n beside me, and asked to see the newspapers, and seemed anxious
to know what the English press said about the mutiny, and to talk of all
subjects connected with the strength, etc., of the army, the
preparations going forward for the siege of Lucknow, and how the
newly-arrived regiments were likely to stand the hot weather. In course
of conversation I made some remarks about the fluency of his English,
and he accounted for it by stating that his father had been the
mess-_khansama_ of a European regiment, and that he had been brought up
to speak English from his childhood, that he had learned to read and
write in the regimental school, and for many years had filled the post
of mess-writer, keeping all the accounts of the mess in English. During
this time the men in the tent had been freely trying the plum-cakes, and
a squabble arose between one of them and Jamie Green's servant about
payment. When I made some remark about the villainous look of the
latter Green replied: "Oh, never mind him; he is an Irishman, and his
name is Micky. His mother belongs to the regimental bazaar of the
Eighty-Seventh Royal Irish, and he lays claim to the whole regiment,
including the sergeant-major's cook, for his father. He has just come
down from the Punjab with the Agra convoy, but the commanding officer
dismissed him at Cawnpore, because he had a young wife of his own, and
was jealous of the good looks of Micky. But," continued Jamie Green, "a
joke is a joke, but to eat a man's plum-cakes and then refuse to pay for
them must be a Highland joke!" On this every man in the tent,
appreciating the good humour of Jamie Green, turned on the man who had
refused payment, and he was obliged to fork out the amount demanded.
Jamie Green and Micky passed on to another tent, after the former had
borrowed a few of the latest of my newspapers. Thus ended my first
interview with the plum-cake vendor.

The second one was more interesting, and with a sadder termination. On
the evening of the day after the events just described, I was on duty as
sergeant in charge of our camp rear-guard, and at sunset when the
orderly-corporal came round with the evening grog, he told us the
strange news that Jamie Green, the plum-cake _wallah_, had been
discovered to be a spy from Lucknow, had been arrested, and was then
undergoing examination at the brigade-major's tent; and that it being
too late to hang him that night, he was to be made over to my guard for
safe custody