The Franco-Prussian War, and the subsequ_Female Warriors, Vol. 2 (of 2) Memorials of Female Valour and Heroism, from the Mythological Ages to the Present Era.

proved that the military spirit was not extinct in the hearts of

women, and that modern female warriors were as ready and as eager for

the fray as any of their ancestresses. But the numerous newspaper

anecdotes and reports were in many instances more or less creations of

fancy, often false, frequently written in haste, as a rule full of

gross exaggerations, whether emanating from French or German quarters,

consequently always unreliable. One of the most remarkable and best

authenticated female warriors of the period was Minna Hänsel, of

Berlin, who, in the early days of the war, before the Germans had swept

all before them, raised an Amazon corps, all ready equipped and full

of military ardour. These warlike women were much ridiculed by the

Berlinese, but the Fräulein Hänsel, disregarding the adverse criticism

which, she said, was "of course only to be expected in these frivolous

days of ours," addressed a letter to the Governor of the city, General

Von Falkenstein, asking him in what place the services of the corps

would prove most effective. The General--purposely, perhaps--delayed

returning an answer till the closing days of August, 1870, when Miss

Hänsel, although her offers of service had by no means been rejected,

considered that the "rapid and victorious progress of the war" put an

end to any necessity for her corps being employed, and accordingly

disbanded her troop.

A wounded soldier in November, 1870, passed through Berlin, and was

the object of general attention. This soldier was a young woman only

twenty-four, carefully educated, but imbued with a strong bias in

favour of masculine dress and an active life. She passed the ensign's

examinations, and, with good recommendations, entered the army under

the name of Weiss. She distinguished herself by the recovery of a

Prussian standard, which had been taken by the enemy, and was presented

with the Iron Cross. Having received four shot wounds, she was sent for

recovery to her native place, Tilsit.

But the hurried, fragmentary mention of either French or German

"heroines" is hardly worth serious record or investigation. To

ascertain the truth or the falsity of any one anecdote would be now

clearly impossible. That noble spirit and patriotic ardour glowed

on both sides throughout the desperate struggle is without a doubt;

and in the universal enthusiasm women shared as freely as their

fellow-countrymen, and were ready to spend life and treasure in the

service of their native land and national honour.

[Illustration]

IV.

INDIA.--Indian Amazons--Cleophes, Queen of

Massaga--Moynawoti, Queen of Kamrup--Ranee of

Scinde--Sultana Rizia--Gool Behisht--Booboojee Khanum

and Dilshad Agha, Mother and Aunt of a King of

Bijapur--Durgautti, Queen of Gurrah--Khunza Sultana,

Regent of Ahmednuggur--Chand Sultana, Regent of

Ahmednuggur--Nour Mahal, Empress of Hindostan--Princess

Janee Begum--Juliana--Madam Mequinez, Colonel in the Service

of Hyder Ali Khan--Begum Somroo, General in the Service of

the Emperor Shah Aulum--Begum Nujuf Cooli--Mrs. W., Wife of

a British Sergeant--Lukshmi Baee, Ranee of Jhansi--Female

Mutineer captured before Delhi, 1857--Female Guards in the

Zenanas of Indian Princes--Begum of Oude--Female Soldiers in

Bantam.

The early history of India is involved in such deep obscurity that

we have no reliable information before the invasion of Alexander the

great. True, we read of a nation of Indian Amazons, mentioned by

Nonnus, but we have no details on the subject. Amongst the sovereigns

who opposed the invincible Macedonian, was Cleophes, Queen of

Massaga, whose capital city was said to have been impregnable. While

reconnoitring the fortress, Alexander was wounded in the leg. But

without waiting for the wound to heal, he commenced battering the walls

with various military engines of the most redoubtable aspect; which

so terrified the Queen, who had never even heard of anything like

them, that she speedily tendered her submission. Alexander, who merely

conquered cities for the sake of glory, permitted her to retain all her

dominions in peace.

* * * * *

In Martin's "History of Eastern India" we read of a warrior-queen

named Moynawoti. She was married to Manikechandro, brother of Dhormo

Pal, a King of Kamrup, and on the death of her husband, she made war

on the king, who was defeated and slain on the banks of the Tista.

Gopichondro, son of Moynawoti, succeeded his uncle on the throne,

but he left the management of state affairs to his mother, and gave

himself up to a life of pleasure. When he grew up, however, the young

king wished to take an active share in the government, but his mother

persuaded him to dedicate his life to religion, and he ever after

practised the utmost humility and self-denial.

* * * * *

It was during the caliphate of Walid that the Mahommedans made their

first conquests beyond the Indus. About the year 711 A.D., an Arab ship

having been seized at Dival, or Dewal, a port connected with Scinde,

Hejaj, the Moslem governor of Bosra, demanded its restitution. Daher,

Rajah of Scinde, refused; and this led to the invasion of India by

six thousand followers of Islam. Daher marched at the head of fifty

thousand men to oppose the invaders, but in the battle which ensued he

was slain, and his troops routed with terrible slaughter.

Daher's widow, with a courage worthy her deceased lord, raised fifteen

thousand men, and offered battle to the conquerors. They declined the

challenge, and she retired within the walls of Adjur. The Moslems

closely invested the city; and the garrison, reduced to the last

extremities, sacrificed their wives and children on the burning pile

formed by their gold and treasures, and, headed by the royal widow,

attacked the besiegers in their own camp. They all fell, fighting

gallantly to the last.

* * * * *

On the death of Altumsh, Emperor of Hindostan, in 1235, he was

succeeded by his son, Prince Feroze. The latter was an effeminate,

luxurious monarch, who thought of nothing but spending on

dancing-women, comedians, and musicians, the treasures accumulated

by his father, and he left the affairs of state to be ruled by his

mother. Her cruelty, and the indifference of Feroze, caused several

of the omrahs to revolt. The emperor marched against them with a vast

army; but he was deserted by his vizier, a great portion of his army,

and seven of his principal nobles. The latter returned to Delhi, and

placed Sultana Rizia, the eldest daughter of Altumsh, on the throne.

When this news reached Feroze, he hastened back to Delhi; but the new

Empress marched out to meet him, and he was delivered into her hands.

He died in confinement some time after.

The Sultana possessed every quality proper for a ruler; even detractors

could find no fault, save that she was a woman. During her father's

lifetime she had entered heartily into state affairs and was Regent for

a short time during the absence of Altumsh on an expedition against

Gwalior.

Rizia was not long left in undisturbed possession of the throne. The

omrahs who had conspired against her brother now marched from Lahore,

and encamped before Delhi; but she contrived to sow dissensions

amongst them, and each was compelled to retreat to his own province.

Some of them, pursued by the Empress, were captured and put to death.

The omrahs finally tendered their submission and the empire enjoyed

peace for a time. But the promotion of Jammal, who had once been an

Abyssinian slave, to the post of Captain-general of Hindostan, gave

such umbrage to the nobles as to ruin the cause of Rizia. The viceroy

of Lahore threw off his allegiance in 1239; but the empress, collecting

her forces, marched against him, and the viceroy was compelled to

accept peace on the most humiliating terms.

Scarcely was this revolt quelled, when Altunia, governor of Tiberhind,

raised the standard of rebellion. Rizia immediately marched against

him; but when she had gone about halfway, all the Turkish chiefs

mutinied. A tumultuous scene ensued, the Abyssinian general was slain,

and the Empress sent prisoner to Tiberhind. The imperial troops then

returned to Delhi; and set Byram, the Empress's younger brother, upon

the throne.

Rizia married the Governor of Tiberhind, and by their joint influence

they raised a great army, and marched to Delhi. They were defeated

near the city, by the troops of Byram, and the empress with difficulty

escaped to Tiberhind. Soon, however, she rallied her scattered

forces, and marched once more towards the capital. But she was again

defeated at Keitel, and, together with her husband, made prisoner, and

barbarously put to death. Thus died Sultana Rizia, after a brief reign

of three years six months and six days. Indian historians agree that

she was worthy of a better fate.

* * * * *

One day the Emperor Alla-a-Deen Khiljy was boasting that no rajah

throughout Hindustan would dare to oppose his power. Nehr Dew, Rajah

of Jalwur, "in the plenitude of his folly," exclaimed, "I will suffer

death if I do not raise an army that shall defeat any attempt of the

king's troop to take the fort of Jalwur."

The Emperor, in a rage, commanded the rajah to quit Delhi. Hearing,

shortly after, that Nehr Dew was raising forces, he ordered a division

of his army to besiege Jalwur. This was in 1309. To signalize his

contempt for the rajah, he placed the troops under the command of a

slave girl of the palace, named Gool Behisht, or, "the Rose of Heaven."

She displayed great courage during the siege, and had almost effected

the capture of Jalwur, when she was seized with a mortal illness. On

her death the command was given to her son, Shaheen. Nehr Dew made a

sortie, defeated the imperial forces, and slew Shaheen with his own

hand. The Emperor, enraged at this defeat, sent reinforcements to renew

the siege; Jalwur was taken, and Nehr Dew, with his family, and the

whole of the garrison, put to the sword.

* * * * *

In 1510 Ismail Adil Shah ascended the throne of Bijapur. Being too

young to rule the state, the administration was entrusted to Kumal Khan

Deccany, the most powerful noble in the land. The latter soon made

up his mind to usurp the throne; and in the following year he found

himself in a position to make the attempt.

He was warned by the astrologers that certain days in the present month

were unfavourable to his designs; and recommended to avoid approaching

any one of whom he had suspicions. The regent, acting on their advice,

committed the charge of the citadel to his own adherents, and shut

himself up with his family in a house close by the royal palace.

