scene of the tremendous fighting on the previous advance. The Begum's
palace, in front of Bank House, was then attacked, and after very heavy
fighting, carried. Here Major Hodgson, the captor of the king of Delhi,
was mortally wounded. General Outram's force had by this time taken up a
position on the other side of the river, and this enabled him to take the
enemy's defenses in flank, and so greatly to assist the advancing party.

Day by day the troops fought their way forward; and on the 14th the
Imaumbarra, a splendid palace of the king of Oude, adjoining the
Kaiserbagh, was breached and carried. The panic-stricken defenders fled
through the court and garden into the Kaiserbagh, followed hotly by the
Sikhs, Ghoorkas, and Highlanders. Such was the terror which their
appearance excited that a panic seized also the defenders of the
Kaiserbagh, and these too fled, deserting the fortifications raised with
so much care, and the British poured into the palace. For a few minutes a
sharp conflict took place in every room, and then, the Sepoys being
annihilated, the victors fell upon the spoil. From top to bottom the
Kaiserbagh was crowded with valuable articles, collected from all parts of
the world. English furniture, French clocks and looking-glasses, Chinese
porcelain, gorgeous draperies, golden thrones studded with jewels, costly
weapons inlaid with gold, enormous quantities of jewelry--in fact, wealth
of all kinds to an almost fabulous value. The wildest scene of confusion
ensued. According to the rule in these matters, being taken by storm, the
place was lawful plunder. For large things the soldiers did not care, and
set to to smash and destroy all that could not be carried away. Some put
on the turbans studded with jewels; others hung necklaces of enormous
value round their necks, or covered their arms with bracelets. None knew
the value of the costly gems they had become possessed of; and few indeed
of the officers could discriminate between the jewels of immense value and
those which were mere worthless imitations.