ete knowledge of gunnery, and were good shots. These men are so
highly extolled among their caste, that they will madly throw themselves
upon the bayonet, rather than desert the gun which they command. Two of
the golundauze in this fort were killed during the siege; the other
returned to his home, which was Allahabad.

This fort of the Nagpore rajah had rebelled. The rajah himself had
violated his treaty, and broken off his alliance with the Company. The
inhabitants of this fortress, a short period before we encamped before
it, had been summoned to evince their loyalty to the Company, to which
they readily consented. For this purpose, a small force consisting of
one regiment of Native Infantry, and some part of the 8th regiment of
Bengal Native Cavalry, under the command of Major O'Brien, of the latter
corps (then political agent for the arrangement of the country belonging
to the rebel and treacherous rajah of Nagpore), marched to occupy the
fort of Mundellah, which the governor had consented to give up. As soon,
however, as the garrison saw the detachment (a mere handful of men)
under the major, within gunshot of the fort, they fired on the party,
who were, of course, obliged to make a precipitate retreat.

Before this affair of Major O'Brien's, the moment the treacherous
intentions of the rajah had been detected, the British resident of
Nagpore ordered his person to be seized. For this purpose, Captain
Brown, of the Bengal Native Infantry, was dispatched, with troops, to
seize him. On the approach of this force, the rajah flew to his zenanah,
and sought protection amongst his concubines. At any other time, and
under any other circumstances, respect would have been shown to this
_sanctum_ of illicit pleasure; but, under the present circumstances of
the case, delicacy was quite out of the question, and the party rushed
in and seized him. The women in the zenanah, in their impotent rage,
flew at Captain Brown, who came off minus a considerable quantity of
skin from his face, of some hair from his head and whiskers, and of one
wing of his military full-dress coat; but he succeeded in securing his
man, and dragging him from his screaming women. The rajah, being now a
prisoner, was, a short time after this, sent under a strong escort
towards the frontiers of our provinces, under the special charge of
Captain Brown; but he escaped from him in the following extraordinary
manner. I believe he was not disgraced by having his p