Friday, July 10th. We were ordered to sit upstairs as much as possible, as the Tye Khana and Go-downs were considered unhealthy; fortunately, the firing was so slack, that we could sit at the front door. It was quite delightful to have a little cessation from the constant noise. Mrs. D—— joined us, and seemed quite calm and cheerful. Charlie brought over six bottles of mustard, as we had very little and it was in great demand in cases of cholera; in the afternoon he came and chatted with me. Mr. H—— had only one funeral this evening.
Saturday, July 11th. There had been an alarm in the night, but I had heard nothing of it. I rose and made the early tea; and while carrying a cup to Mrs. F——, slipped down some steps and sprained my ancle: it became so painful that Dr. P—— recommended my fomenting it with hot water, and laying it up—so I was unfortunately hors de combat. Charlie sold poor Capt. F——s' property, and made 500 rupees of a box of second-hand clothes, such a great demand was there for them; he afterwards brought me a box of his papers and rings, which I locked up for his poor sister, in case I should ever be able to give it to her. Very slack firing all day; the enemy occasionally fired pieces of wood shaped liked nine-pins, and bound with iron. There was a report that the Nana was this day coming to join the rebels. There were five funerals this evening.
Sunday, July 12th. We had slept in the dining-room for the first time—but the mosquitoes were fearful—as the punkah was too heavy to be of any good. About half-past 10, Charlie came and stayed to prayers; at 12 Dr. F—— made us all again dine in the Tye Khana, as the dinner upstairs brought such swarms of flies. In the evening the ladies sat under the portico and sang very prettily; Capt. W—— joining them just as they had sung one verse of the evening hymn: the enemy commenced firing so sharply that there was a call to arms, and the gentlemen all rushed off to their posts. The attack was first on Mr. G——s' house, and then came round to ours; we went to bed, but the firing was so loud and the mosquitoes so lively that we slept but little; in fact, we all wished ourselves down in the Tye Khana again.
Monday, July 13th. Rose, feeling wretched. My face is becoming covered with boils, but hardly any one is without them now. The firing still very sharp; a European soldier was wounded in the corner of our verandah. The enemy were said to be again in J——s' house; a Native was shot dead, coming from the Begum Kotee to our kitchen: altogether, eight were hit in our Compound during the day. Charlie could not come till the evening, and then stayed only a few minutes. Mrs. T—— very ill, with the small-pox, at the Begum Kotee.
Tuesday, July 14th. Dear J——'s birthday. I had slept soundly, though the firing had been very sharp all night. The 17th N.I. were seen with their colours amongst the rebels; there were all kinds of reports of relief—none true! Charlie came over about dinner time, and sat some time, but I could not offer him any: I drank J——'s health in sherry. An attack was expected at night, and all preparations were made; we ladies were sent down to the Tye Khana to sleep. The rebels had placed an 18-pounder in position for our house; however, the ammunition for the gun was blown up, and we passed a quiet night, with the exception of a skirmish with the punkah coolies.
Wednesday, July 15th. Charlie came soon after breakfast, and told me the narrow escape he had had, from the careless firing of a 9-pounder by a sergeant who had been instructed by an artillery officer to fire shrapnell into J——s' house; he fired one into Capt. C——'s quarters, which Charlie had only a minute before vacated; he had been dressing on the very spot where the shrapnell burst. There was very little firing during the day, but Lieut. L—— was shot on the roof of Mr. G——s' house; Capt. F—— came for Dr. F——; they could not find the ball, but fancied it had touched the spine, as all the lower part of the body was paralysed. Our party sat in the verandah, singing songs and glees. It made me feel quite melancholy, for the round shots were whizzing overhead, and no one could tell but that the next might bring death with it!
Thursday, July 16th. We heard that our troops had had a fight with the insurgents at Futtehpore, who had come from Cawnpore to meet them, and that we had taken four guns. No one knows if this be true, but it is possible, and that our troops are waiting there for reinforcements. Mrs. T—— died of small-pox. The heat and flies were dreadful; in the evening Mr. H—— had five funerals, one, poor Mrs. T——. He said he had had a most narrow escape; going to the churchyard, a shot struck the ground directly between the two dhoolies carried in front of him, and covered them with earth! That night I rebelled against watching; we had had quite a fight about it during the day.
