whence footsteps corresponding with the size of the prisoner's boots were traced to the barrack room in which he slept, and the confused account which he gave of himself when awakened from his pretended sleep, formed altogether as complete a chain of circumstances as it was possible to link together.

To the indictment, when arraigned, the prisoner pleaded not guilty, and when the evidence was gone through, to the astonishment of every one present, he acknowledged his having shot the man, but asserted that his death was purely accidental, as the piece had gone off whilst he (the prisoner) was in the act of cleaning it. He accounted for his subsequent conduct by the alarm which he felt at the chance of the accident being misconstrued, and a serious charge brought against him.

Strange as it may appear, this defence, perhaps the best which could have been suggested by the ingenuity of counsel, might have been the means of saving him, if he could have

proved that he had made a similar statement previous to his trial, and could produce any one witness in support of it. This chance was offered him, and had he only been aware in time that it would have been afforded him, it is not improbable he might have procured some one who would have got him off by hard swearing. It was necessary however that the party to whom the communication had been made, should be named at once. This was a poser, which even the fertile resources of his counsel could not relieve him from, and the jury, after a brief but emphatic charge from the learned judge, brought in a verdict of guilty. He was sentenced to be executed in front of the jail at Bombay, and met his fate with the same reckless indifference which he had betrayed throughout the whole of the affair.

CHAPTER IX.

"Il n'y a pas de meilleur soldat que l'homme ennemi de l'oppression.'

It is contended that the severity which characterises our military enactments is essential to that perfect state of subordination which should prevail amongst properly organised troops, and it is not for me to dispute the assertion. I wish only to show that the arbitrary powers placed in the hands of our officers to effect this object

are but too frequently abused, and that individuals are sacrificed in order to attain it. To those who are in the habit of looking beneath the surface of things, it may not be uninteresting to know that the stern and rigorous rules of military discipline are partial in their operation, and that there is a large amount of silent, but undeserved suffering amongst the great body of the soldiery, who have neither the right to complain against, nor the power to resist, the wanton tyranny to which they are subjected.

It is customary in the army to perform the barrack room fatigue duty by rotation, one or two men as the case may be, being daily required to clean out each of the rooms, or perform other necessary duties connected with them. A portion of their time is employed in carrying the messes from the cooking house to the rooms, and for this purpose the orderlies, as they are termed, fall in, and are marched under the command of a non commissioned officer to the

former, a few minutes before the bugle sounds

for dinner.

It one day happened that a dragoon named Kennedy, known by the soubriquet of "Knowing Joe," was amongst the persons called upon to perform this duty. This man belonged to a class of persons generally denominated amongst us, military lawyers, fellows who contrive to breed a good deal of mischief, and who are particularly obnoxious to the authorities. He had got involved in various scrapes from time to time, but owing to his superior tact and cunning, had generally contrived to escape punishment. His turn, however, came at last, and that too for an offence which was far from proportionate to the punishment meted out to it.

On the orderly men falling in previous to marching off for fatigue duty, Kennedy was reported absent. A moment after he made his appearance, and stated that he was going to