TO THfc KINGS 
 
 MOST 
 EXCELLENT 
 
 MAJESTY 
 
 ^r T 
 
 *
 
 THE LIBRARY 
 
 OF 
 
 THE 
 
 OF 
 
 LOS 
 
 UNIVERSITY 
 CALIFORNIA 
 ANGELES
 
 MEMOIRS 
 
 OF THE 
 
 EXTRAORDINARY MILITARY CAREER 
 
 OF 
 
 JOHN SHIPP, 
 
 LATE A LIEUTENANT IN HIS MAJESTY'S 87TH REGIMENT. 
 
 WRITTEN BY HIMSELF. 
 
 " Rnde am I in speech, 
 
 And little bless'd with the soft phrase of peace ; 
 For, since these arms of mine had seven years' pith, 
 Till now some nine moons wasted, they have used 
 Their dearest action in the tented field; 
 And little of this great world can I speak, 
 More than pertains to feats of broil and battle: 
 * * Yet, by your patience, 
 
 I will a round unvarnished tale deliver." 
 
 VOL. I. 
 
 LONDON: 
 HURST, CHANCE, AND CO. 
 
 1829.
 
 V 
 
 LIST OF SUBSCRIBERS. 
 
 General Sir John Doyle, Bart., 2 copies. 
 
 Major-General Sir Thomas Reynell, Bart. 
 
 Major-General Sir George Ash, Bart. 
 
 Major-General J. Watson, C.B., 3 copies. 
 
 General Newbury. 
 
 General Need. 
 
 General Heydenger. 
 
 Colonel Denty, East India Company's Service. 
 
 Colonel Knight, ditto. 
 
 Colonel P. Philpot, late 24th Light Dragoons, 2 copies. 
 
 Colonel Effingham Lindsay, 22d Foot, 2 copies. 
 
 Colonel George Becher, Company's Service. 
 
 Colonel Hay, Company's Recruiting Dep6t. 
 
 Colonel Thomas Valiant, Commandant 40th Foot, 2 copies. 
 
 Major Cunningham, Bengal Native Infantry, 4 copies. 
 
 Major Mead, ditto. 
 
 Major Showers, ditto. 
 
 Major Shadwell, 4 copies. 
 
 Major Waythe, late Maidstone Cavalry Depot. 
 
 Major E. R. Stevenson, 76th Foot. 
 
 Captain G. Beauclerk, Royal Welch Fusiliers. 
 
 Captain Covell, Barrack-Master. 
 
 5138,89 
 
 US SETS
 
 vi LIST OF SUBSCRIBERS. 
 
 Captain Roberdeaux, 4th Bengal Cavalry. 
 
 Captain Scott. 
 
 Captain Elliott. 
 
 Captain Mai-tin French, late 18th Hussars. 
 
 Captain Gates. 
 
 Paymaster W. Bates, 65th Regiment. 
 
 The Library of the 65th Regiment. 
 
 Captain Marshall, 2 copies. 
 
 The Twelfth Regiment Royal Hussars, 16 copies* 
 
 Major Badcock, 8th Hussars. 
 
 Major Brett, ditto. 
 
 Captain Lord George Hill, ditto. 
 
 Captain Ponsonby, ditto. 
 
 Captain Lyons, ditto. 
 
 Captain Morgell, ditto. 
 
 Captain Hankey, ditto, 2 copies. 
 
 Captain Whittaker, ditto. 
 
 Lieutenant Sir W. Young, ditto* 
 
 Lieutenant Shedden, ditto. 
 
 Lieutenant M'Call, ditto. 
 
 Cornet Macnamara, ditto. 
 
 Cornet Ball, ditto. 
 
 Cornet King, ditto. 
 
 Cornet Thomas, ditto. 
 
 Cornet Shewell, ditto. 
 
 Cornet Christmas, ditto. 
 
 Major W. H. Gully, 87th Regiment. 
 
 Captain Lord A. Chichester, ditto. 
 
 Captain J. Fenton, ditto. 
 
 Captain W. Hutchinson, ditto. 
 
 Captain James Bowes, ditto. 
 
 Captain T. O'Brien, ditto. 
 
 Captain J. S. Doyle, ditto.
 
 LIST OF SUBSCRIBERS. Vll 
 
 Captain the Honourable H. N. C. Massey, ditto. 
 
 Lieutenant G. Mainwaring, ditto. 
 
 Lieutenant R. R. Harris, ditto. 
 
 Lieutenant W. L. Stafford, ditto. 
 
 Lieutenant W. Smyth, ditto. 
 
 Lieutenant P. Ramsay, ditto. 
 
 Lieutenant P. F. Blake, dittoi 
 
 Lieutenant C. Greaves, ditto. 
 
 Quarter-Master S. Carr, ditto. 
 
 Captain Paul, Madras Native Cavalry. 
 
 Lieutenant Campbell, ditto. 
 
 Captain George Brady, Madras Infantry. 
 
 Lieutenant Anthony Brady, ditto. 
 
 Lieutenant Harden, ditto. 
 
 Lieutenant Johnson. 
 
 Lieutenant F. M. Martyn, 2nd Horse Guards. 
 
 Lieutenant Paling, late 24th Dragoons, 2 copies. 
 
 Lieutenant Connor, 40th Foot. 
 
 Ensign Rowlins, dkto. 
 
 Ensign Rogers, ditto. 
 
 Ensign Keane, ditto. 
 
 Ensign Sheil. 
 
 Lieutenant Jones. 
 
 Cornet Jones. 
 
 Quarter-Master St. Marshall, 40th Foot. 
 
 J. Dart, Esq., Secretary of the East India Company. 
 
 J. Morris, Esq., East India Director. 
 
 J. P. Mellaird, Esq., 4 copies. 
 
 William Roper; Esq., 3 copies. 
 
 William Tindall, Esq. 
 
 Rev. G. F. Nicholas, 2 copies. 
 
 Rev. J. Cole, 2 copies. 
 
 Rev. James Smith.
 
 Vlll LIST OF SUBSCRIBERS. 
 
 John Rannie, Esq., 3 copies. 
 
 John Becher, Esq., 5 copies. 
 
 Charles Becher, Esq. 
 
 Richard Becher, Esq. 
 
 Robert Becher, Esq. 
 
 Charles W. Gibson, Esq., 2 copies. 
 
 C. F. Gibson, Esq. 
 
 G. H. Gibson, Esq. 
 
 Edward Gibson, Esq. 
 
 John Stephen, Esq. 
 
 Mr. Alderman Venables. 
 
 J. Nelstrope, Esq. ,'."' "i" 
 
 Richard Sanderson, Esq. 
 
 John H. Brady, Esq. 
 
 James S. Buckingham, Esq. 
 
 F. Nicholas, Esq. . < 
 
 Messrs. Greenwood, Cox, and Co., 2 copies. 
 
 Wageman, Esq., 2 copies. 
 I. G. Palling, Esq., 2 copies. 
 John Small, Esq. 
 
 Edward Baker, Esq., Ipswich. 
 
 C. B. Lincoln, Esq. 
 
 James Smith, Esq., 6 copies. 
 
 J. Churchman, Esq. 
 
 W. White, Esq. 
 
 J. Potter, Esq. 
 
 Weston, Esq. 
 
 Halton, Esq. ^ 
 J. Phipps, Esq. 
 
 James Henry, Esq. 
 
 Ronald, Esq. 
 
 H. Hebden, Esq. >^uJ 
 
 William Williams, Esq.
 
 LIST OF SUBSCRIBERS. IX 
 
 John Russell, Esq. 
 
 Charles Smith, Esq. 
 
 Tupper, Esq. 
 
 Henry Ellis, Esq. 
 
 Philip James, Esq. 
 
 J. Booth, Esq. 3 copies. 
 
 William Briggs, Esq. 
 
 George Hepworth, Esq. 
 
 Charles Feldwick, Esq. 
 
 A. L. Phelps, Esq. 
 
 Henry Deval, Esq. 
 
 William Deval, Esq. 
 
 R. R. Becknell, Esq. 
 
 John Davidson, Esq. 
 
 John Hunter, Esq. 
 
 William Blanchard, Esq. 
 
 Thomas Jones, Esq. 
 
 Dr. Monro. 
 
 Dr. Houlton. 
 
 Dr. Bennett. 
 
 William Carter, Esq. 
 
 Henry Herman, Esq. 
 
 William Copland, Esq. 
 
 George Roberts, Esq. 
 
 Dr. Harcourt, 1 1th Dragoons. 
 
 Dr. Churchill. 
 
 Dr. Canstatt. 
 
 Henry Maddock, Esq. 
 
 I. M. Bincks, Esq. 
 
 G. F. Isaac, Esq. 
 
 T. I. Parker, Esq. 
 
 T. Rock, Esq., East India Company's Service. 
 
 John Mearing, Esq.
 
 LIST OF SUBSCRIBERS. 
 
 Mrs. Long of Suffolk, 2 copies. 
 
 Mrs. North of Suffolk, 2 copies. 
 
 Miss Smith. 
 
 Mrs. Whittaker. 
 
 Mrs. Wallis. 
 
 A Friend to Merit, 2 copies. 
 
 An Old Friend, 2 copies. 
 
 Six Ladies, 6 copies. 
 
 Friends Anonymous, 31 copies.
 
 PREFACE. 
 
 IN laying before the public a familiar 
 and unreserved detail of the incidents and 
 adventures of my past life, I trust it will 
 not for a moment be supposed that I am ac- 
 tuated by vanity, or by a desire to make 
 an ostentatious display of my military ser- 
 vices. That, in the course of those services, 
 1 have exercised some degree of daring, to 
 the merit (if any) attached to which I may 
 justly lay claim, I do not affect to deny ; 
 but it is far, very far, from my thoughts, 
 to assume the possession of uncommon for- 
 titude, or to arrogate to myself any degree
 
 Xll PREFACE. 
 
 of heroism superior to that which would 
 be displayed, on occasions which required 
 it, by every brave officer in his Majesty's 
 service. 
 
 Having thus, first, disclaimed all inten- 
 tion of boasting of my performances, or of 
 holding myself up as a prodigy of valour, 
 it becomes me next to declare that I do 
 not pretend to afford the reader any import- 
 ant intelligence respecting our Indian pos- 
 sessions, either as regards statistics or po- 
 litics. Information on these subjects must 
 be sought in the works of writers of far 
 higher pretensions than the humble author 
 of these Memoirs. 
 
 My design has been to present the public 
 with a simple and unadorned narration of 
 my own life, from the period of my infancy
 
 PREFACE. Xlll 
 
 to the date of my having been, unfortu- 
 nately, compelled to quit his Majesty's ser- 
 vice. Interspersed with the incidents and 
 adventures which have marked my career, 
 will be found various amusing, and some 
 affecting anecdotes, with my remarks (of- 
 fered with extreme diffidence, though with 
 great sincerity), on corporal punishment 
 in the army, and on other subjects upon 
 which I deem myself privileged to avow 
 my sentiments, with the conviction that I 
 cannot possibly give offence to any one. 
 
 If, among the anecdotes which I have 
 introduced, the eye of criticism may detect 
 many which may be deemed of too trivial 
 a nature, and devoid of that piquancy 
 which can alone confer a value on such 
 light and unimportant materials, I can only
 
 V1V PREFACE. 
 
 plead that I may have been led to over- 
 estimate their merit, from the hearty laugh- 
 ter which they created when they were first 
 noted by me ; and I trust it will be recol- 
 ected that it is a rough soldier who has ven- 
 tured to think them worthy of publicity. 
 So, also, if i in my account of the battles and 
 sieges in which I have had the honour to 
 participate, my details shall appear flimsy 
 or meagre, more especially as concerns the 
 objects of the government of India in the 
 various campaigns in which I have been 
 engaged, be it remembered that I do not 
 profess to know their designs ; that my con- 
 stant occupation in my professional duties 
 afforded me no time to study them; and 
 that it is the subaltern's duty to act, and 
 not to reason.
 
 PREFACE. XV 
 
 It is with considerable pain that I feel 
 myself bound to confess that my principal 
 object in submitting these Memoirs to the 
 notice of the public, is the hope of attract- 
 ing attention to my present unfortunate 
 situation. Inured, I may almost say from 
 my infancy, to the pursuits of war; having 
 always been an enthusiastic admirer of the 
 profession of a soldier; and having attes- 
 tations that on many perilous occasions I 
 have performed the duties of that profes- 
 sion to the satisfaction of my superiors; I 
 cannot but admit that I feel with intense 
 severity the sentence which condemns me 
 to be no longer an aspirant in the field of 
 glory. To the justice of that sentence I 
 bow with humility, for it seems to be the 
 opinion of my best friends that I acted in-
 
 XVI PREFACE. 
 
 temperately under mistaken notions; but 
 its effect I must ever feel acutely, and I 
 cannot refrain from expressing a hope which 
 I can never cease to indulge that 1 shall 
 not be permitted, at the age of forty-three, 
 and in active and vigorous health, to linger 
 out my days an outcast from that profession 
 in which my life has hitherto been spent ; 
 for which I am qualified by nature and 
 habit ; and to which I am enthusiastically 
 attached by inclination. 
 
 My Memoirs, such as they are, I leave to 
 the indulgent consideration of a liberal 
 public. 
 
 JOHN SHIPP. 
 
 Bhurtpore Cottage, 
 
 Alpha Road, Regent's Park, 
 
 January, 1829.
 
 MEMOIRS 
 
 OF 
 
 JOHN SHIPP, 
 
 &c. &c. 
 
 CHAPTER I. 
 
 IN the ponderous mouldy register of the little mar- 
 ket-town of Saxmundham, in the county of Suffolk, 
 covered with the red remnants of the old worn-out 
 velvet pulpit-cushion of the said village church, into 
 which the Christian Religion had been beaten and 
 enforced, both with clenched fist and pointed elbow, 
 and which now plainly told the congregation that it 
 had at last yielded only to Parson Brown's impressive 
 manner and arguments ; in this prodigious volume, 
 protected by huge brass clasps, which naught but 
 the rough hand of the man of skulls * could force to 
 
 * The sexton of the parish. 
 VOL. I. B
 
 Z MEMOIRS OF JOHN SHIPP. 
 
 obedience ; after the oft-wetted thumb had aroused 
 some hundreds of gigantic leaves from their peaceful 
 slumber, and the book had opened wide its time-worn 
 pages, there was (and I doubt not is still to be) dis- 
 covered, a plainly-written record, setting forth, in 
 most intelligible terms, that I, John Shipp, the hum- 
 ble author of these memoirs, came into this wicked 
 and untoward generation, on the 16th day of March, 
 A- D. 1785. If this register be an authentic enrol- 
 ment, which I have neither reason nor inclination to 
 doubt, I was the second son of Thomas and Letitia 
 Shipp, persons of honest fame, but in indigent cir- 
 cumstances, who had both " drank deep" of the cup 
 of sorrow. Of the latter of those dear parents I was 
 bereft in my infancy ; and, as my father was a soldier 
 in a foreign clime, thus was I thrown on the world's 
 tempestuous ocean, to buffet with the waves of care, 
 and to encounter the breakers of want. 
 
 At the death of my poor mother, I was left, with 
 my elder brother, in utter destitution. The ad- 
 vantage which other children derive from the sup- 
 port and good counsel of an affectionate father, 
 we had never known ; and we were now suddenU
 
 MEMOIRS OF JOHN SHIPP. 3 
 
 bereft of a fond mother's fostering care, and, with 
 it, of our humble parental home. Where, under 
 such circumstances, could we look for protection ? 
 Friends we had few, if any; and those who might 
 have been generously disposed to assist us, were, 
 unfortunately, incapacitated, by their own distressed 
 circumstances, from extending a helping hand 
 towards us. Need I feel shame, then, in avowing 
 that there was one place .of refuge, and one place 
 only, in which two helpless orphans could obtain, 
 at once, food, clothes, and shelter; and that that 
 one asylum was the village poor-house ! 
 
 At the age of nine I was deprived of my brother, 
 who was pressed on board a man-of-war. He was a 
 remarkably fine youth of about fourteen; and, being 
 of a wild spirited disposition, I have every reason 
 to believe that but little pressing was required to 
 induce him to go to sea; but rather, that being, 
 like myself, homeless and dependant, he gladly 
 availed himself of the opportunity which offered 
 of setting his youthful heart free from bondage, by 
 becoming a volunteer in the service of his country. 
 Since that period (now upwards of thirty years) 1 
 
 B2
 
 4 MEMOIRS OF JOHN SHIPP. 
 
 have never heard of him! Whether he early met 
 a watery grave, or still lives, I know not ; but this I 
 know, and cannot restrain myself from stating, that 
 the uncertainty of his fate haunts me day and night, 
 and stands an eternal barrier between me and peace. 
 Could I but again see him, though it were even as 
 a wandering mendicant, in the tattered garb of 
 poverty, it would afford me comparative happiness 
 to what I now feel from entire ignorance of his doom. 
 Should this simple narrative, by any possible chance, 
 happen to meet the eye of one who is acquainted 
 with my poor brother or his fate, any information 
 concerning him will be gratefully received by 
 me, * to say how gratefully it were difficult to at- 
 tempt. 
 
 To return to my own memoirs : now that my bro- 
 ther had left me, I was desolate indeed ! His de- 
 parture afflicted me most sincerely, and I felt myself 
 alone in the wide world, a friendless, isolated being. 
 
 * My brother's Christian name was Robert. He was pressed 
 in the year 1796, but on board what ship I could never learn. His 
 age would now be about forty-eight or forty-nine ; and he pro- 
 mised to be a tall, handsome man, of rather fair complexion, but 
 with dark eyes.
 
 MEMOIRS OF JOHN SHIPP. 5 
 
 But the spirits of childhood, buoyant and elastic, 
 though they may be depressed for a time, readily 
 accommodate themselves to all exigencies, and rise 
 superior to the greatest calamities. Grief, however 
 poignant at first, will not dwell long with youth ; and 
 the ingenuity and curiosity of a boy, ever on the alert 
 to discover some new expedient with which to amuse 
 his mind and to gratify his fickle fancy, effectually 
 prevent him from indulging in unavailing despon- 
 dency. I was naturally a wild dog, of an active 
 unconquerable spirit ; and, although the miseries pe- 
 culiar to my friendless situation could not but at 
 first severely affect me, yet, after a short time, I 
 found that, in spite of them all, I had so contrived it 
 as to have established in the village a character for 
 mischief infinitely superior to that possessed by any 
 other boy of my own age. This character, however 
 reverenced by boys of the same genius, was not, it 
 must be acknowledged, very likely to increase the 
 number of my real friends ; and I therefore cannot 
 speak in very rapturous terms of the comforts I 
 enjoyed at this period of my youth. I have a recol- 
 lection of sundry tricks and misdemeanors in which
 
 MEMOIRS OF JOHN SHIPP. 
 
 1 was very actively concerned, and for which I was 
 frequently as deservedly punished ; and, as far as 
 my memory serves me, my time, just at this juncture, 
 was passed in a pretty even routine of planning and 
 executing mischief, and receiving its reward. 
 
 This, however, was not long to last; for fickle 
 fortune threw an incident in my way which diverted 
 my attention from all my former tricks arid frolics, 
 and turned my thoughts into a new channel. One 
 autumn's morning, in the year 1797, while I was 
 playing marbles in a lane called Love Lane, and 
 was in the very act of having a shot at the whole ring 
 with my blood-alley, the shrill notes of a fife, and 
 the hollow sound of a distant drum, struck on my 
 active ear. I stopped my shot, bagged my marbles, 
 and scampered off to see the soldiers. On arriving 
 at the market-place, I found them to be a recruiting- 
 party of the Royal Artillery, who had already en- 
 listed several likely-looking fellows. The pretty 
 little well-dressed fifer was the principal object of 
 my notice. His finery and shrill music were of 
 themselves sufficient attractions to my youthful 
 fancy: but what occupied my thoughts more than
 
 MEMOIRS OF JOHN SHIPP. / 
 
 either of these, was the size of this musical warrior, 
 whose height very little exceeded that of the drum 
 by which he stood. " Surely," thought I to myself, 
 sidling up to him, te I must be myself as tall, if not 
 taller, than this little blade; and should make as 
 good a soldier !" Reflections of this nature .were 
 crowding thick into my mind, when the portly ser- 
 geant, addressing his words to the gaping rustics by 
 whom he was surrounded, but directing his eyes to 
 the bed-room windows in the vicinity of his station, 
 commenced a right royal speech. I swallowed every 
 word spoken by the royal sergeant with as much 
 avidity as the drum-major's wife would her morning 
 libation. It was all about " gentlemen soldiers" 
 " merry life" " muskets rattling" " cannons roar- 
 ing" " drums beating" " colours flying" " regi- 
 ments charging"' and shouts of " victory ! victory !" 
 On hearing these last words, the rustic bumpkins who 
 had enlisted, exposed their flowing locks, and with 
 their tattered hats gave three cheers to " the King 
 God bless him." In this I most heartily joined, to 
 the no small amusement of the assembled multitude. 
 " Victory" seemed still to ring in my ears, and the
 
 8 MEMOIRS OF JOHN SHIPP. 
 
 sound inspired my little heart with such enthusiasm, 
 that it was not until some minutes after the rest had 
 left off cheering, that I became conscious, from the 
 merriment around me, that I still held my tiny hat 
 elevated in the air, waiting for a repetition of that 
 spirit-stirring word. Finding myself observed, I 
 adjusted my hat with a knowing air, elevated my 
 beardless chin with as much consequence as I could 
 assume, and, raising myself on tiptoe to appear as 
 tall as possible, I strutted up to the sergeant, and 
 asked him, in plain words, if he would " take I for a 
 sodger ?" The sergeant smiled, and patted my head 
 in so condescending a manner, that I thought I 
 might venture to take the same liberty with the 
 head of the drum ; but in this I was mistaken, for 
 I had no sooner touched it than I received from the 
 drummer a pretty sharp rap on the knuckles for 
 my presumption : his drum-head was as sacred to 
 him as the apple of his eye. I again mounted on 
 tiptoe and urged my question, " Will you like I for 
 a sodger ?" intimating, at the same time, that I was 
 " bigger than that there chap," pointing to the little 
 fifer. Incensed at this indignity, the boy of notes
 
 MEMOIRS OP JOHN SHlPf. 
 
 was so nettled, that he commenced forthwith to 
 impress on my face and head striking marks of his 
 irritation in being thus degradingly referred to. This 
 I felt that I could have returned with compound 
 interest; but, as my antagonist had the honour of 
 wearing his Majesty's livery, I deemed it wiser to 
 pocket the affront with my marbles, and make the 
 best of my way off. I accordingly made a retrograde 
 movement towards home, full of the scene I had just 
 witnessed, and vociferating as I went along, <e left, 
 right," " right, left," " heads up, soldiers," 
 " eyes right," " eyes left," &c. In short, I had 
 thus suddenly not only been toiiched by the military, 
 but got the military touch; and from that 1 day forth 
 I could neither say nor do anything, but in what I 
 thought a soldier-like style : my play consisted chiefly 
 of evolutions and manoeuvres, and my conversation 
 of military phrases. 
 
 Shortly after this adventure, I was sent to live with 
 a farmer in the town, whose heart was as cold as the 
 hoar-frost which often blighted his fairest prospects. 
 Fortunately for me, however, his wife was of a dif- 
 ferent disposition. This good dame proved almost a 
 
 B5
 
 10 MEMOIRS OF JOHN SHIPP. 
 
 second mother to me, and frequently screened me 
 from the effects of my master's rage ; but so restless 
 and untoward (to say the truth), were my inclinations 
 and propensities, and so imperious in his commands, 
 and unrelenting in his anger, was my master, that, 
 in spite of my kind mistress's intercession in my 
 favour, I seldom passed a day without being subjected 
 to his cruel lash. This treatment was but little cal- 
 culated either to conciliate my affections, or to effect 
 a reformation in my conduct. My feelings became 
 hardened under the lash of oppression ; and my de- 
 sire to leave a place so little congenial with my dispo- 
 sition increased daily. Meantime, all the cats and 
 dogs in my master's house were made to go through 
 military evolutions ; the hoes and rakes were trans- 
 formed into muskets, and the geese and turkeys into 
 soldiers. Even my master's whip, which was always 
 in requisition at the conclusion of these perform- 
 ances, could not eradicate my propensity for " sol- 
 diering," Every time his back was turned, my mili- 
 tary exercises were resumed ; and, when I could not 
 by possibility find time to be thus actively engaged, I 
 solaced myself with whistling, God Save the King
 
 MEMOIRS OP JOHN SHIPP. 1 1 
 
 The British Grenadiers, and See the Conquering 
 Hero Comes. The first of these tunes I once com- 
 menced in the church-yard during a funeral service, 
 for which I got the sexton's cane over my back; 
 " that being no place," as the said sexton judiciously 
 remarked, " to show my loyalty in." Even the old 
 women in the parish could not pass me without a mi- 
 litary salute, such as Heads up, missis ! Eyes right, 
 missis! Keep the step, missis! Sec. These pranks 
 often brought me into disgrace and trouble, and 
 usually ended with an application of the end of my 
 master's whip. 
 
 In the dreary month of December, when the 
 white snow danced along the glen, and the icicle 
 sparkled on the hoary oak, I had transported my 
 frozen limbs into a turnip-field, close by the Great 
 Yarmouth Road, where I stood shrivelled up like a 
 dried mushroom, plotting and planning how to 
 escape from the truly wretched situation in which 
 I felt myself to be then placed. I had just put my 
 cold fingers into my mouth for the purpose of warm- 
 ing them, and had given them the first puff, when I 
 heard the distant sound of martial music. Down
 
 12 MEMOIRS OF JOHN SHIPP. 
 
 went my hands, and up went my heels. I made art 
 eschellon movement towards the place ; jumped over 
 the gate ; brought up my right shoulder a little ; then 
 gave the word forward, and marched in double- 
 quick time. The music soon got nearer, or, at all 
 events, I soon got so near to the music that I was 
 glad to halt. Just at this moment the whole band 
 struck up, Over the Hills and Far Away, which 
 kindled a flame in my bosom which nothing but 
 death can extinguish, though I have now long since 
 had my full share of the reality of the Scotch melody. 
 On coming up to the party of soldiers, I gave the 
 colonel a military salute, by first slapping my lea- 
 thers, then bringing up my right hand (which, by 
 the bye, was the wrong hand), to" my forehead, and 
 extending the thumb as far as I could from my 
 fingers. I continued in this position, keeping my 
 elbow parallel with the top of my head, until the 
 colonel came close up to me, and, remarking how 
 studiously I retained the same position, conde- 
 scendingly said, with a smile, " that's a fine fellow." 
 On this head, I perfectly agreed with the gallant 
 commandant, as may be readily supposed; and the
 
 MEMOIRS OF JOHN SHIPP, 13 
 
 compliment so elated me, that I felt by no means 
 certain whether I stood on my head or my heels, but 
 ran about, first in the front, then in the rear, until 
 at last I ran bump up against" master," who 
 presented himself to my astonished eyes, mounted 
 on Corporal Dash (a horse of his I had so named), 
 with a long hunting-whip (a very old friend of 
 mine) in his hand. The moment I recognized 
 these old acquaintances, I saw that I had not a 
 minute to lose ; so, making up my mind that a good 
 retreat was far better than a bad fight, I ran off at 
 full charge, as fast as my legs would carry me, my 
 master riding after me, and roaring out most lustily, 
 Stop, stop ! If, instead of stop, he had said halt, it 
 is more than probable that my legs would instinc- 
 tively have obeyed ; for, from the constant drills to 
 which they had been subjected, they began to move 
 quite mechanically. As it was, however, on I went, 
 until a stile brought my master up, when, as I was 
 quite out of breath, I thought I might as well halt 
 too. Here I had the satisfaction of hearing my 
 master swear roundly, that he would kill me when he 
 caught me. "Thank God," thought I to myself,
 
 14 MEMOIRS OF JOHN SHIPP. 
 
 " you have not got me yet." The moment my per- 
 secutor rode on, I cut across a field, and again gained 
 the head of the corps of Royal Horse Artillery, who 
 were at this time just entering the suburbs of the 
 village. Here I dared not venture to follow them 
 any farther, until my master's hurricane had blown 
 over ; so I mounted a gate, where my heart yearned 
 after them, as that of a wounded soldier does after 
 his corps in the battle's heat. Here I again set my 
 wits to work how to elude the chastisement I was 
 sure to receive from the infuriated man of clods. 
 The regiment which I had seen was, I had ascer- 
 tained, on its march to Yarmouth, to embark for fo- 
 reign service ; and, from the condescending manner 
 of the colonel (who returned my salute), I made no 
 doubt whatever that he would be glad to take me for 
 a soldier. Full of these thoughts, I loitered about 
 all day, but dared not venture in, until, at length, 
 my interior began to express wants respecting which 
 I had not before reflected. These demands were of 
 a nature not to be drilled into obedience; so, at 
 last, overcome by fatigue and inanition, in I marched, 
 having first seen my master march out. My mis-
 
 MEMOIRS OP JOHN SHIPP. 15 
 
 tress, who was ever ready to act the part of a kind 
 mother towards me, soon provided me with a sub- 
 stantial meal. I was not long in doing justice to the 
 repast thus kindly set before me; and, having effec- 
 tually satisfied my appetite for the time present, I 
 took the precaution of lining my pockets with a large 
 hunch of bread and cheese, to subsist on the fol- 
 lowing day, when I intended to be in light marching 
 order to follow the soldiers. Having thus pru- 
 dently provided in some degree for the future, I 
 betook myself to my usual occupations ; but I had 
 not commenced work more than five minutes, when 
 I espied my master reconnoitreing me from behind a 
 hedge. Presently he crossed a stile with a large 
 whip in his hand, and I could discern, from his art- 
 ful movements, that it was his intention to come 
 upon me unperceived. Now and then, in order that 
 my fears might not be excited, he would stoop down 
 and pull a turnip ; but I was too good a soldier my- 
 self to be out-general'd in this manner. I stood 
 from my work, the better to observe the enemy's 
 movements, and kept my eye upon the fugleman. 
 At last, I saw him make preparations to arrange his
 
 16 MEMOIRS OF JOHN SHIPP. 
 
 whip ; so I immediately arranged my legs for a start. 
 "Every step that he now takes/' thought I to myself, 
 " is a step nearer to my back ; whereas, now that I 
 have ten yards' start, there is still a chance for me." 
 My master perceived that I was ready for a bolt, 
 and soon broke from slow time into quick, and from 
 quick to double-quick, which put me to the charge, 
 my master following me, swearing, threatening, and 
 roaring out, Stop him, stop him! a second time. 
 I turned round to look who was likely to stop me, 
 when my foot came in contact with a large clod, and I 
 tumbled, heels over head. Here the chase ended, 
 for my tyrant caught hold of me by a smock-frock 
 which I had on, and commenced flogging me ; but, 
 from the race I had given him, I found he was so 
 winded that he had not strength left to hurt me 
 much ; so I " showed fight" at once by seizing hold 
 of the lash of the whip. This so enraged him, that he 
 threw me from him with such violence, that one side 
 of the smock-frock and I parted company, and I had 
 just sufficient time left me to get up again and make 
 my escape, which I did, leaving my master, as a 
 token of my unalterable affection, the one side of
 
 MEMOIRS OF JOHN SHIPP. 17 
 
 my upper garment. Let it be his winding-sheet, for 
 he was a cruel monster! 
 
 The remaining half of my smock-frock I stuck in 
 a hedge in the same field, as a further token of my 
 regard, and as a proof of my anxiety to leave him all 
 I could spare. I then made a movement towards 
 the town, in the hope that I should see the colonel, 
 but he was not to be found ; and I went from public- 
 house to public-house, in search of the soldiers, till 
 night began to don her sombre mantle, which was as 
 gloomy as my poor little friendless bosom. Go 
 home I dared not; so, after wandering about the 
 farmer's house, I at last got into the stable, and 
 slept ah 1 night in the hay-loft, dreaming I was a ge- 
 neral, and riding over the battle's plain. Here I 
 slept as sound as a dead soldier, until I was awoke 
 in the morning by the gruff voice of my master, in- 
 quiring if they had seen anything of me, and pro- 
 testing that, whenever he caught me, he would skin 
 me alive. "Bob" (one of his men), he bellowed 
 out, " saddle that there old horse, Corporal Dash, 
 and I'll go and see where he is, and, if I catches him, 
 I'll put him in the stocks, and see if that can't
 
 18 MEMOIRS OF JOHN SHIPP. 
 
 cool his courage for him. He is the most tarna- 
 tionest and outdationest lad I have ever seen; it 
 was only the day before yesterday, that I catched 
 him riding the old sow, Polly, with a pitchfork, and 
 singing out Victory, victory; but I'll see if the 
 stocks won't cool him." The old corporal was saddled 
 accordingly, and led out- I could distinctly see him 
 through a small hole in the loft, and he trotted off to- 
 wards the market-place. I now began to think what 
 place was best and safest for me. Skinning alive I 
 could not bear the thoughts of; and, as to the stocks, 
 it is true they might have cooled me, for it was freez- 
 ing hard, and as bitter a morning as ever blew from 
 the heavens; but there was nothing soldier-like in 
 the situation, and the thoughts of such a position were 
 not to be endured. 
 
 As soon as Bob had left the place to go to his 
 work, I began to form plans for my retreat. Re- 
 solved, for the present, to act on the defensive, I 
 first reconnoitred the course, to see that the enemy 
 was not lying in ambush for me, or lurking in the vi- 
 cinity of my hiding-place. Finding all clear, I de- 
 scended to the stable, and soon gained the road.
 
 MEMOIRS OF JOHN SHIPP. 19 
 
 Having passed through the barn-yard and orchard, 
 I peeped in at the farm-house, but could not catch a 
 glimpse of my kind mistress. My bread and cheese 
 I had eaten the preceding evening, and my stomach 
 began now to evince symptoms of mutinous commo- 
 tion; but the fear of falling again into the hands of 
 my merciless enemy prevailed over all other consi- 
 derations, and, in an adjoining field, I regaled my- 
 self very contentedly on a turnip. I had just con- 
 cluded this sumptuous repast, and was beginning to 
 reflect seriously on the situation in which I had 
 placed myself, when the band struck up that beauti- 
 ful old melody, The Girl I left behind Me. This 
 was both meat and drink to me, and its sweet notes 
 comforted my before-inconsolable bowels. I put my- 
 self in marching and soldier-like attitude ; and with 
 my hands stuck close to my leathers ; my fingers di- 
 rected towards the earth; chin elevated; toes 
 pointed; thus I stepped off with the left leg, keeping 
 time with the tune, until I arrived at the toU-gate, 
 about a quarter of a mile from the town. Here I 
 could not help halting, to look back on the little 
 place of my birth, the scene of my boyhood and of
 
 20 MEMOIRS OF JOHN SHIPP. 
 
 many a sportive hour. I found the tear trickling 
 down my cheek. It was near the grave of my fond 
 mother, too. I hesitated for some time, whether to 
 proceed or return ; but my master's dreadful threat 
 rushed upon my mind in all its terror, and this im- 
 pelled me onwards; and I again joined the followers, 
 men and boys, girls and dogs. I was but a child, 
 but I was a child cast upon the world, parentless and 
 in the hands of a cruel master. I could not believe 
 it possible to be worse off, and therefore continued 
 my march towards Yarmouth, without a mouthful of 
 bread to eat, or a penny in my pocket. I knew not 
 a soul in the place to which I was going; but my 
 truant disposition took a hop, step, and jump, over 
 all difficulties. 
 
 My worldly effects consisted of a hat, which had 
 once been round, but which, from my continually 
 turning and twisting it into the shape of cocked-hats, 
 road-hats, soldiers' caps, &c. was now any shape you 
 wished; a little fustian jacket; waistcoat of the same 
 material ; a coarse shirt, which, from a violent shak- 
 ing-fit, was completely in rags ; a pair of leathers, 
 intolerably fat and greasy ; ribbed worsted stockings ;
 
 MEMOIRS OF JOHN SHIPP. 21 
 
 and a thwacking pair of high-lows, nailed from heel 
 to toe. These, with a little stick, were my only in- 
 cumbrances, save a gloomy prospect. I was bitterly 
 hungry and sadly tired ; but on I went, until we ar- 
 rived within a mile of Beccles, some sixteen miles 
 from home. Here some of the soldiers branched off 
 to their quarters in the vicinity of the town; but I 
 followed the greater body, as the more probable 
 means of getting something to eat. The band now 
 again struck up, Over the Hills and Far Away. I 
 marched at the head, but began to find that my poor 
 craving stomach could no longer feed upon delicious 
 melody ; so I now made up my mind to accost the 
 colonel, and ask him if he could not enlist me for a 
 soldier. The colonel seemed a kind-hearted ,man ; 
 so, as modesty on my part was now quite out of the 
 question, I bent my way to the head inn, where all the 
 officers were assembled. I inquired for the colonel, 
 and was at last shown into a room where he was sit- 
 ting, with other officers, at breakfast. I strutted up 
 to him with my hat in my hand, and made him a 
 most obsequious bow, with my hand and foot at the 
 same time. I then stood straight, as if I had swal-
 
 22 MEMOIRS OF JOHN SHIFP. 
 
 lowed a sergeant's pike ; when the colonel laughingly 
 said, " Well, my fine little rustic, what's your plea- 
 sure ?" I said, making another bow, and scraping the 
 carpet with my nailed high-lows, " Soldiering, your 
 honour." At this, the whole of the officers burst 
 into a roar of laughter, in which the colonel most 
 heartily joined. I thought it was the fashion in the 
 army, so I joined them, which only served to increase 
 their mirth, and many of them were obliged to hold 
 their sides from excess of laughter. I soon found 
 that all this merriment was at my expense, at which 
 I began to evince some slight displeasure, and was 
 just about to express it in words, when the colonel 
 said, in the most affectionate manner, " My dear lit- 
 tle child, you had better return to your fond mother's 
 lap." Here I could not help piping, and I replied, 
 " Sir, my mother is dead." " Could I even take 
 you," continued the colonel, " I should imagine that 
 I was robbing some fond parent of its child ; besides, 
 we are proceeding on foreign service, against the 
 enemy." This news only served to increase my anx- 
 iety to go, and I again entreated him to look with 
 compassion upon an orphan. I saw him turn from
 
 MEMOIRS OF JOHN SHIPP. 23 
 
 me and wipe away a falling tear ; and then, address- 
 ing me with the affection of a parent, he said, " My 
 dear little fellow, if I was going to remain in Eng- 
 land, I would take you ; but, under the present cir- 
 cumstances, I cannot." Here I again began to cry, 
 and I told him that I was sixteen miles from home, 
 and had not got a piece of bread to put in my mouth. 
 Upon this, the whole of the officers vociferated, 
 Waiter, waiter, waiter! The waiter was speedily 
 in attendance, when I was ordered breakfast by 
 twenty persons at the same time. I was still re- 
 solved not to give up my point ; but the colonel again 
 told me it would be impossible for him to take me, 
 but assured me that I should be taken care of, and 
 desired me to go down stairs and get my breakfast. 
 I did so, and, in passing round the table for the pur- 
 pose of retiring, some gave me a shilling, some six- 
 pence, so that I had more money than I had ever 
 before possessed in my life. I ate a hearty breakfast 
 in the kitchen, the servants asking me a number of 
 impertinent questions. After breakfast, I counted my 
 riches, and found that I had ten shillings, at least, in 
 my leathers, into the pockets of which I every mo-
 
 24 MEMOIRS OF JOHN SHIPP. 
 
 ment introduced my hand, to feel if all was safe. In 
 the afternoon I was ordered dinner, and at last 
 placed in the charge of a sergeant, who inquired who 
 and what I was. I slept with him, and slept most 
 soundly, too, thinking I was a soldier. Early the next 
 morning I was awoke, when the sergeant showed me 
 a note from the good-natured colonel to my master, 
 whose name and address he had pumped me out of 
 the evening before. The sergeant was proceeding 
 to Woodbridge Barracks, and he had directions to 
 take me over to my master, as well as to deliver the 
 colonel's note, which was open, and contained a most 
 earnest request that, for his sake, my master would not 
 flog me. The generous colonel had also given the 
 sergeant five shillings for me, which he gave me 
 before I started from Beccles. About three o'clock 
 in the afternoon, I arrived at my master's, who was 
 at home. The kind message of the colonel was com- 
 municated to him, and he faithfully promised the 
 sergeant that all should be forgiven and forgotten. I 
 was lured, under this promise, to return to my work, 
 resolved to do better in future ; and I began to think 
 that I really had not much reason to complain : for,
 
 MEMOIRS OF JOHN SHIPP. 25 
 
 on counting my money, I found I had fifteen shillings 
 and sixpence left, after treating the sergeant on the 
 way home. Scarcely, however, had the sun risen on 
 the following day, when my master seized me by the 
 neck, and dragged my clothes off my back. He had 
 with him a double-handed whip, such as is used by 
 colliers, and with this he lashed me so unmercifully, 
 that I have no hesitation in saying that, had not a 
 man, who was labouring in an adjoining field, inter- 
 fered, he would have killed me. He was the most 
 inhuman man I ever saw ; and, if he was not dead, 
 and his family in abject poverty, I should, before 
 this, have published his name; but, not to add to 
 their present calamities, I will bury such feelings with 
 their father, and begin a fresh chapter, with accounts 
 more interesting to my readers ; first entreating their 
 forgiveness for having dwelt so long on the scenes of 
 my boyhood.
 
 26 
 
 CHAPTER II. 
 
