As soon as the victory was completed, the troops piled arms; and
were allowed two hours' rest. Then they marched back, to the point
where General Campbell's division had forded the Nawine river in
the morning. From this point, a path led towards the enemy's
centre; this it was determined to attack, at daybreak on the
following morning, before the news of the defeat of its left could
reach it.
The day had been a long and fatiguing one, and it was late before
the troops all reached their halting place. A meal was served out,
and then all lay down to rest. A messenger was sent to Prome, to
announce the success that had been gained; and to request the
commander of the flotilla to open fire, in the morning, as soon as
the foe was seen to issue from the jungle in front of the Wongee's
main position at Napadee.
Long before daylight, the troops were in motion. General Campbell's
division led the way, along the narrow track leading towards the
river; while General Cotton, who followed, was ordered to break off
at any path which led towards the Burmese division, to make his way
through the forest, and to attack the stockades directly he reached
them. The main division would attack, as soon as they heard his
guns.
After a two hours' march, the first division came out on open
ground by the river side, signalled their arrival to the flotilla,
and formed up in front of the stockaded heights of Napadee. The
position was an extremely strong one. The enemy occupied three
ranges of hills, rising one behind the other, and each commanding
the one in front of it. One flank of these hills was protected by
the river, the other by the almost impenetrable forest. The hills
were all covered with stockades and, as they moved forward, the
troops were exposed to so heavy a fire from an enemy entrenched at
the edge of the jungle on the right that, before they could advance
further, it was necessary to first drive them from this position.
Six companies of the 87th were sent back into the forest and,
making their way through this, came down in the rear of the
stockades, speedily cleared them of their defenders, and compelled
the advance force of the enemy to join their main body.
The troops then moved forward to the foot of the first hill, where
two strong redoubts had been erected by the enemy. The fleet opened
fire; but the column was halted, for a time, awaiting the sound of
firing that should tell them General Cotton's column was engaged.
No sound, however, was heard, for this force had been unable to
make its way through the dense forest; and General Campbell, at
last, gave the order for the attack.
It was commenced by the 47th and 38th Native Infantry, under
Colonel Elvington; who pushed through the jungle and forest, until
they reached some of the flanking outworks on the hill. These they
attacked with such dash and determination that they speedily
obtained possession of them, and thus produced a favourable
diversion for the main attack.
This, consisting of the 13th, 38th, and 87th Regiments, advanced
steadily, without returning a shot to the incessant fire from the
enemy's various entrenchments; captured the two redoubts at the
bottom of the hill; and then pressed upwards, carrying position
after position at the point of the bayonet, till they arrived at
the summit of the first hill.
The Burmese fugitives, as they fled to the next line of defence,
shook the courage of the troops there; and the British, pushing
forward hotly on the rear of the flying crowd, carried work after
work until, in the course of an hour, the whole position, nearly
three miles in extent, was entirely in their possession. Between
forty and fifty guns were captured, and the enemy's loss in killed
and wounded was very great while, by desertion alone, the Wongee
lost a third of his army. While the attack had been going on, the
flotilla had passed the works protecting the river face of the
hills, and had captured all the boats and stores, filled with
supplies for the use of the Burmese army.
Thus, two of the three Burmese divisions had now been completely
routed; and there remained only that of Sudda Woon, on the other
side of the river. The troops were allowed two days' rest and, on
the morning of the 5th, a force advanced on board the flotilla.
Their passage across the river was covered by the fire of a rocket
brigade and a mortar battery--which had on the previous night been
established on an island--and they landed at some distance above
the enemy's stockades. They then marched round and attacked these
in flank and rear, while the batteries and boats of the flotilla
cannonaded them in front.
The enemy's troops were already disheartened, by the defeat they
had seen inflicted upon the Wongee's army and, after a feeble
resistance, fled to a second line of stockades in the jungle to
their rear. The troops, however, pressed so hotly upon them that
they were unable to make any effectual opposition here. Numbers
fell, while endeavouring to pass through the narrow entrances of
the work; and the rest fled, in terror, into the woods.
These extensive operations had been carried out with the loss of
six officers, and some seventy or eighty men, only.
It was known that the enemy had very strongly fortified several
positions, in and around Meaday; and it was determined to push
forward, at once, on the long march of three hundred miles to Ava,
before the enemy could rally from their defeat, and gather for the
defence of these positions. On the 9th the first division, under
General Campbell himself, started from Prome. The roads were
extremely bad, and they were able to move but slowly.
