a will, led by 300 volunteers 
 of the 13th, Jelalabad men, the veterans of Sale and Dennie ! 
 Who could have turned them back ? Who stand before them 
 in fair battle % Let me give a proof of their mettle. 
 
 "When Beatson first reached the northern entrance, he 
 pushed in, but a sergeant and ten men of the 13th got on the 
 wrong side of a small ravine, and came to the foot of a rocky 
 platform crowned by the enemy, and where the ravine sud- 
 denly deepened to a frightful chasm. The sergeant saw his 
 officer and the main body beyond gesticulating, because they 
 saw the enemy above; they were beckoning to retreat, he 
 thought it was to go on, and at once the stern veterans 
 climbed the rock. As they leaped on to the platform, the 
 enemy, eighty in number, fell on them sword in hand, and 
 the fight was desperate. Seventeen hillmen were slain, six 
 of the soldiers, and the rest, wounded and overborne, were 
 dashed over the edge and rolled down. Such are British 
 soldiers ! Where mortal men can stand in fight they vidU. 
 Every man of these had a medal, two of them had three on 
 their breasts ! They died gloriously, but uselessly, on that 
 sad cliff in the Cutchee hills." 
 
 Their heroism was not unrecognised. Sir William 
 Napier tells the sequel as follows : — 
 
 " There is a custom with the hiUmen that when a great 
 champion dies in battle his comrades, after stripping his 
 body, tie a red or green thread round his right or left wrist, 
 according to the greatness of his exploit — the red being most 
 honourable. Here those brave warriors stripped the British 
 
3i8 SIJi CHARLES NAPIER. [chap. 
 
 dead, and cast the bodies over ; but with this testimony of 
 their own chivalric sense of honour and the greatness of the 
 fallen soldiers' courage, each body had a red thread on both 
 wrists ! They had done the same before to the heroic Clarke, 
 whose personal prowess and intrepidity had been remarkable." 
 
 The foregoing plan for the storm of Trukkee was after- 
 wards submitted to the Duke of Wellington, who expressed 
 his strong approbation and belief that it would have suc- 
 ceeded. Indeed, he studied with avidity everything he 
 could obtain bearing upon this remarkable expedition. 
 Having read extracts from Sir Charles Napier's Journal of 
 the campaign, he asked Sir W. Napier for all that could be 
 given of his correspondence. Sir William said, " But there 
 are many queer rough things in his correspondence, your 
 Grace." "So much the better, that is what I want," was 
 the reply. 
 
 Happily the storm of Trukkee was avoided. The un- 
 expected discovery of the mysterious stronghold, the prompt 
 blockade, the growing terror of the Sheitan-ka-Bhace, 
 worked upon the robbers' minds. Trukkee had been found 
 on 28th February. " On 4th March Beja Khan Doomkee, 
 Islam Khan Bhoogtee, Deriah Khan Jackranee, Hussein 
 Khan, and another chief of small tribes, came to my tent, 
 with the Koran on their heads and fear in their hearts. 
 Beja is a very fine-looking old man of great size. Islam is 
 also a handsome man. I think I never saw a set of bigger 
 fellows. Deriah is not so, but has a good countenance, and 
 is called a good man. My terms were explicitly laid down, 
 and they went back to consult their tribes, who apparently 
 are not disposed to accept them, for they have sent new 
 proposals. Their real leader, Mundoo Khan, is the bearer, 
 but I refused even to listen." Next day some of the chiefs 
 came in and gave up their swords, but Beja and others fled, 
 and were finally captured without bloodshed on 9th March. 
 
vm.] HILL CAMPAIGN. 319 
 
 Thus ended the war after fifty-four days of incessant exer- • 
 tion. "Great has been my anxiety and labour in this 
 difficult warfare,'' writes the victor ; " I know not if I shall 
 get credit, but think it has been well done. However, the 
 play is over, and Hardinge and the public must decide on 
 my work. I have done my best, and want to hang up my 
 sword and live quietly." From Hardiage he received 
 enthusiastic praise, but not a word of recognition reached 
 him from the authorities in England. His despatches, 
 which are remarkable, among other things, for the first 
 mention in our military history of private soldiers by name, 
 were long withheld from the public. When they were at 
 last called for in the House of Lords, Lord Eipon, in answer 
 to a complaint at the delay, replied that he had forgotten 
 them ! It has been seen that the Duke of Wellington had 
 followed the whole campaign with the ardour of a student. 
 He expressed particular admiration for the spirit Napier 
 had infused into his officers and men in spite of their 
 despondency as to success, and of the extraordinary hard- 
 ships they were called upon to endure without the satisfac- 
 tion even of a fight. On this point Napier had himseK 
 made some interesting reflections in the midst of his diffi- 
 culties. 
 
 " I long for rest to my mind ; to get up and feel that there 
 is no work, and that there will be no neglect of duty. Now 
 every moment that the traces feel slack, the whip of conscience 
 cuts to the bone, and convulsive exertions follow. I do not 
 make the most of my tools either, for all my life the idea of 
 making soldiers do what I did not do myself has been odious 
 to me, and hence my own weakness is the measure of exertion. 
 As a young man I would not ride on a march, and often carried 
 a weakly man's musket, sometimes two. Young officers always 
 ride now, and heap their own comforts on the horse-keeper, 
 who runs on foot at their horse's tail. Such men may be 
 very good fellows, but they are incapable of leading men ; 
 
320 SIR CHARLES NAPIER. [chap. 
 
 a commissiQn puts them at the head of men, but they do not 
 lead them ; nor will they ever distinguish themselves in 
 history ; it is an ignorance of human nature, which is a veto 
 on their ever being great men. They are not, perhaps, worse 
 than men of other days, but those men of other days did not 
 distinguish themselves ; I mean those who preferred comfort 
 to military spirit. 
 
 "There are two essential qualities necessary to make a 
 soldier — courage and zeal ; and rather would I see a man 
 without the first than the second. Position, discipline, a 
 hundred things may remedy a failure of courage ; but want 
 of zeal is a floorer ; it is at one jump to reach the point where 
 age and long service place worn-out men. To this point it 
 is absolutely disgusting to see a man arrive at twenty-five, 
 nay, some at sixteen ! There are boys in this camp who 
 require and have more luxuries than myself, who am sixty- 
 three, and Governor of Scinde ! The want of beer and wine 
 is absolute misfortune to them. These men, or boys, are 
 unfit for war, the essence of which is endurance; and not 
 only that, but a pride and glory in privation, and a contempt 
 for comfort, as effeminate and disgraceful. The private 
 soldier cannot have luxuries, and if he sees his oflBcer despise 
 them he does the same ; but if his officer sacrifices everything 
 to enjoyment, he is not a fool, and holds that officer in con- 
 tempt'. Every reprimand he receives from the gentlemanly 
 Sybarite disgusts him, not only with the fop, but with the 
 service. 
 
 " Kegimental officers should not be allowed horses on the 
 field, or to ride on a march ; it is offensive to the men, and 
 ought to be so to the pride of the officer himself. Sir John 
 Moore forbade it ; Frederick the Great and Napoleon did not 
 allow it. The Duke of Wellington did permit it, but I be- 
 lieve he repented ; for he said, after two years' experience in 
 Spain, that it deprived him of 10,000 cavalry on account of 
 their forage. It is therefore probable he vras not satisfied 
 with his plan, but could not easily do away with his order. 
 No service but ours permits it, and we shall in time allow 
 sergeants and corporals to ride, and then privates, and so 
 
VIII.] HILL CAMPAIGN. 321 
 
 return to- the dark ages when all were cavalry. This is the 
 course of human nature. One man is allowed to ride though 
 his duty does not require it, why should not another ? " 
 
 He returns again and again to the same subject. 
 
 " In the field I work very hard, but it tries me sorely, and 
 I am told not to do this ; but you, William, know it is the 
 great secret of success, for. if a chief is lazy, everybody be- 
 comes so. 'When I see that old man incessantly on his 
 horse, how can I be idle, who am young and strong? By 
 
 , I would go into a loaded cannon's mouth if he ordered 
 
 me.' This was the speech of a young officer on the hills, and 
 when told me was ample reward for my work. . . . The great 
 art of commanding is taking a fair share of the work. Muley 
 Bey and Marshal Saxe won battles from a litter ; but solitary 
 examples wiU not shake a principle." 
 
 As another illustration of this principle I may give an 
 anecdote related to me by General Harley Maxwell, one of 
 the ablest and most devoted of Sir Charles Napier's sub- 
 ordinates. When preparations were being made for an 
 assault of the robbers' position. Sir Charles sent for an 
 engineer officer and told him he must have a mantlet to 
 cover his assaulting party. It was ten o'clock at night, 
 and the assault was to take place at five next morning. The 
 engineer had no means at his disposal and said plainly to 
 the chief that it was impossible. "Impossible!" said he j 
 " I don't know such a word. Get out of my tent '' — with 
 an inclination to lift one of his boots. The officer made off, 
 thinking he was disgraced, but had not gone far before he 
 was called back. " Can you forget a thing, sir % do so 
 now, and forget what I said just now. You would never 
 have said what you did unless you had some reason : tell 
 me all about it." The matter was soon explained, and it 
 was arranged that a gun limber should be used with two 
 charpoys (camp-beds) turned on their sides and lashed, with 
 a space between them filled in with sandbags stuffed with 
 
 Y 
 
322 S/Ji CHARLES NAPIER. [chap. 
 
 grass or anything else that was light and would stop a musket 
 shot. Sir Charles was most energetic. He gave up his own 
 charpoy, and pulled from under it an old portmanteau con- 
 taining all his belongings, which might help as a buffer ! 
 
 During the campaign Sir Charles Napier had not ne- 
 glected his civil functions. He had also found time to furnish 
 the Indian Government with a long and closely-reasoned 
 memorandum on the reformation of the Indian articles of 
 war. Attentive to everything that would develop the 
 natural resources of the country, he had been negotiating 
 with the lam of Beila for the purchase of some rare fruit-trees, 
 and had directed a collection of geological and mineralogical 
 specimens for transmission to the London Society. 
 
 On his return to Scinde the conquered tribes were dealt 
 with in the following manner : One portion was settled on 
 fertile government land near the Kusmore desert. Deriah 
 EZhan, their chief, was allowed to reject those whose character 
 was too violent to be easily tamed to agriculture ; and these 
 rough spirits Napier took at once into pay as policemen in 
 the districts farthest from the scenes of their former pursuits. 
 Deriah's people were compelled to build houses and till the 
 land, being fed by Government until their first harvest was 
 gathered. Then land was granted them on their undertaking 
 to oppose the incursions of any of their kindred who might 
 still be in arms. The redoubtable Beja, after lying some 
 time in prison, was settled with his followers, under Ali 
 Moorad's supervision, on the east side of the Indus. " Little 
 picnics," said the Governor, " we must expect, but no bands 
 of thousands with sword and shield will fret the border 
 again," — a prediction justified by experience. 
 
 By the end of March Sir Charles Napier had returned to 
 his ordinary administrative duties. While pursuing these 
 with his usual ardour he gave the closest attention to the 
 approaching Sikh war, which actually broke out in Decern- 
 
VIII.] SIKH WAR. 323 
 
 ber of that year. Having now had three years of Indian 
 war and government, and of correspondence with some of 
 the most eminent Indian statesmen, his opinions on imperial 
 politics had assumed very definite shapes. Like most people 
 interested in Indian affairs he had something to say about 
 the question of a Eussian invasion, though he was no more 
 scared at the prospect than indifferent to it. "I have always 
 thought Eussia will take Constantinople. She will then 
 soon become mistress of the sources of the Euphrates and 
 Tigris, the heads of the Eed Sea and Persian Gulf. ... The 
 moment Constantinople is conquered it becomes the capital 
 of Eussia, and her resources in ships and sailors will then be 
 available against India. If England thinks there is danger 
 to India from Eussia, let her look to Egypt betimes." 
 
 In any case he was convinced that "Eussia cannot 
 attack India until a man arises to lead her," and that the 
 route by the Oxus would " require an Alexander." As to 
 the line at which Eussia should be met, he often feasted 
 his imagination with visions of an Anglo-Indian host 
 extending the Indian empire to Babylon, and fighting 
 Eussia on the shores of the Caspian. As to Babylon, " We 
 could reach it more easily than Alexander. Hedge on the 
 borders of the G-edrosian desert lately offered m.e its 
 sovereignty, and Burpoor on the confines of Persia sur- 
 rendered simply to a forged letter with my name ! We 
 shall go slowly, but one hundred years will see us at Baby- 
 lon. If I could do as I pleased, that should be my road 
 home, despite of the Eussians. ... A little good manage- 
 ment would give Eussia her quietus and us the line of the 
 Euphrates." Such was the dream of the potential conqueror. 
 Then follows the forecast of what might actually happen 
 with a due regard to existing political facts. " Yes, India 
 could meet Eussia on the Caspian shore with 300,000 
 admirable troops ; but she would of course wait for her on 
 
324 S/Ji CHARLES NAPIER. [chap. 
 
 the Indus, with a large field artillery which elephants draw 
 about like 3 lbs. and at a rapid pace. Imagine fifty 24-lb. 
 guns working before a Eussian army, and shifting position 
 faster than their 6-pounders could be drawn by horses, 
 half-starved and winded by their long march from Khiva ! 
 Again, fifty regiments of irregular horsemen in high order, 
 all desperate swordsmen, cantering round a Eussian army 
 in all directions. And then 200,000 good infantry in line 
 as a wind-up ! Verily, Count Dolgoroucky, you would sweat, 
 even though the sun did not touch up your northerners, 
 which it would do unmercifully, while a stiflF division of 
 British troops acted as a polisher.'' 
 
 Eussia and dreams of world-conquest apart, Napier was 
 averse to any extension of territory. There was already 
 too much to be done within our empire. In the adminis- 
 tration of the army alone, in the want of the proper 
 number of European regimental ofiicers, he saw a danger 
 which, might some day prove subversive of our power. 
 Besides, "We ought to put down our load of interior 
 princes, and establish one concentrated just system before 
 extending our sway." The policy of allowing native states 
 to preserve their independence, real or theoretical, within 
 our frontiers might, he thought, have the most terrible 
 consequences in case of a great repulse by the Sikhs or 
 others. "The doctrine was, I suppose, formerly found 
 useful and safe ; but it appears to me now replete with 
 danger, when our great extent of territory divides om- 
 forces." Akin to this evil, and more wide-reaching in its 
 effects, was what he considered the error, both political and 
 moral, of accommodating our system of government to the 
 claims of the privileged classes, from the prince to the 
 zemindar, instead of going straight to the door of the ryot. 
 
 " The Indian system seems to be the crushing of the native 
 plebeian and supporting the aristocrat, who, reason and facts 
 
Tin.] SIKH WAR. 325 
 
 tell us, is our deadly enemy. He always must be, for we step 
 into his place ; lie descends in the scale of society, and we 
 stand on his head. The ryot is ruined by us, though willing 
 to be our friend ; yet he is the man to whom we must trust 
 for keeping India, and the only one who can take it from us 
 if we ill-use him, for he then joins his hated natural chief ! 
 The peril attending strangers and conquerors of one hundred 
 and eighty millions of people cannot be wholly put aside. 
 Yet English and Indians may be amalgamated by just and 
 equal laws, until we are no longer strangers ; then, having 
 power, we shall never be attacked before all distinctions are 
 worn out by intermarriages and blended habits of life : the 
 great operations of nations work changes which man cannot, 
 or at least does not, command. The final result of our Indian 
 conquests no man can predict ; but if we take the people by 
 the hand we may count on ruling India for ages. Justice, 
 rigid justice, even severe justice, wiU work miracles ; it has 
 its basis in the desire of man for protection against cruelty, 
 and cannot be shaken : India is safe if so ruled." 
 
 Here was a great deal to be done before the Punjab 
 ought to be taken. But, meanwhile, the whole Sikh popu- 
 lation, armed and drilled as no other hostile native force 
 had been, was in a state of anarchy ; ready at the beck of 
 the first military adventurer to pass the Sutlej and pour itself 
 over India like a horrid pestilence. " Such a state,'' said 
 Napier in December 1843, "is a public nuisance, against 
 which no frontier state can provide securely, otherwise than 
 by seizing the misgoverned land. Where might is right 
 the most mighty has the most right. I am therefore of 
 opinion that the Punjab must soon be taken by us.'' 
 
 If he had merely predicted that a collision with the Sikh 
 power was inevitable his words would not have been singular 
 at the time, or worthy of notice now ; but he said much 
 more. He said the war would be difiicult, and rendered 
 still more so by our contempt of the enemy. When the 
 
326 S/Ji CHARLES NAPIER. [chap. 
 
 Governor-General thought the dangerous symptoms were 
 subsiding Napier was urging him to form his plans so as 
 not to be taken by surprise. Not less interesting in the 
 light of subsequent events is his fear that Gough's tactics 
 as illustrated by the war in Gwalior would cost him dearly 
 on the Sutlej, and that Hardinge would have to take the 
 field in person. In June 1844 he writes : — 
 
 " I believe possession of the Punjab is not desirable for 
 the Company. In my opinion the Hyphasis forms a better 
 frontier for our Indian territory than the northern or upper 
 Indus, as being more compact now that we have Scinde. 
 Nevertheless, the Punjab must be ours." In the same 
 month he says to his brother : " Mark ! there must be a 
 war in the Punjab. It is not we but they who will make 
 that war. It is impossible to have a regular Government 
 there ; the Sikh army won't allow it ; so the result is 
 evident. If we attack the Punjab I am aU but certain we 
 shall take it, but it will not be an easy conquest. My im- 
 pression is that Hardinge will now have his talent proved, 
 and Gough also. The public here give me the command, 
 but that is an error, and I do not want it — nay, would 
 much rather not unless in supreme authority. Hardinge 
 should command the army himself; it wiU be a perilous 
 war, and a repulse dreadful in its results." For Gough 
 personally he entertained the warmest feelings, but his 
 distrust of him as a General will be best understood by his 
 criticism of the battle of Maharajpoor. " The management 
 of the battle appears defective. I have had no time to 
 examine details, yet to have brought neither cavalry nor 
 artillery to bear, and the hurrying of our infantry into 
 action without support, or even knowing where the enemy 
 was posted, seems bad." His anxiety increased as he saw 
 how difierently the Government estimated the danger. " If 
 we have a Sikh war I suspect they will fight hard ; they 
 
VIII.] SIKH WAR. 327 
 
 are very well armed, tolerably drilled, and have lots of 
 artillery. Hardinge says "we shall easily thrash them, and 
 he probably has good information from the wise men of the 
 East. . . . However, it is no longer a matter of choice ; 
 we shall be forced to take the Punjab; but whether we 
 shall ' shilly-shally ' till millions of money are expended or 
 strike at once, God only knows. Doing it now woidd be 
 less expensive, but Hardinge should command in person. 
 Gough's soldiers will fight him through, but he will not find 
 Chinese, nor have superior numbers as at Maharajpoor. The 
 Sikhs are brave troops, and there will be more than mere 
 fighting : it will be a campaign of more than one battle." 
 In June 1845 British troops were being collected on the 
 Sutlej, and it was considered certain that the Governor- 
 General would take an active part in the campaign. This 
 only suggested a new danger : " My fear is that our having 
 two chiefs will do mischief ; the real commander has ability 
 and power, but is not the chief General." On the 1st 
 December he heard with some incredulity from the Gover- 
 nor-General that there would be no war during that season 
 after all, and three weeks later he heard from the same 
 quarter that war had broken out on the 13th December. 
 
 Meanwhile he had long been trying in vain to extract 
 from his superiors some idea of their plans, in order that 
 he might form his own, so as to make the assistance they 
 expected from him as eJBFective as possible. Six months 
 before the war broke out he submitted to Sir H. Hardinge 
 his scheme for the employment of the Scinde force. He 
 proposed to seize Mooltan, and make it a base for such 
 diversions as the movements of the main force should make 
 desirable. He had the satisfaction of learning afterwards 
 that this scheme exactly corresponded with the Duke of 
 Wellington's advice to Sir H. Hardinge. If the closing 
 words of Napier's memorandum had received the attention 
 
328 SIR CHARLES NAPIER. [ohap. 
 
 they deserved, how much bloodshed and misery might have 
 been avoided ! He says : " Such are the difficulties to be 
 prepared for, and the best preparation is the discussion of 
 them ; and I think, if my arguments are just, that you will 
 enable me to march with at least 10,000 men, if I am to 
 march at all. However, I need not tell you that I am 
 ready to march with a corporal's guard, if you think it 
 enough ! The fate of India may at any moment hang upon 
 your sword ; and it is the duty of your distant lieutenants 
 to tell you what they want, and what they think they can 
 do. My plan is always to consider every possible difficulty 
 well, and then to work heart and hand to overcome them ; 
 it is only when not foreseen, and not prepared for, that 
 difficulties become really fearful and insurmountable." 
 
 In September he sent to the Sutlej pontoons for bridges, 
 and in order to have his army in such a state that no call 
 could be too sudden he pushed on with all speed the 
 organisation of the camel baggage-corps, which had been a 
 favourite design of his since he had seen with his own eyes 
 the baggage of an Indian army. 
 
 The evils of the existing system, or want of system, were 
 numerous and obvious ; indeed, the nature of the climate 
 and country rendered some of them inevitable. Many 
 things which in a European army would be condemned as 
 luxuries are, especially to Europeans, really necessary. 
 The proportion of camp-followers to combatants was com- 
 monly as five to one. Sir Charles Napier, with all his 
 exertions, was unable to reduce it lower than three to one. 
 But the usual method of coping with these difficulties is 
 calculated to promote neither efficiency nor economy. For 
 each new war or threatened war a sufficient number of 
 camels has to be hired by contract. The Government's 
 necessity is the contractor's opportunity. Heavy prices 
 are demanded, and become heavier as the war goes on. 
 
