A ROMANTIC EPISODE IN INDIAN HISTORY.

Otago Daily Times, Issue 10599, 20 February 1896, Page 7

A ROMANTIC EPISODE IN INDIAN HISTORY.

It wa3 ia the year 1781 that GaorgeThomas, then quartermaster on board an English man-of-war, landed in Madras. The son of a Kmall farmer of the county Tipperary, he had risen from a common sailor to his present position; bat rapid as his rise in the service had been —for be was only five-and-twenty—it had by no means kept pace with his ambition. Long before the ship dropped anchor off Madras,. George Thomas had resolved to take the earliest opportunity of deserting, and following tha career to which his ambition beckoned bim. Two days after his arrival there, the bold Irishman disappeared, and.his shipmates never saw him again. For five years George Thomna served his apprenticeship as a soldier of fortune among the petty Hindu chiefs of the Carnatic and the Daccan. Having gained some .money and a good deal of experience of native manners, customs, and character, the ambitious Irishman determined to plunge into the heart of India and seek a wider field foB the exercise of biß talents. 'Ha made Btraighl"fo'r Delhi,' the capital of 'the Great Moguls, and the centre of Mohammedan influence and intrigne in India." There he fell in with the extraordinary woman who -was so strangsly mixed up with his fnture career-^the Begum Somru,

The B*gura was at that time an indepen- j I dent sovereign under the protection of the .'Court of JD-IM. .Her history was remarkable and romantio. She was, a native of Cashmere, and had come to Delhi as a dancing..girl.. Among the many admirers of her beauty was s, European adventurer known as ! Somrn Sahib, Who w_.s then high in favour' with the Great Stogsl. Hia real name was Walter Roi'chard, and he was a native of ths -*E!ecfc-rase\ of Treves. Fascinated by the beautiful Cishmerian dancing-girl, Somrn ] '."teamed her, and she took the'title of Begum. She waa a woman as remarkable, for her talents as for her beanty, and soon gained complete ascendancy over her husband. For the fierce and reckless mercenary, dfslifcute alike of faith and, honour, had ono soft spot in his hard nature, and the Br.gum found it. .On his death in 1778, be bequeathed her all his property and the command of his corps of Sepoys. In persur. she waa small, with a gracsfnl. sofslj-romided figure, a,complexion of dszzlii>g fairness, large black .ejes fnll of animation; delicately-chiselled' features, and a hand and arm of such perfect symmetry that native poets sang of. them an mattohles. wonders of beauty. But, as a set-off to this long array of personal attractions, her obaractor was detestable. She was cruel, vindictive, and treacherous. If one of har ser.>vanta displeased or disobeyed her, sbe would order his nose and cars, to ba cut off in her presence, and watch the mutilation with gusto, whilst she placidly .smoked her hookah. When one of her dancing-girls offended her by attracting tho attention of a favourite oißcer, she in a (it of furious jealousy ordered the unfortunate girl to be buried alive. There was :i small vault under the pavement of tbe saloon in which tbe nautch dances wfcra held, and in that-vault this Begum saw her victim bricked up. AVhen the horrible work was done, she commanded the rest of the Dautob-girls to come out and dance pver the grave in which their still living sister was entombed. The Bssfum Somru waa a little over 30 when Gearge Thomas arrived at ber court. The galUnt Irishman flattered her vanity by his undisguised admiration of her charms, but, in reality, she was more' struck with ,'him than he with- her. His tall, commanding figure, his erect and martin! carriage, his bold handsome features, his plausible Irish tongue, and bis fascinating Irish manners took the fancy of the Begum. She gave him a mbs.t gracious reception, snd offisrad him a .high post-in her service. Thomas accepted the offer, and soon proved Siimself so capable ■an-officer .that the Bsgom-made him com-mander-in-chief of her forces. It was not long before the Irish adventurer had an opportunity of displaying hia generalship. There wrs a revolution io Delhi. Shah Alum, the ruling prince, was driven from his throne and capital by an upstart named Ghorlaraa Kadir, who had the impudence to ask the Begum to ba hia wife aad share with him ithe crown of the Great Moguls. The,offer ,'was scornfully rejected, and the Begum at once set off to the assistance cf her old friend .'and ally,' with a force of five battalions of l^epoys, 2-00 Europeans (mostly Frenchmen), and 40 guns; the whole under the command of George Thomas. Shah Alum was making his last stand against the usurper, and tbe • fortunes of W3r 'were going heavily against him, when the Begum Somru in her palanquin at the head of hor army arrived upon :the field of battle. By his brilliant generalship and ths steady valour oi his eplendidlytriined Sepoys, Gaorge Thorns turned defeat into victory. The rebels weie routed, the lisurpor waa slain, and Shah Alum was securely re-established on his throne. The .star of the lucky Irishman was now in the ascendant. He became the Begum's principal advieer—ber grand vizier, iv fact. He married a'beautiful slave girl whom the Begum had adopted as her daughter, and was regarded as her certain successor in the sovereignty of Sardhana. Tbon tbe Begum begun to repent of having allowed the handsome Irishman to tnarty anyone but herself:. Mad with jealousy, She tried to induce Thomas to get rid of bis wife; but he was fond of his beautiful slave girl, and had no mind to exchange her for tha Begum, whose beauty was oa the wane, arid whoso temper was that of a tigress.

