The siege could not go on if the traders all left the place;
and he sent a messenger to call the principal men that he might talk
to them. They refused to move, and the messenger, finding that they
were ready to set out, seized one of them by the waist-hand, and when
he resisted, struck him on the head with a stick, and said he would
make him go to his master. The man called out to some sipahees of the
Wuzeeree regiment, who were near, to rescue him. They did so: the
messenger struggled to hold his grasp, but was dragged off and
beaten. He returned the blows; the sipahees drew their swords: he
seized one of the swords and ran off towards his master's tent,
waiving it over his head, to defend himself, followed by some of the
sipahees. The others ran back to the grove in which their regiment
and the Futteh Aesh were bivouaced; both regiments seized their arms
and ran towards the Nazim's tents; and when they got within two
hundred yards, commenced firing upon them.
The Nazim had with him only a few of his own armed servants. They
seized their arms, and begged permission to return the fire, but were
restrained till the regiment came near, and two tomandars, or
officers, who stood by the Nazim, were shot down, one dead; and the
other disabled. His men could be restrained no longer, and they shot
down two of the foremost of the assailants. The Nazim then sent off
to Lieutenant Orr, who was exercising his corps with blank cartridge
on the parade; and, supposing that one of these regiments was doing
the same thing near the Nazim's tents, he paid no attention to them.
Pages:
620
621
622
623
624
625
626
627
628
629
630
631
632
633
634
635
636
637
638
639
640
641
642
643
644