 ABOUT this period, 1795, the three experimental re- 
 giments * were ordered to be formed, viz. the 22nd, 
 34th, and 65th regiments ; the former at Colchester. I 
 was, one morning in that year, about the month of Janu- 
 ary or February, busily employed in a field close by my 
 master's house, when who should I see but one of 
 the parish officers, making towards me, with a large 
 paper in his hand. I began to muster and parade 
 my crimes, but found, on a fair review, that I had 
 done nothing that merited the interference of an offi- 
 cer ; so I stood up boldly till he approached me, and 
 
 * The object of government in forming these " experimental re- 
 giments," as they were called, was to relieve parishes of boys from 
 the age of ten to sixteen, who were allowed to enlist, on the parish 
 paying the expenses of their joining the recruiting depot at Col- 
 chester. Each of these regiments was composed of a thousand 
 boys, who made such excellent soldiers, that it appears extraordi- 
 nary that no such plan was ever again adopted ; the three regiments 
 here spoken of having been the only corps formed in this way.
 
 MEMOIRS OF JOHN SHEPP. 27 
 
 smilingly said, " Shipp, I have frequently heard of 
 and observed your great wish to go for a soldier." 
 He then read the paragraph, and asked me if I was 
 willing to go ; for that, if I was, the parish would rig 
 me out decently, and that he would take me to Col- 
 chester. My little heart was in my mouth; I re- 
 peated his words, will I go, and eagerly assured him 
 of the rapture with which I accepted his offer. The 
 affair was soon concluded ; so down went my shovel, 
 and off I marched, whistling See the Conquering 
 Hero Comes. By four o'clock of the same day, 
 to the honour and praise of the parish be it spoken, 
 I was rigged out in my new leather tights, new coat, 
 new hat, new shoes, new every thing, of which I 
 was not a little proud. I begged, as a particular fa- 
 vour, that I might sport colours in my hat, and even 
 this was permitted to my vanity as long as I remained 
 in the town. I took an affectionate leave of all my 
 old playfellows and my good mistress; and even my 
 cruel master was not neglected by me, for I never 
 had malice or unforgiveness in my disposition. The 
 next day, by seven o'clock in the morning, I was on 
 my way to Colchester; and, when I was seated on 
 
 V C t ZifiT 
 
 c2
 
 28 MEMOIRS OF JOHN SHIPP. 
 
 the front seat of the coach, I would not have ex- 
 changed situations with the Grand Pacha of Egypt, 
 or the King upon the throne of that land of which I 
 was a native. Scarcely had I seated myself, and ad- 
 justed my feet in a safe situation, than I indulged 
 my coach companions by whistling several martial 
 airs ; but, coming to a well-known turn of the road, 
 from which you take the farewell-peep at Saxmund- 
 ham, as much as I loved my king, I stopped short 
 in the middle of the national anthem, and my eye 
 bent its way instinctively towards my native village, 
 where I first saw the light of heaven, and rested on 
 the little village spire, which reared its gothic head 
 over the remains of my poor mother. Towards this 
 painfully interesting object I looked and looked, till 
 the place of my nativity was buried from my sight by 
 the surrounding trees. When bereft of this view, I 
 felt pensive and sad, and could only console myself 
 by reflecting that I did not fly from my parental 
 roof; nor was I deserting aged parents or unpro- 
 tected sisters, for I had no one to bewail my depar- 
 ture. Yet I could not help feeling that I left some- 
 thing behind me that hung like a magnet to my
 
 MEMOIRS OF JOHN SHIPP. 29 
 
 heart: with all my misfortunes, all my cares and 
 troubles, still I could not quit, without a pang, the 
 place of my birth, and the tomb of my beloved mo- 
 ther. At last, some gentlemen on the coach, having 
 heard my history from the person who accompanied 
 me, cheered me up, by saying that they knew the 
 corps I was going to, and that they were all lads 
 like myself. This notice from strangers so en- 
 livened me, that I began to regard myself as no 
 small personage, and I talked as much as any of 
 them, until we arrived at an inn at Colchester, where 
 we dined. Here I was marched off to the colonel of 
 the corps in which I was to serve ; from the colonel 
 to the adjutant; from the adjutant to the sergeant- 
 major; from the sergeant-major to the drum-major; 
 and thence to his wife, an old drunken Irish woman, 
 but as good a creature as ever drank whiskey. In 
 the custody of this lady the friend who came with 
 me left me, first giving me a hearty shake of the 
 hand, and wishing me every happiness. I must con- 
 fess I felt now quite deserted; about twenty boys 
 gathered round me, and I soon found that my fine 
 leathers were the subject of their ridicule and
 
 30 MEMOIRS OF JOHN SHIPP. 
 
 laughter ; some of them crying out, fe Bill, twig his 
 leathers!" "Smoke his new coat!" "My eye, 
 what a buck!" " Some gemman's son, I suppose, 
 run away from his daddy !" " Never mind," said 
 another, " we'll soon drill his leathers into hot rolls 
 and butter." Here my friend Maggy, the Irish wo- 
 man, interposed her aid in my behalf, " Arrah !" 
 said she, " what are you gazing at, you set of spal- 
 peens, you ? Be off, you set of thaves, or I will be 
 after breaking some of your hasty dirty mugs for 
 you. Arrah! don't mind them; sure they are no- 
 thing at all but a set of monkeys just catched. Come 
 here, honey, and let me see who will be after laying 
 a finger on you." Here she seated me by her side, 
 nibbed my chin, patted my back, eyed my coat and 
 breeches, and asked me if I had got any pence in 
 my pocket, with which she should get me some hot 
 rolls and butter, for ta. I gave her -a shilling, and 
 she brought two rolls and butter. The residue I sup- 
 pose she spent in gin, for she began to give me some 
 of her Irish hugs; so much so, that I wished myself 
 at a greater distance. One of the boys cried out, 
 " Ask for the change, ask her for the change, or
 
 MEMOIRS OF JOHN SHIPP. 31 
 
 she will do you." At this imputation Maggy got 
 on her legs, and, seizing a large trencher, tottered, 
 or rather staggered, towards the boy, and ex- 
 claimed, " You great big blackguard, you, do you 
 want to rob me of my name ? Take that, and bad 
 luck to you !" Here she hurled the trencher at him, 
 but the effort carried old Maggy off her legs, and 
 she exhibited her gigantic figure on the floor, to the 
 amusement of all the barrack. I could not help 
 laughing heartily, though I found I had got among a 
 queer set; when, the drum-major entering, and see- 
 ing his wife on the floor, vociferated, " Get up, 
 you old drunken hag ; or, by St. Patrick ! and that's 
 no small oath, but I'll pay you off." Here Maggy 
 made an effort to rise, but the drop had done her 
 up ; and I was obliged to give her a helping hand, 
 and she was put to bed, clothes and all. 
 
 On the following morning, I was taken to a bar- 
 ber's, and deprived of my curly brown locks. My 
 hair curled beautifully, but in a minute my poor lit- 
 tle head was nearly bald, except a small patch be- 
 hind, which was reserved for a future operation. 
 I was then paraded to the tailor's shop, and de-
 
 32 MEMOIRS OF JOHN SHIPP. 
 
 prived of my new clothes, coat, leathers, and hat, 
 for which I received, in exchange, red jacket, red 
 waistcoat, red pantaloons, and red foraging-cap. 
 The change, or metamorphosis, was so complete, 
 that I could hardly imagine it to be the same dapper 
 little fellow. I was exceedingly tall for a boy of ten 
 years of age; but, notwithstanding this, my clothes 
 were much too large : my sleeves were two or three 
 inches over my hands, or rather longer than my fin- 
 gers ; and the whole hung on me, to use a well- 
 known expression, like a purser's shirt on a hand- 
 spike. My pride was humbled, my spirits drooped, 
 and I followed the drum-major, hanging my head 
 like a felon going to the place of execution. I cut 
 such a queer figure, that all who met me turned 
 round and stared at me. At last, I mustered up 
 courage enough to ask one little chap what he was 
 staring at, when he replied, " Ask my eye, Johnny 
 Raw;" at the same time adding his extended fingers 
 and thumb to the length of his nose. Passing some 
 drummers on their way to practice, I got finely 
 roasted: " Twig the raw-skin!" "Smoke his 
 pantaloons !" " Them there trousers is what I calls
 
 MEMOIRS OF JOHN SHIPP. 33 
 
 a knowing cut !" " Look at the sign of the Red- 
 man!" &c. &c. Under this kind of file-firing I 
 reached my barrack, where I was doomed to undergo 
 the same routine of quizzing, till at length I got 
 nettled, and told one of the boys, if he did not let me 
 alone, I should take the liberty of giving him a good 
 threshing. This " pluck," as they termed it, si- 
 lenced most of my tormentors, and I was permitted, 
 for a time, to remain unmolested. In this interval 
 the drum-major went out, having first put my lea- 
 thers, &c. into his box, of which he took the key. 
 I sat myself down on a stool, which might not in- 
 aptly have been styled the stool of repentance; for 
 here I began first to think that soldiering did riot 
 possess quite so much delight as I had pictured to 
 myself. Still I resolved to put a good face on the 
 matter, and so mixed with my comrades, and in an 
 hour was as free and as much at home with them all 
 as if I had known them for years. The drift of my 
 new acquaintances, in being thus easily familiar with 
 me, was soon apparent ; for one of the knowing-ones 
 among them called me aside, and asked me if I knew 
 where to sell my coloured clothes; as, if not, he 
 
 c5
 
 34 MEMOIRS OF JOHN SHIPP. 
 
 would go with me, and show me. I told him that 
 the drum-major had them. " Yes," replied he, " I 
 know he has ; but you see as how he has no business 
 with them. Them there traps should be sold, and 
 you get the money they brings ; and, if you don't 
 keep your eye on the fugleman, he will do you out of 
 half of them." He further said, that, when he en- 
 listed, he got more than five shillings for his things. 
 I replied, that of course the drum-major would either 
 sell them for my benefit, or permit me to do it ; and, 
 if the latter, that I should be thankful for his kind- 
 ness. At this moment he entered, when the boy, 
 who had just spoken to me, approached him, and 
 said (pointing to me), " That there chap says as how 
 he wants to sell them things of his in your box, and 
 that I am to go with him, to show him the place 
 where I sold my things." To this falsehood I could 
 not submit, and I therefore went up to the drum- 
 major, and said, " Sir, I said nothing of the kind ; 
 all I said was, that I supposed you would either dis- 
 pose of the things for my benefit, or allow me to do 
 so." " Yes, yes," said the drum-major, " that's all 
 right; I will sell them for you, and you shall have
 
 MEMOIRS OF JOHN SHIPP. 35 
 
 the money." The boy here turned upon his heel, 
 muttering something like fudge, and the things were 
 put into a handkerchief and carried off into the 
 town. When the drum-major had left us, the same 
 boy came up to me, and called me a liar, stating that 
 he had a great mind to thresh me ; and, as a proof of 
 his inclination, he attempted to seize my nose be- 
 tween his finger and thumb. I got in a rage, and 
 told him, if he ventured to touch me, I would fell 
 him to the ground; when all the boys gathered 
 round us, and said, "Well done, Johnny Raw!" 
 "Well done, old leather-breeches!"" That's 
 right, Johnny Wapstraw !" Finding that I did not 
 venture to strike the first blow, my antagonist called 
 me a coward. This I knew I was not; so, as I 
 could submit to his insolence no longer, I struck him, 
 and to it we went in right earnest. After half a 
 dozen rounds my opponent gave in. This, my first 
 victory, established that I was neither a coward nor 
 to be hoaxed with impunity. Eulogiums were 
 showered down upon me, and the shouting and up- 
 roar were beyond description. I understood after- 
 wards that he was a great bully, and always fighting.
 
 36 MEMOIRS OF JOHN SHIPP. 
 
 Our boxing-match had just concluded, when the 
 drum-major entered, and produced the proceeds of 
 my clothes; viz. II. Is. 6d. for a new hat, coat, waist- 
 coat, and leathers: a fair price, some said; while 
 others thought they ought to have fetched thirty 
 shillings ; but I was very well satisfied, and stood 
 hot rolls and butter to all around, not forgetting my 
 antagonist, who shook hands, and said it was the 
 first time he had ever been beaten, and that he 
 would some day, in friendship, have another trial. 
 I assured him that I should be at any time at his 
 service, and thus this matter ended. 
 
 After this I went into town, to purchase a few 
 requisites, such as a powder-bag, puff, soap, candles, 
 grease, &c. ; and, having procured what I stood in 
 need of, I returned to my barrack, where I under- 
 went the operation of having my hair tied for the 
 first time, to the no small amusement of all the boys 
 assembled. A large piece of candle-grease was ap- 
 plied, first to the sides of my head, then to the hind 
 long hair ; after this, the same kind of operation was 
 performed with nasty stinking soap; sometimes the 
 man who was dressing me applying his knuckles, in-
 
 MEMOIRS OF JOHN SHIPP. 37 
 
 stead of the soap, to the delight of the surrounding 
 boys, who were bursting their sides with laughter to 
 see the tears roll down my cheeks. When this ope- 
 ration was over, I had to go through one of a more 
 serious nature. A large pad, or bag filled with sand, 
 was poked into the back of my head, round which 
 the hair was gathered tight, and the whole tied 
 round with a leather thong. When I was dressed, 
 for parade, I could scarcely get my eyelids to per- 
 form their office ; the skin of my eyes and face were 
 drawn so tight by the plug that was stuck in the back 
 of my head, that I could not possibly shut my eyes; 
 add to this, an enormous high stock was poked un- 
 der my chin, so that, altogether, I felt as stiff as if I 
 had swallowed a ramrod, or a sergeant's halberd. 
 Shortly after I was thus equipped, dinner was 
 served; but my poor jaws refused to act on the 
 offensive, and when I made an attempt to eat, my 
 pad behind went up and down like a sledge ham- 
 mer. 
 
 In the evening I went to parade, and was in- 
 spected by the colonel, who said I was a promising 
 lad, but that my clothes did not fit, which he ordered
 
 38 MEMOIRS OF JOHN SHIPP. 
 
 to be altered. At this moment the master of the 
 band came up to the colonel, aud said he should like 
 to have me in the band, to learn the flute and to 
 beat the triangles. This request was granted, and I 
 was the following day removed to the band-room, 
 and commenced my musical avocations, and in six 
 months I had beaten the sides of the triangles nearly 
 as thin as my own, and had also become a tolerable 
 flute-player; but, as at that time we got several 
 volunteers from the militia, among whom were two 
 excellent flute-players, I was removed back to the 
 drummer's room, and put to the fife. In a short 
 time I was made fife-major ; no small office, I assure 
 you. I wore two stripes and a tremendous long 
 sash, which almost touched the ground. As the 
 reader may suppose, I was not a little proud of my 
 new office ; I began to ride the high horse among my 
 old comrades, and to show my authority by enforcing 
 obedience by very powerful arguments, for I was 
 permitted to carry a small cane, and to use it too. 
 In the absence of the drum-major, which was fre- 
 quent, I carried the silver-headed stick, some seven 
 feet long, and when we furnished the band for gene-
 
 MEMOIRS OF JOHN SHIPP. 39 
 
 ral guard-mounting, I astonished the spectators with 
 my double demi-semi twist of my cane, and began to 
 think myself one of the brightest of the bright. At 
 this period the regiment moved to the Hythe, about 
 a mile from Colchester, and twice a day we beat 
 through the streets, followed by all the girls and 
 boys in the town, some of the rosy-cheeked beauties 
 begging me to play favourite tunes of theirs. These 
 entreaties for particular airs were urged with such 
 pathos, accompanied with such fascinating smiles 
 and leers, that the fife-major occasionally vouchsafed 
 to comply, always, however, keeping up his dignity, 
 by making a compliance with such requests appear a 
 great condescension. I strutted about the town with 
 my little cane under my arm, like some great man 
 of eminent consequence, whom the community could 
 not do without; became a great favourite with all my 
 officers ; was happy and contented ; and time passed 
 imperceptibly and very pleasantly away. Mean- 
 time, I grew very tall, though somewhat slender ; and 
 my red coat had been thrown off, for which was sub- 
 stituted a splendid white silver-laced jacket, with 
 two small silver epaulettes, which my swagger in- 
 duced to fan the evening breeze.
 
 40 MEMOIRS OF JOHN SHIPP. 
 
 My days were now comparatively cloudless ; yet 
 still my youthful tricks had not entirely left me. 
 Some of these frequently led me into scrapes and 
 unpleasant predicaments. The following were among 
 the frolics with which I at this time diverted myself: 
 viz. filling the pipes of my comrades with gunpowder ; 
 putting a lighted candle in their hands while asleep, 
 then tickling their noses with a straw; tying their 
 great toes together, then crying out fire; blacking 
 their hands with soot, then tickling their ears and 
 Hoses, to induce them to scratch themselves, and 
 thus to black their faces all over; putting lighted 
 paper between their toes when asleep ; pulling the 
 stools from behind them when in the act of sitting 
 down; sewing their shirts to their bedding when 
 asleep : all these, with fifty more, I regret to say, 
 were in those days my constant delight and practice. 
 These mischievous pranks led me into many a fight, 
 but that did not discourage me. I had a natural 
 propensity to tease people, and, as I did not scruple 
 to indulge it, you may be sure I did not escape with- 
 out my share of tricks in return. He who plays at 
 fives, says the old proverb, must expect rubbers ; and
 
 MEMOIRS OF JOHN SHIPP. 41 
 
 accordingly, one day, when I was sitting up stairs, a 
 hundred voices bawled out, " Pass the word for the 
 fife-major ; the adjutant wants him." I bounced down 
 in an instant, and soon found that the whole barrack 
 were in a roar of laughter at my expense, for to the 
 tail of my coat was attached a large sheet of paper 
 with these words in legible characters, The Biter 
 Bit. To have evinced any displeasure at this hoax, 
 would only have served to render me more ridicu- 
 lous, and to increase the hooting and laughter at 
 my expense ; so I joined in the laugh, and affected 
 to think it a remarkably good joke. 
 
 About this period a circumstance happened 
 which, in some degree, blighted my pride, and 
 almost cooled my military zeal. It was nutting 
 season ; I made a party to go, and we arrived at 
 the wood, where the filberts hung as thick as laurels 
 on a soldier's brow. We had not bagged more than 
 a bushel, when we were pounced upon by three 
 keepers, and taken prisoners to the barracks. The 
 three boys who were my companions on this ex- 
 cursion got two dozen stripes; I lost my two as 
 fife-major, and was turned back to my original post
 
 42 MEMOIRS OF JOHN SHIPP. 
 
 as drummer, or rather as fifer. This severe punish- 
 ment did not arise from the enormity of purloining 
 the nuts, but from the fact of our being found some 
 four miles from the cantonment. Under these cir- 
 cumstances we might have been taken up as de- 
 serters, and the keepers have received two pounds 
 each man ; so that, upon the whole, we had reason to 
 be grateful that the more serious offence was not 
 urged against 'us. 
 
 Shortly after this unfortunate occurrence, the 
 regiment was ordered to proceed to the barracks at 
 Helsea, Portsmouth. This was soldiering in clover ; 
 and good living, fresh scenes, faces, and events, con- 
 spired to make me, in a measure, forget the stripes 
 which I had lost. I was not long on the march 
 before I became as knowing as the best of them, 
 and was soon well versed in the tricks of the road. 
 I found that it was the practice of some of the land- 
 lords to give us fat pea-soup, and of others to regale 
 us with greasy suet dumplings, as heavy as lead, by 
 way of taking off the edge of our appetites. These 
 dishes I invariably avoided, stating that they were 
 injurious to my constitution, or that the doctors had
 
 MEMOIRS OF JOHN SHIPP. 43 
 
 forbidden me to eat such food. I therefore waited 
 for the more substantial fare, the roast and the 
 boiled, which I attacked with such zest as could not 
 fail to convince the landlord of the delicacy of my 
 constitution, and of the absolute necessity of my 
 refraining from less substantial diet. In two hours 
 after dinner the duff and pea-soup eaters were as 
 hungry as ever; but I kept my own counsel, and 
 thus was enabled to go on my way with a smiling 
 countenance, that indicated good and substantial 
 fare. 
 
 When we were treated in the scurvy way I have 
 spoken of, by the landlords on our line of march, we 
 never failed to leave some token of our displeasure 
 behind us. Thus, one day at Chelmsford, we were 
 compelled to submit to dreadful bad quarters, and 
 even the extreme delicacy of my constitution (which 
 had so often succeeded with me before) could not, 
 on this occasion, induce our host to give us any 
 thing but greasy puddings and fat stews, made of 
 the offal of his house for the last month. The fat 
 on the top of this heterogeneous mixture was an 
 inch thick ; and I, for my own part, protested that
 
 44 MEMOIRS OF JOHN SHIPP. 
 
 I could not and would not eat it. Finding me so 
 positive, he privately slipped a shilling into my 
 hand to quiet me, which I did not think it expedient 
 to refuse. This bribe tended, in some degree, to 
 pacify me; but my comrades, on quitting the house 
 evinced their disapprobation of the treatment they 
 had met with, by writing with a lighted candle on 
 the ceiling, 
 
 D d bad quarters. 
 
 How are you off for pea-soup ? 
 Lead dumplings. 
 Lousy beds. 
 Dirty sheets. 
 
 This was the mildest description of punishment 
 with which we visited landlords who incurred our 
 displeasure ; for, in addition to this, it did not re- 
 quire any very aggravated treatment to induce us 
 to teach some of mine host's ducks and geese to 
 march part of the way on the road with us : to wit, 
 until we could get them dressed. 
 
 These birds would sometimes find their way into
 
 MEMOIRS OF JOHN SHIPP. 45 
 
 drums. I was once myself a party concerned in a 
 pilfering of this kind ; at least, indirectly so : for I 
 was accessory to the act of stealing a fine goose a 
 witness of its death (or rather what we supposed 
 its death) and an assistant in drumming it. More- 
 over, I do not doubt that I should have willingly lent 
 a hand towards eating it, also. The goose, however, 
 was, in our opinion at least, very snugly secured, 
 and we commenced our march without the least fear 
 of detection, chuckling in our sleeves how com- 
 pletely we had eluded the landlord's vigilance. 
 The bird only wanted dressing to complete the 
 joke, and discussion was running high among us as 
 to how that could be accomplished, when, to our 
 astonishment, who should pass us on horseback but 
 the landlord himself? He rode very coolly by, and, 
 as he took no sort of notice of us, we concluded that 
 he might, very probably, have other business on the 
 road, and for a time we thought nothing more of the 
 matter ; but what were our feelings when, on halting 
 in the market-place, we perceived this very landlord 
 in earnest conversation with our colonel ; and, to all 
 appearance "laying down the law," as it is called,
 
 46 MEMOIRS OF JOHN SHIPP. 
 
 in a most strenuous manner. At last the colonel 
 and he moved towards us ; on perceiving which my 
 knees broke into double-quick time and my heart 
 into a full gallop. On arriving near to the spot 
 where our guilty party was drawn up, the Colonel, 
 addressing us, stated, that " the gentleman who 
 stood by his side, complained that he had lost one 
 Of his geese, and had informed him he had good 
 reason to suspect that some of the party to whom 
 he now spoke had stolen it." For the satisfaction 
 of "the gentleman" (whom we, one and all, most 
 heartily wished under ground) our knapsacks were 
 ordered to be examined, and underwent the most 
 scrupulous inspection ; but no goose was to be found. 
 Professing his regret for the trouble he had caused, 
 and apparently satisfied that his suspicions were ill- 
 founded, our worthy landlord was just on the point 
 of leaving us, and the boys around were grinning 
 with delight at the notion of having so effectually 
 deceived him, when, to our utter confusion and 
 dismay, the goose, at this very juncture, gave a 
 deep groan, and the landlord protested roundly 
 that " that there sound was from his goose." Upon
 
 MEMOIRS OF JOHN SHIPP. 47 
 
 this the investigation was renewed with redoubled 
 ardour ; our great coats were turned inside out, 
 and, in short, almost every thing belonging to us 
 was examined with the minutest attention ; but 
 still no goose was to be found. The officers could 
 not refrain from smiling, and the boys began again 
 to grin at the fun ; but this merriment was doomed 
 to be but of short duration, for the poor goose, now 
 in its last moments, uttered another groan, more 
 loud and mournful than the former one. In fact 
 the vital spark had just taken its flight, and this 
 might be construed into the last dying speech of 
 the ill-fated bird, and a full confession of its dreadful 
 situation and murder. The drum in which the now 
 defunct goose was confined, stood close against the 
 landlord's elbow, and his ear was, unfortunately for 
 us, so correct in ascertaining whence the sound of 
 woe proceeded, that he at once roared out, " Dang 
 my buttons, if my goose bean't in that there drum !" 
 These words were daggers to our souls ; we made 
 sure of as many stripes on our backs as there were 
 feathers on the goose's ; and our merriment was 
 suddenly changed into mortification and despair.
 
 48 MEMOIRS OF JOHN SHIPP. 
 
 The drum-head was ordered to be taken off, and 
 sure enough there lay poor goosy, as dead as a 
 herring. The moment the landlord perceived it, 
 he protested that, " as he was a sinner, that was his 
 goose." This assertion there was no one among us 
 hardy enough to deny ; and the colonel desired 
 that the goose should be given up to the publican, 
 assuring him, at the same time, that he should 
 cause the offenders to be severely punished for the 
 theft which had been committed. Fortunately for 
 our poor backs, we now found a truly humane and 
 kind-hearted man in the landlord whom we had 
 offended; for no sooner did he find that affairs 
 were taking a more serious turn than he had con- 
 templated, and that it was likely that he should be 
 the cause of getting a child flogged, than he 
 affected to doubt the identity of the goose, and, 
 at length, utterly disclaimed it, saying to the 
 colonel, " This is none of mine, sir ; I see it has a 
 black spot on the back, whereas mine was pure 
 white j besides, it has a black head : I wish you a 
 good morning, sir, and. am very sorry for the 
 trouble I have given you." Thus saying, he left
 
 MEMOIRS OF JOHN SHIPP. 49 
 
 us, muttering, as he went along, " Get a child 
 flogged for a tarnation old goose ? no, no !" Every 
 step he took carried a ton weight off our hearts. 
 Notwithstanding this generous conduct in the pub- 
 lican, who was also, by his own acknowledgment, a 
 sinner, our colonel saw very clearly how matters 
 stood; but, in consideration of our youth, and that 
 this was our first offence (at least that had been dis- 
 covered), he contented himself with severely admo- 
 nishing us ', and the business ended shortly after 
 with the demolition of the goose roasted. 
 
 We remained at Helsea Barracks for nearly a 
 year, where we acquired the appellation of the Red 
 Knights, from our clothing being all of that colour. 
 I do not recollect anything of importance that 
 occurred to me at that place, except that I was con- 
 demned to pass a week in the black-hole there, 
 for what the soldiers called " eating my shoes." 
 This punishment I brought upon myself in the 
 following manner. I had been out to receive my 
 half-mounting, consisting of a pair of shoes, a shirt, 
 two pair of stockings, and a stock ; and, on my 
 way home, as ill luck would have it, an old woman, 
 
 VOL. i. D
 
 50 MEMOIRS OF JOHN SHIPP. 
 
 with whom I had frequently before had dealings, 
 and who was well known among us by the title of 
 the plum-pudding woman, happened to throw her- 
 self in my way. Her pudding was smoking hot ; 
 I was exceedingly hungry ; and my mouth watered 
 so at the tempting sight, that I could not drag 
 myself away. But, much as I longed for a slice, 
 what was to be done ? I had no money, and my 
 friend the plum-pudding woman was by far too old 
 a soldier to give trust till pay-day. The pudding, 
 however, it was impossible for me to dispense with ; 
 and finding, therefore, that all my promises and 
 entreaties, with the view of obtaining credit, were 
 fruitless, I at length, in an evil hour, incited by the 
 savoury smell which issued from the old woman's 
 basket, proposed to her to buy my shoes. After a 
 irood deal of bargaining, we at length came to an 
 understanding, by which it was agreed, that in 
 consideration of a quarter of a yard of pudding and 
 a shilling, to be to me paid and delivered, my new 
 shoes were to be handed over to the dealer in plum- 
 pudding, as her own proper goods and chattels. 
 This contract being honourably completed on both
 
 MEMOIRS OF JOHN SHIPP. 51 
 
 sides, I retreated to a solitary shed to eat my duff 
 (the name by which this description of pudding was 
 well known among us), where, without any great 
 exertion, I soon brought the two extremities of my 
 quarter of a yard together. The last mouthful put 
 me to the extremity of my wits to devise how I 
 could possibly account for the sudden disappear- 
 ance of my shoes. My first impulse was to run 
 in search of the old woman, and endeavour, by fair 
 promises, to coax her out of the shoes again; but 
 I soon found that no such chance was left me, for 
 she had made a precipitate retreat from the place 
 where we had transacted our business together, 
 knowing well that she was punishable for having 
 bought such articles of me. Nothing appeared to 
 be now left for me but a palpable falsehood ; and, 
 although of this I had a great abhorrence, yet I 
 really had not sufficient courage to think of avowing 
 the literal truth. At length I thought I had hit 
 upon a sort of compromise, and I determined to 
 say that I had "dropped" my shoes on my way 
 home, which, though not exactly the fact, yet 
 approached nearer to the truth than anything else 
 
 D2
 
 52 MEMOIRS OF JOHN SHIPP. 
 
 I could devise, likely to serve my end. As on all 
 other occasions of the kind, however, it appeared 
 that I might just as well have made a full confes- 
 sion at once ; for my statement was not believed, 
 and as I could not in any other way account satis- 
 factorily for the elopement of my shoes, I was 
 ordered seven days' black-hole for the purpose of 
 refreshing my memory. Against this punishment 
 I prayed long and loudly, but all to no purpose ; 
 so, with the remainder of my day's rations under 
 my arm, off I was marched, not much elated with 
 the dreary prospect before me. When I heard the 
 door of the cell creak upon its hinges behind me, 
 and the huge key grate in the lock, I began to 
 think that I had parted with my shoes too cheap, 
 and, for some time after, I sat myself down in a 
 corner, and brooded in melancholy mood over the 
 misfortune which I had by my own folly brought 
 upon myself. But I was never one of the despond- 
 ing kind, and it therefore soon occurred to me, that, 
 instead of indulging in dismal reflections, it would 
 be far wiser, and more pleasant, to devise some 
 means by which I might contrive to amuse myself
 
 MEMOIRS OF JOHN SHIPP. 53 
 
 during the period of my confinement. Seven days 
 and seven nights appeared to me at first to be a 
 long time to remain encaged in darkness ; and yet 
 there was certainly something soldier-like in the 
 situation. The mere fact of being a prisoner had 
 a military sound with it. To be sure, I was im- 
 prisoned for having eaten my shoes; but what of 
 that ?> Was it not quite as easy for me to imagine 
 myself a prisoner of war? Certainly it was; and 
 accordingly, with this impression strong on my mind, 
 I dropped into a profound sleep in the midst of 
 my meditations, and dreamed that I was deposited 
 in this dungeon by the chance of war. On waking 
 I found myself extremely cold, from which I in- 
 ferred that it would be necessary for me to contrive 
 some plan by which I might comfort my body as 
 well as my mind ; and I therefore immediately set 
 about standing on my head, walking on my hands, 
 tumbling head over heels, and similar gymnastic 
 exercises. In this manner, sleeping and playing by 
 turns, I managed to pass my time in the black-hole 
 for one whole day and night, by no means unplea- 
 santly ; when, about nine o'clock the next morning,
 
 54 MEMOIRS OF JOHN SHIPP. 
 
 I heard the well-known voice of the drum-major 
 asking for me, and desiring that I might be libe- 
 rated. On hearing this order given, I presumed 
 that, of course, my period of captivity had expired ; 
 and, although the time certainly appeared to have 
 passed off at a wonderfully rapid rate, yet I ac- 
 counted for it by considering that I had slept 
 away the greater part of it; and, in addition to 
 this, that it was but natural it should seem to 
 have passed quickly, since I had been, during the 
 whole period, exempt from parades, drills, head- 
 soaping, &c. When I first got into the daylight, 
 I could scarcely open my eyes, and no sooner had 
 I brought my optics into a state to endure the 
 light, than I was asked by the drum-major how I 
 liked my new abode, and if I was ready to return 
 to it. I perceived, from the smile which accom- 
 panied these questions, that I had little further 
 to fear, and I soon understood that I had only 
 spent one day and one night in the black-hole, 
 and that the remainder of my sentence had been 
 remitted. I was hailed by ah 1 my comrades as 
 if I had been cast on, and escaped from, some de-
 
 MEMOIRS OF JOHN SHIPP. 55 
 
 solate island ; and, having macadamized my inward 
 man with six penny pies (out of the shilling I had 
 received from the old pudding-woman, of which I 
 was still possessed), I was soon as fit for fun again 
 as the best of them. 
 
 But, the regiment being now about to embark for 
 Guernsey, I will commence our voyage in a new 
 chapter.
 
 CHAPTER III. 
 
 WE had received orders to hold ourselves in rea- 
 diness to embark as I then imagined, for foreign 
 parts, and the idea made my heart bound for joy. 
 In a few days we embarked on board a small sloop, 
 at about four o'clock in the afternoon, and in an 
 hour after got under weigh. When the sun had re- 
 tired to his western chamber, the sky looked gloomy 
 and indicated wind; and, in another hour, there 
 arose so terrific a gale, that we were obliged to put 
 the tarpaulins over the hatches, to protect us against 
 the large seas which broke over us. The scene was 
 enough to frighten a person of greater courage than 
 I possessed. There were soldiers crying women 
 screaming children squalling sailors swearing 
 the storm all the while continuing to increase, until 
 at length it blew a perfect hurricane ; the rain came 
 down in torrents, and the vivid lightning's flash ex-
 
 MEMOIRS OF JOHN SHIPP. 57 
 
 hibited the fear depicted on every countenance. At 
 this juncture a poor frightened soldier mustered up 
 courage enough to ask the captain or master of the 
 sloop, if there was any danger. At this question 
 every ear was open, and the son of Neptune gruffly 
 replied, " Danger, shipmate ? If the storm con- 
 tinues another hour, I would not give a rope-yarn for 
 all your lives. When we reach that point on the lar- 
 board-bow, you must throw out your grappling-irons, 
 and hold in, for she will then be close-hauled, and go 
 under water like a duck, and you will all be in Da- 
 vid's locker before you can say luff, boy /" Then, 
 addressing himself to one of his men, " Steady, 
 Tom, steady; don't let her go off; don't you see 
 the light a-head; run it down. Steady, boy, steady! 
 luff a little, luff!" At this moment an awful sea 
 broke over us. My mouth was full, and I was wet 
 to the skin; but, strange to say, I felt no alarm. 
 Our little vessel dived like the gull after its prey. 
 As soon as she righted, I said, " Captain, that was a 
 wetter." He replied, " Ay, boy ; you will get 
 plenty of them before we make the port." " Very 
 consoling, truly," thought I to myself. I had just
 
 58 MEMQIRS OF JOHN SHIPP. 
 
 squeezed myself up into a small compass, head and 
 knees together, close to the helm, when we shipped 
 another tremendous sea, which carried away our 
 fore-staysail, and made so terrific and dreadful a 
 flapping, that an officer bellowed out from below, 
 " Is there anything the matter ?" " Yes," replied 
 the captain, " the devil to pay, and no pitch hot*." 
 These words were scarcely spoken, when we shipped 
 another awful sea, which washed three soldiers over- 
 board. At this crisis, a sailor bellowed out, " Light 
 a-head, sir." " The devil there is ; what does it 
 look like ?" roared the captain. " Like a light," re- 
 plied the sailor. " A Frenchman, I suppose," voci- 
 ferated the captain. These words caught the ear of 
 the military captain on board, who hollowed out 
 
 * A common expression among sailors, when any confusion or 
 perplexity prevails on board ship. In Lemon's Dictionary, 1783, 
 it is attempted to be explained in the following manner: " Pay 
 the ship's sides, [pix, pitch; strangely debased by the French into 
 poix, and then pronounced as if it was written pay] ; that is, to 
 pitch the vessel's sides. Hence is derived that common expression 
 among sailors, ' Here's the devil to pay, and no pitch hot ;' mean- 
 ing, ' Here's the black gentleman come to pitch the vessel's sides (*'. e. 
 come to help us), and you have not so much as made the pitch-kettle 
 hot enough to employ him."'
 
 MEMOIRS OF JOHN SHIPP. 
 
 59 
 
 from below, " What did you say about a French- 
 man ?" " Why, that, if it gets clear, we may have 
 a bit of a fight; for I see there is a Frenchman 
 a-head," replied the sea captain. " Then," said the 
 soldier, " I had better get my men ready. Sergeant, 
 get the bugler ! Sound to arms ! Call the drummer, 
 and tell him to beat to arms!" But the devil a 
 drummer, drum, bugler, or bugle was forthcoming. 
 All the men were busily engaged below, and by no 
 means in a condition to come to the scratch, French 
 or no French. Notwithstanding this, the noble sol- 
 dier strutted about on deck by himself, with a cocked- 
 hat, and sword in hand, when a merciless sea washed 
 off his gay hat, and the gallant captain lost his ba- 
 lance, and fell into the hold, bawling out most lus- 
 tily for his three-cornered scraper, which was buffet- 
 ing the raging billows. " I say, captain, have the 
 goodness to send down my hat. Is my hat upon 
 deck ? Have you seen my hat ?" " Your hat, sir," 
 replied the son of Neptune, with infinite sang-froid, 
 " has got under sail, and I should not be surprised 
 if it made port before you." Here he changed the 
 subject, by hailing the man on the fore-castle : " Tom,
 
 60 l^EMOIRS OF JOHN SHIPP. 
 
 where is the strange sail?" " Sheered off to lee- 
 ward; but she is a Frenchman, by the cut of her 
 gib," replied a sailor. " Steady," said our naval 
 commander, and on we went; but by no means 
 steadily, for I never saw a little bark more un- 
 steady, though she really seemed to dive through 
 the water like a duck. Morning now began to dawn, 
 which only threw light (as even the captain con- 
 fessed), upon the heaviest sea he had ever seen. 
 The black clouds seemed to fly, and the thunder and 
 lightning to rend the very atmosphere asunder. 
 Our distant haven was in sight; but the wind was 
 foul, and it was therefore impossible to avoid mak- 
 ing several tacks before we could get in. Our 
 poor fellows, what from fear, cold, hunger, want of 
 sleep, and being wet through, were completely worn 
 out. I kept my station the whole night, more from 
 fear than from any attachment to it ; although I cer- 
 tainly did not feel the great alarm that was so vi- 
 sibly depicted on the countenances of most of my 
 comrades. From extreme cold, and being quite 
 wet through, I cut but a sorry figure by the time we 
 began to near the land. The prospect, from about
 
 MEMOIRS OF JOHN SH1PP. 61 
 
 three or four miles off, was extremely beautiful. 
 Some little cottages studded the high and lofty 
 rocks, and, here and there, small bays and little 
 villages enlivened the scene, and consoled us with 
 the idea that we were not going to be landed on a 
 barren rock. We soon after saw the extensive town 
 of Guernsey. Part of it seemed hanging on an emi" 
 nence, and the view of the old castle, which is built 
 of stone, and calculated to buffet with many a wintry 
 storm, was extremely picturesque. In the distance 
 we could see Fort George ; and, in ten minutes 
 after, we ran into the bay, which, being sheltered 
 and protected by surrounding high-lands, was tran- 
 quil indeed, when compared with the main ocean. 
 Boats were in attendance, and we soon set our wet 
 limbs on terra firma. Having landed, I could not 
 help viewing my person, of which I at all times had 
 a good opinion. I looked for ah 1 the world like a 
 squeezed lemon, or the bag of a Scotch pipe ; and 
 I should have been glad to have taken the edge off 
 my appetite, and the dirt off my clothes, instead of 
 dancing through the, town; but I was, of course, 
 obliged to obey orders, and when I struck up my
 
 62 MEMOIRS OF JOHN SHIPP. 
 
 tune (for I still led the fifers), I tipped Monsieur 
 The Downfal of Paris. I found the march did 
 me a great deal of good ; and, by the time I reached 
 the barracks, I was in prime order for my breakfast. 
 
