set the troops of Bombay in
motion. I expect that, as before, things will go badly at first; but
hope that, this time, we shall end by giving Mysore so heavy a lesson
that she will be powerless for mischief, in future."

"And release all the captives," Mrs. Holland exclaimed, clasping her
hands.

"I sincerely trust so, Margaret," her brother said gravely; "but,
after what happened last time, we must not be sanguine. Scattered
about as they may be, in the scores of little hill forts that dot the
whole country, we can, unhappily, never be sure that all are
delivered, when we have only the word of a treacherous tyrant like
Tippoo. We know that, last time, he kept back hundreds of prisoners,
among whom, as we may hope, was your husband; and it may be that,
however completely he may be defeated, he may yet retain some of them,
knowing full well it is impossible that all these hill forts and their
dungeons can be searched. However, doubtless if an English army
marches to Seringapatam, many will be recovered, though we have reason
to fear that many will, as before, be murdered before our arrival."

When the Rajah returned from Arcot, on the following day, he brought
back the news that General Meadows had moved to the frontier at
Caroor, fifty miles beyond Trichinopoly, and that the war was really
about to begin.

"You know," he said, "how matters stand, up to now. Tippoo, after
making peace with the Nizam and the Mahrattis, with whom he had been
engaged in hostilities for some time, turned his attention to the
western coast, where Coorg and Malabar had risen in rebellion. After,
as usual, perpetrating horrible atrocities, and after sending a large
proportion of the population as slaves to Mysore, he marched against
Travancore. Now, Travancore was specially mentioned, in the treaty of
Mangalore, as one of the allies of the English, with whom Tippoo bound
himself not to make war; and had he not been prepared to fight the
English, he would not have attacked their ally. The excuse for
attacking Travancore was that some of the fugitives, from Coorg and
Malabar, had taken refuge there.

"Seeing that Tippoo was bent upon hostilities, Lord Cornwallis and his
council at Calcutta directed, as I learnt from an official at Madras,
the authorities there to begin at once to make preparations for war.
Instead of doing so, Mr. Holland, the governor, gave the Rajah the
shameful and cowardly advice to withdraw his protection from the
fu