imilar to that just mentioned were known to us at the
time, in which sums of money were appropriated only a little smaller in
amount, while of those which reached the value of L100 their name is
legion. Many men also there were who, at first swayed by moral scruples,
as well as feeling reluctant to disobey the order which had been issued,
refrained from looting on their own account; but when they saw that
officers, even of the higher ranks, took possession of plunder, these
scruples were cast to the winds--it was "every man for himself, and the
d--- l take the hindmost," and a general desire was evinced for each to
enrich himself with the prize lying at his feet.

Often, when wandering through the city in pursuit of plunder, I, in
company with others, came across officers engaged in the same quest as
ourselves. These rencontres were most amusing, giving rise to mutual
interrogations and many jokes, each party affirming that looting was not
the object of their perambulations, but that they were only inspecting
the houses out of a feeling of curiosity. Up to this time I had not
succeeded in finding any articles of value, nor had I the remotest idea
that my acquaintance with a certain officer in the employ of the prize
agents would put me in the way of acquiring a fair amount of the loot of
Delhi. A few silver ornaments and a small bag of sicca rupees were all
that I had so far obtained, and I naturally felt desirous of increasing
my store, more especially when it was well known that many officers,
more fortunate and less scrupulous, had already made themselves masters
of large quantities of valuable plunder.

The accumulation of prize by the agents began shortly after Delhi was
taken. At first the articles obtained were of little worth, comprising
chiefly wearing apparel of every description and household goods. Soon,
however, more costly effects were found by the searchers, and in a very
short time the rooms of the prize agents were filled with treasures of
every kind--jewellery and precious stones, diamonds, rubies, emeralds
and pearls without number, from those as large as hen's eggs to the
small species used for necklaces; gold ornaments, chains of the most
beautiful workmanship, bracelets and bangles all of solid metal. There
were heaps, also, of the small, thick, native coin known as gold mohurs,
thousands of which were accumulated by the prize agents and helped most
materially to swell the amount. I visited one roo