 We were stationed in Fort George, in ex- 
 ceedingly good quarters, though I could not bring 
 myself to be reconciled to the ponderous draw- 
 bridges in use there, which foreboded no great 
 stretch of liberty. I was particularly fond of rural 
 and pensive wanderings, to muse on nature's beau- 
 ties, and the sight of an orchard, in particular, was 
 at ah* times hailed by me with great delight ; for I 
 could feast upon its beauties for hours together, to 
 the gratification of more faculties than my vision. 
 The drawbridges seemed to cut off these delightful 
 prospects. It was true, I could see them from the 
 fort, but then the prospect was too far, and I lost all 
 relish in the distance; and, being in consequence 
 compelled to steal out, I was apprehensive that 
 some of my solitary rambles would get me into dis- 
 grace. My doubts and forebodings on this head 
 were soon verified; for, in less than a week, I saw 
 my name posted up at the gate, " John Shipp,
 
 MEMOIRS OF JOHN SHPIP. 63 
 
 confined to his barracks for one week." A week was 
 to me an age. Confinement was intolerable : de- 
 prived of the pure air, of the delightful ramble along 
 an orchard's hedge, and of the salubrious smell of the 
 orange groves. Oft have I, from the rampart-top, 
 sighed at the distant prospect, and, while my long- 
 ing eye lingered on the golden produce of the 
 orchard within sight, my heart panted to be at 
 liberty, to take a nearer view and taste again of 
 nature's beauties. The word confinement haunted 
 me from one bastion to another, and I saw no refuge 
 for the future but a more circumspect line of con- 
 duct, on which I firmly resolved. When three long 
 days of my week had been numbered with the dead, 
 the drum-major was taken seriously ill, and on the 
 morning parade the colonel inspected the drummers. 
 I was always remarkably clean, that was my pride : 
 the colonel' eye'd me from head to foot, and at last 
 told the adjutant that I was to act as drum-major. 
 I was nearly shouting liberty in the colonel's face, 
 but I checked myself just in time. He at the 
 same time gave me a ticket for a play, which 
 was to be acted in the town, and, in the evening, se-
 
 64 MEMOIRS OF JOHN SHIPP. 
 
 veral boys were committed to my care to accompany 
 me to the theatre. Thus, for a brief interval, I was 
 restored to favour; but, whenever fickle fortune 
 deigned to smile upon me, some untoward circum- 
 stance was sure to happen, and nip the fair promise 
 in its bud. I had scarcely got the stick of office 
 into my hands, before I cut so many capers with it, 
 that I soon capered myself back to the dignity and 
 full rank of fifer ; was deprived of my staff of office ; 
 and, of what I considered even much worse my li- 
 berty. My name was again exhibited to public 
 gaze at the drawbridge-gate, for seven long days, 
 during which I was obliged to kick my heels along 
 the ramparts, contenting myself with contemplating 
 the distant prospect. One day I effaced my name 
 from the list of the confined, unobserved by the sen- 
 tinel; but in this I was detected by the sergeant, 
 for which I had the felicity of attending drill three 
 times a day with my musket reversed, and my coat 
 turned inside out; and, in this manner, for several 
 hours each day, I was obliged to comply with the 
 mandates of a little bandy-legged drill-sergeant, 
 who did not fail to enforce his authority and dig-
 
 MEMOIRS OF JOHN SHIPP. 65 
 
 nity in a manner by no means agreeable to my 
 feelings, especially to those of my back. This I 
 could bear well enough; indeed I was obliged to 
 bear it ; but my turned coat seemed to hang upon 
 me like some badge of ignominy, and I imagined 
 that every eye was upon me. Had I been a de- 
 praved and callous-hearted youth, this method of 
 disgracing me would have only served to harden me 
 in vice; and I cannot deny that at this treatment 
 I felt the seeds of disobedience rankling in my 
 heart, and had almost resolved within my mind, 
 that the next time I was doomed to wear this garb 
 of infamy, it should be for a crime worthy of such 
 disgrace. I found my disposition soured, and the 
 spark of revenge kindling in my bosom ; and I am 
 persuaded that this method of disgracing youth, in- 
 stead of eradicating vice, serves only to nurture 
 those rancorous feelings which irritation, arising 
 from a sense of degradation, is sure to excite, and 
 which, in the young mind, might, by a more judi- 
 cious and conciliatory .treatment, be either totally 
 repressed in their birth, or at least easily extin- 
 guished.
 
 06 MEMOIRS OF JOHN SHIPP. 
 
 Our regiment being now ordered to prepare for 
 embarkation for Portsmouth, my garb of disgrace 
 was thrown off, and I embarked as sprightly as any, 
 having been disgraced in this way for a misde- 
 meanor that would scarcely have disgraced a school- 
 boy. We reached our old barracks at Portsmouth, 
 without any other occurrence save a little casting- 
 up of accounts, and a few distorted faces from sea- 
 sickness.
 
 67 
 
 CHAPTER IV. 
 
 WE had not been long at Portsmouth, when the 
 head-quarters of the regiment were ordered to em- 
 bark on board of the Surat Castle, East Indiaman, 
 a fifteen-hundred-ton ship, then lying off Spithead, 
 and the remainder of the corps on board of other 
 ships at the same place. Our destination was the 
 Cape of Good Hope. The Surat Castle, in which 
 I was doomed to sail, was most dreadfully crowded ; 
 men literally slept upon one another, and in the 
 olorp-deck the standing beds were three tiers high, 
 besides those slinging. Added to this, the seeds of 
 a pestilential disease had already been sown. An 
 immense number of Lascars, who had been picked 
 up in every sink of poverty, and most of whom had 
 been been living in England in a state of the most 
 abject want and wretchedness, had been shipped on 
 board this vessel. Many of these poor creatures
 
 68 MEMOIRS OF JOHN SHIPP. 
 
 had been deprived of their toes and fingers by the 
 inclemency of winter, and others had accumulated 
 diseases from filth, many of them having subsisted 
 for a considerable time upon what they picked up 
 in the streets. The pestilential smell between decks 
 was beyond the power of description; and it was 
 truly appalling to see these poor wretches, with tre- 
 mendous and frightful sores, and covered with ver- 
 min from head to foot, many of them unable to as- 
 sist themselves, left to die unaided, unfriended, and 
 without one who could perform the last sad office. 
 The moment the breath was out of their bodies, 
 they were, like dogs, thrown overboard, as food for 
 sharks. To alleviate their sufferings by personal 
 aid was impossible, for we had scarcely men enough 
 to work the ship. These circumstances were, I sup- 
 pose, reported to the proper authority; but, whe- 
 ther this was the case or not, in three or four days 
 we weighed anchor, with about sixty other ships 
 for all parts of the world. The splendid sight but 
 little accorded with the aching hearts, lacerated bo- 
 dies, and wounded minds of the poor creatures be- 
 low. It was about four o'clock in the afternoon when
 
 MEMOIRS OF JOHN SHIPP. 69 
 
 the signal was fired to weigh. Immediately every 
 sail was wavering in the wind, and in a quarter of 
 an hour after we stood out from land, each proud 
 bark dipping her majestic head in the silvery deep, 
 and manoeuvreing her sails in seeming competition 
 to catch the favouring breeze. 
 
 Such firing, such signals, such tacking and run- 
 ning across each other now prevailed, that our cap- 
 tain resolved to run from it; and the evening had 
 scarcely spread her sombre curtains over the 
 western ocean, and the golden clouds begun to 
 change their brilliant robes of day for those of mur- 
 key night, when our crew " up helm," and stole 
 away from the motley fleet, plying every sail, and 
 scudding through the blue waters like some aerial 
 car or phantom-ship, smoothly gliding over the sil- 
 very deep. In three or four hours we had entirely 
 lost sight of our convoy. We were running at the 
 rate of eleven knots an hour, and, as it seemed, into 
 the very jaws of danger. The clouds began to as- 
 sume a pitchy and awful darkness, the distant thun- 
 der rolled angrily, and the vivid lightning's flash 
 struck each watching eye dim, and, for a moment,
 
 70 MEMOIRS OF JOHN SHIPP. 
 
 hid the rolling and gigantic wave from the sight of 
 fear. The wind whistled terrifically, and the shat- 
 tered sails fanned the flying clouds. All was con- 
 sternation; every eye betrayed fear. Sail was 
 taken in, masts lowered and yards stayed prepa- 
 rations which bespoke no good tidings to the inquir- 
 ing and terrified landsman. I was seated in the 
 poop, alone, holding by a hen-coop, and viewing the 
 mountainous and angry billows, with my hand 
 partly covering my eyes to protect them against 
 the lightning. It was a moment of the most poig- 
 nant sorrow to me; my heart still lingered on the 
 white cliffs of Albion, nor could I wean it from the 
 sorrowful reflection that I was, perhaps, leaving that 
 dear and beloved country for ever. During this 
 struggle of my feelings, our vessel shipped a tre- 
 mendous sea over her poop, and then angrily shook 
 her head, and seemed resolved to buffet the raging 
 elements with all her might and main. The ship 
 was shortly after this " hove to," and lay compara- 
 tively quiet; and, in about a couple of hours, the 
 wind slackened, and we again stood on our way, the 
 masts cracking under her three topsails and fore
 
 MEMOIRS OF JOHN SHIPP. 71 
 
 storm-staysail. However, she rode much easier, 
 and the storm still continued to abate. I was dread- 
 fully wet and cold, and my teeth chattered most 
 wofully; so I made towards the gun-deck, some 
 portion of which was allotted for the soldiers. 
 There the heat was suffocating, and the stench 
 intolerable. The scene in the olorp-deck was truly 
 distressing : soldiers, their wives and children, all 
 lying together in a state- of the most dreadful sea- 
 sickness, groaning in concert, and calling for a drop 
 of water to cool their parched tongues. I screwed 
 myself up behind a butt, and soon fell into that stupor 
 which sea-sickness will create. In this state I con- 
 tinued until morning ; and, when I awoke, I found that 
 the hurricane had returned with redoubled fury, and 
 that we were standing towards land. The captain 
 came a-head to look out, and, after some considera- 
 tion, he at last told the officer to stand out to sea. 
 The following morning was ushered in by the sun's 
 bright beams diffusing their lustre on the dejected 
 features of frightened and helpless mortals. The 
 dark clouds of sad despair were in mercy driven 
 from our minds, and the bright beams of munificent
 
 72 MEMOIRS OF JOHN SHIPP. 
 
 love from above took their place. The before down- 
 cast eye was seen to sparkle with delight, and the 
 haggard cheek of despondency resumed its wonted 
 serenity. The tempestuous bosom of the main was ' 
 now smooth as a mirror, and all seemed grateful and 
 cheerful, directing the eye of hope towards the far- 
 distant haven to which we wete bound. 
 
 A great number of the fleet were the same morn- 
 ing to be seen emerging from their shelter, or hiding- 
 places, from the terrific hurricane of the day before ; 
 but our captain was resolved to be alone ; so the 
 same night he crowded sail, and, by the following 
 morning's dawn, we were so much a-head that not a 
 sail was visible, save one solitary sloop, that seemed 
 bending her way towards England. 
 
 Some three weeks after this, we were again visited 
 by a most dreadful storm, that far exceeded the for- 
 mer one, and from which we suffered much external 
 injury, our main top-mast, and other smaller masts, 
 being carried away. But the interior of our poor 
 bark exhibited a scene of far greater desolation. 
 We were then far from land, and a pestilential 
 disease was raging among us in all its terrific forms. 
 
 O C3 O
 
 MEMOIRS OF JOHN SHIPP. 73 
 
 Naught could be seen but the pallid cheek of dis- 
 ease, or the sunken eye of despair. The sea-gulls 
 soared over the ship, and huge sharks hovered 
 around it, watching for their prey. These creatures 
 are sure indications of ships having some pesti- 
 lential disease on board, and they have been known 
 to follow a vessel so circumstanced to the most dis- 
 tant climes, to countries far from their native ele- 
 ment. To add to our distresses, some ten barrels 
 of ship's paint, or colour, got loose from their lash- 
 ings, and rolled from side to side, and from head 
 v to stern, carrying every thing before them by 
 their enormous weight. From our inability to stop 
 them in their destructive progress, they one and all 
 were staved in, and the gun-deck soon became one 
 mass of colours, in which lay the dead and the 
 dying, both white and black. 
 
 It would be difficult for the reader to picture to 
 himself a set of men more deplorably situated than 
 we now were; but our distresses were not yet at 
 their height: for, as though our miseries still required 
 aggravation, the scurvy broke out among us in a 
 most frightful manner. Scarcely a single indivi- 
 
 VOL. i. E
 
 M 
 
 '4 MEMOIRS OF JOHN SHIPP. 
 
 dual on board escaped this melancholy disorder, 
 and the swoln legs, and gums protruding beyond 
 the lips, attested the malignancy of the visitation. 
 The dying were burying the dead, and the features 
 of all on board wore the garb of mourning. 
 
 Every assistance and attention that humanity or 
 generosity could dictate, was freely and liberally 
 bestowed by the officers on board, who cheerfully 
 gave up their fresh meats and many other comforts, 
 for the benefit of the distressed; but the pestilence 
 baffled the aid of medicine and the skill of the me- 
 dical attendants. My poor legs were as big as 
 drums; my gums swoln to an enormous size; my 
 tongue too big for my mouth; and all I could eat 
 was raw potatoes and vinegar. But my kind and 
 affectionate officers sometimes brought me some tea 
 and coffee, at which the languid eye would brighten, 
 and the tear of gratitude would intuitively fall, in 
 spite of my efforts to repress what was thought un- 
 manly. Our spirits were so subdued by suffering, 
 and our frames so much reduced and emaciated, that 
 I have seen poor men weep bitterly, they knew not 
 why. Thus passed the time ; men dying in dozens,
 
 MEMOIRS OF JOHN SHIPP. 75 
 
 and, ere their blood was cold, hurled into the briny 
 deep, there to become a prey to sharks. It was a 
 dreadful sight to see the bodies of our comrades the 
 bone of disputation with these voracious natives of 
 the dreary deep ; and the reflection that such might 
 soon be our own fate would crush our best feelings, 
 and with horror drive the eye from such a sight. 
 Our muster-rolls were dreadfully thinned; indeed, 
 almost every fourth man amongst the Europeans, 
 and more than two-thirds of the natives, had fallen 
 victims to the diseases on board, and it was by the 
 mercy of Providence only that the ship ever reached 
 her destination, for we had scarcely a seaman fit for 
 duty to work her. Never shall I forget the morn- 
 ing I saw the land. In the moment of joy I forgot 
 all my miseries, and cast them into the deep, in the 
 hope of future happiness. This is mortal man's 
 career. Past scenes are drowned and forgotten, in 
 the anticipation of happier events to come; and, 
 by a cherished delusion, we allow ourselves to be 
 transported into the fairy land of imagination, in 
 quest of future joys never, perhaps, to be realized, 
 .but the contemplation of which in the distance 
 
 E 2
 
 76 MEMOIRS OF JOHN SHIPP. 
 
 serves at least to soothe us under present suf- 
 fering. 
 
 I cannot close this account of my first voyage on 
 board a large ship, without testifying my heartfelt 
 thanks to all the officers, both naval and military, 
 who accompanied us, for the unbounded kindness 
 and generosity they evinced, and the privations 
 which they endured for the sake of their poor suf- 
 fering fellow-creatures on board the Surat Castle. 
 Nothing was withheld by these gentlemen that could 
 tend to alleviate the pang of suffering. Could this 
 mark of my gratitude ever meet the eye of even 
 one of these humane individuals, I should be de- 
 lighted; more particularly the little captain of the 
 ship : he was but a little man, but his heart was, in 
 charity, as big as the ship he commanded. 
 
 When the view of land first blessed our sight, 
 the morning was foggy and dreary. We were close 
 under the land, and were in the very act of standing 
 from it, when the fog dispersed, the wind shifted 
 fair, and we ran in close to the mouth of Simmon's 
 Bay. The now agreeable breeze ravished our 
 sickened souls, and the surrounding view delighted
 
 MEMOIRS OP JOHN SHIPP. 77 
 
 our dim and desponding eyes. Every one who 
 could crawl was upon deck, to welcome the sight of 
 land, and inhale the salubrious air. Every soul on 
 board seemed elated with joy; and, when the an- 
 chor was let go, it was indeed an anchor to the 
 broken hearts of poor creatures then stretched on 
 the bed of sickness, who had not, during the whole 
 voyage, seen the bright sun rising and setting, 
 sights at sea that beggar the power of description. 
 For myself, I jumped and danced about with my 
 long legs like a merry-andrew, and I found, or fan- 
 cied I found, myself already a convalescent. 
 
 The anchor had not been down long, when a boat 
 came off from shore, on board of which were se- 
 veral medical gentlemen, who questioned us as to 
 whence we came, whither we were bound, the state 
 of the ship, the nature of the disease, and the num- 
 ber of men that had died during the passage. The 
 number of men was a finishing blow to our present 
 hopes, and we were ordered to ride at quarantine ; 
 but every comfort that humanity or liberality could 
 dictate was immediately sent on board : fresh meats, 
 bread, tea, sugar, coffee, and fruits of all kinds;
 
 78 MEMOIRS OF JOHN SHIPP. 
 
 and, in a few days, our legs began to re-assume their 
 original shapes, and the disease died away. The 
 quarantine was very soon taken off, and the troops 
 landed, and were marched, or rather carried, to the 
 barracks that stand on the brow of the hill, at the 
 back of Simmon's Town. Here our treatment was 
 that of children of distress; every comfort was 
 afforded us, and every means adopted by our kind 
 officers which could contribute towards our recovery. 
 For the first fortnight drills were out of the ques- 
 tion, instead of which we were kindly nursed, until 
 the disease was completely eradicated; and by this 
 careful treatment we were all soon restored to the 
 enjoyment of health. But few men died of those 
 that were landed; and, if I recollect right, our total 
 loss was seventy-two men. Notwithstanding all 
 our troubles and misfortunes, we arrived before the 
 other divisions of the regiment; but they had not 
 suffered from disease : their loss was two men only.
 
 79 
 
 CHAPTER V. 
 
 SIMMON'S TOWN is situated on the bay which bears 
 the same name, and contains many well-built 
 houses. Here we were stationed for a short, time ; 
 and, as the regiment was not restricted from going 
 out, I soon commenced reconnoitreing the localities 
 of the neighbourhood, and was glad to find that 
 there were a number of well-stocked gardens close 
 to the barracks. A pound of meat (and that of the 
 worst), and three quarters of a pound of bread per 
 diem, was but a scanty allowance for a growing lad. 
 Indeed, I frequently managed to get through my 
 three days' bread in one ; but, as we could get fish 
 for a mere song, and as the gardens of our neigh- 
 bours, the Dutchmen, supplied us with potatoes, we 
 continued, one way or another, to fare tolerably 
 well at this station. 
 
 We were soon after moved to the station of Mui-
 
 80 MEMOIRS OF JOHN SHIPP. 
 
 senbourg, seven miles nearer to Cape Town, a post 
 defended by a small battery, and the beach, in places 
 of easy access, guarded by a few guns. The road 
 from Simmon's Town to Muisenbourg sometimes 
 runs along the beach, which is very ftat, and on 
 which the sea flows with gentle undulations ; and, at 
 others, winds round the feet of craggy hills, co- 
 vered with masses of stone, which have the appear- 
 ance of being merely suspended in the air, ready 
 to be rolled down upon you by the slightest touch. 
 On these hills whole regiments of baboons assemble, 
 for which this station is particularly famous. They 
 stand six feet high, and in features and manners ap- 
 proach nearer to the human species than any other 
 quadruped I have ever seen. These rascals, who 
 are most abominable thieves, used to annoy us ex- 
 ceedingly. Our barracks were under the hills, and 
 when we went to parade, we were invariably 
 obliged to leave armed men for the protection of 
 our property ; and, even in spite of this, they have 
 frequently stolen our blankets and great coats, or 
 anything else they could lay their claws on. A 
 poor woman, a soldier's wife, had washed her
 
 MEMOIRS OF JOHN SHIPP. 81 
 
 blanket and hung it out to dry, when some of 
 these miscreants, who were ever on the watch, 
 stole it, and ran off with it into the hills, which are 
 high and woody. This drew upon them the indig- 
 nation of the regiment, and we formed a strong 
 party, armed with sticks and stones, to attack them, 
 with the view of recovering the property, and in- 
 flicting such chastisement as might be a warning to 
 them for the future. I was on the advance, with 
 about twenty men, and I made a detour to cut them 
 off from caverns to which they always flew for 
 shelter. They observed my movement, and im- 
 mediately detached about fifty to guard the en- 
 trance, while the others kept their post, and we 
 could distinctly see them collecting large stones 
 and other missiles. One old grey-headed one, in 
 particular, who often paid us a visit at the barracks, 
 and was known by the name of Father Murphy, 
 was seen distributing his orders, and planning the 
 attack, with the judgment of one of our best ge- 
 nerals. Finding that my design was defeated, I 
 joined the corps de main, and rushed on to the at- 
 tack, when a scream from Father Murphy was a 
 5
 
 82 MEMOIRS OF JOHN SHIPP. 
 
 signal for a general encounter, and the host of ba- 
 boons under his command rolled down enormous 
 stones upon us, so that we were obliged to give up 
 the contest, or some of us musl inevitably have 
 been killed. They actually followed us 1 to our very 
 doors, shouting in indication of victory; and, 
 during the whole night, we heard dreadful yells 
 and screaming; so much so, that we expected a 
 night attack. In the morning, however, we found 
 that all this rioting had been created by disputes 
 about 'the division of the blanket, for we saw eight 
 or ten of them with pieces of it on their backs, as 
 old women wear their cloaks. Amongst the num- 
 ber strutted Father Murphy. These rascals an- 
 noyed us day and night, and we dared not venture 
 out unless a party of five or six went together. 
 
 One morning, Father Murphy had the consum- 
 mate impudence to walk straight into the grenadier 
 barracks, and he was in the very act of purloining a 
 sergeant's regimental coat, when a corporal's guard 
 (which had just been relieved) took the liberty of 
 stopping the gentleman at the door, and secured him. 
 He was a most powerful brute, and, I am persuaded,
 
 MEMOIRS OF JOHN SHIPP. 83 
 
 too much for any single man. Notwithstanding his 
 frequent misdemeanors, we did not like to kill the 
 poor creature; so, having first taken the precaution 
 of muzzling him, we determined on shaving his head 
 and face, and then turning him loose. To this cere- 
 mony, strange to say, he submitted very quietly, 
 and, when shaved, he was really an exceedingly good- 
 looking fellow, and I have seen many a " blood" in Bond 
 Street not half so prepossessing in his appearance. 
 We then started him up the hill, though he seemed 
 rather reluctant to leave us. Some of his compa- 
 nions came down to meet him ; but, from the altera- 
 tion which shaving his head and face had made in 
 him, they did not know him again, and, accordingly, 
 pelted him with stones, and beat him with sticks, in 
 so unmerciful a manner, that poor Father Murphy 
 actually sought protection from his enemies, and he 
 in time became quite domesticated and tame. There 
 are many now alive, in his Majesty's 22nd regiment of 
 foot, who can vouch for the truth of this anecdote. 
 
 We soon bade farewell to Muisenbourg, and 
 marched to Windbourg, and were in camp for seve- 
 ral months. Here we suffered dreadfully from the
 
 84 MEMOIRS OF JOHN SHIPP. 
 
 inclemency of the weather, and from lying on damp 
 ground in small bell tents ; added to which, our very 
 lives were drilled out by brigade field-days, from 
 three and four o'clock in the morning, until seven and 
 eight o'clock at night. At this period the Caffres 
 were committing the most terrific murders and rob- 
 beries amongst the Dutch boors up the country. 
 To stop these devastations, a rifle company was 
 formed from the several corps of the 8th Dragoons, 
 and the 22d, 34th, 65th, 81st, and 91st regiments, 
 and placed under the command of Captain Effingham 
 Lindsay, one of the bravest soldiers in his Majesty's 
 army. We were dressed in green, and our pieces 
 were browned to prevent their being seen in the 
 woods where the Caffres congregated. About three 
 months after the formation of the company, we were 
 sent up the country, in conjunction with the light 
 company of the 91st Regiment and a corps of Hot- 
 tentots. We embarked on board the Diamond fri- 
 gate, and reached Algoa Bay in fourteen days, hav- 
 ing experienced bad weather. From thence we 
 marched to Grafrenette, about five or six hundred 
 miles in the interior, and fifteen hundred miles from
 
 MEMOIRS OF JOHN SHIPP. 85 
 
 Cape Town, and took up our quarters in a Dutch 
 church. The road from Algoa Bay to Grafrenette 
 is hill and dale, and infested with lions, tigers, 
 hyaenas, wolves, and elephants; and we frequently 
 saw eight or ten a-day, at a place called Rovee 
 Bank, a day's march on this side of the great pass. 
 One day I went out shooting wild ducks here with 
 another person. We came to a pool of water, sur- 
 rounded with very high grass (some of it ten feet 
 high), which abounded with wild ducks and geese. 
 I took aim and fired, and had just time to see 
 that at least one bird had fallen a victim to num- 
 ber four, when I heard a most tremendous roar, and 
 the whole pool was in a moment in a state of commo 
 tion. I was in the act of plunging into the water 
 after my butchered duck, when, imagine my asto- 
 nishment and alarm, on seeing an enormous white 
 elephant rush out from the grass, roaring loudly, 
 and striking the grass aside with his trunk. Neither 
 myself nor my companion had ever seen one before, 
 and we had now no inclination for a second peep ; 
 so, leaving the ducks to their fate, we took to our 
 heels, and never stopped till we arrived safe in camp.
 
 86 MEMOIRS OF JOHN SHIPP. 
 
 At every farmer's house on our line of march we 
 found sad vestiges of murder and desolation. 
 Whole families had been wantonly massacred by 
 this wild and misguided race of people, whose 
 devastations it was now our duty to check, and 
 whose ignorance is so extraordinary, that I am 
 persuaded they are insensible that murder is a 
 crime. Beautiful farm-houses were to be seen 
 still smoking; the families either murdered, or run 
 away to seek refuge elsewhere. Not a living 
 creature was to be seen, unless, perchance, a poor 
 door might be discovered howling over the dead 
 
 o o o 
 
 body of his master ; or some wounded horse or ox, 
 groaning with the stab of a spear or other muti- 
 lation. The savage Caffre exults in these appalling 
 sights ; gaping wounds, and the pangs of the dying, 
 are to his dark and infatuated mind the very acme 
 of enjoyment. This barbarous race, when they 
 have succeeded in any of their murderous exploits, 
 appear to be so excited to ecstasy, that they will 
 jump about in a sort of phrenzy, hurling their 
 spears in all directions, and in the most reckless 
 manner, either at man or beast. They are quite
 
 MEMOIRS OF JOHN SHIPP. 87 
 
 insensible to the value of money, which they would 
 accept on account of its glitter only; while a more 
 shining gilt button would be prized by them as of 
 inestimable value. In short, they seem scarcely to 
 possess a rational idea beyond what may tend to 
 the gratification of the appetite ; and I have myself 
 seen them with women's gowns, petticoats, shawls, 
 &c. tied round their legs, and between their toes, 
 and in this manner they would run wildly into the 
 woods, shouting in exultation. 
 
 These people had got information that we were 
 their avowed enemies and come to destroy them, 
 and take from them their enormous herds of cattle : 
 they were, therefore, driven far into the interior of 
 almost inaccessible parts of the country, where we 
 could not follow them. Some few stragglers were 
 left in the neighbourhood to watch our movements, 
 with whom we had some slight skirmishes ; but, 
 from the extreme intricacy of the woods, we could 
 do but little with them. 
 
 The Caflfres may unquestionably be considered 
 as a formidable enemy. They are inured to war 
 and plunder, and most of them are such famous
 
 88 MEMOIRS OF JOHN SHIPP. 
 
 marksmen with their darts, that they will make 
 sure of their aim at sixty or eighty paces' distance. 
 When you fire upon them they will throw them- 
 selves flat upon their faces, and thus avoid the 
 ball ; and, even if you hit them, it is doubtful whe- 
 ther the ball would take effect, the skins worn by 
 them being considered to be ball-proof. Added to 
 this, as they reside in woods, in the most inacces- 
 sible parts of which they take refuge on being 
 hard pressed by their enemies, an offensive war- 
 fare against them is inconceivably arduous. 
 
 Before they deliver the darts with which they 
 are armed, they run side-ways ; the left shoulder 
 projected forward, and the right considerably 
 lowered, with the right hand extended behind 
 them, the dart lying flat in the palm of the hand, 
 the point near the right eye. When discharged 
 from the grasp, it flies with such velocity that you 
 can scarcely see it, and when in the air it looks 
 like a shuttle-cock violently struck. They carry, 
 slung on their backs, about a dozen of these wea- 
 pons, with which single men have been known to 
 kill lions and tigers.
 
 MEMOIRS OF JOHN SHIPP. 8iJ 
 
 From this harassing warfare, travelling through 
 almost impenetrable woods, over tremendous hills, 
 and through rivers, we were soon in a terribly 
 ragged condition. Our shoes we managed to 
 replace from the raw hides of buffaloes, in the 
 following manner : the foot was placed on the hide, 
 which was then cut to the shape of the sole, and 
 fastened to the foot by thongs made of the same 
 material, sewed to the sole instead of upper-lea- 
 thers. In two or three days this dried and formed 
 to the shape of the foot, and was sure to be a fit. 
 When we had remained at this station about two 
 years, it was truly laughable to see the metamor- 
 phosis of the once-white regimental trousers. 
 Here and there pieces had been sewn in to patch 
 up holes, and, these pieces being of materials of 
 other texture as well as other colours, we looked, 
 at a distance, like spotted leopards. During these 
 two years I had sprung up some six inches, out- 
 growing, of course, both my jacket and trousers ; 
 and, when I was in full case for parade, my figure 
 must have been exceedingly ludicrous. My jacket 
 was literally a strait jacket; for, from its extreme
 
 90 MEMOIRS OF JOHN SHIPP. 
 
 tightness, I could scarcely raise my hand to my 
 head. My pantaloons or trousers had been, during 
 the whole period, continually rising in the world, 
 and now they would scarcely condescend to protect 
 my protruding knees. I was but a novice at the 
 needle, so that the patches I put on were either too 
 small or too large. In this predicament I had to 
 march nearly fifteen hundred miles through Africa. 
 The rest of the men were but little better off, and 
 we might well have been compared to Falstaff's 
 ragged recruits, with whom he swore he would not 
 march through Coventry. 
 
 Having continued on this duty for upwards of 
 two years, to very little purpose, the Cape of 
 Good Hope was ordered, by the British Govern- 
 ment (in 1801), to be given up to the Dutch. To 
 remove the Rifle Company, and the light company 
 of the 91st Foot, a small vessel was despatched from 
 Cape Town to Algoa Bay, for their conveyance to 
 the capital, preparatory to embarking for India. I 
 was despatched over land with a Dutch boor's 
 family, then about to leave the station for Cape 
 Town. The whole of the officers' baggage was
 
 MEMOIRS OF JOHN SHIPP. 91 
 
 committed to my care, which was a very serious 
 charge and responsibility, through such a wild and 
 desolate country. On this trip I had to pass along 
 the margin of the country inhabited by the Caffres; 
 and, although the Dutch family with whom I travelled 
 had muskets and four waggons, these sojourners 
 in the woods and hills neither feared them nor their 
 guns. After laying in a good stock of powder and 
 shot, we commenced our march in regular battle 
 array. I was mounted on a horse, with my rifle 
 slung over my back, always loaded, and a pistol 
 in my holster-pipe ; on each side rode the Dutch- 
 man's two sons ; after us, four Hottentots, armed 
 with muskets ; then the old boss (the master) ; and, 
 following him, the four waggons containing the 
 families and property of all. The rear-guard con- 
 sisted of two head servants (Hottentots), armed, on 
 bullocks ; then four on foot, with their families, 
 many of the women carrying two children Thus 
 we would accomplish twenty miles a-day over the 
 most enormous hills ; and, if we could not reach a 
 farm-house by the setting sun (which was the time 
 we generally halted) we selected the most open spot
 
 92 MEMOIRS OF JOHN SHIPP. 
 
 we could find for our encampment, forming a square 
 with the four waggons, keeping bur cattle inside, 
 where they were fed. Six men out of the twelve 
 kept watch the whole night, and were relieved every 
 four hours, in which duty I always took a part. 
 In fact, we were so often disturbed, either by the 
 Caffres, or some beast of prey prowling about our 
 little fortified encampment, that we might be said 
 to be always watching. The Caffre possesses a 
 great deal of cunning and craft. Their system of 
 attack is this : under the garb of night, when all is 
 still, save the roaring lion, the hungry tiger, or 
 the screaching owl, they will crawl on their hands and 
 knees, imitating the cries of any animal of the woods, 
 or any bird of the air. At the smallest noise they will 
 turn themselves flat on the ground, so that you may 
 walk close by and not observe them ; and the first 
 indication given you of having such dangerous neigh- 
 bours, is by the incision of a spear, or the blow of a 
 club. These imitations of the cries of animals, and 
 chirping of birds, are well understood amongst them- 
 selves. No wonder, then, that we should watch. 
 It was no unusual thing in the morning to see their
 
 MEMOIRS OF JOHN SHIPP. 93 
 
 spears lodged in the top of our waggons, and close 
 by where we kept watch ; but we never attempted 
 to leave our possessions, and resolved not to throw 
 away our precious powder and ball on slight occa- 
 sions. To narrate the numerous trials, watchings, 
 privations, perils, and escapes of this trip, would 
 of itself fill a larger space than I can devote to such 
 a detail. Suffice it, for the present, that we at last 
 reached Cape Town in safety. 
 
 The Dutchman with whom I was travelling had 
 two daughters ; the younger of whom, Sabina by 
 name, was a most lovely creature. She was tall, 
 and rather slim; of symmetrical form; in complexion, 
 a brunette ; with black eyes and hair ; her foot ex- 
 tremely small ; and her waist scarcely a span. Her 
 manners were vivacious and interesting, and her 
 education had been by no means neglected. As we 
 proceeded on our perilous journey, this charming 
 girl would single me out as her companion, and seek 
 consolation in my society and conversation, from the 
 coarseness of her father, who was a very gross man. 
 It need scarcely be confessed by me, that I was 
 nothing loath to be thus distinguished ; neither can
 
 94 MEMOIRS OF JOHN SHIPP. 
 
 it reasonably be expected that I was long insensible 
 to the charms of my amiable companion. I would 
 walk by her side, while she rode my horse the whole 
 march ; and, in this manner, day after day passed 
 away like so many hours, and our attachment grew 
 stronger and stronger, and at length settled into a 
 deep-rooted affection, and was cemented by an inter- 
 change of protestations of mutual love. She was a 
 year younger than I ; my age being then sixteen, 
 and her's fifteen ; but the appearance of both was far 
 beyond that tender age. 
 
 Convinced of the reciprocity of our attachment, 
 thus we journeyed on, indulging in visions of bliss ; 
 and it was not until we had approached within a 
 short distance of our destination, that the idea first 
 crossed my mind that we must soon part. Until 
 this moment all my faculties had yielded to the 
 fascinations of my enslaver, from the contemplation 
 of whose beauty it had seemed treason to steal a 
 thought ; but, now that the time approached when 
 my duty must tear me from her, and when I re- 
 flected that from that duty there was no possibility 
 of shrinking without disgrace, the absolute necessity
 
 i 
 
 MEMOIRS OF JOHN SHIPP. 95 
 
 of separation from my beloved Sabina rushed upon 
 my senses, and almost drove me to despair. These 
 bitter thoughts having thus suddenly and painfully 
 intruded, I revolved within my mind, in all ways, the 
 possibilities of extricating myself from my perplex- 
 ino; situation : and the more I reflected, the more 
 
 o * 
 
 was I distressed and embarrassed. Marriage would 
 not have been consented to by my commanding 
 officer, on account of my extreme youth ; the 
 thought of any less honourable proposal I could not 
 myself encourage for a moment : and, in short, it 
 soon became clear to me, that there was but one 
 road of escape from the heart-rending necessity of 
 parting at once, and for ever, from my lovely bru- 
 nette, desertion. The idea of being compelled to 
 resort to such an alternative startled me; I knew 
 the enormity of the offence, and the consequences of 
 such a step ; but the recollection that it was my 
 only resource haunted me day and night. As often 
 as it intruded upon my distracted mind, I en- 
 deavoured to drive it from me ; but it stuck to me 
 like ivy on the crumbling tower. What to do I could 
 not resolve. I at last mentioned the subject to
 
 96 MEMOIRS OF JOHN SHIPP. 
 
 Sabina, and it seemed that the thought of our 
 approaching separation had been by her also forgot- 
 ten in our mutual love. The moment I hinted at the 
 possibility of parting, she turned as pale as death ; 
 I saw the crystal tear steal down her beautiful 
 cheek ; she trembled ; and at last swooned away. 
 It was then the dark fiend again urged me on, and 
 I promised, in the moment of grief and excitement, 
 that I would desert, and follow her wherever she 
 might go. Her sweet eye beamed ineffable plea- 
 sure ; she seized my hand ; kissed it a hundred 
 times; and she said, in a most pathetic manner, 
 " Will you really return with me to my home?" I 
 declared I would, whatever might be the result. 
 She said, " Swear it, and I shall live ; deny me, 
 and I shall die." The concluding part of this appeal 
 was urged with such a searching anguish, that it 
 drew from me a solemn promise of desertion. This 
 resolution was communicated to her family, and one 
 and all urged me to go, or rather return with them 
 to their homes, pointing out the happiness I should 
 enjoy with their beautiful sister. These were argu- 
 ments too cogent to be resisted, and I again pro-
 
 MEMOIRS OF JOHN SHIPP. 97 
 
 raised to return with them. Scarcely had the fatal 
 promise been repeated, when the recollection of 
 my native country, my home, my country's glory, 
 my regiment, and the disgrace attaching to the 
 committal of so bad a crime, all rushed in quick 
 succession upon my bewildered mind. I thought I 
 paused; but a single glance from the eye of my 
 beloved Sabina plainly told me that the first whisper 
 of love would suffice to confirm me in my fatal reso- 
 lution. 
 
 We were now within sight of Cape Town, and 
 here again my feelings, distressed at the thought 
 of deserting, goaded me beyond description. I 
 sometimes gave up the idea, and resolved to fly 
 from temptation, and seek protection with my 
 regiment; but the melodious voice of Sabina calling 
 me by name, would at once dissipate my better 
 resolutions, until I at last abandoned all idea of the 
 possibility of parting. I contented myself with 
 praying most devoutly that the regiment might have 
 sailed ere I arrived, which would have saved me 
 from the stigma of desertion. In the event of the 
 regiment being still at Cape Town, I had sworn to 
 
 VOL. i. F
 
 98 MEMOIRS OF JOHN SHIPP. 
 
 my betrothed and her family to return to them. 
 Thus we parted : my arrival was hailed by my com- 
 rades with delight, as they feared I had been mur- 
 dered by the Caffres ; and I received every kind 
 of congratulation, and several very handsome pre- 
 sents, from all those officers whose things I had 
 in charge. Some hundred miles before I had reached 
 Cape Town, the old Dutchman had tried hard to 
 persuade me to remain behind, with all the property, 
 till he and his family returned. This I resolutely 
 refused : desertion was of itself bad enough, with- 
 out adding to it the crimes of breach of trust and 
 theft. I had not, in our long and arduous march, 
 lost or injured a single thing, but delivered them all 
 safe into the custody of their rightful owners, and 
 in the evening went to see my Sabina at her friend's 
 house, where I was informed that the family pro- 
 posed leaving Cape Town for their home on the 
 following Monday. After a severe struggle, I con- 
 sented to accompany them ; for which purpose I 
 stole out of the barracks after hours, and joined 
 them at the appointed place outside the town. I 
 need not say my arrival was hailed with delight,
 
 MEMOIRS OF JOHN SHIPP. 99 
 
 for I had kept them waiting an hour beyond the 
 appointed time ; Sabina locked her arm in mine ; 
 the procession moved on; and in my excessive love 
 I forgot my crime. Reader, judge me not too 
 harshly: consider my youth, and the temptation I 
 had to contend against ; and, before you utterly 
 condemn me, place yourself under the same com- 
 bination of circumstances, and tell me how you 
 would have acted in my place. 
 
 We had proceeded about thirty miles from Cape 
 Town, and were busily engaged building castles of 
 future bliss, when (oh, short-sighted mortals !) the 
 provost-marshal thrust his head into the waggon, 
 and pointed a pistol at me, saying, if I attempted 
 to move, he would shoot me. This mandate was 
 too pointed to be disobeyed ; and, in ten minutes 
 after, I was on my way back to Cape Town, having 
 been dragged from the embraces of her for whom I 
 had sacrificed my ah 1 . From that moment I never 
 saw, or heard of, the fair Sabina or her family, who 
 would also undoubtedly have been seized, but that 
 I took all the blame upon my own shoulders. I was 
 tried by a regimental court-martial for being absent 
 
 F2
 
 100 MEMOIRS OF JOHN SHIPP. 
 
 from morning parade, and for desertion, and sen- 
 tenced to receive 999 lashes, being more than fifty 
 lashes for every year I was old ; but my commanding 
 officer was a kind and affectionate man, and had 
 known me from the day I entered his regiment ; 
 he could not consent that I should receive a single 
 lash, but sent for me, and admonished me like a 
 parent, painted the crime of desertion in all its 
 enormities, and dismissed me, with the assurance of 
 his full forgiveness and friendship, adding, that he 
 was assured I had been deluded away by the Dutch- 
 man and his family. This I never would acknow- 
 ledge, until some months afterwards, when, knowing 
 that they must be far out of our reach, I related 
 the whole transaction. 
 
 Some of the Dutch troops, to whom we were 
 to resign the Cape, had already arrived from Java 
 and Batavia, and other Dutch settlements, many of 
 whom flocked to the wharf to see us embark, and, 
 where they dared, to offer insults. A huge brute 
 sidled up to me, with his greasy mustachios, which 
 he began to curl and twist between his fore-finger 
 and thumb, at the same time chucking me under
 
 MEMOIRS OF JOHN SHIPP. 101 
 
 the chin, and calling me a pretty boy. For this I 
 took the liberty of saluting him with a kick on the 
 shins, for which he attempted to seize my ears ; 
 but I fixed my bayonet (a weapon the Dutch have 
 a great aversion to) ; so he marched off. The 
 following morning we embarked for India, on board 
 a small American vessel that had been lying a con- 
 siderable time at the Cape. 
 
 When the land was buried in distance, I could 
 not help reviewing the many providential escapes 
 I had already experienced during my short career, 
 and the mercies that had been extended to me in 
 the most perilous situations. Did men but oftener 
 attribute them to that great source from whence 
 all our mercies are derived, we should think less of 
 our often fancied hardships, and feel grateful for 
 the blessings we enjoy. In my case, it was impos- 
 sible to look back upon the last four years 'of my 
 life, without trembling at the scenes I had been 
 carried through in safety, and addressing a prayer 
 of thanksgiving to the fountain of all love, for the 
 unmerited protection that had been extended towards 
 me.
 
