ill-corporal was rather abusive with him when learning his drill. At
last he became so offensive that another recruit proposed to MacBean,
who was a very powerful man, that they should call the corporal behind
the canteen in the barrack-yard and give him a good thrashing, to which
proposal MacBean replied: "Toots, toots, man, that would never do. I am
going to command this regiment before I leave it, and it would be an ill
beginning to be brought before the colonel for thrashing the
drill-corporal!" MacBean kept to his purpose, and _did_ live to command
the regiment, going through every rank from private to major-general. I
have seen it stated that he was a drummer-boy in the regiment, but that
is not correct. He was kept seven years lance-corporal, partly because
promotion went slow in the Ninety-Third, but several were promoted over
him because, at the time of the disruption in the Church of Scotland,
MacBean joined the Free Kirk party. This fact may appear strange to
military readers of the present day with our short service and
territorial regiments; but in the times of which I am writing, as I have
before mentioned, the Ninety-Third was constituted as much after the
arrangements of a Highland parish as those of a regiment in the army;
and, to use the words of old Colonel Sparks who commanded, MacBean was
passed over four promotions because "He was a d--d Free Kirker."

But I must hark back to my story and to the Begum's palace on the
evening of the 11th of March, 1858. By the time darkness set in all
opposition had ceased, but there were still numbers of the mutineers
hiding in the rooms. Our loss was small compared with that inflicted on
the enemy. Our regiment had one captain, one lieutenant, and thirteen
rank and file killed; Lieutenant Grimston, Ensign Hastie, and
forty-five men wounded. Many of the wounded died afterwards; but eight
hundred and sixty of the enemy lay dead in the centre court alone, and
many hundreds more were killed in the different enclosures and
buildings. That night we bivouacked in the courts of the palace, placing
strong guards all round. When daylight broke on the morning of the 12th
of March, the sights around were horrible. I have already mentioned that
many sepoys had to be dislodged from the close rooms around the palace
by exploding bags of gunpowder among them, and this set fire to their
clothing and to whatever furniture there was in the rooms; and when day
broke on the 12th, there