Booboojee Khanum, the queen-mother, now resolved by a bold stroke to

get rid of the regent. Affecting uneasiness about his health, she

despatched one of her adherents with secret instructions for the

assassination of Kumal Khan. The plot succeeded, though the murderer

was immediately cut to pieces. The regent's mother, with great presence

of mind, commanded the attendants to keep silent, and sent orders to

Sufdur Khan, the son of Kumal Khan, to seize the king at once. Sufdur

closed the gates of the citadel and advanced with a strong force to the

palace. The queen-mother would have submitted, but for Dilshad Agha,

the king's foster-aunt, who declared that in such a crisis valour was

better than submission. She ordered the palace gates to be closed, and

sent out to the Persians, on duty in the outer court of the seraglio,

entreating them to assist their king against his enemies. The foreign

generals declared their readiness to defend the young prince. Dilshad

Agha and the queen-mother came out on the battlements, clad in armour,

with bows and arrows in their hands. They were accompanied by Ismail

Adil Shah, who had the yellow umbrella of his father held over his head

by a Turkish girl named Murtufa.

Sufdur Khan tried to force open the gates, but was met with volleys of

arrows; the king, his mother and aunt, and Murtufa using the bow with

considerable effect. The brave little band were reinforced presently

by fifty Deccany matchlock-men; and several score of foreigners from

the city; but though the besiegers were thus kept in check, their force

was so considerably superior in numbers that they continued the assault

with the utmost fury, fully confident of ultimate victory.

Dilshad Agha, with a veil thrown over her face, fought with bow and

arrow in the ranks of the soldiers, encouraging them by exciting

speeches and promises. Sufdur Khan at last made a desperate attack

with five hundred men, bringing cannon to batter the walls; and the

royal adherents fell in great numbers. Some fled ignominiously, while

the rest, concealing themselves behind the parapet, remained perfectly

still. The enemy, believing that all the garrison had taken to flight,

burst open the outer gate; but while he was endeavouring to force the

inner door, Dilshad Agha gave orders for her troops to discharge a

volley of shot and arrows, which committed fearful havoc in the enemy's

ranks, and pierced the eye of Sufdur Khan. The latter ran under the

terrace on which the royalists stood; and the king, rolling down a

heavy stone, crushed his enemy to death.

The death of Sufdur put an end to the rebellion. The insurgents, giving

themselves up for lost, opened the gates of the citadel, and fled. By

the advice of Dilshad Agha, the heads of the regent and his son were

displayed through the streets of the city.

* * * * *

During the reign of Akbar the Great, Emperor of Hindostan, that part of

the Deccan which now comprises Orissa and Bundelcund, was known by the

name of Gurrah, and was governed by a warlike queen, named Durgautti,

equally distinguished for her beauty, her accomplishments, and the

talented manner in which she conducted the affairs of her kingdom.

She succeeded to the throne on the death of her husband. The country

was about one hundred and fifty crores in length and about fifty in

breadth; yet so prosperous, that it contained upwards of seventy

thousand towns and villages, closely populated.

About the year 1564, Asaf Khan Hirvys, an Indian noble, was raised by

the emperor to the rank of an Omrah of five thousand, and appointed

governor of Kurrah and Mannichpoor. The new Omrah at once began a

series of predatory incursions into Gurrah; and very soon he invaded

the country with an army of about twelve thousand foot and five or

six hundred horse. Durgautti assembled eight thousand horse, fifteen

hundred elephants, and a few hundred foot, and advanced to meet the

invaders. Clad in armour, a helmet on her head, a lance grasped in her

right hand, a bow and a quiver lying by her side, she led her troops

to battle, riding in a howdah on the back of an elephant. Though the

men were totally unaccustomed to war, the love of liberty and the

example of the Queen raised their courage to such a pitch that, in

their eagerness to fight, they marched too rapidly, and would speedily

have become an undisciplined mob. But Durgautti, perceiving the cause

of their disorder, commanded a halt; and after re-forming their broken

ranks, she gave them strict orders to march slowly, as compactly

as they could, and not to engage the foe until they saw the signal

displayed from the elephant of the royal standard.

A sanguinary battle then ensued, in which Durgautti displayed the

greatest courage. After a long and obstinate conflict, the Mahommedans

were routed, with a loss of eight hundred slain. The queen pursued the

flying enemy till night put an end to the contest. She then halted,

and gave orders for the soldiers to wash and refresh themselves,

preparatory to a night attack on the camp of Asaf Khan; but her vizier

and the remainder of her generals refused to aid in a night assault,

and seditiously demanded permission to inter their fallen comrades.

She unwillingly consented; and when the bodies of the slain had been

burned, she entreated the chiefs, one by one, to assist her in an

assault on the Mogul camp. But all in vain. Not one would second her in

this daring enterprise.

Asaf Khan, seeing what kind of enemy he had to do with, advanced next

morning with the heavy guns, which, on account of the bad state of the

roads, he had not been able to use in the previous action. Durgautti

posted her men at a narrow pass, and prepared to meet the enemy once

more. Asaf, with his cannon, soon opened a lane into the open ground

beyond, where the forces of Gurrah were drawn up. The Rajah Beir Shaw,

Durgautti's son, a young man of great promise, displayed great bravery

in a charge. Twice he repulsed the Moguls; in the third attack he was

severely wounded. He was falling from his horse when the queen, who was

in the front of the battle, mounted on her elephant, perceived that her

son was expiring, and called to some of her attendants to carry him to

the rear. Several crowded round him, glad of some excuse to quit the

field. The death of this young man and the retreat of so many of her

soldiers struck terror into the queen's army. Durgautti was soon left

with only three hundred men on the field; yet she held her ground,

determined to conquer or die. At last her eye was pierced by an arrow.

She tried to extricate it, but it broke off near the end, leaving a

piece of the steel barb sticking in the wound. At this moment another

arrow pierced her neck. This she pulled out; but a mist swam before

her eyes, and for a few moments she was seen to rock to and fro in her

howdah.

Adhar, a brave officer of her household, who drove her elephant,

repulsed numbers of the enemy. Perceiving that the day was

irretrievably lost, he entreated the queen to let him take her from

the field, but Durgautti would not hear of it. She begged of him to

stab her to the heart. He refused, and Durgautti, suddenly leaning

forward, snatched a dagger from his belt, plunged it into her heart,

and immediately expired.

With her death the triumph of Asaf Khan was complete. The queen's

youngest son, a mere infant, was trodden to death soon after, at the

capture of Chouraghus, and the whole country submitted to the Moguls.

* * * * *

About this time, another warlike queen, Khunza Sultana, was Regent of

Ahmednuggur. During the minority of her son, Murtuza Nizam Shah, she

transacted the affairs of the state, while he was engaged in amusements

suitable to his age. In 1566, Ally Adil Shah, King of Bijapur, having

invaded the neighbouring state of Bijanuggur, Venkatradry, the Hindoo

chief of that country, applied for assistance to Khunza Sultana. She

marched at the head of a large force against Bijapur, and obliged the

king to return and defend his own dominions. However, peace was soon

re-established between the two Mohammedan states, and a league formed

against the Peishwah of Berar. The united forces of Ahmednuggur and

Bijapur entered that country, plundered it, and marched home again,

laden with booty. On the homeward march, Ally Adil Shah treacherously

endeavoured to seize the young King of Ahmednuggur. But Khunza Sultana,

learning his designs, decamped during the night, and a river, which

intervened, having swelled, the two armies were effectually separated

before morning.

The sultana, however, gave great umbrage to the nobles by providing

for her own relations at the expense of more deserving men. In 1567,

several rajahs formed a conspiracy against her, and induced the young

king to join them. But the latter, afraid of his mother's ire, betrayed

the plot to her, and the ringleaders were all seized.

In 1569, the dowager queen, with her son, marched against Kishwur

Khan, the Bijapur general, who had invaded the state of Ahmednuggur.

When they reached D'hamungam, Murtuza Nizam Shah resolved to free

himself from his mother's trammels, gained over the principal nobles,

and sent one of them to inform her that it was his royal will she

should no longer meddle in public affairs. Furious at this unlooked-for

audacity, Khunza assembled her attendants, threw a veil over her

face, and rode out of the palace on horseback, armed with a sword and

dagger. She was seized after a short struggle, and her people took to

flight. Thenceforth, Khunza Sultana lived in retirement, never again

interfering in public matters.

* * * * *

In 1594 died Burhan Nizam Shah, King of Ahmednuggur. His son, Ibrahim

Nizam Shah, who succeeded him, was slain in battle, and the vizier,

Meean Munjoo, raised to the throne a boy named Ahmed, said to belong

to the royal family. The nobles refused to acknowledge the new king,

and besieged the vizier in the capital. Unable to contend with them,

the vizier solicited aid from the Moguls, promising to put the fort of

Ahmednuggur into their hands.

The Moguls had long sought an excuse to interfere in the affairs of

Ahmednuggur; so Murad Mirza, son of the Emperor Akbar, marched thither

with great expedition, being joined on his road by several rajahs and

generals with their troops. But Meean Munjoo, having suppressed the

rebellion, in place of surrendering the fort, resolved to defend it

in case he was called upon by the Moguls to fulfil his promise. After

laying in a store of provisions, he gave the command to the Princess

Chand Beeby, daughter of a former King of Ahmednuggur, and departed

with the young Prince Ahmed towards the Bijapur frontier.

Chand Beeby was one of the ablest Indian politicians of her time. She

had been for some years queen and dowager-regent of Bijapur. She now

took the entire direction of affairs into her own hands; in a few days

she had raised her own nephew, Bahadur Nizam Shah, to the throne,

though he was at this time a prisoner in a distant fortress, and seemed

likely to stay there.

