Finding now, from the information proffered by this lady, that the more explanatory she attempted to be, the more unintelligible she became, I cut the matter short by giving her a rupee, and I took my leave of this ardent admirer of the old Fogs, with her parting benediction, "God bless your honour; may your honour never die till the side of an old house fall on you and kill you!"
Having parted from this pretty specimen of my new regiment, I inquired for the adjutant's quarters, which were pointed out to me. At the door I met a soldier, of whom I inquired if the adjutant was at home, and was informed he had just gone out. I said I would wait till he returned; so I seated myself, and in about five minutes after he came in; and, when I informed him who I was, he gave me a hearty welcome, invited me to breakfast, and I remained with him the two days I stopped at the station. From this officer I learned that the regiment had left two days before, against the Nepaulese. This was a piece of news that delighted me much, although I had not a single thing prepared for such a campaign, nor was it probable I could procure what was necessary, after the whole country had been drained of cattle, &c., to supply the army. But, notwithstanding this, in two days I was ready, so far as carriage; but, as I could not, by any possibility, get a tent, I was obliged to manufacture one, something like what our gipsies use, out of a setterenge, or Indian cotton carpet.
Thus provided, I commenced my march to join the old Fogs, who had preceded me five marches. The first day I accomplished a distance equal to the regiment's first two days' marches. The next day I completed two more, and was handsomely treated by an indigo-planter, in the district of Tirhoot, where their liberality is noted. I sent on my things, the next morning, twenty miles, and desired that they might be conveyed twenty more, should I not reach them that night. I spent the day with my liberal host, the planter; slept there, and, after eating a hearty breakfast, started the next morning on horseback, my kind entertainer having laid horses for me on the road. I overtook my things about two miles from their destination, and put up at another indigo-planter's. Here I met a young officer, who was also on his way to rejoin the same division, and, as it proved after a little conversation, the same regiment. He was very young, and seemed delicate; and, I thought, but little calculated for such an arduous campaign as the one in prospect. Here we regaled ourselves till next morning, when we thanked our host for his liberality, and bade him farewell. This was the last indigo factory on our road, and travelling without protection was attended with some little danger, the lowlands being proverbial for murders and robberies. We were, therefore, now obliged to proceed with caution. In the day-time we remained in our tents, and at night slept in some hut or temple. Neither tents nor mud walls were any safeguard against the desperate thieves in these districts; besides, these lowlands abounded with tigers, bears, hyænas, wolves, jackals, &c.; and, as these had not been much accustomed to the sight of Europeans, we could not tell how far they might be induced to go for such unusual delicacies; so safety was the parole.
The first march I taught my young companion the art of becoming his own butcher, cook, &c.; for I killed, skinned, washed, cooked, and eat a fine young kid, of part of which I made a curry, and grilled the remainder; of this my young friend partook, with most excellent appetite. After tea we moved into a village for the night; for some suspicious fellows had already been seen loitering about. When thus travelling, I would recommend people to show their fire-arms, and in the dusk of the evening to fire them off. The dacoits, or low thieves, in India, although a most desperate set, have the greatest dread of fire-arms, and will seldom approach those whom they know to possess them, however ill-disposed they might be under other circumstances. Thus, I have often, on the rivers Hoogley and Ganges, when coming home at night in a lone boat, escaped being robbed, and perhaps murdered, by frequently discharging my fire-arms, while others, who have neglected this precaution, or perhaps not had fire-arms with them, have been plundered, and in many instances murdered, in spite of the police kept on those rivers.
The regiment was now only twenty miles ahead of us. We therefore retired early to rest, intending to reach the corps the following day. We had not reposed more than an hour, lying upon our things, when I was awoke by a noise something like the crowing of the domestic cock, and then like the barking of a dog. I had been too long in the country not to know that these crowings and barkings were sure indications of robbers being on the look-out. I therefore seized my pistol, resolving to have a shot at whatever first made its appearance. For a time all was still. There were two doorways to the hut in which we had sheltered ourselves; and, across each of these doorways lay myself and my young friend. I was wide awake, and he was just dozing, when, all of a sudden, he jumped up, and bellowed out, so that his voice re-echoed again, "Who is that?" I jumped up and said, "What's the matter?" He answered, "Some person's hand touched my face." I replied, "You must have been dreaming." He said he was confident that what he said was true. "Well, then, if it is, don't be afraid," said I. This nettled the young soldier, and he replied, "No, Sir, I am not so easily frightened as you may imagine." I thought at one time he was going to give me proof of his valour, by coming to an open rupture with me; but, at last, we both lay down to repose again, I thinking to myself, "I shall try your courage by-and-by, my lad." I pretended to be asleep, and soon heard the thieves on the move again. I therefore stole silently from my bed, and discharged both my pistols in the air, bellowing out, with the lungs of an ensign, "Choor! choor! choor!" which my companion perfectly understood to be, thieves! thieves! thieves! Hearing this, he made a desperate jump over my bed, and was out with me in a moment; but he afterwards confessed that he was most dreadfully alarmed. We retired to rest once more, but had not lain long before I felt a hand cross my face. I immediately seized the fellow, but he was so oiled that he slipped through my hands like an eel, and was out of sight in a moment. I ran out after him, but he was gone like a whisper on the breeze. At this juncture I heard my companion crying out, "Where are you, Sir? Where are you, Mr. Shipp? Don't leave me." When I returned, I found him in a dreadful state of alarm, and, I must confess, I did not myself half like it. These nocturnal robbers go perfectly naked, with their heads shaved, and oiled from head to foot. They seemed bent upon robbing us, for it was strange that they should have returned after I had fired. However, I reloaded my pistols, and I said, "Now, Sir, I think we may repose till the morning."—"Repose, Sir!" he replied; "I don't think I shall sleep again for a week."—"Nonsense!" said I; "we soldiers must not mind these little skirmishes. Such things as these happen every day, and we laugh at them. If we had nothing more to disturb our peace than these little annoyances, soldiering would be a delightful life indeed. The grand thing is to keep a good watch, so as not to be taken by surprise."
FOOTNOTES:
[13] The 87th "Prince of Wales's Own Irish" Regiment of Foot, re-entitled in 1827 the 87th "Royal Irish Fusiliers" (the facings being changed from deep-green to blue at the same time), now the 1st Royal Irish Fusiliers. In 1815, when Shipp was appointed to it, the 87th had two battalions, the first of which, after some years at the Cape and Mauritius, landed in Bengal in August that year. The second battalion, which had greatly distinguished itself in the Peninsula, under command of Sir Hugh, afterwards Viscount Gough, was at Colchester, where it was disbanded in February, 1817, the effective officers and men mostly joining the battalion in India.
[14] The 87th was popularly known as the "Ould Fogs" from its Erse shout in charging 'Faugh a Ballagh (Clear the Way). The sobriquet is often wrongly assigned to the Connaught Rangers.—Ed.
