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"These are thy glorious works, Parent of
good;
Almighty, thine this universal frame.
Thus wondrous fair; Thyself how wond'-

rous then!
Unspeakable! who sitt'st above these
heav'ns,

To us invisible, or dimly seen..
In these thy lowest works; yet these de-
clare

Thy goodness beyond thought, and power
divine."

BLACK HOLE OF CALCUTTA.

The following particulars of the horrible imprisonment of the English in the Black Hole, after the capture of Calcutta by storm, in June, 1756, are from Orne's excellent "History of the Military Transactions of the British Nation in Indostan."

proached with so thick a smoke on either hand, that the prisoners imagined their enemies had caused this conflagration, in order to suffocate them between the two fires. On each side of the eastern gate of the fort extended a range of chambers adjoining to the curtain; and before the chambers a varanda, or open gallery; it was of arched masonry, and intended to shelter the soldiers from the sun and rain, but being low, almost totally obstructed the chambers behind from the light and air; and whilst some of the guard were looking in other parts of the factory for proper places to confine the prisoners during the night, the rest ordered them to assemble in ranks under the varanda, on the right hand of the gateway; where they remained for some time with so little suspicion of their impending fate, that they laughed among themselves at the seeming oddity of this disposition, and amused themselves with conjecturing what they should next be ordered to do. About

"At five the Nabob entered the fort accompanied by his General, Meer Jaffier, and most of the principal officers of his army; he immediately ordered Ormichund and Hissendas, to be brought before him, and receivthem with civility; and having bid some officers to go and take posses-eight o'clock, those who had been sent

sion of the Company's treasury, he proceeded to the principal apartment of the Factory, where he sat in state, and received the compliments of his court and attendants, in magnificent expressions of his prowess and good fortune. Soon after, he sent for Mr. Holwell, to whom he expressed much resentment at the presumption of the English in daring to defend the fort, and much dissatisfaction at the small-officer ordered his men to cut down

to examine the rooms, reported that they had found none fit for that purpose. On which the principal officers commanded the prisoners to go into one of the rooms which stood behind

ness of the sun found in the treasury, which did not exceed fifty thousand rupees. Mr. Holwell had two other conferences with him on this subject before seven o'clock, when the Nabob dismissed him, with repeated assurances, on the word of a soldier, that he should suffer no harm.

Mr. Holwell, returning to his unfortunate companions, found them assembled, and surrounded by a strong guard. Several buildings on the north and south sides of the fort were already in flames, which ap

them along the varanda. It was the common dungeon of the garrison, who used to call it the Black Hole. Many of the prisoners, knowing the place, began to expostulate; upon which the

those who hesitated; which the prisoners obeyed. But before all were within, the room was so thronged, that the last entered with difficulty. The guard immediately closed and locked the door, confining one hundred and forty-six persons in a room not twenty feet square, with only two small windows, and these obstructed by the varanda. It was the hottest season of the year, and the night uncommonly sultry, even at this season. The excessive pressure of their bodies against one another, and the intolera

ble heat which prevailed as soon as the door was shut, convinced the prisoners that it was impossible to live through the night in this horrible confinement, and violent attempts were immediately made to force the door, but without effect, for it opened inward; on which many began to give loose to rage.

as before, redoubled their rage: but the thirst increasing, nothing but "water! water!" became soon after the general cry. The good Jemaudtar immediately ordered some skins of water to be brought to the windows; but instead of relief, his benevolence became a more dreadful cause of destruction; for the sight of the water

" Mr. Holwell, who had placed him-threw every one into such excessive

self at one of the windows, exhorted them to remain composed, both in body and mind, as the only means of surviving the night, and his remonstrances produced a short interval of quiet: during which time he applied to an old Jemaudtar, who bore some marks of humanity in his countenance, promising to give him a thousand rupees in the morning, if he would separate the prisoners into two chambers. The old man went to try, but returning in a few minutes, said it was impossible; when Mr. Holwell offered him a larger sum; on which he retired once more, and returned with the fatal sentence, that no relief could be expected because the Nabob was asleep, and no one dared to awake him.

"In the mean time every minute had increased their sufferings. The

first effect of their confinement was

a profuse and continual sweat, which soon produced intolerable thirst, succeeded by excruciating pains in the breast, with difficulty of breathing little short of suffocation. Various

means were tried to obtain more room and air. Every one stripped off his clothes; every hat was put in motion; and these methods affording no relief, it was proposed that they should

agitations and ravings, that, unable to resist this violent impulse of nature, none could wait to be regularly served, but each, with the utmost ferocity, battled against those who were likely to get it before him: and, in these conflicts, many were either pressed to death by the efforts of others, or suffocated by their own. This scene, instead of producing compassion in the guard without, only excited their mirth; and they held up lights to the bars, in order to have the diabolical satisfaction of viewing the deplorable contentions of the sufferers within; who finding it impossible to get any water while it was thus furiously disputed, at length suffered those who were nearest to the windows to convey it in their hats to those behind them. It proved no relief, either to their thirst or other sufferings, for the fever increased every moment with the increasing depravity of the air in the dungeon, which had been so often respired, and was saturated with the hot and deleterious effluvia of putrifying bodies, of which the stench was

little less than mortal.