Their course was first directed inland; as it was intended to turn
the enemy's position at Meaday, by following a road several miles
from the river, and thus forcing them to fall back as we advanced.
On the next day the force reached the spot where Colonel M'Dowall
had been killed, in the unsuccessful attack upon Maha Nemiow; and
it then turned north, and followed the road parallel to the river.
On the 12th tremendous rains, for some hours, converted the road
into a morass and, although the march was but five miles long, the
greater portion of the column failed to reach its destination.
This, however, was not the worst. Cholera broke out at once, and
carried off a large number of victims--two of the British regiments
being rendered almost unfit for service by its ravages.
On the 14th the division encamped on dry ground, on a ridge of
wooded hills, and waited for a couple of days to allow the baggage
train to come up. The change greatly benefited the health of the
troops, and amusement was afforded by the partridges, jungle fowl,
and deer which abounded in the neighbourhood of the camp.
Up to this point, no single native had been seen. The villages were
all destroyed, and the country was completely deserted. On the 16th
a strong Burmese fortification was taken, it being unoccupied save
by a small picket, which retired on our advance. This had evidently
been erected for the purpose of preventing the river fortifications
from being turned, and its abandonment proved that the object of
the land march had been gained; and that the enemy had abandoned
the positions they had, with so much care, prepared for the defence
of the river.
On the 18th they joined General Cotton's column and, the next day,
entered Meaday. Here a terrible spectacle was met with. The town
and the ground within the stockades was strewn with dead and dying;
some from wounds, others from cholera--for the ravages of this
plague had been as great, among the Burmese, as in the British
force. A number of men were found crucified on gibbets, doubtless
as a punishment for attempting to desert. The air was pestilent;
and the force was glad, indeed, to march on the next morning from
the locality.
They gained something, but not much, from the change. For the next
fifty miles, dead bodies were met with at very short intervals and,
each day before camping, many corpses had to be removed before the
tents could be fixed.
It was now known that the Burmese army, in its retreat, had been
concentrated at Melloon, where the reserve of 10,000 men had been
posted. On the 27th, the division encamped within four miles of
that town. They had now marched a hundred and forty miles, from
Prome, without meeting a single inhabitant of the country, or being
enabled to obtain any cattle, whatever, for the supply of the
troops, so effectually had the enemy wasted the country as they
retired.
Melloon stood on the opposite bank of the Irrawaddy; and letters
had arrived from that town saying that a commissioner had arrived,
from Ava, with full powers from the king to conclude a treaty of
peace. Colonel Adair and Stanley, accordingly, were sent off the
next morning to Melloon, to arrange for an immediate meeting for
the commissioners. However, they could come to no arrangement, the
Burmese leaders insisting that so important a business could only
be carried on when a favourable day arrived; and that no time
could, at present, be stated. Seeing that the principal object of
the Burmese was to gain time, the colonel informed them through
Stanley that, as no arrangements had been made, the troops would
recommence their advance as soon as he returned to the camp and,
accordingly, the next morning the division moved forward to a town
immediately opposite Melloon.
That place stood on the face of a sloping hill and, as the
Irrawaddy was here but 600 yards broad, a good view was obtained of
the fortifications. The principal stockade was in the form of a
square, about a mile on each face, mounting a considerable number
of guns--especially on the side facing the river; and a succession
of stockades extended for a mile farther along the banks. The great
work was crowded with men. In front of the town lay a large fleet
of war boats, and larger craft with stores.
A short time after the troops reached the spot, a great noise of
gongs, drums, and other warlike instruments arose on the other
side, and crowds of boatmen were seen running down to the vessels.
These were soon manned, and oars got out, and they began to row up
the river. As, owing to the intricacy of the channel, the steamboat
and flotilla had not yet arrived, a few shots were fired at the
boats by the field guns. This had the desired effect, many of the
boatmen jumping overboard, leaving their craft to drift down the
river; while the great bulk hastily turned their vessels about, and
anchored in their former position.
As soon as the steamer with the flotilla came up, two war boats
pushed off from shore, saluted the steamer, and rowed alongside of
her until she and the flotilla were safely anchored above the town.
This was so evidently a mark of a real desire for the suspension of
hostilities that the two officers were again sent across the river.
A truce was agreed upon, and an arrangement made for the meeting of
the negotiators, upon the following day.
