It is not among the customs of European nations to war with the dead, otherwise the remains of such a tyrant, whose peculiar aversion towards, and inveterate cruelty exercised on, the English, whenever they were so unfortunate as to become subject to his tyranny, might have been treated with indignity. The rooted and barbarous antipathy which he manifested against his prisoners in a former war, seems to have accompanied him to the last.
About twenty unhappy stragglers from our army had fallen into his hands in the course of our march, among whom was a little drummer-boy of the Scotch brigade; all these he ordered to be put to death. Even his small motley band of French auxiliaries, execrate his memory as a most cruel tyrant, and represent, with bitter imprecations, the ignominy and hardships to which he subjected them.
The carnage, on this occasion, is very much to be lamented, though it was much less than might have been expected in a large city entered by storm, and filled with people, whose opposition was continued from the streets and from their houses. Here was a spot where no incentive was wanting to gratify lust, rapine, and revenge! but it should be for ever remembered, to the honour of the general officer who conducted the assault, and to others who seconded his humane efforts, that the effusion of blood was very soon restrained, and under circumstances of provocation, which sufficiently proved, if proof were wanting, the humanity of the British character; nor in the course of that plunder, which the laws of war allow in certain cases, to the conquerors, was any defenceless inhabitant killed, or any woman treated with wanton brutality.
That the French republicans obtained the quarter which they so ill deserved, must be imputed to accident, rather than any disposition in their favour. This party had shut themselves up with the defenders of the palace, till the first burst of violence had passed, and mixing with them, partook of the mercy by which they were preserved. Their appearance, in every respect, was extremely mean, though their commander, for there was an elderly man among them who bore some sort of commission, displayed somewhat of the military veteran in his aspect.
The two sons of Tippoo, who had been hostages at Madras, comported themselves well, submitting with resignation to their fate. They were ignorant of their father’s death until the body was found, it being believed by them, as it was suspected by us, that he had made his escape. Tippoo was so infatuated, as not to entertain an idea of the catastrophe which befell him. He considered himself in a state of perfect security in his capital, where he retained all his family and treasures, instead of sending them off to remote strong-holds, where they might at least have been safe from a victorious enemy. His principal people, and all the inhabitants, possessed the same confidence, so that no preparations had been made either for concealment or flight. The plunder of the city was consequently very great; and many of the soldiers, both native and European, possessed themselves of very precious effects in gold and jewels. Considerable fortunes are also supposed to have been made by persons of higher rank, by way of purchase. The houses of the chief sidars, as well as of the merchants and skioffs, were completely gutted; while the women, alarmed for their personal safety, emptied their coffers, and brought forth whatever jewels they possessed.
Fortunately, however, for the army in general, the palace was secured, and all the riches it contained reserved for the army at large, as captured property. They were immense, and consisted of jewels, gold and silver, plate, rich stuffs, and various other articles of great price and rarity. The quantity of money yet discovered, though great in itself, is by no means what ought to have been expected from the known extent of Tippoo’s revenue and expenditure. Many lacks of specie, it is supposed, are not yet found, and it is equally probable that they will never be discovered. This enormous mass of wealth appeared to be arranged without taste or judgment. All the parts of this extensive building, except the Zenana and the state durbar, were appropriated to its reception. A succession of quadrangles, with their ranges of storehouses and galleries, were filled with the articles which were the least susceptible of injury. The jewels were kept in large dark rooms, strongly secured behind one of the durbars, and were deposited in coffers. In the same manner were preserved the gold and plate, both solid and in filigree, of which last manufacture there was an almost endless variety of most beautiful articles. The jewelry was set in gold, in the form of bracelets, rings, necklaces, aigrettes, plumes, &c. &c. An upper, and very long apartment, contained the silver plate, solid and filigree, of all dimensions and fashions. In one of the galleries were two elephants, of this metal; there were also many pieces of massive silver plate, richly inlaid with gold and jewels. The greater part of this treasure must have been the plunder of the unhappy Mysore families, and of many other inferior rajahs, which Tippoo and his father had amassed, after the extermination of their respective possessors. Two of the most capital articles were, however, of his own purchase, and were deposited in two small rooms on each side of the hall of audience. The one was a throne, estimated at a lack of pagodas; and the other an howdar, of equal value.[[34]] His repositories of curious and costly fire-arms and swords were equally astonishing, and some of the latter were most magnificently adorned with gold and jewels. The greater part of these have been presents, and several of them were of English manufacture. The palanquins of state were four; but those which were presented to him by Lord Cornwallis for his two sons, appeared never to have been unpacked. There were also several door-posts of ivory, of exquisite workmanship.