The Moguls, seeing that it was useless to conceal their hostile

intentions, prepared openly to besiege Ahmednuggur. On the 14th

December, 1595, the first shots were exchanged. The siege was pressed

with the utmost vigour. Mounds were raised, trenches opened, battery

after battery erected, mines sunk; and on the morning of February

17th, 1596, eighty feet of wall were blown down by the explosion of a

mine. Chand Beeby, though many of her principal officers had taken to

flight, was not dismayed. She put on armour, covered her face with

a veil, and, grasping a drawn sword in her hand, rushed to defend

the breach. This intrepidity shamed the fugitives, and re-animated

the panic-stricken soldiers. Recovering from their first terror, the

soldiers calmly awaited the approach of the Mogul storming-party. An

obstinate conflict ensued at the foot of the breach. Again and again

did the Moguls press onward--again and again they were driven back by

a galling fire of shot and rockets. The ditch was soon more than half

filled with dead and dying warriors. Although fresh storming parties

succeeded one another from four o'clock in the afternoon till dark,

they were all repulsed with fearful slaughter. At last the Moguls

withdrew, discomfited, to their camp.

Deccan traditions say that, during the storm, the shot of the garrison

having become exhausted, Chand Beeby ordered the guns to be loaded,

first with copper coins, then with silver, and at length with gold; and

all the coins being likewise used up, she fired away her jewels.

The valour of Chand Beeby formed the chief subject of conversation

round the camp-fires and in the tents of the Moguls; and, after this

memorable day, her title of Chand Beeby, "the Lady Chand," was changed

by common consent to the grander one of Chand Sultana.

The want of provisions, and the approach of seventy thousand men from

Bijapur, compelled the Moguls to retreat a few days after the storm.

Bahadur Shah was now brought from the fort of Chawund, where he had

been held prisoner, and was placed on the throne. But the ambition and

duplicity of the Ahmednuggur nobles brought about a second siege in

1599. Chand Sultana, afraid to trust any of them, applied to Humeed

Khan, an officer of high rank, who recommended her to defend the place

to the last extremity; but Chand declared that so many chiefs had acted

treacherously, it was plain no reliance could be placed on them, and

she proposed that they should negotiate with the besiegers. Humeed Khan

rushed into the streets, crying out that Chand Sultana was treating

with the Moguls to surrender the fort. The ungrateful and short-sighted

mob, believing him, and forgetting the former services of the heroine,

rushed to the private apartments of Chand Sultana, and murdered her in

their fury.

It is satisfactory to know that the ungrateful people got the reward

they so richly merited. For, a few days after the death of Chand, the

Moguls captured the fort, giving little or no quarter.

* * * * *

Mher-Ul-Nissa, or Nour Mahal, the "Light of the Harem," sometimes

styled Nour Jehan, the "Light of the World," was the favourite Sultana

of Jehanghire, the "World-subduing Emperor" of Hindostan. A romantic

story is told of her strange birth, her desertion by her parents, and

how, like Moses, she was entrusted to the care of her own mother by her

kind preserver, and how, by the benevolence of the latter, the family

rose from poverty and obscurity to the government of the greatest

empire in Asia. The beauty of Nour Mahal was famous throughout the

East; Moore, in his "Feast of Roses," has painted her portrait most

exquisitely. Her personal charms were rivalled by her mental powers;

and her political talents were speedily seen by the numerous reforms

and improvements effected throughout the empire.

Nour Mahal was a widow when, in 1611, she became the bride of

Jehanghire, and it is said that she took for her second husband the

murderer of her first. Her influence over the Emperor soon became

paramount. They had many tastes in common, amongst others the passion

for hunting; Nour Mahal was as fond of the chase as Zenobia. In company

with Jehanghire she would slay tigers and other savage beasts of the

jungle, charming her lord by the adroitness with which she handled the

bow or the more unwieldy matchlock.

It was strange that a haughty, overbearing, courageous woman like Nour

Mahal should never have taken command of an army. We read of only one

battle in which she was personally engaged. Her policy was to choose

able generals to conduct all her wars. However, one of these chieftains

was near causing her ruin. This was Mohabat Khan, the most talented

Indian warrior of his time. She had the folly to quarrel with this man,

and he, seeing that his ruin was determined upon, took the initiative,

and seized the emperor in his own camp. He soon saw that it would have

been wiser to arrest the empress; but on returning to remedy this

fault, he found she had fled to the camp of her brother, on the other

bank of the river--the Chenab.

Next morning the empress led a party across the river to rescue

Jehanghire. She was armed with a bow and two quivers of arrows, and sat

in a howdah on the back of an elephant. In fording the stream, hundreds

were swept away by the force of the current. Those who escaped drowning

were weighed down by their armour and their wet clothes, and had their

powder spoilt. In this disastrous condition they were obliged to fight

hand to hand with the rebels before a landing could be effected. Nour

Mahal, with her brother and a handful of the bravest chiefs, was

amongst the first who reached the shore; but this little band could

make no impression on the ranks of Mohabat Khan, whose soldiers poured

volley after volley, shot, arrows, and rockets, upon the men struggling

in the water. The ford was soon choked up with men, horses, and

elephants, dead or dying.

The contest raged fiercest round the elephant of Nour Mahal, who never

quailed before the infuriated rebels who sought her life. Her gallant

defenders fell one after another, fighting manfully to the last; but

she herself appeared to bear a charmed life amidst the perfect hail of

bullets and winged shafts, though her infant granddaughter, who sat

close beside her, was wounded, the driver of her elephant was shot,

and the beast himself received a cut across the trunk. Half-maddened

with pain, the animal plunged into the river, and was carried away by

the stream. When at length the elephant struggled up the bank, Nour

Mahal was discovered calmly extracting an arrow from the wound of her

grandchild, as cool and collected as though she had been a spectator

at a review in place of the leading actor in a fierce encounter. The

howdah was saturated with blood.

The failure of this rash, though gallant attempt, proved that Mohabat

was too strong to be subdued by open force; Nour Mahal therefore

resolved to lull his suspicions, and trust to chance for some expedient

to crush him. Next day she went to his camp and surrendered herself

a prisoner. For a time Mohabat Khan ruled paramount throughout the

empire; but in a few months Nour Mahal, partly by cunning, partly by

appealing to the loyalty of the omrahs, rescued her husband from the

clutches of this man, whose power thenceforth ceased for ever.

Jehanghire died on the 28th of October, 1627.

Although Nour Mahal survived him for twenty-four years, she held aloof

from politics. She was buried in a splendid tomb at Lahore, close by

the monument of Jehanghire.

Spontini has chosen the story of Nour Mahal as the subject for one of

his best operas.

* * * * *

In 1688 the Mogul army, commanded by Azim Shah (son of Aurengzebe) was

engaged in the siege of Bijapur. The troops were much distressed for

want of provisions, as their supplies had been cut off by the enemy.

Aurengzebe, hearing of this, ordered one of his generals to take twenty

thousand bullock-loads of grain to the camp of Azim Shah. The enemy

made a desperate attempt to seize this convoy on its road; but after

a fierce encounter with the Moguls, they were driven off. During the

action, the Princess Janee Begum, who was proceeding with the convoy to

join her husband, Azim Shah, rode on the back of an elephant into the

midst of the fight, and encouraged the soldiers by her presence.

* * * * *

Juliana is perhaps the only European woman who ever took a leading part

in the politics of the court of Delhi. She was born in Bengal in 1658,

and her father was a Portuguese gentleman named Augustin Dias D'Acosta.

Early in life she gained the favour of Aurengzebe, who made her

superintendent of his Zenana, and governess of his son, Bahadur Shah.

In 1707 Aurengzebe died, and Bahadur Shah ascended the throne. His

right was disputed by his brothers, and he was compelled to defend

his throne by force of arms. A battle was fought near Agra; Juliana,

mounted on an elephant, by the side of Bahadur Shah, aided him by her

advice, and cheered him with inspiring words; when his troops began to

give way, she exhorted him not to despair. To her presence indeed was

he indebted for the ultimate victory gained by his army.

Juliana was created a princess, and given the rank of wife of an omrah,

together with innumerable honours and riches showered upon her. The

Great Mogul held her in such estimation that he used to say:--"If

Juliana were a man, I would make her my vizier."

Jehandur Shah, who ascended the throne in 1712, entertained the same

respect for Juliana. She experienced some persecutions when this

emperor was deposed in 1713 by his nephew Ferokshere; but the death

of this tyrant, in 1719, restored to her all her influence, which she

retained till her death, in 1733.

* * * * *

During the latter half of the eighteenth century, the native princes of

India finding, by dearly bought experience, that Indian discipline was

ludicrously inferior to the European system, determined to introduce

the latter into their own battalions. With this view they offered high

rewards to European officers who would accept the command of their

troops and teach them how to fight. Hundreds of adventurers--British,

French, German, Swiss, Portuguese--soldiers of fortune, in short,

from every part of Europe, took service under the various rajahs and

princes, and many of them attained to high rank and honours. It was not

uncommon for the widows of these officers to be given the post left

vacant by their deceased husbands; and these female commanders led

their troops to battle, or stopped at home, as they pleased.

One of these soldiers of fortune was Colonel Mequinez, a Portuguese,

who commanded a regiment of Topasses in the service of Hyder Ali Khan,

Sultan of Mysore. At his death, Hyder Ali gave the widow (also a

Portuguese) the command of her husband's regiment, to hold it till the

adopted son of her husband had attained his majority. Madam Mequinez

never went into action; she left the duty of leading the Topasses in

the field to the officer next in command. But in every other respect

she fulfilled the duties of colonel; the colours were carried to her

house, at the door of which a sentry paced up and down: she received

the pay for the entire corps, and caused the deductions for each

company to be made in her presence, and she always inspected the

regiment herself.

