Sketcher LEAVES FROM AN INDIAN DIARY.

Hawke's Bay Herald, Volume XXII, Issue 7928, 17 December 1887, Page 6

Sketcher LEAVES FROM AN INDIAN DIARY.

[By a Vetbean.] IF. M , who was in ray term at college and afterwards in uiy battery, was ono of the cleverest young follows it was ever my lot to come ncross. He could do anything to which he ohose to put his hand or mind, but his very cleverness was his bane. Luarning was so ca<y to him that he never took the trouble to learn. He would take up anj book and seemingly turn over the pages, skimming a little here and there, and when he had done he could tell you all the gist of it, appearing intuitively to catch all the paragraphs and sentences which contained the ea-enoe of the subject. He was always astonishing us by talking of subjects of whioh we had no idea he had the slightest glimmering. He was also first-class at riding, shoot-

ing, running, jumping &o. M 'g father was equerry to one of the Royal Family, and one of the most prominent amongst racing men in England, so that the son was early taught to ride both to hounds and in the saddle. The boy when young was sflnt to a boardingschool,but not liking the discipline he ran away and joined a racing stable as a help, where he was quite in hia element amongßt horses. He was traced and taken home by his friends, and eventually went to India as an artillery oadet. Of course he knew much more about horses and raoing than the rest of us, and in all our Griff's raceß M 's pony was sure to win. It did not seem to matter one bit what sort of beast he was on, he somehow always managed to fome in first. And afterwards in more extensive affairs he was always to the cront. He was up to all the tricks of the trade, and would jockey the most unlikely horse in by a head or a neck. At billiards we could none of us hod a candle to him. He could jump 13 chairs placed back to back, or he would dear the mess table laid for dinner with the chairs ready for the dinerß' He had a phir of old-fashoned duelling pistola will] nhieh he could bit anything. Ho would stick up a rupee edgeways in some wax on the end of the billiard-table, and, retiring to the opposite end of tho room, knook ie off, the penalty should he touch the table being £50. M was the most impecunious of subalterns. His pay - was all forestalled ; what was) not awarded by tha military Court of Requests to some of his many creditors went lo the banks. I don't think he ever paid his servants ; yet no man was better served. He would bully them frightfully, but they would do anything for him. He had a native bearer (valet), who used to hold up all softs of things for his master to fire at, till one day he flinched or did something, and the bullet jujt grazed bis fingers, when the man simply bolted. I don'tknow how much pay was due to the bearer, but he never came to claim it. As we were subalterns in the same battery, we lived together for some time in the same house. It was a barn of a vlaoe, with tiro good-aized rooms. We made one a bed-room, and the other the the sitting room. .At 'last, in the corner of the bed-room, the rats made a hole, through which they used to come at night on foraging expeditions, and M took to shooting them, Sometimes in the dead of night when I was fast asleep M- r- would put the candle down near the,hole and watch, and as the rat emerged shoot him. I would awake with a start, dazqd by the bang, and find that to,avoid the recoil of the bullet.M ——— had thrown down the pistol and buried himself under the bed-clothes ; it did not matter about me, every-one must look out for himself. I stood this for some time but eventually moved to other quarters, M was the most harum-scarum fellow, and how the commanding offioer put up with him I don't know.;-hoWver, officers and men were all very fond of him. One day in the second Sikh War, we were advancing towards iba enemy. ' A regiment of Irragular Horse, with a couple of H. A. guns had been thrown forward. Presently a shot frotti a gun was heard to our right-front and then another, whioh set us all fid-getting to get on, and I shall never forget the feeling of disgust at having to move so slowly forward with the advanoing line. Presently M— —— rode up to the commanding officer and asked leave just to go forward go_ see what was going on. "AH right" said the officer, " but oorae back at once and report." So ojE went M —i —, and we did not see him again till the evening, when he returned leading a Sikh Borse with a shield and a matohlock. The men of the battery turned out and have him a cheer, for from his long tbsence, there was a jolly row in store for him; tho major commanding the battery threatened all sorts of things vi hen he ahould catch him again, which, however, he never did, for after the fight Beemed all over, came a last shot from the enemy which laid tha poor Major low, and nothing more was Baid about M 's absence. He told me afterwards that when he got forward he found our Irregular Horse following, up some Sikh cavalry that were retiring before them to our right. He charged down with our men, but somehow got separated, and found himself pursuing a single horseman. The Sikh seeing only a youngster behind him, turned and charged back. M tried to draw bis regimental sword, but it had long been in a wretched state, and the handle came off, bo he had to dodge and getting an opportunity he pulled out a little, pocket pistol, about 3 inohea long, and shot the Sikh. Tho fellow, as he fell, made a last noble effort, and threw'his sword down an a joining well, so tlwt It might not fall a trophy to his victor, consequently M brought back only the horse, tho shield, and the. matchlock. Of course as M had not a farthing to his name, was hopelessly in debt, and could not pay his own way, he must needs) get married to reduce his expenses. The father of the young lady would have nothing to do with the marriage, would not go to the church, nor even lend his carriage to take the yonng people there and back, but as the bride was twentyone she would have her own way. I must s»y she made him a most excellent wife. She took charge of. the finances, paid off most of his dabts, and took a loving care of him. He left off gambling,raciag &c, and would do anything his wife told him; but it did not last many years. One day ho took fever, such as anyonoelse might have got over, bat he had led suoh a rackety life that he had no strength to fight it oat, and, in spite of his wife's tender nursing he slipped out.