VIII.] SIKH WAR. 329 
 
 The camel -drivers, though generally under the orders of 
 the Commissariat, are not subject to any effective super- 
 vision. Camels are overloaded, ill-fed, iU-used, and die in 
 great numbers, while their owners have to be compensated 
 by Government. The result is as ruinously expensive as 
 it is cruel. In Lord Keane's short and successful cam- 
 paign in the first Afghan War the number of camels lost 
 was estimated at 50,000. In the more recent campaign of 
 1879 as many as 60,000 are said to have perished. The 
 evil is no less from the military point of view.^ Napier 
 says : " Place the animals as you will, the encumbrance of 
 this unwieldy mass is immense ; for the animals and their 
 burdens must have room. Here they are jostling — crowding 
 in now — spreading widely then — at times the strong animals 
 far in front — the weaker as far in rear — some djdng — ■ 
 some throwing their loads and nmning away — the tired ser- 
 vants labouring after, and often, very often, getting slain, or, 
 losing the column, perishing miserably — thousands of camels 
 dying, not only from fatigue, but from ill-usage by both 
 soldiers and the drivers, and from being always overloaded. 
 Such is the picture of the baggage of an Indian army; 
 Smithfield market alone can rival it ! " Here again is an 
 illustration from life : " In the hiUs a large vaUey was quite 
 choked with baggage on the 22d of February. We had 
 marched at daylight for Deyrah, and the baggage followed 
 a guard which went forward to secure a difficult pass. I 
 remained on horseback from 4 A.M. until 2 p.m. before the 
 baggage had passed me, and from my place to the camp, a 
 vaUey of 3 miles, was so jammed, that hardly could an order 
 get sent to the troops ; and the cavalry, with a battery, 
 were forced to take another route ! Such fixes are formid- 
 
 ' See on the whole subject, A Letter to the Right Hon. Sir J. Sob- 
 hovse on the Baggage of the Indian Army, by Sir Charles Napier ; 
 written in 1848, and reprinted in 1880 by M. Walbrook, 180 Brompton 
 Road, S.W. 
 
330 SIR CHARLES NAPIER. [chap. 
 
 able close to an enemy." Summing up the evils from the 
 strategical point of view, he says : "If pursuing an enemy, 
 the commander quickly outmarches his baggage, and finds 
 himself without food or tents, and perhaps without water ; 
 for in the deserts of India the wells are few, and may be 
 poisoned. In short, the baggage of an Indian army shackles 
 the General in all his movements, which, instead of being 
 rapid and assisted by his baggage, are rendered slow and 
 uncertain ; thus, in place of all things being made secondary 
 in importance to what ought to be the first great object — 
 that of beating the enemy — the first object becomes that of 
 protecting the baggage." 
 
 Sir Charles Napier's treatment of this difficult question 
 was based on the following propositions : — 1. That an Indian 
 army requires more baggage than any other army in the world. 
 2. That the Europeans of an Indian army require more bag- 
 gage than other parts of that army. 3. That the officers 
 carry a great deal more baggage than is necessary. 4. That 
 the line which divides necessaries from luxuries must be 
 drawn with much care, for in India luxuries and necessaries 
 are near akin, especially among Europeans. 5. That the 
 baggage allowed in war should be much less than that 
 allowed in peace. 6. That all private baggage should bfe 
 carried by the public ; because an officer, who is allowed 
 money by the public to provide his own means of carrying 
 his baggage, may lose his animals without any fault of his 
 own or of his servants. 
 
 "No regimental officer," he said, "should be allowed 
 more than three camels in the field. I speak from experi- 
 ence. When I took the field in the HiU Campaign against 
 the robber tribes, I had but five camels. I was then not 
 merely Commander of the Forces, but also Governor, and 
 one camel out of the five was loaded entirely with official 
 documents, stationery, maps, books, and correspondence, 
 
vm.] SIKH WAR. 331 
 
 civil and military. If I could do this (and on the march to 
 Emaum-Ghur in 1843, 1 and my aide-de-camp had but three 
 camels between us), a regimental officer can do with three 
 camels, whatever be his rank. What does he want ? His 
 tent, his bed, a canteen, a second pair of breeches, a second 
 pair of shoes, half a dozen shirts, a second flannel waistcoat, 
 a couple of towels, and a piece of soap ; all beyond is mere 
 luxury, and not fit for a campaign. His regimentals he 
 carries on his back. An Indian campaign lasts five months. 
 No man takes the field for comfort ; he goes to win renown, 
 and no Sybarite wins renown in war." 
 
 The new camel baggage-corps was to be organised, main- 
 tained, and drilled with as much care as any other branch 
 of the service, and was to be self-protecting, so as to relieve 
 the General of the necessity of detaching troops to guard 
 his baggage when he wanted every man to attack. 
 
 " My organisation is this. An elephant is to carry a large 
 flag by day, and by night a large lantern fized in a howdah.i 
 Each company is to have a camel with its own smaller flag of 
 its own colour, and a lantern of same colour; and all the 
 trappings of all the animals of each company are to be of one 
 colour, that of their flag. The drivers are so to be dressed 
 also, if I find no inconvenience as to transfers, which may 
 possibly be. 
 
 " This forming of baggage in regiments will make it more 
 wieldy ; and by arming and drilling the drivers, and giving 
 every camel its driver, instead of one man to three animals, 
 which is now the practice, I shaU get rid of the baggage-guard; 
 one man will lead two camels, the other man wiU flank them, 
 and both will load and unload. I also attach five elephants, 
 
 1 In a letter to Sir W. Napier he says : — "Your d«siring me to 
 thank Moses amused me, for really he was in my mind when I thought 
 of the great lantern. I may probahly thank that old soldier of the 
 deserts in person yet, before you can, for his lesson : the Sikhs may 
 settle that (Question next autumn, and so introduce me to the best 
 general that ever was — for such I really think Moses was." 
 
332 $IJi CHARLES NAPIER. [chap. 
 
 to apply their force to baggage or guns as necessity demands. 
 My general order of march, where possible, is to have the 
 baggage on the reverse flank. With this neve organisation 
 the lumber may go to any place, and form a living redoubt, 
 defended by the drivers against the wild cavalry of the 
 country, which sweeps round you like a storm and settles on 
 your rear."i 
 
 The baggage-corps was, after Napier's departure from 
 India, abolished by the authorities, and no adequate attempt 
 has since been made in India to deal with this important 
 subject. The "Land Transport Corps,'' organised in the 
 Crimea by Sir Charles Napier's son-in-law and pupil, Colonel 
 (now Greneral Sir M.) M'Murdo, is a reproduction of the 
 principle, though much restricted in its action. 
 
 The camel baggage-corps was not the only improvement 
 by which, in Sir W. Napier's words, he had "given wings 
 to his army." He had created the fighting camel -corps, 
 thoroughly reorganised the Scinde Irregular Cavalry, and 
 so horsed his batteries that they were capable of any exer- 
 tion. " The army of Scinde," says Sir W. . Napier, " was 
 emphatically an army of movement ; swift to assail, terrible 
 to strike ; and if the formation of the Belooch battalions, 
 now well organised and fit for service, be added to the in- 
 stitutions mentioned above, the military creations will be 
 found to have kept pace with those of the civil administra- 
 tion in Scinde.'' The General's own observations on his 
 reforms are worthy of attention : "It is to me a strange thing 
 to see, yet I do see it daily, that men of good sense in ordinary 
 matters — ay, even clever men — overlook the sure though 
 apparently trivial points on which the success of their pro- 
 jects essentially depends. On this very point of movement 
 they fancy galloping of guns and setting of soldiers running 
 are to ensure a rapid operation ; it never seems to enter their 
 heads, that the only good of double quick is to train men 
 ^ See Appendix. 
 
vm.I SIKH WAR. 333 
 
 to health and exertion, not to obtain results by the superior 
 quickness of running over walking. They do not see that 
 horse artillery need not go faster than columns can march. 
 Nor, that it is arrangement and incessant care that make 
 an army rapid — -care to raise the moral feelings, care to 
 support the physical strength of the weak, not galloping 
 and trumpeting and running." 
 
 The Sikh war broke out in December 1845. Sir H. 
 Hardinge was taken by surprise. A fortnight before the 
 battle of Moodkee he had written to Napier to say that he 
 would give him six weeks' notice of hostilities. On 24th 
 December Napier heard from him that hostilities had com- 
 menced on the 13th, and ordering him to assemble at 
 Eoree, with all possible speed, an army of 15,000 men with 
 a siege train. A large portion of this force had to come 
 from Bombay ; but he set to work with his usual vigour. 
 " I only heard of the war on the 24th ; this is the 26th, 
 and already my siege train has advanced 100 miles towards 
 Eoree; that is not bad, and I give myself a month to 
 assemble all at Eoree, 400 miles off — i.e. 26 marches, which 
 are regulated by water. Hardinge promised me six 
 weeks' notice ! But my work is to remedy mishaps : it is 
 half the glory of war to rise over the wave Kke a ship.'' 
 He set to work on the 24th December, and on 6th February 
 he was at Eoree, "at the head of 15,000 men, with 86 
 pieces of cannon and 300 yards of flying bridges, consisting 
 of pontoons, native boats, with rafters and planking; the 
 whole ready to march, carriage and everything complete, 
 and such a spirit in the troops as cannot be surpassed." 
 The whole force to be provided for, including non-combat- 
 ants, was 50,000 men. He had two months' provisions in 
 camp, and an armed flotilla of steamers on the Indus 
 loaded with fresh supplies; in addition to which he had 
 made ample provision for the peace and security of Scinde 
 
334 Sm CHARLES NAPIER. [chap. 
 
 during his absence. Such preparations could not have been 
 made without the most extraordinary exertions on the part 
 of every man connected with them. Sir George Arthur, 
 Governor of Bombay, sent up the reinforcements with a 
 promptness and attention to their needs that drew from 
 Napier repeated acknowledgments of gratitude. " Another 
 steamer is in sight from Bombay ! Well, that Arthur wins 
 my heart; he does give me such thorough support in war." 
 His own staff worked night and day; but next to their 
 devotion he attributed his success to the Scinde baggage- 
 corps. He had been forbidden to coUect camels before the 
 war, and only started with enough for a column of 3000 
 men. Major Jameson, to whose able hands the corps had 
 been intrusted, had to collect and train both men and 
 camels while actually on the march. He now felt the full 
 advantage of the hill campaign, but for which the fierce 
 robber tribes would now have been able to dash at pleasure 
 upon any point of his long line of communication. His 
 general plan of operations was as follows : The first position 
 of importance in front of him was Mittenkote, situated at 
 the confluence of the Punjab rivers ; the Sikhs had recog- 
 nised its importance, and were actually fortifying it at the 
 time. Ali Moorad was directed to march up the eastern bank 
 of the Indus upon Dera Gazee ELhan, a rich town. " His 
 desire to plunder it will induce him to make a few marches, 
 and then his fears will make him halt and perhaps fall 
 back. But the demonstration will do what I want — ^viz. 
 distract the attention of the enemy, occupy his troops, and 
 draw him from the defence of the Sutlej." He himself 
 meant to attack Mittenkote with his whole force of artillery. 
 " This appears like killing a gnat with a sledge hammer ; 
 but Mittenkote must be crushed at once, and a moral efiect 
 produced upon Soojuabad and Mooltan." The army was 
 to move against Mittenkote up both banks of the river, 
 
yni.] SIKH WAR. 335 
 
 accompanied by the flotilla. When Mittenkote was cap- 
 tured the left column was to cross to the left side of the 
 river, and the whole force was to march to Ooch. " At 
 Ooch I shall form a M'pU and fortify it; then cross the 
 Sutlej, the passage of which will probably be opposed ; but 
 I have taken the guns from the steamers and made a good 
 many gunboats, under whose fire and that from batteries 
 on the bank, where my heavy guns will be placed, the 
 passage shall be forced. If we get across I shall form a 
 strong tUe de poni and occupy it with the Nawab of Bhawul- 
 poor's troops ; and then putting all my hurt people and sick 
 on board the steamers, advance on Soojuabad and Mooltan, 
 taking my siege train in boats or by land according to cir- 
 cumstances.'' Had he been allowed to make preparations 
 for executing this well-devised plan ia time many of the 
 calamities of that terrible war would have been avoided. 
 Even at that late hour he felt he could strike a decisive blow. 
 With an army of 15,000 men, admirably equipped, discip- 
 lined, and mad to fight under his eye, he would have met 
 any odds. But it was not to be. While he was in the midst 
 of his preparations the battle of Ferozashur had been fought. 
 The heroic courage of the Governor-General had saved the 
 army, but the contending forces were still face to face. At 
 this terrible crisis, with the fate of India in the balance, 
 Hardinge ordered Napier to direct his force upon Bhawul- 
 poor, and to come himself with all speed to headquarters. 
 His disappointment was bitter. To be thus summoned in 
 the hour of need was, perhaps, an honourable testimony to 
 his military reputation; but he was taken from a post 
 where his own immense exertions had placed him in a 
 position to render undoubted service, in order to take his 
 place in a coimcil of war — an institution for which he ever 
 had the heartiest dislike. 
 
 Leaving his army on the 10th of February he travelled 
 
336 SIJi CHARLES NAPIER. [chap. 
 
 across the enemy's country with extraordinary speed, thanks 
 to his camel-corps, and reached Lahore on the 3d of March, 
 only to find that Sobraon had been fought and that the war 
 was over. The Governor-General greeted him as an old 
 comrade, while to the whole army he was an object of the 
 liveliest interest and enthusiasm. 
 
 " I cannot enter into the cause of being ordered up here, 
 but it is very honourable ; and in all things Hardinge has 
 behaved towards me with extreme personal kindness, and in 
 the most flattering manner. His answer to those who, on the 
 terrible night of the 21st, wanted him to retreat was, ' No ! 
 we will abide the break of day, and then either sweep all 
 before us or die honourably ! ' This was worthy of the man 
 who saved Albuera." After hearing the accoimt of the 
 battles he says of the Commander-in-Chief : " Gough is a 
 glorious old fellow, brave as ten lions, each with two sets 
 of teeth and two tails." Very painful was the contrast 
 between hjs personal feelings for these noble soldiers and 
 the judgment which he could not help passing upon their 
 conduct as responsible leaders. 
 
 " The passage of the river by the Sikhs was unexpected, 
 unprovided for ; yet it had for years, I may say, assuredly for 
 months, been a matter of common expectation, not only in 
 India, but in Europe. This was the Governor-General's first 
 error. Every step the Sikhs took ought to have been known 
 beforehand and prepared for. The second error was even 
 greater. A small body of 6000 was left at Ferozepoor, and 
 the Sikhs should have destroyed them, and then Ferozashur 
 must have been fought with 10,000 ; for the 6000 would not 
 have been there ; and the Sikhs, flushed with victory over 
 them, would probably have won Moodkee also. Well, Feroz- 
 ashur followed, and still the struggle was made by 16,000 
 against 60,000, less their several losses in the previous 
 actions. Generalship had not diminished the disproportion, 
 though bull-dog fighting had taken the enemy's guus. 
 
vin.] SIKH WAR. 337 
 
 " Tlie last of the three days' fighting was a mere repulse ; 
 we stood victorious, but were unable to move : no provisions, 
 no magazines. Thus we remained till the 26th, I believe, 
 paralysed ! And this after such displays of courage by officers 
 and soldiers, and but 40 miles from the enemy's capital ! 
 The censures of history must fall heavy here. Let us come 
 to the second act of this bloody drama. While we stood 
 inactive the enemy again crossed higher up and fought us 
 on our own territory, near Loodhiana. . . . But he did more : 
 he poured his battalions over the river in sight of our army, 
 and fortified 70,000 men in a position ! and our strength was 
 then 40,000. The Governor-General had no right to expect 
 a successful storm of such works, if time were given to 
 strengthen them, and he should have assailed them at once. 
 He could not. He was without ammunition for his guns ; 
 yet Such attacks depend more on muskets and bayonets. 
 History wiU make no allowance for this." 
 
 The result of the campaign showed, in his opinion, that 
 the statesmanship was no stronger than the generalship, 
 and he took occasion once more to raise a warning voice 
 which was as amply justified as were his former predictions. 
 "Hardinge is ordered to treat, and himself approves of 
 treating, not annexing, and — ihe result mil be another war. 
 . . . Meanwhile India has lost much blood and money, and 
 the tragedy must be reacted a year or two hence." 
 
 In spite of the kindness of all his old friends and the 
 attentions paid him by strangers, he was glad to leave 
 Lahore and return to his Government. " I am afraid to 
 say what I think," he writes. " First, it would look like a 
 desire to censure Hardinge, whom I love, for he is a noble 
 fellow. Second, it would look as if my wish was to get 
 Gough's place, which would be false : he also is a noble 
 fellow, but he owes Hardinge a debt of which he is not 
 aware. Third, it would appear boastful; but until at 
 Lahore I had no idea of how much could have been done. 
 
 z 
 
338 SIR CHARLES NAPIER. [chap. 
 
 Yet will I also say that, taking all things into consideration, 
 the bad state of the army, the want of discipline, mass of 
 baggage, etc., Hardinge could not have done more. His 
 long absence from all miUtary work made him, I am sure, 
 feel unable to take full command ; he felt he had, and he 
 has, the great principles of war all right, but not the details, 
 which spring from practice, and are required to do good 
 work : there is no Aladdin's lamp for discipline.'' 
 
 With regard to his own exertions in the war two points 
 are worthy of notice, not only because they show how 
 inadequate was the judgment of those who have regarded 
 him as another Peterborough, whose success was due to 
 flashes of an irregular and eccentric genius, but also because 
 they declare once more what are the essential conditions of 
 all good work. In spite of his success in war, in spite of 
 the contrast between his own careful preparations and the 
 blunders and unreadiness of his superiors, he never took 
 credit to himself for genius or pre-eminent talent in war. 
 " I am not of great ability," he says, when in the midst of 
 his preparations; "I am a painstaking man, working 
 diligently, but without any of that astounding power of 
 mind like Napoleon or the Duke." 
 
 The second point is still more instructive, Charles 
 Napier, at the age of sixty-three, an ofiicer of fifty years' 
 standing, the most brilliant soldier in India, and over- 
 whelmed with business, was still trjring hard to improve 
 himself by the study of books. In a letter to his brother, 
 Sir William, relating his preparations for war, he makes a 
 suggestion on this subject which, unfortunately for the 
 military world, never bore fruit. 
 
 " There is a work wanted, and you are the man to do it 
 when you have time — namely, a compendium of maxims by 
 great commanders, without examples, such as your observa- 
 tions after chapters in your history, and Napoleon in his 
 
vili.] SIKH WAR. 339 
 
 memoirs. A man at the head of troops wants to refer to such 
 things and keep them fresh in memory ; he does not want 
 examples but principles, and such a book is not to be put 
 together by an ordinary writer ignorant of war. I have 
 found Frederick of Prussia's instructions very useful. I 
 cannot tell how, except that they are practical, and bring 
 many things before me as I work ; and they are in one little 
 volume ; whereas I have to hunt through your six volumes, 
 and Napoleon's nine, which are therefore useless to me ; for 
 I cannot carry them, and would not have time to hunt out 
 passages. Even Frederick's little book might be much less, 
 and thus be better. Jomini is too voluminous; the Arch- 
 duke Charles is better, but not altogether what I want and 
 mean ; Fred, is the man. But my book should not be Fred., 
 nor Nap., nor any one, but able extracts from all, by a man 
 able also to give his own, as you are : the Duke is not now 
 likely to do anything of this nature. I have long wished for 
 a work of this kind : ever since I have had a command, and 
 a pamphlet of 100 pages will do." 
 
 For a man who tackles his profession in this way, read- 
 ing the best that is known with pen in hand, even though 
 his abilities be but moderate, the bugbear of modern exa- 
 minations will have no terrors. 
 
 Early in April Sir Charles Napier was back at Kurachee, 
 having travelled so rapidly that he arrived as soon as the 
 news of the peace. Scinde had remained perfectly tranquil 
 during the war, and the Governor found his reputation 
 with the Beloochees rather greater than before. His kis- 
 met, they said, was a cubit longer than that of any man 
 then living, and when he was ordered to headquarters they 
 had exclaimed, " Now all will be settled at once." In all 
 other respects the war had given him little cause for satis- 
 faction. He had felt keenly the disappointment of seeing 
 his masterly preparations rendered abortive, and the long 
 ride of 1800 miles to Lahore and back in the heat had sown 
 
340 S/J^ CHARLES NAPIER. [chap. 
 
 the seeds of a disease which ultimately proved fatal. Have- 
 lock wrote, after seeing him at Lahore, "It is impossible 
 to conceive, without seeing it, a frame so attenuated and 
 shattered, and yet tenanted by a living soul, as this old 
 soldier's." He had hardly resumed his duties under these 
 depressing conditions when a still heavier trial fell upon 
 him. Cholera, which had appeared in a few cases among 
 the natives, suddenly burst out with the greatest violence 
 among the troops and the European community, attacking 
 the finest and strongest men. Its worst fury was of short 
 duration, and its disappearance was as abrupt and inexpli- 
 cable as its coming ; but in that short time 7000 persons 
 died in Kurachee, and nearly 50,000 were said to have 
 perished in the country ; 800 soldiers died. The Governor 
 separated the troops at once, and organised seven hospitals. 
 Some of these were 2 miles asunder, and the nearest more 
 than a mile from his house, but he inspected every hospital 
 twice every day, speaking some word of encouragement to 
 every sufferer. His own home was not spared. John 
 Napier, his favourite nephew, had one little daughter, and 
 his wife. Sir Charles Napier's step-daughter, was in deli- 
 cate health. On the 6th of July the little girl died ; on 
 the afternoon of the 7th John Napier, an ardent and able 
 soldier, was attacked by cholera, and before night was dead; 
 on the following day a second daughter was born. This 
 double burden of public and private sorrow was hard to 
 bear, how hard no one might know, for in that dark hour he 
 felt that only his calm and undaunted defiance of adversity 
 stood between his people and despair. Only when alone 
 with his Journal is a sharp cry of pain suffered to escape. 
 " I have lost my Journal from the 26th of April, and since 
 then nothing but great suffering has been my fate. John's 
 first illness ; then his child's ; and then the terrible cholera 
 which swept ofi^ my soldiers ; and, God ! its last blow 
 
vm.] ADMINISTRATION. 341 
 
 struck down my beloved nephew after he and I had laid 
 his child in its grave. I laid him by her side ; him whom 
 from his infancy I had saved and cherished, and whom I so 
 loved. Merciful God ! how heavily the hand of the evil 
 spirit strikes ! but we go to Thee, and the struggle ends ! 
 My time cannot be very distant.'' 
 