Four meetings were held, between the two commissioners and those
appointed by the British general, the meetings taking place on
boats moored in the centre of the river. At length the treaty was
accepted and signed, by the Burmese, and fifteen days' truce
allowed for the ratification of the treaty by the king. As the end
of that period approached, the Burmese protested that they had not
yet received an answer, and asked for further time; which was
refused, unless on the condition that Melloon was evacuated, and
the Burmese army fell back until the ratification of the treaty
reached them. As had been for some time strongly suspected, the
negotiations were simply a device to arrest our advance; and the
treaty was afterwards found in the Burmese camp, it never having
been forwarded to Ava.
At midnight on the 18th, when the armistice came to a conclusion,
the troops began throwing up earthworks, the heavy guns were landed
from the flotilla and, at ten o'clock the next morning,
twenty-eight guns were in position ready to open fire. In spite of
remonstrances that had been made, the Burmese had, night after
night during the armistice, continued to work surreptitiously at
their entrenchments. It was hoped for a moment that, when they saw
the speed with which our batteries had been thrown up and armed,
they would offer no farther resistance. As, however, they were
evidently preparing for action, our guns opened fire at eleven
o'clock.
This was kept up for two hours. While it was going on, the troops
intended for the assault were embarked in boats, some distance up
the river, so as to ensure their not being carried by the force of
the stream across the face of the Burmese works, and exposed to the
concentrated fire of the enemy. They were divided into four
brigades; the first of which--consisting of the 13th and 38th
Regiments, under Lieutenant Colonel Sale--were to land below the
stockade, and to attack its south-western angle; while the other
three brigades were to land above it, to carry some outworks there,
and to attack the northern face.
A strong northerly wind, and the violent current, prevented the
assaults being made simultaneously. The first brigade was carried
too far across and, as it passed the stockade, was exposed to the
fire of the guns and musketry of the river defences; while the
three other brigades were unable, for some time, to reach their
intended landing places. Colonel Sale was among those wounded by
the Burmese fire but, directly the first brigade reached the shore,
they formed up under the partial cover of a shelving bank and, led
by Lieutenant Colonel Frith, moved forward to the assault in
admirable order. When within a short distance there was a forward
rush, in spite of the storm of shot. The ladder party gained the
foot of the stockade and, placing the ladders, climbed up, and
leapt down among the surging crowd of the enemy. Others followed
and, soon, a firm footing was obtained in the works. Then the men
of the two regiments--whose total strength did not exceed five
hundred--advanced steadily, drove before them some 10,000 armed
men, and expelled them from the works that the Burmese had deemed
impregnable.
While this was going on, the other three brigades had landed above
the stockade and, now falling upon the enemy as they poured out
from their works, completed their defeat. All the stockades were
carried, and the whole of the artillery and stores fell into our
possession.
Four days later, the army again began its advance. They were met by
four Englishmen, who had been taken prisoners; and an American, who
had also been held in confinement. These had been sent to assure
the English general that the king was in earnest in his desire for
peace. It was but too evident, however, that no confidence could be
placed in Burmese negotiations; and it was, moreover, known that
another army was being assembled, in the greatest haste, to bar the
advance.
On the 14th of February the British reached Pakang-Yay, having
passed Sembeughewn on the opposite shore. This was the point where
the road from Aracan reached the Irrawaddy, and it had been
arranged that the force that had been operating in Aracan should,
if possible, effect a junction with Sir Archibald Campbell here. A
message brought down by a native was, however, received; stating
that the force had suffered very severely from fever and cholera,
and that the natural obstacles were found to be too great to be
overcome by troops debilitated by disease--that the attempt had,
therefore, been abandoned. Fortunately, the English general was
well able to do without this addition to his strength. He had
already proved that his command was perfectly capable of defeating
any Burmese force that could be brought against him, and an
addition would only have increased the difficulty of transport.
On the 9th of March the British force which, owing to the necessity
for leaving strong bodies to hold Melloon and other points that had
been captured, now mustered less than 2,000 fighting men, advanced
to attack the enemy, whose numbers were estimated at 16,000.
The new commander of the Burmese adopted other tactics than his
predecessors. His stockaded position was in front of the town of
Pagahn, but he occupied the jungle in great force, and attacked our
advance guard, five miles from the town. As the enemy occupied the
hills on both sides of the main road, Sir A. Campbell divided his
force and led half of it through the jungle on the right, while
General Cotton led the other half through the woods on the left.
