arrangements; but this state of tranquillity was not fated to last long, for as the year advanced, elements, though not of immediate danger, manifested themselves. It was suspected that the King‘s emissaries were actively at work inciting the people to hostility; and none were more inimical to the British at that time than the discharged soldiery of the Native Government, which may be put down at about 60,000. These men fostered the hope that the native raj (reign) would be restored, and they were prepared for any enterprise having for its object the attainment of this cherished wish. These were the characters let loose upon Oudh who scattered the seed of disaffection towards the new government throughout the land, and doubtless swelled the ranks of the mutineers when the rebellion broke out.
22. At that time Lucknow was one of the most flourishing cities in India. The central part was very densely populated; and the scenes in the principal streets were most lively. Mounted Cavaliers, clothed in Cashmere stuffs elaborately embroidered with gold, and preceded by attendants carrying gold and silver mounted sticks, swords, spears, and wands of office, passed to and fro in acontinuous stream. Certain dignitaries, seated in open palanquius Ia covered litter suspended from poles by which it is borne on the shoulders of men), richly painted and gilded, mingled in the throng, followed by their armed retainers, and with, occasionally, a mounted escort, their horses richly caparisoned in red and green trappings: others, perched aloft on the backs of elephants, were seated in gracefully carved howdahs,[1] which were, in some instances, of silver. The attendants of the more wealthy inhabitants included the various races from all parts of India; and the effect produced by their diversified costumes was extremely picturesque.
23. The Kingdom of Oudh, as has been shown, was annexed in February 1856; and British administration was scarcely established, and the chaos of the past reduced to order, when the revolt of the Native Army arrested progress, and ultimately plunged the country into a worse condition than it was before. The people were once more incited to lawlessness, and by June 1857 all authority was lost in the Province. In consequence of the impending danger, the military were ordered to garrison the Residency, the rendezvous selected for all non-combatants loyal to the British cause, who flocked thither and so
- ↑ A howdah resembles a sedan chair placed on the back of an elephant,
