means. On the 27th of December, an unwilling train passed out of the town, forced from their homes by the arm of power. These were the native inhabitants, of both sexes, and of every age. With the exception of a few domestic servants, in the employ of wealthy Europeans, all were expelled. Their number was fourteen hundred; and when the gates of the town closed upon the last, not one of the number knew whither to turn his steps for succour, or even for safety. To escape death from famine was to meet it from the sword. The unhappy fugitives wandered in families and companies to various points; but everywhere the challenge of the English Sepoy warned them back. They returned to the gates which had voided them forth, and implored to be admitted to the privilege of sharing the common lot of those among whom they had lived; but in vain. The energy of despair prompting some of them to force their way back, they were met and dismissed from suffering by discharges of musketry and cannon from the fort.
For eight long days these miserable outcasts continued to traverse the space within which they were circum- scribed, repeating their importunities at the gates of the town for admittance, and at the English posts for permission to pass, and finding their petitions rejected alike by friends and foes. During this time the scantily spread roots of grass afforded their only means of subsistence. Their enemies at last yielded to the feeling of pity which seemed lost among those on whom the sufferers had the strongest claim. The English Commander allowed them to pass: and though they had neither home nor friend in prospect, their joy on being delivered from the lingering death by which they were threatened was unbounded. Thanks were tendered for this act of indulgence, and blessings bestowed on those by whom it was granted, with a warmth which bore witness to the horrors experienced by these wretched people in the situation from which they had escaped.
On the 8th of December four batteries were completed,