Before midnight, all who were alive, and had not partaken of the air at the windows, were either in a lethargic stupefaction, or raving with delirium. Every kind of invective and abuse was uttered, in hopes of provoking the guard to put an end to their mise ries, by firing into the dungeon; and, whilst some were blaspheming their Creator, with the frantic execrations of torment and despair, Heaven was invoked by others with wild and incoherent prayers; until the weaker, ex

all sit down on their hams at the same time; and after remaining a little while in this posture, rise all together. This fatal expedient was thrice repeated before they had been confined an hour; and every time, several, unable to raise themselves again, fell, and were trampled to death by their companions. Attempts were again Inade to force the door, which, failinghausted by these agitations, at length

laid down quietly and expired on the bodies of their dead or agonizing friends. Those who still survived in the inward part of the dungeon, find-ty-six who went in, no more than

lay against the door, befor they could clear a passage to go out one at a time; when, of one hundred and for

twenty-three came out alive, the most ghastly forms that were ever seen alive. The Nabob's troops beheld them, and the havock of death from which they had escaped, with indifference; but did not prevent them from

ing that the water had afforded them no relief, made efforts to obtain air, by endeavouring to scramble over the heads of those who stood between them and the windows; where the utmost strength of every one was employed two hours, either in maintain-removing at a distance, and were iming his own ground, or in endeavour-mediately obliged, by the intolerable ing to get that of which others were in stench, to clear the dungeon, whilst possession. All regards of compas-others dug a ditch, on the outside of sion or affection were lost, and no one the fort, into which all the dead bodies would recede or give way for the re- were promiscuously thrown. lief of another. Faintness, sometimes gave short pauses of quiet, but the first motion of any one renewed the struggle through all, under which some one sunk to rise no more. At two o'clock, no more than fifty remained alive; but even this number were too many to partake of the saving air, the contest for which, and life, continued until the morn, long implored, began to break; and, with the hope of relief, gave the few survivers a view of the dead. The survivers then at the win- | Court and Walcot, who were likewise

Mr. Holwell, unable to stand, was soon after carried to the Nabob, who was so far from showing any compassion for his condition, or remorse for the death of the other prisoners, that he only talked of the treasures which the English had buried; and threatening him with farther injuries, if he persisted in concealing them, ordered him to be kept a prisoner. The officers, to whose charge he was delivered, put him into fetters, together with Messrs.

dow, finding that their entreaties could not prevail on the guard to open the door, it occurred to Mr. Cooke, the secretary of the council, that Mr. Holwell, if alive, might have more influence to obtain their relief; and two of the company, undertaking the search, discovered him, having still some signs of life; but when they | brought him towards the window, every one refused to quit his place, excepting captain Mills, who, with rare generosity, offered to resign his; on which the rest likewise agreed to make room. He had scarcely begun to recover his senses, before an officer, sent by the Nabob, came and in-southern part of the Company's

dead

quired if the English chief survived; and soon after the same man returned, with an order to open the prison. The were so thronged, and the survivers had so little strength remaining, that they were employed near half an hour in removing the bodies which

supposed to know something of the treasures; the rest of the survivers, amongst whom were Messrs. Cook and Mills, were told they might go where they pleased; but an English woman, the only one of her sex amongst the prisoners, was reserved for the seraglio of the general, Meer Jaffier. The dread of remaining any longer within the reach of such barbarians, determined the most of them to remove immediately, as far as their strength enabled them, from the fort, and most tended towards the vessels, which were still in sight; but when they reached Govindpore, in the bounds, they were informed that guards were stationed to prevent persons from passing to the vessels; on which most of them took shelter in deserted huts, where some of the natives, who had served the English in different employments, came and ministered to their immediate wants. Two || surrender themselves prisoners of war, or three, however ventured, and got to the vessels before sunset. Their appearance, and the dreadful tale they had to tell, were the severest of reproaches to those on board, who, intent only on their own preservation, had made no efforts to facilitate the escape of the rest of the garrison. Never, perhaps, was such an opportunity of performing an heroic action so ignominiously neglected; for a single sloop, with fifteen brave men on board, might, in spite of all the efforts of the enemy, have come up, and, anchoring under the fort, have carried away all who suffered in the dungeon.

ARTHUR FITZROY, OR THE YOUNG
BACKWOODSMAN.

(Concluded from page 194.)

