they- heard that there was no certain antidote, against the baneful
effects of, poiscfu ■
The three villages, of which,- the rebelsrwere now in..compléte ,'po&-:
sessfch,, extended across the valley in a line'east-and wést'. There was
sqxpé interval between them; ! so that the?two extremes, I reckon, are
rather more than a mile apart. In the morning,’ it might be. observed,
that they had very nearly completed a breast-work along' thejwhpJLe of
this space, which afforded a safe line of communication-from on©:
village to another, the only break ^;ing between the westernmost and:
the centre. This breast-work was a wall
they could fire when they stood up, but which afforded them-a; com-,
plete cover when they crouched down, the ends of their .bows only;
being visible above it
About noon, a-messengcr came to me from the Raja, djraijring us to
wait upon him, and we immediately obeyed the invitation.- He.apologized,
at the instant of our meeting, for not having seen us during
the last three days, his attention, during that time, having, been en-s
tirely engaged; and exhorted us not to be alarmed at the present disturbances,
comparing the insurgents to the Sunneassees and Fakeers,:
that occasionally traverse, in tumultuous bodies, the borders of Bengal.
" They-are a disorderly rabble,” says he, “ led on by ajZempi,,whom
I dismissed for his misconduct, and suffered to go away unpunished;
but he, availing himself of this indulgence,-before his disgrace became
publicly known, obtained under the sanction of my name, from various
officers in my employment, sundry valuable effects; which he embezzled,
and then took refuge in the woods. Our searches for him, in
B O O T A N. 1
^evqry quarter, d®veabeen; vain •/ he'haslaipeOm^fetelyfeoffiealeffi^tmtil
this his sudderi appearance afoihdffieaffi Of a^misguiddd m ob. ’ ’
b The ;Ram|th|mispohejto me'C^ffitne^cannon^n lm iM S I i i , which
l|q tWanmdha;getimoumted,'and -KijffiffieSSSistance
of some perspnj.who^couldHwst^uGtuMfc^t.^plc'm the rnai fakement* ‘of
them ;.rproffissiBg a des'ire. to ffir’- .‘of ‘his
^ubjefts. - iHe wisheffirtoiffiatter dQ-WnitMffiMscs4,; lifw Inch tilt ubble
had lodgdd ;theffrse^wes^t concluding', tthat-twhen-^nej^halh lost tfteii
^b.cher,ij^ey( would,1 disperse J o their respective homes. “ They are
iny deluded,:subjects^” said,he,:it] kriwoiaMu^eclaim, but not destroy
thpipn’. r a
jkQ ur conversation chiefly turned 'upaan the*e®UimcffioP|'abroaa, which
the. Raja' repeatedly assured me .would soDri- be quelled; - He iffiffie’efre'd
evidently discomposed, and I determined rfot, to" a&df®His" dihffiss1 by
a -ffing^yisifi:' so, lexpFessing a wish- to-'-stafee my leave, 'tea was introi
duced, ,and we retkeiffiyisM
, It was hinted to us, as. we- were' lSaving^ the'- p^i|ce;;- that it would
be agreeable to the Raja, if we looked at thy, Gannon., W.&ffimlld them
lying..upon: some rising ground, pqihtedhpwards the \ilfagLS. *‘Thcy
were two small cast cannon} old^ai^ ffi^neycomlDed; ih IneValibre of
pne were hollows, that would receive an -They*-were crammed
Wiffijpowder and shot, almost full.^1 thffi^lit'the{^ ,e^te^t,mrschffif to
be apprehended from this sordnance, was to , the person visho appl'idii
ffip ,match. As»they were not -mounted, we» could, flatter therffiyiffih
no very essential service from them; but as the-bestrfdvice’ we'cbuld
give, we begged they would be'.ckreful how they v&niturec| to discharge