PREFACE. No record whatever having been given of the progress of Havelock's little band, from its original formation as the "Allahabad Moveable Column," in June, 1857, till its subsequent arrival at Lucknowalthough the interval is fraught with the liveliest interest, embracing as it does the successful advance of the force on Cawnpore, its passage of the Ganges into Oude, and its subsequent operations there - the writer has ventured to supply the defi- The Narrative was not intended originally ventures to claim the indulgence of the reader, more especially as his own constant occupation and broken health allowed him little opportunity for bestowing care upon the composition. LONDON, AUGUST, 1858. JOURNAL OF AN ENGLISH OFFICER. First Chapter. CALCUTTA, MAY 14th, 1857. COMING events cast their shadows before. Just forty-one days since I bade adieu to the shores of merry England, and, though but a few hours have passed since I landed in the City of Palaces, it is, nevertheless, apparent to me that the native portion of the community is in an unwholesome state of ferment. Without B |