The Burmese fought with considerable obstinacy. General Campbell
and his staff, with thirty-eight troopers and fifty men of the
13th, were somewhat in advance of the column; when the enemy closed
in on both flanks, and even got in their rear. These were, however,
dispersed by the rest of the 13th and, driving back the Burmese on
the flanks, the advance was continued. Presently, however, as the
British issued from the jungle, a mass of the enemy's horse charged
down, drove back the skirmishers and, for a time, the position of
the general and his staff was one of great peril. His little body
of troopers, however, dashed boldly at the assailants and held them
in check, until the guns that had followed the staff were brought
forward from the jungle. Then the troopers divided and rode right
and left; and the guns, opening fire, checked the assailants until
the infantry came up.
The Burmese army was now seen, drawn up in the form of a
semicircle, in the open. The two British columns were united and,
together, moved forward to attack the centre of the crescent,
disregarding the fire from its wings. When within charging
distance, they went forward with a rush and, cheering lustily, fell
upon the Burmese; and broke their centre, thus isolating the two
wings. The Burmese at once retreated, with the greatest haste, to
the stockaded position in their rear. As usual, the narrow
entrances to the stockades caused great delay; and the British were
upon them before they were, in any way, prepared to resist the
assault.
Heralding their advance by sweeping volleys, they fell upon the
Burmese with the bayonet, and drove them out of their works. The
enemy made an attempt to rally, behind the walls and in the pagodas
of the town, but the effort was vain. They were driven out with
great slaughter, hundreds were drowned in endeavouring to swim the
river, and the army was finally dispersed in all directions.
The effect of this victory was at once apparent. The country
people--who had, on the advance of the British force from Prome,
been cleared out from the villages along the whole line of
route--being now freed from the restraint of their troops, came
flocking back in great numbers--some by the roads and some in
boats--and it was evident that they regarded the struggle as
definitely terminated. There was, indeed, no possibility of further
resistance; as the armies of Burma, raised with immense difficulty
and by heavy bounties and the promises of great reward, were
hopelessly scattered, and Ava lay open to the British advance.
In other directions their position was equally desperate. Aracan
had been wholly rescued from their grasp. A British force in Pegu
had marched up the river Sitang and, after the repulse of a party
of a hundred and fifty men, imprudently sent to attack Sitang
itself, captured the place after a sharp fight and, receiving
reinforcements from Rangoon, continued their way up the river and
captured Toungoo; while the northern force had driven the Burmese
out of Manipur, and had reached the river Ningti by the 2nd of
February, and were in a position to advance direct upon Ava.
After a halt of two days, General Campbell advanced on the 12th of
February. Mr. Price, the American who had been sent down after the
capture of Melloon, went forward to Ava with the treaty that had
been drawn up before the capture of that place; and the king had no
longer any hesitation in complying with its terms--and was, indeed,
delighted to find that the recent victory of the invaders had not
increased their demands. He at once sent down to accept them but,
as no official ratification was sent, the march continued; while
Mr. Price again returned to Ava. When the force was within four
days' march of the capital, the latter returned with the Burmese
commissioners and other high functionaries, with the ratified
treaty, and the first instalment of the money that was to be paid.
It was a disappointment to the army that, after their long march
and many sufferings, they were not to be allowed to enter the
enemy's capital in triumph. Undoubtedly, however, the course taken
was the wisest. Ava was regarded as a sacred city, and it was to
save it from the humiliation of being occupied by the invaders that
the king had brought himself to accept the terms of the treaty. Had
the English general insisted upon entering the capital, and signing
the treaty there, he would have found no one to meet him. The
population would have been driven out, the king and court would
have retired farther up the country, and the war might have
continued for an indefinite time.
Already its cost had been enormous, exceeding 5,000,000 pounds
sterling. During the first eleven months after landing at Rangoon,
nearly half of the Europeans died and, from the time they advanced
from that town with fresh reinforcements from India, to the arrival
near Ava, a similarly heavy loss was sustained. Four percent of the
number engaged was killed in action. The climate of Aracan was
still more deadly, as three-fourths of the white troops employed
there died, and very few of the survivors were ever fit for service
afterwards. The sepoys suffered less in Aracan, losing only ten
percent of their number, though nearly half the force were in
hospital for some time.