 102 MEMOIRS OF JOHN SHIPP. 
 
 We had scarcely got to sea a day, when we 
 found that it was a difficult matter to determine 
 which was the more cranky, the vessel or the cap- 
 tain. She took in water in large quantities, he 
 grog ; she would not go steady, neither would he ; 
 she rolled and pitched, so did he ; she shook her 
 headj so did he ; she was often sea-sick, so was 
 he : in fact, they were a cranky pair. She had lain 
 so long at the jCape, that her bottom had become 
 foul, and she would not go more than four knots an 
 hour, if it blew a hurricane, and then she seemed 
 to tear the very water asunder. We prowled about 
 the deep like the wandering Jew on earth, until 
 at last our water began to evince symptoms of 
 decline, and it was justly feared we should soon 
 suffer much under a hot sun for want of that great 
 essential ; but about a week after we stumbled 
 upon land, which, after a great deal of recon- 
 noitreing, our wise captain pronounced to be some 
 part of Sumatra. However this might be, it was 
 a welcome sight to us ; but, as it was late in the 
 evening when we discovered it, we were obliged to 
 steer about the whole night. About ten o'clock
 
 MEMOIRS OF JOHN SHIPP. 103 
 
 the clouds began to thicken, and the wind blew 
 from shore ; about twelve it blew a smart gale, and 
 we hove to ; our vessel lay like a log of wood, 
 scarcely moving, till the morning dawned, when the 
 storm had subsided in a great degree, and we 
 stood in for land. The hills looked woody, and the 
 valleys fertile. We at last got into a small bay, or 
 basin, where the surrounding scenery was beautiful 
 in the extreme. Several canoes were to be seen 
 steering up the creeks, and men and women run- 
 ning into the woods, in seeming alarm and con- 
 sternation. We anchored about 300 yards from 
 the shore. The movements of the natives did not 
 evince any friendly inclination towards us, but 
 the contrary ; and it was fortunate that we had the 
 means of taking by compulsion what we should 
 willingly have purchased, wood and water, those 
 two essentials to man's existence. To convince 
 them, if possible, that our appearance in this basin 
 was not of a hostile nature, a small boat was des- 
 patched, with six or seven men, four of them 
 armed. I was one, and we approached the shore 
 with great caution. We could plainly see people
 
 104 MEMOIRS OF JOHN SHIPP. 
 
 hiding behind trees, and carrying away their move- 
 ables from some huts which stood about two hun- 
 dred yards from shore, where we could also discover 
 fishing-nets, canoes that had been dragged ashore, 
 a few domestic fowls, and one or two goats and 
 kids. We beckoned them to approach, but they 
 seemed shy, and would not come near us. The 
 captain's servant was a native of Ceylon, and 
 could speak several languages. We landed him, 
 but he was justly afraid to venture far from 
 the boat. He soon, however, made them under- 
 stand the object for which we put into this port, 
 and informed them that we were willing to pur- 
 chase both wood and water at a reasonable 
 price. This they would not consent to, but re- 
 quested us immediately to weigh anchor and leave 
 the bay, or dread the displeasure of their king, 
 whom they had apprised of our intrusion into their 
 country. It appeared from this that we had no 
 alternative but to take what we required by force ; 
 we, therefore, disregarded the threats of the sub- 
 jects of his black Majesty, and the following morn- 
 ing got out the long-boat, with implements for
 
 MEMOIRS OF JOHN SHIPP. 105 
 
 getting in water, and cutting wood. The latter was 
 already cut to our hands, as the surrounding country 
 was one mass of fuel, that had decayed, and been 
 blown down by the tempest. The water was close 
 by, a most beautiful crystal stream ; but the mo- 
 ment we had commenced work, we saw an enormous 
 number of people, with swords, spears, and dag- 
 gers, approaching towards us. We formed a line, 
 primed and loaded, and prepared for a fight; but, 
 resolved not to be the aggressors, we again des- 
 patched the native servant to endeavour to reason 
 them into compliance ; for which purpose, a small 
 safeguard went with him. After a great deal of 
 threatening and blustering, they consented to sell 
 the water for five dollars per butt, and the wood 
 in proportion. This exorbitant claim was of course 
 rejected with indignation ; but, still wishing to keep 
 friendly with them, we offered one dollar per butt. 
 This was refused by them, and the servant returned. 
 Meantime, we continued filling our water utensils 
 and collecting fire-wood, with the greatest industry, 
 keeping our eyes on them all the while. There 
 appeared to be a deal of consultation among the 
 
 F5
 
 106 MEMOIRS OF JOHN SHUT. 
 
 natives, and a number of messengers going and 
 coming : at last an arrow was fired, which fell close 
 
 % 
 
 to where I was standing. Another soon followed it ; 
 and the officer in command of our party then 
 ordered two or three men to fire in the air. This 
 alarmed them so, that they took to their heels, 
 and ran shouting into the woods, and we went hard 
 to work. In about an hour, the inhabitants, ' 
 encouraged by our pacific appearance, sent a man 
 to inform us, that " his Majesty had been pleased 
 to permit the strangers to tread upon the margin of 
 his country, and drink his water of mercy," (so 
 interpreted by the native servant) ; and that " his 
 Majesty would come and hold communion of friend- 
 ship with the strangers on the following day, if the 
 day was auspicious ; that we might drink as much 
 water of his mercy as we pleased, and cut as much 
 wood ; but his Majesty begged we would not attempt 
 to make incursions into his country, as he could 
 not be held responsible, if his elephants and bull- 
 dogs got loose, and destroyed the strangers; and 
 further, that he would, in his most gracious mercy, 
 send us all sorts of fruits, &c., at a moderate price."
 
 MEMOIRS OF JOHN SHIPP. 107 
 
 To this message we returned a very gracious 
 answer ; and about ten the following morning a 
 great number of boats were seen coming down the 
 several creeks, which, concentrating at the bottom 
 of a small village a little way up the largest creek, 
 at last came on their way towards the ship, in num- 
 ber about thirty, with about four men in each boat. 
 It had been before understood that not one person 
 would be admitted with arms, and only ten people 
 at a time. His Majesty did not choose to make 
 his appearance, but had instructed those that did 
 come to say, that he had consulted his divines, and 
 they had pronounced the day an inauspicious one. 
 We were, therefore, deprived of his royal presence ; 
 but, if he was as big a thief as those he sent to 
 represent him, his Majesty was qualified for a more 
 exalted sphere the gallows : such a set of rogues 
 I have never seen in the whole course of my life. 
 They brought oranges, plantains, &c. and some 
 few ducks, chickens, and eggs, for barter ; but they 
 were such thieves that you could not trust them 
 even to handle the article you wished to barter. 
 If you trusted it out of your own hand, it was
 
 108 MEMOIRS OF JOHN SHIPP. 
 
 handed by them from one to another, and ultimately 
 to their canoes, and then you might " fish for it," to 
 use a soldier's term. A ludicrous scene took place 
 between a tar and one of these fellows. Jack 
 offered his blanket for sale, as he had now got into 
 a warm climate, and it was of no further use to him. 
 Jack, in good, sound, and intelligible English, par- 
 ticularized the length, breadth, and quality of his 
 blanket, qualifying his description with many an 
 oath, not one syllable of which did the purchaser 
 understand. During the examination of the said 
 blanket, Jack kept hold of one end, pledging his 
 tarry honour to the authenticity of his assertion, 
 that it was a real Witney. Some one at this mo- 
 ment took off Jack's attention, and he withdrew his 
 hand from the blanket, which soon found its way to 
 the canoe. The tar uttered sundry imprecations 
 touching his " day-lights" and " grappling-irons," 
 and was up on deck, and down into the canoe, in a 
 moment, overhauling every thing; but neither the 
 blanket nor the purchaser was to be found. At this 
 the sailor ran about like a madman, until, at last, he 
 espied the fellow moving down the fore-hatchway.
 
 MEMOIRS OF JOHN SHIPP. 109 
 
 Being certain of his man, he took one hop, skip, and 
 jump, and fastened on the fellow's neck, vociferat- 
 ing, (< Halloa, shipmate, where have you stowed 
 my blanket ? Come, skull it over, or I shall board 
 you, before you can say luff." The fellow did not, 
 of course, understand one word he said ; but Jack 
 soon brought him to his bearings, as he called it, by 
 mooring him on the deck, and swearing that, if he 
 did not " skull over the Witney," he would tear 
 him into rope-yarns. Thus roughly treated, poor 
 blackey bellowed out lustily for mercy, which 
 brought down the first officer, who asked Jack 
 Carter (for that was his name), what was the matter. 
 He replied, " This here black rascal has grappled 
 my blanket, so I am just after boarding him ; and, if 
 he don't shore it out, I'll sink him, or Jack Carter is 
 no sailor." Here he commenced hammering his 
 head against the deck, until the knave said some- 
 thing to one of his countrymen, who ran forward 
 where his canoe was, and put an end to the dispute 
 by producing the Witney. 
 
 The following day we again bent our way towards 
 India, with light hearts and cheerful countenances.
 
 1 10 MEMOIRS OF JOHN SHIPP. 
 
 We soon reached the Pilot, cruising off the sand- 
 heads of Saugar, and steered our way up the River 
 Hoogley. This river is wide, and its current power- 
 ful. The views on each side, when you get as far as 
 Fultah, are romantic, and we wore out our eyes in 
 feasting on nature's beauties. On rounding the cor- 
 ner, or protruding neck of land, on which stand the 
 company's* botanical gardens, Fort William first ap- 
 pears.; then Calcutta, with its innumerable shipping, 
 bursts upon the view, and the beholder gazes on the 
 beautiful fortification of the fort, and the city of 
 palaces, with astonishment and delight. We passed 
 the fort in full sail, and were hailed from its ramparts 
 by the artillery, and part of the 10th Regiment of 
 Foot, then in garrison there. We returned the wel- 
 come greeting with three loud cheers, and in five 
 minutes after came to anchor off Esplenade Ghent, 
 after a voyage of more than five months.
 
 Ill 
 
 CHAPTER VI. 
 
 THE instant the anchor was gone, boats were 
 alongside, for the purpose of conveying the two com- 
 panies ashore ; and, in a couple of hours, we were 
 safely lodged in our quarters at Fort William. Here 
 the five companies of his Majesty's 10th Regiment of 
 Foot joined our lads, with bottles of rum, and a scene 
 ensued that was beyond description ; drinking, sing- 
 ing, dancing, shouting, fighting, and bottles flying in 
 all directions. The sight was terrific ; so I marched 
 oflfto the bazaar, to get out of the bustle ; went round 
 the fort, and visited everything worth seeing. On 
 my return to the barracks, I found the men lying in 
 a state of the. most disgusting drunkenness ; some on 
 the floor, others on cots, trunks, and boxes. In 
 those days I knew not the taste of spirituous liquors ; 
 and, indeed, for years after: consequently, instead of 
 joining those scenes of revelry and discord, they
 
 112 MEMOIRS OF JOHN SHIPP. 
 
 were to me offensive and disgusting in the extreme. 
 The very smell of arrack would at any time drive me 
 from the barrack, and many a night have I slept in 
 the open air to avoid the fumes arising from its use, 
 as well as the drunken jargon of those who drank 
 it to excess. 
 
 I had now attained the age of eighteen years ; 
 was healthy and active ; a zealous (though very hum- 
 ble) member of the profession I had chosen ; and 
 an ardent aspirant to share in my country's glory. 
 With these feelings and qualifications, assuring my- 
 self that, now I was in India, I was in the wide field 
 of promise, I began to revolve in my mind if I 
 could not better my situation. I was then fifer and 
 bugler in the light company, the kind captain of 
 which, seeing my anxious spirit, generously under- 
 took to improve me in reading and writing, of which 
 I at that time knew but little. In the course of one 
 year's close application, I so much improved as to 
 keep his books of the company and his own private 
 accounts. I then begged of him that I might be re- 
 moved from the drummers to the ranks. I did not 
 like the appellation drum-boy. As I have seen
 
 MEMOIRS OF JOHN SHIPP. 113 
 
 many a man riding post, who was at least sixty 
 years old, still called a postboy, so, if a drummer 
 had attained the age of Methusalem, he would never 
 acquire any other title than drum-boy. Indeed, 
 there were many other things I could never bring 
 myself to relish in any eminent degree : such as 
 flogging (to say nothing of being flogged), and danc- 
 ing attendance on a capricious sergeant-major, or his 
 more consequential spouse, who is queen of the sol- 
 diers' wives, and mother of tipplers, and an invita- 
 tion-card from whom to tea and cards is considered 
 a ponderous obligation. 
 
 In about a week after having made this request, I 
 was transferred from the drummers' room, and pro- 
 moted to the rank of corporal. This was promotion 
 indeed, three steps in one day! From drum-boy 
 to private; from a battalion company to the Light 
 Bobs ; and from private to corporal. I was not long 
 before I paraded myself in the tailor's shop, and 
 tipped the master-snip a rupee to give me a good 
 and neat cut, such as became a full corporal. By 
 evening parade my blushing honours came thick 
 upon me. The captain came upon parade, and read
 
 1 14 MEMOIRS OF JOHN SHIPP. 
 
 aloud the regimental orders of the day, laying great 
 stress upon, " to the rank of corporal, and to be 
 obeyed accordingly." I was on the right of the com- 
 pany, being the tallest man on parade, when I was 
 desired by the captain to fall out, and give the time. 
 I did so, and never did a fugleman cut more capers ; 
 but here an awkward accident happened. In 
 shouldering arms, I elevated my left hand high in 
 the air; extended my leg in an oblique direction, 
 with the point of my toe just touching the ground ; 
 but, in throwing the musket up in a fugle-like man- 
 ner, the cock caught the bottom of my jacket, and 
 down come brown Bess flat upon my toes, to the 
 great amusement of the tittering company. I must 
 confess, I felt queer; but I soon recovered my 
 piece and my gravity, and all went on smoothly, till 
 I got into the barracks, where a quick hedge-firing 
 commenced from all quarters; such as, " Shoul- 
 der hems!" " Shoulder hems!" " Twig the fugle- 
 man!" This file-firing increased to volleys, till I 
 was obliged to exert my authority by threatening 
 them with the guard-house, for riotous conduct; but 
 this only increased the merriment, so I pocketed
 
 MEMOIRS OF JOHN SHIPP. 115 
 
 the affront, as the easiest and most good-natured 
 mode of escape; my persecutors ceased, and thus 
 ended my first parade as a non-commissioned officer. 
 In my new sphere of life I now felt that there 
 was, unquestionably, some satisfaction derivable 
 from being 
 
 " Clothed in a little brief authority." 
 
 A corporal has to take command of small guards ; is 
 privileged to visit the sentinels whenever he pleases 
 his suggestions are frequently attended to by his 
 superiors ; and his orders must be promptly obeyed 
 by those below him. There is certainly a pleasure 
 in all this, and a man rises proportionately in his 
 own esteem. In short, to confess the truth, I now 
 looked upon a drum-boy as little better than his 
 drum. 
 
 Full of the importance of my situation and duties, 
 thus passed the time for nearly six months, at the 
 end of which I was advanced to the rank of sergeant, 
 and, shortly afterwards, to that of pay-sergeant, in 
 the same regiment. The post of pay-sergeant is 
 certainly one of importance, and he who holds it a 
 personage of no small consideration. He feeds and
 
 116 MEMOIRS OF JOHN SHIPP. 
 
 clothes the men \ lends them money at moderate 
 interest and on good security; and sells them 
 watches and seals, on credit, at a price somewhat 
 above what they cost, to be sure, but the mere sight 
 of which, dangling from a man's fob, has been 
 known to gain him the character of a sober steady 
 fellow, and one that should be set down for promo- 
 tion. Thus, at least, good may sometimes be 
 educed from evil ; and, as it is not my intention to 
 enter into a detail of the chicanery practised among 
 the minor ranks in the army, let it suffice that I 
 never served in a company in which every individual 
 could not buy, sell, exchange, lend, and borrow, on 
 terms peculiar to themselves. 
 
 Shortly after my promotion, an order arrived for 
 the two flank companies of the regiment to proceed 
 to join the army then in the field, with all possible 
 speed. We were to proceed by land, the distance 
 about twelve hundred miles, and the season winter. 
 Every hand was busily engaged in making the neces- 
 sary preparations for the journey, equipping our- 
 selves as lightly as possible ; when an unfortunate mis- 
 understanding occurred, which was but too likely,
 
 MEMOIRS OF JOHN SHIPP. 117 
 
 not only to prevent our journey, but to put an end 
 to some of our lives. 
 
 On the arrival of troops at Fort William, it had 
 been the custom to stop from each soldier of his Ma- 
 jesty's army, eight rupees; but for what purpose, 
 strange to say, they were never told. This deduction 
 had been made from the pay of our two Companies 
 without any explanation ; and, as the men were now 
 proceeding on active service, it was but right and na- 
 tural that they should desire to know (as we had been 
 accustomed in the regiment), why any part of this 
 pay was withheld from them. They called upon 
 their officers for explanation, who were as much in 
 the dark as themselves. The greater part of the two 
 companies then marched, in a sober deliberate man- 
 ner, towards Major-General Sir Hughen Bailey's 
 quarters, to seek.redress. Here they were given to 
 understand that the sum of eight rupees was custo- 
 mary to be stopped from each soldier, to insure him 
 a decent burial. This explanation only added fuel 
 to flame, and excited in the hearts of the men (few 
 of whom, poor fellows! ever wanted burial, as will 
 be seen in the sequel of this narrative), the most
 
 118 MEMOIRS OF JOHN SHIPP. 
 
 bitter rancour against such a custom. The men re- 
 turned to the barracks; liquor was resorted to to 
 feed the spark already kindled in their bosoms ; till 
 at length they became bent upon open rebellion and 
 mutiny. This spirit of disaffection was manifested 
 
 most strongly in the grenadier company. Both com- 
 
 
 panies were doatingly fond of their officers, who took 
 
 great pains to explain to them that violent measures, 
 and taking the law into their own hands, would never 
 be likely to get their wrongs redressed ; but that, on 
 the contrary,- those very acts deprived them of the 
 power of interceding for them, and explaining to the 
 proper authorities the grounds of their complaints. 
 This timely explanation had its due effect, and we, 
 one and all (I mean the Light Company), said, 
 " March us before the enemy, that we may wipe 
 away this our first disobedience ;" but those who had 
 drank deeper of the poisonous cup of rebellion, in 
 the Grenadier Company, were still unappeased and 
 spreading wide the infectious sparks of mutiny ; so 
 much so, that the officers were again called in to 
 quell them. Their colonel they loved dearly ; he 
 was a father to his men ; the adjutant they hated.
 
 MEMOIRS OF JOHN SHIPP. 119 
 
 On the arrival of the former, the men became pas- 
 sive, and the tumult was hushed ; but, when the lat- 
 ter appeared, the shouting of, " Kick him out !" 
 " Turn him out !" resounded through the barracks, 
 and he had a narrow escape for his life. When he 
 
 had left, the tumult again ceased; the men retired to 
 
 ,*- 
 their cots; and, in an hour, all was silent as the 
 
 grave. The next morning the eight rupees were 
 refunded; and, on the morning following, we left 
 the fort, with the band of the regiment playing us 
 through Calcutta, where we were met and hailed by 
 all assembled. Every face smiled with joy ; every 
 breast beat high for glory. The country through 
 which we passed was fertile and well inhabited ; 
 plenty smiled around, and all seemed peace and 
 contentment. Here presided English justice ; the 
 Pariah cottager was protected in his reed-thatched 
 hovel, and the ploughman was seen smiling over 
 his nodding crops. We lived like fighting-cocks ; 
 thought nothing of five or six and twenty miles a 
 day ; every face wore the smile of contentment ; 
 all were healthy ; and the merry song and story 
 beguiled some of our more dreary night-marches.
 
 120 MEMOIRS OF JOHN SHIPP. 
 
 Thus merrily we reached the army, our marches 
 averaging twenty-six miles a day. We were met 
 some miles from camp by his Excellency Lord 
 Lake, the Commander- in-Chief, who said that he 
 was delighted to see us. At this flattering greeting 
 of the Commander-in-Chief, we gave three cheers, 
 in which his lordship and staff heartily joined us. 
 I must confess I felt at this moment sensations I 
 was a stranger to before j a kind of elevation of 
 soul indescribable, accompanied by a consciousness 
 that I could either have laughed heartily or cried 
 bitterly. Nearer camp we were met and greeted 
 by nearly the whole European army. Such shout- 
 ing and huzzaing I never heard, nor could I have 
 imagined that the mind of man could be worked up 
 to such a height of feeling. For myself, I could not 
 help dropping a tear, for what, I cannot tell ; but so 
 it was. On reaching the general hospital, we saw 
 many men without legs, some without arms, others 
 with their heads tied up; and it was a most affect- 
 ing sight to behold these poor wounded creatures 
 waving their shattered stumps, and exerting their 
 feeble frames, to greet us warmly as we passed
 
 MEMOIRS OF JOHN SHIPP. 121 
 
 along. The scene that followed would beggar 
 description : drinking, dancing, shouting, that 
 made the Byannah Pass echo again ! Reader, 
 believe me when I assure you that in those days I 
 knew not, as I said before, the taste of spirituous 
 liquors ; consequently, I did not join in these 
 bacchanalian orgies, but reconnoitred the camp, 
 which, to my spirits, was far more exhilirating 
 than the jovial cup. Three days restored us to 
 some kind of order and discipline, and all went on 
 smoothly. 
 
 Hoolkah, a native Pindaree, was at this time in 
 full force, with about sixty thousand horse, and 
 twenty-five thousand infantry, encamped a short 
 distance from us, ever on the alert to watch our 
 movements, and supported by Ameerkhan, and 
 other self-created Rajahs. From the very nature of 
 this service, against a flyin genemy, thoroughly ac- 
 quainted with the localities of the country, we had 
 but little chance of coming up with them. Any- 
 thing like a general engagement they studiously 
 avoid; plunder only is their aim. In this wsy they 
 pay themselves, giving their chiefs any great article 
 
 VOL. I. G
 
 122 MEMOIRS OF JOHN SHIPP. 
 
 of value that may fall into their hands ; that is to 
 say, if they are known to have it. Their wives 
 are excellent horse-women, and many of them 
 good shots with the matchlocks, and active swords- 
 women. They are always mounted on the best 
 horse, and it is not an unusual thing for them to 
 carry one child before them and another behind, at 
 full speed. The Pindaree horsemen (and indeed 
 all horsemen in India) have a decided advantage 
 over the English. Their horses are so taught that 
 they can turn them right round for fifty times 
 without the horse's moving his hind legs from the 
 same circle, or pull them up at full speed instanta- 
 neously. Our horses are heavy, fat, and quite 
 unmanageable with the bit ; it takes them as long 
 to get round as a ship ; and you cannot pull them 
 up under ten or twenty yards. Some of their 
 horsemen have spears seventeen feet in length, 
 which they handle in so masterly a style that 
 singly they are dangerous persons to have any 
 thing to say to ; but I have frequently seen Lord 
 Lake charge, with his body-guard, a whole column 
 of them, and put them to the rout.
 
 MEMOIRS OF JOHN SHIPP. 123 
 
 A few days after our arrival, we moved on 
 towards Jeypore, these plundering rascals riding 
 close by us, manoeuvring on our flanks, and giving 
 us a shot now and then, to let us know they wished 
 to be neighbourly. On one of these occasions it 
 nearly cost me my life. We were in column on 
 one side of a field, near some high corn called 
 juwar, about half a mile from our column on the 
 other side of the field. I had at this time the 
 fastest pony in India, called Apple, on which I 
 rode on a-head to the extreme end of the field, 
 to have a shot at the head of their line of march ; 
 for which imprudence my own life was nearly the 
 forfeit, for round the corner I came almost in 
 contact with about a hundred' of the enemy. I 
 soon wheeled round, and galloped back again as 
 fast as my pony could carry me : they fired at 
 me fifty or sixty shots, not one of which touched 
 me. Ever after, I kept a little more within bounds. 
 
 We had frequent skirmishes with detached par- 
 ties, killing numbers with our six-pounders ; but 
 we could not come up with them. We therefore 
 made our way towards Muttra, a great haunt for
 
 124 MEMOIRS OF JOHN SHIPP. 
 
 the Pindarees, where we lay for some time, trying 
 to surprise them ; but they were ever on the watch, 
 as the rattling of our swords might be heard a mile 
 off. Tired of this service, we took possession of 
 the town of Muttra, driving them out. Here we 
 had glorious plunder shawls, silks, satins, khem- 
 kaubs, money, &c. ; and some of the men made a 
 good thing of it. I was not idle ; but an untoward 
 circumstance for a time delayed my exertions : I 
 was quartered in a large square or Rajah's palace, 
 and had to ascend several flights of steps to get at 
 anything worth notice. All the way up this stair- 
 case were little iron plated doors, locked with 
 several locks. As Paul Pry says, I thought this 
 " rather mysterious ;" I therefore commenced lock- 
 smith and knocked off the locks, when I found the 
 room full of bales of silk and shawls. I had just 
 removed one of the largest bales from the top, and 
 was in the very act of walking off with it, when, on 
 turning round, a most brilliant eye met mine, set in 
 one of the most hideous heads I had ever beheld. 
 What monster this could be I could not at first 
 imagine, nor did I stop very long to consider, but
 
 MEMOIRS OF JOHN SHIPP. 125 
 
 marched off rather precipitately with my prize ; 
 being at the moment more frightened than I was 
 willing to confess, even to myself. On reflection, I 
 was ashamed of my fears; so, having "screwed my 
 courage to the sticking-post," in I marched again, 
 with a drawn sword in my hand, and having con- 
 vinced myself, by a second peep, that my friend 
 with the glaring eyes was no other personage than 
 one of the Gods Mahadooh, I saluted him with a 
 cut across his face for taking up his quarters in that 
 solitary place, and took the liberty of making free 
 with all the silks and shawls under his protection. 
 A short time after, we returned to quarters at 
 Cawnpore, to spend the produce of our short 
 campaign, Hoolkah having retired to a distant 
 part of India, to his winter quarters. 
 
 Early in the following spring our active enemy 
 was again in the field, and approaching the city of 
 Delhi, where the inhabitants were not very well 
 disposed towards us, and in which we had but a 
 small force of native troops. We immediately 
 marched, by forced marches, to their relief, and 
 found Mr. Hoolkah had been besieging that place,
 
 126 MEMOIRS OF JOHN SHIPP. 
 
 but that, some two or three days before our arrival, 
 he had raised the siege and crossed the river 
 Jumna; a necessary precaution on his part, for our 
 cavalry were lightly equipped. Colonel Burn, to 
 his praise be it spoken, was marching from the 
 opposite direction towards Delhi, for the succour 
 of that place, with five companies of native in- 
 fantry, when he unfortunately fell in with the 
 whole body of Hoolkah's cavalry, and, wonderful 
 to say, he made his retreat good to Sha/nlee, 
 a large town, fighting every inch of his way. 
 There he took possession of a small gurry, or mud 
 fort, for the space of six days, defending himself 
 against an immense body of the enemy, suffering 
 the most dreadful privations, and worn out by 
 continual watching. The grand army crossed the 
 Jumna, to the rescue of Colonel Burn and his little 
 band of native heroes, and in two days afforded 
 him the succour he so much wanted, having, with 
 this view, performed a distance of eighty-four 
 miles in forty-eight hours. Never shall I forget 
 the cheering of the handful of men on the ramparts 
 of this little asylum. His lordship, to whom I was
 
 MEMOIRS OF JOHN SH1PP. 127 
 
 close, dropped the tear of sympathy when waving 
 his hat to them. I had that morning preceded the 
 army for the purpose of taking up the encamp- 
 ment, and on the approach of our advance-guard, 
 some of the straggling enemy were seen loitering 
 behind the main body, who had marched early that 
 morning. We had two six-pounders with us, five 
 troops of his Majesty's 8th Light Dragoons, five 
 troops of his Majesty's 24th Dragoons, with a 
 regiment of Native Cavalry ; and' we succeeded 
 in killing a few of these marauders, who were 
 plundering and laying waste the whole country. 
 We could always trace their line of march by the 
 dreadful destruction they had committed. Some 
 few sepoys were killed from the tops of the houses 
 of Shamlee, many of which were higher than the 
 little fort. For this breach of good faith his lord- 
 ship gave up the town to plunder. The scene 
 that followed would take an abler pen than mine 
 to describe breaking open houses and boxes ; 
 tearing open bales of shawls, silks, and satins ; and 
 fighting hand to hand : the tumult is inconceivable 
 to any one who has not witnessed such a scene.
 
 128 MEMOIRS OF JOHN SHIPP. 
 
 We marched the following morning, treading upon 
 the heels of the enemy ; but, as they had a day's 
 start of us, and their horses wiU go from fifty to 
 sixty miles a day, it was impossible for us to come 
 up with them. 
 
 On our road we passed several villages that had 
 been burned to the ground ; poor, naked, and plun- 
 dered creatures, men, women, and children ; burn- 
 ing corn-fields ; dead elephants, camels, horses, 
 and bullocks ; and the road was strewed with 
 moah-berry, on which they feed their horses for 
 the purpose of making them drunk, in which state 
 it is incredible the astonishing distance they will 
 go, though you can count their ribs a mile off. 
 The rear-guard of the enemy generally kept their 
 eye on our advanced-guard, detaching parties on 
 each of our flanks, and, by way of amusement, 
 giving us occasionally a shot. I recollect, on one 
 of these days' marches, a most impudent fellow, 
 mounted on a beautiful horse and finely bedizened, 
 came within two hundred yards of our column, 
 passing upon us some unpleasant epithets, and 
 once or twice firing his matchlock. He at last
 
 MEMOIRS OF JOHN SHIPP. 129 
 
 wounded a man of the native cavalry. This so 
 annoyed me that I asked his lordship if he would 
 permit me to attack him. His answer was, "O, 
 never mind him, Shipp : we will catch him before 
 he is a week older." I never in my life felt more 
 inclined to disobey orders, for he was still capering 
 close by us. An officer commanding one of the 
 six-pounders, came up at the same time, and told 
 his lordship that, if he would permit him, he would 
 knock him over the first shot, or lose his commis- 
 sion. His lordship said, " Well, try." At this 
 moment the fellow fired his matchlock again, 
 and immediately commenced reloading his piece. 
 Our gun was unlimbered, laid, and fired ; the ball, 
 striking the horse's rump, passed through the 
 man's back, and the poor animal's neck, and we 
 said " So much for the Pin." 
 
 We marched, on the average, about twenty-five 
 miles a-day ; but we were obliged to push our poor 
 horses on even faster than this, for Hoolkah was 
 making his way to Futtyghur, a small military 
 station. This is a rich city; and, no doubt, his 
 inclination was to plunder and burn it. He 
 
 G5
 
 130 MEMOIRS OF JOHN SHIPP. 
 
 arrived at Furrackabad, about three or four miles 
 from the above station, the day before us, for the 
 purpose of exacting money from the Rajah there. 
 The little force at the station was withdrawn from 
 the barracks, and placed for the protection of the 
 mint, which had a short time before been esta- 
 blished there. In the evening they arrived, and 
 on the morning of the same day we marched up- 
 wards of twenty miles, halted till eight o'clock at 
 night then made ourselves as light as possible, 
 and again moved on, intending to surprise them 
 before daylight the following morning. We had 
 twenty-eight miles to v accomplish before that time, 
 and there is no doubt, from the judicious arrange- 
 ment made for this attack, by his Excellency the 
 Commander-in-Chief, that scarcely a man would have 
 escaped us, had not a most unfortunate circumstance 
 occurred, which was near destroying all our plans. 
 An ammunition-tumbrel belonging to one of our 
 
 o o 
 
 six-pounders, from the rapid rate at which we 
 were moving, blew up within half a mile of the 
 enemy, who were buried in the arms of sleep, they 
 having made a forced march, so as to prevent the
 
 MEMOIRS OF JOHN SHIPP. 131 
 
 possibility of our reaching them. This alarmed a 
 few of those who happened to be awake; but they 
 supposed it the station-gun at Futtyghur. This 
 station-gun was really fired about ten minutes after, 
 and some of them got on the move ; but thousands 
 of them were still asleep. I would recommend all 
 officers who serve in India, to attack the enemy, if 
 possible, in the night. At this time it often happens 
 that not a single sentinel is to be found on the 
 watch. This want of vigilance is to be attributed 
 to their eating and smoking too much opium, a 
 practice carried by them to such an excess, as com- 
 pletely to deaden their faculties ; from which, their 
 stupor in sleep is so extraordinary, that if a gun 
 were fired under a man's nose, he would scarcely 
 have the power to awake. 
 
 When the day dawned, they were surrounded, 
 and a general attack commenced on all sides. Some 
 were cut to pieces in their sleep, others in endea- 
 vouring to escape. The carnage became terrific; 
 his Majesty's 8th, 24th, and 25th Dragoons, two 
 regiments of native cavalry, and a corps of horse- 
 artillery, mowing them down with grape-shot in
 
 132 MEMOIRS OF JOHN SHIPP. 
 
 hundreds. About two thousand were left dead on 
 the field, and, amongst the number, several poor 
 tradespeople from Furrackabad, who had come to 
 the spot to sell their commodities. We pursued 
 them many miles from the scene of action ; they, in 
 their flight, burning the barracks and adjacent vil- 
 lages. The same evening, or the following morn- 
 ing, the enemy reached the station of Mainporee, a 
 distance of seventy-two miles. At this station we 
 had one native corps only ; but they were prepared 
 to receive them. This little band took possession 
 of the house of the judge (Mr. Cunningham), and 
 defended themselves against Hoolkah's immense 
 body of horse. 
 
 The battle of Furrackabad was on the 16th or 
 17th day of November, 1804; after which the 
 enemy shifted their course towards the Fort of 
 Deig, the property of the Bhurtpore Rajah. In the 
 neighbourhood were his infantry, about twenty-five 
 thousand men, with upwards of a hundred pieces of 
 cannon. Hoolkah little dreamt that, on the 13th of 
 the same month, his infantry had met with a similar 
 defeat to that which his cavalry had experienced on
 
 MEMOIRS OF JOHN SHIPP. 133 
 
 the 16th. Major-General Frazer, with a small 
 force, had completely routed and defeated them, 
 taking all their guns and stores. This action was 
 at several intervals extremely doubtful, our force 
 being so inadequate to that of the enemy. We had 
 no European regiment there, except the Company's 
 European regiment, and the 76th Foot, both corps 
 not more than six or seven hundred men. The 
 enemy sought protection under the walls of the fort, 
 and, although our ally (the governor of the Fort of 
 Deig) fired on our army, General Frazer, seeing 
 the danger of a defeat, charged at the head of the 
 76th, supported by the European regiment and Na- 
 tive troops, and succeeded in driving them from 
 their guns, and from the protection of the fort; but, 
 in the heat of the action, the gallant general received 
 a ball in the foot, and was obliged to retire from the 
 field. He died a short time afterwards. Colonel 
 the Honourable W. Monson, on whom the com- 
 mand devolved, completed his work, and a decisive 
 victory was the result. Hoolkah, being informed of 
 the disaster of his infantry, then shifted his course 
 towards Bhurtpore, demanding immense sums of
 
 134 MEMOIRS OF JOHN SHIPP. 
 
 money from the Rajah, under threats of laying waste 
 his country, which at that time might be called the 
 garden of India. His encampment was close under 
 the walls of the fort, leaving a body of about two 
 thousand men to harass and annoy us. 
 
 About the 18th of December, we took up a posi- 
 tion before the Fort of Deig, and in two days after 
 broke ground against it. The two companies to 
 which I belonged led the column, carrying tools for 
 working. The night was as dark as pitch, and bit- 
 terly cold. Secrecy was the great object of our 
 mission, and we slowly approached the vicinity of 
 the fort, steering our course towards a small village 
 about eight hundred yards from the spot, where we 
 halted under shelter from their guns. This village 
 had been set on fire two days before, and its inmates 
 compelled to take shelter in the fort. Small parties 
 were despatched in search of eligible ground for 
 trenches, and within breaking-distance. I was 
 despatched alone through the desolate village, to 
 see what was on the other side. I was yet but a 
 novice in soldiering; and, believe me, reader, I had 
 no great fancy for this job ; but an order could not
 
 MEMOIRS OF JOHN SHIPP. 135 
 
 be disobeyed, so off I marched, my ears extended 
 wide to catch the most distant sound. I struck into 
 a wide street, and, marching on tiptoe, passed two 
 or three poor solitary bullocks, who were dying for 
 want of food. These startled me for the moment, 
 but not another creature could I see. I at one time 
 thought I heard voices, and that I could see a blue 
 light burning on the fort, from which I inferred that 
 I was getting pretty close to it. Just as I had made 
 up my mind that this must be the case, I distinctly 
 heard a voice calling out, " Khon hie?" in English, 
 "'Who is there?" I was rivetted to the spot, and 
 could not move till the words were repeated ; when . 
 I stole behind one of the wings of a hut close on my 
 right. Soon after, I heard the same man say, 
 " Quoi tah mea ne deckah;" which is, " I am sure 
 I saw somebody." Another voice answered, " Gud- 
 dah, hogah;" which signifies, " A jackass, I sup- 
 pose;" for there were several wandering about. I 
 fully agreed with the gentleman who spoke last; 
 but was determined to throw off the appellation as 
 quickly as possible, by endeavouring to find my way 
 back. In attempting to make my retreat with as 
 little noise as possible, I put my foot into some fire.
 
 136 MEMOIRS OF JOHN SHIPP. 
 
 This compelled me to withdraw rather precipitately, 
 and they heard me, when one of them said, " Hi 
 quoi'" which is, " There certainly is somebody." 
 The other replied, " Kis wastah nay tuckeet cur- 
 rah" "Why don't you ascertain it, then?" Hear- 
 ing this, I dashed into another hut, and squatted 
 myself down close, resolved, at least, to have a fight 
 for it. A man passed the door of the hut twice; 
 but, at last, crying out, " Catty ek lungrah bile 
 hie" which signifies, " There is only one lame 
 bullock," he rejoined his party. The attempt to 
 steal away in so dark a night would have been im- 
 practicable; I must infallibly have been heard. I 
 resolved, therefore, to have a run for it, and off 
 I bolted, up the same street through which I had 
 come, when a whole volley of matchlocks was sent 
 after me, but they did not attempt to follow; at 
 least, as far as I know, for I did not stop to look 
 behind me. I arrived safe at the division, not a 
 little frightened; and I can venture to say that 
 (the elephant affair excepted), I never ran so fast 
 before in my life. This afterwards proved to be a 
 strong cavalry piquet. 
 
 We at last took possession of the village, and
 
 MEMOIRS OF JOHN SHIPP. 137 
 
 established a dep6t there, and a rising ground about 
 two or three hundred yards from it was the spot 
 selected for our batteries. We were at first heard, 
 when the fort commenced a heavy firing, but in the 
 wrong direction. Every man was employed in dig- 
 ging a sufficient space to lie down in, and, in the 
 course of a ^couple of hours, we were covered and 
 protected from their shot. We then erected batte- 
 ries ; and, by daylight in the morning, every thing 
 was finished, and we were so close to the enemy that 
 we could distinctly hear English spoken*, and the 
 reveille beaten. 
 
 On Christmas eve, as dark and cold a night as 
 ever blew from the heavens, the breach was re- 
 ported practicable, and the rising of the moon was 
 a signal for marching to the storm. She did rise, 
 in splendid effulgence, over one of the highest bas- 
 tions of the fort we were about to storm; and we 
 could see, by her light, spears on the ramparts as 
 thick as plants in a new-set forest. We were now 
 
 * The English, which we were confident we heard spoken on 
 this occasion, was, no doubt, by a drummer who had deserted from 
 the 76th Regiment, and who was afterwards found dead in the fort.
 
 138 MEMOIRS OF JOHN SHIPP. 
 
 and then saluted with a solitary gun from the fort, 
 to let us know they were not asleep; blue lights 
 were seen burning on their ramparts, and they oc- 
 casionally indulged us with a rocket or two, which 
 played beautifully in the air. 
 
 The soldiers, seeing I was a spirited youth, and a 
 competitor with them for glory, gave me a few sa- 
 lutary hints, especially an " old veteran" of the 76th 
 Foot, who had been then fighting about twenty 
 years in the East. Among the hints he gave me 
 were these : 1st. Never to pass a man lying down, 
 or supposed to be dead, without giving him the 
 point of the bayonet or sword; for it was a common 
 trick of theirs to lay themselves down on your ap- 
 proach, and then to watch the opportunity of cut- 
 ting you down. 2nd. Whenever I saw a rocket, 
 or shell, fall near me, to get as close to it as possi- 
 ble, and lay myself flat on my face. This was un- 
 doubtedly very excellent advice; but I soon got 
 tired of killing dead men, and lying down every 
 time I saw a rocket; the having neglected to do 
 which, on one occasion, however, nearly cost me 
 my life, which I shall mention in its proper place.
 
 MEMOIRS OF JOHN SHIPP. 139 
 
 The storming party consisted of about seven 
 hundred men, composed of two companies of his 
 Majesty's 22d Regiment, ,two of the Company's 
 European regiments, and the rest Native troops, the 
 whole under the command of Colonel Ball, a brave 
 old hero, but so feeble, that he was obliged to be 
 pushed up the track of glory. The two flank com- 
 panies to which I belonged led the column. Ser- 
 geant Bury, of the Grenadier Company, headed the 
 foremost; but, being wounded at the moment, he 
 was compelled to leave the battery. I volunteered to 
 take his place. The enemy had a strong intrench- 
 ment between our batteries and the breach, with 
 innumerable guns, so placed as to have a cross 
 fire on the storming party. However, we soon 
 fought our way through their intrenchments, our 
 gallant Captain (Lindsay) cheering, and boldly- 
 leading us on. Crossing these trenches, this brave 
 officer was cut with a spear in the arm, and also 
 received a severe wound from a sabre ; but his 
 gallantry and zeal were so great, that he could not 
 be prevailed upon to retire from the scene of 
 action. A little on our right I saw some of the
 
 140 MEMOIRS OF JOHN SHIPP. 
 
 enemy point a gun at us. Immediately, with three 
 or four comrades, I rushed out to spike it ; for 
 which purpose, I was in the act of searching for the 
 touchhole, to put a nail in it, when one of the 
 enemy's gollandauze (artillery-men) fired the gun 
 off, and I was thrown on my back in the trench, 
 and the same man was in the act of cutting me to 
 pieces, when a grenadier of our company, named 
 Shears, shot him, and I once more escaped. For- 
 tunately for us, the whole of the enemy's great 
 guns were elevated too much, owing to which the 
 shots passed over our heads. If they had been 
 properly directed, we must have been annihilated to 
 a man. Within fifty or sixty paces from the 
 breach, I received a matchlock ball in the" head, 
 which dropped me to the ground, the blood flowing 
 profusely. When I came a little to myself from 
 the stun, I found myself impelled onward by one 
 of our companies, who were close together, and 
 running stooping to avoid the shots, which, being 
 near the breach, were uncomfortably thick ; but we 
 reached, and soon planted the British flag on the 
 summit of the bastion which was breached. Our
 
 MEMOIRS OF JOHN SHIPP. 141 
 
 opponents fought hard to resist our entrance, throw- 
 ing immense stones, pieces of trees, stink-pots,* 
 bundles of straw set on fire, spears, large shots, 
 &c. ; but resistance was in vain : we were deter- 
 mined to conquer. In spite of this laudable resolu- 
 tion, however, we found some hard work cut out for 
 us on making good our ascent. The streets in the 
 fort were narrow, running across each other, and 
 every ten yards guns were placed, for the purpose of 
 raking the whole streets. Added to this, many of the 
 enemy had got into high houses, in which there were 
 loop-holes, from which they could fire down upon us, 
 without the possibility of our getting at them. 
 Near the corner of a street, in a kind of nook, I 
 saw our dear Captain Lindsay attacked by five or 
 six of the enemy. He was on one knee, and quite 
 exhausted, having lost much blood from his for- 
 mer wounds ; but, to our great joy, we were just 
 in time to save him, and punish some of his as- 
 
 * , As this term occurs here for the first time, and may appear 
 to be somewhat unseemly, it may be well that the polite reader 
 should be informed, that it is commonly used in the army, and 
 means a vessel filled with combustibles, tar, brimstone, &c.
 