Madam Mequinez was excessively avaricious, besides having a character

for immorality. Having been detected in a plot to cheat the Provincial

Father of the Mysore Jesuits out of a large sum in rupees and jewels,

she was excommunicated, and sentenced to undergo public penance. Some

months latter she finally disgraced herself by marrying a "mongrel

Portuguese sergeant" belonging to her regiment. But she was very much

surprised when the bacsi informed her that the Sultan had reduced her

pay to that of a sergeant, because she had brought shame on the memory

of her first husband, who had been a great favourite with the Sultan,

Hyder Ali.

* * * * *

One of the most thoroughly unprincipled European adventurers of these

days was Somroo, a German soldier, who, after serving as private in

the French and English armies, and in those of various native chiefs,

became general in the army of the Great Mogul. His name was Gualtier

Reignard, or Reinehard, but when he enlisted in the French army (in

Europe) he assumed the _nom de guerre_ of Summer, which his comrades,

on account of his saturnine complexion, altered to Sombre; this,

the Hindoos changed to Somroo, and he was afterwards best known by

this last name. He will ever remain infamous as the murderer of two

hundred English prisoners at Patna, in 1763. While in the service of

Shah Aulum, the Emperor, he commanded a body of cavalry and several

disciplined battalions of sepoys officered by Europeans. To maintain

this army, the emperor assigned him, as a jaghire, the fertile district

of Serdhauna, in the Dooab.

Somroo married twice; his second wife was, some say, the daughter of

a Mogul noble who had fallen into great distress, though others aver

she was a Cashmerian dancing-girl. He persuaded the Begum to renounce

Mohammedanism and become a Roman Catholic. At Somroo's death, in 1778,

the Vizier Nujeef Khan gave the widow the jaghire and the military

post. She was a great favourite with the Emperor, who had the highest

respect for her talents. He bestowed upon her the name of Zul Al

Nissa, which means "Ornament of her sex." Under the government of this

talented woman the "small but fertile" town of Serdhauna improved

rapidly. A fort standing a short distance from the town served as a

kind of citadel, and contained a barrack, an arsenal, and a foundry

for cannon. Her five battalions of sepoys were officered from nearly

every country in Europe, and she had a body of five hundred European

artillerymen, armed with forty guns of various calibre.

George Thomas, afterwards the most famous of all these European

soldiers of fortune, accepted a commission in the Begum's service;

and her keen eyes quickly discerned his superior military talent. He

soon rose to high favour with the Begum, whose esteem he merited by

courage, zeal, and untiring activity. So greatly was her revenue and

authority increased by his talents, that he was for many years her

chief counsellor and adviser.

Begum Somroo enjoyed the respect of the leading ministers at the court

of Delhi; the Viziers Nujeef Khan, Mirza Shuffee, and Afrasiab Khan

placed the most implicit trust in her judgment on military matters.

When Scindiah, the Mahratta chief, attained to the rank of vizier,

he not only confirmed her in the jaghire of Serdhauna, but added a

grant of territory south-west of the Jumna. Her generalship was not

confined to occasional reviews; she took an active part in the wars

and insurrections which disturbed the reign of Shah Aulem. During the

war with Pertaub Sing, the Begum was stationed with her troops at

Panniput; which being an important post, proves Scindiah's belief in

her military capacities.

In 1787, during the insurrection of Gholaum Cadir Khan, Prince

of Sehraurunpore, Begum Somroo displayed the utmost coolness and

determination. Previous to his open declaration of hostility, Gholaum,

by the most artful speeches, endeavoured to gain the Begum's alliance;

well aware of her influence at court, he offered her an equal share

in the administration if she would assist him in seizing the reins of

government. The proposal was tempting, but the Begum, well acquainted

with the perfidious nature of the wily Rohilla chief, rejected all his

offers, and repaired to the palace, where she announced her resolve to

sacrifice life itself, if necessary, in defence of her sovereign.

Her arrival infused new courage into the Imperial party; and some

of the generals having assembled their forces, Gholaum Cadir opened

a heavy cannonade on the palace. This was answered from the fort of

Delhi; and after the bombardment had lasted for several hours, the

rebel chief receiving intelligence that a large force was marching to

relieve the Emperor, judged it most prudent to tender an apology, which

Shah Aulem thought fit to accept.

In the following year, 1788, Shah Aulem left Delhi with a large army,

partly made up by three battalions of sepoys, commanded by the Begum,

and commenced a tour through the provinces. Although most of the rajahs

and nabobs were secretly disaffected, they were, with few exceptions,

easily prevailed upon to tender their submission. One of those who

openly declared themselves rebels was Nujuff Cooli Khan, a powerful

chief, who, having possession of the almost impregnable fort of Gocul

Ghur, peremptorily refused to submit. His head-quarters were situated

at a village about a mile from the fort, and only a portion of his army

had been stationed in Gocul Ghur.

The Emperor himself, with the main body of the army, invested Gocul

Ghur, while two of his principal generals erected batteries against the

rebel head-quarters, which they bombarded most vigorously. The village

would have speedily been taken, but for the disgraceful conduct of

the besieging force, both officers and men, who gave themselves up to

riot and excess. Nujuff Cooli Khan, taking advantage of this, attacked

the Mogul entrenchments one night, when nearly all the soldiers

were fast asleep. Carrying all before them, the rebels perpetrated

an indiscriminate slaughter before the others had time to arouse

themselves. This news rapidly spread to the main body and threw the

whole camp into dire confusion. To increase the consternation, Munsoor

Khan sallied out from Gocul Ghur, and opened a tremendous cannonade on

the rear of the camp.

The entire Imperial army, together with Shah Aulem and his family,

would probably have fallen into the hands of the rebels, but for the

courage and presence of mind of Begum Somroo. She was encamped with

her sepoys to the right of the camp, and her troops not having been

infected by the panic, waited, drawn up ready for action. Perceiving

the disorder which prevailed, the Begum sent a respectful message to

Shah Aulem, entreating him to repair for safety to her quarters. Then,

stepping into her palanquin, she proceeded at the head of one hundred

sepoys and a six-pounder (the latter commanded by a European) to the

ground occupied by Munsoor Khan. She ordered her palanquin to be set

down, and ere long drove the rebels from the field by a well-directed

fire of grape, supported by volleys of musketry from the sepoys.

This gallant exploit gave time for the Imperial troops to rally. In

their turn they now attacked the rebels, and after a short sharply

contested engagement, the latter were defeated. Nujuff Cooli Khan,

disheartened by this reverse, entreated the Begum to intercede for his

pardon; which was granted at last, after he had paid a large sum of

money into the Imperial treasury.

In 1791, Nujuff Cooli Khan again broke into rebellion. Ismail Beg was

despatched to arrest him; but when the latter reached Rewari, where

the rebel chief had set up his head-quarters, he learned that Nujuff

was dead. However, the widow of Nujuff Cooli, a woman akin to Begum

Somroo, of a masculine spirit, possessing, moreover, considerable

military abilities, took command of deceased's forces. Knowing that

Ismaeel Beg was courageous, talented, and ambitious, she proposed an

alliance, which he accepted; and throwing himself into the town of

Canoor, defended it against the Mahrattas. The Begum displayed the

utmost courage throughout the siege, and invariably joined in all the

sorties made by the garrison. Unfortunately, this brave woman was

slain in a skirmish by a cannon-ball, and her death broke up the rebel

camp. It was resolved by the garrison to deliver up Ismaeel Beg to the

Mahrattas; but he was beforehand with them, and surrendered the town.

General Thomas, in his zeal for the Begum Somroo's interests, raised

up enemies for himself in the principal French and German officers.

They took occasion to poison the Begum's mind against him by foul

accusations; and in 1792 he was compelled to withdraw to Anopsheer,

one of the frontier stations of the British army. Early in 1793, he

took service under Appakandarow, a Mahratta chieftain. Le Vaissaux,

or Levasso, a German adventurer, commanding the Begum's artillery, had

always been Thomas's deadly foe, and was the leading man in driving

him away. He possessed great military talents, and had rendered

considerable services to his mistress; but he was a man of haughty,

overbearing mien, and hated by all his brother-officers. Great was

their indignation, though they were scarcely surprised, when the

Begum, disregarding their remonstrances, and the advice, the all but

commands, of the Emperor, surrendered her hand and heart to the German

artilleryman, in 1793.

Begum Somroo, instigated by her husband, now determined to crush poor

Thomas; and at the head of four battalions of foot, four hundred horse,

and twenty pieces of cannon, she marched towards Jyjur, where he was

stationed. But the Mahratta chiefs, who had long been jealous of her

influence over Shah Aulem, stirred up a mutiny amongst the troops left

in Serdhauna, and compelled her to return thither with all speed. The

officers, to give a sanction to their proceedings, offered the jaghire

to Zuffer Yab Khan, son of Somroo by a former wife. He was a young man

of worthless and turbulent character; since his father's death he had

lived in Delhi, receiving a handsome allowance from his step-mother.

It was only a few days after the marriage that this mutiny broke out.

Zuffer, with a body of troops, rushed into Serdhauna, seized the town,

and was proclaimed Jaghire Dar. The Begum vainly endeavoured to pacify

her soldiers. She was arrested, together with her husband, and thrown

into prison; and Le Vaissaux, too proud to sue for mercy, put an end to

his own life.

In the course of the following year, the Begum, who had been ever since

kept in durance vile, besought the assistance of George Thomas, for,

said she, the hourly dread of assassination was driving her mad. Thomas

was not deaf to her entreaties; he persuaded Bappoo, a Mahratta chief,

to aid him with his forces, and together they marched upon Serdhauna.

The Mahrattas were won over, partly by the prayers of Shah Aulem, and

partly by liberal promises; and Zuffer having been expelled, the Begum

was restored to power.

