cavalry did not shrink from this severe trial, and after the gates of the fortress were blown open, their sabres were as deeply * stained as those of the English dragoons with the blood of their misguided and guilty countrymen.

But a few authentic anecdotes of some of the most distinguisned individuals of the native cavalry of Madras will shew better than volumes the high spirit which pervades that corps.

In the campaign of 1791, when Secunder Beg, one of the oldest subadars of the native cavalry, was riding at a little distance in the flank of his troop, two or three horsemen of Tippoo's army, favoured by some brushwood, came suddenly upon him; the combat had hardly commenced, when the son of the subadar, who was a havildar or serjeant in the same regiment, flew to his father's aid, and slew the foremost of his opponents; the others fled, but nothing could exceed the rage of the old man at his son's conduct;— he put him instantly under a guard, and insisted upon his being brought to condign punishment for quitting his ranks without leave. It was with the greatest difficulty that Colonel Floyd, who commanded the force, could reconcile him to the disgrace he conceived he had suffered (to use his own expression) from his enemy being taken from him by a presumptuous boy in front of his regiment.'

Cawder Beg, late subadar of the fourth regiment, may be deemed throughout his life as one of the most distinguished officers of the native cavalry of Madras. In 1790, he was attached to Colonel Floyd as an orderly subadar, when that officer, who had been reconnoitring with a small detachment, was attacked by a considerable body of the enemy's horse. Nothing but the greatest exertions of every individual could have saved the party from being cut off. Those of Cawder Beg were the most conspicuous, and they received a reward of which he was proud to the last hour of his life; an English sabre was sent to him, with the name of Colonel Floyd upon it, and an inscription stating that it was the reward of valour. But personal courage was the least quality of Cawder Beg-his talents eminently fitted him for the exercise of military command. During the campaign of 1799, it was essential to prevent the enemy's looties, a species of Cossack horse, from penetrating between the columns and the rear guard, and plundering any part of that immense train of provisions and luggage which it was necessary to carry to Seringa patam.-Cawder Beg, with two or three of bis relations from the native cavalry, and a select body of infantry, were placed under the orders of Captain Malcolm,† who was then political representative with the army of the subah of the Deckan,

We state this fact upon the high authority of a respectable officer, who belonged to the 19th dragoons, and was with them on this memorable occasion.

t Now Sir John Malcolm.

BB4

and

and commanded a considerable body of the troops of that prince. Captain Malcolm, who had applied for Cawder Beg on account of his reputation, prevailed upon Meer Allum, the leader of the subah's forces, to place a corps of 2000 of his best regular horse under the subadar's orders. Two days after the corps was formed, an orderly trooper came up to Captain Malcolm, and told him that Cawder Beg was engaged with some of the enemy's horsemen. Captain Malcolm hastened to the spot, with some alarm for the result, aud determined, if Cawder Beg was victor, to reproye hum most severely for a conduct so unsuited to the station in which he had been placed. The fears he entertained for his safety were soon dispelled, as he saw him advaucing on foot with two swords in his hand, which he hastened to present to Captain Malcolm, begging at the same time he would restrain his indignation at his apparent rashness, till he heard his reasons; then, speaking to him aside, he said,

Though the general of the Nizam's army was convinced by your statement of my competence to the command you have entrusted me with, I observed that the high born and high titled leaders of the horse he placed under my orders looked at my close jacket,* straight pantaloons, and European boots, with contempt, and thought themselves disgraced by being told to obey me--I was therefore tempted, on seeing a well mounted horseman of Tippoo's challenge their whole line, to accept a combat, which they declined. I promised not to use fire arms, and succeeded in cutting him down; a relation came to avenge his death, I wounded him, and have brought him prisoner. You will (he added, smiling) hear a good report of me at the durbar (court) of Meer Allum this evening-and the service will go on better for what has passed, — and I promise most sacredly to fight no more single combats.'

When Captain Malcolm went in the evening to visit the Nizam's gurwal, he found at his tent a number of the principal chiefs, and among others, those that had been with Cawder Beg; with whose praises he was assailed from every quarter. He was,' they said, a perfect hero, a Rustum; it was an honour to be commanded by so great a leader.' The consequence was, as the subadar had anticipated that the different chiefs who were placed under him vied in respect and obedience; and so well were the incessant efforts of this body directed, that scarcely a load of grain was lost: hardly a day passed that the activity and stratagem of Cawder Beg did not delude some of the enemy's plunderers to their de

struction.

It would fill a volume to give a minute account of the actions of this gallant officer; he was the native aide-de-camp of General

* The native troops in the English service wear a uniform very like that of Europeans.

†The Persian Hercules.

Dugald

Dugald Campbell, when that officer reduced the ceded districts ;*he attended Sir Arthur Wellesley (the present Duke of Wellington) in the campaign of 1803, and was employed by that officer in the most confidential manner. At the end of this campaign, during which he had several opportunities of distinguishing himself, Cawder Beg, who had received a pension from the English government, and whose pride was flattered by being created au omrah† of the deckan by the Nizam, retired, but he did not long enjoy the distinction he had obtained, he died in 1806, worn out with the excessive fatigue to which he had for many years exposed himself.

The body guard of the governor of Madras, which consists of about one hundred men, has always been a very select corps, and the notice and attention with which both the native officers and men of the corps have invariably been treated, may be adduced as one of the causes which have led to its obtaining distinction in every service on which it has been employed.