The tragical events of the 22d of

was received; that some time previous to the capitulation, a musket ball struck Fitzroy in the left ancle, from which the blood flowed profusely, but he refused to leave his post, and tying his handkerchief closely around the wounded part, continued fighting most valiantly until the cessation of arms. When the prisoners were marched for Malden, Fitzroy, although faint with the loss of blood, justly fearing the incensed savages, resolved upon accompanying his companions, and had proceeded with their assistance about three miles, when the pain arising from his wound became so excessive that he was compelled to stop, and seating himself on a log by the road side, his fellow prisoners left him, apparently waiting his fate with manly composure. According to his own statement since his return, he had re

January, which encrimsoned the banksmained in this situation but half an

of the river Raisin, with the blood of Kentucky's noblest sons, were announced to Emeline the morning after the receipt of a letter, which Fitzroy had written her from Fort Defiance. With a glow of fervent patriotism, he had depicted his bright hope of that halo of glory, which he fancied would be his, should he gallantly fall in defence of his country, and with the most touching pathos did he dwell upon the still brighter hope of an honourable return to the home of his parents, and the bosom of his beloved

Emeline.

I need not attempt to paint her emotions, when the awful intelligence was communicated; for a month she suffered every pang which the most terrible suspense could inflict, until one of the companions of her unfortunate friend arrived in the neighbourhood,

from whom she learned that the com

pany to which he and Fitzroy belong

ed, was one of those under the command of the gallant Madison, that maintained its position with determined intrepidity, until the order of Winchester, the commanding general, to

hour when he was taken prisoner by a Pottawatamie chief, called the Little Owl, to whom he offered a considerable reward, provided he should be conducted to Malden. The chief, however, pleased with his fine appearance, immediately resolved upon retaining him, refused the proffered reward, and marched him back to the battle ground, where they remained until evening, when they set off in company with several Indians, and having proceeded a couple of miles to the north, encamped for the night; the chief perceiving the pain and exhaustion of his prisoner, procured him some food, and made an application of roots to his wound, which gave immediate relief. On the following morning they renewed their march, and after a few days travelling, arrived on the shore of Lake Michigan, where they remained several weeks, suffering every privation which the

rigours of a northern winter and the scarcity of food could inflict. Fitzroy's wound in the mean time was nearly cured by the Indian specifics that were administered: but another

misfortune awaited: Little Owl, his || time gained the opposite shore. Fitz

master, who had treated him with every degree of kindness, was taken sick and died; his prisoner was claimed by two Indians of the same tribe, and by them sold to a Kickapoo chief, who happened to be in company, and from whom he was destined to receive every species of cruelty that savage barbarity could inflict; he was immediately loaded with plunder, and marched to the head waters of Fox River, a stream that empties into Winebago Lake at the head of Green Bay, in the neighbourhood of which he remained, constantly guarded, until the spring of 1814, when an unsuccessful attempt to escape drew down upon him the fiend-like ire of his master, and after a solemn debate among the chiefs of his tribe, it was resolved that he should be burnt to death: the funeral pile was soon erected, by placing a quantity of dry wood around a young elm that stood on a high bluff bank of the river near their encamp-soned blood gushed forth in torrents

roy observing that in addition to his master, many warriors were descending the bluff some distance below, and aware that nothing but immediate flight could save him, set off with the utmost celerity. His incensed master ascended the opposite bank before he was hid by the thicket, and shouting to his companions to follow, pursued with all the fleetness and sagacity of a blood-hound; at the end of half a mile, the chief, from his superior swiftness, seized Fitzroy by the shoulder, who immediately wheeled, and a most desperate struggle ensued; locked in each other's arms they fell to the ground, and twice was the savage uppermost, and in the act of drawing his scalping knife, when a vigorous effort gave his prisoner the ascendancy, and grasping the knife which a moment before had threatened his own existence, he plunged it into the heart of his savage antagonist; the crim

ment. According to custom, previous to the sacrifice of their victim, a war dance was held over the prisoner, which lasted for half an hour, replete with horrors that no pen can describe, and doubly appaling when accompa-prove fatal, as the yell of the remain

an awful scream succeeded-his muscles relaxed in the agonies of death, and Fitzroy found himself disengaged from the hold of the dying chief. Aware that a moment's delay would ing savages was distinctly heard, he

drew from the belt of the fallen foe his

nying the awful solemnities of a dying hour. With exultation Fitzroy was now led to the stake; and as they were about to confine his hands, conscious that the last moment for resist ance had arrived, and that no consequences could result from his attempt more dreadful than the smoking pile which awaited him, he sprung from the midst of those who were tying him, rushed to the brink of the precipice, leaped down on a projecting rock, and from thence into the water, to the astonishment of the Indians, who stood for an instant amazed at his daring intrepidity. His master, perceiving that he had descended unhurt, and was swimming for the opposite shore, raised the war-whoop, and de scending by the same projecting rock, pursued his prisoner, who had by this || Kentucky. The fatigues of the camp,

tomahawk, and again fled with redoubled energy; availing himself of the knowledge which he had gained of the country during his captivity, he directed his course towards the Ouisconsin, which, at its great eastern bend, approaches within a few miles of the waters of Fox River, but did not reach it until day-light next morning. After a few hours sleep he crossed the stream, and proceeded down on the opposite shore, for the post of Prairie du Chien, which he knew was located at the junction of the Ouisconsin with the Mississippi, and on the fortieth day from that on which he made his escape, he trod with an exulting step and grateful heart the soil of

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