Sir Henry Havelock was marching
from Allahabad to the relief of the garrison, and when he was within two
days' march Nana went out to meet him and give battle to him. He was
defeated and driven back to Cawnpore."
"Smarting under this defeat, and stimulated to revenge for it, Nana at once
ordered the massacre of the helpless prisoners on his return. This order
was executed with all the atrocity incident to the character of the
savages, and the bodies of the victims were thrown into a well near their
prison. Now, if you please, we will drive to the memorials of this dreadful
butchery."
A memorial church now indicates the site of General Wheeler's
intrenchments, which the party visited first. The scene of the massacre is
now a memorial garden, in charge of an old soldier, who was one of the four
who escaped. The place of the well into which the bodies of the women and
children were thrown is marked by a beautiful marble statue of an angel
standing by a lofty cross. It is surrounded by a Gothic fence, with lofty
towers in the same style. The party looked upon these mementoes of the
terrible events with mournful interest, and had hardly recovered their
usual cheerfulness when they reached the hotel. The guides were invited to
dine with them, and the evening was more cheerful than the afternoon had
been.
Part of the forenoon of the next day was given to a ride along the Ganges,
which was crowded with boats of all kinds, from the boat with a cabin
covered with a thatched roof to steamboats of considerable size.
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