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    a multitude of the rebels sufficient to exterminate his column . "Within Ms entrenchments , fcliere . ia little doubt that he could encounter the wnole of the Oudey 3 ? uttehpore , and Gwalior troops . But he is not ill that desperateposifcion . At the date of the last despatches from Calcutta ,. Q-eneral Outroi was rapidly forcing his way up -with reinforcement * ; and so far from the garrison of Xucknow being in sncli a critical situation as to tempt Havelock to push on as the leader of a forlorn hope , at the risk of sacrificing- himself and his men , they could hold out well until the 15 th ^ if not until the 30 th of September ,, and had beaten their besiegers upon two distinct occasions . The enemy's assault had failed , and they had lost their only heavy guns . Meanwhile , the preparations for their relief were" satisfactory . Of the twelve hundred and seventy men who had come up with Oftram to Allahabad , six hundred and a 9-pounder battery were pushed on on the 4 th of September ; Outran himself would follow- on the nest day with seven hundred and fifty ; by the 11 th or 12 th he ¦ would be at Cawnpore : there , it was anticipated , the passage of the river could be effected without delay ; and by the 15 th , if no disasters happened , the Fusilier fife and dram and the Highland bagpipe would be heard by the English , women and children in the forfc of liueknow . As a stimulus to the energy of the garrison ,, a message had been sent bidding them not to despair , since succour was on the way . They are said to have responded , by requesting the Brigadier-General not to undertake any desperate enterprise on their account . It is probable that , should Oitteam and Hajvelock march in company from Cawnpore on the 12 th , the rebels before I / ucknow would relax their

    pressure on that point and face about to defend themselves against the axjproaching columns . It was while they were in this attitude , we imagine , that the additional supplies of grain and bullocks were taken into Lucknow . Under any circumstances , it is mere wantonness to describe Havexock's victories as barren , since they undoubtedly aided in protracting the defence of Lucknow , kept the enemy in a state of alarm , and interrupted the construction of immense entrenchments along the line of highway from Cawnpore through the territory of Oude .

    The English , with their allies , were gradually regaining" their position in Bengal aud Bahar ,. although the enemy continue in possession of small forts sprinkled in various directions over the country . It is important to notice that tho Madras troops on the Grand Trunk road were doing useful service , and had marched -with alacrity from Raneegunge . The Ghoorkas were giving , new proofs of their military qualifications and their fidelity . Through out \ he Presidency of Madras itself , the state of affairs , considering the alarm that had been created , was eminently satisfactory . Nothing unpleasant Had occurred in Bombay , although the temper of the army is evidently equivocal . The Mohurrum had passed off quietly in all parts of India , demonstrating the general loyalty of the people ; . above all , the rebels seemed to have lost the confidence of ' their former comrades . KTo fresh mutinies had taken place , except among the contingent forces , while no native chiefs had declared against us . That extensive and powerful body , with , only two or three exceptions , remained friendly and faithful ; probably they , who are upon tho Bcene , comprehend tlie state of affairs better than most persons at homo , and they foresee nothing but ruin to tho insurgont bands , The expected disturbances in liojpootnna had ' not taken placo ; no outbreak had happened

    in . Bundelcund ; in the North-West and m Central India the protected princes remained staunch . The Gwalior contingent is reported to have deposed their Maharajah- and proclaimed a Mogul prince ,, but SptDiAK was virtually in power , the Delhi pretender being no more tban an effigy . The Bhopal contingent had rebelled . Bhopal is a native state in Malwa , under the political superintendence of the Governor-General , and is contiguous to the possessions of Holkib and Sindias . It has a Hindoo and Patan population , and is governed by a Na ~ wa . b , whose revenues do not exceed 233 , 0002 ., and whose military force , including the British contingent ( 259 cavalry , 522 infantry , and 48 artillerymen ) , with the quotas of the Jagheerdars , numbers about 4300 men of all arms . The revolted battalions are capable of disturbing the district , but not of undertaking any serious movement . "We regard these details as encouraging . They appear to promise that the English will have improved their position in India before the arrival of any reinforcements . The reinforcements-, however , were nearing their destination when the Alma left Calcutta . She passed a strong detachment at Point de Galle , and heard that a considerable force had reached the Mauritius . One regiment from tlie Cape had disembarked at Bombay , another was daily expected ; two , diverted from China ,, were on their way to the Hooghly , the 23 xd Fusiliers had mustered at Calcutta . Sixteen thousand men will follow them to that poit . It is too late to regret that the insurrection was allowed by Iiord Cannin g to spread unchecked , until ifc became necessary to make these

    tremendous preparations . Perhaps , also , it was too late in the last days of September to prevent certain possible disasters , of which we must "be prepared to hear until decisive successes have been announced from Imcknow and Delhi ; there may be new ravages , and massacres ; , but we believe tliat wiser aud clearer views have been taken , from the outset , by those who have predicted the extirpation of tlie mutiny , than by others who have been absorbed by the gloom of the crisis , and have prophesied only an interminable succession of failures and calamities .

