scissors. After this brilliant feat had been repeated several times, the king applied himself with fresh vigour to the bottle, until consciousness was almost gone; and he was then assisted by the female attendants and two sturdy eunuchs behind the curtain, and so off into the harem. But the king, when in good temper, was fond of harmless jokes; the following anecdote will serve as a sample:

We were in a large walled-in garden at Chaun-gunge, one of the park palaces, where animal fights often took place. The garden might have been some three or four acres in extent, and was surrounded by a high wall. Some one had been describing the game of leap-frog to his majesty, or else he had seen some pictures of it, and it had taken his fancy mightily. The natives were left without the garden, the heavy gates were swung to, and his majesty commanded that we should forthwith begin. The captain of the body-guard made a back for the tutor, the librarian stood for the portrait-painter. Away we went, like schoolboys, beginning with very "low backs," for none of us were highly expert in the game, but gradually making backs higher and higher. Tutor, barber, captain, librarian, portrait-painter-off we went like overgrown schoolboys, now up, now down. It was hot work, I assure you. The king, however, did not stand long a quiet spectator of the scene; he would try too. His majesty was very thin, and not over strong. I happened to be nearest him at the time, and he ran towards me, calling out. I made a back for him, and he went over easily enough. He was very light and a good horseman, so that he succeeded in the vault: he then stood for me. I would have given a good deal to be excused; but he would not have it so, and to have refused would have been mortally to offend him. I ran, vaulted; down went the back, down I went with it; and his majesty the king and the author of these reminiscences went rolling together amongst the flower-beds. He got up annoyed. "Boppery-bop, but you are as heavy as an elephant !" he exclaimed. I was afraid he would have been in a passion, but he was not. The barber adroitly made a back for him forthwith, and over he went blithely. The tutor, a thin, spare man, was the lightest of our party, and the king made a back for him, and succeeded in getting him safely over. It was then all right. Away they went, vaulting and standing, round and round, until majesty was tired out, and wanted iced claret to cool him. The game was frequently repeated afterwards.

Another royal amusement was snow-balling; not with real snow, of course, but with large yellow flowers. One of the party had been giving the king a description of English sports; and a word was let fall about snow and snow-balling. The king pulled some of these yellow flowers and threw them at the librarian. Like good courtiers, all followed the example, and soon every one was pelting right and left. The king enjoyed the sport amazingly. Before they had concluded they were all a mass of yellow leaves; they stuck about in their hair and clothes, and on the king's hat, in a most tenacious manner. But it was enough that the king was amused. He had found out a new pleasure, and enjoyed it as long as the yellow flowers were in bloom. With such a king, and among people so obedient to authority as the Indians, it may be easily believed that favouritism was unbounded. The barber made the most of his time, and, it appears, feathered his nest very considerably. His monthly bill was a perfect treasure of arithmetical art; and one which the author saw, when measured, was found to be four yards and a half long. The amount was frightful-upwards of ninety thousand rupees, or nine thousand pounds. It was paid without a murmur; and when an influential courtier tried to draw the king's attention, some months later, to

the fact that the barber was robbing him through thick and thin, the king indignantly replied, "If I choose to make the khan rich, is that anything to you-to any of you? I know his bills are exorbitant; let them be so, it is my pleasure. He shall be rich." But, unfortunately for the recipients of his majesty's favour, he was wont to be terribly capricious, and a very slight thing would make him as great an enemy as he had hitherto been a friend. The story of a Cashmere dancing-girl was a case in point. She was an ordinary Nautch girl; and one evening the king felt highly delighted with her singing. "You shall have a thousand rupees for this night's singing," said the king. When leaving the table for the harem, he would have no support but her arm. The next evening. no other Nautch girl would be heard, and two thousand rupees were her reward. She grew rapidly in the royal favour, and she was kotooed by the whole court. Native festivities interrupted the dinners for a week, and then the Nautch girl reappeared, but the king had already grown tired of her. All at once he felt a fancy to see how she would look in a European dress. A gown and other articles of female attire were fetched from the barber's house, and when they were brought, she was told to retire and put them on. The transformation was wretched: all her was gone-her beauty hidden. It was quite distressing to see her disheartened look as she took her place again. The king and the barber laughed heartily, while burning tears poured down the poor girl's cheeks. For weeks she was compelled to appear in this unseemly attire, and then she disappeared, and made no sign.

grace

But the king at times held his friends in pleasant memory. For instance, let us refer to a former Resident, with whom the king had been on very intimate terms. We will call him Mr. Smith. The gentleman had a very captivating wife, and scandal did say that the king was fonder of Mrs. Smith than of her husband. All that, however, was before our author's time in Lucknow, so that he can only speak in hearsay. Mr. Smith left Lucknow a richer man than when he entered it by seventyfive lacks of rupees-that is to say, seven hundred and fifty thousand pounds. So large was the amount invested in Mr. Smith's name in the Company's paper, that an investigation took place, conducted by the Bengal government, with closed doors: and the result was that Mr. Smith resigned the service and returned to England. But to prove how "the memory of the just smiles sweet and blossoms in the dust," we may mention that the king would frequently talk of his " dearest friend" with tears in his eyes-especially after an extra allowance of champagne-and sent Mrs. Smith, by a returning European, his own beautifully jewelled watch, which had cost fifteen thousand francs.