Begum Sumroo was a good friend to the English, with whom she was always

exceedingly popular on account of the great hospitality with which she

entertained those who visited her neighbourhood. However, she fought

against them, as an auxiliary of Scindiah, in 1803. She took part in

the battle of Assaye; and at the defeat of the Mahrattas, she fled to

Northern Hindostan, and hastily made peace with the Marquis Wellesley,

on condition that her principality should revert to the British

Government of India after her demise, while her personal property

remained at her own disposal.

When the British became masters of Delhi, the Begum frequently visited

their camp, dressed in European costume, with a hat and veil, sometimes

in a palanquin, sometimes on horseback, sometimes on an elephant. At

this time she appeared to be about fifty-five, was of middle height,

with a beautiful complexion. Her ancient friendship for the Mahrattas,

and an intercepted letter which she was believed to have written to

Jeswunt Rao Holkar, caused her to be suspected by the British when they

were at war with that chief in 1805. However, she succeeded in clearing

herself of the accusation. The exact year of her death is not known.

Although Begum Somroo left no children of her own, she had adopted

the daughter of Somroo by his first wife, a Mahratta woman. This girl

wedded Mr. Dyce, a half-caste, son of Captain Dyce of the East India

Company's service. The Begum had intended to make him her heir; but

in her old age she detected him in a conspiracy, and so she left her

property to his son, instead. This latter was the notorious David

Ochterlony Dyce-Sombre. About the year 1838, this eccentric gentleman

came to England, whither he had been preceded by the renown of his

fabulous wealth. His arrival caused considerable excitement in London;

he was fêted and invited everywhere as the lion of the day. In 1840,

he married the Hon. Mary Ann Jervis, daughter of Viscount St. Vincent;

but the husband and wife did not agree--a separation was speedily

followed by legal proceedings against Mr. Dyce-Sombre, by which the

wife's relations sought to prove the Anglo-Indian to be a lunatic. For

months and months this great trial was a matter for public gossip;

and the unfortunate nabob was compelled to live on the Continent for

several years to escape the decision of the Court of Chancery. He

returned to London in 1851, to petition against their decree; but was

seized with a painful illness, of which he died on the 1st July of that

year.

* * * * *

When Lord Lake was in India, fighting the Mahrattas, there was a

Sergeant W----, of the artillery, who served in nearly all the battles

of his illustrious chief. This sergeant owned a Hindoo slave, belonging

to the lowest dregs of the pariahs; but through the earnest labours

of a Baptist missionary, she was converted to Christianity, and the

sergeant made her his wife. She accompanied him in all his campaigns,

and followed him into battle. When he was tired, she would lend a hand

at the guns. In one action the sergeant was struck down by a bullet

which passed through his shako and struck his forehead just above

the temple carrying in its course the brass hoop from the shako and

forcing it into his skull. He fell, to all appearance, dead; but his

wife, determined not to leave his body to the tender mercies of the

foe, seized it up, and bore it from the field, amidst a rain of bullets.

* * * * *

The principal leaders in the terrible Indian Mutiny were Nana Sahib,

Tantia Topee, and the Ranee of Jhansi. They were equally ferocious:

they detested the British, and the motives which induced them to rebel

were almost precisely similar. According to the laws and usages of

Hindostan, a native prince, in default of sons, could adopt a strange

boy and make him his heir; seldom was a dissentient voice raised

against the succession of the adopted child till within the last

thirty-five or forty years, when the East India Company constituted

itself heir-apparent to all the thrones in the country.

The city of Jhansi is situated in Bundelcund, to the south of the river

Jumna. Previous to 1857, it was the strongest and most important place

in the entire of Central India. The people were nearly all Brahmins, a

religion held in common with their rajahs. In the days when the Peishwa

was still a person of importance in Hindostan, the ruler of Jhansi was

merely a wealthy zemindar, or land-owner, and he rendered such good

service to the British that Lord William Bentinck (Governor-General

from 1828 to 1835), raised him to the position of Rajah. On the death

of this man, he was succeeded by his brother, Gungadhur Rao. The

latter, having no children, made a will some weeks before his death,

publicly adopting a little boy nearly related to himself, and at this

time six years old. Lukshmi Baee, the Rajah's wife, was to be the

guardian of this boy and Regent of Jhansi till he had attained his

eighteenth year. Gungadhur gave due notice of this to the British

Governor-General; and in presence of the British Resident and his

assembled subjects, took the child in his lap, as a public declaration

of adoption.

Gungadhur Rao died in 1854. Lord Dalhousie, the Governor-General,

refused to acknowledge his right to adopt an heir, and the little

province of Jhansi was annexed to British India. The young Rajah and

the Ranee, his mother by adoption, were pensioned off; the latter

receiving six thousand a year, paid monthly. Her troops were disbanded,

and replaced by a few regiments of Sepoys and Sowars.

The Ranee was powerless to resist; she could only bide her time. She

had not long to wait. Three years later, India was in a blaze. The

Bundelcund Sepoys were amongst the first to mutiny. On the 14th of

June, the native troops at Jhansi broke into rebellion, murdered

several of their officers in the cantonments, and seized the "Star

Fort." Some few English escaped to Nagoda, but the rest, numbering

fifty-five men, women, and children, barricaded themselves in the "Town

Fort." But after a brave resistance of four days, the mutineers burst

open the gates on the 8th; and the English, having been promised life

and liberty, laid down their arms. Thereupon a massacre commenced,

which for barbarity, almost equalled that which took place shortly

after at Cawnpore. Nineteen ladies, twenty-three children, twenty-four

civil service employés, two non-commissioned officers, and eight

officers were butchered in a manner familiar to all who can remember

the Indian Mutiny.

It was generally believed at the time that this massacre took place by

order of the Ranee, who is said to have stood by while the heads of

ladies were chopped off, and the brains of babies were dashed out upon

the flags. Nay, some have declared she laughed aloud when some deed of

atrocity worse than the rest came under her notice.

Shortly after this massacre, the Ranee took the field at the head of

some hundreds of Sepoys, and marched towards Gwalior, where Scindiah,

the descendant of our old enemy whom we routed at Assaye, remained

faithful to the British. But little was known of her movements during

the rest of 1857; in August of that year, a female, dressed in a green

uniform, was captured at Delhi, while leading on a party of Sepoys.

This woman was at first supposed to be the terrible Ranee, and a rumour

sped through the British Camp that she was leading the Gwalior rebels;

but it was afterwards found that Lukshmi Baee still remained in the

territories of the Maharajah. The prisoner was described as "an ugly

old woman, short and fat." She was a species of prophetess, held in

high estimation by the rebels around Delhi.

In January, 1858, Sir Hugh Rose (Lord Strathnairn), commanding the

second brigade of the Central India Field Force, set out against the

rebels south of Delhi; his chief object being the capture of Jhansi.

Having been joined by Brigadier Stuart, they invested the fortress on

the 21st of March following.

The city of Jhansi measured about four miles and a half in

circumference. It stood on a level plain, surrounding the east, north,

and part of the south sides of an elevated rock on which the fort

stood. Altogether it was a fine specimen of modern fortification;

and since the first outbreak of the Mutiny, its strength had been

considerably added to by the Ranee, who took care to arm the batteries

with heavy ordnance of long range. On the 25th a tremendous cannonade

was opened from the British lines. Throughout the siege the intrepid

Ranee tried every means to defend the town; all through the day she

remained in the fort directing the fire of the artillerymen, save when

she visited the different points of defence, watching and planning to

strengthen the weak parts of her entrenchments.

Tantia Topee marched to the relief of Jhansi with twenty or twenty-five

thousand men, and an obstinately contested battle was fought on the 1st

of April.

But Tantia Topee, after proving himself to be a brave man and an able

general, was totally routed with the loss of all his ordnance.

Next day a general assault was made on the city; under a murderous

fire the British forced their way through the streets. When they had

more than half conquered it, the news of the Ranee's flight put an

end to all further resistance on the part of the rebels. It was then

found that the brave old tigress, utterly disheartened by the defeat of

Tantia Topee, had fled during the previous night, under cover of the

darkness. Followed by about three hundred rebels, she joined Tantia

Topee at Koonch. Sir Hugh Rose, as soon as he had settled matters in

Jhansi, directed his march towards Calpee. He was intercepted at Koonch

by the Ranee and her ally; when a spirited action took place on the 9th

of May. The mutineers were driven from their entrenched camp, with

great loss, and the town fell into the hands of the victors. Tantia

Topee and the Ranee fled to Calpee, where they were besieged on the

16th by Sir Hugh; Calpee fell on the 23rd, the Ranee and Tantia having

previously retired towards Gwalior. The Maharajah, refusing to join the

rebels, was driven to take refuge in the British cantonments at Agra.

On the approach of Sir Hugh Rose, Tantia Topee fled, leaving the Ranee

to defend the city. But she was not a woman easily dispirited. She

disposed her forces (chiefly composed of the Gwalior Contingent) most

skilfully, so as to command all the roads leading to Gwalior. She was

scarcely ever out of the saddle; dressed in a sowar's uniform, and

attended by a picked, well-armed escort, she rode from post to post,

superintending all the operations.

Sir Hugh Rose reached the Moorar cantonments on the 16th of June, and

carried them with but slight loss. To intercept his reinforcements,

the Ranee marched to the banks of the little river Oomrar. Brigadiers

Smith and Orr, who were marching from Antree to join in the attack on

Gwalior, reached Kota-ki-Serai, on the banks of this stream, on the

morning of the 17th. Between this village and Gwalior, from which it is

distant about three or four miles, the road winds through a succession

of hilly ranges. Some rebel pickets were observed in front of and

below the first range; a squadron of the 8th Hussars immediately

crossed the stream to reconnoitre, when they were fired upon from a

masked battery. Two troops of the same regiment were ordered to charge;

and riding at full speed through a narrow ravine, they captured a

battery armed with three guns. Thence they pressed on to the rebel

camp, where the enemy was driven to bay. The Ranee of Jhansi and her

sister, both in the dress of sowars, fought desperately, and lost their

lives in a gallant charge made to check the British troopers.