 142 MEMOIRS OF JOHN SHIPP. 
 
 sailants. From the intricacy of the place, we were 
 afraid of shooting our own men, and were therefore 
 obliged to keep pretty close together. At mid- 
 night, I again met Captain Lindsay, clearing Qne 
 of the streets, when he asked me how I felt myself. 
 I complained of a wound in my side, but said that 
 I could find no hole ; but this was not a time for 
 talking. In turning sharp down a street rather 
 larger than those we had cleared, we met a column 
 of the enemy, with a person of rank in a palanquin. 
 We soon stopped his black Highness ; and, to as- 
 certain who was inside the ^palanquin (which was 
 an open one), I, with several others, probed our 
 way with our bayonets, when a tremendous fat 
 Zemindar (an officer) roared out most lustily, and 
 began to show fight. He fired a matchlock at me, 
 which went through the wing of my coat, but did 
 not touch my person. Before I could retaliate, my 
 comrades had finished him, and we then com- 
 menced at the column ; but I took from the palan- 
 quin the gun which had nearly robbed me of life. 
 It was like the barrel of a gun, about two feet long, 
 with a round handle ; at the handle-end was a
 
 MEMOIRS OF JOHN SHIPP. 143 
 
 sharp hatchet, at the other extremity a sharp hook. 
 This extraordinary instrument I presented to the 
 commander-in-chief ; but he refused the present, 
 saying it was my trophy. His lordship was after- 
 wards prevailed on to purchase it, at the price of 
 two hundred rupees. We at this time got informa- 
 tion that the five companies which had deserted 
 from the Honourable Colonel Monson, in his mas- 
 terly retreat from Jeypore, were standing, dressed 
 in the full uniform they deserted in, outside the 
 principal gate jaf the fort, with their arms ordered, 
 without apparently making any resistance, and fre- 
 quently crying out, " Englishmen, Englishmen, 
 pray do not kill us ; for God's sake, do not kill us." 
 As these supplications proceeded rather from fear 
 than from penitence for the crime they had been 
 guilty of that of deserting to an enemy these 
 men could expect no mttrcy. We had positive 
 orders to give them no quarter, and they were most 
 of them shot. 
 
 About three o'clock, when I was completely tired 
 and done up, I took my station under the gable 
 end of a brick building, and began to examine the
 
 144 MEMOIRS OF JOHN SHIPP. 
 
 extent of my wounds. The one on the head was a 
 bad one, having touched the skull ; it was about two 
 inches long, and one broad, and I was a little 
 alarmed for the consequences. The wound which 
 I supposed I had received in the side, was nothing 
 more than the wind of a cannon-ball, which it was 
 thought must have passed between my arm and 
 side. It was quite black, and much swoln, and 
 on its margin there appeared red streaks, which 
 convinced the doctors that it was caused as before 
 stated. I felt it for months afterwards. The wound 
 in my head had been so long exposed to the night 
 air, that, on examination by the medical gentlemen, 
 it was pronounced to be a dangerous one ; but, 
 
 with an e^ellent constitution, and youth on my 
 
 . 
 side, I soori recovered. 
 
 The killed found next morning exceeded the 
 
 o 
 
 number of our storming-party. We had but few 
 killed, but a great number wounded. Poor Ser- 
 geant Bury found his way in, wounded as he was, 
 before the whole company had entered, and fought 
 hard the whole night. Early in the morning he 
 was looking over the parapet of the fort, when a
 
 MEMOIRS OF JOHN SH1PP. 145 
 
 cannon-ball struck him on the back, and killed him 
 on the spot, otherwise he would have been re- 
 warded with a commission ; but such is the fate of 
 war ! The taking of this small redoubt was but a 
 preparatory and necessary step before we com- 
 menced a regular siege against the strong fort, 
 and equally strong town, both of which, however, 
 they gave up, being fully satisfied of the impossi- 
 bility of holding either. 
 
 VOL. I.
 
 146 
 
 CHAPTER VII. 
 
 I WAS obliged to nurse myself a little, as the 
 strong fort of Bhurtpore was, we understood, to be 
 our next job. Having but in part led the last party 
 in, I became a volunteer to lead the Forlorn Hope 
 at Bhurtpore. This offer his Excellency, Lord 
 Lake, accepted, with encomiums on my zeal, and 
 a promise that, if I escaped, I should have a com- 
 mission. We arrived before this place about the 
 29th day of December; encamped about two miles 
 from it ; and immediately commenced our opera- 
 tions against it. Hoolkah was lying under its walls, 
 with his immense body of cavalry, who committed 
 every kind of cruelty on the camp-followers that 
 fell into their hands, such as cutting off their hands 
 from the first joint of the wrist, cutting off their 
 noses, ears, &c. ; but seldom killing them out- 
 right.
 
 MEMOIRS OF JOHN SHIPP. 147 
 
 During the preparation for the siege, when off 
 duty, I amused myself with going out to the ad- 
 vanced piquets, where there were continual skir- 
 mishes with Hoolkah's cavalry, who were always 
 loitering about, day and night. On one of these 
 occasions, I nearly paid dear for my imprudence. 
 I ventured far beyond the piquet, in hopes of 
 picking off a fellow who was showing off his horse- 
 manship. As I was mounted on a good horse, and 
 was well armed, I rode after him, gaining ground 
 fast ; but, on looking behind, I found myself a con- 
 siderable distance from the piquet, and that several 
 horsemen had got between me, to prevent my 
 return. To have run away, would have given them 
 encouragement; no other remedy was left but to 
 dash through them. Our piquet, seeing my situa- 
 tion, got a six-pounder, and fired a long shot at 
 them. During the consternation caused by the ball 
 striking near them, and smothering them in dust, I 
 made the best use of my horse's legs, got safe to 
 the piquet, and never ventured so far from home 
 again. 
 
 On the 1st day of January, 1805, we broke 
 H 2
 
 148 
 
 MEMOIRS OF JOHN SHIPP. 
 
 ground against this strong fortress and town. I was 
 again on the working party, my wound being nearly 
 closed. We halted near a wood, and a party hav- 
 ing been sent on to reconnoitre, we at last pitched 
 upon a place, and commenced our nocturnal labours. 
 We had not been at work ten minutes, when they 
 heard our working-tools, and commenced a most 
 terrific cannonade. We were ordered to desist, 
 and to lie down behind the earth we had thrown 
 up, which, fortunately for us, was of a suffi- 
 cient thickness to be musket-ball proof, or we must 
 have suffered dreadfully ; for their little rough 
 iron balls flew about as thick as bees. The cannon- 
 shot were generally high : some that fell short, 
 rolled, and were brought up by our little mound of 
 defence. They kept it up gloriously for half an 
 hour, conceiving that we intended to take them by 
 surprise ; but, from the reports of this fortress con- 
 taining 100,000 soldiers, and the enormous sum of 
 nineteen croer of rupees, our orders were to ap- 
 proach it by a regular siege. I fear I shall be 
 thought rather tedious in relating the disastrous 
 events at this place ; but we must take the gall
 
 MEMOIRS OF JOHN SHIPP. 149 
 
 with the honey. The firing having ceased, except at 
 intervals, we re-commenced our labours ; and glad 
 indeed were we to set blood again on the move. 
 The night was bitterly cold, and the ground damp ; 
 but we kept ourselves in exercise with our work, 
 and by daylight we had completed our trenches, 
 and four-gun breaching-battery, within five hundred 
 yards of the town wall. The moment the day 
 dawned, our night's work was observed. The fort 
 was again in a blaze ; flags were hoisted ; the 
 parapet of the town wall was one general mass of 
 spears and little flags, as far as the eye could 
 reach ; and the heads of soldiers studded the ram- 
 parts with variegated colours, their turbans being 
 generally of the most prominent dyes, red, yel- 
 low, and pink. Such shouting, roaring of cannon, 
 whistling of shot, grumbling of rockets, and waving 
 of flags and spears, made me reflect for a moment 
 on the folly of having ever sold my " leathers," to 
 participate in such a scene; but this thought was 
 soon buried in the shouts of defiance from our 
 trenches. We did not show hands, as we had none 
 to spare ; but as we were, of course, anxious to see
 
 150 MEMOIRS OF JOHN SHIPP. 
 
 what kind of a place this said Bhurtpore was, we 
 took every opportunity of peeping, whenever we 
 saw a gun fired, crying out, " Shot," which was 
 a signal to bob our heads. On the firing subsiding 
 in the slightest degree, we continued our work, 
 and at length completed our batteries and maga- 
 zines, and widened our trenches to seven feet, 
 leaving just sufficient room to pass and repass, so 
 as to communicate with our principal dep6t under 
 shelter. During the whole of this day, the enemy 
 kept up an almost incessant fire, both with great 
 guns and small arms, and we had some few men 
 wounded. A soldier of the Light Company, named 
 Murphy, stood upon the bank, exposing himself, 
 and drawing upon us the fire from the fort Some 
 of us remonstrated with him on his imprudence, 
 when Paddy coolly replied, " Never fear, honey ; 
 sure I have got my eye on them ; and, if they kill 
 me, bad luck to me if I don't be after paying them 
 for it when I get into that same fort." In the course 
 of the day he was shot in the finger for his disre- 
 gard of our advice, which, he said, was " just 
 because he was looking another way at the time."
 
 MEMOIRS OF JOHN SHIPP. 151 
 
 In the evening we got our guns into battery, 
 erecting two small batteries of twelves and sixes. 
 A constant fire was kept up by the enemy during 
 the ni^ht, and blue lights were to be seen at 
 
 O ' O 
 
 intervals, as though to inform us that they were on 
 the watch. From the debauched habits of the Mus- 
 selmen, in any situation in life, they seldom retire 
 to rest till very late ; and then, indeed, so stupified 
 with eating and smoking auffeem (opium), that they 
 are incapable of being roused to any active duty. 
 From their constant use of this intoxicating drug, 
 they are dull companions when the spirit is ab- 
 sorbed and dead within them ; but, when revived, I 
 know no set of people more talkative, communica- 
 tive, and jovial. Often have I listened with delight 
 to an old Musselman soldier's relation of his 
 campaigns and stories. We heard drums and music 
 the whole night, now and then accompanied by the 
 inharmonious roar of their guns. The guns used 
 in India by the Natives are of cast iron ; but, from 
 their using ball beat out instead of cast, the guns 
 labour and roar dreadfully, and the rough surface 
 of their balls tears the muzzles to pieces.
 
 152 MEMOIRS OF JOHN SHIPP. 
 
 When the morning bestrewed its bright rays 
 abroad, we threw a little further light upon the 
 subject, by opening our breaching-battery with a 
 salvo, accompanied with such terrific cheering and 
 shouting, as seemed to startle the new-risen sun, 
 which at that identical moment peeped from behind 
 its golden curtains to see what was the matter. 
 The enemy, after a moment's pause, were seen in 
 a tremendous bustle, mustering their full force; 
 and their heads were so thick, that, had our shelling- 
 battery been ready, we might have made dreadful 
 havoc among the motley group. They shouted, 
 yelled, screamed, groaned; small arms whistled, 
 cannons roared ; and, in an instant, the fort was 
 enveloped in smoke. It was altogether a most 
 'terrific scene. At this moment a soldier called out, 
 " Shipp, have you made your will ?" I said " Yes ; 
 which is, that I will lead you into that fort un- 
 daunted, for all their smoke and rattle." " Well 
 done, Jack !" said one ; " That's a hearty !" said 
 another ; and many a joke followed : but, to con- 
 fess the truth, I thought it no joking matter, but 
 wished most earnestly that I could say with Mac-
 
 MEMOIRS OF JOHN SHIPP. 153 
 
 beth, " I have done the deed." Notwithstanding 
 this, I saw no cause for fretting. Without parents, 
 or ties of any other kind, I felt that I was fully 
 justified in acting 
 
 " As if a man were author of himself, 
 And knew no other kin." 
 
 My ambition was to signalize myself in the field of 
 honour; and, if it was to be my fate to fall, I 
 consoled myself with the reflection, that I could 
 not die in a better cause than fighting for my king 
 and country. These were my real feelings, but 
 the business that was going on during the whole 
 of this day afforded me but little time for reflec- 
 tion. Towards evening, however, we were re- 
 lieved from the trenches, and obtained some rest. 
 The next day I took another peep at the Pins> 
 who were in immense numbers in front of our pi- 
 quets. My fingers itched to be among them, but 
 my last escape withheld me. It was truly tanta- 
 lizing to see these fellows chuckering their horses 
 not more than a quarter of a mile from our post; 
 but what irritated us still more was, that these 
 miscreants, that evening, sent into our camp about 
 
 H5
 
 154 MEMOIRS OF JOHN SHIP?. 
 
 twenty grass-cutters, belonging to the 8th Dra- 
 goons, some with their right arms cut off by the 
 wrist-joint, and others with the loss of their noses 
 and ears. These poor creatures paid dearly for 
 their disobedience of general orders, which forbade 
 any grass-cutter from going out alone; but, for the 
 love of plunder, they will at all times risk their 
 lives. It will appear scarcely credible to the ge- 
 neral reader^ when he is informed, that to every 
 fighting-man in an Indian army, there are at least 
 ten camp-followers. The majority of these live by 
 plundering the adjacent villages round the camp 
 and on the march; robbing every hut and field 
 within ten miles round. There is no possibility of 
 checking them, or preventing these abuses. 
 Amongst these fellows are thieves of every de- 
 scription, and the most notorious are jugglers. 
 They commence their nocturnal pilferings in a state 
 of nudity, oiling themselves all over to prevent 
 their being held if caught ; they then creep on their 
 hands and feet like dogs, and frequently imitate 
 them in barking and howling, as well as most 
 other animals, more particularly goats, sheep, and
 
 MEMOIRS OF JOHN SHIPP. 155 
 
 asses. In the course of my narrative, I shall have 
 occasion to mention several instances of this nature 
 that happened to myself. 
 
 On the following morning, I went again on duty 
 in the trenches. We retired into the wood before 
 mentioned, which had a path of communication 
 with the trenches, though it was a considerable 
 distance from the grand breaching-battery. Our 
 operations against the fort continued active and 
 resolute; but our balls made but little impres- 
 sion upon the mud bastions and curtains. Many 
 of them scarcely buried themselves, and others 
 rolled down into the under-works of the enemy, 
 and were kindly sent back to us. It is almost folly 
 to attempt to effect a practicable breach in a fort 
 built of such materials. The crust you knock off 
 the face of a bastion or curtain, forms a great bar- 
 rier to your approach to a solid footing. Youn^r 
 engineers are too apt to judge, from the appear- 
 ance of the fallen mud, that the breach is practi- 
 cable ; when, the first step the storming-party takes, 
 they find they sink up to their necks in light earth. 
 A woful instance of this nature I shall have to
 
 156 MEMOIRS OF JOHN SHIPP. 
 
 advert to more particularly in the course of my 
 narrative ; and, if it prove a timely hint to the in- 
 experienced, I shall be rewarded. Stone forts are 
 soon demolished ; when undermined well at the 
 bottom, the top will soon follow, and they cannot 
 easily be repaired: but mud forts defy human 
 power. 
 
 We this day erected howetzer and mortar-bat- 
 teries, and, when they first opened, they struck ter- 
 ror and consternation into the enemy, who fled in 
 every direction, to avoid those destructive engines ; 
 but, in a few hours, they dug holes in the ramparts, 
 which they got into whenever they saw those un- 
 welcome visitors on the wing ; and, unless the shell 
 happened actually to fall on them, they escaped in 
 this way. But our shelling in those days was a 
 mere bagatelle to what it is now. A shell in five 
 minutes, was then enormous ; now, twenty in one 
 minute is by no means extraordinary, and these 
 twice as big as in the times of which I speak. 
 
 This day the enemy was pretty passive ; no 
 doubt, making places of refuge. Our shells, if 
 thrown further into the town, must have been most
 
 MEMOIRS OF JOHN SHIPP. 157 
 
 destructive, for the population was evidently 
 prodigious, from the number of fighting men. The 
 houses frequently appeared on fire, and several 
 small explosions took place daily ; no doubt, small 
 magazines. These little incidents generally created 
 cheering by the besiegers, and redoubled firing by 
 the enemy. In the course of the day we saw the 
 Rajah for the first time: he was on the shabroodge, 
 or royal bastion, with his suite, reconnoitreing with 
 a spy-glass. The officer commanding the howetzer 
 battery laid a shell for the shabroodge, which 
 struck the very top of it, and soon dislodged his 
 highness and suite. In a moment not a soul was 
 to be seen. On this bastion was an enormous gun, 
 about a seventy-two-pounder, which before had been 
 laid up in embryo, but which, as a mark of revenge 
 for our having disturbed his highness, was now got 
 ready. From its gigantic size they could not de- 
 press it sufficiently to bear upon our batteries, or 
 it must have torn them to pieces. At last off* it 
 went; the report was like that of an earthquake, but 
 the ball went a good quarter of a mile over us. 
 Several other shots were, in the course of the day,
 
 158 MEMOIRS OF JOHN SHIPP. 
 
 fired from it, but the balls never came nearer. 
 Our soldiers, finding it did no harm, christened it 
 Civil Tom; but, from the enormous dust it kicked 
 up, the enemy thought it did wonders for some 
 time ; until, at last, finding out their mistake, they 
 turned its gigantic muzzle towards camp, and ac- 
 tually threw a ball close to the flag opposite Lord 
 Lake's tent, more than two miles from the fort. 
 The only real mischief Civil Tom ever did (which, 
 by the by, was rather uncivil) was killing a poor 
 water-carrier's bullock, and carrying away the poor 
 man's right arm. This was more than a mile from 
 camp. 
 
 The night passed away without anything of 
 moment, we still keeping up a regular and constant 
 fire (to prevent the enemy from rebuilding what we 
 had had so much trouble in knocking down), and at 
 times indulging them with a few whistling shells, 
 to keep them awake. 
 
 We now began to grow impatient to see what 
 was inside this boasting fort, for we had pretty 
 well seen what was outside. The breach soon 
 began to wear a stormable appearance, when we
 
 MEMOIRS OF JOHN SHIPP. 159 
 
 discovered that they had thrown out two small guns 
 for the purpose of a cross fire and cutting off our 
 storming party, and to annoy and rake our breach- 
 ing-battery. For removing this evil we threw out 
 two six-pounders, and we had not fired many shots 
 and given them more than a dozen shrapnells, when 
 a tremendous explosion took place, which finally 
 removed the annoyance. 
 
 In the evening I heard the head engineer say to 
 Captain Nelley, commanding the breaching-battery, 
 that he imagined we should, on the following even- 
 ing, put a stop to their vaunting. " The next 
 evening!" I muttered to myself. I was standing 
 close to Captain Nelley, who turned round to me 
 and said, " Shipp, how do you like that informa- 
 tion ?" I replied, " I wish it was this night, sir." 
 This I did wish most sincerely, for I felt that, having 
 once resolved to undertake the desperate service in 
 which I had volunteered, the sooner I was in action 
 the better : 
 
 " Between the acting of a dreadful thing, 
 And the first motion, all the interim is 
 Like a phantasma, or a hideous dream ;
 
 160 MEMOIRS OF JOHN SHIPP. 
 
 The genius and the mortal instruments 
 Are then in council j and the state of man, 
 Like to a little kingdom, suffers then 
 The nature of an insurrection." 
 
 I- have heard some men say that they would as 
 soon fight as eat their breakfasts, and others, that 
 they " dearly loved fighting." If this were true, 
 what blood-thirsty dogs they must be ! But I 
 should be almost illiberal enough to suspect these 
 boasters of not possessing even ordinary courage. 
 I will not, however, go so far as positively to assert 
 this, but will content myself by asking these terrific 
 soldiers to account to me why, some hours previ- 
 ously to storming a fort, or fighting a battle, are 
 men pensive, thoughtful, heavy, restless, weighed 
 down with apparent solicitude and care ? Why 
 do men on these occasions more fervently beseech 
 the divine protection and guidance to save them in 
 the approaching conflict? Are not all these feelings 
 the result of reflection, and of man's regard for his 
 dearest care his life, which no mortal will part 
 with if he can avoid it ? There are periods in war 
 which put man's courage to a severe test: if, for
 
 MEMOIRS OF JOHN SH1PP. 161 
 
 instance, as was my case, I knew I was to lead a 
 forlorn hope on the following evening, innumerable 
 ideas will rush in quick succession on the mind; 
 such as, " for aught my poor and narrow compre-: 
 hension can tell, I may to-morrow be summoned 
 before my Maker." " How have I spent the life 
 he has been pleased to preserve to this period ? can 
 I meet that just tribunal ?" A man, situated as I 
 have supposed, who did not, even amid the cannon's 
 roar and the din of war, experience anxieties ap- 
 proaching to what I have described, may, by pos- 
 sibility, have the courage of a lion, but he cannot 
 possess the feelings of a man. In action man is 
 quite another being : the softer feelings of the 
 roused heart are absorbed in the vortex of danger 
 and the necessity for self-preservation, and give 
 place to others more adapted to the occasion. In 
 these moments there is an indescribable elation of 
 spirits ; the soul rises above its wonted serenity into 
 a kind of phrenzied apathy to the scene before you, 
 a heroism bordering on ferocity ; the nerves become 
 tight and contracted ; the eye full and open, moving 
 quickly in its socket, with almost maniac wildness ;
 
 162 MEMOIRS OF JOHN SHIPP. 
 
 the head is in constant motion ; the nostril ex- 
 tended wide, and the mouth apparently gasping. 
 If an artist could truly delineate the features of a 
 soldier in the battle's heat, and compare them with 
 the lineaments of the same man in the peaceful calm 
 of domestic life, they would be found to be two dif- 
 ferent portraits ; but a sketch of this kind is not 
 within the power of art, for in action the counte- 
 nance varies with the battle : as the battle brightens, 
 so does the countenance ; and, as it low'rs, so the 
 countenance becomes gloomy. I have known some 
 men drink enormous quantities of spirituous liquors 
 when going into action, to drive away little in- 
 truding thoughts, and to create false spirits ; but 
 these are as short-lived as the ephemera that strug- 
 gles but a moment on the crystal stream, then dies. 
 If a man have not natural courage, he may rest 
 assured that liquor will deaden and destroy the 
 little he may possess. 
 
 Our two companies were relieved for the night, 
 for the purpose of resting ourselves and preparing 
 for the ensuing evening's attack. On this occasion 
 .one of our poor fellows was killed by a shot from
 
 MEMOIRS OF JOHN SHIPP. 163 
 
 the fort, and he was ordered to be immediately 
 buried. When we were about to leave the trenches 
 we found him still lying there, when the sergeant 
 was called, and asked by his officer, why he had 
 not been buried, according to orders. The ser- 
 geant, an Irishman, answered, ( Faith ! your 
 honour, he has grown so mighty stiff since he 
 went dead, that he would neither ride nor walk ; 
 he threw himself off my back twice ; but I am just 
 after ordering a fatigue-party to march him there, 
 whether he will or not." 
 
 The same sergeant was chided a short time 
 before for shooting an unarmed man. His officer 
 
 O 
 
 told him it was a cowardly act to shoot a poor 
 fellow without arms. " Arms ! your honour, I beg 
 your honour's pardon, he had two ; ay, faith, and 
 fists at the end of them; and he was just after 
 going to be mighty saucy besides. Besides, your 
 honour, did not a spalpeen shoot at and hit me at 
 Deig, without so much as bidding me the time of 
 the morning, or by your lave or with your lave? 
 Fait ! they must expect no palaveration or blarney 
 from Dennis Gaffen." To relate the anecdotes of
 
 164 MEMOIRS OF JOHN SHIPP. 
 
 this man would fill a volume ; but, as the two little 
 ones mentioned may bear the reading, I will insert a 
 few more in their proper places. 
 
 I slept soundly, and early in the morning com- 
 menced cleaning and new-flinting my musket, and 
 pointing my bayonet, that it might find its way 
 through the thick cotton-stuffed coats of our ene- 
 mies. All Musselmen soldiers wear these coats 
 during winter. The cotton is about two inches 
 thick, and the coats are worn rather loose, so that 
 you can with difficulty cut through them ; and I am 
 persuaded that many of them are ball-proof, and 
 that bayonets and spears are the only weapons 
 against them. In the course of the day I walked 
 down to the batteries, to well ascertain the road I 
 had to take to the breaches. Our batteries con- 
 tinued, with unabated exertions, to knock off the 
 defences; and every thing, from appearances, 
 seemed calculated to insure complete success. 
 My heart was all alive this day, and I wished for 
 the sombre garments of night. This was the 9th 
 day of January, 1805. The greatest secresy was 
 observed as to the storming party; no general
 
 MEMOIRS OF JOHN SHIPP. 165 
 
 orders were issued, nor was there any stir or bustle 
 till the hour appointed, nine o'clock. Orders and 
 arrangements were communicated to officers com- 
 manding regiments and companies, and in the same 
 private manner conveyed to us. The gun fired as 
 usual at eight o'clock. This was the signal to 
 move out. I kissed and took leave of my favourite 
 pony, Apple, and dog, Wolf, and I went to my post 
 at the head of the column, with my little band of 
 heroes, twelve volunteers from the different corps 
 of the army. Reader, you may believe me when 
 I assure you, that at this critical juncture, every 
 thing else was forgotten in the enthusiasm of the 
 
 cj O 
 
 moment, except the contemplation of the honour- 
 able post confided to me. " What!" thought I, " I, 
 a youth, at the head of an Indian army !" I began to 
 think it presumption, when so many more expe- 
 rienced soldiers filled the ranks behind. I thought 
 that every eye was upon me, and I did not regret 
 the pitchy darkness of the night, which hid my 
 blushing countenance. All was still as the grave, 
 when I distinctly heard somebody call, " Sergeant 
 Shipp!" This was Lieut.-Colonel Salkeld, adjutant-
 
 166 MEMOIRS OF JOHN SHIPP. 
 
 general of the army, who brought with him a gol- 
 landauze, who had deserted from the fort, and who, 
 for filthy lucre, was willing to betray his country- 
 men. This man was handed over to me, he having 
 undertaken to lead me to the breach. If he at- 
 tempted to deceive me, or to run from me, I had 
 positive orders to shoot him; consequently, I 
 kept a sharp look-out on him. We then, in solemn 
 silence, marched down to the trenches, and re- 
 mained there about half an hour, when we marched 
 to the attack in open columns of sections, the two 
 flank companies of the 22nd leading, supported by 
 the 75th and 76th European Regiments, and other 
 Native infantry. I took the precaution of tying a 
 rope round the wrist of my guide, that he might not 
 escape; for firing at him at that moment would 
 have alarmed the fort. Not a word was to be heard ; 
 but the cannon's rattling drowned many a deep- 
 drawn sigh, from many as brave a heart. 
 
 I was well supported, having my own two compa- 
 nies behind me. Colonel Maitland, of his Majesty's 
 76th Regiment, commanded this storming-party, 
 and brave little Major Archibald Campbell his
 
 MEMOIRS OF JOHN SHIPP. 167 
 
 corps. The former officer came in front to me, and 
 pointed out the road to glory; but, observing the 
 Native whom I had in charge, he asked who he was, 
 and, on being informed, said, " We can find the 
 way without him; let him go about his business." I 
 remonstrated, and repeated to him the instructions 
 I had received; but his answer was, " I don't care; 
 if you don't obey my orders, I will send you to the 
 rear." I did obey, and on we moved to the attack. 
 Immediately behind me were pioneers, carrying ga- 
 bions and fascines to fill up any cavities we might 
 meet with. The enemy did not discover our ap- 
 proach till within fifty paces of the ditch, when a 
 tremendous cannonade and peels of musketry com- 
 menced; rockets were flying in all directions; blue 
 lights were hoisted; and the fort seemed convulsed 
 to its very foundation. Its ramparts seemed like 
 some great volcano vomiting tremendous volumes of 
 fiery matter ; the roaring of the great guns shook 
 the earth beneath our feet ; their small arms seemed 
 like the rolling of ten thousand drums; and their 
 war-trumpets rent the air asunder. Men were seen 
 skipping along the lighted ramparts, as busy as em-
 
 168 MEMOIRS OF JOHN SHIPP. 
 
 mets collecting stores for the dreary days of winter. 
 The scene was awfully grand, and must have been 
 sublimely beautiful to the distant spectator. 
 
 We pushed on at speed ; but were soon obliged 
 to. halt. A ditch, about twenty yards wide, and 
 four or five deep, branched off from the main trench. 
 This ditch formed a small island, on which were 
 posted a strong party of the enemy, with two guns. 
 Their fire was well directed, and the front of our 
 column suffered severely. The fascines and ga- 
 bions were thrown in ; but they were as a drop of 
 water in the mighty deep : the fire became hotter, and 
 my little band of heroes plunged into the water, fol- 
 lowed by our two companies, and part of the 75th 
 Regiment. The middle of the column broke off, and 
 got too far down to the left ; but we soon cleared 
 the little island. At this time Colonel Maitland 
 and Major Campbell joined me, with our brave 
 officers of the two* companies, and many of the 
 other corps. I proposed following the fugitives ; 
 but our duty was to gain the breach, our orders 
 being confined to that object. We did gain it ; but 
 imagine our surprise and consternation, when we
 
 MEMOIRS OF JOHN SHIPP. 169 
 
 found a perpendicular curtain going down to the 
 water's edge, and no footing, except on pieces of 
 trees and stones that had fallen from above. This 
 could not bear more than three men abreast, and 
 if they slipped (which many did), a watery grave 
 awaited them, for the water was extremely deep 
 here. Close on our right was a large bastion, which 
 the enemy had judiciously hung with dead under- 
 wood. This was fired, and it threw such a light 
 upon the breach, that it was as clear as noonday. 
 They soon got guns to bear on us, and the first shot 
 (which was grape) shot Colonel Maitland dead, 
 wounded Major Campbell in the hip or leg, me in 
 the right shoulder, and completely cleared the 
 remaining few of my little party. We had at that 
 moment reached the top of the breach, not more 
 (as I before stated) than three a-breast, when we 
 found that the enemy had completely repaired that 
 part, by driving in large pieces of wood, stakes, 
 stones, bushes, and pointed bamboos, through the 
 cr-evices of which was a mass of spears jobbing 
 diagonally, which seemed to move by mechanism. 
 Such was the footing we had, that it was utterly 
 
 VOL. I. I
 
 170 MEMOIRS OF JOHN SHIPP. 
 
 impossible to approach these formidable weapons; 
 meantime, small spears or darts were hurled at us ; 
 and stones, lumps of wood, stink-pots, and bundles 
 of lighted straw, thrown upon us. In the midst of 
 this tumult, I got one of my legs through a hole, 
 so that I could see into the interior of the fort. 
 The people were like a swarm of bees. In a mo- 
 ment I felt something seize my foot : I pulled with 
 all my might, and at last succeeded in disengaging 
 my leg, but leaving my boot behind me. Our 
 establishing ourselves on this breach in sufficient 
 force to dislodge this mass of spearsmen, was phy- 
 sically impossible. Our poor fellows were mowed 
 down like corn-fields, without the slightest hope of 
 success. The rear of the column suffered much, as 
 they were within range of the enemy's shot. A 
 retreat was ordered, and we were again obliged to 
 take to the water, and many a poor wounded soldier 
 lost his life in this attempt. Not one of our officers 
 escaped without being wounded, and Lieutenant 
 Creswell was almost cut to pieces. He, I believe, 
 still lives in England, and, should this little history 
 fall into his hands, he will read these events with
 
 MEMOIRS OF JOHN SHIPP. 171 
 
 as much regret as the narrator writes them. We, 
 as may be supposed, returned almost broken-hearted 
 at this our first failure in India. Our loss was a 
 melancholy one, and the conviction that the poor 
 wounded fellows we were compelled to leave be- 
 hind would be barbarously massacred, incited our 
 brave boys to beg a second attempt. This was 
 denied: had it been granted, it must infallibly 
 have proved abortive ; for there was, literally, no 
 breach. The disastrous issue of our attack caused 
 the enemy to exult exceedingly ; and the shouting 
 and roaring that followed our retreat, were dag- 
 gers in the souls of our wounded and disappointed 
 soldiers, who were with difficulty restrained from 
 again rushing to the breach. I found that I had 
 received a spear-wound in the right finger, and 
 several little scratches from the combustibles they 
 fired at us. Pieces of copper coin, as well as of 
 iron, stone, and glass, were extracted from the 
 wounds of those who were fortunate enough to 
 escape. We were, in the course of the night, 
 relieved, and went to our lines to brood over our 
 misfortunes. 
 
 i2
 
 172 MEMOIRS OF JOHN SHIPP. 
 
 I found, the next morning, to add to my feelings 
 of distress, that the old wound in my head had 
 opened afresh ; the wound on my shoulder, having 
 injured the bone, was also extremely painful ; but 
 that on my finger, being a flesh-wound, did not 
 trouble me much. The general orders of the day 
 following were highly flattering to us all, placing 
 the blame, if any, where it ought to be. Our en- 
 gineer, finding the spot we had attempted strong 
 and impracticable, changed his position more to 
 the eastward, where the difficulties were not so 
 formidable. During these new operations, our 
 breaching- guns, four in number, were sent to the 
 park to be re-bushed, their bushes having been 
 injured from the constant firing and heat. 
 
 Thus ended our first attempt to take the strong 
 fort of Bhurtpore by storm. Not to dwell longer on 
 our painful failure, I will conclude this chapter 
 with the introduction of two or three anecdotes, 
 illustrative of the felicity of matrimony among the 
 Irish soldiers. These may serve to divert the reader, 
 during the repairing of our guns, and the erection 
 of new batteries, preparatory to a second attack.
 
 MEMOIRS OF JOHN SHIPP. 173 
 
 An Irish soldier once waited on his commanding 
 officer with what he termed a very serious com- 
 plaint: "Another man," he said, mentioning his 
 name, " had upbraided him that he was not mar- 
 ried to his own wife, whom he accused of being no 
 better than she should be, and called her many 
 bad names besides, which he should be ashamed to 
 mention to his Honour." 
 
 Colonel. " Well, my good fellow, have you any 
 proof that you are legally married ?" 
 
 Soldier. " Faith, your Honour, I have the best 
 proof in the world." Here he took off his hat, 
 or rather cap, and exhibited a cut skull, saying, 
 " Does your Honour think I'd be after taking that 
 same abuse from any body but a wife ?" 
 
 Colonel. " Indeed, I should imagine not ; but 
 have you no marriage-certificate ?" 
 
 Soldier. " None, your Honour, except the one 
 on my head. Don't your Honour ^rink I am 
 married ?" 
 
 Colonel. " I never saw more positive proof of 
 any fact in my life ; and, if the man dares again to 
 say that you are not, I will punish him."
 
 174 MEMOIRS OF JOHN SHIPP. 
 
 " Thank your Honour/' said Paddy, and off he 
 marched, perfectly satisfied, leaving the Colonel 
 and his friends to laugh heartily at the irrefragable 
 proof that had been submitted to them of the fact 
 of the poor fellow's being legally noosed. 
 
 On another occasion, I happened to be in the 
 adjutant's office, when a sergeant entered, for the 
 purpose of reporting another man of stripes, for 
 speaking disrespectfully of himself, and reducing 
 his wife's character in the barracks, by " calling 
 her bad names." 
 
 "What names did he call her?" said the ad- 
 jutant. 
 
 " Faith, your Honour, I would not make such 
 a big baist of myself before any gentleman as to 
 repate them ; but the worst name he called her 
 was that she was a drunken blackguard, and never 
 sober besides. Now, your Honour, my wife never 
 gets so right down drunk but she can always stand 
 upright without tumbling ; and when she does take 
 a drop of the cratur, she never says a word to 
 nobody, but lies quiet in her bed till she gets sober 
 again."
 
 MEMOIRS OF JOHN SHIPP. 175 
 
 " Well, well, sergeant," replied the adjutant, " if 
 your wife will be so imprudent as to get drunk in 
 the barracks, she must expect men will make ill- 
 natured remarks upon her, and I cannot interfere ; 
 but, if you will manage to keep your wife from 
 drinking, I will punish, any man who may molest 
 her : as long as she forgets herself, men will 
 talk." 
 
 " It's a hard case, too, your Honour," rejoined 
 the persevering sergeant, " that we cannot take a 
 drop of comfort together without the ill-natured 
 remarks of the men about her parentage and hedi- 
 cation, and her family abstraction. She is of as 
 good a family as any in the town of Mayhoe. Sure, 
 her father, who was a trumpeter, made a great big 
 noise during the Irish rebeUion ; and she had three 
 own brothers by the same mother, but not the same 
 father, that were drummers in the same regiment 
 with their father. Indeed, she is from a genteel 
 family, your Honour, and cannot put up with the 
 language of those foul-mouthed savages in the 
 barracks." 
 
 Much more would he have said; but, finding
 
 176 MEMOIRS OF JOHN SHIPP. 
 
 the adjutant inflexible, he went off, muttering to 
 himself, and by no means pleased with the recep- 
 tion he had met with. 
 
 Some years ago, at the station of Meerutt, in 
 the East Indies, as I was passing the barracks of 
 the 53d Regiment, late one evening, I heard a man 
 and his rib at high words. 
 
 " By the powers, Judy, if you don't be after 
 holding your tongue, but I'll stop your gab, so I 
 will." 
 
 " You, you spalpeen ! Arrah ! do you think to 
 frighten me, who have been campaigning it these 
 forty years, and travelled through all the countries 
 in Europe, besides Spain and France? Fait, you 
 may as well attempt to frighten a milestone as me ; 
 therefore, none of your blarney : sure, it would 
 have been better for me to have been blind the 
 first day I saw you. Och ! Judy has made a pretty 
 bargain for herself: after all her service, to have 
 such a husband ! " 
 
 " Faith, honey, I wish the first time I saw your 
 ugly mug I had been hanged ; it would have been 
 much more genteel than to be humbugged by a
 
 MEMOIRS OF JOHN SHIPP. 177 
 
 famale woman ; and, only I don't like to strike one 
 of the softer six, bad luck to me if I wouldn't bate 
 you as black as indigo : therefore, will you be after 
 going for the liquor ?" 
 
 " The divel a toe, Paddy the divel a toe, my 
 dear honey ; don't think to come the old soldier 
 over me : one who has roughed it winter and sum- 
 mer, day and night, hail and snow, thunder and 
 lightning, fire and water, smoke and dust ; it won't 
 fit, Paddy." 
 
 " Fait, Judy, you have seen a little service, joy ; 
 and it's a great shame you haven't got a mighty big 
 pinsion for your loyalty to your country, for gin- 
 drinking, rum-tippling, whiskey-stealing, husband- 
 scolding, dead-robbing." 
 
 " By the powers, you villain, if you dare be aftef 
 saying I rob the dead, I, Judy O'Gum, all the way 
 from Donoughmore, and who have followed the 
 soldiers from my very cradle, I will bate your 
 head as flat as your sense. Och ! you tafe, do you 
 mane to cast a slur upon me, who have gone 
 through the toils of a hundred campaigns?" 
 
 " Fait, you followed the soldiers, becase why, 
 i5
 
 178 MEMOIRS OF JOHN SHIPP. 
 
 Judy ? Sure, honey, I know all about you : dogs 
 and girls always follow the soldiers." 
 
 " Say that again, and I'll split your ugly mug 
 with this stick." 
 
 te Put a finger on me, Judy, and, by my con- 
 science, but I'll give you what you never had before 
 in your life, a great big bating." 
 
 " Och, then, Pat, here goes if I die." 
 
 Upon this, she rushed at him with the fury of a 
 tigress; and poor Pat had enough to do to parry 
 and guard, to keep off her well-aimed blows. At 
 last she tumbled, exhausted by her own efforts, 
 when Pat triumphantly exclaimed, " By St. Patrick ! 
 there lays three yards of bad stuff." 
 
 " It's a lie, Pat, it's a lie ; the divel a bit of better 
 stuff in the whole regiment. Fait, Pat, I am not 
 done yet ; only let me get up, and I'll show you that 
 I am blood to the back-bone :" but Pat, convinced 
 that his last imputation against his rib was false, 
 kept her do\vn, her hands and feet going at the rate 
 of double-quick, accompanied by a volley of epithets 
 not exactly adapted for ears polite. 
 
