by this, whether the Griefs whereupon they rise be in Fact great or small; for they are the most dangerous Discontentments where the fear is greater than the feeling. The Causes and Motions

of Seditions are, Innovation in Religion, Taxes, Alteration of Laws and Customs, Breaking of Privileges, General Oppression, Advancement of unworthy Persons, Strangers, Dearths, disbanded Soldiers, Factions grown desperate; and whatsoever in offending People, joineth and knitteth them in a common cause.'

In another place he remarks:- Suspicions that the Mind ' of itself gathers are but Buzzes, but Suspicions that are artificially nourished, and put into Men's Heads by the Tales and Whisperings of others, have Stings.' And, lastly:-'As for Mercenary Forces, all examples shew that whatsoever Estate or Prince doth rest upon them, He may spread his feathers 'for a time, but he will mew them soon after.'

These few pregnant sentences contain the pith and marrow of the various but converging causes that led to the defection of the Bengal army, and to all the subsequent horrors of the Sepoy war. In them, as in a glass darkly, we behold a handful of Englishmen obtaining the mastery of a vast empire through their indomitable courage, and by means of a policy that was at least consistent and tenacious, if neither liberal nor far-sighted; but suddenly the hour of trial came upon them, and then, though their stout hearts never failed them, it was shown that their policy had been altogether wrong, and that the edifice they had erected was far too lofty for such a narrow basis. They had trusted all too confidingly in their legions of mercenaries, by whose help they had plumed their pinions for many a long and arduous flight, and too late discovered to their cost what little reliance is to be placed in hirelings. And those mercenaries, in their turn, were the dupes of a few designing men, who had filled their minds with suspicions, and by their tales and whisperings had wrought them into a state of frenzied panic. Many, indeed, had seen that the fuel was being prepared for a mighty conflagration, and not a few had raised the voice of warning, though in vain, for they knew not whence the spark should come that was to fire the train. As was well said by one of olden time, "It is not about small things but out of small things that seditions arise." So in this case, though the final cause of the rebellion was the alleged introduction of greased cartridges, a long list of grievances had been accumulating, and some of them well-founded, by much brooding over which the hearts of the Natives had become alienated from their foreign rulers, notwithstanding that these were sincerely and strenuously labouring for their good. But it is too true that there was much poverty

The Dead Level.

3

and much discontentment; that many estates had been overthrown and too much equality produced by the system of reducing all to one Dead Level; that many innovations were constantly being introduced, and that the ancient landmarks were being one by one broken down and destroyed; that the country swarmed with disbanded soldiers; and that all classes of the community were grievously disquieted and perplexed by fear of change. There wanted but little that all the peoples, nations, and languages of Hindostan should be joined and knitted together in one common cause, and then no human power could have averted the overthrow of the British Empire in the East. That imminent peril, however, was, under Divine Providence, turned aside in a great measure by the very arts that conduced to create it. As Mr. Kaye truly observes, It 'was the vehement self-assertion of the Englishman that pro'duced this conflagration; it was the same vehement self' assertion that enabled him, by God's blessing, to trample it out. It was a noble egotism, mighty alike in doing and in suffering, 'and it showed itself grandly capable of steadfastly confront'ing the dangers which it had brought down upon itself. Because,' he continues, we were too English the great crisis arose; but it was only because we were English that, when it ' arose, it did not utterly overwhelm us.' Not less truthful is the remark that, while the catastrophe itself was partly occasioned and certainly accelerated by the errors of a few individual characters among the most eminent of the rulers of the country, it was also owing to the distinct and strongly marked individuality of others that its destructive tendency was counteracted, and the British supremacy rendered both more dominant and more secure than it had ever been previous to the outbreak. On the other hand, while these English chiefs stand out in bold relief, a faint and shadowy outline is alone presented of the insurgent leaders. There was, in truth, no one to ride the 'whirlwind and direct the storm.' The mighty mass, destitute of a healthy vitality and uninspired by wise counsels, fell to pieces through its own weight. The ungenerous system that of late years had ground down the native aristocracy had proved so far successful, that when the hour came there was no man to make use of it. The pool truly was troubled, but there was no one to show the sufferer how to avail himself of the opportune moment. And thus over the Indian Dead Level which that 'system had created, the English heroes marched triumphantly 'to victory.' It was, in fact, a sedition and not a revolution; an outburst of passion rather than the deliberate movement of a people resolved to achieve their independence or perish in the

struggle. Les séditions,' writes the eloquent panegyrist of the Girondins, naissent en bas, les révolutions naissent en haut ; 'les séditions ne sont que les colères du peuple, les révolutions 'sont les idées d'une époque. Les idées commencent dans la 'tête d'une nation.' But this people was without a head. The ' tallest poppies' had been mercilessly cut down. There was no idea of independence, no hope or thought of national regeneration. A great fear had fallen upon the Hindoos, which had spread to the followers of the Prophet, but this was their only bond of union. No definite plans or combinations had been formed in concert. They acted on the spur of the moment; and though they dealt some heavy blows at their common enemy, they were but the blows of one who beateth the air and striketh at random.