Friday, July 17th. The enemy had an 18-pounder in position to fire on an angle of our house. Mrs. S——'s eldest child died of cholera. Dear Charlie paid me his daily visit. The firing was rather slack; the heat during the day was so intense, that the soldiers were allowed to lie down in the drawing-room. Mr. H—— had three funerals this night;—Lieut. A——, of the Artillery and Captain B——, were both wounded by a mortar that the former was superintending the loading of. Lieut. B——, Artillery, was wounded yesterday. About 11 P.M. we were aroused by a very sharp firing,—an attempt made again at the Bailey Guard Gate, but was unsuccessful; still I got up and prepared for a rush to the top of the house, as they say that is our safest place if the enemy get in; the gentlemen can defend us up there.
Saturday, July 18th. I will write exactly my employment this day to show how each day is passed. I arose a little before 6, and made tea for all the party; then, with Mrs. A——'s assistance, gave out the rations for the day—ottah, rice, sugar, sago, arrowroot, &c., &c. While doing this a 6-pound shot came through the verandah above, broke down some plaster and bricks, and fell at our feet; Mrs. B—— and some children had a very narrow escape; they were sitting in the verandah at the time, but no one was hurt. I then rushed at the Bheestie (the water-carrier), who was passing, and made him fill a tin can with water for me, which I forthwith "lugged" upstairs and bathed and dressed; it was about half-past 8 when I was ready, so I went to the front door to get a breath of air; at 9 down again to make tea for the breakfast, which consisted of a small piece of roast mutton, chupattees, rice, and jam. I then worked on some of Charlie's garments till nearly dinner time—4 P.M.—when I felt very poorly, but it passed off.
Sunday, July 19th. The firing was very sharp; there had been an attack during the night. Early in the morning two round shots came into the long room through the drawing-room, and yesterday while the ladies were sitting in the long room a 9-pound shot came in through the drawing-room and slanted through a side door—breaking down the door-post and covering several of them with dust. Charlie came in, in time for prayers, which Mr. H—— read at 12 in the entrance hall; we had been kept down in the Tye Khana till then: by dinner time I became very ill. Charlie had given me a piece of ration biscuit, so I had that with a glass of port wine, instead of dinner. This afternoon an 18-pounder came into the drawing-room; we were all sent down to the Tye Khana in a great hurry. It was after dinner this day that Captain W—— gave us the particulars of the Cawnpore massacre. He said it was Thursday, June 25th, when they began to treat; the Nana required that they should leave everything—arms, ammunition, &c.—and he would provide them boats; some lady in a dhoolie was carried over to the Nana—it is thought to have been Lady W——. On Friday lots of hackeries were sent down to the entrenchments to convey the party to the boats, but were returned, and on Saturday a lot of elephants were sent instead and the party mounted them; the sick, and ladies who could not travel this way, were sent in dhoolies, and the whole party was escorted by the Nana's force to a Ghaut about a mile from the entrenchments, where the boats were waiting. However, it was discovered that there were neither cars nor ropes to the boats, or boatmen; nevertheless, they were told to get in and drop down the stream; and two boats filled and got ahead of the others: the remaining eight were loading when a battery, masked behind some trees, opened fire on them, and the Sepoys rushed down and bayonetted the women and children—selecting fifteen or eighteen of the young ladies and taking them off to their camp! The two boats that had gone ahead were first fired into from the opposite bank of the river and sunk. At this juncture, they say, some of the 56th N.I. rushed to their rescue and a few escaped. I had been so ill in the morning that I had been obliged to have Dr. F—— to attend me,—and I was better towards evening, when the pain came on so violently I fancied I had cholera coming on. Dr. F—— gave me another dose of opium, but I was very ill all night and fainted away; they called Dr. F—— to me, and he dosed me again and ordered a mustard poultice, I went up and lay down in Mrs. H——'s room—the only safe one upstairs.