 Thus went on the scuffle, till I thought a timely
 
 MEMOIRS OF JOHN SHIPP. 17& 
 
 interference might prevent worse consequences; 
 but scarcely had I told tlte man to desist, than 
 the woman turned her abuse upon me, called me 
 everything but a gentleman, and asked what busi- 
 ness was it to me, if a man chose to bate his wife? 
 " Oh," said I, " certainly not ; it is no affair of 
 mine; therefore, don't let me interfere in your 
 domestic avocations ;" and off I marched, reflecting 
 on the delectable pleasures of matrimony. 
 
 Having merged into the merry mood, I cannot 
 close this chapter without making some mention 
 of an officer who served with us at Bhurtpore, 
 and who, by his uniform good humour and love of 
 fun, contributed greatly to keep up our spirits. 
 The officer to whom I allude, was Captain Nelley, 
 commanding the breaching-battery, a most brave, 
 active, and zealous soldier, and dearly beloved 
 by the men, for his condescending and jocular 
 manners. He would join in any piece of fun to 
 keep us alive ; was always particularly anxious to 
 detect the Irish soldiers in the perpetration of 
 bulls ; and would pervert whatever was said by 
 Sergeant Gaffen, and others from the Emerald
 
 180 MEMOIRS OF JOHN SHIPP. 
 
 Isle, to his own meaning. Being in the constant 
 habit of joking with and quizzing the men, it was 
 not to be wondered at that many tricks were 
 played him in return. These he would take with 
 the most perfect good-humour. When the cap- 
 tain was seated on the ground at his dinner, some 
 mischievous wag would, on a sudden, call out, 
 " A gun on our left." On this the captain would 
 instantly spring up to reconnoitre, and, on his 
 return, he would find some part of his dinner 
 purloined, or his grog drunk. When it was cold 
 weather, the captain always wore a Welsh wig. 
 On these occasions, when he was fast asleep, we 
 would stick a crooked pin in the wig, attached 
 to a cord some ten yards long, and then sing out, 
 " A gun." This would always rouse him from 
 his slumbers; and, the moment he moved, the wig, 
 of course, suddenly disappeared. On these occa- 
 sions he would affect to be quite outrageous, would 
 stamp and storm, and call us all the thieves he 
 could think of. After a time, the wig would be 
 returned, by putting a stone in it, and then 
 throwing it close to him, singing out, " Shot."
 
 MEMOIRS OF JOHN SHIPP. 181 
 
 At these jokes the gallant captain would laugh 
 heartily, generally concluding with, " Ay, ay; 
 never mind, my boys ; I'll pay you off for this." 
 In short, he was as prime an old boy as ever graced 
 a battery.
 
 182 
 
 CHAPTER VIII. 
 
 HAVING abundance of spare time while prepara- 
 tions were making for a second attack on the fort, 
 Lord Lake determined to disturb Hoolkah in his 
 hiding-place ; for which purpose a party of infantry 
 was despatched with about four six-pounders. We 
 soon came within sight of him, sheltered a good 
 deal from his view by high trees and jungle. The 
 fort, observing our manoeuvres, commenced a 
 heavy cannonade. Hoolkah, alarmed, got on the 
 move, and made towards Futtypoor Seccrah, one 
 of his old haunts. Once from under the walls of 
 the fort, our cavalry soon put his troops to flight ; 
 immense numbers were killed, and elephants, 
 horses, camels, spears, matchlocks, colours, &c. 
 were brought into camp. Hoolkah's best elephant 
 was that day taken, and some little treasure was 
 found on camels. Notwithstanding this routing,
 
 MEMOIRS OF JOHN SHIPP. 183 
 
 however, they took up their old ground, and we 
 returned to camp, with some few men killed and 
 wounded. This skirmish, instead of decreasing 
 their impudence, seemed only to increase it; for 
 they were day and night hovering round our pi- 
 quets, the object of which was to take our atten- 
 tion from their main body, who had been despatched 
 to intercept a small detachment that was on the 
 way to join us, from Muttra. Our spies soon 
 brought intelligence of this, and, in little more than 
 ten minutes after, three regiments of dragoons were 
 on the move to rescue them, and arrived just in 
 time to save our stores and the lives of the little 
 party. Hoolkah commanded in person on this 
 occasion, and it was reported that he was killed, 
 though this proved afterwards to be false. A re- 
 ward was offered for his bond, and a great num- 
 ber were tendered, but none belonged to one- 
 eyed Hoolkah. It is true, heads were produced 
 without an eye, but the phiz of that notorious Pin 
 was too well known to Chiggram (our best spy), 
 to admit of our being imposed on. 
 
 My wounds at this time were nearly well, and,
 
 184 MEMOIRS OF JOHN SHIPP. 
 
 having been unsuccessful in the first Forlorn Hope 
 which I had led, I volunteered to lead the second. 
 One night, previous to the time appointed for the 
 second attack, I sauntered to a retired spot, far 
 from the observation of my comrades, to muse 
 over the prospect then immediately before me, 
 and to ask His aid who alone has the power to 
 protect us. Scarcely had I entered a wood about 
 one hundred yards from the trenches, when my 
 attention was arrested by a soldier on his knees, 
 fervently supplicating the aid of Almighty God in 
 the coming storm. The moment he heard my foot- 
 step, he suddenly arose, and, seeming ashamed of 
 the way in which he was engaged, he said, 
 ' e Who's that ?" I answered, " Sergeant Shipp ; 
 who are you ?" He replied, " Private Murphy." 
 "Murphy!" I repeated; "is it possible that 
 such a blasphemer as you, who, day after day, 
 and hour after hour, boast your own infamy in a 
 wanton disbelief and contempt of every quality 
 that can constitute the man and the Christian, 
 and who, no later than yesternight, solemnly pro- 
 tested before your comrades, that you firmly be-
 
 MEMOIRS OF JOHN SHIPP. 185 
 
 lieved there was 110 place of punishment save a 
 man's own conscience, and that hell was merely 
 a name to frighten and intimidate schoolboys 
 can it be possible," continued I, " that you have 
 at this late hour retired to this lonely place, and 
 are found in the act of prayer?" " Shipp," he 
 replied, in a softer tone, and in nearly the fol- 
 lowing words : " Whatever men may boast or 
 say in their deluded and more irrational moments, 
 there is a period when aU those blasphemous ex- 
 pressions rush across the human mind, and the 
 recollection of having uttered them leaves an in- 
 conceivable pressure on the humbled heart; but 
 I pray you, do not expose me to my comrades, 
 or I shall become their jeer and ridicule. I beg 
 this as a favour." " What !" said I, " more afraid 
 of the derision of men, than the wrath of an of- 
 fended God ?" " No, no," replied he ; " but you 
 know how religious soldiers are held in derision 
 by some of our comrades." " Well," I said, " I 
 shall keep your secret, and you may confidently 
 trust me on this subject; I will promise you 
 most solemnly that I will never join in the laugh 
 against you, and, if you have not finished, I shall
 
 186 MEMOIRS OF JOHN SHIPP. 
 
 be gratified in joining you in prayer, as I have re- 
 buked you for your profligacy." He affection- 
 ately seized my hand, and pulled me towards 
 the earth. ***** 
 
 On the following day this poor fellow was sum- 
 moned to his last account ;j and who knows but this 
 single act of faith and devotion might have saved 
 his immortal soul ? 
 
 Two o'clock in the afternoon of the 20th of 
 January, 1805, was arranged for the second 
 storming of Bhurtpore. To prevent any obstruc- 
 tion by ' the trench, which was supposed to be at 
 this part deep and wide, a bridge of bamboos was 
 made, that would admit of three file a-breast. 
 This bridge could be thrown a considerable dis- 
 tance by a hundred men, and was supported by 
 ghee dubbahs (skins), in which the natives keep 
 oil and butter for exportation, which, when dried, 
 are light, and will bear a considerable weight before 
 you can sink them. Elephants and camels were 
 also laden with tents, and hackeries (or carts drawn 
 by bullocks) with bales of cotton, all to fill up the 
 ditch, to enable us to cross to the breach. 
 
 I once more took my station with my twelve
 
 MEMOIRS OF JOHN SHIPP. 187 
 
 volunteers, supported by my two companies as 
 before. A shell from one of the howitzers was a 
 signal to move. On this signal being given, the 
 shell, bursting in the muzzle of the gun or mortar, 
 killed two of our grenadiers: a sad beginning. 
 The bridge followed the Forlorn Hope, carried on 
 men's shoulders, and must have appeared some 
 extraordinary monster to those who were not ac- 
 quainted with its intended use. We moved on, 
 and before I got half way down to the fort, six of 
 my men were killed or wounded. The enemy, 
 no doubt encouraged by our late defeat, had re,- 
 doubled their fire, both in guns and men ; and on 
 the right side of the breach they had thrown out 
 an under-work, which was filled with matchlock- 
 men, and in which they had several guns. My men 
 kept falling off one by one ; and when I arrived 
 at the edge of the ditch, which appeared wide and 
 deep, and was assisting the men with the bridge, 
 I received a matchlock bah 1 , which entered over the 
 right eye, and passed out over the left. This 
 tumbled me, my forehead literally hanging over 
 my nose, and the wound bleeding profusely. I
 
 188 MEMOIRS OF JOHN SHIPP. 
 
 was at this time close to our gallant Captain 
 Lindsay, who, at the same moment, received a 
 ginjall ball* in the right knee, which shattered the 
 bone to pieces. I recovered a little from the stun 
 of my wound, when the fis t thing that met my eye 
 (for I could only see with one) was the bamboo 
 bridge quietly gliding down the stream, being 
 some yards too short. Nothing but killed and 
 wounded could be seen, and there was not the 
 most distant chance of getting in. To have at- 
 tempted crossing the ditch would have been an 
 act of madness. In descending we must have 
 plunged over our heads in water, and they had 
 two small guns bearing on the spot. At last a 
 retreat was ordered. Previous to this, our poor 
 fellows stood like sheep to be shot at, without 
 the remotest hope of success. The camels and 
 elephants, alarmed by the tremendous firing and 
 shouting, could not be induced to approach the 
 fort, many of them throwing their loads and 
 running back to camp, and wild into the woods. 
 
 * This is a long matchlock, which moves on a pivot, and carries 
 about a two-pound ball.
 
 MEMOIRS OF JOHN SHIPP. 189 
 
 Seven hundred men were killed and wounded 
 on this occasion. Our brave Captain Lindsay's 
 wound was so bad that his leg was amputated in 
 the battery. My wound was a dangerous one, 
 having touched the bone. I was immediately sent 
 home to camp, where I lay completely blind for 
 several days. This, added to our disastrous 
 defeat, threw me into a fever, and nearly cost 
 me my life ; but, with the aid of a kind provi- 
 dence, and the advantage of a strong and unim- 
 paired constitution, I soon recovered. 
 
 Our engineer now gave up this side of the fort 
 as perfectly hopeless, and we went more to the 
 eastward, breaching a prominent bastion ; but 
 the whole fort was so constructed that one part 
 protected the others, and therefore, wherever we 
 breached we were sure of a destructive cross-fire. 
 From our melancholy failures, our poor fellows 
 became disheartened ; scarcely a man had escaped 
 without being wounded, and the sad recollection 
 of their poor comrades that were left behind in a 
 mutilated state, was the constant topic of conver- 
 sation. Our mortification was greatly increased
 
 190 MEMOIRS OF JOHN SHIPP. 
 
 Tjy seeing our men's clothing paraded on the 
 ramparts, and worn by the miscreants in the fort. 
 However, we still lived in the fond hope that our 
 next effort would prove more successful. 
 
 I could again go abroad, although my wound was 
 by no means healed. It was now truly distressing 
 to enter our men's tents, where, but a short month 
 before, the merry joke went round, and mirth and 
 hilarity prevailed. Naught but gloomy faces, and 
 even them but few, were to be seen : some had 
 lost brothers ; others, dear comrades ; Captain 
 Lindsay had lost his leg ; Lieutenant C res well had 
 been cut to pieces ; and every other officer was 
 wounded. Our loss in killed and wounded in the 
 two assaults, in our two companies alone, was 
 nearly the one half of the total number. 
 
 After the storm, our breaching-guns were again 
 sent to the park to be re-bushed. This was a sea- 
 sonable pause to enable us to recruit our shattered 
 frames and spirits ; but it also gave the enemy an 
 opportunity of repairing and reinforcing every point 
 of attack. 
 
 On the 18th of February things began to wear
 
 MEMOIRS OF JOHN SHIPP. 191 
 
 a more enlivening appearance. The breached 
 bastion seemed to bow its haughty head to our 
 roaring guns, and the 20th was talked of as the day 
 for storming it. Our last disastrous repulse was 
 scarcely eradicated from our minds ; the massacre 
 of our brave comrades was still alive in our memo- 
 ries; but the fond hope of retaliation (I do not 
 mean in cutting up a poor defenceless creature, 
 not a single instance of which can, in the long 
 course of our wars, be brought against the Com- 
 pany's army) spirited us up, and we looked for- 
 ward to the time when we might drag the garments 
 of our murdered comrades from the backs of the 
 vaunting foe. They were now daily and hourly 
 exhibiting to our view the number of muskets they 
 had taken ; our ammunition which had fallen into 
 their hands was now turned against ourselves ; as 
 also our cannon-shot, which they had picked out of 
 the two old breaches. We again possessed our 
 wonted spirits and cheerfulness, and made prepa- 
 ration to retrieve the British character. The pa- 
 tient conduct and intrepid gallantry of our officers 
 and soldiers when in the hour of their utmost dis-
 
 192 MEMOIRS OF JOHN SHIPP. 
 
 tress, from repeated defeats, did not pass unno- 
 ticed by the enemy ; and it is not improbable that 
 the resolution and heroism then displayed by the 
 troops were the means of facilitating that long 
 friendship which afterwards subsisted between the 
 Rajah of Bhurtpore and the Company. 
 
 The day appointed, 20th of February, arrived, 
 and was ushered in with a new and unexpected 
 scene. About four hundred men from the fort, 
 emboldened, no doubt, by our tardiness, and -the 
 repeated defeats which our troops had experienced, 
 rushed out upon us just as we were relieving 
 trenches, and actually reached and had possession 
 of our batteries and trenches before we could 
 return. Every one of these men were in a state 
 of intoxication, and fought desperately ; but we 
 soon drove them from the batteries ; then, turning 
 our guns against them, dreadful was the carnage. 
 The fort fired indiscriminately at the whole party. 
 These fellows were, no doubt, a set of vagabonds 
 they wished to get rid of, and, if this was the case, 
 their wish was fully realized, for a very few re- 
 turned to tell the tale. This was the kind of reta-
 
 MEMOIRS OF JOHN SHIPP. 193 
 
 liation we sighed for ; but we lost a considerable 
 number of men, killed and wounded, in this affray ; 
 but these they had not the barbarous gratification 
 of cutting up. Their wounded men left within 
 our reach were sent to the Native hospitals, and 
 every comfort administered to them. They were 
 in the same wards with our wounded men, where 
 friendship presided instead of murder. Had the 
 war been between Native and Native, the cruelties 
 would have been equal on both sides. 
 
 When this strange rencounter had subsided, the 
 storming-party was ordered for twelve o'clock. 
 Reader, imagine my disappointment when my 
 doctor most positively forbade my being em- 
 ployed on this occasion, as my wound in the 
 forehead was still in such a state that, should I get 
 heated or catch cold, he feared an inflammation 
 of the brain would take place. I could have 
 thrown what few brains I had in his face, but I was 
 obliged to obey. The Forlorn Hope was led by 
 Lieutenant Templer, of the 76th Regiment, as 
 brave a little fellow as ever wore a red coat. I 
 looked on at a short distance from the scene of 
 
 VOL. I. K
 
 194 MEMOIRS OF JOHN SHIPP. 
 
 action, and a desperate hard struggle it was. No 
 sooner did our brave boys gain the top of the 
 breach, than the well-directed fire from the fort 
 swept them off. Footing they had none ; they 
 literally hung on the bosom of the bastion. A third 
 retreat was the result ; leaving behind them up- 
 wards of five hundred dead and wounded : indeed, 
 they might all be said to be dead, for death was 
 inevitable. The enemy again manned the breach 
 in swarms, shouting victory ! It would have been 
 better for me had I been there, for I am sure I 
 fought and struggled as hard as any one engaged. 
 I cannot describe my feelings and those of the 
 other spectators of this dreadful scene ; but what 
 can eight or ten men a-breast do against a legion, 
 posted aloft, and protected by walls, bastions, &c., 
 and where every possible engine is in requisition 
 for their destruction ? Thus exposed, there was 
 never any real chance of success. The whole 
 circumference of the bastion, if lined with men, 
 would not have contained more than fifteen or 
 twenty men a-breast; and the whole means of the 
 fort were levelled on this small space, to their
 
 MEMOIRS OF JOHN SHIPP. 195 
 
 certain defeat and destruction. All that was in 
 the power of mortal man to do was done, but all 
 our efforts were in vain. 
 
 The storming-party was again ordered for the 
 
 
 
 following day. I suffered an excruciating headache, 
 but said nothing of the badness of my wound, 
 which at that time bore a most frightful appear- 
 ance, resolved to die rather than give up my past 
 honour. I assured my doctors that I was well, 
 and felt quite adequate to take my station, and en- 
 treated that they would not stand between me and 
 glory. At last they consented, and I made the 
 most of the short period between that and the 
 storm, in supplicating the divine protection, and 
 in penning a letter to my only relation, on account 
 of arranging my little affairs. I had made up my 
 mind that I could not, in all human probability, 
 escape a third time ; but He alone who created life 
 can destroy it. In the evening I left my tent, to 
 seek in solitude that consolation for my troubled 
 bosom which the drunken and tumultuous riot of 
 a camp could but ill afford. The captain of our 
 company, under whose care I had been brought up, 
 
 K2
 
 196 MEMOIRS OF JOHN SHIPP. 
 
 was one of the best and most pious of men. In 
 gratitude I mention the name of Captain Effing- 
 ham Lindsay, now colonel on the half-pay of the 
 22nd Regiment of Foot. To this beloved indivi- 
 dual I am indebted for having implanted in my 
 bosom, in early youth, those religious principles 
 and feelings by which I have ever since endea- 
 voured to direct my conduct, and from which, in 
 the hour of affliction and of peril, I have ever 
 derived inexpressible comfort. It was with the 
 view of gaining consolation and support from pri- 
 vate meditation and prayer, that I now retired 
 from the riotous company of my companions in 
 arms, the evening previous to my leading, for the 
 third time, the Forlorn Hope at Bhurtpore. Scarcely 
 had I gone beyond the discordant sound of re- 
 velry, and begun to muse upon the subjects that 
 were ever uppermost in my mind, viz. the possi- 
 bility of my ever returning to my native village, or 
 ever seeing my poor father, when an object pre- 
 sented itself to my sight that for a moment startled, 
 and, I must confess, a little alarmed me. The 
 moon was just peeping from behind the high
 
 MEMOIRS OF JOHN SHIPP. 197 
 
 towers of the fort, and shedding her bright rays 
 through the tree near which I stood, when, by her 
 light, I perceived that the object which arrested 
 ray attention was an European soldier, prostated 
 on the ground, as I supposed, dead. I approached 
 him, but could not hear him breathe. I laid my 
 hand on his cheek: it was cold and chilly; which 
 confirmed me in my first opinion, that he was dead. 
 At last I ventured to grasp his icy hand, which 
 roused him, and he rose up and said, " Why did 
 you disturb me? I have had a sweet sleep." Then, 
 looking at, and suddenly recognizing me, he said, 
 "Is that you, Shipp?" I replied," Yes ; 
 what brought you to this dreary spot?" He re- 
 plied, " The same, in all probability, that guided 
 you here." " What," said I, " do you suppose that 
 to be?" He replied, "To reflect on the scene 
 before us for to-morrow. Yes, sergeant," he con- 
 tinued, " I have this night stolen like a thief from 
 the riotous parties I have too long joined, to spend 
 an hour or two alone ; and, if I must confess it, in 
 prayer. Having offered up my prayers, I felt my 
 poor heart relieved of a burden I cannot describe,
 
 MEMOIRS OF JOHN SHIPP. 
 
 and thus I fell asleep, and am now glad to meet 
 a friend in this lonely spot." We then, together, 
 made the earth our communion-table, and offered 
 up our poor but fervent devotions to the throne 
 of mercy. It was the will of the Almighty to 
 call my companion in prayer the next day from 
 the world, and to spare me, but with a wound 
 in the head, to show my dependance upon his 
 mercy. 
 
 Two o'clock in the afternoon of the next day 
 was ordered for the assault. I forgot my aches 
 and wounds, and was at my old post. Lieutenant 
 Templer, of his 'Majesty's 76th Regiment (he was 
 but a little man, but he possessed the heart of a 
 lion), accompanied me on this occasion, with a 
 small Union Jack, to plant on the enemy's bastion. 
 He gave me his hand, and, smilingly, said, " Shipp, 
 I am come to rob you of part of your glory ; you 
 are a regular monopolist of that commodity." He 
 continued, " I will place Old England's banner 
 on their haughty bastion, or die in the attempt!" 
 He fell a victim to his zeal, having first planted 
 his 'colour on the bastion.
 
 MEMOIRS OF JOHN SHIPP. 199 
 
 On the way down from the camp, we met his 
 Excellency the Commander-in-Chief and suite. His 
 Lordship addressed me and my Forlorn Hope : 
 " Sergeant, it is with sincere regret I again see 
 you wounded, and again at the head of your little 
 band of heroes. I will not check your praise- 
 worthy spirit; go into glory, my lads, and may 
 heaven prosper your zeal, and crown you with 
 triumph !" His lordship addressed every corps 
 that passed him; but when the remnant of the 
 two companies of the 22d Regiment marched by, 
 he was seen to turn from them, and the tear fell 
 down his cheek ; but, fearful it might be observed, 
 he took off his hat and cheered them. This was 
 not the tear of Judas, for his lordship often shed 
 tears of sorrow for our great loss at this place. 
 He was a true soldier's friend, and valued their 
 lives as much as he did his own. 
 
 The storming-party marched out in the usual 
 steady order; yet, from our recent calamitous 
 defeats, there was not that spirit amongst the men 
 which I had witnessed on former occasions. We 
 had already experienced three disastrous repulses 
 from this fort, and there now seemed a cloud on
 
 MEMOIRS OF JOHN SHIPP. 
 
 every brow, which proceeded, I have no hesita- 
 tion in asserting, from a well-grounded apprehen- 
 sion that this, our fourth assault, would be con- 
 cluded by another retreat. If any sight could be 
 exhibited to the human eye that was calculated to 
 work upon the feelings of men already disappointed 
 and dispirited, it was the scene that was exposed 
 to our view on approaching to this breach; for 
 there lay our poor comrades who had fallen in 
 previous attempts, many of them in a state of nu- 
 dity ; some without heads ; some without arms or 
 legs; and others whose bodies exhibited the most 
 barbarous cruelties, for they were literally cut to 
 pieces. The sight was truly awful and appalling, 
 and the eye of pity closed instinctively on such 
 a spectacle of woe. Those who attempted to ex- 
 tend the hand of relief were added to the number of 
 the slain, as the spot was much exposed to a cross- 
 fire from the fort. Could any sight be more dis- 
 tressing for affectionate comrades to look on ? I 
 say affectionate, for, among men living together in 
 one barrack, and, perhaps, under one tent, in fami- 
 liar intercourse, there must be a greater regard 
 for each other than is found to subsist among those
 
 MEMOIRS OF JOHN SHIPP. 201 
 
 who meet casually, once a day or once a week. In 
 a soldier's barrack the peculiarities, good or bad, 
 of every individual are known ; added to which, 
 arduous services will always link men together in 
 the bond of union and affection. Many of these 
 mutilated objects still breathed, and could be seen 
 to heave the agonized bosom; some raised their 
 heads clotted with blood; others their legs and 
 arms; and, in this manner, either made signs to 
 us, or faintly cried for help and pity. It was a 
 sight to turn nature's current, and to melt a heart 
 of stone. Such was its effect upon our lines, that, 
 after a short conflict of the softer feelings, the 
 eye of every man flashed the vivid spark of ven- 
 geance against the cruel race who had committed 
 such wanton barbarities; and, if mortal effort could 
 have surmounted the obstacles in our path, those 
 who witnessed the horrid scene I have just de- 
 scribed must infallibly have succeeded. But the 
 effort was beyond mortal power. Braver hearts, 
 or more loyal, never left the Isle of Albion, than 
 those who fell like withered leaves, and found a 
 soldier's grave at Bhurtpore. 
 
 K5
 
 202 MEMOIRS OF JOHN SHIPP. 
 
 Our ascent was found, for the fourth time, to be 
 quite impossible : every man who showed himself 
 was sure of death. The soldiers in the fort were 
 in chain armour. I speak this from positive con- 
 viction, for I myself fired at one man three times 
 in the bastion, who was not six yards from me, 
 and he, did not even bob his head. We were told 
 afterwards, that every man defending the breach 
 was in full armour, which was a coat, breast-plate, 
 shoulder-plates^ and armlets, with a helmet and 
 chain face-guard ; so that our shots could avail but 
 little. I had not been on the breach more tfian five 
 minutes, when I was struck with a large shot on 
 my back, thrown down from the top of th,e bastion, 
 which made me lose my footing, and I was rolling 
 down sideways, when I was brought up by a bayonet 
 of one of our grenadiers passing through the shoe, 
 into the fleshy part of the foot, and under the great 
 toe. My fall carried everything down that was 
 under me. The man who assisted me in getting 
 up, was at that moment shot dead : his name was 
 Courtenay, of the 22d Light Company. I regained 
 my place time enough to see poor Lieutenant
 
 MEMOIRS OF JOHN SHIPP. 203 
 
 Templer, who had planted the colour on the top, 
 cut to pieces, by one of the enemy rushing out, and 
 cutting him almost in two, as he lay flat upon his 
 face on the top of the breach. The man was imme- 
 diately shot dead, and trotted to the bottom of the 
 ditch. I had not been in my new place long, when 
 a stink-pot, or other earthen pot, containing com- 
 bustible matter, fell on my pouch, in which were 
 about fifty rounds of ball cartridges. The whole 
 exploded: my pouch I never saw more, and I was 
 precipitated from the top to the bottom of the 
 bastion. How I got there in safety, I know not ; 
 but, when I came to myself, I found I was lying un- 
 der the breach, with my legs in the water. I was 
 much hurt from the fall, my face was severely 
 scorched, my clothes much burnt, and all the hair 
 on the back of my head burnt off. I for a time 
 could not tell where I was. I crawled to the oppo- 
 site side of the bank, and seated myself by a soldier 
 of the same company, who did not know me. I sat 
 here, quite unable to move, for some little time, 
 till a cannon-ball struck in the ditch, which knocked 
 the mud all over me. This added greatly to the
 
 204 MEMOIRS OF JOHN SHIPP. 
 
 elegance of my appearance ; and in this state I 
 contrived, somehow .or other, to crawl out of the 
 ditch. At this moment the retreat was sounded, 
 after every mortal effort had been made in vain. 
 
 The case was now deemed completely hopeless, 
 and we were obliged to give up the contest, having 
 lost, in killed and wounded, upwards of three thou- 
 sand men (braver, or more zealous, never lived) 
 against this fort. Of the twelve gallant fellows who 
 composed the third forlorn hope led by me, not 
 one returned to reap the proffered reward of the 
 Commander-in-Chief. Add to this, the loss of one 
 of the best officers in our army, Captain Menzies, 
 of the 22d Grenadier Company, Aid-de-Camp to 
 Lord Lake. He fell endeavouring to rally some 
 Native troops that were exposed to a galling fire, 
 and began to give way. In this heroic attempt he 
 lost his life, regretted by the whole army. Of our 
 two companies, scarce a soul escaped uninjured. 
 Near the breach, the dead, dying, and wounded, 
 would have melted the heart of the most callous 
 wretch ; and, had not the little party who stormed 
 the eleven-gun battery proved successful, few, if
 
 MEMOIRS OF JOHN SHIPP. 205 
 
 any, would have escaped the dreadful carnage. 
 You must permit me to draw the gloomy shroud of 
 mourning over this scene of misery and terror. 
 The sad details of this siege have years ago been 
 before the public ; and here my personal services at 
 Bhurtpore ended, leaving impressions, both on mind 
 and body, that can never be obliterated. 
 
 Jn the course of the siege, frequent overtures were 
 made from the fort, but of what nature I do not 
 pretend to know. They were at last, however, 
 obliged to come to our terms, which compelled them 
 to pay all the expenses of the siege, &c., after which 
 we raised the siege, and returned to camp. The 
 loss of the enemy must have been immense : report 
 said, five thousand men, women, and children ; and, 
 from the immense concourse of inhabitants in the 
 town, with their families, that number does not 
 appear to be at all improbable. Certain it is, that 
 they must have been as heartily tired of it as we 
 were. 
 
 Our sad failures, on the occasion of this me- 
 morable siege, may unquestionably, in my opinion, 
 fairly be attributed to our total want of means.
 
 206 MEMOIRS OF JOHN SHIPP. 
 
 What were four breaching-guns against such a fort 
 as that of Bhurtpore ? Forty would not have been 
 too many : as a proof of which, if we contrast the 
 means of attack at our disposal, with those pos- 
 sessed by Lord Comberraere, in his successful 
 siege of the same fort, it will be, found, that the 
 number of guns employed on the latter occasion., 
 compared with the former, was at least ten to one. 
 With the original force of Bhurtpore (calculated 
 at not less than a hundred thousand men), it was 
 scarcely possible that, with a less number of guns, 
 the place could be taken by assault. It should be 
 recollected, also, that, with the means we had, the 
 ditch which surrounded the fort made it q\iite 
 inaccessible to us. Sapping and mining, the only 
 way by which Bhurtpore could have fallen, was, at 
 the period of the first siege of that place, scarcely 
 known in India ; and shelling was then only in its 
 infancy. The former of these methods was resorted 
 to by the present Commander-in-Chief, with great 
 success ; and the latter, from the improvements 
 which, since 1805, have been made in this de- 
 structive system of warfare, with at least ten times
 
 MEMOIRS OF JOHN SHIPP. 207 
 
 the vigour and effect that it was possible for us to 
 impart to it. 
 
 It will not, I trust, be supposed for a moment, 
 that, in making these remarks, it can by possibility 
 be my intention to detract, in the slightest degree, 
 from the gallant achievements of the army under 
 Lord Combermere, in 1817. 
 
 After our last failure, conciliatory orders were 
 published to our disheartened troops ; every thing 
 was done to console and comfort them ; and, with 
 these judicious measures, though the men could 
 scarcely bear the stigma of being defeated, yet, 
 after a few days' reflection, their features began to 
 brighten up, and they began to weigh things in a 
 proper light ; when an unexpected and untoward 
 event happened, that was likely to have been at- 
 tended with the most frightful consequences. The 
 peace having been ratified, the garrison had per- 
 mission to visit our camp. Imagine our mortifi- 
 cation and surprise, when many of them had the 
 presumption to appear, under our very noses, with 
 the coats, sashes, and arms, they had torn from 
 the dead bodies of our poor comrades. This news
 
 208 MEMOIRS ,OF JOHN SHIPP. 
 
 flew through the camp in a moment ; the whole 
 army was out ; every eye flashed vengeance : but, 
 by the timely interference of the Commander-in- 
 Chief, and the officers in general, the men were 
 calmed, and the mischief stopped. In the next 
 general orders my name appeared as Ensign in 
 his Majesty's 65th Regiment, with many flattering 
 encomiums by the Commander-in-Chief. From 
 the whole of this regiment, during the short time 
 I remained with them, I received the most marked 
 attentions ; and whenever I served with, or met 
 them afterwards, I experienced from them the 
 most disinterested friendship. 
 
 On the day of my appointment, I was meta- 
 morphosed into a gentleman ; hair cut and curled ; 
 new coat, &c. &c. ; had an invitation to dine with 
 the Commander-in-Chief ; but, of course, kept 
 myself in the background. The gentleman did not 
 seem to sit easy on me ; for, you must know, I was 
 then a blushing modest youth : but the extremely 
 kind inquiries of his lordship, and of his equally 
 kind son, if I was there, tended greatly to dissipate 
 my shyness. His lordship, on hearing I had ar-
 
 MEMOIRS OF JOHN SHIPP. 209 
 
 rived, approached me with extended hand, and 
 shook mine cordially, saying, " I congratulate you 
 as a brave young fellow, and I shall not lose sight 
 of your merit." He requested I would sit next to 
 him at dinner. I did so ; and, after the cloth was 
 removed, he made me fight the Forlorn Hopes over 
 again, at the recital of which his lordship was much 
 affected. The next day his lordship again sent 
 for me, when he addressed me in these words, 
 "Shipp, I have been thinking a good deal about 
 your case. You, of course, have not much money. 
 I know your generous Lindsay will do anything to 
 serve you, but he must really leave a little for me 
 to do. You may therefore draw on me, through 
 the field pay-master, for what you want." His 
 lordship afterwards sent me a tent, two camels, 
 and a horse, as presents. The rest of my fitting- 
 out my excellent friend, Captain Lindsay, gene- 
 rously gave me. 
 
 Lord Lake was truly my friend, as he was that 
 of every soldier in the army. He was munificent 
 in his charities, being ever the first in subscribing 
 large sums to whatever cases of distress appeared.
 
 210 MEMOIRS OF JOHN SHIPP. 
 
 I will relate one instance of his benevolence and 
 generosity. A very old lieutenant could not pur- 
 chase a company then vacant ; indeed, knowing 
 he could not purchase, he had thought nothing 
 of the vacancy. In the evening I was standing 
 with this officer, when the orderly-book, publishing 
 his promotion by purchase, was put into his hands. 
 He said, " There must be some mistake, for he 
 had not a rupee he could call his own." At that 
 moment Colonel Lake, his lordship's son, came up, 
 and wished him joy of his promotion. The other 
 said, " Colonel, there must be some mistake in 
 this ; I cannot purchase." Colonel Lake said, 
 " My father knows you cannot, and has therefore 
 lent you the money, which he never intends to 
 take back." These were the sort of acts in which 
 his lordship delighted, and in consequence he was 
 loved by his army, and admired by the people 
 wherever he came. 
 
 In about three weeks after having been appointed 
 ensign in the 65th Regiment, his lordship promoted 
 me to the rank of lieutenant in his Majesty's 76th 
 Regiment, thus faithfully keeping his promise of
 
 MEMOIRS OF JOHN SHIPP. 211 
 
 not losing an opportunity of serving me. In this 
 regiment I became a great favourite with my 
 colonel, the Honourable William Monson, then 
 Brigadier-general of the army. 
 
 One of the articles of treaty was, that Hoolkah 
 should be driven from under the walls of the Fort 
 of Bhurtpore. This had been done ; but he still 
 hovered about camp, annoying our foraging-parties 
 and small escorts coming into camp with supplies. 
 A few days after having joined the 76th Regiment, 
 I was appointed an extra aid-de-camp to the Bri- 
 gadier, to proceed on a foraging-party, consisting 
 of one regiment of Native cavalry and four six- 
 pounders, with five hundred of irregular or local 
 horse. We had not proceeded many miles from 
 camp, when we saw Hoolkah's troops in immense 
 force, posted on an eminence. They showed 
 symptoms of fight. We collected our elephants, 
 camels, and bullocks, and left them in charge of 
 the five hundred irregular horse ; then, placing 
 two of the six-pounders behind the regiment of 
 Native cavalry, we moved slowly on till within 
 two or three hundred yards of the enemy, when
 
 212 MEMOIRS OF JOHN SHIPP. 
 
 we gave them about twenty rounds of grape, 
 killing great numbers. We then charged them, 
 and cut up a great number more. I had a narrow 
 escape ; my horse was killed by a spear-wound 
 in the chest, which entered his heart, and I fell 
 under him. The horseman was about to give me 
 a few inches of the same spear, when the honour- 
 able Brigadier cut him down, and thus I escaped, 
 taking the liberty of riding my well-meaning adver- 
 sary's horse to camp. I was a good deal hurt by 
 the fall, but this, with one or two men wounded, 
 and some few horses killed, were the only casualties 
 of the day. 
 
 Hoolkah, finding that our hands were so unoc- 
 cupied that we had more leisure than suited his 
 purposes, made towards Jeypore. We crossed 
 the river Chumlah, near Daulpore, in pursuit ; but 
 lie retired to his old haunts, with his colleague 
 Emeerkhan, and we to quarters in Futtypoore 
 Seccrah. 
 
 The foUowing year, everything wearing the pacific 
 garb, and the gallant regiment to which I belonged 
 being literally cut to pieces so much so, that we
 
 MEMOIRS OF JOHN SHIPP. 213 
 
 had scarcely a sound man left in the regiment, it 
 was considered to be time that the corps had some 
 cessation from war. Twenty-five years had they 
 been in India, and stood the brunt of all Lord 
 Lake's conquests, and those on the coast. When I 
 was in the regiment (1805), I believe there were 
 only two men of the original corps, Lieutenant 
 Montgomery, and Quarter-Master Hopkins. I am 
 sure the latter, who is now living in England, will 
 go through my campaigns with me with pleasure. 
 The former, from the frequent wounds he had re- 
 ceived, died a short time after the date to which I 
 have referred. Would he had lived to have enjoyed 
 the rewards of his gallantry ! for both these soldiers, 
 like myself, were raised from the ranks by their 
 merit. It has been my concern to watch that corps 
 as if I was still connected with it: whenever I get 
 hold of an Army List, my first care is for my old 
 respected and gallant corps, and it is with regret 
 I see my old and dear friends dying off; but this 
 is incident to man's mortality, as well as to warfare. 
 
 The regiment now embarked for Calcutta. I 
 preceded them, in charge of invalids. Many of 
 these poor fellows were without arms and legs ;
 
 214 MEMOIRS OF JOHN SHIPP. 
 
 and some of them so dreadfully cut up, that scarcely 
 a human feature could be traced. Many died from 
 their wounds. Mine, by the blessing of Divine Pro- 
 vidence, continued to do well ; but I was visited 
 with the most excruciating headaches and dizziness 
 from the wound in my head ; and the terrific spec- 
 tacle of the last scene at Bhurtpore so affected my 
 mind, that scarcely a night passed in which I did 
 not dream of " hair-breadth 'scapes i' th' imminent 
 deadly breach," and fancy I was fighting my battles 
 over again. My head was so much injured, that the 
 report of a gun would startle me dreadfully ; but, 
 with an excellent constitution, care, and avoiding 
 drink, I soon recovered, though the wound across 
 my forehead has considerably impaired my sight. 
 Twelve pieces, or splints, came away from the 
 upper part of the wound; and when you put your 
 finger upon it, the skull was so thin that you could 
 feel the pulsation, like the pendulum of a clock. 
 My wounds are still a certain and sure weather-glass. 
 That on my forehead will, to this day, swell and ex- 
 pand on any change of the weather, or variation 
 in the atmosphere.
 
 215 
 
 CHAPTER IX. 
 
 You have now, reader, followed me through my 
 military enterprises, up to the time of my being 
 appointed lieutenant in the 76th Regiment. The 
 time has arrived when I have to request that you 
 will beat the silvery wave Avith me; for I am bound 
 to my native country with my regiment, after an 
 absence of ten years. On arriving at Calcutta, 
 our reception was gratifying in the extreme. 
 Every house opened its hospitable doors, and the 
 tables groaned under a profusion of good cheer. 
 Every one was anxious to hear the tale of war, 
 and wherever I went I was thought ill-natured if 
 I refused to repeat storm after storm, and all my 
 battles over and over again. But, the ship being 
 about to weigh anchor, our stay here was but short. 
 We embarked at Balloh Ghaut, on board small 
 sloops, and in three days reached the vessel, the
 
 216 MEMOIRS OF JOHN SHUT. 
 
 Lord Duncan, Captain Bradford, in safety. We had 
 on board a great number of passengers, and about 
 two hundred invalids, under the command of Cap- 
 tain Lindsay, of my old corps. Two days after- 
 wards we bade adieu to the Indian shores, leaving 
 many dear and respected friends behind us. 
 