 The state of his health made him conscious that he must 
 soon choose between leaving Scinde and dying at his post. 
 He had imdergone four years of great responsibility and 
 labour in a trying climate, and without any rest or relaxa- 
 tion. He felt that another year would be as much as he 
 could bear. His choice was hastened and to some extent 
 determined by his unpleasant relations with the Court of 
 Directors. When Lord Ellenborough left India a consider- 
 able portion of the ill-will borne him by the East India Com- 
 pany had been transferred to the most brilliant exponent of 
 his policy, who, it must be confessed, did not take much pains 
 to avert it. From the day Napier set foot in India he had 
 spoken freely in disparagement of the Company's rule ; the 
 Government of Scinde had been organised without the least 
 reference to the tastes or wishes of that body ; while the 
 controversy between his brother and Major Outram had 
 introduced a personal element into the conflict of political 
 opinions. He could, however, say for himself that, if he 
 had used hard words about the Directors, he had still been 
 a valuable servant. In the war in the Punjab the differ- 
 ence between Scinde as a turbulent and treacherous neigh- 
 bour, and Scinde as a loyal and strongly -ruled province 
 menacing the Sikh flank, had been of the first importance. 
 Again, in another direction, the acquisition of Scinde had 
 put a stop to the smuggling of opium through the Portu- 
 guese colony of Demaum into Bombay, and had thereby 
 enormously increased the revenue of that presidency. Nor 
 had Scinde proved a bad bargain in itself. In the first 
 
342 SIJi CHARLES NAPIER. [chap. 
 
 four years after the conquest little short of £800,000 sur- 
 plus was paid into the treasury of India in spite of war and 
 pestilence. When, therefore, Napier found himself exposed 
 to every sort of annoyance and misrepresentation, and 
 when he remembered that the only reward he had received 
 for his services was the promotion from K.C.B. to G.C.B., 
 he felt that he was a marked man. Putting aside his 
 services in the settlement of Scinde, nothing had been 
 done for his staff after the hill campaign, and he received 
 absolutely no recognition of his exertions in the Sikh war. 
 He had warned the Government that war was inevitable, 
 and had asked leave to prepare for it ; this had been refused 
 on the ground that it would alarm the Sikhs. When war 
 broke out, he was ordered without any warning to organise, 
 equip, and concentrate at a distance of 400 miles an army 
 of 15,000 men with a heavy siege train — a task which he 
 completed in forty days. Then, in his own words, " There 
 are Hardinge's letters calling me up from Eoree to his head- 
 quarters, because things were in danger, and he thought I 
 was the man to pull them through. I am not so vain as to 
 think they had no other ; but they thought so, and the army 
 thought so, and I have the Governor-General's letters saying 
 so. The Government at home have, of course, copies, for 
 the letters were official." He had obeyed this call with 
 extraordinary promptitude and at the cost of great personal 
 suffering, and yet, when ministers at home thanked the 
 officers by name who had taken part in the campaign, from 
 the Governor-General down to a gallant captain, Sir Charles 
 Napier was not considered worthy of even a passing notice. 
 Unfortunately he experienced something worse than neglect 
 from the Court of Directors. 
 
 After the conquest of Scinde the prize money was 
 vested in the Directors as trustees for its proper distribu- 
 tion ; which, it was wittily said, was like making the wicked 
 
vni.] ADMINISTRATION. 343 
 
 uncle trustee for the babes in the wood. They decided, 
 against all precedent, that Sir Charles Napier was only 
 entitled to one-sixteenth as a Major-General, instead of one- 
 eighth as Commander-in-Chief of the troops concerned. 
 Sir Charles Napier received no official notice of this de- 
 cision, but the Lords of the Treasury permitted his friends 
 to appeal on his behalf, and the decision was reversed. 
 Another instance of the unfair treatment he met with at 
 their hands was of a much more serious nature than a dis- 
 pute about prize money. If there was one thing that he 
 had more at heart than another in his government it was 
 the removal of every restriction on the production or im- 
 portation of food. One of his first administrative acts had 
 been the abolition of a tax upon imported grain, known as 
 transit-duty. With his experience of the amenities of the 
 Anglo-Indian press he was not much surprised to find the 
 Bombay Times denouncing him for having dared to re- 
 establish this same transit-duty, and making all India ring 
 with circumstantial accounts of his infamous attempts to 
 make up a sham revenue. 
 
 " As I never, he says, " put one single tax upon the people 
 of Scinde, good, bad, or indifferent, and took off a great many 
 taxes, I laughed at what I knew must be in due time found 
 jjure inventions. But could I laugh when I found, by a mis- 
 take of a clerk at Calcutta in sending a wrong letter, that the 
 Bombay Government had transmitted a secret note of council 
 to be registered at Calcutta against me ! accusing me of mak- 
 ing up a false revenue, not alone by levying taxes, for as I 
 recollect the Minute of council only hinted at that, but by a 
 monopoly of grain ! the price of which was first raised, it 
 said, by my command, and then sold at the enhanced price 
 to the troops, so as to make the loss fall on the Bombay 
 Government ; in short, that I had perpetrated so infamous 
 an action, that if there had been an iota of truth in it, hang- 
 ing would be too good for me. 
 
344 SIR CHARLES NAPIER. [chap. 
 
 " Well, I answered their Minute when it reached me by 
 the mistake noticed, and disproved by document after docu- 
 ment every lie they had told. Did this suffice % Was this 
 all the result of the Bombay Times' falsehoods about the taxes ? 
 No ! Enough in all conscience, but not all. I got a letter 
 from Lord Ripon, to say he had heard of my taxation, but 
 hoped it was not true ; and then he gave aU sorts of reasons 
 to prove I ought not to put on the transit-duty, showing that 
 he was convinced I had done so — as a nurse says to a naughty 
 child, I hope you have not been doing so and so, when she 
 knows it has. . . . No sooner had I answered Lord Ripon than 
 down comes from Calcutta a letter from the secret committee 
 of the Court of Directors — Lord Eipon's colleagues — to know 
 why I had restored the transit-duty, which they heard I had 
 done from various sources." 
 
 It will be observed that the authorities had condemned 
 him without asking for any explanation from himself. But 
 this was not the worst. Sir Charles Napier's charges 
 against his official superiors have often been smiled at as 
 the inventions of an irritable and egotistical imagination. 
 An instructive comment on that view vnll be found in the 
 sequel to the business of the transit-duty. In the year 
 1857, when Sir Charles Napier had been four years in his 
 grave, a motion was made in Parliament for a return of 
 Land Tenures in India. The return, when presented, con- 
 tained the direct charge, as made by the Bombay Govern- 
 ment in 1846, that, contrary to the established law and in 
 order to give a fictitious importance to his conquest. Sir 
 Charles Napier had created a monopoly of grain to sell at 
 famine prices. On a motion being made for the produc- 
 tion of Napier's refutation of the calumny thus reiterated 
 by the Company after his death, it was answered by those 
 Directors who had seats in the House that no such refu- 
 tation had been found ! 
 
 Grieved and provoked as he was by such treatment, of 
 
VIII.] ADMINISTRATION. 345 
 
 which the cases given above are but prominent instances, 
 he was determined not to give his enemies an easy triumph 
 by resigning, at any rate until the structure of his Govern- 
 ment had been carried on to such a point that it could not 
 easily be shaken after his departure. 
 
 The first point he was anxious to see settled was a large 
 reduction of the military force in Scinde. He had always 
 maintained that a large force there had been necessary to 
 watch the Punjab and not to overawe Scinde. The latter 
 could be held, he said, by his 2500 policemen ; but if the 
 Central Government would not allow that, he was urgent 
 that he should not be left more than 5000 men, the number 
 intended for the occupation under Lord Auckland's rigime. 
 He did not get all that he wanted. " Hardinge will not 
 reduce my force below 8000 ; yet he says my reasoning is 
 'close and sound;' but that all would be right while I am 
 here. This is not well founded. The people are not quiet 
 because I am here ; they were so at first, but now they are 
 quiet because they are getting rich and enjoy the fruits of 
 their labours ; because justice makes them happy." 
 
 In the administrative department a system of irrigation 
 held the first place in his thoughts. 
 
 " From the first," he says, " I have been forming a canal 
 department ; it has cost much pains and money, but has taken 
 surveys and levels all over Scinde for the thorough organisa- 
 tion of canals and irrigation of the land. In October it will 
 take the whole of the canals out of the hands of the kardars, 
 who are the natives employed in each district to do everything 
 relative to revenue. Hitherto the Indus has created and 
 destroyed the harvests at its caprice. In June and July the 
 country is one great expanse of water, and the grain shoots 
 up like magic ; suddenly down goes the river, and all is 
 parched up by the terrible sun. The grain bears this for 
 some time, the earth holding moisture, and if a second rise of 
 water comes, grows rich and heavy ; but if the river does not 
 
346 ^•/A' CHARLES NAPIER. (chap. 
 
 rise in time, or enough, or perhaps not at all, the crop perishes 
 altogether. Now, with our system of sluices, all the great 
 feeders will become long tanks, plentifully supplying the 
 grain by Httle field drains till ripe, when the sluices will be 
 opened and the canals cleaned out. The water spreads now 
 wildly over the whole surface of the land, and where that 
 happens to be a low level it lies untU the sun of August and 
 September dries up the swamp ; then a rich mixed vegetation 
 of grain and weeds springs up with a full crop of fever ! . . . 
 I thus hope next year to see the first action of my sluice 
 system begun, and in ten or twenty years it will be thoroughly 
 understood, and make Scinde a vast farm for cotton, indigo, 
 wheat, with various other grains, and timber also. I defy 
 any man to doubt the riches of an alluvial soil, with a hot sun 
 and good scientific irrigation.'' 
 
 , Of the legislative work the most important was that 
 relating to land tenure. It has already been explained that 
 all the land of Scinde was held at the will of the G-ovem- 
 ment and subject to military service, and that by the durbar 
 held in 1844, the jaghires, or crown-grants, had been given 
 on life-tenancy, or for a long term of years, subject to a 
 rent instead of service. This system had worked well and 
 was spreading ; for it must be remembered that the change 
 of tenure was voluntary. It was now determined to com- 
 plete the destruction of the feudal tenures in the following 
 manner : The jaghirdars, or holders of the old crown- 
 grants, were offered absolute unconditional ownership of as 
 much of their holdings as they had cultivated. This 
 amounted in most cases to about one-fourth of the whole. 
 The remaining three-fourths were resumed by the State in 
 order to be let to ryots and immigrant settlers at very low 
 rents, and with the advantage of being free from both rent 
 and taxes for the first two years. This was a bold step, 
 but it was executed without commotion or remonstrance. 
 " My motives," he said, " are that a host of poor ryots. 
 
vm.] ADMINISTRATION. 347 
 
 hitherto slaves not only to the Ameers but to the jaghirdars, 
 will be enfranchised, and enabled to live in comfort and in- 
 dustrious ; and I know that the nobles can never be good 
 or contented subjects unless we give them public employ- 
 ment and honour them. When civilisation advances, they 
 wUl, under this system, find themselves rich, and they will 
 embark in mercantile pursuits and agricultural improve- 
 ments, because they will find their property safe, and need 
 not as heretofore make themselves formidable as military 
 chiefs to retain it. . . . Even under my system they wiU 
 become very powerful ; but I have established a counter- 
 check by opening a way to raise a race of independent 
 farmers attached to the Government. This is all I can 
 now do for Scinde and its fine people." 
 
 In connection with the provision for the creation of 
 small holdings he had jotted down the following rough 
 notes : — 
 
 "All land ought to be let by Government on leases of 
 seven, fourteen, and twenty-one years ; the best land — that is, 
 land where water is most easily supplied — on the shorter 
 leases. 
 
 " The produce being divided into three portions. Govern- 
 ment should take a third ; the remaining two-thirds going to 
 the occupant, who takes all the expenses of cultivation. 
 
 " If the occupant cannot supply his land with water the 
 Government is bound to do so for him ; but he must keep the 
 canal or well, as the case may be, in repair, under a penalty. 
 
 " Government should give a premium for every new well 
 dug, if the water be good, and the well a Pukkur one — i.e. 
 built with burnt bricks. The well should be valued and paid 
 for when the tenant quits the land, unless he be turned out 
 for misconduct. 
 
 " All waste land on lease shall be let for twenty-one years, 
 and the first two years rent free. If at the end of two years 
 the whole is not in a state of cultivation the Government will 
 
348 SIR CHARLES NAPIER. [chap. 
 
 mulct the tenant to the amount which the land ought to have 
 paid had rent been demanded, unless he satisfies the collector 
 that there was adequate cause for the neglect. 
 
 " If a man takes a lease he shall be bound to cultivate the 
 land until the expiration of his lease ; and he must pay full 
 rent in cash quarterly for his leasehold ; if he does not cul- 
 tivate the same he must go to prison, and there labour 
 until Government is remunerated by the market price of his 
 labour, deducting only the expense of his keep. 
 
 "All leases are to explain clearly — 1. The term of the 
 lease. 2. The extent of the leasehold. 3. The forfeit in 
 case of breach of contract." 
 
 One more act of his administration shall be recorded, as 
 it illustrates his attitude towards one of the fundamental 
 questions of our Indian policy. He held strongly enough 
 that our rule in India depended on our might as conquerors, 
 but he never considered that view as conflicting with the 
 duty or necessity of developing the native capacity for self- 
 government. " Seize every point of strength by arms," he 
 says, " keep them by arms, and show ourselves resolved to 
 rule the empire we have won. It is true we have won that 
 empire most unjustly, but it is now impossible to abandon 
 our position. We may not retreat, and can only hold our 
 ground by skill and courage. It is not by moderation but 
 by victory that we must hold India ; and we must mix with 
 the people, give them justice, give them riches, give them 
 honours, give them share of all things, until we blend with 
 them and become one nation. When a half-caste, or a full 
 native, can be Governor-General, we shall not hold India 
 as a colony or conquest, but be part inhabitants, and as 
 numerous as will be required to hold it as our own." 
 
 To show that he meant what he said, Mohamed Tora, 
 one of the greatest sirdars who fought at Meeanee, was 
 made a magistrate. Napier is very frank in his justifica- 
 tion of the appointment. 
 
VIII.] ADMINISTRATION. 349 
 
 " The nobles of Scinde must have the road of ambition 
 opened to them, or they will not have their rights in the 
 honourable sense of my proclamation — that is, if they qualify 
 themselves for the offices demanded. But in questions of 
 general interest like this, even qualification should not be 
 required before enjoyment — vfe must give first, we can turn 
 out afterwards for incapacity. The class-right will be thus 
 acknowledged while the man is removed ; and if one Beloochee 
 gentleman becomes a magistrate, many will qualify them- 
 selves. I want to go beyond this, if the Indian system will 
 allow me ; but that system, a rotten fabric of expedients for 
 the supporting of robbery, is equally destitute of humanity 
 and knowledge of human nature, and will, I suppose, certainly 
 debar the Scindian gentlemen of the rights possessed by 
 Englishmen. I wiU, however, give them all I can. The 
 Beloochee gentleman may likely enough abuse his power for 
 ten years to come ; but we who have conquered the country 
 can surely keep half a dozen of such persons in order ; and the 
 great men of the land must have a door open for their ambi- 
 tion, their virtues, and their industry, or they will become 
 rebellious or vile ; I know not which is worst, but the 
 Government which produces either is a detestable tyranny." 
 
 With these words, the fearless generosity of which is a 
 striking contrast to the illiberal fears of many who sneered 
 at his administration as a barbarous military despotism, we 
 must take leave of Scinde. It has been impossible in these 
 few pages to give more than a rough outline of his actions, 
 military and civil. Many points have been barely touched 
 upon, some have been omitted altogether ; but the aim has 
 been not so much to give a history of his government as 
 to indicate the originality, the inexhaustible resource, the 
 versatility, the subtle knowledge of human nature, and the 
 stem devotion to justice and duty, which enabled him in 
 five years to conquer, conciliate, and render happy a warlike 
 and half barbarous people. " He has proved himself," said 
 Lord EUenborough, "to be the ablest, at least the most 
 
350 SIR CHARLES NAPIER. [chap. 
 
 successful of all administrators, if the success of an adminis- 
 tration may be tested by the confidence it gives the people. 
 . . . These matters are, however, so very little understood 
 in this country, even by the few who attend to them at all, 
 that I fear it may be long before his merits are justly 
 appreciated; and people here may discover, only when it 
 is too late, that Sir Charles Napier has possessed that rare 
 combination of military and civil talent, both excellent in 
 their kind, which is the peculiar attribute of a great mind." 
 
 In testimony of the prosperity and happiness he had 
 brought to the people he governed, two facts may be 
 cited. Early in 1847 Sir Charles Napier offered to send 
 from Scinde 11,000 tons of wheat for the use of starving 
 Ireland, at one-third of the market price of wheat in Eng- 
 land, and showed at the same time that enough would be 
 left in Scinde to form a reserve in case the next harvest was 
 bad. The other fact is the anxiety of his neighbours to be 
 admitted to share the benefits of his rule. The whole 
 people of Cutch Gundava in the north, and the tribes of 
 the Gedrosian desert on the west, asked to be received as 
 his subjects; while on the east the ruler of Bhawulpoor 
 asked to be placed under the control of the Governor of 
 Scinde instead of a political agent. There was also a large 
 immigration of individuals. One man, who had been 
 driven from Scinde by the tyranny of the Ameers, returned, 
 bringing with him a body of 1500 cultivators, with their 
 families, who were all settled by the Governor at old 
 Kurachee. 
 
 In his own criticism of his government he modestly 
 enumerates the difficulties he had met with as an excuse 
 for his deficiencies. " Though the officers with me and my- 
 self might have done more and better, no one wiU deny 
 that we have had many and great difficulties to struggle 
 with — war, and pestilence in its utmost virulence, the 
 
vm.] ADMINISTRATION. 351 
 
 destruction of a whole harvest by locusts, etc. In the midst 
 of an extensive military command I have had to construct 
 the entire machinery of a civil government, assisted by young 
 officers, who had, at first starting, little or no experience, 
 but whose zeal and abilities have enabled them to serve me 
 well." Of his two immediate successors, both of whom were 
 civilians trained in a system in many respects most un- 
 like that of Scinde, the first, Mr. Pringle, said, " I can wish 
 nothing better for the interests of our newly-acquired pro- 
 vinces in the Punjab, than that they may have the benefit 
 of the same just and strong government which was so suc- 
 cessfully applied to the introduction of order here." The 
 late Sir Bartle Frere, who ruled Scinde for seven years 
 with equal benefit to the country and credit to himself, has 
 repeatedly expressed to the present writer his admiration 
 of the political capacity and foresight displayed in the 
 settlement of Scinde, and fully endorsed Sir William 
 Napier's summary of his brother's rule : " He left a united 
 regenerated people rejoicing in a rising civilisation, the 
 work of his beneficent genius.'' 
 
CHAPTEE IX. 
 
 HOME — COMMANDER-IN-CHIEF IN INDIA — LAST YEAES. 
 
 Sir Charles Napier resigned the government of Scinde 
 in the beginning of July 1847. His wife had fallen danger- 
 ously iU, and it was necessary to take her home. " I am a 
 man smothered with women and children," he writes, " like 
 a duck with onions. Would that my next four months 
 were well over and I clear of this grand India and all its 
 glories, and wants, and bad governmentg," On 1st October 
 he embarked and journeyed without accident to Nice, 
 where he stopped some time to recruit his strength. The 
 Journal contains some characteristic reflections on the 
 passage from Asia to Europe. 
 
 " Were I Emperor of the East and thirty years of age I 
 would have Constantinople on one side and Pekin on the 
 other before twenty years, and all between should be grand, 
 free, and happy. The Emperor of Eussia should be done: 
 freedom and the press should bum along his frontier like 
 touch-paper, until half his subjects were mine in heart; and 
 then I would smite him under the fifth rib, and the Baltic 
 should be my north-west province. Odin went from India to 
 Scandinavia ; so would I, and crack the ice under his throne 
 at St. Petersburg. What stuff is all this ! Here am I, 
 sixty-six years old and in bodily pain, fit for nothing but the 
 grave, contemplating conquest and wise government ! Vanity ! 
 vanity ! begone ! . . . 
 
 " Well, the Indian is now rising in the scale, and Christi- 
 anity is on the spread everywhere, for the Christian is the 
 
CHAP. IX.] HOME. 353 
 
 master. We have got footing in Cliina ; we are paramount 
 in India ; Persia is pressed on all sides, and Mahomed reels 
 about; Jerusalem beats Mecca. The Bombay army laughs 
 at high caste already ; the Bengal and Madras men will soon 
 do soj and then Vishnu's race will be run. Mahomed 
 already drinks brandy, and his women are getting out of the 
 harem as fast as they can. Everywhere the Cross prevails; 
 we are letting Jews into power, and being no longer perse- 
 cuted they will in time turn Christians. A thousand years 
 may pass before these things are completed — ay, ten 
 thousand ! — but the universality of the Christian religion 
 progresses plainly, if men will only look at great facts. 
 Protestants and Catholics and Greeks by their nonsense delay 
 the progress of their creed, but Jesus Christ is too strong for 
 all their folly ; His words. His deeds. His life, are known, and 
 will overthrow all their absurdities in time. Priests of all 
 religions are at a discount, while religion is spreading and 
 growing strong : this alone tells us that monopoly in the 
 trade is going down. Men are now setting up for themselves 
 — that is to say, religion grows universal. 
 
 " As to politics we are going to the bad : Parliament is 
 influenced by petty interests. In the days of Fox and Pitt, 
 whether right or wrong, there were commanding minds and 
 determined wills ; now we wince under the lash of every 
 editor of a newspaper. We are no longer like a fine picture, 
 presenting two great masses of light and shade, aU is broken 
 and trivial. Every petty mercantile interest is advocated, 
 while that of the State in mass is lost sight of in the conflict 
 of these minor concerns — the timber line, the railroad Une, 
 the devil's line ! We are all for moderation, too ! A little 
 blessed, a little damned, like souls in purgatory; but only 
 souls and balloons go upwards ; so if we make a slip in this 
 purgatorial moderation down we go to the devil in politics." 
 
 At Nice he stayed for some^ months, very weak and 
 suffering in body, but happy in the society of his brother. 
 Sir George Napier, who had recently relinquished the 
 government of Cape Colony. On 16th January he says, 
 
 2a 
 
3S4 SIJi CHARLES NAPIER. [chap. 
 
 "George and I are going to dine together this day, just 
 thirty-nine years after he turned every dead body on the 
 battlefield of Coruiia looking for mine." On his way home 
 (May 1848) he had an interview with Marshal Soult in 
 Paris, another reminiscence of Coruna. " He paid me the 
 highest compliments, as he had studied all my operations 
 in Chma, and entirely approved of them. This was flatter- 
 ing. Depend upon it that when a French soul is damned, 
 it puts on a greatcoat and compliments the devil on his 
 fine climate, though ' im peu froid.' " 
 
 On reaching London he found that, in spite of the 
 hostility or coldness of the official world, he was to be 
 treated as a " Lion," and put through the orthodox series 
 of dinners and speeches. "How I hate these efiusions 
 of fish and folly ! " he exclaims ; but his striking appear- 
 ance and quaint speeches made him a prominent and 
 popular figure. 
 
 Among the celebrities of the day there were few whose 
 attention gave him genuine pleasure. It was a proud 
 moment for him when he again stood face to face with the 
 Duke of Wellington and heard his sincere words of con- 
 gratulation and answered his short eager questions. Lord 
 EUenborough had been up till then personally imknown to 
 him, but their long and intimate correspondence put them 
 at once on the footing of old friends. In the parliamentary 
 world the only man for whom he had a great admiration 
 was Sir Eobert Peel. Their meeting was thoroughly 
 cordial on both sides. " Sir Charles Napier," said Peel, 
 "were I to begin life again, and be a soldier, I would 
 enlist under you in preference to any other General." All 
 Whigs were, as ever, an abomination to him, not excepting 
 even so doubtful a member of the species as Lord Brougham. 
 He tells his brother how he disconcerted that eminent man 
 with evident relish. " Lord Brougham is a queer fellow. 
 
