most energetic of native princes was proud to ride on the right hand of the English prince and avow himself the faithful servant of our Queen.

At Delhi, on the 1st of January, 1877, Queen Victoria was proclaimed Empress of India by Lord Lytton, her viceroy, in the presence of her vassal kings and long descended princes, with their armed retainers and clansmen around them; some arrayed in complete armour like the Paladins of old, some in gorgeous raiment, stiff with barbaric pearl and gold; all this mighty host stood forth with drooping banners in homage to their

empress.

Old imperial Delhi has witnessed many a grand and stirring spectacle, but not in the palmiest days of Shah Jehan or Arungzebe was there such an array of princely splendour, or loyalty to the imperial throne so significant.

NOTE.-Delhi, besides being for ages the seat of empire, has ever from its geographical position commanded a mighty trade-its bankers and merchants being famed for their riches and extensive commercial relations its jewellery and embroidery being preferred to all others. Within the walls of Delhi there are the termini of three lines of railway-the East Indian, from Calcutta, the Rajputana State line from Bombay, and the terminus of the Scinde, Punjab and Delhi railway from Kurrachee.

CHAPTER XXII.

PROGRESS OF BRITISH RULE IN INDIA-continued.

NORTH-WEST PROVINCES, PUNJAB AND SCINDE.

Páneeput-Meerut-Simla-Umritsur-Lahore-Peshawur-Mooltan

Sukkur, Bukker, and Roree-Shikarpore-Jacobabad-Dadur-Hyderabad-Kurrachee.

Púnceput.-On the not far distant plains (from Delhi) of Paneeput the drama of Empire was enacted over and over again. On those plains, Báber and his Moguls overthrew, in 1526, the hosts of Ibrahim Lodi, the last of the old Pathán kings of Delhi, and so founded the dynasty which, with one brief interval, held its sway for the next two hundred and fifty years. Thirty years later, on the same field, the youthful Akbar crushed out the last hopes of the rival Afghan dynasty of Shír Shah. In 1761, the field of Páneeput witnessed the shock of two great armies fighting over the death-stricken body of the Mogul Empire. The victory won by Ahmed Shah's Afghan and Mogul warriors on that day of terrible slaughter, proved equally fatal to the House of Báber, and to the growth of that Mahratta empire which Sívajee and his successors had striven to rear on

the ruins of that of the Mogul. This celebrated battle, which permanently affected the fate of the Moguls and Mahrattas, removed many obstructions from the path of the continually advancing and victorious British, and well merits a passing notice.

The Mahrattas having invaded the Punjab roused the resentment of the Abdallee king of Afghanistan, who once more crossed the Indus at the head of his fierce and veteran horsemen.

Ahmed Shah, who had been a man of war from his youth, was at the time the most renowned general in Asia, far-seeing, patient, skilful, indefatigable, prompt, and resolute. Sedasheo Rao Bhow,* his Mahratta opponent, without experience in war, was imperious, contemptuous, and headstrong, but brave in action.

The forces were about equal, leaving out of calculation the clouds of irregular horsemen which hovered about both armies. Nothing could be more simple than the dress, arms and camp equipage of the northmen, while the men of the south, with their officers decked out in cloth of gold (degenerate sons of the great Sivajee!) they emulated in all their appointments the splendour of the Mogul glories of bygone days with their vast pavilions, the gilded tops of which were never again to reflect the slanting rays of the evening sun to welcome the return of the doomed warriors, who now humbled by famine, were sadly and sternly prepared for the worst; and what a contrast did they present to the proud and glittering array which entered that encampment only a few short weeks before!

Bhow-a Hindoo title.

The Mahrattas were in a camp strongly entrenched, and began to suffer from the want of supplies, when the Bhow sent a letter to his friend, the Nawab of Oude, who was negotiating for terms with the Afghan king. "The cup is now full to the brim, and cannot hold another drop. If anything can be done, do it, or else answer me plainly at once; hereafter there will be no time for writing or speaking."

When the Mahrattas were reduced to their last meal they issued forth from camp determined as they swore to conquer or die. To quote the words of Grant Duff, "The ends of their turbans were let loose, their hands and faces were anointed with a preparation of turmeric, signifying that they were come forth to die; and everything seemed to bespeak the despondency of sacrifice prepared, instead of victory determined;" but their ancient valour and élan did not desert them in this extremity. They came on like a whirlwind, and for a moment the fierce onset of the Mahratta horse appeared to shake the tried veterans of the Abdallee and in some portions of the field to force them to give ground, but the tenacity and strength of the north, aided by a skilful general, prevailed against the misdirected, fiery, and impetuous valour of the south. The victory was complete. The general-in-chief of the Mahrattas and the Peishwa's son, with Scindia and many men of note, fell on this fatal field. The renowned Holkar fled. Maharastra was filled with mourning, and the spirit of the people appeared crushed.

Thenceforth India lay at the mercy of any power strong enough to take advantage of the weakness and

confusion caused by the rout of Páneeput, and the conqueror's subsequent retreat to his own country. Four years later, the victor of Plassy, Clive, became the virtual master of Bengal, while his countrymen in Southern India, fresh from the death-blow they had inflicted on their French rivals, were already marching forward on the path of assured dominion.

Meerut.-Forty miles to the north of Delhi lies Meerut, famed for its cheerful hospitality and rich verdure. Here the mutiny first showed itself red-handed with fire and slaughter of the helpless, and here too with the most magnificent brigade of Europeans-horse, foot and artillery, the frantic sepoys were allowed to escape, to put the garrison and Budmashes of Delhi into a blaze of rebellion, which was the signal for a conflagration all over the country. As remarked in a preceding chapter, if that handful of native cavalry which led the revolt had been either crushed in their lines or pursued even to within the gates of Delhi, what blood and treasure, what unspeakable anguish to English hearts and homes might have been spared!

Simla, &c.-Proceeding northwards, past Kurnául and Umbálla, we cross the low Sewálik Range that forms an outwork to the Himalayas, and winding up by the hillstation of Dugshai, arrive at last on the wooded slopes of Simla, towering from eight to nine thousand feet above the level of the sea, in full sight of the great central range, its icy pinnacles glistening in the silent air as far as the eye could reach. Amidst the deodars and rhododendrons of this Indian Capua, the rulers of India, and as many as possible of their countrymen, spend the hot and