SUPPLEMENT

BY THE

REV. JOHN LOCKWOOD,

RECTOR OF KINGHAM, OXON.

IN the year 1798 the East India Company deposed VIZIER ALI from the throne of Oude on account of his vices and cruelty; but gave him a splendid pension, and permitted him to take up his residence in the large and beautiful city of Benares, where he lived in almost regal splendour. It is said that he spent whole days and nights with the lowest associates, in revelry and drunkenness; on one occasion, enraged at a fall from a favourite horse, he ordered it to be burnt alive. To his great profligacy and cruelty, as is often the case with Orientals, he added great cunning; and perceiving among the chiefs of India a jealousy at the increasing power of the English, he determined to make use of it to regain, if possible, the throne from which he had been deposed.

He carried on his intrigues with great secrecy, and

obtained promises from many of the most powerful of the native princes, that they would render him assistance as soon as he should have commenced such a revolt against the English as would hold out any prospect of success. Relying on these promises, he increased his troops and retainers, and watched his opportunity to unfurl the standard of rebellion. But notwithstanding the secresy with which he carried on his plans, Mr. Davis, the chief magistrate of Benares, discovered that he was engaged in plots against the English, and wrote to the GovernorGeneral, to advise that he should be immediately removed from Benares, where he was surrounded by chiefs and people of doubtful loyalty, and where he was so near the kingdom from which he had been deposed, as to be able to keep up a constant communication with it; and that he should be ordered to reside at Fort William, where all attempts to tamper with the fidelity of the native princes, or to spread discontent among the people, might be easily frustrated.

In consequence of this communication, an order was dispatched to the Vizier to leave Benares and proceed to Calcutta. He no sooner received this communication, than seeing that there was no time to be lost, he determined at once to put his plans into execution, and to commence his long-meditated rebellion; for he knew that if he once left Benares,

the scene of action, and removed to Calcutta, he would be watched, cut off from his friends, and lose all hopes of success.

At that time there were many English residents at Benares, either as officials of the East India Company, or engaged in different branches of trade and commerce. The chief of these were Mr. Cherry, the resident, and Mr. Davis, the judge and first magistrate, whose houses were about a mile without the city gates; and three miles, again, beyond them, were large cantonments, containing a brigade of the Anglo-Indian army.

On the 14th of January, 1799, soon after his order of removal, the Vizier commenced his revolt. Leaving a large force in the city, he proceeded, with 200 chosen men, to the house of Mr. Cherry, under the pretence of paying him a friendly visit, but with the real purpose of putting him to death; and on his way thither he fell in with Mr. and Mrs. Davis, returning from their usual morning ride on an elephant. The instant he saw them he held a short consultation with his friends, whether he should at once attack and kill them on the spot, or should leave them for the present; and it was decided that as they did not appear to have any suspicion of his intentions, it would be better to proceed first to the house of the Resident, which was farthest from the city, and take them in his way back.

Mr. Davis at once perceived that the Vizier was engaged in some treacherous and hostile design, but thought it best to conceal his opinion; and having received and returned the salutation of the party with apparent indifference, he hastened home, and immediately dispatched a messenger to Mr. Cherry, to warn him of some impending danger. But it was too late. Already had the unfortunate Resident and his friends fallen beneath the swords of the Vizier and his soldiers; and before any escape could be effected, or any preparation be made for defence, they were seen hastening towards Mr. Davis's house. What was be done? Who were to be trusted? Were the native servants in the plot? Should they resign themselves at once to despair, and perish without a struggle? Mr. Davis possessed a bold and master spirit; but what could the courage of one man, however resolute, without a weapon, avail against two hundred troops armed to the very teeth. It was a moment of agony; but Mr. Davis at once perceived the only hope of safety, though that hope was a forlorn one.

In India the roofs of the houses are flat, and ascending to the roof of his own house was a narrow spiral staircase, with a trap-door at the top made with strong bamboo and thick matting, which let down upon the entrance. Up this staircase he urged his trembling wife and a Portuguese nurse, with