IX.] HOME. 355 
 
 He was talking something about burials at Miss Coutts's, of 
 being buried alive, and finished by saying, 'However, I 
 don't know; I never was buried.' 'You ought to have 
 been,' said I, 'for your Lordship was dead once, you know.' 
 He looked hard at .me, and then said in a low voice, ' Yes, 
 yes; I was dead.'^ He did not seem to like the joke, and 
 the less so as the old beau" — the Duke of Wellington — 
 " opened his mouth and gave a deep guttural laugh, while 
 the others broke out aloud." 
 
 There was one man in London with whom, had they 
 ever met, he would have found himself in entire harmony. 
 Eight years later Mr. Carlyle, in thanking Sir William 
 Napier for his Administration of Scimde, took occasion to 
 record his estimate of Charles Napier's character with un- 
 rivalled insight and vigour. 
 
 " To Sir WiUiam Napier. 
 
 "Chelsea, 12th May 1856. 
 
 " Deae Sir — I have read with attention, and with many 
 feelings and reflections, your record of Sir Charles Napier's 
 administration of Scinde. You must permit me to thank 
 you in the name of Britain at large for writing such a book, 
 and in my own poor name to acknowledge the great compli- 
 ment and kindness implied in sending me a copy for myself. 
 
 "It is a book which every living Englishman would be 
 the better for reading, for studying diligently till he saw 
 into it, till he recognised and believed the high and tragic 
 phenomenon set forth there. A book which may be called 
 ' profitable ' in the old scripture sense : profitable for reproof, 
 for correction and admonition, for great sorrow, yet for 
 
 ^ On the 22d of October 1839 all the morning papers, with the 
 exception of the Times, announced the death of Lord Brougham and 
 gave full obituary notices, more or less flattering — chiefly less. It was 
 generally believed at the time that Lord Brougham was not whoUy 
 innocent of the propagation of the rumour. See Campbell's Lives of 
 the Chancellors, voL viii. pp. 605-510. 
 
3S6 SIR CHARLES NAPIER. [chap. 
 
 ,' building up in righteousness ' too — in heroic manful endea- 
 vour to do well, and not iU, in one's time and place. One 
 feels it a kind of possession to know that one has had such a 
 fellow-citizen and contemporary in these evil days. 
 
 " The fine and noble qualities of the man are very recog- 
 nisable to me ; his piercing, subtle intellect turned aU to the 
 practical, giving him just insight into men and into things ; 
 his inexhaustible, adroit contrivances ; his fiery valour ; sharp 
 promptitude to seize the good moment that will not return. 
 A lynx-eyed, fiery man, with the spirit of an old knight in 
 him ; more of a hero than any modern I have seen for a long 
 time. A singular veracity one finds in him, not in his words 
 alone, which, however, I like much for their fine rough 
 naivete, but in his actions, judgments, aims ; in all that he 
 thinks and does and says — which, indeed, I have observed is 
 the root of all greatness or real worth in human creatures, 
 and properly the first (and also the rarest) attribute of what 
 we call genius among men. 
 
 " The path of such a man through the foul jungle of this 
 world, — the struggle of Heaven's inspiration against the 
 terrestrial fooleries, cupidities, and cowardices, — cannot be 
 other than tragical ; but the man does tear out a bit of way 
 for himself too, strives towards the good goal, inflexibly per- 
 sistent till his long rest come ; the man does leave his mark 
 behind him, ineffaceable, beneficent to all good men, maleficent 
 to none : and we must not complain. The British nation of 
 this time, in India or elsewhere — God knows no nation ever 
 had more need of such men in every region of its affairs ! 
 but also perhaps no nation ever had a much worse chance to 
 get hold of them, to recognise and loyally second them, even 
 when they are there. Anarchic stupidity is wide as the 
 night ; victorious wisdom is but as a lamp in it shining here 
 and there. Contrast a Napier even in Scinde with, for ex- 
 ample, a Lally at Pondicherry or on the Place de Grfeve — 
 one has to admit that it is the common lot, that it might 
 have been far worse ! 
 
 " There is great talent in this book apart from its subject. 
 The narrative moves on with strong weighty step, like a 
 
IX.] HOME. 357 
 
 marcliing phalanx, with, the gleam of clear steel in it — shears 
 down the opponent objects and tramples them out of sight 
 in a very potent manner. The writer, it is evident, had in 
 him a lively glowing image, complete in all its parts, of the 
 transaction to be told ; and that is his grand secret of giving 
 the reader so lively a conception of it. I was surprised to 
 find how much I had carried away with me, even of the hill 
 campaign and of Trukkee itself ; though vidthout a map the 
 attempt to understand such a thing seemed to me desperate 
 at first. 
 
 "With many thanks, and gratified to have made this 
 reflex acquaintance, which if it should ever chance to become 
 a direct one might gratify me still more,— I remain always 
 yours sincerely, T. Caelyle." 
 
 After a short visit to Ireland, where he received an 
 enthusiastic welcome. Sir Charles Napier settled down at 
 Cheltenham. He was in very bad health ; suffering much 
 from the effects of the ride to Lahore, and also from the old 
 Busaco wound in the face. " I am again suffering from a 
 threatened renewal of the suffocating feeling in my nose, or 
 rather my palate. I am obliged to get up at night and 
 light a candle, and if I remained in the dark I should go 
 mad ; the light relieves me, yet I live in terror lest it 
 should come on violently.'' His chief occupation was the 
 composition of a pamphlet advocating the organisation of a 
 baggage-corps for the Indian army, which has already been 
 referred to. Before it was finished the fulfilment of his 
 predictions about the Punjab commenced : Agnew and 
 Anderson, for the latter of whom he had a great liking, 
 were murdered at Mooltan, and the second Sikh war burst 
 out. After Edwardes' brilliant exploit things did not go 
 well ; and the doubtful victories of the last war were re- 
 called with all the more anxiety that Lord Hardinge was 
 no longer at hand in case Lord Cough's headlong style of 
 generalship should again put India in peril. In such a 
 
3S8 SIR CHARLES NAPIER. [chap. 
 
 crisis the eyes of the public were more and more turned to 
 the conqueror of Scinde, and his sayings about the Punjab 
 were rife. His friends told him he would have to go out. 
 "I see no chance of this," he replies; "for before the 
 Directors would consent the danger must be made plain by 
 some disaster ; not danger in perspective and estimated by 
 forethought, but actual disaster which must happen two 
 months before the court can know of it ; two more would 
 pass before I could reach the scene of action, and then all 
 would be over or beyond remedy." 
 
 Early in January 1849 want of confidence in Lord 
 Gough had become so general that there was a loud call in 
 England for a change in the command. The Directors 
 asked the Duke of Wellington to recommend them a General 
 for the crisis, and he named Sir Charles Napier. But, as 
 Napier had said, nothing short of necessity would make 
 them swallow such a bitter draught. The Duke next 
 named Sir George Napier. The Directors were shy of the 
 name, but reluctantly assented. Sir George, however, re- 
 fused — " from other causes," says Sir W. Napier, " but he 
 loved his country and his brother too well to step into the 
 place of the best man." Sir William Gomm was finally 
 hit upon, and actually sailed from Mauritius. Sir Charles 
 Napier had left Cheltenham for London at the Duke's 
 summons ; but when he reached Apsley House his services 
 had already been refused. 
 
 " 29<A January. — I saw the Duke this morning. . ' How 
 do you do 1 very glad to see you. Sorry I sent for you up 
 from Cheltenham; thought I could employ you, but can't; 
 that quarrel with Hogg ! it has upset everything. Sorry I 
 gave you the trouble to come. Well, I am very glad to see 
 you, and shall keep you in my eye all the same : another time, 
 perhaps.' ' I don't think I could have gone to India, my 
 lord duke ! ' ' Eh ! Why % Ain't you well 1 ' ' Yes, quite 
 
IX.] COMMANDER-IN-CHIEF IN INDIA. 359 
 
 well, but I have too many enemies there.' Duke, laughing 
 very much, — ' Pooh ! Pooh ! Pooh ! Enemies ! don't care 
 for enemies ! Pooh ! Pooh ! Well, good-bye, very glad to 
 see you.' " 
 
 After this laconic interview Napier returned to Chelten- 
 ham, and the Directors rubbed their hands over their 
 escape. But their triumph was short-lived. Late in Feb- 
 ruary came the news of the battle of Chillianwallah. With 
 a cry of indignation the people claimed their right to over- 
 ride the personal feelings of the Directors, and demanded 
 the appointment of Sir Charles Napier. The necessary 
 disaster had come, and the Directors yielded. It was a 
 splendid vindication of Napier's character. He had been 
 slighted by ministers and ill-treated by the Directors, but 
 his countrymen had recognised his great qualities and in- 
 stinctively turned to him in the hour of danger. But if 
 he was proud of such testimony in his favour, he was still 
 more indignant that the call for himself should be coupled 
 with an unjust and ignoble outcry against Lord Gough. 
 " Lord Gough," said Sir W. Napier, echoing his brother's 
 sentiments, " was a noble soldier of fifty years' service, and 
 had always been victorious, whether obeying or command- 
 ing; no man heard, because no man dared to say, that 
 personal comfort, or idleness, or fear, had induced him to 
 shrink from danger, responsibility, or labour. What then 
 was his crime? He had fought a drawn battle — the 
 enemy was not crushed." Charles Napier was shocked 
 to think that, while curious crowds were following him 
 about, his old comrade in the Peninsula could hardly 
 have shown himself in the streets of London without risk 
 to his life. 
 
 On his own account he felt great hesitation in accepting 
 the call. " When the Duke of Wellington first told me of 
 my appointment I objected that my many enemies in 
 
36o S/Jl CHARLES NAPIER. [chap. 
 
 India would mar all usefulness; he laughed, pressed the 
 matter home, and concluded thus : ' If you don't go, I 
 must.' " Still reluctant, he asked for twenty-four hours for 
 reflection, and went to his brother William for counsel. 
 To him he expressed his unwillingness to go again to India 
 in the face of the opposition which he knew he would ex- 
 perience; he only yielded at last to the argument that 
 India was in danger, and the people of England thought he 
 could ward it off; if he did not go, and disaster befell, it 
 would be charged on his refusal to act, and be imputed to 
 personal feelings. 
 
 The anticipated hostility was not long in declaring 
 itself. As soon as he had said he would go the Directors 
 made an effort to exclude him from the seat in the Supreme 
 Council which his predecessors had almost invariably en- 
 joyed. They did not choose to inform him of their inten- 
 tion themselves ; that disagreeable task fell to Lord John 
 Eussell, who hihted to Napier that the Directors were 
 hunting for a precedent, and would probably find one, for 
 his exclusion. The General was naturally indignant. 
 "Six years I had served in the East with success, as a 
 military commander and as a civil governor ; I had received 
 the approbation of my sovereign, and the thanks of Par- 
 liament for victories which the public voice had applauded : 
 I had been again called to command in the same country 
 by the sovereign and the public, and the expectation of my 
 submitting to such an insult from the Directors was pre- 
 posterous." The result was a very stormy interview. 
 Lord John Eussell was " shy and not explicit, I was ex- 
 plicit and not shy, and spoke with such vehemence as to 
 settle the matter at once — for jumping to my feet and 
 extending my clenched hand, I said, 'Look here. Lord 
 John ! If they can't find a precedent for going out with a 
 seat, I will, by God, find one for a Commander-in-Chief not 
 
IX.] COMMANDER-IN-CHIEF IN INDIA. 361 
 
 going out when offered the situation. ' Oh,' said he, ' they 
 will, I am sure, find one.' ' My Lord, I do not care whether 
 they do or not, but to India I will not go without a seat in 
 Council.'" 
 
 The Directors having been once more obliged to yield, 
 there remained one more uncomfortable scene to be gone 
 through — the usual banquet given by them to the outgoing 
 General. The speeches on the occasion had an interest of 
 an unusual sort. The chief guest did not attempt to blink 
 the facts. "I go to India," he said, "by the command of 
 Her Majesty, by the recommendation of the Duke of Wel- 
 lington ; and I believe I go also with the approbation of 
 my countrymen." In allusion to the past, he said with 
 emphasis that "least said was soonest mended." The 
 Duke of "Wellington's words had also much hidden mean- 
 ing in them. " I have frequently enjoyed your hospitality 
 on occasions of festivals, which you have given on the 
 appointment of governors - genei'al, governors, and com- 
 manders-in-chief, but I have never attended with so much 
 satisfaction as on the present occasion. The ofiicer whom 
 you have now selected to command your armies in the East 
 Indies has been distinguished already in that country by 
 public services. He has conducted most important and 
 difficult operations under most trying circumstances with 
 the utmost ability ; he has with uniform success fought 
 general actions extraordinarily well contested by the enemy : 
 he has shown that he deserved the confidence of the 
 Government he served and the troops he commanded." 
 
 Now came the worries of preparation, hampered by the 
 curiosity of the fashionable world and solicitations for his 
 patronage, the most remarkable of which, perhaps, was the 
 offer of a stranger to become his secretary on the specific 
 ground that the General must be too illiterate to write his 
 own despatches. It is needless to remark that his prepara- 
 
362 SIS CHARLES NAPIER. [ohap. 
 
 tions had no reference to his personal wants. His ward- 
 robe was as scanty as ever. Having received the Queen's 
 gracious command to dine at Osborne, with only a few 
 hours' notice, his attention was drawn to the fact that a 
 somewhat ancient drab waistcoat was hardly appropriate to 
 the occasion. He had no other, but suddenly recollecting 
 that his valet, a foreigner, was a dandy, he exclaimed, 
 " Oh, I daresay Nicholas has a fine waistcoat ; I'll borrow 
 it," and so he did. For the few days which elapsed before 
 he sailed he felt all the inconveniences of popularity ; he 
 was followed about and cheered whenever he left his house, 
 and streets and shop-windows were filled with prints, cari- 
 catures, and squibs, all dealing with the absorbing topic 
 of the day. The most amusing of these was the product of 
 Thackeray's pen, entitled the "Story of Koompanee Jehan," 
 a mighty prince who ruled India " from the seven mouths 
 of the Ganges to the five tails of the Indus," but whose 
 favourite residence was called the " Hall of Lead, and stood 
 at the foot of the Mountain of Com, close by the verdure- 
 covered banks of the silvery Tameez, where the cypresses 
 wave, and zendewans or nightingales love to sing." After 
 a description of Koompanee Jehan's military policy, and 
 of the eifect of the news of Chillian wallah, it proceeds : — 
 
 " Now there was, when the news came to the city of Lun- 
 doon that Goof Bahawder had been beaten upon the banks of 
 the Chenab, a warrior who, though rather old and as savage 
 as a bear whose head is sore, was allowed by all mankind to 
 be such a Eoostum as had never been known since the days 
 of Wellington. His name was Napeer Singh. He, with 
 2000 men had destroyed 30,000 of the enemy ; he despised 
 luxury; he had a beak like an eagle, and a beard like a 
 Cashmere goat. When he went into a campaign he took 
 with him but a piece of soap and a pair of towels ; he dined 
 off a hunch of bread and a cup of water. ' A warrior,' said 
 he, ' should not care for wine or luxury, for fine turbans or 
 
IX.] COMMANDER-IN-CHIEF IN INDIA. 363 
 
 embroidered shulwars ; his tulwar should be bright, and never 
 mind whether his papooshes are shiny.' Napeer Singh was 
 a lion indeed, and his mother was a mother of lions. 
 
 "But this lion, though the bravest of animals, was the 
 most quarrelsome that ever lashed his tail and roared in a 
 jungle. After gaining several victories he became so insolent 
 and contemptuous in his behaviour towards King Koompanee 
 Jehan, whom he insulted, whom he assailed, whom he called 
 an old woman, that the offended monarch was glad when 
 General Napeer Singh's time of service was out, and vowed 
 no more to employ him. . . . When the news of Goof's dis- 
 comfiture came to Lundoon and the Hall of Lead, and the 
 Queen of Feringhistan, all the Ingleez began to quake in their 
 shoes. 'WaUah ! wallah !' they cried, 'we have been made to 
 swallow abominations ! Our beraks have been captured from 
 our standard-bearers ; our guns have been seized ; our horse- 
 men have fled. How shall we restore the honour of our arms ? 
 What General is there capable of resisting those terrible Sikhs 
 and their sirdars ?' 
 
 " The voice of all the nation answered, ' There is but one 
 chief, and his name is Napeer Singh ! ' The twenty-four viz- 
 eers in the HaU of Lead, remembering the treatment which 
 they had received from that Greneral, and still smarting un- 
 easily on their seats from the kicks which he had administered, 
 cried out, ' No ; we will not have that brawling samsoon — 
 take any man but him. If Goof Bahawder will not do, take 
 Goom Bahawder. We will not have Napeer Singh, nor eat 
 the pie of humility any more.' 
 
 " The people still roared out, Nobody can help us but 
 Napeer Singh. 
 
 " Now, Napeer Singh was as sulky as the twenty-four viz- 
 eers. 'I go,' said he, ' to serve a monarch who has been 
 grossly ungrateful, and whose nose I have tweaked in Dur- 
 bar ? Never, never !' 
 
 " But an old General, nearly a hundred years old, very 
 old, brave and wise, the great Wellington, came to Napeer 
 Singh and said, 'O Khan! in these times of danger men 
 must forget their quarrels and serve their country. If you 
 
364 Slli CHARLES NAPIER. [chap. 
 
 will not go to the Indus, I will go — one of us must.' They 
 were two lions, two Eoostums, two hooked-beaked eagles of 
 war ; they rushed into each other's arms, and touched each 
 other's beaks. ' O Father ! ' Napeer Singh said, ' I will go ;' 
 and he went forth, and he bought a piece of soap, and he got 
 two towels ; and he took down from the wall his bright and 
 invincible tulwar." 
 
 The vizeers in the Hall of Lead after some debate come 
 to the same conclusion. 
 
 " When the Ingleez heard of this elmzshedeh or good 
 news, they all rejoiced exceedingly ; and the Queen of the 
 Ingleez clapped her hands for joy. And as for Napeer Singh, 
 he took his two towels and his piece of soap, and his scimetar, 
 and he went away to the ship which was to carry him to the 
 sea." 
 
 He left England the night of the 24th of March, the anni- 
 versary of his victory at Dubba, reached Calcutta the 6th of 
 May, assumed the command forty-three days after quitting 
 London — and found no war ! He writes to his brother : 
 " You will have heard that the war is over in India, and Lord 
 Gough has come off with flying colours. Both these things 
 rejoice me much. ... I like that noble old fellow Gough 
 more than ever. I told him my wish was that he would 
 order me home ; it would be a kindness, and so sajring I 
 told him the truth. . . . For myself I have no wish but to 
 go home. I have too much knowledge, and too little power 
 over things here. I have, however, received honest support 
 from Lord Dalhousie ; and he shall have my support with 
 all zeal for the service, and all possible desire to be of use 
 to him. And again let me express my delight with old 
 Gough ; he is so good, so honest, so noble-minded. I do 
 rejoice in the promotion that made this brave and high- 
 minded veteran so happy and content, that all which has 
 past is forgotten." 
 
IX.] COMMANDER-IN-CHIEF IN INDIA. 365 
 
 THs strong wish to escape from the position in which 
 he now found himself was as reasonable as it was genuine. 
 A second time in his career he had been summoned to save 
 our Indian empire when for the moment it tottered. He 
 arrived to find that the task for which he had been specially 
 selected, and for which alone he had consented to leave 
 England, was already happily accomplished. Instead of 
 war he found the ordinary routine administration of the 
 Indian army before him, and for that work he was fully 
 conscious that he was not the right man. This was no new 
 feeling occasioned by disappointment. Early in 1846 he 
 had written in his Journal : " I do not want to be Com- 
 mander-in-Chief ; it is an empty name. Mischief will be 
 vigorous, and I shall be weak, encountering it with hand- 
 cuffs on my wrists and chains on my ankles ! And then 
 the evils which cannot be prevented will be laid at my door 
 and cast in my teeth by the very men whose want of ability 
 has produced them." As he said of himself, he "knew too 
 much;" with his strong feeling of the necessity for great 
 reforms in the administration of the Indian army, and his 
 equally strong convictions as to what those reforms should be, 
 he felt he would be miserable in a post which conferred very 
 little initiative power, where he would not only be subject 
 to the ordinary official checks imposed upon administrative 
 departments, but would have to work in concert with an 
 institution which in every shape and place he thoroughly 
 detested, — a Military Board. These considerations would 
 have deterred him from undertaking the ordinary duties of 
 his office at any time ; but now, when he was in his sixty- 
 seventh year, in bad health and longing for England, when 
 he was conscious of having incurred the hostility of many 
 powerful persons, and feared that their ill-will would most 
 probably find vent in thwarting and baffling his attempts 
 to do good, they pressed themselves upon him with double 
 
366 SIR CHARLES NAPIER. [chap. 
 
 weight. His suspicion that the hostility of the Directors, 
 smothered for the moment by the popular outburst in his 
 favour, would follow him to India, was strengthened by his 
 first interview with the Governor-General, Lord Dalhousie, 
 who told him, laughingly, " In letters from England I have 
 'been warned against your endeavouring to encroach upon 
 
 my power, and I answered that I would take d d good 
 
 care you should not." This was not an auspicious com- 
 mencement ; and, although nothing happened for some 
 little time to disturb the harmony of their relations, it was 
 not likely that two men so autocratic in temper and so 
 different in age, training, politics, and- every other respect, 
 would continue to work long together without a conflict. 
 
 In spite of such gloomy reflections, duty was duty, and 
 he lost no time in setting himself to work. He could not 
 lead the Indian armies to victory, but he cheerfully accepted 
 that most ungrateful and unpopular of tasks, the advocacy 
 of extensive military reforms, including the creation of a 
 higher moral tone, a stricter standard of discipline and 
 duty than had hitherto prevailed in the Indian army. 
 
 The most pressing problem in the Commander-in- 
 Chiefs department was that of the distribution of troops, 
 especially in regard to the newly-annexed Punjab; and 
 its solution not only led him to pronounce a very decided 
 opinion on the merits of the new system there estab- 
 lished, but served to bring into the clear^t daylight the 
 latent antagonism between himself and the Governor - 
 General. Constant intercourse with Lord Dalhousie had 
 created a very definite impression of that imperious 
 nobleman's capacity. " He is quick, and catches up small 
 things, but has no great general views, and his mind cannot 
 grasp them, ... his quickness makes him lose time in 
 small matters, which he should leave to his shoes, and not 
 trouble his head with. He does not see what small things 
 
IX.] COMMANDER-IN-CHIEF IN INDIA. 367 
 
 are of importance, and what are of none ; and he is clever 
 enough to beat those under him in details, and then thinks 
 himself, and they think him, very clever ; but, while he is 
 unravelling minute points, great ones are smouldering in 
 mischief." Nevertheless he concludes that, though "Har- 
 dinge was more able, more experienced, yet Lord D. will 
 do best in the long run." 
 