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    THE MYSTERY OF THE MURDER . Even so far as we have unravelled ifc—and that is but a little way—how strange thestory of that carpet-bag ! We boast that life and property are peculiarly safe in tlie British Empire ; London is the centre of that empire , aud xve have before us ,, amongst tlie most ordinary occurrences of the day , murder in every variety of form . There is indeed some reason to suppose that the luggage which pusses from one part of the kingdom to another sometimes comprises cargoes ashideoiiB as that of the carpet-bag ; and ifc is certain that in all these cases the malefactors are not secured . A contest is going on at this moment between civilization and barbarismi , to settle tins account of the carpet-bag , and as yet few of us would bet on . civilization . If an angel were- looking" down upon earth he would , see spectacles more strange thau could bo exhibited by the most savage country in . the world . Already wo have traced tho cavpet-bag through much of its travels ; and through some © £ tho hands that have used it . Wo know the wholesale manufacturer that sold ili , bvit there we lose sight of it . Next we soe it in the handB of " that elderly woman , who brought ; it to tho toll-gate on AVatcrloobridgo , and' trembled aa tho toll-keeper lifted it over the' turnstile . We find it next on ono of the buttresses of Waterloo-bridge , filled , not with tho ordinary luggage of a

    traveller , but with th © traveller himself , manaied and compressed , his elbthes cut to pieces We see it carried to the" surgeon ,, and' witli him ,, examine- its contents . Civilization is now embodied in the sm ? , geon , who bends joring over the loathsome re mains of humanity , tracing out—throug h tlie hacking of the saw ,, the discolocatioii * of the . flesh ,, the puncturing , of the clothes , and the , substances which' accidentally adhere to the relics—some story of the crime ; some trace of those who have committed it . By the make " of-the clothes , it is conjectured that the murdered man was a foreigner , probably fromi Germany ; by the mark of the laundress , he had ' probably come straight from Paris ; liy the measurement of the bones , ho was probably a man about five feet eight or ten inches ia height—a tall man ; by the colour and texture of the hair ,, still observed on some parta of the skin , he was an adult in the full vigour of life ; by the shrinking of the wounds , Avhich are smaller- in the flesh than in the ' clothes , , he was stabbed while yet alive ; by the collocation of the stabs , he must have changed his position — probably struggled violently with his murderer between , the first wounds and the last fatal blows—the stabs beginning in the back wide apart and struck at random * , ending iu front in those seven closely plai \ ted blows that pierced to the heart . By the bleeding , which soaked the clothes , we see that , immediately after death , before the blood coagulated , the murdered man lay stooping forward on his face ; by the cramped position of the joints , that his limbs were bent as he lay crouched down , probably where he fell , and that he was so left before the murderers

    attempted to hide away the bloody work . The teai * ing of the clothes and the hacking of the limbs tell that the guilty people found some difficulty in disposing of the body , whichthey mangled in reducing it for purposes of stowage ; soaked it in brine that it might ' keep' until they could carry it away ; and then the } ' packed up body , clothes , and all , as well as they might , in the carpet-bag . But there are some other traces which open another branch of the story . Amongst the mangled pieces of flesh and bone are found some few hairs which , by their length and fineness , fell from a woman ' s head—* from a woman ' s head as she was stooping over the corpse . A woman then helped to mangle the body , as probably a woman had inveigled him to the place of the murder , and assisted in holding him while the murderer " began his work . For the strong and vigorous mau had broken away from his murderers before their work was finished , had leaned his back against the wall , aa we see by the staina , on the coat , and had in that posture received the last fatal stabs . The police are still baffled witli manifold and inconsistent tales . The woman that . brought the carpet-bag came from tho Middlesex side of the river ; but on the other side , some few hours before she showed herself at the toll-gate of the bridge , were scon a man and' woman in the Westminster-road , with a Garyetrbog , like the one that has beeni found ' . Tho' woman was placed with the ' luggage in the cabj and sent off ; the mmi departing in another direction . Inquiry has ; been raised aboufc . theae persons ; : and ' silence ,, although , it canuot be taken , as positive evidence , implies- at least that they do not enro to appear and show that they had no connexion with tho cuimc . Government Avill give 300 Z . — 2 O 0 Z ., even to . accomplices if they are not tho actual murderers , who will inform ; - and lOQl . to any one who will identity tho old woman . Elderly women about live feet two or three inches iu height , wiuhi voices capable of ' gruiFnesB , ' must ) , just at present , ho watched with curious covet-

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    9 f 8 THE LEABEH , ([ No . 395 yOctober 11 . 18 S 9 .

• Citation
  • Leader (1850-1860), Oct. 17, 1857, page 998, in the Nineteenth-Century Serials Edition (2008; 2018) ncse-os.kdl.kcl.ac.uk/periodicals/l/issues/vm2-ncseproduct2214/page/14/