and baftions, and farther guarded by feven ftone gateways»
at Certain diftances from each other. The area within is
full of noble buildings, refervoirs o f water, wells, and cultivated
land s fo that it is really a little diftriét in itfelf. At
•the north-weft foot of the mountain is the town,- pretty large,
Well built, the houfes all of ftone. To have befieged this
place would have been vain ; for nothing but a furprize or
blockade could have carried it.
“ A t r i b e of banditti, from the diftridt of the Rana, had
been accuftomed to rob about this town, and once in the
dead of night had climbed up the rock, and got into the
fort. This intelligence they had communicated to the Rana,
who often thought of availing himfelf of it, but was fearful
of undertaking an enterprize of fuch moment with his
own troops. At length he informed Major Popham of it,
who- fent a party of the robbers to conduct fome of his own
fpies to the fpot: they accordingly climbed up in the night,
and found that the guards generally went to fleep after their
rounds. Major Popham now ordered ladders to. be made,
hut with fo much Ibcrecy, that, "until the night .of the fur-
prize, only myfelf and a few others knew of it.
“ O n the 3d of Auguft, in the evening, a party was ordered
to He in readinefs to march, under the command of
Captain William Bruce j and Major Popham put himfelf at
the' head of two battalions, which were immediately to follow
the ftorming party. To prevent, as much as poflxble,
any noife; in approaching or afcending the rock, a kind of
lhoes, of woollen cloth, were made for thé Seapoys, and
fluffed-with cotton. At eleven o’clock the whole detachment
moved from the camp at Reypoor, eight miles from Gwalior,
through unfrequented paths, and reached it a little before daybreak.
Juft as Capt. Bruce arrived at the foot1 of the rock,
he faw the lights which accompanied the rounds moving
along the ramparts, and heard the centinels cough- ($he mode
of fignifying that all is well in an Indian camp or garrifoii)^
which might have damped the fpirits of many men, but
fervêd only to ipfpire him with more confidence, as the moment
for aCtion, that is,; the interval between' the paffing of
the rounds was now afcertained: accordingly, when the lights
were gone, the wooden ladders were placed againft the rock,
and ode of the robbers firft mounted, and returned with an
account that , the guard was retired to ileép. Lieutenant Cameron,
our engineer, next mounted, and tied a rope ladder
to the battlement of the wall; this kind of ladder being the
only one adapted to the purpofe of fcal-ing the wall in a body
(thé wooden ones only ferving to afcend the crag of the róck,
and to aflift in fixing the rope ladder). When all was ready,
Captain Bruce, with twenty Seapoy grenadiers,' affembled
without being difcovered, and fquatted down under the parapet
j but, before a reinforcement arrived, three of the party
had fo little recollection as to fire on fome of the garrifon,
who happened to be lying afleep near them j this had nearly
r a