Page:Clyde and Strathnairn.djvu/192

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CLYDE AND STRATHNAIRN

of woe and desolation, devoted soldiers and sailors of a gracious Sovereign, even those of different nationality from our own, united in giving up their lives in defence of her rights. If the marvellous defence of Lucknow, the fierce struggle before Delhi, the holding of isolated positions by resolute men and women, and the difficult military operations which at length wrested the Empire from the rebel hand can ever be forgotten by a grateful country, then history is no longer history. These events will assuredly not be forgotten. They still burn brightly in the hearts of our countrymen, and they will ever find a place in the lesson-books of our children; nay, more than this, they will at all times teach England to value the great possession which she holds, and will inspire her to allow no friend or foe to deprive her of it. But what was the cost? Much in treasure and blood. To compare campaigns carried on under such diverse conditions as those ruling in the Crimea and in India is an almost impossible task. Yet, if the comparison be allowed, we shall perceive that while our casualties in the Crimean Campaign of 1855-56 amounted to 390 officers and 18,058 rank and file, those in the Mutiny Campaign of 1857-58 were not less, so far as can be ascertained, than 195 officers and 10,826 of our gallant British soldiers. In regard to the extent to which the troops suffered in the Mutiny Campaign from casualties in the field on the one hand and from delays in the operations on the other, it may be of interest to note that while 86 British officers and 1948 rank and