According to agreement the Burmese, as soon as peace was concluded,
sent down a large number of boats for the conveyance of the troops
down the river. As they descended it, the garrisons left at Melloon
and other places were withdrawn. One of the native regiments, with
some elephants and guns, left the force at Sembeughewn; and marched
thence to Aracan, for the purpose of investigating the country, and
proving whether it was practicable for the passage of troops in
case another advance upon Ava should ever be necessary. They found
the road unexpectedly good, and met with no resistance whatever,
except in the passage of some passes over the mountains.
At Melloon, Stanley was very glad to meet his cousin again, for the
47th had been left in garrison there. Harry had been down again,
with a sharp attack of fever, but was now recovering.
"So it is all over, Stanley, and your chances of an earldom have
nearly slipped through your fingers."
"I am glad, indeed, that it is so," Stanley laughed, "in the first
place, because I could only have succeeded to it at your death; and
in the second place, because I have no ambition, whatever, for a
title. I am not nineteen yet, and should greatly prefer to make my
own way, than to find myself with nothing whatever to do, except to
spend money as it dropped into my lap.
"Now that everything is settled, and that Aracan has become
English, and we have the seaports on the Tenasserim coast, trade
will increase tremendously. You may be sure that the Burmese will
be only too glad to flock into our provinces, and to live under a
fair rule, to escape the tyranny of their own officials; and my
uncle is just the man to take advantage of the new openings. I
don't say that I want to live out here all my life. At any rate, I
hope by the time that I am thirty, to be able to come home for a
year's holiday; and it is just possible that, by then, we may have
grown into such a big firm that we may establish headquarters in
London, instead of getting all our goods from Calcutta.
"There is certain to be a very big trade here, in teak alone. The
price in Pegu is a great deal below that in India and, if we had a
house in London, we should avoid having to pay commissions, and
perhaps get better prices for our wood. Of course, my uncle may by
that time think of retiring himself and, in that case, I might have
to stay somewhat longer out here; but I know that he likes the
climate, and I have heard him say that, as he has very few
acquaintances in England, he thinks that he should prefer a life in
Calcutta to one in London."
"I should not wonder if I go home, very shortly," Harry said. "My
last letter told me that my uncle was in failing health, and that
he would like to have me at home with him. If the next letter
confirms that, I am afraid I shall have either to resign my
commission, or exchange into a regiment at home. Of course, at his
death I should have to leave the army, anyhow. It would be
ridiculous for a subaltern to be an earl; besides, there are things
one would have to do. I suppose there are estates to be looked
after, and all sorts of nuisances.
"Anyhow, I shall always be glad I have had my share in this
expedition. I have learned what campaigning is; and I must say
that, under such circumstances as we have gone through, it is not
quite so pleasurable as I had expected. Half one's friends are dead
or invalided home; and one never knows, when one wakes in the
morning, whether one may not be down with cholera before night. The
fighting is all well enough but, after all, that takes up but a
very small portion of one's time; and marching and, I may say,
living generally in this hot, sweltering climate, with its six
months of rain, is not enviable work. However, I have gone through
one regular campaign, and that as severe a one as British troops
have ever performed; and above all, old man, I have met you, and we
have come to be great friends, and I have learned what one fellow
will do for another."
"I am sure I am very glad to have gone through it, too. I have been
fortunate, indeed, in never having been laid up for a single day;
and there is no doubt that having served on the staff will be of
great advantage to me, even as a trader. I own that I should like
to have retired a captain. Of course, promotion has been
tremendously fast, owing to the death vacancies, but I have still
two lieutenants over me."
"You are sure to get the step, Stanley. You have been in general
orders twice, besides that notice you got for my rescue. Also, the
doctors say that a number of the men who have been sent down to the
coast are not likely to live many weeks and, as five of your
seniors have been invalided, you may get your step, in the natural
course of things, at any moment.
"If I were you, I should ask for three months' leave before
rejoining your regiment. There will be no difficulty about that,
after you have been upwards of two years in constant work; and the
general will certainly not refuse. Before the end of that time you
will have seen your uncle, and talked matters over. Then, if you
choose to resign your commission, you can of course do so but, as
you are pretty sure to get your step, by death, before the end of
the three months; and as the general's despatches strongly
recommend your services, you may get your brevet majority before
your resignation reaches England. A man who has been mentioned two
or three times in despatches, and is specially recommended for
honours, is sure to get his brevet majority directly he gets his
company."
