o go to the
rear, and remained at the head of his company, led it through the
breach, and was shot down just inside, two bullets striking him almost
at once, one right in his throat just over the breast-bone, as he was
waving his claymore and cheering on his company. After the fight was
over I made my way to where the dead were collected and cut off a lock
of his hair and sent it to a young lady, Miss M. E. Ainsworth, of
Inverighty House, Forfar, who, I knew, was acquainted with Captain
M'Donald's family. I intended the lock of hair for his mother, and I did
not know if his brother officers would think of sending any memento of
him. I don't know if ever the lock of hair reached his mother or not.
When I went to do this I found Captain M'Donald's soldier-servant
crying beside the lifeless body of his late master, wringing his hands
and saying, "Oh! but it was a shame to kill him." And so it was! I never
saw a more girlish-looking face than his was in death; his features were
so regular, and looked strangely like those of a wax doll, which was, I
think, partly the effect of the wound in the throat. But to return to
the assault.

When Captain McDonald fell the company was led by the senior lieutenant,
and about twenty yards inside the breach in the outer rampart we were
stopped by a ditch nearly eighteen feet wide and at least twelve to
fourteen feet deep. It was easy enough to slide down to the bottom; the
difficulty was to get up on the other side! However, there was no
hesitation; the stormers dashed into the ditch, and running along to the
right in search of some place where we could get up on the inside, we
met part of the grenadier company headed by Lieutenant E. S. Wood, an
active and daring young officer. I may here mention that there were two
lieutenants of the name of Wood at this time in the Ninety-Third. One
belonged to my company; his name was S. E. Wood and he was severely
wounded at the relief of Lucknow and was, at the time of which I am
writing, absent from the regiment. The one to whom I now refer was
Lieutenant E. S. Wood of the grenadier company. When the two parties in
the ditch met, both in search of a place to get out, Mr. Wood got on the
shoulders of another grenadier and somehow scrambled up claymore in
hand. He was certainly the first man inside the inner works of the
Begum's palace, and when the enemy saw him emerge from the ditch they
fled to barricade doors and windows to prevent us getting int