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walk, did he reach the town of Andernach; often, too, did his troubled steps conduct him to the pass through which he had in the evening descended as he approached the inn. So profound, however, was the stillness of the night, and such confidence did he repose in the vigilance of the trusty watch-dogs, that he frequently lost sight altogether of the window that he had left open.

The intention of the young man was to weary himself by exercise, and call to his aid the friendly restorative of slumber. However, as he thus wandered under the cloudless autumnal sky, and gazed with admiration on the eternal stars that glittered in its glo rious expanse, his soul was touched with the solemnity of nature, while the fresh and balmy air of night, and the soft and melancholy murmuring of the waves tranquillized his perturbed spirit. Insensibly he fell into a calm, contemplative reverie, which by degrees restored his mind to its healthful and virtuous tone, and ended in totally dissipating the gloom of that momentary frenzy under which he had been labouring. The course of his earlier education, the religious precepts which he had then imbibed, and above all, as he himself informed me, the picture of that moderate and blameless life which, up to the last few days, he had passed beneath his parent's roof, enabled him to triumph over the suggestions of his evil thoughts.

When, therefore, he at length returned, after a long communing with his own heart, to the fascinating influence of which he had abandoned himself upon the banks of the Rhine; and as he remained leaning against a large jutting stone of the building, he felt that he could not only sleep, but keep watch beside a million pieces of gold. At that moment, when he felt elevated to a loftiness of spirit and firniness to combat temptation, he sunk upon his knees with a feeling of extacy and joy; he returned thanks to God; he felt himself once again happy, lighthearted, and contented even as he was at his first communion with that Divine Being, when he had passed through the day without transgression, in word, in action, or in thought. He re-entered the inn, closed the window without making any noise, and threw himself once again upon his couch.

Wearied alike in mind and body, he surrendered himself to the influence of sleep, and in a short time after, having laid his head upon the pillow, he sunk into that first light and fantastic dreaminess which is invariably the precursor of profound repose- when the senses grow benumbed, and the consciousness of existence gradually fades away, the thoughts are faint and unfinished, and the last struggle of the mind, as it flickers in the socket, shoots up fitfully in a drowsy reverie.

"How oppressive and heavy the air is," thought Prosper; "I feel as if breathing a humid vapour or the exhalations from hot water."

He made a vague attempt to explain to himself this effect of the atmosphere by the difference which should naturally exist between the temperature of the chamber and the open air. Shortly, however, he heard a noise repeated at regular intervals, very like that which drops of water would cause in falling from the cock of a fountain. In obedience to the sudden suggestion of affright, his first impulse was to start up and summon the inn-keeper and to arouse the merchant or Wilhelm; but unfortunately for him, he that moment recollected the wooden clock in the next room; and believing that he recognized the movement of the pendulum, sleep surprised him with this indistinct and confused perception upon his mind.”

"Do you wish for more water, Monsieur Maurecey ?" said the master of the house, observing the contractor mechanically seize the decanter.

It was quite empty: he had drained it to the last drop.

M. Hermann continued his story, after the slight interruption caused by the question of the banker.

"The next morning," said he, "Prosper Magnan was roused from his sleep by a loud noise. He imagined that he heard piercing shrieks, and he experienced that violent starting of the nerves which we feel so painfully when we continue to be affected, upon waking with some disagreeable sensation commenced during sleep. The shock and confusion caused, it would seem, by a too sudden re-union of our two natures, if I may be allowed the expression, which are in a great degree separated during sleep, is generally rapid and of

short duration; but in poor Prosper's case it was long and encreased; and you may judge his horror when he perceived a sea of gore between his own bed and that of Walhenfer, while the head of the ill-fated German lay upon the ground, and his blood-clotted trunk upon the couch.

No sooner did he behold the glazing eyes of that horrid head still open and fixed; no sooner did he see the blood which had gushed out and stained his clothes and hands, and recognised his own surgical knife upon the bed, than the wretched young man fainted away and fell senseless in the gore of the murdered Walhenfer."