The Ranee's death was caused either by the bullet of a British

rifleman, or by the fragment of a shell which pierced her breast. Her

body was never found; it was said to have been burned by her followers

immediately after the battle.

Upon her death the rebel hosts melted like snow before a sunbeam. The

British infantry speedily carried the first range of heights; and the

enemy, after losing about four hundred men, and seeing their camp in

flames, were compelled to fly. The British, after losing about fifteen

men (ten of whom died from sunstroke and fatigue), and spiking three

rebel guns, resumed their march; and the same evening rejoined Sir Hugh

Rose. The combined forces now advanced on Gwalior, routed the sepoys in

the battle of Gurrowlee, June 19th, and recaptured the city, June 20th,

when Scindiah was restored to his throne.

The death of the Ranee excited very little interest in this country.

The newspapers of the time, with but one or two exceptions, barely

chronicled the event, without making any comments; but it was

universally felt by every British soldier serving in India that, with

the death of Lukshmi Baee, we had lost the foe who was able to do us

most injury. For courage and military skill she was acknowledged to

be far superior to any of the other rebel chiefs. The message flashed

along the wires announcing that the Ranee had fallen, added that "the

deaths of Moulvie and the Ranee were more gain to us than half-a-dozen

victories."

The exact age of the "Indian Boadicea" was never accurately determined.

While one journal styles her "this girl, barely twenty years of age,"

another assumes her age to have been at least thirty. An employé of the

East India Company who visited Jhansi in 1854, and accidentally caught

a glimpse of this oriental heroine, describes her as "a woman of about

the middle size--rather stout, but not _too_ stout. Her face" he says,

"must have been very handsome when she was younger, and even now it had

many charms--though, according to my idea of beauty, it was too round.

The expression, also, was very good and very intellectual. The eyes

were particularly fine, and the nose very delicately shaped. She was

not very fair, though she was far from black. What spoilt her was her

voice, which was something between a whine and a croak."

All agreed as to the extreme licentiousness and immorality of her

habits; and the rooms in her palace are said to have been hung with

pictures "such as pleased Tiberius at Capri."

* * * * *

It was formerly the custom with many of the native princes to maintain

female warriors to guard their zenanas. The tyrant Ferokshere, who

was murdered in 1719, kept up an Amazon corps at Delhi, composed

of Abyssinians, Cashmerians, Persians--in short, drawn from every

nation whence slaves could be easily procured. They were armed with

matchlocks, bows and arrows, spears and targets, and other weapons,

according to their nationality. When the Emperor took refuge from his

assailants in the zenana, the female guards held the entrance bravely

for some time, and exchanged shots with the rebels; but they received

more wounds than they gave, and were so easily driven away.

In the harem of the Nizam, at Hyderabad, there was, so lately as the

time of the Mutiny, a regiment of Amazons who wore scarlet tunics,

green trousers, and red cloth hats, trimmed with gold lace and mounted

with a green plume. Their arms were the customary musket and bayonet.

Whenever a distinguished foreigner visited the Palace, the female guard

received him with military honours. "The extreme youth, and delicate

appearance of these interesting warriors," says Prince Soltykoff, "at

once attracted attention." Though, despite these feminine attractions,

he says their aspect was so decidedly military, he would never have

known they were females but for their long hair and the fulness of

their bosoms. Their hair was tied in a knot, though in place of

concealing it under their caps, they let it fall over the collar of

their tunics.

An interesting sketch of the female sepoys at Lucknow is given in the

"Private Life of an Eastern King."

"Of the living curiosities of the Palace, there were none the account

of which will appear more strange to European ears than the female

sepoys. I had seen these men-like women pacing up and down before

the various entrances to the female apartments for many days before

I was informed of their real character. I regarded them simply as a

diminutive race of soldiers with well wadded coats. There was nothing

but that fulness of the chest to distinguish many of them from other

sepoys; and one is so accustomed to see soldiers in England with coats

stuffed so as to make their wearers resemble pouter-pigeons, that I

took little heed of the circumstance.

"These women retained their long hair, which they tied up in a knot on

the top of the head, and there it was concealed by the usual shako.

They bore the ordinary accoutrements of sepoys in India--the musket

and bayonet, cross-belts and cartridge-boxes, jackets and white duck

continuations, which might be seen anywhere in Bengal. Intended solely

for duty in the Palace as guardians of the harem, they were paraded

only in the court-yards, where I have seen them going through their

exercise just like other sepoys. They were drilled by one of the

native officers of the king's army, and appeared quite familiar with

marching and wheeling, with presenting, loading, and firing muskets,

with the fixing and unfixing of bayonets; in fact, with all the detail

of the ordinary barrack-yard. Whether they could have gone through the

same marches in the field with thousands of mustachioed sepoys around

them, I cannot tell--probably not. They had their own corporals and

sergeants; none of them, I believe, attained a higher rank than that of

sergeant.

"Many of them were married women, obliged to quit the ranks for a month

or two at a time, occasionally. They retained their places, however,

as long as possible.... Of these female sepoys there were in all two

companies of the usual strength, or weakness, if the reader will have

it so. Once, during my residence at Lucknow, they were employed by the

king against his own mother."

This act of Nussir was rendered all the worse, because many years

before, when Ghazi-u-deen, the late King of Oude, wished to disinherit

his son and put him to death, the Begum armed her retainers, and fought

for Nussir with the courage of a lion. After many had fallen on each

side, the British resident interfered, and put an end to the contest.

Nussir, after he became king, wished to act towards his son as Ghazi

would have done towards him; but the old Begum now fought as stoutly

for her grandson as she did previously for her son. The King sent

his female sepoys to turn her out of her palace, but she armed her

servants, fought the sepoys, and put them to flight. Fifteen or sixteen

of the Begum's adherents were left dead on the field. The resident

again interfered, and guaranteed the life and succession of the child.

But Nussir succeeded in cheating his mother after all, by declaring the

boy illegitimate. In vain the old Begum, after the death of Nussir,

surrounded the British Residency with her troops; the Englishman was

not to be intimidated. Troops were ordered up from the cantonments, and

a few discharges of grape quickly dispersed the Begum's adherents. One

of Nussir's uncles was then placed on the throne, and the brave old

Begum was compelled to submit.

There is a similar guard of female warriors in the Palace of the King

of Siam, at Bangkok; and the Paris papers of September, 1866, speak of

a regiment of female Zouaves, armed with rifles, which was then being

raised in the first-named city.

As lately as 1873, we read of Amazonian soldiers in Bantam. Says a

newspaper of that date, describing the condition of the sexes in

that kingdom:--"Although tributary to Holland, it is an independent

state, politically without importance, yet happy, rich, and since

time immemorial governed and defended by women. The sovereign is

indeed a man, but all the rest of the government belongs to the

fair sex. The king is entirely dependent upon his state council,

composed of three women. The highest authorities, all state officers,

court functionaries, military commanders, and soldiers are, without

exception, of the female sex. The men are agriculturists and merchants.

The body-guard of the king is formed of the female _élite_. These

amazons ride in the masculine style, wearing sharp steel points instead

of spurs. They carry a pointed lance, which they swing very gracefully,

and also a musket, which is discharged at full gallop. The throne is

inheritable by the eldest son, and in case the king dies without issue

a hundred elected amazons assemble, in order to choose a successor from

among their own sons. The chosen one is then proclaimed lawful king."

[Illustration]

VI.

SAVAGE AFRICA.--Judith, Queen of Abyssinia--Workite and

Mastrat, Gallas Queens--Shinga, Queen of Congo--Mussasa,

Queen of Matamba--Tembandumba, Queen of the Jagas--Amazons

in Dahomey.

The great African continent has contributed but little to the pages

of history. Centuries before America was discovered, northern Africa

was one of the centres of commerce, its people were amongst the

most civilized in the known world; yet America has been explored in

almost every part, from north to south, and its history is as well

known and almost as full of interest as that of Europe or Asia, while

Africa, until within the last three-quarters of a century, remained,

geographically and historically, almost as much a mystery as it was in

ancient times. Rightly has it been styled the Dark Continent.

Ethiopia, renowned in distant eras for its stately cities adorned with

lofty temples and spacious palaces, and inhabited by learned men, is a

sad picture of fallen greatness. Its haughty palaces have crumbled to

decay long since, and their sites are occupied by the mud cabins of a

savage race, who, only for being Christians, differ very little from

their fellow-men who dwell on other parts of this great continent.

People took but small interest in Abyssinia till the war with King

Theodore, and even then we learned very little more about that strange

land than our grandfathers told us.

Scarcely more than a bare outline of Abyssinian history has been

preserved; yet we find that, since the days of the Queen of Sheba,

women have more than once taken an active part in the politics of this

kingdom. Bruce has given us the story of a beautiful Jewish women named

Judith, who, with the aid of her co-religionists, usurped the throne

in the 10th or 11th century. She was the wife of Gideon, the governor,

or, as he might be called, the feudal sovereign, of a small district

called Bugna. He was also a Jew, as were all his subjects. Judith at

last grew so powerful that she resolved to overthrow the Christians.

She accordingly surprised the almost impregnable rock Damo, where the

royal princes were kept for safety, and slew them to the number of four

hundred. Del Naad, the King, at this time a mere child, was saved by

some of the nobles, who carried him into the loyal province of Shoa.

Judith then mounted the throne, and not only reigned over Abyssinia for

upwards of forty years, but transmitted the throne to five successive

descendants. After that, the line of King Solomon and the Queen of

Sheba, as represented by the descendants of Del Naad, was restored.