Of the living curiosities of the palace, there were none the account of which will strike a European ear as stranger than the female sepoys. Our author had seen these Amazons pacing up and down the entrances to the female apartments for months before he was informed of their real character. There was nothing but the fulness of the chest to distinguish them from other sepoys, and this is so common a circumstance in England that he took no notice of it. But let our author speak for himself.

These women retained their long hair, which they tied up in a knot upon the top of the head, and there it was concealed by the usual shako. They bore the

ordinary accoutrements of sepoys in India-a musket and bayonet, cross-belts and cartouche-boxes, jackets and white duck continuations, which might be seen anywhere in Bengal. Intended solely for duty in the palace as guardians of the harem, they were paraded only in the court-yards, where I have seen them going through their exercise just like other sepoys. They were drilled by one of the native officers of the king's army, and appeared quite familiar with all the details of the barrack-yard. Whether they could have gone through the same manœuvres in the field with thousands of moustached sepoys round them, I cannot tellprobably not. They had their own sergeants and corporals. None of them, I believe, attained a higher rank than that of sergeant. Many of them were married women, obliged to quit the ranks for a month or two at a time occasionally. They retained their places, however, as long as possible; and it was not until the fact of their being women was pointed out to me, that I perceived their figures were not always in the proportions allotted to the other sex. I have seen many a sergeant, however, in England, whose figure was just as outré as those among them furthest advanced in pregnancy. Their appearance was a piquant subject of merriment to the king, who usually ended his badinage by ordering some present to be given to the delinquent-delinquent, properly so called, for there was an express order against such disfigurement, clothed in the plainest language, and of the most absolute character, posted up in their barracks.

The influence of the barber had by this time become so great, that our author found it impossible to make head against it. Several causes conduced to this ascendancy. The low, depraved tastes which the king had contracted during years of unrestrained indulgence, and an almost boundless command of wealth, were just those which the barber found it his interest to foster. He had made himself necessary to the king, and took advantage of the opportunity. "Every bottle of wine consumed in the palace put something in his pocket: it was his interest, therefore, to prevent the king's reformation in respect of drunkenness. Every favoured slave, every dancing-girl who attracted the king's notice, paid tribute of his or her earnings into the open palm of the barber. Even the Nawab and the commander-in-chief of the king's forces found it their interest to conciliate the reigning favourite with valuable presents." At the same time, the barber encouraged the king's innate taste for ferocity, and took every occasion to rouse his tiger nature. There was a strong feeling of enmity prevailing between the king and his uncles, because they had tried to prevent his gaining the Musnud, and he was always delighted when he could invent some scheme to outrage their feelings. In this the barber was his willing coadjutor. One of the uncles, Azoph by name, was invited to dinner by the king, and made fearfully intoxicated-not by fair means, but by the barber compounding for him a bottle of Madeira more than half brandy. He soon fell off in a heavy, lethargic sleep, and the barber had an opportunity to carry out his villanous designs. At first he pulled the old man's long moustache, which reached nearly to his waist, turning his head, as he did so, first one way, then the other. It was barbarous usage, especially for an infirm old man; and two of the household rose from their chairs to interfere. But the king was furious. "The old pig," as he politely termed his uncle, "should be treated just as he and the khan pleased." The barber then procured a piece of fine twine, which he divided into two parts, tying one firmly in each moustache. He then fastened the other ends to the arms of the chair on which the old man sat. The king clapped his hands, and

laughed loudly at the ingenious device. The barber left the room. Feeling convinced that some new trick was preparing, the Englishmen could not endure it any longer, and one of them rose to release the old man. But the king fiercely bade him begone, and our author accompanied him, feeling his powerlessness to sway the king in his present excitement. They heard subsequently what occurred after their departure. The barber returned with some fireworks just after they had left. They were let off under the old man's chair. The legs of the unfortunate uncle were scorched and burnt, and he seized the arms of the chair with his hands, and started to his feet. Two locks of hair were torn from his upper lip as he did so, and a portion of the skin with them. The blood flowed freely from the wound, and the drunkenness of the sufferer disappeared. He left the room, thanking the king for his entertainment, and regretting that the bleeding of his nose prevented him from remaining.