On reaching Rangoon, Stanley learned that two of the invalids had
died, either on the way down or before they could be put on board a
ship; and that one of the majors, who had been sent to India for
change, four months before, had also succumbed; so that he had
already obtained his company--a promotion which would have been, at
any other time, extraordinary; but which, in a campaign where half
those engaged were carried off, was nothing remarkable. Being still
on the headquarter staff, he embarked with Sir Archibald Campbell.
"You still hold firm to your determination to leave the service,
Captain Brooke?" the general said, in the course of the passage to
Calcutta.
"Yes, sir. I am sure that it is best for me."
"I think it is, Brooke. Of course, you have been exceptionally
fortunate in getting such rapid promotion. Still, a good business
is a great deal better than soldiering. I wrote very strongly in
your favour, when I sent off my despatches the day we came down to
the coast; and you are certain of your brevet. Still, it is just as
well that the news of your resignation should not get home before
the Gazette comes out, with your name in it. I think the best thing
that I can do is to give you leave, for a time, as soon as we get
to Calcutta. I am sure that you deserve a rest, for your work has
been terribly heavy."
"Thank you, sir; that was just the favour that I was going to ask
you. I shall find out, as soon as I get there, where my uncle is;
and join him. My own mind is quite made up, but he has certainly a
right to be consulted, before I take any final step."
"Quite right. I feel no doubt that his opinion will agree with
yours; and I think that you are showing a good deal more wisdom
than most fellows would do, to give up the service when you have
distinguished yourself, and have a much better chance than falls to
the lot of one man in a hundred. Still, there can be no real doubt
that a man in a good business, out here, can retire early and go
home with a fortune; while in the army you are liable at any time,
after you get to the rank of colonel, to be laid on the shelf for
years.
"Besides, you will be your own master, which is more than anyone in
the army can say. You can go home when you like, either for a stay
or for a permanency; and you are not liable to have to run the risk
of another campaign such as this has been."
"If one was sure of campaigns, I don't think that I could possibly
bring myself to leave the service; but it is the probability of
being kept, for three or four years at a time, doing nothing at
Calcutta or Madras that decided me."
The general nodded.
"You are quite right, Brooke; on active service a soldier's life
is, indeed, a stirring one; but there is nothing more dull and
monotonous than garrison life, in peace time."
Accordingly, as soon as they landed in Calcutta, Stanley was put in
orders for absence on leave, for three months. He learned, from his
uncle's agent, that they had heard from him only a few days before,
at Chittagong; and that he was then on the point of leaving for
Aracan, whither he had ordered a large consignment of goods to be
forwarded to him, by the next ship.
Three days later, Stanley started to join him, leaving his address
at Aracan with Sir Archibald Campbell, in case there should be need
to recall him before the three months' leave expired. The vessel in
which he was sailing carried the consignment of goods to his uncle;
and he had, therefore, no fear of finding that the latter had left
Aracan before his arrival. Meinik was still with him. He had left
the army after the last battle had been fought, and had travelled
to the spot where he had buried his money before embarking with
Stanley in the canoe and, after an absence of three days, rejoined
the force. On the way down to Rangoon, Stanley had a long talk with
him as to his future plans.
"I have only one plan, master, and that is to stay with you, as
long as I live."
"But you will have plenty to live comfortably upon now, Meinik.
For, after all that you have done for me, of course I shall arrange
for you to have a sum that will keep you in comfort."
Meinik shook his head.
"Burma is a bad country, master. After living with the English, I
would not go back to live under the king's officers, in any case.
Any money that I had would be squeezed out of me, before long. No,
master, I will go with you, unless you drive me from you; if you
do, I will go to Chittagong, and live there, but I do not think
that you will do that."
"Certainly not, Meinik. As long as you are willing to remain with
me, I shall be very glad, indeed, to have you; but if, at any time,
you wish to marry and settle down on land of your own, I shall give
you five hundred pounds--which is only a small portion of the sum
those rubies, which you got your band to give me, brought me in."
"I daresay I shall marry," Meinik said, "but that will make no
difference. As long as I live, I shall stay with you."
Meinik had been astounded at Calcutta; which presented a strong
contrast, indeed, to the city which, as a Burman, he had regarded
as the most important place in the world.
"The Burmese are fools, master. They should have sent two or three
men here, before they made up their minds to go to war. If they had
been truly told what Calcutta was like, they would never have
ventured to make war with the English."