"Alas!" said he to me afterwards, "it was a just punishment for my wicked thoughts."

When consciousness again returned, he found himself in the common parlour of the inn. He was sitting upon a chair, surrounded by French soldiers, and in the presence of an immense crowd of people, who were anxiously and inquisitively looking upon him. He gazed with a stupid, vacant look upon a republican officer who was employed in collecting the depositions of some witnesses present, and making out, apparently, the proces-verbal : then he recognised the host and his wife, the two seamen, and the servant maid of the inn. The surgeon's knife, of which the assassin had made use

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M. Maurecey coughed, drew his handkerchief from his pocket and wiped his brow.

All this was natural enough, and attracted the attention of no one except myself, more particularly as the

eyes of all the other guests were fixed attentively on M. Hermann, to whom they listened with great avidity. The contractor leaned his elbow upon the table, and fixed his eyes upon the narrator immoveably. From that period he suffered no symptom of interest or emotion to escape from him; but his countenance continued to wear the same pensive and terror-stricken expression which had marked it when he played with the stopper of the decanter.

"The surgeon's knife," continued our friend, "of which the assassin had made use, lay upon the table, with the case of instruments, the portfolio, and the papers of Prosper. The looks of those assembled within were directed alternately to these several articles of conviction, and to the youth himself, who was to all appearance dying, and whose blood-shot eyes seemed to have lost all power of vision. A confused rumour which was heard from without, proclaimed the presence of the multitude drawn together before the inn by the novel crime, and perhaps also by the desire of seeing the murderer. The measured paces of the sentinels placed under the windows of the parfour and the clash of their fusils were heard above the murmurings of the people as they conversed together; but the inn itself was closed, and the court-yard was empty and silent."

Our worthy companion's lungs were first rate organs, and in excellent wind, still they could not go on for ever; and he paused a moment, as well to recruit them as to comfort the inner man with the good cheer that lay before him.

EPITAPH.

Thy ashes, friend, would claim the sculptured dome, To show a world where rare endowments sleep:

I knew thy heart-nor need the pompous tombThis lowly turf directs me where to weep.

MARTIN'S BRITISH COLONIES.-No. I. ASIA.*

A few generations have scarce passed away, since a small body of British merchants sought to establish a commercial footing on the peninsula of Hindostan ; where can a parallel be found in the annals of the world, to match the progress of their greatness? Not in the value and importance of the mercantile interests only, but also the national power and wealth, increas ed by the acquisition, within half a century, of one hundred millions of subjects, and a territory ten times the size of England. And the brightest page of this brilliant history is not that which records the achievement of battles, and kings, and principalities, laid low, but that which tells of the spreading the great truths of our religion, and the restoration of these vast dominions, from anarchy, bloodshed, and civil commotion, to order, peace, and prosperity.

The first charter of the English Company was from good Queen Bess, for exclusive dealing in the Indian seas, and for a term of fifteen years; the date of this may be easily remembered, it was given on the last day of the sixteenth century. Twenty years afterwards Charles I. in order to replenish his coffers, made a grant to Sir William Courten, to trade wherever the East Indian Company had no settlements; such a vague and uncertain charter gave ample scope for mutual quarrels, and after much annoyance, a compromise was made in the year before the commonwealth. Cromwell threw open the trade; but in a very few years, thoroughly convinced of the national importance of an incorporated company, restored the char

ter.

Charles II. increased the privileges, and soon after the Company was able to extend their trade to China. Their first order for the staple commodity of their present commerce, is a

curiosity, this is dated 1667, and is to
their factor in Bantam, and the amount
is "for 100lb. of goode tay." We may
here mention that the revenue on this
leaf, for the last eighteen years,
amounts to seventy millions sterling.

About this time the company commenced that political system, which in latter times has led to the acquisition of empires, the consolidation of entire kingdoms, into

one enormous

se

condary state. In 1656 Doctor Boughton obtained leave from the Mogul to establish a factory on the Hoogly, near the posts of the other European nations.