 We were at this time at war with France, and 
 the Indian Seas were well watched by cruisers from 
 off the Isle of France. Our fleet consisted of thir- 
 teen Indiamen of the first-rate, convoyed by the 
 Tremendous, seventy-four, and Hindostan, seventy- 
 four. We sailed in two lines, headed by the two se- 
 venty-fours. All seemed order and discipline, and 
 we thought ourselves a match for any ships of France 
 we might have fallen in with. Every thing went 
 on smoothly, practising and drilling our guns once 
 a week, and keeping a constant look-out for the 
 enemy. Off the coast of Madagascar a ship was 
 discovered, early in the morning, standing right 
 down upon us. Seeing her a single vessel, we 
 conceived her to be one of our cruisers from off 
 the Cape of Good Hope ; but, when she was within 
 one mile and a half from us, she could not answer
 
 MEMOIRS OF JOHN SHIPP. 217 
 
 our signals, and consequently ran towards the 
 land, which was to windward of us. The Tre- 
 mendous, being a fast sailer, went in chase of her. 
 The Frenchman soon found that he was mis- 
 taken. He, no doubt, at first, took us for a French 
 fleet that was then out in these seas, and relied 
 upon his fast and superior sailing to enable him 
 to get away, should he prove mistaken; but our 
 Commodore overhauled him hand over hand. The 
 Frenchman tacked, turned, and twisted, but he 
 found it was of no use. He therefore resorted to his 
 natural cunning, shortened sail, and at last backed 
 main-topsail, and waited till the English vessel 
 came within pistol-shot. The Commodore, con- 
 ceiving that the Frenchman was about to strike, 
 did not wish to injure her, and therefore would not 
 fire. The French captain availed himself of this 
 interval, and gave the Tremendous a whole broad- 
 side, by which she was so disabled as to become 
 an immoveable log on the water. The Frenchman 
 up-helm, and off he started. The Commodore, at 
 last, got his ship's broadside to bear, and nearly 
 
 VOL. I. L
 
 218 MEMOIRS OF JOHN SHIPP. 
 
 tore her out of the water. However, she was a 
 faster sailer than any ship in our fleet, and, finally, 
 made her escape, to the mortification of the whole 
 fleet, except one Captain Brus6e, a French pri- 
 soner of war, a passenger on board our ship, who 
 danced with ineffable delight; natural enough; 
 but not very pleasant to the sight of an Englishman. 
 The following day we experienced a most vio- 
 lent hurricane, which lasted for two days without 
 cessation. Fortunately, our fleet suffered but little 
 injury, with the exception of one vessel, the Lady 
 Castlereagh, which we thought must inevitably 
 have been lost. She was about a quarter of a 
 mile from us, and we could at one time see her 
 whole keel. There was a general shriek of terror 
 from all on board of us, and our captain said that 
 he feared she would never right. The next gi- 
 gantic wave, however, brought her up, and she 
 did right, in spite of our predictions, but seemed 
 to roll, pitch, and labour dreadfully. Some part 
 of her masts were carried away; but what, I do not 
 now recollect. Three of our ships separated from the
 
 MEMOIRS OF JOHN SHIPP. 219 
 
 fleet, and we imagined that they had fallen into 
 the hands of the French, for we learned, at St. 
 Helena, that they had been seen a few days before 
 from that island. The name of the French ship 
 which we had fallen in with, was Le Cannonier, a 
 sixty-four, from the Isle of France. We under- 
 stood that she was so badly wounded, that she 
 was obliged to put into Simmon's Bay, not aware, 
 at that time, that the Cape was again in posses- 
 sion of the English. She soon found this out, 
 cut and ran, and got clear to the Isle of France. 
 Our three strayed ships made their appearance at 
 St. Helena the following day, having seen the 
 French fleet the ni^ht after the affair between 
 
 o 
 
 the Tremendous and Le Cannonier, and, under 
 cover of the night, escaped unobserved, or they 
 must have been taken, as the French fleet con- 
 sisted of five sail or more. 
 
 Our reception at St. Helena, by Governor 
 Brooks, was truly splendid and hospitable. We 
 remained there, I think, eight or ten days, after 
 which we again stood towards Old England. Our 
 voyage thither affords me an opportunity of in- 
 
 L 2
 
 220 MEMOIRS OF JOHN SHIPP. 
 
 troducing what may be not unamusing to the 
 reader under the title of, 
 
 SHIP MISERIES AND TRICKS. 
 
 TRYING to save yourself from a fall, discover, 
 after every mortal effort, that you have found 
 your way into the pigsty, and that such has been 
 the force of the fall, that tb<5 sailors are obliged 
 to clap a tackle on your leg to get you out, for 
 which kind services you have an excellent oppor- 
 tunity of showing your liberality. 
 
 Trying to save yourself from falling overboard, 
 seize hold of a lady's gown, and carry part of the 
 flimsy robe in triumph with you to the silvery 
 deep ; thus adding to your ducking, or bitter cold 
 immersion, the eternal anger of the offended fair. 
 
 Endeavouring to save yourself from a fall, when 
 the ship is rolling terrifically, find your precious 
 body quietly deposited in the orlop deck, a depth 
 of about twenty feet.
 
 MEMOIRS OF JOHN SHIPP. 221 
 
 In carrying pea-soup, find yourself floored on 
 your back, with the contents of the soup-dish over 
 your face and clothes, but with this consolation, 
 that all is not lost, having received your mouthful 
 of the boiling decoction. 
 
 When the ship is pitching, show your skill in 
 sliding along the deck, by making a desperate 
 effort from the quarter-deck to the forecastle: 
 brought up by your head coming in contact with 
 that of Mungo, the West Indian cook ; who, think- 
 ing you one of his countrymen, and up to their me- 
 thod of fighting, gives you several butts before he 
 discovers his mistake; teaching you, however, by 
 this catastrophe, that Mungo's head is much harder 
 than your own. 
 
 A dandy, in full fig for dinner, parading his be- 
 dizened figure on the quarter-deck, and cutting 
 as many capers as a cat in a tripe-shop, is invited 
 to the forecastle to see a strange sail (a hoax), and 
 the distant speck he views with his eye-glass. 
 
 Captain. Don't you see her, sir ? Look a little 
 more to the starboard-side; she is very small.
 
 222 MEMOIRS OF JOHN SHIPP. 
 
 Dandy. Upon honour, I cannot, for the life of 
 me, discover her ; and I flatter myself that my 
 
 eyes are as brilliant as any body's, d n me. 
 
 Strange ! cannot get a glimpse of her ! 
 
 Captain. You have not washed your eyes this 
 morning, sir; look, my dear fellow, yonder she 
 is, quite plain. 
 
 Dandy. Cursedly strange! cannot see her. 
 
 Captain. Luff, boy. 
 
 Boy. Ay, ay, sir. 
 
 He luffs the vessel up, when she ships a tremen- 
 dous sea, which drenches the poor dandy from 
 head to foot, and his sneezing prevents, for 
 time, his indignation against the cold blue waters. 
 At last, he gains breath enough to exclaim, "This 
 
 is what I call a confounded bore, d d bore ; 'pon 
 
 honour." For which he has the satisfaction of 
 being laughed at by the passengers, and grinned 
 at by the tars. 
 
 Giving a dandy a tarry rope to pull by, by which 
 he has the delectable pleasure of walking off with 
 a good half-pound of tar, which takes him the rest 
 of the passage to get off.
 
 MEMOIRS OF JOHN SHIPP. 223 
 
 Soaping the cuddy-ladder about half way up, 
 by which some annoying puppy has an opportunity 
 of showing his skill in gymnastics, at the expense 
 of his back and sides. 
 
 Going to roost a little muzzy, wake in the night 
 with the cramp, and find that you can only lie 
 and roar, not being able to move hand or foot, on 
 account of some kind friend's having lashed you 
 in your hammock, to prevent your falling out. 
 
 Taking the head of the table as the least crowded 
 place, by a sudden roll of the vessel find the whole 
 of the dinner lodged in your lap, with dishes, 
 plates, knives, forks, and glass, and the rear-guard 
 brought up by a score of fat passengers, who are 
 all driven towards the scene of distress. When 
 the ship rolls on the contrary side, you have the 
 pleasure of being uppermost in your turn, and 
 riding some of them back again, disencumbering 
 your clothing and person of your hot and greasy 
 cargo, to the great advantage of those then beneath 
 you.
 
 224 MEMOIRS OF JOHN SHIPP. 
 
 Finding, from the stupidity of the servant, who 
 has forgotten to lash your chair, that the first roll 
 of the ship gives you an opportunity of cutting a 
 somerset backwards. Endeavouring to save your- 
 self, unfortunately seize the sea-pie, and get the 
 contents in your palpitating bosom. 
 
 In the act of drinking a glass of port wine, the 
 ship gives a terrific roll, by which the lady on your 
 left gets the contents of your glass over her new 
 silk dress, newly purchased of Mrs. Perceval, 
 Regent Street. After this accident, the lady, 
 whom you are obliged to sit next during the whole 
 voyage, makes the long passage to the East (some 
 six months) particularly agreeable. 
 
 Walking with a lady on the quarter-deck when 
 the ship is rolling, in endeavouring to save your- 
 self, pull the lady over you. This untoward cir- 
 cumstance draws from you the most earnest apo- 
 logies, which only increase the virulence of the 
 fair spinster, and you are obliged to pocket the 
 charming epithets, " Stupid fellow," " Awkward 
 creature ;'' and part to speak no more.
 
 MEMOIRS OF JOHN SHIPP. 225 
 
 Sporting your figure on the poop of an Indiaman, 
 find your new Bicknell's hat riding on the blue 
 waters. Having no other, obliged to purchase a 
 greasy cap from one of the sailors, from which me- 
 tamorphosis you are dubbed the "pirate." 
 
 Being rather scanty of clean linen, resolve to 
 have a general wash, for which purpose you tow 
 over the major part of your little kit, when, from 
 the injudicious majiner in which you have tied the 
 knot, you have the mortification of seeing the whole 
 riding on the hoary billows one satisfaction only 
 remaining to you, that you know where they are. 
 
 In stormy weather, after having puffed and 
 blowed the galley-fire for above an hour, and at 
 length succeeded in getting your pot of coffee 
 boiled, proceed, with great caution, to convey it to 
 the table ; but, from a sudden heave of the vessel, 
 the very first step you take your now boiling coffee 
 (to which, after all your trouble, you have an un- 
 doubted right) finds its way into your loving arms, 
 rather more to the prejudice of your outward, than 
 
 L5
 
 226 MEMOIRS OF JOHN SHIPP. 
 
 to the satisfaction, as you had intended, of your 
 inward man. 
 
 Going up the rigging to look out for land, find 
 yourself tied hands and feet by the sailors, and 
 kept there till your liberality in grog is duly and 
 in form exhibited by an order on the steward for a 
 gallon. 
 
 Sleeping on your watch, find yourself suddenly 
 called up to perform some part of your duty ; 
 when, lo ! some wags have tied you hands and legs 
 to a gun. 
 
 Sleeping to leeward late in the morning, find 
 yourself swimming, the morning watch having 
 commenced washing decks. Symptoms of anger 
 would only increase the laugh at your expense. 
 
 In the ship in which I sailed to India, a young 
 midshipman was sleeping on his morning watch, on 
 the leeward side. The officer on watch ordered 
 the sailors to bring half-a-dozen buckets of water,
 
 MEMOIRS OF JOHN SHIPP. 227 
 
 and at a preconcerted signal the poor snoaring 
 middy was to get the contents. The signal was 
 given, and souse went a couple of buckets; then 
 two more. The officer sung out, " Tom, you 
 are overboard; strike away." The little fright- 
 ened fellow's hands and legs went the same as 
 they would if he had been actually swimming, and 
 it was some time before he could make up his 
 mind that he was safe on board ; more especially 
 when some of them bellowed out, "Throw him a 
 rope throw him a rope." 
 
 Showing your agility in ascending the ship's side, 
 miss your footing, by which you have a most favour- 
 able opportunity of showing your swimming powers 
 also. 
 
 Being anxious to land after a long voyage from 
 India, trust your precious body in an open boat. 
 A hurricane coming on, your little bark is driven 
 out to sea, and you are obliged to seek refuge in 
 an enemy's country. If you escape with life, you 
 are fortunate indeed; but the loss of your long- 
 collected treasures is inevitable.
 
 228 MEMOIRS OF JOHN SHIPP. 
 
 Being obliged to sit next to a gentleman who is 
 an intolerable taker of snuff, which is continually 
 blowing into your eyes. To mend this annoyance, 
 your snuff-loving neighbour gets drunk before the 
 cloth is removed from the table, and then becomes 
 so importunate for conversation, that he thrusts his 
 snuffy proboscis into your face ; or, in his vehe- 
 mence, upsets his snuff-box into your lap. 
 
 Quarrelling with the officers of the ship ; in con- 
 sequence of which, wherever you show your nose, 
 you are sure of being soused and played all man- 
 ner of tricks with by the crew, to the great amuse- 
 ment of the other passengers. 
 
 Having refused to get up for the purpose of 
 having the steerage washed, find yourself, when 
 in a comfortable slumber, cut down by the head ; 
 by which you learn that your nob is not quite so 
 hard as the deck, though, perhaps, thicker; and 
 are taught, at the same time, the necessity of con- 
 forming to the rules of the ship. 
 
 Refusing to bring up your hammock from below,
 
 MEMOIRS OF JOHN SHIPP. 229 
 
 find, when you are going to turn in at night, that 
 some scamp has emptied the tar-bucket into it, by 
 which you have the felicity of having your bedding 
 sticking to your back. No grumbling permitted. 
 
 Being monstrously beloved by the passengers, 
 from your urbanity and complacency of manners, 
 find that, as a token of their unalterable affection, 
 they bribe sailors to play you all manner of tricks ; 
 such as tripping you up by a rope ; tying your 
 legs when asleep; dragging you from one side of 
 the deck to the other ; sousing you from the main- 
 top, whenever you venture in its vicinity; putting 
 grease on your chair, when you are about to seat 
 yourself; filling your tea with salt ; your cigar with 
 gunpowder ; your grog with jalap ; your boots with 
 water ; your bed with tar ; and five hundred other 
 tricks. Therefore, as the society of a vessel is 
 necessarily small, make yourself agreeable : if not, 
 the above will be your fate. 
 
 Under the raging sun, inhaling from your port- 
 hole the little breeze that sometimes condescends
 
 MEMOIRS OF JOHN SHIPP. 
 
 to visit you, and in those pensive moments com- 
 mitting to paper the occurrences of the voyage, 
 when, all of a sudden, a squall comes on, and your 
 effusions, desk and all, find their way into the 
 briny deep, and you have the mortification of 
 seeing them descending rapidly to Neptune's 
 treasury. 
 
 During a storm, find your cot loose, which rolls 
 from side to side, to the great terror of all the 
 passengers, and to the great risk of your life : 
 cannot, dare not, move ; and, from the noise 
 and bustle on deck, your shrill notes of fear 
 pass unheeded, save by the frightened inmates be- 
 low, who hug their beds in alarm. Thus you are 
 doomed, at the mercy of the billows, to roll from 
 side to side, and from head to stern, at the expense 
 of your ribs and head. 
 
 Considering yourself a connoisseur in the manu- 
 facture of spruce-beer, make twelve dozen, and 
 invite your friends on board the ship to pay you a 
 visit, to regale themselves on this cooling beverage
 
 MEMOIRS OF JOHN SH1PP. 231 
 
 the following day. In the middle of the night, 
 however, find yourself awoke by a file-firing which 
 alarms the whole ship, and which, on examination, 
 you find to proceed from the bursting of your deli- 
 cious spruce, occasioned by the rolling of the ves- 
 sel, and the heat of the lockers in which it had 
 been deposited. 
 
 Being obliged to sit next to a person with whom 
 you have quarrelled, and are to settle your little 
 affair of honour on arriving at the first land. 
 
 Dancing down the middle with a fat Sodagah's 
 wife, who, for the last twenty years, has been 
 regaling on the delicacies of the East, and whom 
 you are literally obliged to drag down the country 
 dance. When poussetting, or swinging corners, 
 the mischievous helmsman gives the ship a luff up, 
 which brings the whole weight of the said fat 
 Sodagah's wife upon your liverless side, to the no 
 small amusement of the rest of the party, who 
 laugh most heartily at the struggling and flounder- 
 ing of yourself and fat partner, to restore your- 
 selves to a perpendicular position.
 
 232 MEMOIRS OF JOHN SHIPP. 
 
 Showing your agility before the assembled pas- 
 sengers, by ascending the rigging, find your way 
 down much quicker than you went up, by slipping 
 from the ratlines, which have been recently tarred ; 
 by which fall you are minus some few inches of 
 skin from your nose, hands, and shins, besides 
 spoiling your new suit of clothes. 
 
 As one of the pleasures of being a sound sleeper, 
 find, when you awake in the morning, that you 
 have been tied in your hammock, with your face 
 towards the deck ; in which state you are obliged 
 to hang suspended till some kind friend relieves 
 you. 
 
 Sitting, on a passage from India, next to your 
 tailor or shoemaker, to whom you owe a long bill. 
 
 Being out-general'd, so that you are obliged to 
 sit next to- a right down West-Indian Black, who 
 has but an intolerable smattering of your mother- 
 tongue, but whom, sitting next to you, you are, as 
 a matter of politeness, obliged to hand to and from 
 table, and occasionally to lead down the merry
 
 MEMOIRS OF JOHN SHIPP. 233 
 
 dance; and who sometimes solicits you with such 
 fascinating grins to accompany her in a duet, 
 that you cannot, without offence, refuse. 
 
 Sitting opposite, or next to, a prodigious fat 
 gentleman, or dame, who has a wheezing asthma. 
 
 Sitting opposite to a tawny and sun-burnt invalid, 
 who is proceeding home with all the diseases inci- 
 dent to the climate of India, and who is so quar- 
 relsome and peevish, that, in commiseration for his 
 sufferings, you condescendingly agree with him on 
 every subject, although in direct opposition to your 
 own experience and judgment. 
 
 Playing whist with an invalid of this kind, who 
 plays a card every half-hour; and, if you hurry 
 him, is very likely to throw the whole pack at your 
 head. 
 
 Making love on the poop early in the morning, 
 and planning your schemes how to elude the vigi- 
 lant eye of a parent, find, when your arrangements
 
 234 MEMOIRS OF JOHN SHIPP. 
 
 are finally settled, that your whole conversation 
 has been overheard by " pa'," from the mizen- 
 
 mast, behind which he had stolen unobserved. Miss 
 
 i 
 
 is confined to her cabin, and you are obliged to 
 sit next to the said pa' for the rest of the voyage. 
 
 Sitting between two foreigners, of whose lan- 
 guage you do not understand a syllable ; and who, 
 from their violent gestures, appear to be laying 
 deep plans for cutting your throat.
 
 235 
 
 CHAPTER X. 
 
 WE arrived in England some time in October, 
 1807. We landed at Long Reach, and proceeded 
 to Dartford, in Kent, from whence I marched my 
 invalids, or rather had them carried, to Chelsea 
 Hospital, a journey which I was three days in 
 accomplishing. On the fourth day I reached the 
 place of destination, and having made my report to 
 the commandant of Chelsea, I returned to join the 
 regiment at Dartford. Here we remained for about 
 a week or ten days, receiving the greatest kindness 
 from the gentlemen in that town and its vicinity. 
 From thence the regiment was ordered to Notting- 
 ham, and I obtained leave of absence to proceed 
 home. 
 
 My primary object in coming to England, was 
 the hope of seeing my father ; and I anxiously 
 availed myself of the opportunity which now offered
 
 236 MEMOIRS OF JOHN SHIPP. 
 
 of revisiting my native village, full of anticipation 
 of the pleasure with which I should relate my ad- 
 ventures to all who had formerly known me. The 
 coach which was to convey me to the village of my 
 birth, had not proceeded many miles, when a coin- 
 cidence happened, which, though " true as holy 
 writ," might be thought, without this assurance, 
 to bear the marks of fiction. On the coach, next to 
 me, sat a pilot from Aldborough, in Suffolk, who 
 suddenly addressing himself to me, said, " I really 
 cannot help thinking, sir, from your extraordinary 
 resemblance to a person I once knew, that you are 
 his son." The words, " once knew," turned my 
 blood -cold, and it was some minutes before I could 
 muster courage to ask the name of the person to 
 whom he referred. What was my astonishment, 
 when he at once replied, " Shipp ! " " Is he, then, 
 dead, sir ? " exclaimed I, convinced now that it 
 was my father of whom he spoke. " I regret to say 
 he is," replied the pilot; and he added, while his 
 lip quivered, and the tear of sympathy stood in his 
 eye, " You are his son John, I feel sure that 
 I cannot be mistaken now." At this moment the
 
 MEMOIRS OF JOHN SHIPP. 237 
 
 coach stopped to change horses, and I jumped off; 
 and, instead of supping with the rest of the passen- 
 gers, took a solitary stroll to hide my grief. I had 
 left India at a great sacrifice to my prospects. 
 There were all my friends, and there lay all my 
 interest. I might have made a very advantageous 
 exchange, and remained in that country ; but I 
 could not resist the temptation of coming to 
 England, from anticipations of the delight I should 
 enjoy in recounting my life to a parent who had 
 almost from my infancy been estranged from me. 
 I had now heard, in the sudden and unexpected 
 manner I have related, of that parent's death ! 
 But, not to dwell longer on this painful subject, 
 I made up my mind, that, notwithstanding what I 
 had just learnt, I would still proceed to Saxmund- 
 ham. On arriving there, I found living my father's 
 two brothers, and my mother's sister. With the 
 latter I took up my quarters, and spent a most 
 happy fortnight under her roof. To enumerate the 
 alterations which had been made, both in places 
 and persons, since I left my native village, or to 
 detail the inquiries I had to answer, and the con-
 
 238 MEMOIRS OF JOHN SHIPP. 
 
 gratulations which poured in upon me from all quar- 
 ters, would be as uninteresting to the reader as it 
 would be tedious to myself. My relations at Sax- 
 mundham are now all numbered with the dead. 
 
 I soon returned to Nottingham, and rejoined my 
 regiment. From thence I was ordered to Wake- 
 field, in Yorkshire, on the recruiting service. Here 
 nothing but gaiety prevailed ; and, as I was the only 
 officer at the place for a considerable time, I re- 
 ceived invitation upon invitation, to dinners, balls, 
 and suppers ; and, to confess the truth, I thought 
 myself no small personage, which, as I was now in 
 the Grenadier Company, was not, in its literal 
 sense, very easily to be controverted. 
 
 While I was at this place, I was called upon 
 to perform the office of second, in an affair of 
 honour between a military officer of rather dimi- 
 nutive person, and a huge fellow of a civilian. 
 The circumstances which gave rise to the quarrel 
 were as follow : 
 
 Among the fair attendants of a ball which was 
 given one evening in the town, was a very pretty 
 girl, on whose charms the tall gentleman had for
 
 MEMOIRS OF JOHN SHIPP. 239 
 
 some time looked with amorous inclination, and 
 whom, it is to be presumed, he therefore wished 
 to exclude from the attentions of all but himself. 
 The young lady herself, however, was not so ex- 
 clusive in her notions; and, accordingly, finding 
 her conversation courted, and the favour of her 
 hand solicited, by a dashing little officer in hand- 
 some uniform (and who, though a warrior of some- 
 what small dimensions, was really a dapper, good- 
 looking little fellow), she made no scruple either 
 of listening to his flattering tongue, or of accept- 
 ing his hand for the dance. This preference of 
 the man of steel so irritated his huge rival, that 
 he determined to pass some insult upon him. He 
 accordingly found a more compassionate lady as 
 his partner ; and, no sooner had the dance com- 
 menced, than he took the first opportunity which 
 presented itself of treading, with all his weight, 
 on the little officer's toes. In dancing down a 
 second time, he played him the same trick. Our 
 little hero did not think it much of a joke to 
 have the full weight of a gentleman full six feet 
 three in height, and stout in proportion, twice
 
 240 MEMOIRS OF JOHN S HIPP. 
 
 on his toes within a few minutes; but, as his tor- 
 mentor made the most ample apologies on both 
 occasions, he felt fully disposed to endure the 
 pain with as much fortitude as possible, and to 
 attribute the occurrence to accident; wheji his 
 little rustic beauty, who had more carefully watched 
 and better understood the manoeuvres of the neg- 
 lected swain, whispered in his ear, " A pointed 
 insult, sir." These words roused the blood of the 
 son of Mars in a moment; he watched the move- 
 ments of his toe-treading foe, and, just as he was 
 coming down the middle a third time, to repeat the 
 trick, he jumped upon a chair, and from thence 
 sprung on his enemy's back, and, seizing his nose, 
 he wrung it in so unmerciful a manner, as to com- 
 pel its proprietor to cry out most piteously for help. 
 The parties were at length separated by the mas- 
 ter of the ceremonies, and a challenge was of course 
 the result; the gentleman whose nose had been 
 thus scurvily treated, in the presence of almost 
 the whole town, being compelled either to fight 
 or to quit society. 
 
 Mortal combat having been appointed to take
 
 MEMOIRS OF JOHN SHIPP. 241 
 
 place the next morning, it was arranged by the 
 seconds that the principals were to be placed back 
 to back, and that from thence each party was to 
 step six paces, and then to fire together by signal. 
 
 Preliminaries being thus concerted, and the 
 fatal morning having arrived, the parties met punc- 
 tually at the appointed spot, and were duly 
 ranged with their backs to each other. At this 
 moment the contrast between the courage of the 
 two gentlemen was to the full as apparent as the 
 ludicrous disproportion in their size. When I 
 was placing them on the line drawn by me for 
 their march, my little man, who possessed true 
 " pluck," and was as cool as a cucumber, observ- 
 ing the trepidation of his opponent, whispered 
 to me, just loud enough to be overheard, " Where 
 shall I hit him, Shipp ? Shall I wing him ?" On 
 hearing this, the knees of the six-foot Yorkshire- 
 man, which were already on the trot, broke into 
 a full gallop ', and, when his second placed the 
 pistol, duly primed and loaded, into his hand, he 
 seized it by the muzzle. This mistake, as I al- 
 ways loved fair play, I rectified; and, at last, the 
 VOL. i. M
 
 242 MEMOIRS OF JOHN SHIPP. 
 
 word " march" was given. Away went long-legs, 
 getting over at least three yards of ground at each 
 stride; and, had we permitted him to proceed at 
 this rate, the one might as well have fired from 
 the top of St. Paul's, and the other from Table 
 Mountain; so the seconds saved him the trouble of 
 extending his walk any further, by measuring 
 twelve paces; and, the signal having been given 
 to fire, the little one's ball cut through the collar 
 of his affrighted opponent's coat, and the big one's 
 nearly shot his own toes off. At this crisis of the 
 affair, the gigantic rustic was scarcely so tall as 
 his little rival, and his knees and body were so in- 
 clined to take a more firm position, that we ex- 
 pected every moment he would fall flat on the 
 earth; when his second roused him by saying, 
 " Come, sir, we must have another shot." This 
 brought him fully to his senses, and he exclaimed, 
 
 throwing down his pistol, " I'll see you d d 
 
 first; he has put it through my coat already, and 
 the next time I may get it where the tailor cannot 
 mend it. No, no; I am perfectly satisfied; so I 
 wish you a good morning." And off he trudged,
 
 MEMOIRS OF JOHN SHIPP. 243 
 
 at a pretty round pace, to the great amusement 
 of the other three, as well as of some country- 
 bumpkins, who were grinning from behind an ad- 
 joining hedge, and who roared out, " Well done, 
 little un ; bravo, little robin-redbreast." By the re- 
 sult of this affair, the six-feet-three gentleman lost 
 his honour as well as his deary, and the subject was 
 the theme of many a song in Wakefield for years 
 after. 
 
 The routine of dissipation which was kept up at 
 Wakefield, was not to be sustained by me without 
 expense; and to meet these expenses I spent more 
 than my income. This extravagance with the 
 loss of fifty pounds of which I was robbed by my 
 servant, and the assistance of a designing sergeant, 
 who took advantage of my youth and inexperience 
 soon involved me in debts, to liquidate which I 
 was obliged to apply for permission to sell my com- 
 mission. This, in consideration of my services, 
 was readily granted; and, having effected a sale, 
 I paid every shilling of my debts, and with the 
 residue of the money repaired to London, where,' 
 in about six months, I found myself without a 
 
 M2
 
 244 MEMOIRS OF JOHN SHIPP. 
 
 shilling, without a home, and without a friend. 
 Thus circumstanced, my fondness of the profession 
 induced me to turn my thoughts to the army again. 
 I could see no earthly difficulty why I should not 
 rise in the same way I had before ; and accordingly 
 I enlisted at Westminster, in his Majesty's 24th 
 Dragoons, and in two or three days after went 
 with the recruiting-sergeant to the cavalry dep6t 
 at Maidstone, then under the command of Major- 
 General George Hay. I had not been there long 
 before an officer, who had served with me in cam- 
 paigns in India, arrived at the dep6t, and, imme- 
 diately recognising me, my history was made 
 known to the commanding officer, apd I was 
 promoted to the rank of sergeant. I remained 
 at the depdt about three months, at the expiration 
 of which we were ordered to India, and I embarked 
 as acting quarter-master on board the New Warren 
 Hastings, Captain Larkins, and sailed from Spit- 
 head on the 8th day of January, 1808. 
 
 We experienced a most terrific gale in the Bri- 
 tish Channel, and were at last obliged to run for 
 Torbay, where we brought up near where the East
 
 MEMOIRS OF JOHN SHIPP. 245 
 
 Indiaman, the Abergavenny, was lost. Near us 
 lay a ship of war, from which, at the imminent 
 hazard of the lives of an officer and six men, a boat 
 was sent off to our ship, the crew of which, after 
 riding in safety over the mountainous waves, de- 
 sired us, in a most authoritative tone, to throw out 
 a rope. All hands were at the leeward side in a 
 moment, when there was a general whispering 
 amongst the tars. " Shiver my timbers," said one, 
 " but that looks like a press." " Start me," said 
 another, " but so it does." Thus went round the 
 general buzz, when the man of authority, in size 
 not much larger than a quaker,* with a sword as 
 long as himself, and a huge cocked-hat, as big as 
 a gaff top-sail, which he skulled off with as much 
 grace and majesty as a grand bashaw, flew up the 
 side of the ship in an instant. He saluted the 
 quarter-deck (as is usual), then mounted on tiptoe, 
 and danced up to the captain, who was on deck, 
 and, with the authority of an Admiral of the Red, 
 demanded to see the ship's books. At this sound 
 
 * A false gun, made of wood, about two feet long.
 
 246 MEMOIRS OF JOHN SHIPP. 
 
 every sailor writhed his features and limbs into the 
 most ludicrous distortions ; some limped, others 
 stooped, and all did their utmost to appear as de- 
 crepit and unfit for service as possible. As our 
 ship was then in imminent danger of going ashore, 
 the captain remonstrated, setting forth the perilous 
 situation of his ship, the number of lives, and the 
 amount of property on board ; but, notwithstanding 
 that we were at that moment dragging our two 
 anchors, the little officer persisted in obeying the 
 orders of his commander, and walked off with six 
 of our very best seamen. By the loss of these 
 men, our ship was involved in double the danger 
 she was in before, as they were our ablest hands. 
 Whether or not this was a justifiable act, I am 
 unacquainted ; but its enforcement at such a con- 
 juncture seems sadly at variance with the principles 
 of humanity. Fortunately for us, however, the 
 storm soon abated, and the following morning, 
 ere the feathered tribe were on the wing, we again 
 stood on our way towards our destined port. Our 
 ship had suffered but little injury, and she now 
 scudded sweetly along the blue waters, her white
 
 MEMOIRS OF JOHN SHIPP. 247 
 
 sails sworn with majestic pride, and the eye of 
 
 every one on board lingering (until it was lost in 
 
 * 
 the distance) on that dear isle from which we were 
 
 so rapidly departing. After this, we had a lon 
 and tedious voyage, in which much misery was 
 experienced by all the troops on board, in conse- 
 quence of the cruel and despotic conduct of our 
 commanding officer. This gentleman is now no 
 more ; and, if it were on this account only, I should 
 refrain from mentioning his name. For this, and 
 other reasons, I shall withhold from the reader 
 all detail of conduct which I have myself long tried 
 to forget ; and content myself by stating, in justi- 
 fication of the epithets applied by me to such con- 
 duct, that the cat-o'-nine-tails was constantly at 
 work; so much so, that Captain Larkins at length 
 interfered, and protested " that he would not have 
 his quarter-deck converted into a slaughter-house, 
 nor the eyes of the ladies on board disgusted with 
 the sight of the naked back of a poor screaming 
 soldier, every time they came upon deck." 
 
 The distant low-land peeping from afar, and the 
 company of little messengers from the myrtle-grove
 
 248 MEMOIRS OF JOHN SHIPP. 
 
 at length apprised us that we were in sight of the 
 long-looked-for haven. The wind was contrary, 
 and night had begun to throw over the silvery deep 
 her sombre mantle, so that we were obliged to 
 stand out to sea, to avoid getting into the currents 
 that prevail near this land. Early in the morning it 
 was dark and hazy, but at about ten o'clock it 
 cleared up ; the sun shed her bright beams over 
 the Indian Ocean ; the little harbinger of peace 
 was again on the wing ; and we again beheld 
 the land : 
 
 Joy is upon the lonely deep, 
 , When Indian forests pour 
 
 Forth to the billow, and the breeze, 
 Their odours from the shore. 
 
 Oh ! welcome are the winds that tell 
 
 A wanderer of the deep, 
 Where far away the jasmines dwell, 
 
 And where the myrrh- trees weep! 
 Bless'd, on the sounding surge and foam, 
 Are tidings of the citron's home ! 
 
 All the passengers were now promenading the 
 quarter-deck: some viewing the beauty of the 
 scenery; others whispering sad notes of farewell
 
 MEMOIRS OF JOHN SHIPP. 249 
 
 love ; and all anxiously looking forward to the mo- 
 ment of disembarkation. 
 
 We were crowding all possible sail to get the 
 ship safe into the river by night. The wind was 
 fair, and the sky was spotless, save here and there 
 some little white flying clouds, that seemed to dance 
 about us. In an instant after the ship was thrown 
 on her beam-ends, her gunwales under water, and 
 passengers tumbling and rolling over each other. 
 The crew had to struggle hard to keep her head 
 above water. Every eye was wildly fixed on the 
 captain, and every cheek wore a deathlike paleness. 
 At last, away went her foretop-mast, top-gallant and 
 royal-mast, foreyard, main-royal-mast, main-top- 
 gallant, and main top-mast; and her mizen-mast 
 was much injured. In that short moment the cup 
 of bliss was . dashed from our lips, and we lay a 
 complete wreck upon the water; but, the masts 
 having gone, carrying every thing before them, 
 and the ship having righted, every hand was as in- 
 stantaneously set to work, and busily employed in 
 remedying the evils and clearing the wreck. It 
 was imagined at first that the ship had gone ashore ; 
 M 5
 
 250 MEMOIRS OF JOHN SHIPP. 
 
 but, on trying the pumps, it appeared that she had 
 made no water. We soon discovered that our mis- 
 fortune was occasioned by what are termed, in 
 those seas, white squalls. These come on without 
 any previous indication; and, though of short du- 
 ration, are so destructive while they last, that no 
 ship under heavy sail can stand against them. 
 These squalls are most frequent when the sky 
 is clearest. They are supposed to be contained 
 in those little white flying clouds, which, previous 
 to the storm, are seen hovering over the ship, as 
 though watching to catch the mariners off their 
 guard. 
 
 We were again obliged to stand out to sea ; but 
 we soon cleared away, and once more stood towards 
 land. The day was rainy and hazy, when, through 
 the darksome mists, we beheld a sail, and soon dis- 
 covered, to our great joy, that it was the boat of 
 a Calcutta pilot, who immediately came on board 
 our vessel. On examining the masts, we discovered 
 that the maintop-mast would not bear her sail 
 therefore, splinters and stays were immediately 
 put on. The day brightened up, but the wind blew
 
 MEMOIRS OF JOHN SHIPP. 251 
 
 strong ; so, not being able to discover landmarks, 
 we cast anchor for the night. The next morning 
 we found that we were so close to land that we 
 could see men walking on the sea-beach, and dis- 
 tinguish huts and towns in the distance. We 
 weighed anchor early, and stood towards Saugar, 
 the wind blowing a smart gale. At one time we 
 approached so near the breakers that we expected 
 to go ashore, and a few minutes after we shipped 
 a tremendous sea, the major part of which went 
 over the poop and through the great cabin-win- 
 dows, carrying trunks, boxes, beds, and every- 
 thing before it. I was on deck at the time : the 
 ship's stern seemed to be fastened, and she shook 
 much; but at last on she went. I have no hesi- 
 tation in saying that her stern struck the ground, 
 but no injury was done beyond sousing a few trunks 
 and beds. We at last reached Saugar in safety ; 
 but before we arrived there our feelings were 
 excited to a high pitch of sympathy by an inter- 
 esting scene. Captain Larkins was standing on 
 the poop, close by where I stood, with his glass 
 at his eye examining the ships which were lying
 
 252 MEMOIRS OF JOHN SHIPP. 
 
 at anchor, when he suddenly exclaimed, " I surely 
 know that ship lying yonder ; my eyes cannot 
 deceive me, it's my old ship, the Warren Hastings." 
 The pilot was requested to go within hail of her. 
 All hands were upon deck ; every eye fixed 
 on the strange ship ; and sailors and soldiers 
 manned the rigging. The captain got the large 
 speaking-trumpet, and bellowed out, " What ship, 
 a-hoy ?" Answer, " The Warren Hastings what 
 ship are you ?" Answer, " The New Warren 
 Hastings." Here the shouting of the crews of 
 both ships was quite deafening. Our captain could 
 not say a syllable more, but was so much affected 
 as to shed a tear to the memory of his old ship, 
 which he had manfully defended, but lost to some 
 French ship-of-war. She had been retaken by 
 some of our cruizers. 
 
 A short time after this we came to anchor a little 
 above Saugar ; and the following day we were 
 shipped on board sloops, and sailed up the river 
 Hoogley, and in about a week came to anchor off 
 Fort William, Calcutta, and were again placed on 
 terra firma. We remained in the fort about a
 
 MEMOIRS OF JOHN SHIPP. 253 
 
 fortnight, and while boats were in preparation for 
 our conveyance up the river Ganges, to our re- 
 spective regiments, all was gaiety and mirth. 
 
 The monsoons, or rainy season, having com- 
 menced, we sailed from Calcutta, under the com- 
 mand of Colonel Wade, on route to Cawnpore, 
 where we arrived in safety in about three months, 
 with the loss of seven or eight men drowned, and 
 of a few others, who died from having eaten too 
 freely of unripe fruit.
 
 254 
 
 CHAPTER XL 
 
 IT is my intention to devote this chapter to a 
 few practical hints to young men about to embark 
 for India, either in the civil or military service. 
 The remarks which I shall make, being the result 
 of personal observation during a service of twenty- 
 five years in that country, will not, I trust, be un- 
 acceptable, either to the young men themselves, 
 or to their parents or guardians. As the whole 
 chapter will be engrossed by this subject, which, 
 to many readers, may prove wholly uninteresting, 
 it seems fair at its outset to give them to under- 
 stand what they are to expect, in order that an 
 opportunity may be afforded them to " skip" if 
 they think proper. 
 
 First, as to the outfit for India. A gentleman 
 came to me some few months since, and said, " I 
 have been given to understand, sir, that you have
 
 MEMOIRS OF JOHN SHIPP. 255 
 
 been a considerable time in the East Indies. I 
 have an only son, now on the eve of embarking for 
 that country, as a cadet ; will you have the good- 
 ness to inform me what necessaries will be requisite 
 for his passage ? Some say it will cost two, some 
 three, others, four hundred pounds. I should wish 
 to make my boy comfortable, but if a large sum be 
 required, it will place me in difficulties." I re- 
 plied, " Sit down, sir, and I will soon ease your 
 mind on that head, by reducing the sum requisite 
 to meet such demands, to something less than one 
 
 * o 
 
 hundred pounds." The following is a copy of the 
 list I gave him, and this was on a splendid scale ; 
 the one half might, if there were an absolute neces- 
 sity for it, suffice : 
 
 
 
 . s. 
 
 d. 
 
 4 dozen calico shirts, without frills at 5s. each 
 
 12 
 
 
 
 1 dozen night-shirts 
 
 3s. each 
 
 1 16 
 
 
 
 6 calico night-caps . . 
 
 Is. each 
 
 6 
 
 (i 
 
 1 dozen sheets 
 
 4s. 6d. per pair 
 
 2 14 
 
 
 
 4 dozen hand-towels . 
 
 lOd. each 
 
 2 
 
 
 
 6 pair cotton loose sleeping-trousers 
 
 3s. each 
 
 18 
 
 
 
 1 dozen half-cravats 
 
 Is. each 
 
 12 
 
 
 
 4 black stocks 
 
 3s. each 
 
 12 
 
 
 
 20 18
 
 256 MEMOIRS OF JOHN SHIPP. 
 
 f. *. d. 
 Brought forward 20 18 
 
 1 dozen pair of nankeen pantaloons ~) , , 
 
 > 15s. per pair 800 
 
 or trousers 3 
 
 6 pair of light shoes . >. 10s. per pair ,300 
 
 2 pair of boots ... . 1. per pair 200 
 2 pair of slippers . . . 4s. per pair 080 
 2 dozen pair of stockings . . 2s. per pair 140 
 6 pair of worsted ditto . . 3s. 6d. per pair 110 
 2 dozen pair of half-stockings . Is. per pair 140 
 6 flannel shirts . 5s. each 1 10 
 2 black waistcoats . .14s. each 180 
 4 white waistcoats . . . 14s. each 2 16 
 2 dozen pocket handkerchiefs . Is. each 140 
 2 pair of cloth pantaloons . . 1. 14s. each 380 
 2 black silk jackets for hot weather 1. each 200 
 1 cloth ditto . . . . .200 
 1 good dress coat . . . . 500 
 4 pounds of wax candles . . 3s. per Ib. 0120 
 Wash-hand stand, cot, soap, &c. &c. . . 500 
 
 62 13 
 
 The whole of these things being adapted for 
 a warm climate, will form part of the young man's 
 requisite stock of clothing in India, while other 
 things would be found entirely useless on his 
 arrival, as too heavy and warm for the country. 
 The only things that must be an actual loss would 
 be the warm clothing taken out. Of these, but a
 
 MEMOIRS OF JOHN SHIPP. 257 
 
 change will be required. I have seen a cadet sell 
 in India, for ten or twenty rupees, articles that 
 must have cost his parents a hundred pounds, 
 some of which he had never put on his back. If 
 parents have money to give their sons, let it lay 
 the foundation of a capital in India, on which to 
 build a fortune. Money, on board a ship, leads 
 youth to the gambling-table, thereby sowing the 
 seeds of that destructive vice which may lead to 
 his utter ruin. The monotonous life during an 
 Indian voyage naturally turns the minds of warm- 
 spirited youth to every species of amusement. 
 Play is proposed by some artful gambler at first 
 for mere trifles from which they go on to larger 
 sums, so much so that I have known several young 
 men land in India, without a shirt to their backs, 
 having lost them at play during the voyage. 
 
 The dreadful consequences of this vice require 
 no commentary from me. Gambling, in India, is 
 not what it was twenty years ago, it's true ; but 
 even now many are its victims, who must linger 
 out the residue of their days in despair, in vauv 
 sighing for their dear native homes.
 
