do all in his power for the preservation of the youths entrusted to his charge. Considerable stores of wheat, dal,[1] rice, ghee,[2] &c., were collected by my father, under the orders of the Principal, and placed in the small rooms situated above the second-floor of the central building, which was then, and is now, used as the principal dormitory. Among these stores were a large number of earthen vessels filled with water in case of emergency. The frequent bursting of these, and the consequent unwelcome midnight-baths, were the first tastes we had of the effects of the mutiny. The centre building was barricaded with bricks, sand bags, boxes of old books and crockery. The wings continued to be used as class-rooms, but the boys were instructed to make for the centre building as soon as they heard the sound of the alarum-bell. This bell—which is still to be seen in the vaults of Constantia, and which was the hour-bell of the colossal clock placed in the north turret by the benevolent founder, General Martin[3] —was put under the charge of the boy, who, for the time being, acted as lookout. As might be expected, the false alarms were neither few nor far between, and yet were never without some supposed justification. At one time a rabble of grass-cutters' tats was mistaken for a regiment of mutinous sowars, and, on another occasion, a dust storm was supposed to be the forerunner of a hostile attack.
24. Sir Henry Lawrence's next move was to decide upon a place in which he could concentrate his ammunition and military stores, and which could be utilized as a place of refuge in case of attack. For this purpose the Machhi Bhawan, a castellated structure north-west of the Residency, formerly inhabited by the dependents of the King of Oudh, was selected. The repairs of the place were begun at once and the adjacent native buildings were ordered to be razed. As soon as it was determined to convert the Machhi Bhawan into a fortification, the magazine and stores from the Sheesh Mahal and Kadam Rasul were removed into it. The Oudh Irregular Light Horse Battery was also ordered there from Mariaon Cantonment and served to augment the garrison. Some defensive works were likewise begun at the Residency, but they were slight, and were confined to the most exposed positions, and chiefly intended as a protection against any sudden rising of the city people. At the time of the mutiny the Chief Military Officer in Oudh was Brigadier Haudscomb, who was subordinate
