THE BEGINNING OF THE SEPOY MUTINY.

Waikato Times, Volume XXII, Issue 1828, 25 March 1884, Page 4

THE BEGINNING OF THE SEPOY MUTINY.

Iv the early days of 1857 it chanced that a uatixe of low caste, or more piobably of no caste whatever, who was employed as a woikman m the arsenal, asked a Bi.ihinin soldier of the 2nd Gicnadiers — one of fie liighest caste among the Hindoo--, whose leligion admits of no pioselytcs — to pcimit him to take a diaiiglit of water out of his lotah, a s>mall vessel of biass, used by them for drink ing. The haughty Biahmin soldier refused, on the plea that his lotah would be lvndavd useless and unclean by the touch of a low-caste pariah. To-day yon are veiy particular about yoi r precious caste, sneered the woikmen, ' but you, don't mind biting caitridges that are made up with the iat of unclean animals! ' What do you mean ? asked the Brahmin, mshameaiid terror, ' by this dreadful accusation. Then the wily workman in the arsenal told him that the cartridges issued fiom the stores for the new Enfield rifles, just served out to the company's troops, weie made up and greased with the tat of bullocks -and, still worse, with that of pigs ! To the Brahmin, whose simple diet must consist of milk, rice, and vegetables, abstaining from the tasto and touch of everything that has had life, tlm sounded like disgrace in this woild, and death in that to come ! lie rushed fiom room to room among his comrades to tell the tale lie had heaid from one who could not fail to be well-informed upon the subject, and the dangerous stoiy spreid with marvellous lapidity, and the credulous sepoys, both Mahommcdan and Hindoo, believed that acoveit attempt was being made by the Feiringhee , to undermine their leligiou's lespectability. However aboard the idea of such conversation might seem, they were convinced ot it. It only seemed bufficient for their complete conversation to Christianity that they had been lured into tasting or touching aught that appertained to an unclean animal. In the days of Aurungzcbe, had not thousands of Hindoos been at the point of the sword conveited to Islam, by forcible circumcision, and having flesh thrust into their mouths ? The descendants of these still occupy s j veial villages near Delhi, Hindoos in .ill, save the name and the outwa-id form. Stiange things have been done in India, and what was done once might happen again. The mischiefniakcis, a class which exist m eveiy iegiment, had now a solid and a ternble gnevanceto insist upon, and the fable of the caitiidgcs — though they might only be gl.i/ed, and not greased -was seivedup in o\eiy cantonment with n bundled exciting embellishments; and the lehiilt w.is a ietusalon the put of the M)th Matni 1 Iniantiy to make hpp of the eaitiidges issued to them.— From Biitish Battles on Laud and °ca.

At llie coinn.encementof the last sporting season t!«e following infoi ination was exhibited fit Loid Cam dun's seat, the Huinutage, nevi Sevenoaks :— " This is to ghe notice that Lord Camdeii docs not mean to shoot himself or any of his tenants till the 14th of September." " Sc\Li'A.\," wiiting in the " Otago Daily Time->, ' says :—": — " On tinning o\er the leaves of Austin Bieieton's edition of the " Life of Henry In ing,"' I came upon the following passage :— ' In IS3G, being then between eighteen and nineteen yeaisof age, living felt that the time had come when he should enter upon the pi actieal cxci cisc of his calling. Accordingly he bade faiewell to his London and commercial life, and by means of Mr Hoslun's. taliamanic letter he at once procured an engagement from Mr E. D. D,n is, the old theitiical manner, who was just entering upon the management of the newly built Lyceum Theatre, Sundeiland.' I need hardly toll you who that Mr Jfoskms was; his name is known all o\ er the Australian Colonies as a good and steiluiL' actor. '

Intj.ki stiso C'wk DihCoviniY in NouTir WAijts — An luteiesting cave disco\eiy in Noitl) Wales has been made by Dr Hicks, at the back of Ffynnon Benno, Flintshne Hie cuve is a water woim one in the lime stone lock, and after a geneial inspection of the interior Dr Hicks diseoseied a. \iigin floor of stilagmitt 1 , -winch was disclosed after the remo\;il of a few inches of the surface deb> is. Beii'vith this flooiing several P'eces of bone were found, some of which weie of large sue, and are supposed to have belonged to the mammoth rhinoceros. One of these pieces was embedded in the flooiing of stalagmite. Flirt hpr investigations disclosed another floor of stalagmite some distance below the first one, and testing upon the giavel which had di ifted and covered the bottom of the cave. The cave is said to be similar to the celcbiated Cefn Bone Ca\ es.

Thk TTomi; Fvkm. — Farm work jf special importance compnscs in the very fiist place the sa\ingof every scrap of the summer production, and this should be done completely, the neks being thatched as soon as possible and barns and granaiies being made secure against weather and rats and all other destioyers. There is now plenty of work for the horses, for as fast as they get their caiting done the ploughshare will be leady for them, and they will have a large part to pei form in preparing for the sowing of rye, winter vetches, trifoliuin, Italian rye-giass and wheat. The maintenance of milch cowt. in good condition at this season is an imperative necessity, and the food they aie able to obtain fiom the pastures should, if necessary, be supplemented by cut fodder, such as clover, taies, and cabbages. In addition they ought to have a little cake or hay, and they may also have a small quantity of tin nips; but the feeding of cows with these loots icquiics caie and watchfulness, foi if the -supply is too libeial a disagreeable flavour will be impai led to the milk, cream and bulter. As the weather becomes cold cows should be kept under cover at night, and cab es must be well looked after, ,u\<l unneces sary exposure to either cold or damp be caiefully avoided. — Gardener's Magazine.

A Calkndak ok Odours. — The late John Stuait Mill wiote expressly for his f nend C.uoline Fox, whose interesting " Journal" was published some two years since, " A Calendar of Odours," being an imitation of the vai ions Calendars of Flora by Linnaeus and otheis. Here it is :—: — " The brilliant colouring of Nature is prolonged from March till October ; but the fragrance of her breath is spent before the summer is half ended. Fiom March to July an unintenupted succession of sweet odours fills the air by day and still more by night, but gentler perfumes of autumn, like many of the earlier ones, here for that leason omitted, must be sought ere they can be found. The Calenddi of Odotus, therefore, begins with the lam el and ends with the lime. March. — Common laurel. Apiil. — Violets, fuize, wall-flower, common broad-leaved willow, apple blossom. May. — Lilac, night-flowering stock and rockets, laburnum, hawthorn, seringa, sweet-briar. June. — Mignonette bean-fields, the whole tribe of summer roses, hay, Portugal laurel, various species of pinks. July. — Common acacia, meadow-sweet, honeysuckle, sweet-gale or double myrtle, Spanish broom, lime. In latest autumn, one stray odour, forgotten by its companions, follows at a modest distance — the creeping clematis which adorns cottage walls ; but the tin ead of continuity being broken, this solitary straggler is not included in the Calendar of Odours."

Rats axd Mice.— lf you wish to destroy them get a. packet of Hh l's Magic Vkhmin' Kili I'R in packets, 6d, !)d, and Is, to be obtained 'of all storekeepers, or from T. B. Hill by enclosing' an extia stamp. ~

One Shilling.— Francis J. Shortts' Popular Art Union. — Ten first-class Oil taint- 1 ings by celebrated artist*. 5000 tickets at Is. The prizes are magnificent and costly. Country subscribers sending stamps or otherwise will have tickets by return post. Enclose stam"»<V envelope for reply.— Fkancis J. Shortt, J4o,i Quean-streeti Auckland,.— fADYT.}