A quarrel with the natives forced the British to leave this factory, and they accordingly shifted their quarters to the place where Calcutta now stands; in ten years the rebellion of Soubah Sing against the Mogul, gave the Company an opportunity of erecting defences around their factory, being the first time such permission had been granted to Europeans. In 1700 the Company bought the township on which their factory stood, and soon after Fort William was dignified with the title of a presidency, laying the foundation of that empire which has no equal in ancient days, and which can hardly in human probability be paralleled in time to come.

About fifty years after this presidency was created, the factory was surrounded and seized by the bloody Surajee ud Dowlah, whose atrocities towards Mr. Holwell and his 146 companions, are familiar to every child of Britain that has shuddered and grown pale at the recital of the horrors of the

Black hole of Calcutta ;" in one day twenty-four persons only, remained to tell the sad tale of death; these men were the representatives of the British power in Bengal.

At this time England carried on a furious struggle with her Gallic neigh

History of the British Colonies, by Montgomery Martin, in five vols.-Vol. I. Possessions in Asia. London: Cochrane and McCrone, 1834.

bour, both in Europe and Asia, and while the demands for recruits at home became constant and pressing, the affairs of the East seemed imperiously to require a large, well-disciplined army. In this crisis there arose a man, who, under Providence, was the means of extricating the Company from their difficulties; one of those strange mortals who seem raised for a peculiar purpose, and destined to succeed in whatever they undertake. Robert Clive was born at Styche in Shropshire, on the twenty-ninth of September, 1725. His father was an attorney, to which profession his son would have been trained, had not his daring disposition induced his parent to send him as a writer, to India. His military genius being roused at the attack of the French on Madras, he entered as a volunteer, and, after a short and brilliant career, obtained a commission as ensign, in 1747.

The disastrous news of the massacre of the Calcutta garrison, reached Madras at the time of Clive's arrival from Europe with a commission as deputy governor of Fort St. David. His voice was still for war," and, after due deliberation he obtained the command of a handful of men, with whom he marched to avenge the cruel death of his countrymen.

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A dull list of forts taken, and battles fought would have little attraction for our readers, nor have we space to follow closely the steps of this great man, suffice it to say, that in four months he met and defeated the perpetrator of the cruelties which had called down this prompt vengeance. The Surajee was glad to effect a peace, which being concluded, the Company were put in possession of their fort, and allowed to re-assume their trade in tranquillity.

The assault on one fort affords an incident, which, as illustrative of the British sailor's character, may be here given. The Fort of Budge-Budge was besieged and breached by Admiral Watson; during the night a drunken sailor getting on shore, advanced up to the walls, and firing his piece, ordered an immediate surrender; the natives, fully persuaded that the whole army were with him, commenced a speedy evacuation of the premises, and in the morning the sailor was found asleep before an empty fort.

He was brought on board, and flogged for being on shore without leave, upon which he merely replied, that "he'd be d-d if ever he took another fort for them again."

The peace with Surajee, however, was hollow, and intelligence of the war between Britain and France having reached the East, gave Clive an opportunity of forming and executing a plan for the greater safety of the Company. Two great ends were to be obtained, the deposition of Surajee, and the expulsion of the French, who were rapidly gaining ground in this part of India. These were carried into effect by a treaty with Meer Jaffier, one of the first military characters of the time, who undertook that if he were placed on the throne, he would expel the French and repay the Company for any losses suffered in the time of his predecessor. In three months from the first marching of Clive's army the whole campaign was terminated by the death of Surajee, the British having won the last battle, with a loss of twenty-four killed, and forty-eight wounded.