At this juncture another remarkable parson appeared upon ths scene, who was destined to play an important part ia the Sardhana drama. The new arrival was a Neapolitan named Levassoo, cr Le A rassoult, a handsome, clever adventurer, who rapidly gained an extraordinary influence ovor the fickle Begum, He was undoubtedly a mau of ability, bnt. st^ra, haughty, and domineering. His arroganca disgusted aU the officers id the Begum's service ; and when she carried her infatuation for the stranger so far as to marry him, mo3t of them prepared to leave her court. Among these w&3 Geoige Thomas. It was impossible that, one small state should bold two such men as the Irishman and the Neapolitan. 'Xhey were tbe deadliest rivals. George Tho-ana3 felt that his influence in Sardhana was sons. He'knew that, the Begum and Le ArassonSt, were plotting bis assassination. .It was tim:; for bim to go ; so be went, taking with hiru hU own special regiment of 250 picked cavalrymen. A neighbouring Mahratta prince granted him a tract of territ.ovy for himself and his msu, on condition of having their services if required. But Thomas knew very well that, if he wished ro keep his troopers together, he must, give them plunder, and as his late mistres?, the Begum, owed bim large arrears of pay, he levied contributions on some of her ontyling dominions. La Vassoult, glad of an excuse to crush his bated rival, took prompt steps to avepge this outrage, and marched against Thomas at the heod of the Begum's army. Bat before tbo rivals met dimension and mutiny had done their work among tbe Begum's troops. Tbo jgalous and imperious Neapolitan had quarrelled with the oply competent commander left; in the Begum's service after Thomas's departure.. 'This man, a native of Liege, was an excellent soldier and popular with the troops, but he was a personal friend of Thomas's, aud that rendered bim obnoxious to Le Vassoult, who insulted aud degraded him. The Liegeois, in revenge, fostered the spirit of mutiny already smouldering among the men, and, at a preconcerted signal, the bulk pf the Bsgum'n army, instead of marching against their old leader Thomas, revolted, elebted the Liegeois tbeir commander, and announced their intention of deposing the Begum and placing a son of Somru by a previous wife upon the throne.

The Begum was captured when attempting to escape from her palace. Her palanquin was surrounded by rebel soldiers before Le Vassoult, who was on horseback at the head of a few followers, could reach her. He gathered hia handful of cavalry together for a charge. Some shots were exchanged, and there would noon have been a bloody melee had not the Bagum suddenly diverted attention to hersalf, Rising in her palanquin, she draw a poniard, plunged it into her breast, and with a shriek fell back bleeding. Her horrified attendants screamed, " Help I help I she has stabbed herself," and there was a general rush to the palanquin. Le Vassoult, who, whatever his faults may have been, was passionately fond of his wife, reined in hia horse and asked what had happened. He was told that the Begum had stabbed herself, but he did not seem to comprehend the reply. He repeated the. question, the answer was the same. " Stabbed herself !" he muttered; then, without another word, drow a pistol from bis holster, placed it to his fore--head, lirad, and fell dead from his saddle.— Chambers's Journal. ,

— In the smaller towns in France, when a fire breaks out, a insspeager h»3 to make the rounds of tho town summoning the firemen from their work. These messengers are now mounted on bicycles, and are able to summon the fircf men in a much stwi'tar time than Jor/norlx,