Even in these degenerate days, women sometimes come forward as leaders

in Abyssinia. After the fall of Magdala, Lord Napier was visited by the

two Gallas queens, Workite (gold), and Mastrat (looking-glass), who

had a race as to which should first congratulate the British general

on his victory. These rival queens, who have been fighting one another

for years past, professed great delight at the reception which they

met with, and both gave and received presents in token of friendship.

The _Times_ Correspondent in Abyssinia gave a lively and amusing

description of them:--

"I am told on good authority," he wrote, "that they go into battle, and

handle spear, sword, and gun right manfully; there is even a story,

probably mythical, that Mastrat with her own hand wounded the mighty

Theodore. But usually they go about so muffled up, and looking so like

a bundle of shawls moved by mechanism, that, except in their method

of riding, their appearance is anything but amazonic. Workite kept

herself closely wrapped up, and hidden during her stay in camp, but

Mastrat boldly threw aside her rich royal robe of crimson, speckled

with gold, and came out of her tent, and before the soldiers--if her

majesty will pardon the expression--like a man, to have her photograph

taken. Her complexion was a very pale olive--fairer than that of many

Europeans--and her expression, though the features were large, and

scarcely, like those of Theodore's widow-in-chief, of the thoroughbred

type, were essentially queen-like and commanding. She looked quite

capable of leading an army anywhere."

The natives of Congo, in Lower Guinea, have ever been notorious for

their ferocity and love of shedding human blood; and such very savages

are they, that what slight improvements have been made in their beloved

pastime--war,--are due entirely to those Europeans who have visited the

coast. The women are as ferocious as the men; and as the Salic law is

either unknown, or neglected, there have from time to time been female

sovereigns renowned for their military prowess.

One of these royal Amazons was Shinga, or Zingha, Queen of Matamba, in

Congo, who ascended the throne on the death of her brother about 1640.

She determined to be Queen in her own dominions, and set herself up as

a stern opponent of Christianity. She thereby offended the Portuguese

priests (who had been established in the country since 1487), and they

stirred up her nephew to rebellion. After losing three battles, Shinga

was obliged to seek safety in flight.

After proceeding one hundred and fifty miles up the country, Shinga

established a new kingdom; and by making war on the Jagas, or Giagas,

the Arabs of Western Africa, she became sufficiently powerful once more

to take the field against Portugal. But she was again routed, and her

two sisters remained in the hands of the victors. At last, in 1646,

she recovered her throne, and concluded an honourable treaty with the

Christians.

Her long struggle with Portugal had so accustomed Shinga to a military

life that she cared for nothing but war. She was almost constantly

engaged in a campaign against the neighbouring kingdoms. Before

starting on an expedition, she used to sacrifice the handsomest man she

could find as a war offering to some African deity who required to be

appeased. On such occasions she appeared in military costume, her bow

and arrows in her hand, a sword hanging from a collar round her neck,

an axe by her side. After going through a warlike dance, singing a

martial song, accompanying it on two iron bells, she would cut off the

victim's head as a declaration of war, and drink a deep draught of his

blood.

The Jagas, at all times feared on account of their ruthless ferocity

and cruelty, rose to the height of their glory under King Zimbo,

who has been styled the "Napoleon of Africa." Donji, one of Zimbo's

captains, was governor of Matamba; his wife, Mussusa, was a warrior

like himself, and they trained their daughter, Tembandumba, to the

same mode of life. After the death of Zimbo, his vast empire, like

that of Alexander, was divided amongst his captains; and Donji, more

skilful than the rest, conquered many of the surrounding states.

After his death, Mussasa, who possessed military talent equal to her

husband,--tarnished though it was by gross cruelty--continued to fight

and to conquer the neighbouring chiefs.

Tembandumba received the education of a soldier. Trained, while yet a

child, to the use of arms, she took naturally the trade of war. As a

girl she accompanied her mother on all her campaigns; fighting side by

side at the head of their troops, Mussasa and her daughter were always

foremost in battle and last in a retreat. The valour and prudence of

Tembandumba soon became so well known that her mother gave her the

command of half the army. But when she had gained a few victories, the

Amazon was not disposed to remain longer in a subordinate position.

Throwing aside the authority of her mother, she assumed the title of

Queen of the Jagas; and drew up a code of laws so extravagantly savage

and bloodthirsty that only for the high respect, or rather terror, in

which the young girl was held,--even her subjects would have rebelled.

It was the ambition of Tembandumba to revive the Amazonian empire which

had once existed on the African continent. In pursuance of this object,

she declared war on the whole race of man; all the male children were

to be slain by their mothers, and made into ointment called "Magiga

Samba," which when smeared over the human body would render the latter

invulnerable. The adult males throughout her dominions were to be

converted into food for the women; and to prevent the tender hearts of

the women causing them to evade these laws, she commanded that every

other food, animal or vegetable, should be destroyed. Had her statutes

been obeyed to the letter, Western Africa would soon have been a

hideous wilderness, devoid of human habitations, birds, beasts, trees,

plants, or even grass.

Having promulgated these laws, together with many others of minor

importance, in a speech delivered before a select committee of her

female subjects, she concluded by seizing her own child, who was

feeding at her breast, and hurling it into a large mortar, where she

beat it to a jelly. Throwing this into a large pot, she compounded an

oleaginous preparation with leaves, roots and oils, which she rubbed

all over her body, telling her subjects to follow the example. Such

quantities of "Magiga Samba" were manufactured that travellers declare

there are still some pots of it to be found among the Jagas. But after

the first burst of enthusiasm was over, maternal love prevailed,

and Tembandumba, after vainly endeavouring, by the appointment of

inspectors, to enforce obedience, was obliged to repeal the law, and

permit children taken in war to be substituted to make the precious

ointment.

For many years this female devil reigned triumphantly; she kept the

Jagas so constantly engrossed by martial glory, they had no time to

sigh for liberty. Kingdom after kingdom fell before her legions;

wherever she turned her footsteps, a track of desolation remained to

mark her progress.

But Tembandumba, after all, was not above the weaknesses common to her

sex; all her passions were exaggerated, and, like many another heroine,

she owed her final overthrow to the God of Love. As a rule she caused

her husbands to be treated as Schahriar, in the Arabian Nights, used

his wives; but at last she fell really in love with Culemba, a private

in the army. Culemba was young, strong, and decidedly good-looking--for

a negro. He possessed insinuating manners, and succeeded for a time

in gaining some influence over the Queen. But in time she wearied of

him, as she had grown tired of her former lovers. Culemba, knowing by

experience that she had an unpleasant fancy for dining off her lovers,

was determined to be beforehand with her. He was a cruel, ambitious

man,--equally crafty as Tembandumba. He invited the Queen to a

sumptuous banquet; such an invitation being the highest compliment one

Jaga could pay to another. The entertainment was magnificent, the wine

delicious; but while drinking a bumper of Lisbon wine from the skull of

an old enemy, the Queen of the Jagas fell down dead.

Culemba was--of course--inconsolable. With difficulty could he be

prevented from slaying himself on the corpse. The funeral was conducted

with all the splendour customary at the interment of a native African

sovereign; the dead queen was buried in a large vault excavated on the

top of a high hill. The corpse was placed in a commanding attitude on

a throne, surrounded by skins, stuffs, mats, ostrich feathers, and all

her favourite dishes and liquors.

* * * * *

Dahomey--or, as it is now fashionable to style it, Dahomé--may with

truth be called one of the greatest curiosities of the Nineteenth

Century. It seems so strange that a large, closely populated country,

the monarch of which is anxious to cultivate the friendship of Europe,

should be sunk in such gross barbarity. The chief features of its

government are the Slave-Trade, the "Customs," or religious festivals,

at which the notorious human sacrifices are offered, and the Amazons;

and the last are by far the greatest curiosity. Very few rulers, in

ancient or modern times, have authorised the keeping up a standing army

of women; and none of the native tribes along the coast seem at all

inclined to follow the example of Dahomey.

But the female sex in Dahomey is, they say, vastly superior to the

male; the women are tall--upwards of six feet high, and powerfully

built--the men, on the contrary, are, as a general rule, round-limbed

and sickly-looking. Captain Burton suggests that it was this physical

superiority which originated the custom of employing women-soldiers.

The Amazonian division of the army numbers twelve thousand women, ready

at an hour's notice for active service. They are officered by females,

and have a female commander-in-chief, who is entirely independent

of the "Gau" or male commander-in-chief. To denote her rank, this

female general wears a silver horn, hammer-shaped, projecting from

her forehead, similar to a unicorn. The officers are distinguished by

a white head-cloth, and by the superior make and material of their

clothes; and when on the march, they are attended by what Captain

Burton styles an "esquiress" or slave-girl, who carries the musket of

her mistress.

The honorary captaincy of each corps is presented by the King to one of

his sons, after whom it is sometimes named; though the companies are as

frequently styled by the name of the district to which they specially

belong. Sometimes the King presents some distinguished European

traveller whom he wishes to compliment, with a honorary command.

The Amazons are not remarkable for any superfluity of muscle, but as

a rule they are lithe and active. As they grow older, many become

extremely stout. "Some of them" remarks Captain Burton "are prodigies

of obesity." The commander-in-chief, he says, was "vast in breadth."

Beauty is scarce in Dahomey, and what little there is, has not fallen

to the lot of the Amazons. Captain Burton, who "expected to see

Penthesileas, Thalestrises, Dianas," was sadly disappointed when he

beheld "old, ugly, and square-built frows, trudging 'grumpily' along,

with the face of 'cook' after being much 'nagged' by the 'missus'."

They do not, however, as was once supposed, condemn themselves to

single-blessedness; on the contrary, many have husbands and children.

They are very careful of their weapons--an English "Tower-marked"

firelock, a short falchion, or dirk, and a large razor for cutting off

heads. The musket is guarded by numerous charms, and when not in use

is protected from the damp by a black, monkey-skin case; the barrel

is polished bright, and sometimes adorned with a long tassel. Their

skill in the use of these weapons is such as to render them exceedingly

formidable adversaries.