To this succession of treasure, may be added, various extensive workhouses, filled with the richest furniture and most costly carpets. In short, there was every thing that power could command, or money could purchase, in this stupendous collection. Telescopes of every size, spectacles for every sight, with looking-glasses and pictures in unbounded profusion; while, of china and glass ware, there was sufficient to form a large mercantile magazine. But amidst the confusion that appeared in the arrangement, there was an unexpected degree of regularity; the whole being accurately registered, and every article bearing its corresponding label. Tippoo, whose desire of hoarding was insatiable, passed the greatest part of his leisure hours in reviewing this various and splendid assemblage of his riches. Nor is this all: Tippoo, with his tyrannic nature, blended the love of literature, and was possessed of a very large and curious library. The volumes were kept in chests, each having a separate wrapper, so that they were in excellent preservation. Some of those that have been examined, were very richly adorned, and beautifully illuminated, in the manner of the Roman missals. This library, which contains many thousand volumes, will, it is presumed, be presented by the army to the English nation; if so, it will form the finest, most curious, and valuable collection of Oriental learning and history, that has ever been introduced into Europe.
The collection of military stores rivalled the arsenal of Madras; the cannon, mounted on the works, were very numerous; and the quantity of ordnance and musket ammunition expended, must have been very great, from the constant heavy fire which was maintained, and which, from the variety of its bearings, could never be silenced. The gunpowder, to the manufacture of which great attention appears to have been paid, was better than ours; and some of their shot was thrown from their walls considerably within our lines, which were at the distance of two miles. All his brass six-pounders, which were fifty-one in number, were said to be English; the others were in general cast in his own foundry, and curiously ornamented. One brass forty-two-pounder, and one brass six-inch howitzer, with a great number of his iron ordnance, were of English manufacture: and it was said he did not succeed so well in casting iron as brass ordnance. Tippoo had established powder mills on the European construction; but as they were without the walls, and on the side of our approaches, he had destroyed them. There was a paper mill also within the fort, on a large scale. His stores of grain surpassed all credibility. In the stables were found only a few fine horses and brood mares, his cavalry being at that time in the field. The body of the fort appeared as large as Tritchinopoly, but its defences and outworks were vastly more extensive; and as the most laborious additions were continually making to it, there is little doubt, when its insular situation is considered, that it would, in a short time, have been rendered impregnable. Its population was very great; and the mosque, which was built while we were in Seringapatam in the years 1787 and 1788, was a magnificent structure. This edifice was ornamented by a deserter from Bombay, whose name was Elliot. He was a man of considerable talents, but I suppose he met his fate in the general catastrophe. But, amidst all their splendour, neither the ancient Mysore palace, nor the pagodas, are on a grand scale. The ruins of the Pettah, or citadel, form a very striking spectacle; they occupy more ground than the fort and black town of Madras, including the vacant space, and cover the greatest part of the island. It was closely built, and in regular streets, but nothing remains except the walls of the houses. It is, however, a pleasing reflection, that its former inhabitants are returning by degrees to rebuild their ruined dwellings; the deserted villages will also be shortly reinhabited; and there is every reason to believe, that notwithstanding its hostile invasions, Seringapatam will soon be seen to flourish in a renewed state of cultivation.
One material mischief will not, however, be easily remedied; this is, the draining off the water in the Moottertellua lake, which was kept up by natural streams, and by means of sluices a large tract of country was watered. It is about twelve miles from Seringapatam; and the army was encamped near its bed. Its ordinary depth was about 40 feet, and Tippoo had employed a number of men for several weeks, under his own inspection, to make a breach in the mound, which is really tremendous, being about 100 feet deep, and much more in width and thickness.
Of the two gardens, the Laul-bog and Dowlah-baugh, the former has been already described; the latter, being close under the walls of the fort, was not in our possession in the last war. It contains a large, handsome, and ancient mansion, but has neither temple nor mausoleum; it formed the headquarters of the commander-in-chief. On one of the buildings was represented, but, as may be supposed, in a miserable style of painting, the defeat of Colonel Bailey, which the painter exhibited with every exaggeration that might flatter the vanity of the conqueror. The Laul-baugh was employed as an hospital.