 258 MEMOIRS OF JOHN SHIPP. 
 
 A young man, on landing in India, should carry 
 this conviction with him, that nine-tenths of the 
 native servants are decided thieves. For this rea- 
 son, all the clothes, &c. should be marked, and the 
 vigilance of the master of the goods is absolutely 
 necessary to insure their safety. Various are the 
 tricks played off on the inexperienced by their 
 native servants ; and, if one is turned away for theft 
 or other delinquency, it is always ten to one that 
 his successor is worse. Hence, it is better to keep 
 to one set of servants, if possible, and nothing but 
 personal watchfulness will insure their honesty. 
 
 When the washermen take clothes to be washed, 
 the pockets, and sleeves, and legs of pantaloons 
 should be carefully searched, by which process 
 they will generally be delivered of something 
 valuable; such as silk stockings, silk handker- 
 chiefs, and so on. Old clothes should never be given 
 to servants, or they will assuredly, sooner or later, 
 find their way back into the trunks of their old 
 master, and be replaced by some of his better ones. 
 
 A master who keeps only just so many things 
 as are absolutely necessary for his comfort, will be
 
 MEMOIRS OF JOHN SHIPP. 259 
 
 far less likely to be robbed, than one who abounds 
 in superfluities. 
 
 The servants should be paid monthly, and each 
 should be made responsible for the things placed 
 under his charge, which things should be required 
 to be produced by them previous to their being 
 paid. Nothing contributes so much to keep a 
 servant in India honest, as the conviction that his 
 master is well acquainted with, and looks after, his 
 own property. 
 
 Many, on their first arrival in India, in their 
 eagerness to feed on the delicious fruits of that 
 country, sow the seeds of a disease that they 
 scarcely ever part with but in death dysentery. 
 Young men should recollect that their stomachs 
 are not likely to adapt themselves suddenly to the 
 strong and powerful acids contained in pine-apples, 
 mangoes, pomegranates, &c. Many young men 
 die from their too free use of these fruits ; and 
 those who escape an early tomb are scarcely ever 
 restored to perfect health. I have often seen the 
 most deplorable spectacles of men lingering out a 
 wretched existence through an excessive use of
 
 260 MEMOIRS OF JOHN SHIPP. 
 
 fruit. The pine, I am convinced, it is at all times 
 dangerous to eat much of; and I would strongly 
 recommend young persons, on their arrival in India, 
 to refrain from indulging in this tempting and de- 
 licious fruit, if they wish to avoid becoming early 
 victims to its fascinating and luxuriant taste. Man- 
 goes are less palatable, but less prejudicial to the 
 constitution. I would recommend plantain and the 
 custard-apple as the best fruits after the outward 
 voyage, and these should be, for some time, used 
 with moderation and caution. 
 
 A free use of spirituous liquors drives many 
 youths to an early tomb. If once resorted to 
 to quench thirst, in a climate like India, it will 
 soon allure the individual into habitual sottishness. 
 Therefore, look well before you take the proffered 
 cup of liberality; it contains a poisonous ingre- 
 dient, and, if taken to excess, is in reality the 
 cup of destruction. If it be requisite that you 
 should drink spirits at all, which I very much 
 doubt, let it be within the bounds of sober pru- 
 dence, and with a fair proportion of the crystal 
 stream. I have myself spent as long a time in
 
 MEMOIRS OF JOHN SHIPP. 261 
 
 India as any young man going out as cadet in the 
 company's service would be required to serve. 
 I am now in England, at the age of forty-three, 
 in the enjoyment of perfect health, with the excep- 
 tion of occasional twinges from my wounds ; and I 
 do not hesitate to attribute this to the fact of 
 having always rigorously followed that advice 
 which I now offer to others. 
 
 Though bathing, in so hot a climate as India, is 
 absolutely necessary, as well for cleanliness as for 
 the promotion of health, yet there are many sad 
 evils attending the mode of doing so. I would 
 
 o o 
 
 strongly recommend bathing from the shower- 
 bath, as the best method, and the most congenial 
 to the constitution. Immersion in any shape is 
 attended with extreme danger. The sudden tran- 
 sition from heat to cold, is too great a shock for 
 most constitutions in so warm a clime, where the 
 state of the blood is always that of fermentation. 
 I would recommend the morning as the best time 
 for taking the shower-bath, and then from well- 
 water, which is always warm. This is done by a 
 bheesty, or water-carrier, standing above you, and
 
 262 MEMOIRS OF JOHN SHIPP. 
 
 pouring it over you from his sheep or goat-skin, 
 in which he carries water for your use. After 
 bathing, when the skin has been -wiped dry, let your 
 bearer use the rubbers freely. This will set the 
 blood in circulation, and contribute greatly to health 
 and comfort. The baths in India, which are ge- 
 nerally made in the earth, are intensely cold, and 
 ought not to be used except with the greatest 
 caution. The greatest care should be taken that 
 the body is sufficiently cool before plunging in ; 
 and, afterwards, that the bather does not remain too 
 long in the water, a practice which can only serve 
 further to impair a constitution already weakened 
 by copious perspiration, I have seen people, after 
 indulging in this Indian luxury, so languid that 
 they have been obliged to be led to their couch. 
 If the evil is within reach in those nights when the 
 dry heat defies language, few could resist such a 
 temptation. On such occasions, I have found 
 rubbing with worsted mittens, which are used for 
 the purpose of creating circulation of blood, to 
 have a very good effect. I have felt as refreshed 
 from this rubbinsr as I have from bathing. Some
 
 MEMOIRS OF JOHN SHIPP. 263 
 
 desperate young men I have known apply wet 
 cloths to their bodies when the heat has been great. 
 A dreadful rheumatism is the sure consequence of 
 such rashness. 
 
 Sad and many are the diseases brought on by 
 sleeping exposed to the night air. This may, per- 
 haps, be done with impunity for years, but rest 
 assured, like all other indiscretions, it will termi- 
 nate in disease and repentance; as, however dry 
 and hot the midnight may be, heavy dews are 
 sure to come on, on the approach of morning. 
 
 It is not an unusual thing for young and inexpe- 
 rienced men to drink cold water when in a heated 
 state, and that, too, with the greatest avidity. 
 This is frequently attended with sudden death. 
 I would recommend weak brandy and water instead 
 of pure water. Many of the running streams are 
 impregnated with poisonous matter from snakes 
 and toads, and other venomous animals. I would 
 also recommend that whatever is drunk should be 
 drunk gradually, and when the body is cool and the 
 blood composed. I am of opinion, and I speak 
 from experience, that to imprudences of this kind
 
 264 . MEMOIRS OF JOHN SHIPP. 
 
 may be attributed the one-half of the diseases to 
 which young men fall early victims. I would, on no 
 account whatever, suddenly expose the body to any 
 temperature different from that to which it has 
 been accustomed. A person who wishes to live in 
 health in India, must certainly nurse the constitu- 
 tion. However people may ridicule the use of 
 the chattah, or large umbrella used in India, and 
 however curious it may appear to a young man 
 on his landing, it is, notwithstanding, absolutely 
 requisite to shield the brain from a scorching sun ; 
 more especially on first landing. If you can afford 
 a palanquin, by all means sport one, by which you 
 will be saved from many a burning fever. With 
 attention, and by studying the season, it is my opi- 
 nion that a man may live in India as long as in a 
 colder and more salubrious country; but care is 
 certainly requisite. However Johnny-Newcome- 
 like it may appear to an European eye, I would, 
 notwithstanding, strongly recommend the use of 
 the broad-brimmed solah hat. These hats are 
 made of pith, are extremely light, and effectually 
 keep the sun from the head. They are to be pur-
 
 MEMOIRS OF JOHN SHIPP. 265 
 
 chased in Calcutta, and many parts of India, for a 
 mere trifle ; but, where they cannot be procured, 
 straw hats, the crown of which ought to be well 
 stuffed, and the brim lined with green silk, will 
 make a very good substitute. 
 
 I would recommend the early adoption of flannel 
 shirts, which will be found very conducive to 
 health, by keeping the blood in motion, absorbing 
 the perspiration, and keeping the skin from that 
 disagreeable dryness which it is liable to in the hot 
 winds. 
 
 In the cold weather, I would recommend the use 
 of worsted stockings, either with shoes or boots. 
 
 O ' 
 
 From the extreme languidness to which the hot 
 season has reduced the system, th^ extremities 
 should be taken great care of, and flannel used 
 freely. I do not know any exercise better, in the 
 cold season, than long walks, or long rides on 
 horseback ; the rougher the nag the better. Smok- 
 ing, on cold mornings and evenings, may be judi- 
 cious ; but, in .the hot season, this practice drains 
 the body of the little moisture left by the climate. 
 The use of the hookah, I am persuaded, injures 
 
 VOL. I. N
 
 266 MEMOIRS OF JOHN SHIPP. 
 
 fifteen constitutions in twenty. It would be better 
 for a man to blow bagpipes all the days of his 
 life, than to be lugging and puffing at the hookah. 
 Besides this, the expense attending this Eastern 
 luxury is enormous : 
 
 Rupees. 
 
 Tobacco, per month . . ' . 8 
 
 Rose-water, do. ;>-,, ;* .,, . .> v 4 
 
 Spices, do. .... 2 
 
 Hookahbahdar, do. . ' . 8 
 
 Cooly, to carry the same, do. |<* -to '. */ 4 
 
 Repairing of apparatus, &c. ~^. . 4 
 
 month, or 360 rupees per annum. P er 
 
 . I would advise all persons proceeding to India to 
 use no other water for drinking than that which has 
 been previously boiled. This process will cleanse 
 the water of all injurious matter that may be con- 
 tained in it. Alum will be found useful in puri- 
 fying water ; but boiling is preferable to any other 
 means. 
 
 Sore eyes are prevalent in India, arising 
 from many causes. I have no hesitation in assert- 
 ing, that looking up at a vertical moon will injure 
 the sight. I speak from positive fact: one night,
 
 MEMOIRS OF JOHN SHIPP. 267 
 
 sleeping on the poop of an East Indiaman, on my 
 voyage to India, I lay on my back, gazing for a con- 
 siderable time at the bright and spotless moon. 
 Thus gazing, I fell off to sleep. On the following 
 morning, when I awoke, I felt a most unpleasant 
 itching in the eyes, and I could scarcely refrain 
 from tearing them out of my head. I immediately 
 applied to a medical gentleman on board, who 
 said it was the opthalmia; but, when I informed 
 him what I had done, he replied, " You could not 
 do a worse thing to injure the eyes ; and, if you 
 don't take care, you may lose your sight, for I see 
 a great degree of inflammation has already taken 
 place : your only plan, now, is to keep the light 
 from them." After this, it was some weeks before 
 they were again strong enough to meet any consi- 
 derable light. Weak brandy and water is frequently 
 used to strengthen the sight, and I have found 
 the most salutary effects from it. The other causes 
 are generally known : I therefore pass them over. 
 
 There is a most disagreeable visitor in India, 
 about the commencement of the fains, or during 
 the hot winds, called the prickly heat, which is 
 
 N2
 
 268 MEMOIRS OF JOHN SHIPP. 
 
 attended with the most unpleasant and annoying 
 sensations. It makes its appearance by little spots, 
 pr white bladders, on the surface of the skin, with 
 intense itching ; so much so, that few can resist 
 the temptation of aggravating these symptoms by 
 scratching themselves. This arises, I should sup- 
 pose, from the effect of the cold night-breezes on 
 a heated state of the blood. The cold breezes of 
 night are inhaled with avidity, as an ineffable 
 luxury; but these winds, being dry, absorb the 
 perspiration, which, being thus suddenly checked, 
 causes these itching bladders to rise on the surface 
 of the skin. I have seen people so bad with this 
 eruption, especially under the arms, that they 
 have been ready to tear themselves to pieces. 
 Some young and inexperienced men attempt to 
 stop the progress of this eruption ; but this should 
 never be tried, as I have heard some of the most 
 learned of the faculty affirm, that it eradicates 
 other diseases, and cleanses and purifies the blood. 
 I suffered every year, for five-and-twenty years, 
 from this supposed evil of climate, as much as any 
 one, but I never attempted to check it. Many of
 
 MEMOIRS OF JOHN SHIPP. 269 
 
 those who did, I have known fall victims to the 
 supposed remedies, or sow the seeds of a confirmed 
 rheumatism, which they could never shake off. The 
 remedies resorted to by these deluded men speak 
 for themselves as most erroneous and dangerous : 
 applications of cold cloths to the body, lying 
 naked in the cold air, being fanned, and every 
 kind of cold application that could be thought of. 
 I have known men bathe with their clothes on, and 
 thus lie down to repose. Such imprudences re- 
 quire no comment, as the results must be evident. 
 The only remedy I ever adopted, and that by me- 
 dical advice, was powdering the rawest parts. 
 Application of the nails is like infusing poison into 
 the veins, and by such applications I have seen 
 the most appalling sores, that never were got rid 
 of; therefore, I am convinced, that in these cases 
 nature should be allowed to take her course, and 
 she will be found the best doctor. 
 
 About the same time of the year, yon will be 
 visited with boils all over your body. A little boy 
 of mine once had sixty-four at one time, some of 
 them as big as a pigeon's egg, and those principally
 
 270 MEMOIRS OF JOHN SHIPP. 
 
 on his chest. Had I checked them, and driven 
 them in, his death would have been inevitable : 
 as it was, although the child was only four years of 
 age, he played about as usual, and was soon well 
 again. Another thing I would never check, that 
 is, perspiration ; that renovating attendant, flowing 
 in its natural channel, is the very key-stone to an 
 Indian constitution. 
 
 I would advise the inexperienced on no account 
 to venture bathing in the Ganges. In this river 
 there are many dangerous parts, not visible to him 
 who is a stranger to its course and currents. 
 Three instances that I was an eye-witness to, would, 
 I should hope, be a sufficient warning for men not 
 to risk their lives in so foolish a manner. I was 
 one day shooting on the borders of the Ganges, 
 near Cawnpore, when I saw a native sitting down 
 on the banks of the river, washing his hands. In 
 an instant he was seized by an alligator. I could 
 see the dreadful struggle, by the commotion in 
 the water, and the blood which for a moment disco- 
 loured it, but the man never rose again. The 
 second instance was an European soldier, bathing
 
 MEMOIRS OF JOHN SHIPP. 271 
 
 off Monghire ; and the third was a little girl ; both 
 of whom were seized by an alligator, and carried 
 off in the same manner. Besides the risk of meet- 
 ing with those fearful creatures, there are innu- 
 merable quicksands, which move in the current, 
 and, for aught you can tell, under the very spot 
 where you are bathing; and, added to these, there 
 are numberless eddies, or whirlpools, that will 
 suck you under in a moment. On these occasions, 
 it is very rare that aid can be afforded, even if 
 persons were on the spot at the time. On two 
 occasions, I myself nearly lost my life in bathing. 
 The first was in a quicksand, but I was only on the 
 verge of it ; one step further, and no power could 
 have saved me. On the other occasion, I was 
 bathing in the Ganges (it was the last time I ever 
 bathed, although many years before I returned to 
 this country) ; I was trying to swim against the 
 current, when a dead man came in contact with me. 
 In the moment of fright and consternation, I sunk. 
 In my struggle to get away from him I got the 
 cramp, and immediately went down, and but for the 
 the kind aid of some natives, I should have been 
 drowned.
 
 272 MEMOIRS OF JOHN SHIPP. 
 
 Many difficulties may be avoided, and much 
 imposition and extortion prevented, by an early 
 acquirement of the language. I recollect being 
 once called upon to interpret and explain a khan- 
 sumah's (or, more properly named, consumer's) 
 bill, and thus it ran : 
 
 
 Jfc. 
 
 a. 
 
 P- 
 
 Bread * .; 
 
 ... 1 
 
 
 
 
 
 Rootee 
 
 'teifl ' 
 
 8 
 
 G 
 
 Butter . . 
 
 ... 1 
 
 4 
 
 6 
 
 Muckin 
 
 ... 1 
 
 2 
 
 
 
 Milk 
 
 ... 
 
 8 
 
 o 
 
 Dood . 
 
 . 
 
 4 
 
 6 
 
 So it went on, charging the article first under 
 the English term, and then under a term quite unin- 
 telligible to you. Thus, for instance, the words 
 rootee, muckin, and dood, are to you inexplicable 
 terms, which your khansumah will take good care 
 he will " no Englify." Hence, you are led to 
 imagine them requisite for the house, and thus the 
 imposition ends successfully. As you grow wiser, 
 your servants grow more honest. To prevent these, 
 and numberless other annoyances, the acquirement 
 of the language is absolutely necessary for a person
 
 MEMOIRS OF JOHN SHIPP. 273 
 
 who does not wish to be robbed, and to become the 
 dupe of those artful fellows. I learnt the tongue my- 
 self in one year, so that I could converse fluently on 
 any subject. I was enabled to do this the more 
 readily, by living in a familiar and friendly inter- 
 course with the natives, making a point of entering 
 into conversation with every man, woman, or child I 
 met with, asking them the names of every thing 
 within my sight. By this plan, in two months I 
 could ask for any of the necessaries of life. Those 
 most difficult I wrote down ; and thus, without book 
 or master, I learnt to speak Hindostanee as well as 
 many, and indeed better than some, who had been 
 in the country for twenty years. If you wish to 
 learn the language, Gilchrist's book will lay a good 
 foundation, and the rest will be easy enough. On 
 no account hire a servant who can speak English. 
 In the first place, they are generally found to be 
 great rogues ; and, by their speaking English to 
 you, you deprive yourself of the best and most 
 ready method of becoming acquainted with the lan- 
 guage. I have heard some young men commit the 
 most ludicrous mistakes, and thus become the 
 
 N5
 
 274 MEMOIRS OF JOHN SHIPP. 
 
 ridicule and sport of their native servants. One 
 wiseacre, in a regiment to which I once belonged, 
 addressed his servant one day in the following 
 terras : " D n your eyes, you black rascal, sub- 
 saib buckery, hum buckery nay hy ?" Which is 
 literally this, all the gentlemen were goats, was he 
 not a goat? He intended to say that all his brother 
 officers had got goats, what was the reason he had 
 not got one. Such mistakes as these very naturally 
 draw upon a man the jeers of the natives. In the 
 Company's service, you cannot hold any staff situ- 
 ation without being well acquainted with the lan- 
 guages most in use. All civil and military affairs 
 are so connected with the Oriental languages, that 
 if you will not study and learn them, you may 
 linger out your days as a lean subaltern, and be as 
 poor as a half-pay drummer. 
 
 The next piece of advice which I shall offer, 
 is to avoid all violent sports and exercises. Among 
 other sports, that of snipe-shooting is frequently 
 attended with very bad consequences, and is, 
 in general, much better avoided. The physical 
 exertion which must necessarily be used in
 
 MEMOIRS OF JOHN SHIPF. 275 
 
 pursuit of such game, cannot fail to heat the 
 blood to a high and dangerous degree, and in 
 tliis state, under a burning sun, and while the 
 blood is in a state of fermentation, many lovers 
 of the sport will plunge into cold water after birds. 
 Such a sudden transition from extreme heat to 
 extreme cold, cannot be endured by the finest con- 
 stitutions without great danger. Ah 1 sports of this 
 nature tend, also, to encourage an inclination for 
 drink. The toils incident to these misnamed plea- 
 sures cannot be borne without drinking something 
 stronger than water ; and hence, some stimulus 
 being absolutely necessary, many are led to exceed 
 the bounds of prudence to such an extent, in some 
 cases, that I have known several instances where 
 an individual has drank, in the course of one day's 
 shooting, a whole bottle of brandy, besides copious 
 libations of beer. Thus, many a man, by his love 
 for shooting, lays the foundation of an addiction to 
 drink, to which he is sure to fall a victim ; and I 
 have seen several instances where the combined 
 effects of exposure to the sun, and of indulgence 
 in intemperance, have, in less than two years, sent
 
 276 MEMOIRS OF JOHN SHIPP. 
 
 many a promising young man to the cold grave, 
 before he had attained the age of twenty, although, 
 to all appearance, double that age. In short, I am 
 fully persuaded (and, if necessary, I could give a 
 long and faithful catalogue of cases in point), that, 
 in fifteen cases out of twenty, whenever a young 
 man in India is found labouring under a debilitated 
 and emaciated constitution, the original cause of his 
 disease is to be traced either to an addiction to 
 drink, a wanton exposure to the noon-day sun, or 
 a rash indulgence in violent sports and exercises. 
 I fear that it may safely be asserted, that more die 
 from one or the other of these causes, than from the 
 effects of the climate. 
 
 Young men should be very cautious of attending 
 auctions. The very perusal of the exaggerated 
 catalogues which are issued, is of itself a suffi- 
 cient seduction to rouse the torpid mind in the 
 monotony of the long days in India, and to induce 
 young men to attend those places of resort. Each 
 article (more especially such as are the production 
 of our native land) is set forth in all the allurement 
 of bombast, and dressed in the most attractive gar-
 
 MEMOIRS OF JOHN SHIPP. 277 
 
 ments, to induce inexperienced youth to become 
 the purchasers. The seller also protests that " the 
 article offered for their bidding is now about to be 
 knocked down for less than the one-half of its 
 original cost in England ; that he is actually throw- 
 ing the article away ; but it must be sold for what- 
 ever it brings, little or much." The auctioneer 
 again appeals to some inexperienced young griff, 
 calling him by name, " Do pray, Cornet so-and-so, 
 permit me to say another rupee for you," at the 
 same time pledging his honour that the said article 
 cost five times the sum in Old England. The 
 production is, of course, afterwards found to be a 
 true native of India. These, and five hundred 
 other stratagems to inveigle the unwary into bid- 
 ding, are resorted to ; but no sooner is the article 
 knocked down to master's name, than the honour- 
 able auctioneer tells him to his face that it is " not 
 worth a rap." The deluded purchaser of an article 
 which he has no earthly use for, finds, when too 
 late, that he could have bought the said thing in 
 any of the bazaars for one half of the price he has 
 given. Another, and more seductive, temptation to
 
 278 MEMOIRS OF JOHN SFIIPP. 
 
 men to become buyers at these sales, is the three 
 months' credit which is frequently given. I have 
 seen cadets buy three horses at one sale horses 
 that had run the gauntlet through the whole of the 
 auctions in India> and never drew an offer of five 
 rupees at one of them, till some griff becomes the 
 purchaser, at some two hundred rupees each. 
 These are sent to livery-stables as soon as they 
 are bought (if the stable-keeper will take them in), 
 at one rupee per diem ; and, if their proprietor's 
 purse is not a long one, the said rips will be 
 detained for their keep, and their master summoned 
 before a court of equity for the amount, when, if 
 not prepared with the coin, the said court (such is 
 their rigid equity) will detain his mortal person 
 until the liquidation of the debt, with sundry costs, 
 fees, &c. &c. On such occasions, if a man has no 
 friends, and less credit, he may, peradventure, be 
 lodged in gaol till the final arrangement of the affair. 
 Many of these auctioneers will force things on you, 
 and no sooner get your name on their books, than 
 they send a peremptory demand for the money, 
 which, if not immediately forthcoming, in some one
 
 MEMOIRS OF JOHN SHIPP. 279 
 
 or two days after, you will have a summons from 
 the court before alluded to, which you must at once 
 attend to, by proceeding thither, either to defend 
 the cause or pay the money. If you are a moment 
 behind the time specified, you are nonsuited, and 
 obliged to pay, or remain in custody. Natives, 
 called box-wallahs, or hawkers, will, in like manner, 
 force their goods on those unacquainted with this 
 court, as they are sure of recovering their money 
 through its agency. Merchants, both European 
 and Natives, will do the same thing, and use the 
 same mode of recovery, if you should prove re- 
 fractory. 
 
 Almost all young men, on landing, will be sur- 
 rounded by five hundred sircars, or babboos 
 (money-lenders.) These miscreants are the great- 
 est rogues unhung. They will buy all your old 
 clothes, or, more properly, steal them, and pur- 
 chase you others, for which they will charge an 
 enormous price. These articles, washed, starched, 
 and ironed for immediate use, look well to the eye, 
 but, on being again washed, will appear something 
 like the honour of the auctioneer, rather threadbare,
 
 280 MEMOIRS OF JOHN SHIPP. 
 
 and not of a texture to bear scrutiny. These 
 sircars will lend you money on interest ; but they 
 will not lend you even a hundred rupees, if they 
 are not permitted to purchase your sea kit at their 
 own price, as well as your new kit, to rig you 
 out for service in India. In these cases, they 
 always insist on having your promissory note for the 
 full amount ; and they will afterwards take especial 
 care that you do not leave Calcutta without handing 
 out either the money, or such a guarantee as shall 
 be unquestionable. To enumerate the rogueries 
 of these pests, would fill up more space, and 
 occupy more time, than I have inclination to dedi- 
 cate to them. Suffice, that they, one and all, are 
 the greatest set of rascals in India, and that's 
 saying great things. Through the munificent libe- 
 rality and the admirable arrangements of the East 
 India Company, these things have now* been in a 
 great measure done away with. On the cadet's 
 landing, there is a receiving-officer, and a mess, 
 and every thing else that is requisite is furnished 
 on the cheapest terms. The impositions of these 
 sircars, who hover around a griff in the most sub-
 
 MEMOIRS OF JOHN SHIPP. 281 
 
 servient and cringing manner, begging and entreat- 
 ing " Master's favour, custom, and patronage," are 
 thus prevented. The cadet, if in want of anything 
 that is reasonable, has only to apply to the receiving 
 officer of the cadet depdt, who will purchase the 
 article for him at the cheapest rate, deducting its 
 amount by small instalments from his pay. He 
 may be furnished with boats to proceed up the 
 river on the same terms, as also with an advance 
 of pay to meet the required expenses. 
 
 Whatever sums of money you pay, no matter 
 to whom, black, white, tawny, brown, or nan- 
 keen-coloured, always take and keep receipts, 
 or you . will have to pay your bills twice and 
 thrice over. This is a common trick with the na- 
 tives. 
 
 It is natural for young men, on first landing in 
 any country^ to wish to do as others do, and to con- 
 form, as far as possible, to the usages of those 
 with whom they are obliged to associate. This 
 desire to imitate others must be very cautiously 
 indulged in ; for I regret to say that, among the 
 luxuries of the East, sensual pleasures stand pre-
 
 282 MEMOIRS OF JOHN SHIPP. 
 
 eminent, and cannot be too severely reprobated, 
 or too carefully guarded against. Here the most 
 shameful and barefaced intrigues are carried on 
 under the very eyes of the magistracy ; and thus it 
 becomes a mere matter of lounge for a young man 
 first to resort to drinking-houses, and thence to 
 repair to scenes of profligacy, which I cannot 
 describe, where, at noon-day, he indulges his be- 
 fore uncorrupted passions, until at last he becomes 
 an habitual debauchee, and sinks into the grave 
 an early victim to sensuality, perhaps without a 
 friend to soothe his sad pillow of disease, or to 
 close his dying eyes. In a printed book intended 
 for general circulation, it is impossible for me to 
 dwell more minutely on this subject ; but I have 
 thought it my duty to point out to the unwary tra- 
 veller the gulf which lies before him, in order that 
 he may in time turn from the path which leads 
 to it. 
 
 I proceed to light my beacon on another pro- 
 minent rock, on which multitudes have already 
 been wrecked. A young man, on joining his regi- 
 ment, which happens to be stationed in some
 
 MEMOIRS OF JOHN SHIPP. 283 
 
 remote part of the country, instead of meeting 
 with that hospitality and friendly association which 
 he has a right to expect at a well-regulated mess 
 (the great basis of unanimity amongst the officers 
 of a corps), finds every officer of the regiment 
 living separate, and keeping native women. With 
 these women they spend the greater part of their 
 time, to the entire neglect of the more intellectual 
 and rational pursuits of men. With such examples 
 before his eyes ; at a solitary place, far from any 
 large station, where good society is to be met with; 
 deprived of the company of his brother officers, 
 and doomed to a life of unvaried monotony; the 
 inexperienced youth who joins the regiment is 
 but too often induced to fall in with the prevail- 
 ing folly ; and, at length, instigated by others, and 
 seduced by the amorous professions of a mercenary 
 fair (or rather black) one, he consents to keep her 
 and her numerous attendants. This connexion 
 being formed, he may, probably, ask himself this 
 question; " Who is it that I have thus selected to 
 be my companion, the sharer of my fortunes, 
 the participator of my cares, the solace of my woes.
 
 284 MEMOIRS OF JOHN SHIPP. 
 
 and the partner of my bed?" If he does not know, 
 I will tell him, in plain terms, but without the least 
 exaggeration. She is a black woman, labouring 
 under the influence of dark idolatry ; so ignorant as 
 to be wholly unfit for your companion ; so immodest 
 and lascivious as to be disgusting; jealous in her 
 disposition ; cruel in her nature ; despotic to your 
 household; extravagant in her expenditure; and 
 her sole object in connecting herself with you, is 
 the mercenary prospect of having herself, and 
 those whom she may please to call her relations, 
 kept at your expense. This, young man, is a true 
 character of the object you have selected to spend 
 your days with. 
 
 To a consciousness of the consequences of this 
 illicit and vicious connexion, a man is first awakened 
 by the inharmonious jabber of half a dozen black 
 bantlings surrounding his table, which groans under 
 huge dishes of curry and rice. When each little 
 darkling is ushered into the world, gold bangles 
 are expected for the mother, silver ones for the 
 nurses, new dresses for all the lady's relations, and 
 a grand dinner to her whole circle of acquaintance,
 
 MEMOIRS OF JOHN SHIPP. 285 
 
 at least fifty persons. When the darling little 
 creature is christened, a similar routine of ex- 
 penditure must be quietly submitted to, to which is . 
 usually added an entertainment to your brother 
 officers, on which truly interesting occasion you 
 would be accounted but a shabby fellow if you did 
 not sport sparkling champagne. When the child 
 begins to toddle, there is another day of jubilee, 
 for all which rejoicing poor " master" pays the 
 piper. Then comes the day when the little duck 
 begins to lisp the endearing names of pa' and ma'. 
 This is another gala-day; and, before all these 
 holydays have been duly observed, the probabi- 
 lity is that " master" receives an addition to 
 his already-crowded circle, by the production of 
 another dear little stranger with master's nose 
 and eyes. 
 
 Thus goes on the life of a man who has once 
 formed a connexion of the kind of which I speak, 
 till at last he awakens to reflection and remorse, 
 and distractedly asks himself " What have I been 
 doing ? What is to become of these children ? 
 Can I abandon them ? Am I not already a beggar,
 
 286 MEMOIRS OF JOHN SHIPP. 
 
 for ever estranged from my native land, and cut 
 off from all chance of again seeing my dear rela- 
 tions in England?" Alas! these reflections are too 
 late, and it remains only for the victim of his own 
 folly to consider what he has remaining which may 
 console him. Has he love ? No. Has he peace of 
 mind? No. Are the children which he is support- 
 ing his own? Very doubtful, even this. Is his 
 mode of life such as he can reconcile to his prin- 
 ciples or feelings? No. In short, he has nothing 
 but the gratification of a sensual appetite to set 
 against all the misery which must inevitably be en- 
 tailed on him by its indulgence. His moral princi- 
 ples become vitiated ; his prospects for the future 
 cannot fail to be blighted; and he has little but 
 wretchedness to look forward to. I have myself 
 known officers intimately who have formed these 
 sad connexions, and who, although they certainly 
 did not absolutely become Musselmen or Hindoos, 
 yet have been so infatuated as to lose, to all appear- 
 ance, every thought for the present, and all regard 
 for the future. Let but the iron hand of poverty 
 assail you, or sickness enter your doors, then shall
 
 MEMOIRS OF JOHN SHIPP. 287 
 
 you find that those whom you have for years fed, 
 clothed, and cherished, will be the first to turn and 
 sting you ; all will then unite to benefit themselves 
 by your misfortunes ; all your faithful lady's soi- 
 disant relations will conspire to plunder you; and 
 your charmer herself will soon take an opportunity 
 of wounding you in the tenderest point, by eloping 
 with one of her long-supported brothers or cousins, 
 leaving you in your poverty, or on the bed of sick- 
 ness, to drink the bitter draught of repentance. 
 Should any of your offspring by this heartless 
 woman be boys, they would be left behind to assist 
 in soothing your cares, as unsaleable commodities ; 
 but, for the girls, especially if they should have 
 proved handsome, they would be carried off by 
 their mother, for a purpose, the mere contempla- 
 tion of which would, one would suppose, alone 
 deter men from forming connexions so likely to 
 entail misery both on themselves and the wretched 
 offspring of their criminal indulgence. 
 
 If I were to relate instances of the misery and 
 woe which I have myself known to result from 
 these illicit connexions, I could fill a volume in
 
 288 MEMOIRS OF JOHN SIIIPP. 
 
 enumerating cases in point which have fallen under 
 my own observation ; but my aim is to avoid hurt- 
 ing the feelings of any man, and my object of cau- 
 tioning the inexperienced, will be sufficiently an- 
 swered without reflecting on those whom I have 
 known to fall victims to this seductive but criminal 
 folly. I beseech young men about to proceed to 
 the East Indies, to ponder over the picture which I 
 have drawn. Let them be assured that I have 
 not sketched it from imagination ; but that what I 
 submit to their consideration is the result of per- 
 sonal observation, and taken from undeniable facts, 
 which I have myself been an eye-witness to. If any 
 thing can be objected against it, it is, that I have 
 rather said too little than too much. 
 
 I have now given many hints, which I sincerely 
 hope may not be thrown away, to young men pro- 
 ceeding to India. I hope I shall not be thought 
 too presumptuous if I say a few words to the 
 young ladies proceeding to that land of iniquity. 
 
 If you live in India, you may suppose that you 
 must do as Indians do. I hope those days are 
 fast gliding into the shades of dark oblivion, and
 
 MEMOIRS OF JOHN SHIPP. 289 
 
 that Indian mothers have learned, from woful ex- 
 perience, that they must become English mothers, 
 if they wish to become happy parents. Young 
 ladies are but too prone, in this land of luxury and 
 idleness, to give way to that languidness which the 
 climate promotes, and leave off all their little accom- 
 plishments, playing, singing, drawing, &c., qualifica- 
 tions which tend to endear them to their husbands, 
 and render them agreeable in society. For these 
 rational amusements are substituted sleeping, 
 lounging, inactivity, &c., which, in time, bring 
 on an habitual dislike to every personal exertion, 
 and plunge the individual who thus indulges into 
 riiany of those diseases saddled upon the climate. 
 I am of opinion that you require as much exercise 
 in that country, if not more, than in a colder, to 
 rouse those faculties to action which are rendered 
 dormant by the inactivity naturally incident to so 
 warm a climate. From the enormous size of the 
 houses in India, salutary exercises can be resorted 
 to without exposure to the heat of the weather. Be 
 assured that moderate exercise will be found the 
 best and cheapest doctor. The hints I have laid 
 VOL. i. o
 
 290 MEMOIRS OF JOHN 8HIPP. 
 
 before the young men relative to health, apply, 
 equally, to both sexes. 
 
 There are not more abandoned women in the 
 universe than the young aiahs or nurses of India, 
 except that many of them do not drink. It behoves 
 the mistress of a family to keep her eye sharply on 
 the affairs of her household, or she will soon have 
 to regret the loss of many of her most valuable 
 articles, for they never steal anything of petty 
 Value. The penalty, if detected, is a short impri- 
 sonment, during which the delinquents receive 
 more money for their support than is equivalent 
 to keep them. Therefore, let the old adage be 
 your motto, " Safe bind, safe find." If you are 
 careful, they must, by compulsion, be honest : if 
 you neglect your own affairs, it is, of course, an 
 inducement for them to plunder, and you, by such 
 neglect, become accessory to your own ruin. I 
 have known young ladies stripped of their whole 
 sea-stock before they had been in the country 
 three months, by merely entrusting their keys to a 
 servant. The manners of many of the aiahs are 
 fascinating, and young ladies are apt to exclaim,
 
 MEMOIRS OF JOHN SHIPP. 291 
 
 " What a dear creature that aiah is ! what a kind 
 woman !" Be assured, these attentions and little 
 endearments are put on to impress you with a 
 confidence in their love and honesty, and when 
 they think this confidence is fully inspired, and 
 that your suspicions are lulled into repose, they 
 immediately commence their purloinings. This 
 they will do by degrees, first taking things that 
 you do not immediately require for daily use. 
 Keep your servants in their proper places; be 
 mistress of your own household affairs ; you will 
 then not have the mortification of being robbed, 
 and your domestics will be good and honest, not 
 by chance, but by necessity. Young ladies are 
 very apt, when they have learned a little of the 
 language, to get their female servants to tell them 
 tales of the East, which being a tissue of love-sick 
 stories, founded on the basis of romance and false 
 sentiment, can only serve to corrupt the morals, 
 and to encourage the servants to venture upon 
 such liberties as must end in a disgustmg fami- 
 liarity. Ladies ought to be very particular in the 
 selection of female servants, for on them depends 
 o2
 
 292 MEMOIRS OF JOHN SHIPP. 
 
 tke peace of all their domestic servants. If they 
 are bad, there will be no end of quarrelling and 
 fighHng amongst them. If possible, I never would 
 take a servant without a personal reference. Writ- 
 ten ones they can procure anywhere by giving 
 a Native writer a few pice. It is frequently 
 thought a great recommendation that servants 
 should have it in their power to produce a great 
 number of written characters ; in my humble opi- 
 nion, there cannot be a greater proof of a bad 
 servant. I would recommend ladies to be parti- 
 cularly careful in examining the persons of their 
 female servants. That dreadful disease, the itch, 
 is most common; and few of these women, from 
 their slothful and dirty habits, are free from scor- 
 butic affections. 
 
 I will now presume to say a word to Indian 
 mothers, and I trust I shall not offend in so doing. 
 
 Every woman is proud of becoming a mother, 
 both in the most splendid palace, and the humblest 
 cot ; but how shall I designate that mother, who can, 
 the moment her offspring blesses her embrace, 
 thrust it from her as if some monster had been
 
 MEMOIRS OF JOHN SHIPP. 293 
 
 born, into the lap of a harlot, to be fostered at the 
 bosom of impurity, and encircled by the arms of 
 a wanton, contaminated, as is frequently the 'case, 
 with some infectious and dire disease ? Why this 
 estrangement from your babe ? Why this unna- 
 tural severing of the dearest ties of nature ? Mo- 
 thers, the only answer to these questions is, that 
 you part from your sweet babe rather than any 
 trouble which it may cause, should add one wrinkle 
 to your appearance, or steal one blossom from your 
 cheek. This is, indeed, a perversion of nature 
 that appals the heart of sensibility. The babe is 
 confided to a Native, whose very first step proves 
 her unnatural conduct ; she tears from her bosom 
 the babe of her own body, and, for mercenary motives, 
 gives nourishment unto yours. What can, in rea- 
 son, be expected from such women ? If the child 
 does not fall in infancy, thus it is brought up: k 
 is nursed, dressed, and washed, by its Native nurse, 
 in the nursery, where some mothers condescend to 
 visit it, if at leisure, once a day ; but this nursery 
 must be so remotely situated that the crying of the 
 poor babe shall not offend the sensitive ears of its
 
 294 MEMOIRS OF JOHN SHIPP. 
 
 parents. Here, subject t<& all the ill treatment and 
 ill humour of an inhuman and ignorant woman, the 
 child is neglected, and, too frequently, almost for- 
 gotten, by the authors of its being. Should this 
 babe, from illness or otherwise, be irritable, or 
 cry, there is an infallible remedy to stop its 
 cries opium which these wretches will admi- 
 nister in large quantities. Within my own know- 
 ledge two babes have been destroyed by this 
 drug. One of them was in the regiment I was 
 in, and in its little stomach, after death, was 
 found more than the eighth part of an ounce. The 
 nurse merely urged, in her own vindication, that 
 the child was so cross she could not pacify it. 
 These aiahs use this pernicious drug freely them- 
 selves. The other case occurred in Calcutta : the 
 parents had gone to a ball, and during the evening, 
 despatched a servant to see if the child was quiet ; 
 he returned, and said it was asleep. This satis- 
 fied them, and the merry dance went on. On their 
 return home the babe was still asleep, and they 
 went to repose. On the following morning the 
 child was found dead, and the opium found in it.
 
 MEMOIRS OF JOHN SHIPP. 295 
 
 The use of this drug, In a slighter degree, is, I 
 am convinced, the cause of many a sickly child in 
 India. 
 
 The two cases which I have related of children 
 dying from the effects of opium administered by 
 their hired nurses, to stop their cries, or, in other 
 words, to save themselves trouble, are instances 
 which fell under my own observation. Hundreds 
 of others might be related from indubitable autho- 
 rity ; and I could dwell, longer than would be 
 agreeable to me, on innumerable cases of infants 
 being destroyed, or rendered sickly, by the use 
 of this deleterious drug ; or, which is little better, 
 being infected with some vile disease, communi- 
 cated by their hireling mothers, and not discovered 
 until the contamination has been so confirmed in 
 the system as to endanger the child's health for 
 life. 
 
 If, with my unlettered judgment, and in the 
 warmth of my feelings against this unnatural 
 practice, and against those Englishwomen who 
 become mothers in India and encourage it, the 
 above remarks should appear too severe, let those
 
 296 MEMOIRS OF JOHN SHIPP. 
 
 mothers take the hints which I have thrown out 
 to themselves, and, having dressed them up in a 
 better clothing than it is in my power to give them, 
 let them ask themselves if there is anything untrue 
 or unreasonable in what I have asserted. If a 
 mother can reconcile the practice, which I repro- 
 bate, to her conscience, I should be glad to hear 
 on what ground ; but if not, and she still continue 
 to cast her child from her to the care of a stranger, 
 simply because the nursing her own offspring might 
 rob her of some portion of her charms, or of her 
 leisure ; if she must still look young and fasci- 
 nating at the expense of her poor baby ; and if, 
 by such neglect, her infant perish, let it be her 
 reflection how far she may fairly be considered to 
 have contributed to its death, and in what terms 
 she will best justify herself at the judgment-seat 
 of God. 
 
 END OF VOL. I.
 
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