 If Napier had any fault to find virith the administration 
 of the Punjab he soon found an opportunity without going 
 beyond the sphere of his own department. The employ- 
 ment of the military power for civil duties had always in- 
 curred his severest condemnation. "Rendering the civil 
 power," he says, " dependent on the military for protection 
 in ordinary cases, is of all evils the greatest. I speak from 
 nearly fifty years' experience. I saw it in Ireland in 1798, 
 and again in 1803. I saw it in the Ionian Islands. I saw 
 it in the Northern District. I saw it in Scinde." He saw 
 it once more in the Punjab, where he found " 1800 men as 
 guards, of whom neither the Commander-in-Chief nor the 
 Adjutant-General knows a word, and they are from 16 to 
 100 miles distant from any military station ! Had there 
 been a sudden insurrection of Sikhs, the first knowledge of 
 the matter would have come to me with an account of the 
 destruction of those detachments !" Nor was the danger 
 of such a catastrophe the only objection ; small detachments 
 were, in his opinion, most injurious to the discipline of the 
 army ; and, further, the habit of reliance on the troops 
 made the civil government careless, by rendering it less 
 dependent on its own alertness. "The great principle as 
 regards the forces of India " he declares to be this, — " Have 
 a large well-organised police to do all those duties for the 
 civil branches of the Government which require armed 
 men ; such as occasional guards for civil servants, escorts 
 of treasure, putting down robbers, arresting men for the 
 
368 S/J! CHARLES NAPIER. [chap. 
 
 civil powers J in short, a constabulary force, leaving the 
 military to their own duties." Those duties could be best 
 performed on the principle of concentration, " the applica- 
 tion of the fable of the bundle of sticks to military opera- 
 tions." "I must always oppose," he says elsewhere, "a 
 system of scattering troops as destructive to the discipline 
 and safety of the army, and admirably calculated, on the 
 occurrence of any outbreak, to cause the abandonment, 
 with disgrace, of large tracts of territory. The reason is 
 very simple — the enemy breaks out prepared in masses, 
 and finds us spread out and prepared for defeat in detail ! 
 But, in any case, we raust abandon territory to concentrate ! 
 This alone, without referring to the destruction of disciphne 
 caused by such a dissemination of the troops, is of itself an 
 immense evil, and full of danger." 
 
 Discipline, however, had as much to fear from the army 
 itself as from want of wisdom in the civil power. " My 
 second object," he says, " is to give a better tone to the 
 officers, and already three or four have been broken for 
 vile conduct. I go thoroughly into courts -martial, and 
 endeavour by my remarks on sentences to amend the 
 general notion ; which is to think that the offence of every 
 culprit — that is officers, not soldiers — is to be passed over, 
 as he is a 'good fellow,' a 'poor fellow,' and so forth. 
 Thus every bad fellow that the articles of war force a 
 court-martial to cashier has a recommendation tacked to 
 his sentence; and half the courts acquit a blackguard if 
 they can ! But the army is full of fine fellows, and I am 
 sure of support against this maudlin mercy, which in every 
 instance I have rejected. ... I am refusing leave of 
 absence to idlers, and doing all sorts of vile things, and 
 shall soon be the most unpopular Commander-in-Chief that 
 ever was in India : be it so. I will pull up all the loose- 
 ness in discipline that I see." 
 
IX.] COMMANDER-IN-CHIEF IN INDIA. 369 
 
 An impartial and inflexible severity was not his only 
 method. The difficulty of drawing the line for Europeans 
 in India between luxuries and necessaries has always been 
 a cause of extravagance and intemperate habits. But 
 an interference from headquarters with the arrangements 
 of a regimental mess is a dangerous and delicate business, 
 and Sir Charles Napier approached it with very great diffi- 
 dence. In a letter to Sir CoKn Campbell, on whose judg- 
 ment he always had the greatest reliance, he says : — 
 
 " I am resolved on a great attempt ; I expect to fail, still 
 I will try to reduce the expense and drinking of messes ; and 
 before I begin I want your opinion, believing you to be the 
 best coadjutor I can have, — my plan is this : — 
 
 "1. To begin with myself and abolish all wine at my own 
 table except sherry and claret — no hock, no champagne. I 
 did not do this at Kurachee ; I did all I could to keep down 
 extravagance, but I did not show the example : now I will. 
 2. I mean to dine at no mess where expensive wines are drunk, 
 saying that I cannot accept of a style of hospitality which I 
 cannot afford to return at my own table. 3. I mean rigidly 
 to examine the expenses of messes at the haK-yearly inspec- 
 tions. The damning sin of the magnificent armies in India 
 (Queen's and Company's) is an outrageous and vulgar luxury. 
 I say ' vulgar,' because we soldiers (like the frog in the fable) 
 burst ourselves in trying to live like men of £20,000 a year 
 in landed property ! We, who in private hf e could hardly 
 buy a pint of beer, must drink the most costly wines ! This 
 is, I think, gross vulgarity ! snobbish ! and I know you think 
 so too ; for you had the 98th all right in that point. This I 
 hold to be my duty to the parents of hundreds of these boys. 
 . . . Give me your opinions freely, and if we can save a 
 parcel of youngsters from ruin we shall not sleep the worse.'' 
 
 I have no means of estimating the amount of success 
 that these honourable endeavours met with, but it is pleasant 
 to find that he was not deceived in his expectation that 
 there were many good soldiers who gladly welcomed his 
 
 2b 
 
370 SIR CHARLES NAPIER. [chap. 
 
 firm and wholesome nile. Foremost in praise and en- 
 couragement was Sir Colin Campbell. 
 
 " I was truly sorry to hear that you deemed it necessary 
 to devote such a number of hours daily to your work. You 
 have a great task on hand, in the success of which every 
 officer, young and old, of both services in this army, who feels 
 the slightest concern for its honour and well-being, is deeply 
 interested. And I know that in your efforts for its improve- 
 ment you carry with you the hearty approval and cordial 
 good wishes of every regimental officer, and aU officers in 
 command of troops in this army. 
 
 "You understand and are acquainted with the army of 
 India, an advantage which few commanders-in-chief enjoy 
 upon their first appointment ; and as every officer, and every 
 soldier too, is aware that the improvements now being intro- 
 duced originate entirely with yourseK, aU are anxious that 
 your health and strength should not fail while engaged in 
 the good work. Think of saving yourself enough to carry 
 through the very arduous job you have taken in hand, in 
 which every one wishes you success, and which, for many 
 reasons, none other than yourself can or could accomplish.'' 
 
 Certainly if he had chosen the work that he liked best, 
 he could not have shown more devotion to it. He began 
 by working fifteen hours a day, and when his strength 
 began to fail he reluctantly sacrificed two hours and a half 
 to hard exercise. "I am working myself to death here, 
 and what fame awaits me ? None ! I work because it is 
 honest to earn my pay, but work is disagreeable in the 
 extreme, hateful." This state of mind is clearly reflected 
 in his Journal. He longs for action ; he marks carefuUy 
 the anniversaries of the most notable events of his life ; the 
 feeling must have been strong that produced such stirring 
 sentences as these : — 
 
 " War is a dreadful trade, but one looks back with pleasure 
 to the exciting scenes of past campaigns, and loves the com- 
 
IX.] COMMANDER-IN-CHIEF IN INDIA. 371 
 
 pany of those who served with us. Turenne was a fortunate 
 man. Wolfe, Moore, and Abercrombie were not so, they 
 were killed in their first victories ; they did not live to feel 
 the confidence victory excites in the troops. The feeling 
 that, when battle comes on like a storm, thousands of brave 
 men are rushing to meet it, confident in your skill to direct 
 them, is indescribable ; it is greater than the feeling of glad- 
 ness after victory ; far greater, indeed, for the danger being 
 then over, and brave men lying scattered about, dead or dying, 
 the spirit is sad. Oh ! there is no pleasure after a battle 
 beyond rejoicing that we have escaped being slain. But when 
 the columns bear upon an enemy as the line of battle forms, 
 as it moves majestically onwards to conquer or die, as the 
 booming of the cannon rolls loud and long, amidst pealing 
 shouts and musketry, then a man feels able for Ms work and 
 confident in his gifts, and his movements tell upon the enemy. 
 There is no feeling to equal that exultation which makes 
 men seek to become conquerors, if religion does not aid reason 
 to hold it in check : but ' all is vanity ! ' " 
 
 Though he never slackened in the performance of duty 
 he was determined to take the earliest opportunity of re- 
 signing a post in which he incurred great responsibility, 
 with the smallest amount of freedom to act as he thought 
 best. For instance, the Punjab Government informed him 
 that if two companies were sent to guard an official and his 
 treasury at Batalu, they would find ample accommodation in 
 the palace there together with the civil staff; at the same 
 time they persuaded the officer commanding in the Punjab 
 to send the troops at once. Soon came a report from the 
 of&cer commanding the detachment to say that the troops 
 were in tents under a burning sun, and that they were re- 
 fused accommodation in the palace ! " Order them back, says 
 common sense. I cannot, gentle sir. I am Commander-in- 
 Chief of the Indian army, but I cannot order a man to move. 
 I must write a letter to one secretary, who writes to another, 
 who addresses a third, who asks the Governor -General's 
 
372 SIX CHARLES NAPIER. [chap. 
 
 leave for the Commaiider-iii-Cliief to move the companies 
 back again from Batalu ; the house that Jack built is a joke 
 to it ! The commander of 300,000 men can't move two 
 companies out of danger without leave of the civil power ! 
 I will not stay in India." Again and again he appeals 
 against the waste of power caused by the multiplicity of 
 oflScial checks. " If Government select an officer for com- 
 mand, and give him a distinct and decided notice of what 
 is expected, and what time and means can be afforded, he 
 has a right to act from his own judgment in making use of 
 them. If he does not give satisfaction, supersede him! 
 But to control him by means of subordinates in direct cor- 
 respondence with superior authorities, is to show want of 
 confidence in his ability. When their blunders produce 
 failures he becomes a mark for public anger, though free 
 from fault, if that can be said of a man spiritless enough to 
 be a tool when his soldiers are being lost and his country's 
 arms dishonoured." 
 
 In the autumn of 1849 he was glad to quit his office- 
 stool at Simla for a time, in order to go on a tom* of inspec- 
 tion, " exactly Alexander's march, but retrograde.'' His 
 first design was to visit Delhi, Meerut, Agra, Hurdwar, 
 and Almora, with a view to framing a memoir on the general 
 defence of India ; but symptoms of a mutinous disposition 
 among the sepoys led him on to an inspection of the Punjab, 
 and to a course of action which resulted in the resignation 
 of his command. The sight of Delhi sent him into an 
 ecstasy of admiration. " What courts are here ! What 
 seats of marble from which to issue edicts to an empire ! 
 Oh, this palace ! once worthy of India. Now the marble 
 even cannot be seen from filth ! . . . The five rivers and 
 the Punjab, the Indus and Scinde, the Red Sea and Egypt, 
 the Mediterranean and Sicily, the Ionian Islands and Malta. 
 What a chain of lands and waters to attach England to 
 
IX.] COMMANDER-IN-CHIEF IN INDIA. 373 
 
 India ! Were I King of England I would, from the palace 
 of Delhi, thrust forth a clenched fist in the teeth of Russia 
 and France. England's fleet should be all in all in the 
 west, and the Indian army all in all in the east. India 
 should not belong another day to the ' ignominious tyrants;' 
 nor should it depend upon opium sales, but on an immense 
 population well employed in peaceful pursuits. She should 
 suck English manufactures up her great rivers, and pour 
 down those rivers her own varied products. Kurachee, 
 you will yet be the glory of the East ! Would that I could 
 come alive again to see you, Kurachee, in your grandeur ! " 
 
 Next to the pleasure of imagination came that of making 
 acquaintance at Agra with Mr. Thomason, the distinguished 
 Governor of the North- West Provinces. " One of the few," 
 said Napier, " I have met who take really great views for 
 this noble empire, and who has a head to execute grand 
 conceptions. ... He has no self-sufficiency, and has a 
 marvellous good head. If he has a failing it is, seemingly, 
 too much mildness for governing, that is, for making officials 
 stick to their work. Perhaps he is right, however, certainly 
 so for himself, for a man cannot be too mild. Still, what is 
 to be done ? There is nothing so difficult as to temper 
 vigour with mildness : rogues always play upon mildness. 
 How the devil could I make soldiers attend by sending a 
 civil message to a rascal a thousand miles off, with ' Pray, 
 sir, do me the favour not to get drunk at midday ; do think 
 how wrong it is ! at least, it is not quite right.' By the 
 Lord Harry,it won't do ; oak trees cannot be chopped down 
 with pen-knives, and so I must and do use the hatchet now 
 and then." 
 
 Once fairly on the march the hardy old soldier set an 
 example of simplicity and moderation in his siuroundings, 
 much needed not only by the army, but by the Anglo-Indian 
 community at large. The usual requirements of a Com- 
 
374 Sm CHARLES NAPIER. [chap. 
 
 mander-in-Chief on an inspection had been 80 or 90 elephants, 
 nearly 400 camels, and nearly as many bullocks, with all 
 their attendants; there were also 332 tent-pitchers, including 
 50 men employed to carry glass doors for a pavilion — all 
 provided at the public expense. Sir Charles Napier reduced 
 this enormous establishment to 30 elephants, 334 camels, 
 222 tentpitchers, thereby saving the treasury £750 a month. 
 Passing by Lahore, Jelum, and Attock, he was at Peshawur 
 by the beginning of February 1850. " Take a sample of 
 my daily work," he writes to his sister : " Got up at four 
 o'clock and rode my elephant till daylight ; then mounted 
 my beautiful white Arab 'Mosaic,' and galloped him for 
 10 miles, to the disparagement of some of my retinue, men 
 of half my age, who were knocked up ; a hearty breakfast 
 after, at seven, and from that time to this, five o'clock, 
 write ! write ! write ! and my horse is now waiting for me 
 to review two regiments." 
 
 At Peshawur occurred an incident which has a special 
 interest in connection with this biography, as it was the 
 last occasion on which Sir Charles Napier was exposed to 
 an enemy's fire. Between Peshawur and Kohat, both in 
 British territory, a mountain road ran through a long and 
 dangerous defile. The Afridis, who inhabited the hUls on 
 either side, complained that the Punjab Government had not 
 paid them the money due as blackmail for keeping the defile 
 safe, that the hated salt-tax had been enormously increased, 
 and that British troops had occupied the pass, which the 
 Afridis claimed as their territory. Instead of stating these 
 grievances in the proper quarter, they murdered a party of 
 sappers and miners who were constructing a road. The pass 
 was thus in the hands of an enemy at the moment when the 
 Commander-in-Chief had arranged to traverse it; for he 
 had been requested by Lord Dalhousie to give his opinion 
 on the defences of the frontier, and to do so it was necessary 
 
IX.] COMMANDER-IN-CHIEF IN INDIA. 375 
 
 to inspect Kohat. He determined to force the defile, and 
 while he was making preparations for strengthening his 
 escort, orders came from the Punjab Government with regard 
 to the punishment of the murderers, which confirmed the low 
 opinion he had already formed of the military capacity of the 
 Board of Administration. There were two regiments of 
 Irregulars at Peshawur, under the control of the Punjab 
 Government, . one of infantry and the other of cavaby. 
 These regiments were directed to march through the defile 
 to Kohat. Luckily before they started Sir Charles Napier 
 took the liberty of inspecting them, though they were not 
 under his orders. The infantry regiment was composed of 
 a fine set of men, admirably commanded by Major Coke, 
 " one of the best soldiers I have met with in India," said 
 Sir Charles. But when their arms were examined " one 
 soldier had a musket without a lock ; another a lock with- 
 out a musket. Here was a bayonet that could not be 
 fixed; there a bayonet that could not be unfixed. One man 
 had a weapon with a lock, the cock of which would not go 
 down ; then came one which would not stand up. A fine 
 handsome soldier, six feet high, brawny and bronzed, a 
 model grenadier, his broad deep chest swelling with 
 military pride, and his black brilliant eye sparkling with a 
 malicious twinkle, pretended to hold over his shoulder, 
 between his finger and thumb, a flint — his only arm ! He 
 was an epitome of political military arrangement — a power- 
 ful soldier rendered useless by ignorance ! " The cavalry, 
 ■W^ell known as Daly's Horse, were well equipped, because 
 they found themselves in everything, but cavalry are not 
 suitable for attacking passes, and had it not been for Napier's 
 presence. Coke's regiment would have run a good chance of 
 being cut to pieces. The massacre had taken place on the 
 6th of February ; on the 9th the Commander-in-Chief set 
 out, having reinforced his escort, and armed Coke's men 
 
376 SIR CHARLES NAPIER. [chap. 
 
 with spare weapons taken from other regiments. The first 
 resistance was encountered in the village of Akore, at the 
 mouth of the pass. The Afridis were quickly driven out, 
 and their village burnt, to Napier's great disgust, by order 
 of the civil authorities. On entering the defile the force 
 advanced 6 miles to another halting-place, the whole march 
 being one prolonged skirmish. "From the road on each 
 side the rocks rose very steeply everywhere, in some places 
 perpendicularly, and to get up them was climbing not 
 walking. This under the occasional fire of the enemy, who 
 from the summits also rolled great stones down, was very 
 harassing to the flanking parties, and their physical exer- 
 tions were great, exclusive of the danger ; but this service, to 
 show my confidence, was chiefly done by the sepoys, and 
 with good courage." The night of the 10th was passed 
 under fire, and the next day another 7 miles of the marching 
 skirmish were accomplished. On the 12th the Commander- 
 in-Chief inspected and reinforced Kohat, but on his return 
 to camp found that the pickets had been very roughly 
 handled by the enemy ; many men were lost, including a 
 promising young officer. Ensign SitweU. The return march 
 was begun before daylight on the 13th, and as the enemy 
 were assembling in greater numbers, Lieutenant PoUock was 
 sent to make a diversion by menacing a village in the hiUs 
 where the Afridis had sent their families. This time the 
 party cleared the defile in one day, though they were under 
 fire for 13 miles. The most striking incident found its 
 place in the Journal as follows : — " Some Afridis had 
 gathered on a sugar-loaf rpck terminating a spur of pre- 
 cipitous hills on our flank; this rock being close to the 
 road barred our progress, and the column halted. On the 
 summit a warrior stood like Fuzeli's picture of Satan, with 
 legs wide apart, and arms high in air ; waving a sword and 
 shaking a shield, he shouted and defied us. A young 
 
IX.] COMMANDER-IN-CHIEF IN INDIA. yn 
 
 artillery officer, Maister, laid his gun with a shell, and the 
 flying death, whizzing through the air, burst at the moment 
 it struck the brave Afridi ; his head, his legs, his arms, flew 
 like radii from a centre, and a shout of exultation burst 
 from the troops. The amusements of a field of battle are 
 grim. Condemn not that shout ; life was played for in a 
 rough game, and they who won naturally rejoiced ; it is, 
 however, a painful remembrance. While this was going on 
 a dozen or two of enemies in the rear crept unseen within 
 300 yards, and laying their jezails on rests, sent a voUey 
 against some staff-officers, separately assembled with spy- 
 glasses" — himself and his staff — "none were touched, 
 but had the Afridis been armed with muskets many must 
 have gone down." Such was Sir Charles Napier's last 
 military exploit. "Our whole loss," he says, "is about 
 110 killed and wounded; not much, when one considers 
 the terrible defiles through which we passed, defended by 
 a warlike race. This is a proof of the nonsense talked 
 about mountaineers, and how foolish it is to expect success 
 against them with regular troops ! Eegular troops are the 
 only troops which can succeed against them. Eunjeet Sing 
 made the same march that I did to relieve Kohat, and is 
 said to have lost a thousand soldiers : how few men under- 
 stand war ! " 
 
 The Kohat expedition was an interesting episode, but 
 the real work of the tour was threefold. 1. A memoir on 
 the defence of India. 2. Improvement of barracks. 3. The 
 treatment of discontent among the native troops. 
 
 The dominating idea of his paper on the defence of India 
 is one that has already been treated of — viz. mass your 
 troops so as to be able to concentrate rapidly on points of 
 military importance. "My doctrine is to locate aU our 
 Europeans between Noopoor and Almoral, at Mundoo, Simla, 
 Deesa, etc. : in short, hold all the mountain district. This 
 
378 SIR CHARLES NAPIER. [chap. 
 
 will keep them in high health, being cold." Such a position 
 would prevent any combination between Nepal and any 
 westerly powers, and from it the army in the Punjab or at 
 Almoral could be easily reinforced. Delhi and Dinapore, 
 which were selected as magazines, are connected by water- 
 carriage. Under this plan, too, in case of some crushing 
 disaster, all the Europeans, civil and military, could retire 
 from Delhi in a compact body, and with the Bengal army 
 on the Seoni Eiver, and the Madras and Bombay forces on 
 the Upper and Lower Nerbudda, could fall back upon 
 Bombay or Calcutta without the panic and confusion 
 that are the inevitable result of dispersion of forces. 
 "This may seem a wild idea of danger," he says, "but 
 it is not impossible, and we should be always prepared, 
 for if mischief ever comes in India, it will come like a thunder- 
 bolt." 
 
 Instead of that or any other scientific scheme he found 
 in Bengal an army of 100,000 men, "scattered over an 
 enormous space in small bodies, and for the sole purpose of 
 protecting civil servants, who ought to be protected by a 
 just and good government, by gaining the affection of the 
 people, and by those 150,000 servants, called Chupprassees, 
 and what not, who now afford no protection at all to the 
 civil magistrate." To effect the desired concentration two 
 conditions were essential : a good and conciliatory govern- 
 ment, and a police recruited from " those numerous petty 
 tyrants" — the Chupprassees, but with a more efficient 
 organisation — that is to say, " instead of being under magis- 
 trates, many of whom are young and too inexperienced to 
 keep order, and who have besides other vocations, they 
 should be under officers whose sole occupation woidd be 
 police duty ; and both men and officers, having their work 
 defined and themselves responsible, would take a pride in 
 doing well." The result would be, he maintained, that 
 
ix.] COMMANDER-IN-CHIEF IN INDIA. 379 
 
 Government would be able to reduce the numbers of the 
 army while increasing its efficiency. 
 
