quiet and soothe their aroused feelings. Just as if they were now likely to believe a word of the authorities! Nay, more; they would no more have believed even the solemn oath of the East India Court of Directors, than the population of Upper India would have believed, after the annexation of Oudh, in the honesty, and veracity, of any Englishman; from the highest, to the lowest in the land.
Consequently every effort to pacify and conciliate these mercenary, pampered pets not only failed, but encouraged them to insult the authorities; and therefore, under a vague impression, no doubt, that so severe an example would tend to crush the crisis in its infancy, two of the conspicuously disloyal regiments were summarily disbanded. But this fatal act, instead of realising the desired effect, convincingly proved as efficacious in its results as fuel does to a rising fire: that is to say, for a brief interval it smothered the lighted furnace; and under the temporarily subdued flame, things seemingly relapsed once again into their former peacefulness. Still, a feeling of bewilderment was abroad, and confidence had been too violently shaken to return as suddenly as the quiet days that seemed now to prevail; besides, it was felt that this delusive calm, was the ominous premonitory sign of the coming hurricane; and so in reality it proved, by overwhelming Upper India without apparent manifestations in its approach.
The mutinous Sepoys of the disbanded regiments above alluded to, loosened from all restraint, and