On the 13th of May, 1791, Lord Cornwallis returned his thanks in the warmest terms to this small corps and its gallant commanding officer, Captain Alexander Grant, for a charge made upon the enemy. It obtained still further distinction under Captain Jamies Grant, the brother of its former commander, when employed in the year 1801 against the Poligars, a race of warlike men who inhabit the southern part of the Madras territory. There are, indeed, few examples of a more desperate and successful charge than was made during that service by this small corps, upon a phalanx of resolute pikemen, more than double its own numbers; and the behaviour of Shaikh Ibrahim, the senior subadar, (a native captain,) on that occasion, merits to be commemorated.

This officer, who was alike remarkable for his gallantry and unrivalled skill as a horseman, anticipated, from his experience of the enemy, all that would happen. He told Captain Grant what he thought would be the fate of those who led the charge, at the same moment that he urged it, and heard with animated delight the resolution of his commander to attempt an exploit which was to reflect such glory on the corps. The leaders of the body guard, and almost one-third of its number, fell, as was expected; but the shock broke the order of their opponents, and they obtained a complete victory. Shaikh Ibrahim was pierced with several pikes, one was in the throat; he held his hand to this, as if eager to keep life. till he asked the fate of Captain Grant. The man of whom he

These districts, which were ceded to the English government by the treaty of Scringapatam, in 1799, lie between Mysore proper, and the territories of the Subab of the Deckan.

He received the title of Cawder Nuaz Khan, or Cawder the favoured lord.

inquired

inquired pointed to that officer, who was lying on the ground, and apparently dead, with a pike through his lungs; the subadar, with an expression of regret that he had disdained to shew for his own fate, pulled the pike from the wound, and instantly expired. His character and his behaviour in the last moment of his existence are fully described in the following General Order, which was issued on this occasion by the government of Fort St. George.

'A rare combination of talents has rendered the character of Shaikh Ibrahim familiar to the officers of the army to cool decision and daring valour, he added that sober judgment and those honourable sentiments, that raised him far above the level of his rank in life. An exploit of uncommon energy and personal exertion terminated his career, and the last effort of his voice breathed honour, attachment, and fidelity.

The Governor in Council, desirous of shewing to the army his Lordship's sense of the virtue and attainments which have rendered the death of this native officer a severe loss to the service, has been pleased to confer on his family a pension equal to the pay of a subadar of the Body-guard, being 30 pagodas per month; and his lordship has further directed that a certificate to this effect, translated into Persian and Hindostanee, may be presented to the family, as a record of the gift, and a tribute to the memory of the brave subadar Shaikh Ibrahim.'

The posthumous praise given to Shaikh Ibrahim appeared to have inspired others with a desire to share his fate, that they might attain his fame. A jemadar of the same corps, some days afterwards, being appointed with a few select men to watch a road, where it was thought the chief whom they were attacking might try to escape with one or two followers, determined when a whole column came out to make an attempt against its leader, and such was the surprize at seeing five or six horsemen ride into a body of between two or three hundred men, that he had cut down the chief before they recovered from their astonishment; he succeeded in riding out of the column, but was soon afterwards shot. He had, when he meditated this attack, sent a person to inform Captain J. Grant (who had recovered of his wounds) of his intention: The captain will discover,' he observed, that there are more Shaikh Ibrahims than one in the Body-guard.' Captain Grant, when the service was over, erected tombs over these gallant officers: a constant lamp is kept at them, which is supported by a trifling monthly donation from every man in the Body-guard, and the noble spirit of the corps is perpetuated by the contemplation of these regimental shrines (for such they may be termed) of heroic valour. Shaikh Moheedeen, a subadar of the body-guard of Madras,

Lord Clive (the present Lord Powis) was at this period Governor of Madras; and it is but justice to that nobleman to state that virtue, talent, or valour, either in European or native, were certain under his administration of attaining distinction and reward.

who

who was one of the first officers appointed to the corps of native horse artillery recently raised on that establishment, accompanied Sir John Malcolm to Persia, and was left with a detachment of his corps under the command of Captain Lindsay, to aid in instructing the Persians in military tactics. This small body of men and their gallant European commander were engaged in several campaigns in Georgia, and their conduct has obtained, not only for the subadar, but for all the men of his party, marked honours and reward, both from the Persian government and their own. Their exertions received additional importance from the scene on which they acted, for it is not easy to calculate the future benefits which may result from the display of the superior courage and discipline of the native soldiers of India on the banks of the Araxes.

The native infantry of Madras is generally composed of Mahomedans and Hindoos of good cast: at its first establishment none were enlisted but men of high military tribes. In the progress of time a considerable change took place, and natives of every description were enrolled in the service. Though some corps that were almost entirely formed of the lowest and most despised races of men obtained considerable reputation, it was feared their encouragement might produce disgust, and particularly when they gained, as they frequently did, the rank of officers. Orders were in consequence given to recruit from none but the most respectable classes of society; and many consider the regular and orderly behaviour of these men as one of the benefits which have resulted from this system.

The infantry sepoy of Madras is rather a small man, but he is of an active make, and capable of undergoing great fatigue upon a very slender diet. We find no man arrive at greater precision in all his military exercises; his moderation, his sobriety, his patience, give him a steadiness that is almost unknown to Europeans: but though there exists in this body of men a fitness to attain mechanical perfection as soldiers, there are no men whose mind it is of more consequence to study. The most marked general feature of the character of the natives of India is a proneness to obedience, accompanied by a great susceptibility of good or bad usage; and there are few in that country who are more imbued with these feelings than the class of which we are now treating. The sepoys of Madras, when kindly treated, have invariably shewn great attachment* to the service; and when we know that this class of men

In old corps that have been chiefly recruited within the territories which have been long in the possession of the Company, desertion is of very rare occurrence. The first battalion of the 3d native infantry marched in 1803 from near Madura, of which district and Trichinopoly a great proportion of its men were natives, to the banks of the Taptee, a distance of above a thousand miles, without one desertion!

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