CHAPTER III.

CENTRAL INDIA.

WITH many other troop-ships and men-of-war homeward bound we had a fine but uneventful passage of about a month to the English Channel. We were too late to go into harbour the day of our arrival, so our transport anchored at Spithead during the night, which was perfectly calm, and I well remember that most delightful of scents, new-mown hay, coming off the Isle of Wight. Next morning we steamed into Portsmouth Harbour, the people coming down to the entrance and about the Old Quebec Hotel, waving handkerchiefs and any other drapery handy, and cheering in grand style as the ship moved past. On landing the regiment was sent up to Aldershot to be reviewed with many others by the Queen. A miserable place that same Aldershot was in those days, and having no mess, the difficulty was to get anything at all to eat. The one regular regiment there -the Queen's, I think-could not possibly feed every one, and the foreign legions quartered at the camp did not apparently understand the manners and customs of the English army. Certainly there was no love lost between them and the rest of the force. I remember my servant got some bread and cheese

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for me from one of the canteens near, but I had eventually to go to London for a square meal. The review over, the regiment was sent down to Portsmouth and quartered on board the Britannia, an old three-decker, till barracks were ready. At that time convicts worked in the dockyard, and one of their hulks lay at almost speaking distance from the Britannia. Later on orders came for us to go to the Curragh. I got permission to go overland, thereby managing to get two or three days' leave to see my relatives, then at Welton.

A more dreary quarter for a lot of young fellows than the Curragh in those days could hardly be imagined, the only excitement being the races. Those who could afford it went to Dublin, but those who could not had no amusement but country walks and occasional games at cricket with the other regiments. We sometimes had a divisional or brigade drill, and of course the usual daily parade, with the march past in slow and quick time. The new institution, musketry instruction, was now regularly carried out. In the dreary wet winter our regimental theatrical company was decidedly useful in giving occupation, but I for one wished the regiment was back in the Crimea again, and I fancy many others did also. The long leave came at last, and I got over to my friends in London. I cannot now remember the names of the celebrities I met at my uncle's house; but the pale, thoroughbred, earnest face of Miss Nightingale and the great body of Jacob Omnium-Mr H.-cannot easily be forgotten. All too soon my leave was over, and then back again to the objectionable Curragh. By this time our theatrical company had quite made a name for

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itself. On one occasion Hawley Smart was playing "Cool as a Cucumber" before the Lord Lieutenant in one of the Dublin theatres taken for the night, whilst Charles Mathews played the same piece in the other. On the last day of the year we had some special piece on at our Curragh theatre, and as the clock struck twelve all the actors appeared with a sash inscribed 1857. Little did they know what that year meant for the British army, and that for so many of the audience then present that was their last New Year's Day.

To the best of my recollection the first news of the Indian Mutiny arrived early in June. At once all available regiments were got ready and embarked as rapidly as possible. Men from the depot and volunteers from other regiments soon brought the Royals up to war strength; and in July the headquarters, including the light company, to which I had been promoted, embarked in the Caledonia, a square-rigged auxiliary screw ship of about 1000 tons, for the voyage round the Cape to Calcutta. There was the usual excitement amongst the population on our marching through Dublin. Doubtless better arrangements might have been made by the staff authorities responsible for the embarkation, but we were stowed away at last, though rather like herrings in a barrel as regards numbers. One incident on leaving I particularly remember. The regimental agent had to get our signatures that we had been paid up to a certain date—three months in advance, I think-before being struck off the English pay-list. He could not give us coin, but said we could draw cheques for it, payable in Dublin. As I could not go there, a well-known tradesman, who had come down to collect debts, offered to

get the money for me, as he was going to the city and would be back at once. Evening came and no tradesman. Under the circumstances the commanding officer kindly gave me leave to run up to Dublin. Arrived there, I found the tradesman's shop shut. The bank had long been closed, but by great good luck I suddenly came across the man and made him return the cheque, which he no doubt intended to cash next day, after the ship had gone.

We took the usual sailing-ship route, touching at Teneriffe, where our band went on shore for the benefit of the natives; then stretching across the Atlantic till we almost saw the South American coast, we got the trade - winds and bore away for the rocky islands of Martinvas and Trinidada, and then down round the Cape in the "roaring forties." There being little to do on board ship, and being full of youthful energy, I decided to learn as much as possible of sailor's work, and got the captain's permission to go through a regular course of seamanship. Except in getting through the calm belts about the Line, and afterwards in the Bay of Bengal, steam was rarely necessary, the Caledonia being a fast ship under sail. The screw-well, a rectangular shaft from the upper deck down behind the stern post, was a curious but useful contrivance, the screw being detached from the shaft and hauled up or let down and made fast, converting the Caledonia into a sailing ship or steamer as required. There were several men in the regiment who had been sailors before they enlisted. This I found out one bitter evening in the "roaring forties," when lying out on the yard taking a reef in the main-sail, which had to be carried as long as possible to prevent the ship being pooped

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by the great following seas. It was a heavy job getting the sail in, and happening to look along the yard as we handled the flapping canvas, with the hail numbing our fingers, I noticed at least six red-jackets who had followed me aloft. We had a few good men amongst the ship's company, one had been in the Naval Brigade in the Crimea, but they were decidedly a scratch pack : our assistant steward's previous sea experience, as he afterwards confessed, was the voyage from Dublin to Liverpool. During the hired sailing transport days, it was expected that the soldiers, who with the subalterns were regularly divided into watches, would do all heavy work in the rope-hauling way, as far as such could be done without leaving the deck; but as a rule before a long voyage was over, some of the men went regularly aloft.

After a heavy blow south of the Cape, we wanted, for some reason which I have forgotten, to get a few rockets handy. These, it turned out, had been put into the troop magazine, which was filled with an immense amount of ammunition for the anticipated active service in India. There was some difficulty in opening the door of the magazine, the whole of the ammunition cases, &c., having broken adrift in the heavy weather. We found what remained of the rockets, also a tin box of percussion signal lights, smashed in like an accordion. Had but one of the lights exploded, as they ought to have done, nothing more would ever have been heard of the Caledonia and the 500 soldiers. Being, with the exception of the commanding officer and one or two others, all young and full of life, we had the usual rough-andtumble amusements, from the mild cock-fighting to the more energetic "sling the monkey," and managed