Sahib, maternal uncle of the deceased Maharajah, was, chiefly through the influence of the British Resident, selected for the post.

The history of most Eastern Courts is one of intrigue. No sooner has one man attained a certain degree of authority than a hostile faction sets to work, and by subtle devices seeks to undermine his position. To love power is to court danger and to be surrounded by few friends. Mama Sahib soon discovered that he had many enemies, who, making the Maharanee their tool, endeavoured to thwart him to the best of their ability. Into the maze of intrigue, and the endless plotting and planning that followed, it is here unnecessary to go, but scarcely more than three months had passed before the Regent was one day suddenly deposed by order of the Maharanee. The British Resident remonstrated, but to no purpose; and aid in support of the Regent being refused him by the Governor-General, nothing could be done, and Mama Sahib accordingly left Gwalior and retired to Seronge. The Resident was not long in following him, and at the instigation of his Government he too quitted Gwalior.

The Maharanee, and the clique by whom she was surrounded, now became aware of the gravity of the situation. The army, numbering upwards of 30,000 men, was the ready tool first of one faction, then of another, and affairs thus went rapidly from bad to worse. The duties of state were transacted by those who had deposed the Regent in defiance of the real and sovereign authority, the leader being one Dada Khasjee Walla. All officers of European origin, and holding military or civil appointments, were removed for no reason but that they were known to be

friendly to the British Government, and others with opposite views were appointed in their place. The capital, and the roads to the frontier, were thronged with soldiers over whom their officers had no control, and it was evident that if order was to be maintained in the country the British Government would have to exercise its paramount authority and re-establish it by the exhibition of force. A state in the condition and position of Gwalior would have been a sure source of weakness in the event of complications on the Sutlej, and in order therefore to establish a stable government and to ensure tranquillity along the border, orders were issued for a concentration of troops on the Jumna. Hopes were at first entertained that bloodshed would be avoided, as the threatening attitude of the British forces was not without its effect. Dada Khasjee Walla was given up, and the Mahratta chiefs expressed themselves anxious to accept the terms offered them. Meanwhile the utmost excitement reigned at Gwalior, and the soldiery busied themselves daily by throwing up entrenchments for the protection of the capital. Still the treaty remained unsigned, and at length, towards the end of December, the British army crossed the Chumbul and entered Gwalior territory. On the 25th of the same month the Governor-General issued a proclamation stating that the British army came 'as a friend bound to protect the Maharajah and to maintain his authority.' This was followed the next day by an announcement that the treaty was to be ratified by the 28th, or a fine of 15,000 rupees paid for every day's delay. The 28th passed and the treaty remained unsigned, and on the following day the British forces, advancing upon the capital from two points,

came into collision with the enemy at Punniar and Maharajpore, and signally defeated them.

The last letter written by Reynell Taylor from Cawnpore is dated September 10. The 11th Light Cavalry formed part of the force assembling there under Sir John Grey, destined to advance upon Gwalior from that quarter, while the remainder of the army, under the Commanderin-Chief, operated from Agra. The capital was thus threatened from two sides at once. Cawnpore in the second week in December, and the events that followed shall be told in Reynell Taylor's own words. His first letter, addressed to 'Sister Harriet,' is undated, but is headed, 'On the borders of the Gwalior territory.'

Sir John Grey's force left

'I must inform you of an important event, and that is, that I am fairly started on my first campaign, not with a "pretence enemy," as Eliza used to call it, but a real enemy, to-day reported to be on the other side of a small river called the Sinde, in front of us, with a lot of guns, and they say determined to fight us all the way to Gwalior.'

'The reports of what is going to happen are numerous, but I believe one thing is certain, and that is, that to Gwalior we go, either by fair means or foul. If the refractory portion of the Gwalior army have their eyes opened in time, I suppose it will be by fair means, but Lord Ellenborough is not likely to waste much time in begging them to come in to his terms. He has offered them the pill, which is certainly a big and rather an illflavoured one, but not worse than they deserve. I cannot say myself that I think the terms a bit too severe after all the trouble, expense, and insult they have given us. I say

he has offered them the pill, and if they go screwing their faces about and making excuses, he will try the effect of a dig in the ribs.'

Reynell Taylor had been present at his first action ere he wrote again, and his next letter, dated December 30, contains an account of the fight of Punniar.

'Our force was engaged yesterday, and our loss, I am sorry to say, considering the comparative smallness of the affair, has been very great. We are here encamped in a cup of land, that is, a plain surrounded on all sides by low hills, and I am alone on picket, with my troop some half mile to the left of the main picket, which is on the Gwalior road.

'My last letter brought you to the Sinde River. We crossed it and marched to Dubbra, where we remained two or three days. The last day of our halt at Dubbra I was ordered out with my troop to reinforce the main picket. After the vedettes were posted I went round to see that the men understood their orders, and on my return found the whole picket in a hubbub. In answer to my question as to what it was all about, I was informed that the enemy were coming; and sure enough in the distance there was an approaching cloud of dust. My fellows were mounted in no time, and directly they had fallen in the commanding officer called out to me, "Are you ready?" "Aye, aye," said I; "Then come along," said he, and away we went at a hand gallop. We met lots of grass-cutters running in before the object we were approaching and which was approaching us, and just as I was worked up to a great pitch of excitement, expecting to have a charge all to myself, and open the ball for the whole army, what

should emerge from the dust but a body of our irregular horse!

Own

'We marched the next morning from Dubbra to an open plain beneath the Antree pass, which was occupied by the enemy in considerable force. Here for the first time we heard that our General had strict orders not to commence hostilities with the rebel army, as we were actually at peace with the Gwalior Government. We were all much disappointed at this, and instead of forcing the Antree pass, as we expected, we left it a little on our right, and marched on the morning of yesterday, the 29th, to our present encampment.

'I was with the main body that day, and as we came along not a soul was to be seen. We passed a high fort with two peaceable-looking individuals looking over the parapet. We arrived in camp about eleven o'clock, but did not get anything in the shape of breakfast till nearly four, and had only half eaten it when the alarm sounded. In a few minutes I was in the saddle again, and the troops were all turning out. Then came a message to say it was

a false alarm, so saddles

were off again, and I once more Presently "Boom, boom!" went

clutched my cup of tea. two heavy guns down the valley up which we had advanced in the morning, followed by half-a-dozen more. Of course we were all mounted again in no time. My troop, being the only one off picket or rear-guard duty, formed the strength of our regiment, the 9th Lancers mustered a squadron, and the 5th Cavalry a troop, and unless there was a troop of lancers detached somewhere, that was the whole force mustered by the 1st Brigade of Cavalry. The 2nd Brigade was ordered off to