utmost kindness and consideration by General Baird, although before he entered it, his soldiers were excited by the information that Tippoo had ordered twelve grenadiers of Colonel Wellesley's regiment who fell into his hands on the 5th of April, to be murdered in cold blood. The arsenal of Seringapatam contained four hundred and fifty-one brass guns, and four hundred and seventy-eight iron guns, exclusive of two hundred and eighty-seven mounted on the works. A vast quantity of stores, ammunition, and a large amount of treasure also fell into the hands of the captors. General Harris immediately dispatched the following communication in a sealed quill, by a secret messenger, to the Governor-General :

LIEUTENANT-GENERAL HARRIS TO THE EARL OF

MORNINGTON.

"MY LORD,

"I have the pleasure to inform you that this day, at one o'clock, a division of the army under my command assaulted Seringapatam; and that at half-past two o'clock the place was completely in our possession. Tippoo Sultaun fell in the assault. Two of his sons, the Sultaun Padsha and Mayen-ud Deen are prisoners, with many of the principal Sirdars. Our success has been complete; I will forward to your Lordship details hereafter. I have the honour to be,

"G. HARRIS."

This dispatch was not received by Lord Mornington till the 11th of May, in consequence of delays occasioned by the disturbed state of the country through

which the messenger had to pass. The intelligence was conveyed to his Lordship in the following private letter from Major Beatson :

TO THE RIGHT HON. THE EARL OF MORNINGTON.

"MY LORD,

"Seringapatam, 6th May, 1799.

"It is with the greatest pleasure I inform your Lordship that on Saturday the 4th instant, about half-past one in the afternoon, the breach was assaulted, and in less than an hour our troops were in possession of the whole of the rampart of Seringapatam. On this most happy event I beg leave sincerely to congratulate your Lordship particularly, as it has been attended with every circumstance that could have been desired to render it the most important event that perhaps ever happened.

"The death of the Sultaun, who was shot through the head and bayoneted in three parts of his body, as he attempted to make his escape; the possession of the whole of his family, treasure, and jewels, which were secured from ravage and plunder by the accidental circumstance of the palace not having been taken possession of until the fury of the storm was over; and the families of the principal chiefs of the Sultaun's army having been detained prisoners in the fort, and now fallen into our hands, are altogether a chain of such fortunate events, and so highly advantageous that nothing seems to be wanting to ensure an immediate peace throughout the peninsula.

"No account has yet been taken of the treasure, but from what has been seen it must be immense and as many of the apartments of the palace which are sealed,

have not yet been opened, it is impossible to form any idea of the amount; nor in this instance can we be guided by information; for the Sultaun, it is said, was of late so suspicious that he trusted nobody, and locked up and sealed those apartments with his own hands.”

"There is also an immense quantity of grain and military stores of every kind."

"I have said nothing of the operations of the siege of which your Lordship shall have a minute detail in my journal: I will only observe that it affords me the highest satisfaction to find that the forlorn hope was only six minutes crossing the rocky bed of the river, the ditch, and ascending to the top of the breach, which was to me a sufficient proof that I was not mistaken in the judgment I had formed of the river and the ditch after reconnoitering them, and which I had the honour of communicating to your Lordship in my letter of the 18 ultimo.

"As I have nothing now to detain me here, it is my intention with General Harris's permission, to proceed to the Carnatic as soon as the communication is open, in order to have the honour of attending your Lordship, and receiving your commands in whatever way you may be pleased to employ me.

Thus in the short space of two months was this war brought to a close, and the power of this formidable enemy broken a kingdom yielding an annual revenue of more than a million sterling was transferred in full sovereignty to the East India Company and their allies, without injury to the inhabitants or devastation to the country.

CHAPTER XV.

Anecdote of the Uma, or Bird of Prosperous Empire.-Builds its Nest in the Avenue of Banyan Trees in the Garden of Lord Mornington's Residence at Madras.-Superstitious Inference of the Natives.-Description of the Uma.-Figure of the Uma of Gold and Pearl, taken from Tippoo Sultaun's Throne, at Windsor Castle.-Other Trophies there. -General Baird superseded in Seringapatam by Colonel Wellesley.— Lord Wellesley accused of having, on this occasion, unfairly pushed forward his Brother.-Observations of Alison and Hook.—The Question examined.—Letters of General Harris, Lord Wellesley, General Baird, and Lord Clive.

WHILE the Governor-General was at Madras, superintending the operations of the army of Mysore, a bird, called by the natives the Uma, and which bore the appearance of a small eagle or vulture, built its nest in an avenue of banyan or pipal trees, in the garden of Mr. Petrie, in whose house his Excellency resided. It was Lord Mornington's habit to dictate all his papers, either to the secretary of the department, or to some of the young writers. Under the shade of these trees he walked before the sun's power was intense, and generally at that hour discharged the business of the day. The natives, when the news of Tippoo Sultaun's downfall reached Madras, superstitiously ascribed much of the success of the war to the influence of the Uma, and universally believed that its presence was an augury of victory.*

* The following interesting note on the Uma, or Indian Eagle, was

The day after the storming of Seringapatam Colonel Wellesley was appointed to the command of the fortress, and subsequently was invested with the civil government of Mysore. General Baird conceived that he was slighted by Colonel Wellesley's appointment, and is said to have given expression to his feelings in these words-" Before the sweat was dry on my brow, I was superseded by an inferior officer!" The biographer of Sir David Baird has dwelt with much emphasis upon the circumstance, insisting that the Governor-General had unfairly pushed forward his brother to the disadvantage of the hero of Seringa

written by the Marquess Wellesley in 1840 : “The Bird of Prosperous Empire. The ancient Persians, as well as the Romans, presaged by the flight of birds. Of these some were of good omen, while others foreboded evil. Amongst the former, the most auspicious was the Uma, which is believed to be a species of eagle. It belonged to kings; and its appearance and flights, under various circumstances, were the augury for the settlement of the crown, or the affairs of royalty. Some of the characteristics of this bird have given rise to many strange mixtures of fable and facts, in some of which the leading features of the latter may still be plainly traced. It is a carniverous bird; and its high soaring habit is the origin of the belief that it never rests upon the ground. The account of this bird in the standard Persian Lexicon (among other significations of the word under different accusations) gives the following: A standard, or flag, on the top of which the bird is placed; or on which the representation of it is depicted.' The throne of the Sultan of Mysore was of an octangular form, the canopy being in the form of an umbrella; it was surmounted by a representation of the Uma, which is now deposited in Windsor Castle; the figure of the bird is composed of pure plates of gold, closely inlaid with precious stones, with a collar of pearl and pearl at the eyes, and suspended from the beak, and the tail spread and ornamented with pearl and precious stones; the edges of the canopy were fringed with the richest pearl; it was supported by eight pillars, the capitals of which were in the form of the head of a royal tiger, enriched with precious stones; the whole was covered with plates of pure gold; the octangular pavilion rested on the back of a royal tiger couchant; this figure also was covered with plates of pure gold; and the eyes, tusks,

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