In spite of the presence of Europeans there were more indications of
excitement at Meerut than at any other station in the northwest. At
Meerut the story of the greased cartridges had been capped by the story
of the bonedust; and there were the same kind of incendiary fires, the
same lack of respect toward European officers, and the same whispered
resolve not to touch the cartridges, as at Barrackpur. The station was
commanded by General Hewitt, whose advancing years unfitted him to cope
with the storm which was bursting upon Hindustan.

The regiment of sepoy cavalry at Meerut was strongly suspected of
disaffection; accordingly it was resolved to put the men to the test. On
May 6th it was paraded in the presence of the European force, and
cartridges were served out; not the greased abominations from Calcutta,
but the old ones which had been used times innumerable by the sepoys and
their fathers.

But the men were terrified and obstinate, and eighty-five stood out and
refused to take the cartridges. The offenders were at once arrested, and
tried by a court-martial of native officers; they were found guilty, and
sentenced to various periods of imprisonment, but recommended for mercy.
General Hewitt saw no grounds for mercy, excepting in the case of eleven
young troopers; and on Saturday, May 9th, the sentences were carried
out. The men were brought on parade, stripped of their uniforms, and
loaded with irons. They implored the General for mercy, and, finding it
hopeless, began to reproach their comrades; but no one dared to strike a
blow in the presence of loaded cannon and rifles. At last the prisoners
were carried off and placed in a jail, not under European soldiers, but
a native guard.

The military authorities at Meerut seem to have been under a spell. The
next day was Sunday, May 10th, and the hot sun rose with its usual glare
in the Indian sky. The European barracks were at a considerable distance
from the native lines, and the intervening space was covered with shops
and houses surrounded by trees and gardens. Consequently the Europeans
in the barracks knew nothing of what was going on in the native quarter.
Meanwhile there were commotions in the sepoy lines and neighboring
bazaars. The sepoys were taunted by the loose women of the place with
permitting their comrades to be imprisoned and fettered. At the same
time they were smitten with a mad fear that the European soldiers were
to be let loose upon them. The