The Dutch at this time made an aggression on the frontiers of Bengal, and the eldest son of the Mogul emperor attempted to wrest the power from the hands of the Company, and re-establish the waning empire of his fathers; these varied attacks were, in succession, repelled by the exertions of Lord Clive and his officers aided by Meer Jaffier who had been put on the throne of Bengal. Although the company were in every respect victorious, yet fearful of extending their conquests too far, and thus weakening the possessions already gained, the directors issued orders to stay the advance of their troops; had these instructions been rigidly adhered to, it is probable that the company would have had little more than the townships of Calcutta, Madras and Bombay. But the policy of the times required that, although offensive wars, origi nating with the English, might be prohibited, yet that defensive campaigns should be carried on even to the utter annihilation of the aggressors. "If we pass these bounds we shall be led from one acquisition to another, till we shall find no security but in the subjection of the whole;" this was the

advice of the directors; and well would it have been for the native princes had they suffered the British to rest in peace, and act on such meek and unambitious views. But pride forced on the headstrong Asiatics, until the merely defensive operations of the Europeans became the means of conquest. It was not ambition which led the Company to these undertakings-necessity led the way, and victory had brought them to the choice of further advances or total expulsion. "Self preservation awakened them from commerce-victory gained the great advantages enjoyed-and force now could only preserve them. The East India Company had, therefore, no alternative but to be all or nothing." By the defeat of the successor of Jaffier, and the combined forces of the Vizier of Oude and the Emperor of Mogul, with the subsequent treaties, the British became possessed of the sovereignty of Bengal, and parts of Baher and Orissa. They exacted a tribute from the Vizier of Oude, on the restoration of his dominions; and having granted magnificent stipends to those monarchs whose kingdoms they retained, sat down in peace to enjoy the fruits of their toil.

Thus it was that in the short period of ten years, the company elevated themselves from being the paltry possessors of a mud fort on the Ganges, to the high station of lords over the richest kingdoms of the continent; holding in their sway thirty millions of subjects, and enjoying a revenue of twenty-five millions of rupees. "Such was the Dewany of Bengal, now known under the name of the lower, or permanently settled provinces."

This rapid sketch will, we hope, have the effect of inducing our readers to examine the very interesting account of this period, as given by Mr. Martin in the work before us. We have been delighted, as well as instructed, by this volume; and to those who know the labour of wading through ponderous works, forced upon our notice by the seeming importance of their titles, it will be sufficient to say, that we hail the prospect of the forthcoming volumes with no small interest. However interesting the history of the Bengal conquests may be, yet it sinks when we turn to the subsequent

subjection of Western India, and the still more recent reduction of the Burmese empire. This has occurred in our own times-the heroes of the field are yet alive-the facts themselves are in that intermediate state, when, being neither recorded in history, nor handed down by tradition, they are narrated by eye witnesses. They are stories of days gone by; but they are told to listening youth with all that vigour which a personal narrative always gives, and they impart a ten-fold interest to the hearer from the pardonable egotism of the grey-headed veteran, who

"Shoulders his crutch and shews how fields were won."

The enormous force of the Mahratta army was a source of serious anxiety to the Company. Possessing a peace establishment of 150,000 horse, 40,000 foot, and abundance of artillery, besides auxiliaries, the chieftain was in little dread of our yoke; yet his boasting was brought low-one battle after another reduced his vaunted force, and our victorious troops under Lake, took possession of the capital. The successor of Scindia again raised the standard against the British; and, with the like success, was forced to fly to the well known fortress of Bhurtpore. Under the walls of this fort was the scene of the most horrible carnage. Four attempts at storming were unsuccessful; and the troops retired from the last with a total loss of above three thousand. This breach is rendered famous by the defection of two entire regiments of British soldiers; who, panic struck at the fury of the natives, refused to follow their officers, and actually submitted to the degradation of allowing a Seapoy corps (the 12th Bengal) to head the last attack. They did, afterwards, retrieve their honour; but for many a day were the 75th and 76th, regulars, looked upon with a very questionable aspect. The Rajah of Bhurtpore seeing that Lake would not give over, sent his son to surrender the fort; which was accordingly taken by the British, together with two millions of rupees towards defraying the expenses of the war.

The events which followed, under the government of Cornwallis, are too numerous to be even mentioned here; nor can we find space to write the

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