After this outrage, the active enmity of the king's family was aroused. All Lucknow was in commotion. The royal troops were beaten by the insurgents, and the king demanded assistance from the Resident, who, however, refused it, recommending him to make a trip with his family. After a week of utter confusion a hollow peace was patched up. The absence of the barber, who was sent by the king on a mission to Calcutta, gave a favourable opportunity for the other Europeans to remonstrate, and they obtained a promise from the king that, on his return, he should be kept to his own station, and not be permitted to join the dinner-party. But, alas! these good resolutions faded away on the barber's return, and a crisis inevitably took place, the result of which was that our author and his friend resigned their functions and quitted Lucknow.

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A few words will complete the story of Nusser's life: "The power of the barber grew daily greater. His pride increased with his power, and no limits were set to the caprices and wild pranks of despotic authority and reckless depravity combined." This state of things could not last long the energetic remonstrances of the Resident forced the king at last to part with his favourite, who left Lucknow, it is said, with 240,0007. But this was sealing the king's death-warrant. His family soon obtained influence in the palace-the king was poisoned; and one of his uncles, whom he had treated so badly, succeeded him on the Musnud. But the future career of the barber, as we have heard it, will also serve to point a moral if not to adorn a tale. On his return to England, he took a fancy to speculating, and after a time, like the frog in the fable, tried to outvie the ox, in the shape of a railway king. His speculations were unsuccessful: he lost all his ill-gotten wealth, was compelled to go through the Insolvent Court, and is now to be found as conductor of a 'bus, from his lofty position probably speculating on the vanity of all human wishes.

In taking leave of this most interesting book, we must not omit mentioning that it contains some most graphic accounts of the animal fights for which Lucknow was once famous, from which our limits would not permit us to cull any extracts, but which are equally well deserving perusal as the portions to which we have drawn attention.

SKETCHES OF THE ITALIAN REVOLUTION.

BY AN EYE-WITNESS.

WHEN the Chamber assembled again, the deputies of the more moderate party proposed an address of thanks to the Pope, expressive of their loyalty and submission; but the motion was opposed by the Prince of Canino, then better known in Rome as the Citizen Bonaparte. The Pope, who was now a prisoner in the hands of the republican faction, which he had no means of resisting, resolved to fly from his capital, and this determination was approved and strengthened by the counsels of the foreign diplomatists, who offered him, in the name of the powers they represented, an asylum at Paris, Madrid, Berlin, Munich, or Brussels.

But watched in his palace, and surrounded by the armed revolutionists, the Pope could only withdraw from Rome by eluding the vigilance of his gaolers and effecting a secret flight. This alternative was then resolved on in the private deliberations of the Pope with the corps diplomatic. As the road to Civita-Vecchia was too much frequented to afford a chance of safety, it was determined that he should travel by land, and in disguise, to the Neapolitan frontier.

On the 24th of November the Pope feigned indisposition; and having supped early, he retired to his room, after having spoken, with even more than his accustomed kindness, to those of the noble guard who were in waiting on him, and expressing the gratitude with which their devotedness had inspired him. He divested himself of the pontifical habiliments, and assumed the simple dress of a priest. The Duc d'Harcourt, the French ambassador, remained behind for some time, as if engaged with the Pontiff on business; and then rang a bell to dismiss the noble guard from the ante-room, as was usual when the Pope retired to rest. The lights in the palace were then extinguished, and the Pope passed through the darkened saloons, accompanied by the head of his household, Filippani, his valet, and Monsignor Stella. At the gate they found a hired carriage, in which the Pope placed himself, accompanied by Monsignor Stella; his valet got up behind, and Count de Spaur, the Bavarian minister, seated himself beside the coachman.

"Addio, Signor Abbate," said Filippani, as the carriage drove offfor the palace gate through which they passed was guarded by sentinels of the civic guard. A little beyond Aricia, the Countess de Spaur awaited the fugitive, and conveyed him, in her travelling carriage, safely across the Neapolitan frontier. The Pope rested at Mola di Gaeta, whilst Monsieur de Spaur proceeded to announce to the king that the Sovereign Pontiff had taken refuge in his dominions. The king hastened to give him welcome; and the narrow limits of Gaeta soon received within their precincts the chief persons of both courts.

As soon as the diplomatic body arrived at Gaeta, the Pope protested against the acts which had been extorted from him by violence previous to his departure from Rome. He dissolved the ministry of the 16th of November, and appointed a commission to carry on the government. Rome sent a deputation to invite its sovereign to return: the Pope replied by a peremptory refusal. Shortly after, the Constituent Assembly was