Their uniforms are very showy. That of the Royal Guard--which,

numbering rather more than a thousand women, is always stationed

about the King's person--consists of a sleeveless tunic, surtout, or

waistcoat of different colours, buttoning down the front, a pink,

blue, or yellow loin-wrapper, or kilt, reaching to the ancles, a sash,

generally white, tied round the waist, and folding down in two long

ends on the left side, and a fillet of blue or white cotton round the

head. The arms are left bare. A black leather belt, with cartridge

box--or "agluadya"--forms a girdle, with holds the surtout tight to the

figure. This belt is sometimes ornamented with cowrie shells; on it

are hung bandoleers, which contain, in separate compartments, twelve,

sixteen, or even twenty wooden powder-boxes. Each cartridge contains

about four times the quantity of powder used in English cartridges, and

the bullet is not placed in it as in Europe; a small leather ball-bag

hangs from the shoulder by a strap which passes through the belt. When

the Amazons are loading, they pour the powder into the barrel without

any wadding, and then drop in a bullet, or a few slugs.

Shaving the head is a general, though not a universal fashion. Those

who do so, leave only a small tuft of hair like a cockade; others,

however, who do not follow this custom, shave a narrow strip, two

inches in breadth, from the forehead to the crown of the head.

When the Amazons are on the march, the privates are obliged to carry

an immense number of articles absolutely necessary for a campaign

under the scorching sun of Africa. Packs, containing their bed-mats,

a change of clothes, and food for a fortnight--said food consisting

of toasted grains or bean cakes spiced with pepper--small stools with

three or four legs, two cartridge-boxes, water-gourds, fetish-sacks,

powder-calabashes, bullet-wallets, fans, wooden pipe-cases, leather

tobacco-bags, hats made of felt or straw, and palm-leaf umbrellas, are

just a few of the things carried by them on the march.

The King of Dahomey is very proud of his female soldiers, whom he

frequently passes in review. He regards these Amazonian field-days

with a pride akin to that of Frederick the Great at one of the Potzdam

Reviews, or Napoleon at a review of his Old Guard.

These grand reviews are very showy, effective sights. Although the

discipline is not very exact, yet the evolutions performed are executed

with a vigour and heartiness which almost atone for the lack of that

neatness observed in more civilized armies. The King seats himself

under a canopy in some public place, generally the market-place of

the town, and the various corps of Amazons march on to the open

ground in front; each regiment being preceded by its band, playing

the most discordant music on fantastically shaped instruments made of

elephant's-trunks, bullock's-horns, and triangular iron tubes (which,

when struck, emit a sound similar to a sheep-bell), and beating a large

war-drum in a truly deafening manner. This drum, ornamented with twelve

human skulls, is carried on the head of one Amazon, while another walks

after, beating it. Each corps possesses a similar drum, adorned with

a like number of skulls. Every company has, likewise, six or seven

standards, the top of each being surmounted by a human skull. In the

more disciplined regiments, there is always an advance-guard of nine

women, followed, at a short interval, by fifty supports.

The ceremony of passing them in review is so elaborate that one corps

has occupied as much as two or three hours before being disposed of.

According as each corps arrives within a short distance of the Royal

canopy, a halt is ordered, and the women lie down, or squat down,

to await their turn to appear before his majesty. The captain then

introduces the officers by name, and all kneel down, throwing up the

light red dust in showers over themselves. Their deeds of valour are

recounted, and when any warrior has especially distinguished herself,

the King graciously bestows his royal praises. After all have been

noticed, the officers fall into their proper places, and, together

with the privates, burst into a complimentary song in honour of their

ruler. It is usual for various Amazons, on the conclusion of this song,

to step one after another to the front, and declare their loyalty.

Then the entire corps kneels down, with the butt ends of their muskets

resting on the ground, and the barrel slanting back over the shoulder.

After covering themselves once more with dust, they poise their muskets

horizontally in both hands, and, still on their knees, pour forth a

lusty cheer. Then springing to their feet with another hearty cheer,

they slope arms, and set off at the double-quick march, each trying to

outstrip the rest.

This part of the review having at last concluded, the Amazons march on

to an open space where sham entrenchments have been constructed. These

mock fortifications usually consist of two or three great piles of

green briar, armed with the most dangerous kind of prickly thorns. This

thorny briar is much used in Africa, and formerly was employed in Asia,

to entrench villages or towns. The clumps are about seventy feet wide

and eight feet high, standing perhaps three hundred yards in advance

of several pens, or yards, the latter surrounded by a strong wall about

seven feet high, defended by dense masses of thorns, thickly matted

with reeds. To defend this mock entrenchment, a few dozen royal slaves

are placed within the enclosure.

Each corps, as it marches on to the ground, headed by the officer

appointed to lead the attack--who wears a sword of a different shape,

from the others--halts about two hundred yards from the nearest pile,

and shoulders arms. Directly the signal is given, they charge over

the thorns, regardless of their bare feet, and in less than a minute

the mimic fortress is captured. At intervals of twenty minutes, the

other corps have captured the remaining piles, and they all return in

triumph, each leading a slave by a rope. On reaching the royal canopy,

each Amazon presents a scalp supposed to have been taken during the

sham fight.

Sometimes the Amazons are rehearsed in volley-firing and

target-practice. They load and fire quickly, singing all the time.

Their target-practice is moderately good. Several thousand goats are

tied to stakes in a large field surrounded by a mud wall about ten feet

high. Most of the goats are killed before the day is over; which, when

we take into account the indifferent quality of their powder, and the

careless manner in which they load, speaks very well for the Amazons

as markswomen.

The King of Dahomey is almost always engaged in some war, whether

foreign or domestic; therefore a few hundred Amazons are constantly

on active service. Like the Old Guard, the services of these female

warriors are never brought into use save in cases of dire necessity, or

when considerable opposition is expected. As the Amazons always strive

not only to behead, but to scalp their enemies, they are pretty sure of

having one or more of these ghastly trophies to show the King on their

return from a campaign. Scalps, however, do not accumulate so fast as

one might suppose; six or seven in a year is considered rather a large

number, for the Amazons are frequently obliged, after slaying a foe, to

pass on without securing his topknot.

The Slave-trade provides very constant exercise for the Amazons;

because, whenever the King requires slaves, it is necessary to go to

war with some neighbour--though of course, his Majesty easily finds a

_casus belli_. But the great thorn of vexation in the royal side for

the past thirty years and more has been the republic of Abbeokuta.

The influence of this free state, in destroying the slave-trade, very

naturally brought down the hatred of the King of Dahomey, who is the

largest dealer in human flesh on the African coast. More than once

he has tried to conquer this sturdy little city. On the 3rd of March,

1851, he appeared before the walls of Abbeokuta at the head of a great

army--male and female. A furious attack was made to gain the ramparts,

but the rapid, murderous fire of the Egbas drove back the Dahomans with

fearful slaughter, and put them to rout. The Amazons led the attack;

many were slain--nearly all the slain Dahomans were women--and one or

two made prisoners.

The King undertook a second expedition against Abbeokuta in March,

1864. At the head of ten thousand picked warriors, and three brass

six-pounders, he arrived before the walls on the 16th. The Amazons

formed the column of attack, and displayed their accustomed bravery.

Directly the signal was given for the assault, they scaled the wall

like furies, and for a time threatened to carry everything before them.

One Amazon having her right hand cut off, clung to the parapet and

killed her adversary with her left, before being hurled back into the

ditch.

The Egbas received the Amazons with a murderous fire, which thinned

their ranks terribly. They were obliged to seek safety in flight, and

their example was speedily followed by the whole Dahoman army. The

Egbas, sallying forth, pursued the retreating foe, massacring the

stragglers without mercy. In this congenial task they were joined by

the neighbouring tribes, who turned out in great numbers and joined

heartily in the carnage.

The King of Dahomey experienced a most disastrous rout, with the loss

of three thousand of of his best soldiers, one thousand being slain,

and two thousand taken prisoners.

THE END.

PRINTED BY TAYLOR AND CO.,

10, LITTLE QUEEN STREET, LINCOLN-INN-FIELDS.

* * * * *

Transcriber's Notes:

Obvious punctuation errors repaired.

Page ii, "Hänsell" changed to "Hänsel" (in Women--Minna Hänsel)

Page viii, "South" changed to "Savage" to match chapter text

(Savage Africa)

Page 7, "betwen" changed to "between" (to a duel between)

Page 36, "ruinœ" changed to "ruinæ" (Impavidam serient ruinæ)

Page 36, "Elisèe" changed to "Elisée" (when Elisée assisted)

Page 42, "left the" changed to "the left" (below the left eye)

Page 43, "Langerin" changed to "Langevin" (Renée Langerin--Madlle)

Page 43, "Felicité" changed to "Félicité" (Félicité and Théophile de)

Page 46, repeated word "to" deleted. Original read (introduced to to

the Abbé)

Page 68, "ben" changed to "been" (ball had been)

Page 71, "villany" changed to "villainy" (reward of his villainy)

Page 100, "1634" changed to "1834" (in Spain, in 1834)

Page 102, "amunition" changed to "ammunition" (their ammunition, she

went)

Page 142, repeated word "of" deleted. Original read (worthy of a better)

Page 165, "atacked" changed to "attacked" (attacked the Mogul)

Page 169, "entertianed" changed to "entertained" (which she entertained)

Page 185, "VI" changed to "V" in chapter title

Female Warriors, Vol. 2 (of 2) Memorials of Female Valour and Heroism, from the Mythological Ages to the Present Era. · 第 7 / 7 章

The Franco-Prussian War, and the subsequent Communist Insurrection,