ce an alarm, the most serious being from an _emeute_ in
the jail, which was soon suppressed and the leaders executed. Delhi was
not taken till September, and till that was done, all who desired our
overthrow were sure it was about to be accomplished. Our great peril was
from Lucknow. Our small force there was besieged, it was reckoned, by
50,000 men. They were not relieved till towards the end of September.
While the siege was being carried on, information reached the
authorities of Benares that a plan had been formed to detach from the
besieging army five or six thousand men to attack us. The plan was most
feasible. The distance by the direct route was under two hundred miles.
The river Goomtee, which flows by Lucknow, enters the Ganges a few miles
from Benares. It was at that time in full flood, and a flotilla might be
easily gathered by which, in a few days, a large body of armed men with
the munitions of war could have reached us. Some of the Barons of Oude
sent offers of aid, but these offers were by many considered lures to
draw us into their net, that they might the more easily destroy us. Jung
Buhadur, the famous ruler of Nepal, proposed to come with his brave
Ghoorkas to defend us, but their presence was more feared than desired.
Then in the great city near us we knew there were many plotting our
destruction, and ready to rise at the first signal of an approaching
foe.

So great was the danger considered, that thousands were set to the
erection of a great earth fort close to the Ganges, on the site of an
old Muhammadan fortress. Owing to the disturbed state of the country the
commerce of the place was paralyzed; the stock of grain in the market
was very low, and food was selling at famine prices. The erection of the
fort gave most welcome employment to the poorer portion of the
community. So great was the danger, that, acting under the advice of
those best acquainted with the state of affairs, I sent to this fort
books, documents, and other things which I deemed it most important to
preserve. We were instructed how we were to act in the event of a sudden
outbreak, the rendezvous to which we should instantly resort, and from
which we might make our way together to the fort, which was being
erected. It often occurred to me that our position at that time was like
that of persons sitting on a barrel of gunpowder in a house on fire. So
alarming were the accounts received in the daytime, that I often lay
down at nigh