Page:The Indian Mutiny of 1857.djvu/308



the close of the ninth chapter we left General Barnard, and the British force under his orders, taking possession, on the 8th of June, of the ridge, whence he was to direct his operations against the rebellious city. He was joined, as I have also pointed out, the day following by the splendid corps of Guides. The experience he had had of the temper of the garrison had been but short, yet it had been sufficient to show him how futile were the anticipations of Lord Canning and Sir John Lawrence that the city would surrender without a struggle.

I propose, before describing the operations of the siege, to set before the reader a bird's-eye view of the relative positions of the combatants.

The city of Dehlí lies on a plain on the right bank of the river Jamnah, and is surrounded on three sides by a lofty stone wall, five and a half miles long. The fourth side, nearly two miles in length, runs parallel to and is covered by the river. On this face, the eastern, it is well protected. To the north-east it was defended by the fort of Salímgarh, the circuit of the high and massive walls of which covered three-quarters of a mile. In this were two gates, called respectively the Calcutta and the North gate. Adjoining the Salímgarh, to the south, was the Citadel or King's palace, built by Sháh Jahán, having walls of red sandstone, very high, and with a circumference