 The same reasoning was applied to the case of the 
 Punjab. That province was held by 54,000 troops, to 
 which a force of 18,000 irregulars was on the point of being 
 added. The Governor-General was anxious to have the 
 Commander-in-Chiefs opinion on the question whether that 
 force should be maintained or reduced. The answer con- 
 tained a condemnation of the Punjab system which, 
 coming from a military man, provoked much controversy, 
 and gave great offence to the Governor -General. Lord 
 Dalhousie was known to be keenly interested in the success 
 of the new Punjab administration, and the unfavourable 
 comparison so frequently made in the Memoir between 
 that province and Scinde, between his own system and 
 Lord Ellenborough's, was no doubt very galling. Sir 
 Charles Napier would very hkely have seen a greater 
 number of his recommendations acted upon if he had some- 
 what modified the manner of his criticism, as he might have 
 done without any sacrifice of truth or effect. But on the 
 main point he was undoubtedly right. The Punjab was 
 held by right of a recent conquest ; there were dangers 
 from within and from without ; and it was impossible to fix 
 the size of its army without reference to the character of 
 its government. The principal officers in the Punjab were 
 of opinion that the force ought not to be reduced. Lord 
 Dalhousie thought it was enormous, so did Napier ; but he 
 declined to be responsible for any reduction except under 
 certain conditions. The existing system of government 
 was, he maintained, uncongenial to a newly-conquered and 
 barbarous nation. "It is the same system which has for 
 a hundred years prevailed in India without making it 
 tranquil or prosperous. India has only prospered by con- 
 quest, and these conquests are most assuredly not due to 
 
38o Sm CHARLES NAPIER. [ohap. 
 
 the system of its government, but to the courage of the 
 troops." 
 
 The absence of a police force alone, were there no 
 other defect, was enough to make it impossible to reduce 
 the army. Had the Punjab been governed on Lord Ellen- 
 borough's system it would have had a powerful pohce from 
 the first. Such a force was organised in Scinde one month 
 after the conquest. The Punjab was annexed in the spring 
 of 1849, yet it had no police when Sir Charles Napier 
 passed through it in 1850. "I would have held my ad- 
 ministration as very feeble and Hi-arranged," he said else- 
 where, "if I required a military guard for anjrthing civil, 
 unless some extraordinary case arose, which, however, never 
 did arise while I was in Scinde : my whole force had always 
 six nights in bed." Under such a system he thought the 
 Punjab could be held with 30,000 men, and that, after two 
 or three years, half that number should suffice. What the 
 country wanted was " a powerful police aU over the country, 
 controlling troubled spirits, protecting the well -disposed, 
 and collecting information as to the state of the people in 
 each district; also collecting information relative to the 
 unquiet spirits, and thus doing all that foresight can do 
 to prevent insurrection. If, in despite of such a necessary 
 precaution, an insurrection breaks out, the troops can deal 
 with it ; but the troops cannot prevent insurrection if the 
 country is resolved upon it." 
 
 The police system here so strongly advocated was intro- 
 duced almost simultaneously by Lord Dalhousie into the 
 Punjab and by Lord Falkland into Bombay. Of the men 
 chosen by Sir Charles Napier to organise the Scinde poUce 
 under Captain Marston One was made superintendent of 
 police in Bombay, another captain of police in the Punjab, 
 and a third received a high appointment in the same service 
 in a division of the Bombay Presidency. 
 
IX.] COMMANDER-IN-CHIEF IN INDIA. 381 
 
 If Sir Charles Napier had never done anything but fight 
 against the system under which the soldier was harassed 
 and overworked by mounting guard or serving as escort 
 to the civil authorities, he would have been a great bene- 
 factor of the army. But that for which his name is still 
 held in most grateful memory was his unceasing efibrt to 
 improve the condition of Indian barracks. Ever since he 
 had set foot ia India he had denounced the existing system 
 as alike wasteful and inhuman. He had pointed out that 
 even where low and crowded rooms did not produce violent 
 epidemics, their more subtle effects were hardly less in- 
 jurious. After a night spent in a putrid atmosphere and 
 insufferable heat the men rise feverish and imrested. 
 " Languid and unhappy they go to their duties, seeking by 
 drams to sustain body and mind against overwhelming 
 lassitude and low spirits, and this artificial excitement 
 carries them through the day. But again the night of 
 misery returns, the dram does its daily deadly work, and 
 liver and brain become inflamed, fever supervenes, and the 
 mind sinks under bodUy suffering and hopelessness of 
 change. All bad influences being thus brought into full 
 activity it follows that men soon die, or become drunken 
 feeble creatures and always on the sick Ust, to be discharged 
 with a pension between thirty and forty years of age, after 
 costing the public enormous sums without equivalent 
 service." And again, "The heat of this ""country is tre- 
 mendous, and if men have not thick walls and lofty rooms, 
 sickness is inevitable. Such barracks are expensive no 
 doubt ; so are sick soldiers ; so are dead soldiers. But the 
 difference of these expenses is, that the first is once and 
 done with ; the second goes on increasing like compound 
 interest, and quickly outstrips the capital." At the Colaba 
 barracks, Bombay, he says, "I walked through the men's 
 sleeping rooms upon planks laid in water covering the 
 
382 SIR CHARLES NAPIER. [chap. 
 
 floors." In Scinde he had found things nearly as bad, but 
 the artillery barracks at Kurachee, erected by him, 
 remained as models of what might and should be done to 
 keep troops healthy. In Bengal the barracks were generally 
 bad, sometimes in construction, but more often through 
 overcrowding. Make the rooms high and narrow was 
 his constant cry; for that not only gives pure air, but 
 debars crowding. "The Military Board calculates how 
 many men a barrack-room can hold, not ly its cubic content 
 of air, but ly the swperjkies of the floor I Troops were thus 
 made to occupy barrack-rooms of 12, 10, or even 8 feet 
 high.'' In a hot climate, he insisted, 1000 cubic feet 
 of air should be the minimum allowance for each person 
 sleeping in a room. The scope and dimensions of the 
 barracks at Meean Meer^ were on a plan that he tried 
 
 ' The story of the origin of the cantonment of Meean Meer, given by 
 Mr. Bosworth Smith in his lAfe of Lord Lawrence (vol. i. p. 346), if it 
 is meant to convey the impression that Sir Charles Napier was in the 
 habit of coming to important decisions mthout due forethought and 
 reflection, or that he was capable of sacrificing the health and lives 
 of his soldiers in a fit of petulance, will only raise a smile among those 
 who know his way of work and his devotion to the welfare of the 
 private soldier. It may be as well, however, to show that there is 
 more than one account of the selection of Meean Meer. Napier himself 
 notices it as "a healthy spot . . . where Runjeet Sing had formerly 
 built his ban'acks. Good water was found 20 feet below the surface, 
 the air was pure." General Sir M. M'Murdo, K.C.B., makes the 
 following comment on the story : " As the General's aide-de-camp at 
 thejtime, and having been before then, in Scinde, his Quartermaster- 
 General, there was no one about him who had more access to his mind 
 on this subject than I had ; and I don't think he ever rode out with 
 the intention of examining the country or for selection of ground for 
 whatever object without me. But the incident related is new to me. 
 What is most extraordinary of all, however, is the fact that I remem- 
 ber the morning on which he examined and, I think, decided on the 
 site of the cantonment, and it was not on swampy ground, but on dry 
 and comparatively elevated ground, without vegetation of any kind ! 
 There was a canal in the neighbourhood, and we all know that it 
 depends on the uses or abuses of the water of a canal whether the 
 
IX.] COMMANDER-IN-CHIEF IN INDIA. 383 
 
 in vain to get generally adopted. "The barrack- rooms 
 were only wide enough for two rows of bedsteads, a long 
 table, and two rows of forms, leaving a passage between 
 the forms and bedsteads. The height of the rooms 35 feet 
 to the ceiling, or, if the roof was open, to the waU plate ; 
 the vent above not to be included in the height. The ceil- 
 ings were to be ventilated, letting the foul air out at the 
 roof ; side ventilation produces draughts and does not let 
 out bad air so freely as upper vents." Another excellent 
 specimen of barracks was erected on Napier's principles at 
 Sealkote, under the direction of Lieutenant (now General) 
 Harley Maxwell, one of the most active of his Scinde sub- 
 ordinates. The Military Board co-operated in this under- 
 taking without much success, as they ordered the foundation 
 to be made with unburnt bricks, and then, long after the 
 walls were built, grew alarmed and ordered burnt' bricks. 
 But Maxwell's "indomitable energy" had made the second 
 order weeks too late, and at the very time it was issued the 
 foundations, melted by the rain, gave way and the building 
 fell to the ground, and the work had all to be done over 
 again. 
 
 With regard to overcrowding Sir Charles Napier was 
 able to give a striking demonstration of the correctness of 
 his views. The Company's 2d Europeans and H. M. 22d 
 Regiment quartered at Sabathoo and Kassowli were so 
 crippled by sickness as to be quite unfit for service. Al- 
 though these two stations, close to Simla, were in a cool 
 salubrious climate, from 5000 to 7000 feet above the sea, 
 
 ground througli wMcli it passes takes the character of ' swampy ' or not. 
 Irrigated fields and gardens are equally productive of malaria ; and of 
 course the establishment of a great cantonment brought all available 
 ground along this canal instantly under cultivation, which it was the 
 duty of the Lahore Government to restrain. When I visited Meean 
 Meer in 1873 I did not know the place again ! All was so changed 
 by extended vegetation which ought never to have been permitted. " 
 
384 S/Ji CHARLES NAPIEK. [chap. 
 
 the sickness was attributed by the Board to climate, and 
 the barracks were abandoned as unhealthy. That these 
 two stations should be pestilential, while Simla, apparently 
 so like them, was resorted to as a Garden of Eden, appeared 
 to Napier incredible. "Wherefore," he says, "I visited 
 the condemned barracks to seek the real cause of the 
 terrible sickness. Easily it was found. Only 400 cubic 
 feet of air had been allowed for each man ! " Having 
 obtained Lord Dalhousie's leave to make the barracks fit 
 for use again, he lost no time in giving a practical justifica- 
 tion of his opinion. At Peshawur he found the 60th 
 Eegiment in very bad health, and ordered it at once to 
 march to Sabathoo and Kassowli. The order was received 
 with amazement and consternation, for those two stations 
 had got a thoroughly bad name ; but the regiment had to 
 march, tod on their arrival found the roofs slightly raised, 
 the branches that overhung the buildings cut away, and, 
 instead of being crowded into one barrack, the one regiment 
 filled both — a wing in each. The 22d Eegiment at the 
 same time was moved into the neighbouring cantonment at 
 Dugshai, which had been condemned on the same grounds 
 as the other two. Both regiments entered on their new 
 quarters vrith gloomy feelings, but when Sir Charles Napier 
 left India he was able to note with satisfaction that the 
 returns from all three stations were as good as those of any 
 regiment in England. 
 
 Side by side with the wants, physical and moral, of the 
 British soldier, the native sepoy furnished his own special 
 problems of far greater difficulty, the solution of which 
 could not be delayed without inevitable disaster. The 
 dangerous state of the native army had been one of the 
 first Indian subjects to engage Sir Charles Napier's atten- 
 tion. In 1842 he had pointed out the mischief likely to 
 arise from the want of regimental officers, especially in the 
 
IX.] COMMANDER-IN-CHIEF IN INDIA. 385 
 
 higher ranks. An officer after ten or twelve years, "if 
 he has brains and health, is put on the staff; thus the 
 regiments are constantly commanded by lieutenants." The 
 result of the nominal command being in the hands of young 
 and inexperienced men was the increased influence of the 
 native officers. " No one seems to foresee that your young 
 inexperienced wild cadet will some day find the Indian 
 army taken out of his hands by the subadars, who are men 
 of high caste and very daring. . . . The subadars are 
 steady, respectful, thoughtful, stern -looking men, very 
 zealous and very military, the sole instructors of aU our 
 soldiers. If our rulers think this a trifle, and none appear 
 to think it worth consideration, they will some day be 
 surprised." No less a danger existed in the social relations 
 of the different ranks. As between officers and men he 
 observed a turn for the worse both in England and 
 India. 
 
 " In these days the rich do not look enough to the poor. 
 The rich keep select society, and aU strive to belong to the 
 honoured caste just above them. This caste and luxury 
 have also pervaded the army ; no soldier can now go up to 
 his officer and speak to him without a non-commissioned 
 officer gives him leave and accompanies him ! His captain 
 is no longer his friend and chief ; he receives him with up- 
 start condescension, is very dignified and very insolent, nine 
 times out of ten, and as- often the private goes away with 
 disgust or contempt, instead of good respectful comrade 
 feelings. Then the soldier goes daily to school or to his 
 library, now always at hand, and thus daily acquires know- 
 ledge, while his dignified officer goes to the billiard-room 
 or the smoking-room ; or, strutting about with a forage cap 
 on the side of an empty pate, and clothed in a shooting- 
 jacket or other deformity of dress, fancies himself a great 
 character because he is ' fast ' and belongs to a fast regiment 
 
 2c 
 
386 SIR CHARLES NAPIER. [chap. 
 
 — Le. a regiment unfit for service, commanded by the ad- 
 jutant, and having a mess in debt !" 
 
 He saw the same spirit at ■work in the relations between 
 Europeans and natives, the latter being treated by a certain 
 class of Europeans " with a lightness and contumely which, 
 exclusive of its vulgarity, is undeserved. They forget what 
 marvellously able men have been among these Eastern 
 races — Akbar, Baber, Aurungzebe, Sevagee, Hyder Ali, 
 Eunjeet Sing, G-oolab Sing, and many more, such as the 
 extraordinary Nanuc, who, if what is written of him be true, 
 must have been one of the most perfect of human beings. 
 The Eastern intellect is great, and supported by amiable 
 feelings ; and the native officers have a full share of Eastern 
 daring, genius, and ambition ; but to nourish these qualities 
 they must be placed on a par with European»officers." 
 
 With such a sjrmpathetic appreciation of native character 
 and capacity it is not surprising that he should have con- 
 sidered mutiny as " one of the greatest, if not the greatest 
 danger threatening India — a danger that may come un- 
 expectedly, and if the first symptoms be not carefully 
 treated, with a power to shake LeadenhaE . . . The 
 moment these brave and able natives leam how to combine 
 they will rush on us simultaneously, and the game will be 
 up." A just and sympathetic government of the people, 
 the admission of natives to an equality with ourselves in 
 respect of honours and rank, whether military or civil, and 
 the enrolment in our service of men of antagonistic race 
 and creed, would render such a combination improbable 
 or harmless ; but under the existing system it appeared to 
 him certain that the EngUsh in India would be fighting for 
 their lives before fifty years were past ; a bad Governor- 
 General and a bad Commander-in-Chief might clench the 
 business, and the whole Empire be lost. 
 
 He had hardly entered upon his duties at Simla before 
 
IX.] COMMANDER-IN-CHIEF IN INDIA. 387 
 
 a practical consideration of the question was forced upon 
 him. When the Punjab was first occupied, the sepoys, 
 having passed beyond the Indian frontier, received increased 
 pay. When annexation had made it an integral portion of 
 the Empire, this allowance for foreign service was with- 
 drawn. The sepoys, having tasted higher pay, and feeling 
 that the fact of annexation left them as far as ever from 
 their homes, showed signs of discontent, and in July 1849, 
 the 2 2d N.I., stationed at Eawul Pindi, refused the reduced 
 pay, and the 13th Eegiment speedily followed their example. 
 The afiFair was serious ; the two regiments were in the midst 
 of a population conquered only five months before, and 
 other regiments were prepared, it was said, to act in the 
 same manner. Sir Colin Campbell, who was in command 
 at Eawul Pindi, further informed the Commander-in-Chief 
 that the mutiny was not a sudden impulse, but had been 
 debated for some time, and had been the subject of a cor- 
 respondence between the two mutinous regiments and the 
 troops stationed at Wuzzeerabad. A member of the 
 Military Board pressed for the disbanding of the two regi- 
 ments : this Sir Charles Napier successfully opposed. " Had 
 we disbanded those regiments the whole line, trusting to their 
 numbers, would have followed the example, knowing we 
 could not disband an army. . . . My resolution is to treat 
 the cases as isolated ones, while they can be so treated ; for if 
 we attempt to bully large bodies they will do the same by us 
 and a fight must ensue." At the same time he took care to 
 prepare for the worst by providing movable columns, and giv- 
 ing exact instructions to the Generalsin the Punjab howto act 
 on an emergency. Happily the combination at Eawul Pindi 
 gave way to fear, and the afiiair ended without bloodshed. 
 
 The scene then shifted to Delhi. On the 9th of 
 November Sir Charles Napier, on reaching that city, was 
 informed that • the 41st N.I. had refused to enter the 
 
388 SIR CHARLES NAPIER. [chap. 
 
 Punjab with reduced pay. It was also reported that the 
 men were in correspondence with no less than twenty-four 
 other regiments. By judicious management and the granting 
 of furloughs, which had been improperly withheld, diffi- 
 culties were once more overcome and the regiment marched. 
 But Delhi was only 400 miles from Eawul Pindi, and the 
 General's belief in the widespread nature of the discontent 
 was much strengthened. Conviction was irresistible when, 
 having reached Peshawur, he heard from Brigadier Hearsey, ' 
 an experienced officer well acquainted with the native lan- 
 guage and feelings, that insubordination on the same 
 grounds had been displayed at Wuzzeerabad. Owing to 
 the large force of Europeans at that station the danger was 
 not very great, but young sepoys had been heard to say : 
 " We had better wait till three or four regiments come up, 
 and whatever they do, we will do also." So general was 
 the belief of the European officers in the prevalence of a 
 mutinous spirit that he was urged by several of them to 
 open the sepoys' letters. This, however, he declined to do, 
 as he thought it was a stronger step than the state of affairs 
 at that time would have justified. "The army generally," 
 he remarks, " was faithful to its colours, the bad spirit was 
 confined to that portion in the Punjab, where it wanted and 
 was resolved to have more pay, but that was sufficiently 
 formidable, for, exclusive of irregulars, there were 50,000 
 men, and strong presumptive proof that some 30,000 were 
 mutinous.'' 
 
 He soon found an opportunity of striking a blow which, 
 perhaps more than any other single act of our rule, has 
 given strength and security to our hold upon India, The 
 66th Eegiment, on its way from Lucknow into the Punjab, 
 halted at Govindghur, one of the strongest fortresses in 
 India and containing a large magazine. There they refused 
 the reduced pay and tried to shut the gates of the fortress. 
 
IX.] COMMANDER-IN-CHIEF IN INDIA. 389 
 
 which they were only prevented from doing by the acci- 
 dental presence of a cavalry regiment, on its way back from 
 the Punjab, and therefore unaffected by the question of pay. 
 The time had come to make a severe example. The high 
 caste Bengali sepoy believed himself master of the situation, 
 because if his regiment were to be disbanded the whole 
 influence of caste and kinship would be employed to prevent 
 the Government getting new recruits. Brigadier Hearsey 
 had told Napier that Major Neville Chamberlain, rebuking 
 some grumblers, had said, " Had I the power I would dis- 
 miss you," and the answer he got was : " You had better 
 not do that, for you should not get a man from the country 
 to replace us if you did." This was probably true if they 
 alone were worthy to serve in our armies, but Napier had 
 other plans. As soon as the news of the attempt to seize 
 Govindghur reached him, he issued a general order as 
 follows : — •" The native officers, non-commissioned officers, 
 and private sepoys of the 66th Eegiment are to be marched 
 to Umballah, and there struck off from the service of the 
 Honourable East India Company; and his Excellency directs 
 that the colours of the 66th Eegiment are to be delivered 
 over to the loyal and brave men of the Nusseree Ghoorka 
 battalion, and that the 66th Eegiment shall in future be 
 denominated the 66th or Ghoorka Eegiment." The blow 
 was decisive. " The Brahmins saw that another race could 
 be brought into the ranks of the Company's army — a race 
 dreaded as more warlike than their own. Their religious 
 combination was by that one stroke rendered abortive."^ 
 
 These Ghoorkas, who have since given so many proofs 
 of their firm loyalty and courage, had already received 
 English pay as irregulars. "They have a high military 
 
 ^ In a letter to Lord EUenborough he says : — "I flung the Ghoorka 
 battalion into the scale, as Brennus did his sword, and mutiny, having 
 no Camillas, was crushed." 
 
390 SJS CHARLES NAPIER. [chap. 
 
 spirit," says Napier, "are fierce in war, of unsurpassed 
 activity, and possess great powers of enduring fatigue. 
 Very low of stature, and with short limbs, they have yet 
 enormous muscles and vast strength, and their chests are 
 both broad and deep. . . . The Ghoorka will be faithful, 
 and for low pay we can enlist a large body of soldiers whom 
 our best ofGicers consider equal in courage to European troops. 
 Even as a matter of economy this will be good ; but the 
 great advantage of enhsting these hUhnen will be, that with 
 30,000 or 40,000 Ghoorkas added to 30,000 Europeans, the 
 possession of India will not ' depend on opinion,' but on an 
 army able with ease to overthrow any combination among 
 Hindoos or Mohammedans, or both together." 
 
 Twelve days before the mutiny of the 66th a step had 
 been taken which, though it seemed of shght importance to 
 the Commander-in-Chief compared with the Ghoorka affair, 
 brought on him the whole weight of Lord Dalhousie's 
 displeasuroj and caused his resignation. On the 20th of 
 January 1850 an official letter from Brigadier Hearsey, in 
 command at Wuzzeerabad, drew attention to a regulation 
 affecting the usual allowance to the sepoys for purchasing 
 their food, according to the market prices of the countries 
 in which they served; it was of recent date, and only 
 partially known. At Wuzzeerabad it was wholly unknown, 
 and Hearsey, who had exceptional knowledge and experi- 
 ence of native troops, and to whose energy and tact it was 
 largely due that a mutiny had been avoided a fortnight 
 earlier, expressed his opinion that it was not safe to enforce 
 the regulation until it had been carefully explained to the 
 sepoys on parade. This opinion was indorsed by Sir 
 Walter Gilbert, the General commanding the division, and 
 forwarded by him to Colonel Grant, the Adjutant-General 
 of the Indian army, who laid the matter before Sir Charles 
 Napier, saying that he did not believe the Government was 
 
IX] COMMANDER-IN-CHIEF IN INDIA. 391 
 
 aware that the regulation bore hardly on the sepoy, and 
 that in his opinion to enforce it at Wuzzeerabad would be 
 dangerous. Having regard to the recent outbreaks at 
 Eawul Pindi, Delhi, and Wuzzeerabad itself, knowing that 
 Lord Dalhousie was on a sea voyage for his health, that the 
 danger was imminent, and the Supreme CouncU separated 
 from the scene by weeks, Napier took upon himself the 
 responsibility of suspending the regulation pending a 
 reference on the subject to the Supreme Council. 
 