'Moderate in victory as resolute in war,' Lord Hardinge, a man every inch a soldier, was content to subdue an enemy without humiliating him. Having defeated the Sikhs in fair and open fight, he felt rather pity and respect for a gallant if fallen foe, than any selfish desire to profit by his misfortunes. The Cis-Sutlej Provinces, indeed, he annexed to the British dominions, not only as a punishment for past aggression and a warning against future insult, but also to rectify the frontier, and so far to weaken the offensive power of such a warlike and turbulent neighbour. Had Runjeet Singh's adopted son been of an age to succeed to the Lion of the Punjab, he would at once have been placed upon the vacant throne; but as that was impossible by reason of his infant years, the Queen-Mother was appointed Regent, assisted by a Durbar, or Council, of Sikh chieftains. Chund Kowr, for such was the name of the Maharanee, proved unequal to the occasion. 'She was, indeed,' says the Historian of the Sepoy war, 'an evil presence in the nation. It rested with her to choose a minister, and the choice which she made was another great suicidal blow struck at the life of 'the Sikh empire.' It might have been no easy task to find the right man for such an arduous post at such a critical period, but she selected without a moment's hesitation the very worst man from among all the chiefs and nobles of the people. Her choice fell upon her own paramour, Lal Singh, who was not only universally unpopular, but who also merited his unpopularity. Of political virtue he knew nothing. The necessity of reducing the expenditure of the State was too urgent to be overlooked; but while ready enough to retrench the salaries and perquisites of others, Lal Singh steadily applied himself to the increase of his own riches. Nor was he satisfied with doing this by tolerably fair means. 'False to his own country, he was false also to the

Sir Henry Lawrence.

5

'British Government;' and, his treachery being proved, his dismissal followed as a matter of course. It then became apparent how impracticable it was to form an independent native Government under a foreign protectorate. The fiction of independence, however, was still maintained, but the actual reins of Government were placed in the hands of a British Resident, assisted or impeded by a Native Council. And there was a man at hand whom Providence had apparently raised up for the express purpose of holding in such troublous times the sword and balance of justice with equal hand, but with a pitying heart. This man was Captain Henry Lawrence, of the Bengal Artillery, enjoying the title of Colonel by brevet for good services. His portrait has been sketched by a master hand. It is, indeed, in the delineation of character that Mr. Kaye especially excels. He uses no glaring colours, nor does he aim at producing any sensational effects. A few graphic touches suffice for his purpose. The man stands out distinctly before us as he lived and moved and had his being; and we at once instinctively recognise the truthfulness of the picture, even though the original were personally unknown to us. It is thus he portrays the much-lamented Sir Henry Lawrence, whom he has elsewhere likened with much felicity to Wordsworth's 'Happy Warrior:'

'If the character of the man thus placed at the head of affairs could have secured the success of this great compromise, it would have been successful far beyond the expectations of its projectors. For no man ever undertook a high and important trust with a more solemn sense of his responsibility, or ever, with more singleness of purpose and more steadfast sincerity of heart, set himself to work, with God's blessing, to turn a great opportunity to great account for the benefit of his fellows. In Henry Lawrence a pure, transparent nature, a simple manliness and truthfulness of character, were combined with high intellectual powers and personal energies which nothing earthly could subdue. Henry Lawrence was

wholly without guile. He had great shrewdness and sagacity of character, and he could read and understand motives to which his own breast was a stranger, for he had studied well the Oriental character. But he was singularly open and unreserved in all his dealings, and would rather have given his antagonist an advantage than have condescended to any small arts and petty trickeries to secure success. All men, indeed, trusted him; for they knew that there was nothing selfish or sordid about him; that the one desire of his heart was to benefit the people of the country in which it had pleased God to cast his lot. But he never suffered this plea of beneficence to prevail against his sense of justice. He was eminently, indeed, a just man, and altogether incapable of that casuistry which gives a gloss of humanity to self-seeking, and robs

people for their own good. He did not look upon the misgovernment of a native State as a valid reason for the absorption of its revenues, but thought that British power might be exercised for the protection of the oppressed, and British wisdom for the instruction and reformation of their oppressors, without adding a few more thousand square miles to the area of our British possessions, and a few more millions of people to the great muster-roll of British subjects in the East.

Above the middle height, of a spare, gaunt frame, and a worn face bearing upon it the traces of mental toil and bodily suffering, he impressed you, at first sight, rather with a sense of masculine energy and resolution than of any milder and more endearing qualities. But when you came to know him, you saw at once that beneath that rugged exterior there was a heart gentle as a woman's, and you recognised in his words and in his manner the kindliness of nature which won the affection of all who came within its reach, and by its large and liberal manifestations made his name a very household word with thousands who had never felt the pressure of his hand or stood in his living presence. But with all this, though that name was in men's mouths, and spoken in many languages, no unknown subaltern had a more lowly mind or a more unassuming deportment.'

For a while the new Government surpassed the expectations of its founder, and tranquillity pervaded every part of the Punjab. The industrious and trading classes especially prospered; and even the soldiery appeared to be satisfied with the punctuality of their pay and the promise of a pension, as a full compensation for the loss of plunder and irregular largesses. But the Resident himself was never for a moment deceived by the treacherous lull. He clearly foresaw that the tempest would speedily return and rage over the length and breadth of the land, and he felt that all he could do was to take measures to postpone its advent and counteract its fury. The work, however, was too much for him; and at the close of 1847 he was constrained to proceed to Europe, after handing over his deeply responsible charge to Sir Frederick Currie, a public servant of approved talent and 'integrity.' Lord Hardinge also quitted the shores of India at the same time, and was succeeded by Lord Dalhousie, a statesman young in years but of great promise, and already well versed in public affairs.

It was in the early part of 1848 that Lord Dalhousie commenced his brilliant career as Governor-General of India. At that time everything presaged profound and permanent peace. The moment had seemingly arrived for inaugurating an era of moral and material progress. The country wanted Railroads, 'and the people Education, and there was good hope that