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JOHN NICHOLSON
"The Lion of the Punjaub"
by
R. E. CHOLMELEY
"My Lord, you may rely upon this, that if ever
there is a desperate deed to be done in India,
John Nicholson is the man to do it."
Sir Herbert Edwardes to Lord Canning,
_March_ 1857.
With Eight Coloured Plates
[Frontispiece: "'Seize those men!' commanded Nicholson fiercely, as he
pointed out the ringleaders."]
London:
Andrew Melrose
16 Pilgrim Street, E.C.
1908
TO
GILBERT BRANDON WHITE
CONTENTS
Chap.
I. Eastward Ho!
II. Fighting the Afghans
III. One of Lawrence's Lieutenants
IV. The Second Sikh War
V. On Furlough
VI. The Master of Bannu
VII. The Great Mutiny
VIII. With the Movable Column
IX. Before Delhi
X. In the Hour of Victory
LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS
"Seize those men!" commanded Nicholson
fiercely, as he pointed out the ringleaders . . . _Frontispiece_
One by one dropped through into the narrow street below
They seated themselves and fixed their eyes
upon the object of their adoration
"You have just five minutes to read it and
give me any message for your husband"
They saw Nicholson himself fastened with ropes to a tree
Portrait of John Nicholson
He saw Nicholson's great form riding steadily
on as if nothing was the matter
A sepoy leaned out . . . and pointed his
musket at the tall figure beneath him
JOHN NICHOLSON
CHAPTER I.
EASTWARD HO!
High up on the crest of the wild and rugged Margalla Pass, on the
north-western frontier of India, stands a plain stone obelisk. It
looks down on to the road that winds from Rawal Pindi to Hasan Abdal,
the road where once only the Afghan camel-train passed on its way to
and from Peshawur, but where now a railway marks the progress of modern
India. Severely simple in its exterior, the obelisk is yet one of the
most notable monuments to be seen in our great Eastern Empire, for it
commemorates a soldier-hero of high fame. On its base is inscribed the
name of John Nicholson.
This Margalla monument is not the only memorial to Nicholson in India:
there is a tablet to his memory in a church at Bannu, the scene of his
administrative work; and there is at Delhi, where he lies buried, a
fine bronze statue of recent erection. But the stone obelisk in the
frontier pass will stand for ever as the most striking tribute to the
man who played so prominent a part in the saving of India. Its very
position appeals strongly to the imagination. Here it was, in the
district which he ruled so wisely and well, that Nicholson's early
reputation was made; and here it is that among the wild tribesmen whom
he tamed to his will his memory is still fondly cherished.
Who was John Nicholson? The question may well rise to the lips of
many, for the writers of history textbooks have hitherto done him scant
justice. And yet the tale of the Great Mutiny cannot be properly told
without due acknowledgment being made to his genius. Those who know
how the fate of India trembled in the balance in those dark days of
1857, know what we owe to him among other strong men whom the occasion
brought to the front. It is now fifty years since Nicholson fell in
the hour of victory at Delhi; the present year is, therefore, a fitting
time to retell the story of his short but glorious career.
Like his distinguished chief, Sir Henry Lawrence, John Nicholson was an
Irishman. He was born, in December 1822, at Lisburn, near Belfast,
where his father, Dr. Alexander Nicholson, had a flourishing practice.
On the paternal side he came of a family which had been established in
Ireland since the sixteenth century, while through his mother, who was
a Miss Hogg, he was connected with a well-known Ulster family, of which
the late Lord Magheramorne was a representative.
Of young John's early life several stories have been preserved which
give some indication of his character. According to Sir John Kaye, he
was "a precocious boy almost from his cradle; thoughtful, studious, of
an inquiring nature; and he had the ineffable benefit of good parental
teaching of the best kind." Both his father and mother were deeply
religious people, and their children--seven in all--were brought up
with an intimate knowledge of the Bible. One day, it is said, when
John was three years old, Mrs. Nicholson found him alone in a room with
a knotted handkerchief in his hand and striking furiously at some
invisible object. On being asked what he was doing, John answered,
"Oh, mamma dear, I am trying to get a blow at the devil! He is wanting
me to be bad. If I could get him down, I'd kill him!"
The boy's willingness to be taught enabled him to learn how to read and
write at the early age of four. When, five years later, his father
died, and the family removed to Delgany, in County Wicklow, he was sent
to a school in that town. Thence he proceeded to the Royal School at
Dungannon, where, although he did not greatly distinguish himself as a
scholar, he made good progress. His chief characteristics were a fiery
temper and a reputation for truthfulness and courage. A relative has
placed on record her remembrance of having heard as a child that her
cousin John was always leader in games, and was never known to tell a
lie. "He was quite a hero from the first," she says.
Another feature of the boy's character was his very real love for his
mother. With two girls and five boys to bring up on a slender income,
Mrs. Nicholson was sometimes worried as to their future, and at these
times John, as her eldest son, would do his best to smooth away the
wrinkles from her forehead. "Don't fret, mamma dear," he would say;
"when I'm a big man I'll make plenty of money, and I'll give it all to
you." The mother no doubt smiled her pleasure at these brave words,
but she little guessed then how faithfully her son would keep his word
in the years to come.
The only other anecdote recorded of John Nicholson as a boy tells of a
serious accident, which came very near to putting an abrupt end to his
career. While spending a holiday at home in Lisburn he was playing
with gunpowder, when some of it unexpectedly exploded in his face.
With his hands over his eyes he ran into the house calling out that he
was blinded. Mrs. Nicholson on looking at his face saw that it was a
blackened mass, the eyes being completely closed, and blood trickling
down his cheeks.
"For ten days," says Sir John Kaye, "during which he never murmured, or
expressed any concern except for his mother, he lay in a state of total
darkness; but when at the end of that time the bandages were removed,
it was found that God in His mercy had spared the sight of the boy, and
preserved him to do great things."
By the time John was sixteen he was ready to leave the school at
Dungannon. The question of a profession for him now presented itself,
and at this juncture a good fairy stepped in in the person of his
uncle, Mr. (afterwards Sir) James Weir Hogg. Mr. Hogg, who was a
Member of Parliament and a Director of the East India Company, had had
a remarkable career. Going out to the East as a mere youth, he had
found fame and fortune at the Calcutta Bar. Having become a man of
wealth, he had returned to England to enter public life. He felt now
that he ought to do something for his sister and her large family, and
offered to obtain for John a cadetship in the Bengal Infantry. To this
Mrs. Nicholson gladly assented.
In the days of "John Company" the interest of influential persons was
sufficient to procure entry into the service. Young Nicholson was
therefore spared the ordeal of an examination or special course of
training. In the New Year of 1839 he went up to London to meet his
uncle and make final arrangements. An outfit was bought for him by Mr.
Hogg, and, at a momentous interview with the "honourable Directors of
the East India Company" at their office in Leadenhall Street, John took
the necessary oath of allegiance.
A few weeks later he sailed for India in the _Camden_, with his uncle's
sage counsel to work hard and live carefully, and his mother's last
injunction, "Never forget to read your Bible, John," treasured in his
heart.