 He had no suspicion that his conduct would not meet 
 with general approbation. Lord Dalhousie had written to 
 him approving of the policy he had up to that time adopted 
 in the treatment of mutiny, and assuring him that he could 
 depend upon Government support. He had further consulted 
 the instructions prepared for him by the Duke of Wellington, 
 and had there read these words : — " On a station so distant, 
 and of such magnitude and political importance, you must 
 necessarily act in a great measure from your own discretion." 
 What was his surprise therefore when, three months after 
 the event, he received, through the agency of a Brevet-Major 
 in the army under his orders, a severe reprimand from the 
 Grovemor-General for exercising powers which belonged to . 
 the Supreme Council. Such are the facts : the prevalence 
 of discontent on the score of reduction of pay could not be 
 denied ; the application of the regulation in question, which 
 was unknown to the sepoys, was declared by the General 
 of Brigade, by the General of Division, and by the Adjutant- 
 General of the whole army to be dangerous ; Lord Dal- 
 housie was at sea, and Sir Charles Napier ordered the 
 suspension of the Regulation till it could be referred to the 
 Council 1200 miles off. The whole amount involved did 
 not reach £10 a regiment, but that was not the question. 
 " Had an idea crossed my mind," says Napier, " that Lord 
 Dalhousie would regard this as a desperate attempt to 
 
392 SIR CHARLES NAPIER. [chap. 
 
 usurp his supreme civil power, willingly would I have paid 
 the sepoys myself, to save bloodshed and vital mischief to 
 the community. But the principle ! that is the gravamen 
 of the question. Yes, the principle must be considered. 
 It is precisely that which let a Spanish king bum to death 
 in the midst of his courtiers because the official extinguisher 
 of fires was not present ! " 
 
 His position, irksome from the first, was now intoler- 
 able, and he at once sent in his resignation. It was accepted, 
 and to the immense triumph of his enemies he was informed 
 that the Duke of Wellington had condemned his conduct, on 
 the ground that there was no such evidence of danger as 
 would have warranted the step he had taken. To be cen- 
 sured by the man whom he honoured above aU living men 
 was a bitter drop in his cup, but it could hardly disturb his 
 faith in the strength of his position. The memorandum in 
 which the Duke had given the grounds of his decision he 
 was never allowed to see, though the Directors made very 
 free use of it after his death. But he knew that the only 
 evidence as to the danger of mutiny which Wellington had 
 seen was so much as Lord Dalhousie had chosen to send him.^ 
 In none of his own papers which Wellington ever saw had 
 that side of the question been treated in detail, for until he 
 heard of the Duke's decision it had never occurred to him 
 that the reality of the peril would, be disputed; he had 
 imagined the question to be simply, whether the Com- 
 mander-in-Chief who was responsible for the discipUne of 
 the army could or could not under any conceivable circum- 
 stances exercise his discretion, even if it should lead him to 
 exceed his strictly legal powers. The Duke of Wellington's 
 
 1 Lord Dalhousie was the last person who had the right to quote 
 the Duke of Wellington's opinion against Napier, for he had said 
 shortly before the Duke's decision was known, " I wish he would leave 
 the Horse Guards, his mind is going fast." 
 
IX.] COMMANDER-IN-CHIEF IN INDIA. 393 
 
 memorandum was, therefore, based on one-sided, insufficient 
 information supplied by a person deeply interested in his 
 decision. It was issued without any demand for a full ex- 
 planation from Sir Charles Napier, who was, besides, never 
 allowed to see it, and went to his grave without knowing 
 the grounds upon which he had been condemned. 
 
 In December 1850 he formally took leave of his command, 
 weary in body and wounded in spirit. He had been sent 
 out to save India from the Sikhs. That task had already 
 been accomplished by another, but he remained to save it 
 from the greater danger of mutiny. When it is remem- 
 bered that the outbreaks at Eawul Pindi, Delhi, and 
 Wuzzeerabad, following one another in quick succession, 
 were all caused by a reduction of pay; that the still 
 more serious attempt at Govindghur had the same origin ; 
 and that the men at Wuzzeerabad had been heard to say 
 that they must submit until more regiments came up to 
 help them ; it is impossible to resist the conviction that 
 any further interference with pay, such as would have been 
 caused by the enforcement of theEegulation at Wuzzeerabad, 
 might have produced the most serious consequences. Sir 
 Charles Napier fully believed that by the suspension of that 
 regulation he had saved India from an immediate and 
 extensive mutiny, and that by the incorporation of the 
 Ghoorkas into the regular forces he had furnished the only 
 sure means by which our supremacy could be preserved 
 from such a peril in the future. For these services, to say 
 nothing of his other efforts for the welfare of the army, 
 at the close of a long and noble career, he had received 
 not honours and rewards, not approbation or consideration, 
 but the most severe reprimand. 
 
 Sadly, but with the dignity of one who hM the approval 
 of his own judgment and conscience, he turned homeward, 
 to look, as he says, " on my father's sword, and think of 
 
394 SIR CHARLES NAPIER. [chap. 
 
 the day he gave it into my young hands, and of this motto 
 on a Spanish blade he had : ' Draw me not without cause, 
 put me not up without honour!' I have not drawn his 
 sword without cause : nor put it up without honour ! " 
 His feeling that he was in the right now urged him to rebel 
 against the injustice of his treatment, now counselled a 
 calm reliance on the goodness of his cause. One or two 
 sentences in the Journal give a glimpse of the manful fight 
 he maintained against the infirmities of his nature. 
 
 "My destiny has been for ten years an enviable one. 
 I have indeed suffered much that no one knows of, nor shall 
 they : I want no mortal's pity. But I have what the world 
 values ; and I have also, what I value most, my own consci- 
 ousness that I have done no act of wrong, or of subserviency, 
 or baseness of any kind. I have not sought either fame or 
 riches, and have no self-reproach, no regrets. Yes, one : 
 I am not half grateful enough to that mysterious power 
 which has ruled my destiny. I cannot be satisfied that I 
 am really grateful to God. I say so in prayer, and even 
 feel so, but also feel that I ought to be a thousand times 
 more so ; the foul fiend has too much power over me. 
 Ambition, vanity, anger, all struggle with what is right, 
 and dissatisfy my heart with my own conduct. Well-doing 
 is the remedy. I am angry with myself for not despising 
 my enemies, and forgiving them : being right in what I 
 have done, why should I feel angry with those enemies \ 
 Yet I do feel so, and spiteful withal, which is wrong.'' 
 
 Before leaving India he took his last farewell of the 
 22d Eegiment in a speech which is here set down as a 
 model of stirring military eloquence. 
 
 "It is a great pleasure to me, O soldiers ! to close my 
 command of the Indian armies by having the honour to pre- 
 sent to the 2 2d Kegiment their new colours. It is now eight 
 years since this brave regiment, then only 500 strong, under 
 
IX.] COMMANDER-IN-CHIEF IN INDIA. 395 
 
 that noble soldier Pennefather, was joined by our dusky and 
 brave companions in arms, the glorious 2 5th and 12 th Regiments 
 of Bombay infantry, and won the battle of Meeanee, won the 
 battle of Hyderabad, won Scinde for England ; and won for 
 themselves these proud colours decorated with the records of 
 your fame ! Soldiers ! well may I be proud of being your 
 colonel — well may I be proud of being the colonel of that 
 regiment which stood by the King of England at Dettingen, 
 stood by the celebrated Lord Peterborough at Barcelona, and 
 into the arms of whose grenadiers the immortal Wolfe fell on 
 the heights of Abraham. Well may I exult in the command 
 of such a regiment ! But I will pass over bygone glories to 
 speak of what has happened in our own times. Never can I 
 forget the banks of the FuUaillee, and the bloody bed of that 
 river where 2000 of our men fought 35,000 enemies ! — where 
 for three hours the musket and the bayonet encountered the 
 sword and shield in mortal combat ; for on that dreadful day 
 no man spared a foe : we were too weak for mercy ! Shall 
 I ever forget the strong and lofty entrenchments of Dubba, 
 where the 2 2d advanced in line, unshaken, a living wall, and 
 under a murderous fire stormed the works ! There those hon- 
 oured old colours of which we have just taken leave, bravely 
 borne forward by their ensigns, Bowden and Blake, one of 
 whom. Lieutenant Bowden, I see before me bearing them this 
 day but in a higher rank, were in a few minutes seen waving 
 aloft amidst the combatants on the summit. 
 
 "Men of Meeanee, you must remember with exultation 
 and with pride what a view burst upon your sight, when under 
 a heavy fire you reached the bank of the river, where a hurl 
 of shields, and Scindian capped and turbaned heads, and 
 flashing scimitars high brandished in the air, spread as a sea 
 before you, 35,000 valiant warriors of Beloochistan threaten- 
 ing you with destruction! Then the hostile armies closed 
 and clashed together, and desperate combats thickened along 
 the line. The superb 9th Cavalry of Bengal and the renowned 
 Scinde Horse, the dark chivalry of India, burst as a thunder- 
 cloud, and charging into the dry bed of the FuUaillee drove 
 the foe before them ! At that moment a terrible cry arose on 
 
396 SIR CHARLES NAPIER. [chap. 
 
 the right. It was the dreadful British shout of battle ! It 
 began with the 22d and was echoed from right to left, from 
 regiment to regiment, along the line. Lines of levelled 
 charging bayonets then gleamed through the smoke, and the 
 well-fought field of Meeanee was your own ! Soldiers, these 
 are not deeds that pass away like summer clouds and are for- 
 gotten : they remain on the minds of men, they are recorded 
 in the pages of history. 
 
 " Young soldiers of the 22d, when future battles arise and 
 the strife grows heavy and strong, remember the deeds that 
 were done by these old soldiers of Meeanee. It was they 
 who covered these colours with laurels — it was they who 
 won the legends which these standards bear emblazoned 
 in golden letters. Kemember these things, and shoulder to 
 shoulder win the day. And now, young soldiers, a few words 
 about drill. It is tiresome, and often disheartening, and 
 annoys men ; but remember that it is driU that makes com- 
 panies and regiments and brigades and divisions act together, 
 and strike as it were with great and mighty blows — it is drill 
 which gives you the battle and the glory of victory ! Ensigns, 
 take these new colours from my hands. I know you wiU 
 carry them gloriously on the day of battle, and if you iall, 
 still the colours of the 2 2d will advance, for brave men will 
 never be wanting in the field to bear them forward to victory 
 with fire and steel ! And now, 2 2d, take your colours, and 
 let the ancient city of Chester, begirt by its proud old walls, 
 exult in the glories of its own brave regiment." 
 
 Leaving Simla on 16th November Sir Charles Napier 
 travelled to the Indus, down which he sailed on board the 
 Comet, the steamer which had carried him up the river in 
 1842. His whole journey until the hour he left Bombay for 
 England was one triumphant proof that he had still an appeal 
 from official censure, and that his labours had won a recog- 
 nition higher than any rewards that Governments can bestow. 
 He stopped on his way down at Meeanee and Hyderabad 
 to take a last look at his battlefields. British soldiers and 
 
IX.] COMMANDER-IN-CHIEF IN INDIA. 397 
 
 Belooch sirdars flocked from every quarter to greet him. 
 " These soldiers," he exclaims, " are enough to spoil me, 
 officers and privates alike : I have been at a play, and 
 thought they would have pulled the house down ! The 
 men of the 64th and 83d made a throne for me in the 
 middle of the theatre, with a crown over it hanging from 
 the canopy. If we had civil troubles in England I should 
 be a dangerous man, for half the troops would follow me : 
 it is wonderful what a little success and kind feeling towards 
 them does. The Duke had great success, but he repulsed 
 the soldiers, and there are few of those who served under 
 him who love him as much as I do. He feels that he owes 
 all to his own great abilities, and he feels that justly ; but 
 he should not show it, for his soldiers stood by him man- 
 fully. I owe much to my soldiers, and it is my pride and 
 pleasure to acknowledge it; they know this and are attached 
 to me." 
 
 Another token of gratitude and respect touched him 
 even more deeply than the worship of his soldiers. It has 
 been told earlier in this volume how the peasants of Oeph- 
 alonia had honoured his memory by voluntarily sending 
 him the annual produce of his little property. A similar 
 feeling for him was now exhibited by the proud sirdars of 
 Scinde. When he arrived at Hyderabad nearly all the 
 sirdars had assembled from hundreds of miles distance, and 
 accompanied him on horseback to the Indus and aU shook 
 hands with him — " Before you leave us for ever." " They 
 were the same men," says Napier, "that met me in 1842 : 
 but fierce looks and a haughty demeanour marked their 
 bearing then, and now they were laughing and joking 
 with each other, and familiarly talking with me faster 
 than my interpreter could explain : and when I was on 
 deck the Belooch battalion gave me loud cheers, and the 
 sirdars also cheered." Nor was that all. In spite of his 
 
398 SIR CHARLES NAPIER. [ohap. 
 
 being in disgrace witli the Governor- General, a matter of 
 more weight with natives than with Europeans, they pre- 
 sented him with a magnificent sword. When they first 
 consulted the Hyderabad Collector on the subject, the fore- 
 most sirdar had headed the subscription with .£3000, but 
 the Collector, knowing Sir Charles Napier's temper, insisted 
 that the total should not exceed three hundred guineas, 
 and such accordingly was the sum raised as a mark of their 
 gratitude "for saving them from the miseries of con- 
 quest, and for honouring their courage and fidelity to the 
 Ameers." 
 
 At Bombay all classes joined in a public banquet in his 
 honour, at which, in proposing his health. Sir Wilham 
 Yardly, one of the Judges, pronounced a most eloquent 
 eulogy of his Indian career. In his reply Sir Charles 
 Napier, alluding to the numerous enmities which that 
 career had excited, denied that the word "enmity" had 
 ever been applicable to his own attitude. " It is independ- 
 ence of spirit which, old as I am, I shall, with God's blessing, 
 carry to the grave ; and it is this spirit which makes me 
 feel sp deeply the kindness you have shown me here in 
 Bombay, when retiring from the pubUc world. This very 
 day, fifty-seven years ago, I received my commission as an 
 ensign, and girded on this sword, my father's sword, which 
 has for those long years hung at my side ; I received that 
 commission rejoicing as a boy, your kindness has made me 
 finish my career rejoicing as a man." 
 
 In March 1851 he was back in England. lUness and 
 various duties, private and social, kept him in London for 
 some time ; but as soon as his strength returned he retired 
 to Oaklands, a small property on the Hampshire Downs, a 
 few miles from Portsmouth. The only incident of his stay 
 in London that made an impression on him, was his recep- 
 tion by the Duke of Wellington, which strongly bore out 
 
IX.] LAST YEARS. 399 
 
 the report which had already reached him that the Duke's 
 memorandum did not fully express his private sentiments. 
 The Duke was said to have exclaimed, " No one has ever 
 supported authority more than I have all my life, but this 
 reprimand is shameful ! " Sir Charles Napier says of their 
 first meeting on his return, "I never was so kindly, so 
 graciously received as just now by the Duke ; I thought he 
 would have embraced me ! ' Will your Grace let me put 
 your name on my card for the l&oie on Wednesday V 'Oh 
 yes ! yes ! and I will go there, and take care to tell the 
 Queen that you are there ; she will be glad to see you safe 
 back, and so am I, so is everybody ! ' " 
 
 At Oaklands the disease which had settled on his liver, 
 ever since his ride to Lahore in 1846, was making rapid 
 strides, but he was not the man to give up life easily, or to 
 await death in idleness. In spite of the depressing effects 
 of such an illness he continued to write and think with all 
 the old animation and vigour. India still occupied much 
 of his thoughts. His friend Sir Colin Campbell was being 
 harshly attacked for his conduct of some military opera- 
 tions on the Punjab frontier. Detesting, like Napier, the 
 constant interference of " Politicals " with military matters, 
 the burning of villages, and the whole frontier policy of the 
 Government, he was finally forced to resign his command. 
 Sir Charles Napier, writing to condole with his "fellow- 
 criminal," as he used to call him, draws an amusing sketch 
 of the general fate of ill-considered attempts to coerce hill- 
 tribes {lAfe of Lord, Ol/yde, vol. i. p. 302). 
 
 " Be perfectly assured your whole conduct of the troops on 
 that ill-judged expedition was excellent. They abuse you for 
 not marching upon Lalpoora and Pindjalah, or some such 
 name. Why, what could you have done if you had ? Why 
 should you march on these places? What could you have 
 done when you got there? March on to some other two 
 
400 SIjR CHARLES NAPIER. [chap. 
 
 places, and so on, into the heart of Central Asia ! ! ! And 
 then — laid down your arms ! You never could have got 
 there. March to top of hill No. 1 ; lose some men ; get there. 
 Enemy waiting on top of hill No. 2; go there; more men 
 kiUed and wounded ; more provisions gone ; large hospitals ; 
 long way for the ' tommy ' " — soldier's term for bread — " to 
 follow. Enemy on No. 3 ; march there ; more killed ; more 
 difficulty ; live on half ' tommy.' Enemy as well as ever on 
 No. 4 ; march again ; men down ; hospital large ; animals 
 scarce ; ' tommy ' coming up ; empty belly till he arrives ; 
 report in camp, ' tommy ' intercepted. Enemy defying on top 
 of hill No. 5 ; empty bellies ; foUow him in good wind ; but 
 enemy off to top of hill No. 6. News confirmed, ' tommy ' 
 cut off ! Can't move a peg towards enemy. No grub ; legs 
 weak ; retire to try and meet fresh ' tommy.' Now every 
 pass must be carried at the point of the bayonet, whilst the 
 rearguard is overpowered with a hot-pursuing enemy. Every 
 wounded man lost. Carry the pass ; but no grub, no strength, 
 no heart. All boasters, all criers-out for ' dash,' for decided 
 measures, dovrai in the mouth. No pluck. Anonymous 
 writers and newspapers funking the worst of all. No spirit 
 left, because no strength, and a surrender and massacre of 
 course become necessary." 
 
 Such humorous criticism was all very well for private 
 letters and old friends; but he was urged by a sense of 
 duty to the public to undertake a much graver task. 
 Death intervened before it was accomplished, and the 
 volume, entitled Defects, Civil and Military, of the Indian 
 Gmerwment, eventually edited by Sir W. Napier, fulfils only 
 a portion of the original design. The first part of that 
 volume contains a vindication of his own conduct as Com- 
 mander-in-Chief. By the nation, he said, he had been 
 called to that post, and not by the Directors, and to the 
 nation he must account for having resigned it. The second 
 part was intended to be a complete examination of the 
 existing system of administration in India, military and 
 
IX.] LAST YEARS. 401 
 
 civiL Of this part only the military portion was completed, 
 containing interesting and useful chapters on barracks, 
 horses, artillery, commissariat, discipline, clothing, and 
 every branch of the administration of an Indian army. 
 The appearance of the book in 1857, containing as it did 
 so many warnings that the existing system was leading to 
 mutiny and the overthrow of the empire, created a pro- 
 found impression, and it was only the somewhat egotistical . 
 tone given to the book by its being in the nature of a 
 personal vindication, that has deprived the military portions 
 of the work of the more enduring attention which they 
 deserve. 
 
 From controversy and public affairs he turned with keen 
 pleasure to the pursuits of a country gentleman for which 
 he had so often sighed, and entered into management of his 
 little estate and the needs of his parish with his old ardour 
 but with diminishing strength. "When I die, may the 
 poor regret me," is his constant wish. " If they do, their 
 judgment will be more in my favour than anything else." 
 Kind and compassionate to those in real distress, he still 
 made every one feel that honest work and honest words 
 were the only sure road to his goodwill. In his walk round 
 the farm, no doubt there was many an outburst of wrathful 
 impatience as well as humour, and much keen observation 
 of the individuals and the class he found working there. 
 "I leave the farming to my wife," he says, "but there are 
 some things I keep in my own hands. Draining I under- 
 stand better than the writers on it, and could write better 
 on it than they do. My labourers are all clever in their 
 way; but one of them, Massum, is the cleverest and 
 shrewdest, both for his own interest and mine. Men who 
 neglect either their own or their employer's interest are 
 good for nothing ; the first are so rare that not one was 
 exhibited at the Crystal Palace ; of the last there are 
 
 2d 
 
402 SIR CHARLES NAPIER. [ohap. 
 
 plenty. The chap who looks after both is my man. 
 Massum is one of these, but sharp as a needle, and I must 
 look after my own affairs." 
 
 The general condition of the working-classes drew from 
 him some reflections which the political economy of his day 
 would have denounced as sentimental and mischievous, and 
 of which we are now only beginning to feel the force. 
 " There is now a great struggle going on between machinery 
 and hand-labour. To me it seems that a man has a right 
 do as he likes, and use a spade in preference to his hands 
 and nails. But then in a broad form comes the question — 
 Has the mass of proprietors a right to use machinery to 
 such an extent as to starve the mass of hand -labourers ? 
 This is spade versus nails ; right being with spades, force 
 with nails. But nails say, 'Before we use force, we must 
 ask on what basis right stands.' Answer, 'We possess 
 money and lands.' ' Who gave you either 1 ' ' We made 
 the money and inherit the land.' 'Who helped you to 
 make the money?' 'You did.' 'And now in return you 
 starve v&V ' No ! go to those caUings and countries where 
 you are still wanted.' 'We cannot.' 'Why?' 'We are 
 too poor, and you, having power, have deprived us of votes 
 as to taxation ; and having drawn our teeth, and pared our 
 nails, and loaded us with imposts, tell us to go and starve. 
 You have free trade for yourselves, but tell us to labour in 
 competition, not only with machinery, which may help us 
 perhaps, but also with untaxed men, while our loads sink 
 us ! Give us free trade really, and we go along with you ; 
 if not, we will put you to the wall by emigration, robbery, 
 fire-raising, and murder ! Alas ! Alas ! ' " 
 
 Thus busied with agriculture, controversy, and politics, 
 he passed his few remaining months, sometimes cheered by 
 a visit from his brother or Sir Colin Campbell, or refreshing 
 himself by the sight of the red coats at Portsmouth. " My 
 
IX.] LAST YEARS. 403 
 
 feeling is that of love towards every man with a red coat 
 that I meet, or a blue one either, for it is the same towards 
 sailors ; this feeling is diflScult to express, but it is as if I 
 had known them all my life, and only forgotten their names. 
 It makes me, when I go into Portsmouth, inclined to take 
 the first soldier or sailor by the arm and walk with him, 
 certain of knowing how to talk to him of matters with 
 which he is familiar, and which would interest him. If he 
 seems clean and smart I paint him as he would be in 
 action, his mouth black with gunpowder from biting off the 
 end of his cartridges, his hands also black and bloody, his 
 eager animated eyes bent fiercely on the enemy, and prompt 
 to do my bidding ; firm of frame, armed for the work, and 
 of ready courage to follow and support me in all ! Then it 
 is I feel that I can never do too much for them; and 
 soldiers always know what their oflicers' feelings towards 
 them are." 
 
 These were not the only thoughts suggested by the 
 neighbourhood of Portsmouth. In 1851 and 1852 there 
 was a imiversal feeling of distrust with regard to the 
 designs of the President of the French Republic. Serious 
 fears were entertained that we were threatened with a 
 French invasion; and a consideration of the means to 
 resist it was not calculated to aUay such an alarm. 
 There were then no volunteers, no reserve, no adequate 
 south-coast defences ; whUe our long immunity from 
 European wars had reduced the regular forces to a condi- 
 tion which the Crimean War was shortly to make only too 
 notorious. Sir Charles Napier heard from Lord Hardinge 
 that, when everything was provided for, he could only 
 count on having 7000 men with whom to meet the French 
 if they could effect a landing. Admiral Sir Charles Napier, 
 who lived not far from the Portsmouth coast, actually 
 advertised his house for sale. " I shall not do that," said 
 
404 SIR CHARLES NAPIER. [ohap. 
 
 the General, " but, expecting an invasion, as I am too old 
 to fight now, I mean to put on a red nightcap, and sit at 
 my door with a flannel petticoat over my knees, a black 
 draught in my hand, and my feet in hot water, awaiting 
 the arrival of a French General of Brigade, 'Je mis un 
 pauvre wncien militawe, ayezpitii de 7noi.' " 
 
 If he had hung up his sword he could stUl wield his 
 pen, and accordingly in Tebruary 1852 he published a 
 Letter on the Defence of Englcmd by Corps of Volunteers and 
 Militia, which produced a great effect upon public opinion, 
 and did much to prepare the way for the great Volunteer 
 Movement of 1859. Addressed to the Members of Parlia- 
 ment, it was written with a spirit and vigour that make it 
 hard to beUeve it was the work of a man who was being 
 slowly killed by a painful and depressing disease. He 
 begins by answering those who either shut their eyes to 
 the situation altogether, or thought that it was enough to 
 know that the Duke of Wellington was alive. 
 
 " But we have the Duke ! you wiU say. Ay, we have 
 the Duke fortunately; and for that reason I write this 
 letter, to try if I can induce you to support him against 
 those who treat him as the Trojans did Cassandra ! For 
 my part, I feel no disposition to sit down unresistingly till 
 a French General of Brigade walks into my house and 
 cleans his boots by kicking me out of it ! " The first 
 thing, then, was to support the Duke of Wellington; the 
 second, "to call on your neighbours to arm themselves." 
 With regard to organisation he insists strong on simplicity 
 of dress, simplicity of drill, and constant practice at the 
 target and- at marching. " Do not be exclusive in formiug 
 your corps ; take your gamekeepers as your comrades, and 
 any of your labourers that will enroll themselves ; a gentle- 
 man will find no better or braver companions than among 
 his own immediate neighbours and tenants. Should you 
 
IX.] LAST YEARS. 405 
 
 require to throw up a breastwork, they will be more handy 
 with the spades and pickaxes than yourselves." Another 
 point on which he insisted with great force was the institu- 
 tion of a registry of "all your means, such as spades, pick- 
 axes, felling axes, barrows, carts, horses, in every town and 
 village. . . . With such preparations in their memorandum 
 books magistrates would throng round the engineer officer, 
 like so many staff- officers, and each receiving his orders 
 would, in the shortest possible time, collect men and tools 
 in masses." His fifth point was the salutary warning that 
 enthusiasm by itself is " a sort of Dutch courage." " Drill 
 and discipline are dull things, but they beat enthusiasm to 
 fits in a campaign. If enthusiasm and courage unite in one 
 man, he jumps over a wall and gets shot; if he is not 
 enthusiastic, but is well drilled, he kneels down behind a 
 wall deliberately, and with comparative safety fires over it 
 and shoots his enemy." 
 
 This appeal, which was soon to be so nobly responded 
 to, was the last of Sir Charles Napier's services to his 
 country. In spite of his illness, he took his place as one of 
 the paU-bearers at the Duke of Wellington's funeral " Too 
 gorgeous it was for death,'' says Sir WiQiam Napier, " and 
 scarcely in harmony with the feelings of the aged warriors 
 who, having in youth followed him through all dangers, 
 were then bending in grief over his bier. Pride and luxury 
 rather than veneration and sorrow seemed to predominate, 
 untU, lowered with unseen machinery, the coffin, as if under 
 a fiat from above, gradually descended into the dark vault 
 below — a hundred-gun ship slowly sinking in calm waters ! 
 When that, the only deep-felt part of the pageant was over, 
 many eyes were turned upon Charles Napier, and low voices 
 were heard to say, ' The next in genius stood by the bier.' " 
 He was soon to follow his honoured chief. A severe cold 
 caught at the Duke's funeral could not be shaken off; he 
 
406 SIR CHARLES NAPIER. Fohap. 
 
 never rallied much, again. In February 1853 he writes to 
 his brother : " I. do not expect ever to be well again ; six 
 years of this suffering has tired out my patience, and I feel 
 hopeless ; this gives me little care for myself, but it pains 
 me for others.'' In June 1853 he gave way and took to his 
 bed. In July he was moved at his own desire to Oaklands, 
 and placed in a large ground-floor room bmlt by himself. 
 There he awaited the end, sometimes wandering a little, 
 but usually bearing his constant suffering with gentle cour- 
 age. " To the last also," says his brother, " remaiaed his 
 extreme love of horses. He desired that Eed Eover, his 
 Arab charger in the battles, should be brought to the bed- 
 side, once more to be praised and caressed ; but the poor 
 unconscious beast was startled, and would not approach; 
 then, with a sad look and a sigh of disappointment, Charles 
 Napier turned from the gallant animal, recommending it to 
 the care of his wife and children." Affectionately he 
 remembered all who had loved and served him, and not 
 least his soldiers; his dying words to his son-in-law, 
 M'Murdo, were, " I took up my sword at eleven years of 
 age, and I now sheathe it at seventy-two with honour. I 
 have never stained it by a dishonourable or a mean action, 
 or by a desire to use it for my own aggrandisement. I have 
 served my country zealously and honourably, but my chief 
 aim has been to protect the poor soldier. I may have to 
 reproach myseK for some things, but not for my regard for 
 the soldiers' welfare : teU them so, Montagu, you who have 
 foUowed me ! Yet even in that I had to check myseK, lest 
 my bitter enemies should say I courted popularity. I never 
 courted popularity with the soldiers, I only strove for their 
 rights." 
 
 The end must be told by Sir William Napier. 
 
 " On the morning of the 29th August, at five o'clock, he 
 expired like a soldier, on a naked camp bedstead, the windows 
 
IX.] LAST YEARS. 407 
 
 of the room open and the fresh air of heaven blowing on Ms 
 manly face. Surrounded by his family and some of his 
 brothers he died. All his grieving servants were present, and 
 at his feet stood two veterans of his regiment, gazing with 
 terrible emotion at a countenance, then settling in death, 
 which they had first seen beaming in the light of battle ! 
 Easy was the actual dissolution, however, and as the last 
 breath escaped, Montagu M'Murdo, with a sudden inspiration, 
 snatched the old colours of the 22d Eegiment, the colours 
 that had been borne at Meeanee and Hyderabad, and waved 
 them over the dying hero. Thus Charles Napier passed from 
 this world. 
 
 " An intrepid soldier in life, he died amidst trophies of 
 battle, and his camp-bed was his bier ; the glorious colours of 
 the 22d gently waved over him, and between them the grand 
 picture of Meeanee leaned forward above the pale heroic 
 countenance, as if to claim his corpse for that bloody field. 
 On each side were placed Indian spears, supporting Belooch 
 shields and interspersed with rich sabres, matchlocks, and other 
 spoils. At his feet was the chief Ameer's white marble chair 
 of state, bearing on its seat his own good service sword, inherited 
 from his father and never disgraced. Facing the marble 
 chair was a testimonial of great richness and beauty, presented 
 by the men of the civil service in Scinde, and at its foot were 
 two swords of honour — one from Lord EUenborough as 
 Governor-General, the other from the 102d Eegiment, pre- 
 sented after his American warfare. Last and most esteemed 
 was laid, close to his side, the sword of peace, the sword of 
 gratitude, the testimony of the Belooch sirdars to his benefi- 
 cent government. Thus he lay in death amidst irrefragable 
 proofs that his genius had been strong in war, his head vidse 
 in government, his heart compassionate." 
 
 He is buried in the small churchyard of the military 
 chapel at Portsmouth. It was intended that the funeral 
 should be private ; but public feeling was too strong for 
 such an arrangement. Eound the grave stood two Gover- 
 nors-General of India, — Lords EUenborough and Hardinge, 
 
4o8 SIR CHARLES NAPIER. [chap. 
 
 — many distinguished officers of both services, the Prussian 
 Consul and the officers of two Prussian ships of war, and 
 the Mayor and Councillors of Portsmouth. Most touching 
 of all was the conduct of the garrison. The men had merely 
 been told the hour of the interment and that they might 
 attend if they liked. The whole garrison, consisting of the 
 Eoyal Marines, the 35th, 42d, 79th, and the Eifle Brigade, 
 crowded to evince their respect, and this though the greater 
 number could only reach the place at a pecuniary cost for 
 passing the harbour ferry. 
 
 At the end of the ceremony Sir WiUiam Napier, says 
 his biographet, " endeavoured to say a few words of thanks 
 to those who had attended, but was quite overpowered by 
 his feelings and memories, and after a few sentences was 
 unable to proceed. It was an impressive and touching 
 sight — that majestic-looking old man, his once strong and 
 active form bent with suffering, his snow-white hair and 
 beard flowing in the wind, standing at his brother's grave 
 and striving to find utterance for the feelings with which 
 his heart was bursting. Few brothers have ever been so 
 beloved or so faithfully served as was the dead man by him 
 who now stood raining tears on his coffin. ' Soldiers ! ' was 
 all he could say, ' there lies one of the best men — the best 
 soldiers, the best Christians — that ever lived; he served 
 you faithfully, and you served him faithfully. God is 
 just.'" 
 
 So lived and died Charles Napier. He had closed his 
 career with a feeling that he was an ill-used man : the last 
 passage of his unfinished book is in these words : — 
 
 " A wronged man I have been, more wronged than this 
 work tells of; for ever the public good has guided me in 
 suifering as in action. But when falsehood is in vigorous 
 activity with encouragement and support from power, the 
 dignity of human nature gives a right, without imputation 
 
IX.] LAST YEARS. 409 
 
 of vanity, to avow good services. To me also, as an inspired 
 truth, has come that passionate burst of eloquence with 
 which Charles Fox repelled foul enmity. ' There is a spirit 
 of resistance implanted by the Deity in the breast of man 
 proportioned to the size of the wrongs he is destined to 
 endure.' That spirit prompts me to vindicate a claim to 
 better usage. ... I leave my actions to history." 
 
 The vehement feelings he excited in the breast of friend 
 and foe have long obscured or distorted the real nature and 
 value of the man. But now that the controversies that 
 raged round his name are little more to us than they are 
 to the dead, he will hold unchallenged the place his devoted 
 brother assigned him in the annals of England as "the 
 daring victor of Meeanee and Hyderabad, the intrepid 
 subduer of the hiUmen, the successful regenerator of 
 Scinde, the firm military reformer of India — the man on 
 whom the universal English nation called in the hour of 
 danger to uphold a distant tottering empire." 
 
APPENDIX. 
 
 SECTION BAGGAGE -CORPS. 
 
 Minute in the Assistant Qua/rtermaster-Geneml's Office m Scinde, 
 relative to the formation of the Scinde Baggage-Corps. 
 
 KUEACHEE, 1847. 
 This important corps was formed by order of His BxceUency 
 Lieutenant-General Sir 0. J. Napier, G.C.B., with a view to 
 bring under control the unwieldy masses of baggage and followers 
 wHch accompany an army in India, and form a continual source 
 of anxiety to the general officer commanding the troops. 
 
 The principal inconveniences attending the march of an 
 army so accompanied in an enemy's country are occasioned 
 by- 
 
 First. — Overloading ; which causes the animals to break 
 down, or not being able to keep up with animals more lightly 
 laden, lengthen and weaken the line of baggage, which no guard, 
 however strong, can properly protect. 
 
 Secondly. — The guard required for the efficient protection of 
 the bs^gage in front of an enemy weakens the line of battle ; 
 and the guard required to go out with the camels while they 
 graze occasions not the least of the harassing duties after a 
 march. 
 
 Thirdly. — Immense loss to Government from animals broken 
 down and abandoned on the line of march, or rendered utterly 
 useless from sore backs, all caused by overloading, ill-treatment, 
 and a bad system generally. 
 
 FowiUy. — The above causes too frequently produce a scarcity 
 of carriage ; the men suffer, the movements of the army become 
 crippled, and the General's operations ruined. 
 
 Fifthly. — The very attendants of the camels, usually drawn 
 
412 APPENDIX. 
 
 (with their animals) from the countries adjoining the theatre of 
 operations, can never be attached to the service — when ill-treated 
 or discontented, they desert in the hour of need, not unfrequently 
 taking their animals along with them. The proportion of 
 attendants is thus often reduced to one man to five or more 
 camels ; a number totally inadequate to the care of the animals, 
 and mischievoxis in every way. 
 
 With practical experience of the disadvantages inflicted by a 
 disorderly baggage on a General while conducting his field 
 operations in India, Sir C. J. Napier ordered the formation of a 
 baggage-corps, consisting partly of camel-men, and partly of 
 native ofEicers and sepoys from the line. . . . 
 
 Those from the line thus acquired a knowledge of the treat- 
 ment of the camel from their new comrades in their respective 
 grades, who in their turn were drilled and instructed in military 
 duties. . . . 
 
 The clothing of the men of each division and the equipment 
 of their camels are of different colours, in order that no confusion 
 may occur when on service, and when leading into and out of 
 camp. 
 
 At night each division is known by the colour of its lantern, 
 carried on the back of a camel, and, at the head of the whole, a 
 large lantern is carried on the back of an elephant A peculiar 
 description of musical instrument, such as tom-tom, hMe-drwm, 
 or horn, is to be used by the baggage-corps to distinguish its call 
 from any other music used by the troops. Thus the baggage 
 can always be assembled by its own sounds. . . . 
 
 Should it ever be deemed expedient to reduce the baggage- 
 corps in Scinde, the reductions should be made first in the 
 animals : these can always be replaced if necessary, and are 
 already trained to carry loads ; but the present establishment of 
 the corps should be reduced with great caution, because the 
 camel-men or privates of the corps are now chosen men, armed 
 and drilled, and fond of the service, which they will not desert 
 in time of need ; they form valuable garrison troops in time of 
 peace, and when the force takes the field and camels are pur- 
 chased, they are immediately equipped from the d4p6ts of the 
 corps — an armed man to each camel takes his place upon the 
 line of march, at once the trained keeper of the animal and the 
 guard over the load which it carries. Thus the baggage-corps 
 gives confidence to the General, comfort to the troops, and 
 security to the baggage which is intrusted to its charge. 
 
APPENDIX. 413 
 
 On tlie other hand, if the privates are reduced as well as the 
 animals, and a force is called on to take the field, inevitable 
 delay wiU occur in procuring not only camels, but camel-men — 
 men who know how to take care of the animals ; men who, 
 forgetting former injustice and ill-treatment by understrappers 
 in the commissariat department, will not fly with their camels 
 into the hills on the first rumour of danger. 
 
 This is no idle fear, no imaginary danger ; it has been proved 
 every time a force has taken the field since our army was with- 
 drawn from Afghanistan. The success of the campaign of 1845 
 into the Bhoogtee hills was endangered from this cause ; and 
 the army, destined to operate towards Mooltan in the beginning 
 of 1846, owed its ability to move so suddenly as it did entirely 
 to the existence of the baggage-corps, which, though increased 
 in camels far beyond what its haK-fitted, half-arranged establish- 
 ment could control, still carried the moral influence of its whole- 
 some regulations throughout the line of march, though the 
 worst of camel-men at times rendered those regulations nearly 
 abortive. 
 
 "SciNDB, G. 0., 24<^ Nmemher 1845. 
 
 " The Commandant of the baggage-corps has reported to 
 headquarters that the animals sent to carry the baggage of the 
 
 were overloaded to an enormous extent. Upon this the 
 
 Major-General commanding has to make the following observa- 
 tions, to which he begs that officers commanding regiments in 
 Scinde will pay the strictest attention, for the Major-General is 
 resolved to enforce them rigidly. 
 
 "First. — Every officer commanding a brigade, regiment, or 
 detachment, is responsible for obedience to general orders. 
 These are explicit with regard to the loads which are to be put 
 on camels. The Major-General is not obliged to read his orders 
 to the officers commanding the regiments forming the army in 
 Scinde, nor will he repeat them ; but he will take care that 
 they are obeyed. 
 
 " Secondly. — The first and highest duty of the officer, non- 
 commissioned officer, and private composing the camel baggage- 
 corps, is to prevent camels from being overloaded, and to report 
 to the senior officer of the camel baggage-corps present (and 
 commanding the baggage of any division, brigade, regiment, or 
 detachment) when he sees any animal overloaded ; upon which 
 such officer is immediately (and without reference whatever to 
 
414 
 
 APPENDIX. 
 
 any other officer commanding) to unload the camel, reload it 
 with half the ordered burden, and throw the overplus baggage 
 clear of the line of march, nor is the officer commanding a rear- 
 guard to permit any European soldier, sepoy, or public servant 
 to remain in charge of such castaway baggage, under pain of 
 being brought to trial before a general court-martial for dis- 
 obedience of orders. 
 
 "Thi/rdhj. — The officers commanding regiments are responsible 
 that no public stores are put on camels beyond the weight 
 allowed by the general orders of January 1843, and any neglect 
 of this must be at their private peril, for the stores shall be 
 destroyed, and will probably be charged to such commanding 
 officer's private accounts by order of the supreme Government, 
 to which the Major-General will report with a strong recom- 
 mendation to that effect. 
 
 "Fourthly. — All camels which may be injured by being 
 overloaded are to be given up to the commanding officer of the 
 corps, who is to be charged with the value paid for the animal 
 by the public in the first instance ; a court of inquiry having 
 first made a report on the subject in order to decide between 
 the honourable the Company and the commanding officer, who 
 may afterwards settle with his regiment as he pleases ; the 
 public hold the commanding officer answerable as having signed 
 the ' irident^ and having full power to enforce an obedience to 
 general orders. 
 
 " Fifthly. — Every camel is to have a brass plate hung round 
 its neck, with the number of pounds weight it is to carry written 
 on it ; that is to say, the animals of the corps are to be divided 
 into two classes, the strong and the weak, and the plate to be so 
 marked in large letters ; the load for the strong being 300 lbs. ; 
 that for the weak being 200 lbs. — the company's letter and nmn- 
 ber being placed under, and also the divisional colour. This 
 plate to be four inches by three. 
 
 STRONG. 
 
 To carry 300 lbs. only. 
 
 A. 
 
 No. 1. 
 
 Eed. 
 
APPENDIX. 415 
 
 " Sixthly. — Thus will everybody know the proper weight, and 
 it is the duty of every one to report to the nearest officer belong- 
 ing to the camel baggage-corps if a camel is overloaded. 
 
 " Seventhly. — With regard to private or hired camels, their 
 owners must settle their own loads ; but if they once enter the 
 line of march they must be submitted to the orders of the com- 
 mandant of the camel baggage -corps in every particular, for 
 under his immediate command is placed the whole baggage of 
 the troops serving in this province when in the field or on a 
 march, and he is responsible to no one but the officer command- 
 ing the troops on the spot, provided that that officer is his senior 
 in rank ; and no officer is to alter the standing orders issued for 
 the camel baggage-corps. 
 
 "Eighthly. — No officer commanding a regiment or detach- 
 ment is to order a separate baggage guard to mount ; every 
 soldier is to march with his corps ; any breach of this order is 
 to be immediately reported to headquarters by the commandant 
 of the baggage-corps. 
 
 " Ninthly. — In the field aU baggage found to be above the 
 proper weight is to be iwned on the spot ; but where animals 
 fail from any other cause than disobedience of orders, the bag- 
 gage is to be immediately taken care of, and spare camels 
 furnished. The honour of the corps would be compromised by 
 loss of baggage, even the smallest quantity, when orders have 
 been obeyed by the proprietors. 
 
 " Tenthly. — Officers' servants are strictly to comply with all 
 orders issued by the officers and non-commissioned officers of the 
 baggage-corps. 
 
 " JEleventhly. — The Provost-Marshal's deputy is to attend the 
 commandant of the baggage-corps in the field. 
 
 " Twelfthly. — There may be some points in the foregoing 
 orders which appear, at first sight, to be harsh ; but to control 
 baggage is as difficult as it is indispensable ; it is only by 
 severity that such order can be preserved as will insure the 
 general safety of the baggage, and its prompt arrival at the 
 encamping ground. The necessity as well as the comfort of this, 
 especially to Europeans, requires no comment 
 
 " Thdrteenthly. — As regards the complaints made by Captain 
 Jameson against both his own officers and the officer command- 
 ing the second division of the regiment, the Major-General 
 
 has to regret that these officers should have allowed general 
 orders to be broken by their men ; but as the regiment is now 
 
4i6 APPENDIX. 
 
 leaving his command, he will say no more about it, except to set 
 
 Captain right in an erroneous idea which that officer 
 
 seems to have formed, as the Major-General understands his 
 letter, that it rests with the officer of the baggage-corps alone 
 to see that camels are not overloaded. This is a great and 
 important error : one of the first duties of the comnaissioned 
 officer of every body of men is to look to their comfort and 
 health, and both depend on their having their baggage properly 
 arranged. The officer in command indents for animals to carry 
 a certain weight of baggage ; and it is his duty to see, aiid make 
 those under him see, that not a pound more baggage is put on 
 the camels than that for which he has signed the indent. Th^ 
 duty of the officer of the baggage-corps is to detect any breach 
 of orders in Uiis respect, not to weigh and pack the baggage of 
 the troops. It might as well be expected, when a regiment is 
 ordered to march, that the officers should lift all their troopers 
 into their saddles. The Major-General corrects this erroneous 
 view as regards baggage, because though this fine regiment and 
 its excellent commandant are going to leave Scinde, the Major- 
 General still hopes to have the honour of again commanding it, 
 baggage and all." 
 
 THE END. 
 
 Printed Jy R. & R. Clark, Edittburgk. 
 

Note— 7>« Rivert are mere bedt of TorrtnU 
 gtneraltj, dry, the Tej/aga, the mlp 
 one eomtantly flowing, viae but a 
 yard wtde at Deyra.