Narrative of the Life and Travels of Serjeant B–

9

A great proportion of the regiment had been enlisted in that city, and its neighbourhood.

10

Two drams of arrack were served out daily to each of the men, and as there were at that time no canteens in the regiment, the jovial fellows could not obtain more than their allowance but by getting it from the women, the Sammy Hawks, or from such of their boon companions who had put in the pin or kegged, which expressions signify to take an oath against liquor till some given time, such as the new year's day, the king's birth day, some particular fair in their native place. From the regimental store nothing beyond the ordinary allowance could be obtained but by drawing out a chit or line, and having it subscribed by the commanding officer, addressed to the keeper of the store, who delivered the quantity specified upon receiving payment for it; but it required a very sufficient reason indeed; such as a marriage, the baptism of a child, or something of that nature, before our Colonel would subscribe such an order. I understand that canteens are now common in every barrack in India, from the belief that the men will not be so mad upon liquor when they have the power to spend their money as they think proper.

11

This puts me in mind of the saying of good Mr. Boston, with regard to people of this description. – "Those who act such a part," says he, "behave as foolishly, but more criminally, than that person who would dig into a mine for metal to melt and pour down his own and his neighbour's throat."

12

The reader may quite naturally think that there was a great inconsistency displayed here; first talking of the religion of Jesus, and then rushing immediately into a breach of that sacred command, "Remember the Sabbath day to keep it holy;" now, was not playing on a musical instrument directly opposed to this precept? I answer that it certainly was; but you may believe me that it was necessity, and not choice on my part, that forced me to do it; and the first time I played the fife upon the Lord's day going to church, after I joined the 26th, I was in such a state of perturbation that I could not play a note, although I kept the fife to my mouth, and moved my fingers as if I was as busy as any of them. Thus we may see that although any sin may, upon its first commission, cause great pain to the conscience, yet the more frequently it is repeated, the more natural it becomes, for this uneasiness had left me long before the time I allude to. We had therefore much need to guard against sin in whatever form it appears, for it hath been justly said, that "he who despiseth small things shall fall by little and little;" but I am of opinion that the malignity of my crime consisted principally in not weighing these things, before I came into this state of subjection; for I was not ignorant that this was a part of a fifer's duty in the army; but although I will not attempt to justify my conduct; yet this I will say, that I could earnestly wish that my mind had been always as well employed when I have professedly been worshipping God, as it has been when engaged in this musical employment, after my blessed affliction in the Prince of Wales's Island; for I have often been so full of the topics we had been conversing about, as to be unable to know whether I was playing or not, until the rest of the corps, (as is common in these cases, after the tune is played over two or three times,) waited to hear if I was going to change it, and the sound thus dying away, it would immediately strike me that I was so engaged; and you may think it strange, when I tell you, that I never recollect in one instance of even making a mistake, for when I would come to myself, I was playing with the greatest fluency, although I acknowledge that I have been taken sometimes so short, that I was obliged to repeat the tune once more than I perhaps would have done, not being provided in my own mind with another in time.

13

The reader will naturally enough think it was a very strange thing of a woman to live so short time in widowhood; but if you consider the situation of these poor women, you perhaps may not be so much surprised at their apparently indelicate conduct; for they had no provision made for them whatever, except one pagoda per month, (eight shillings of our currency) allowed by the East India Company; and a reason fully as satisfactory as the former, was their unprotected state; for the barracks in this country are, in general, divided into two wings, without any partitions whatever. Now, just think of these women, without a guardian, day and night, in a room containing between four or five hundred men; and, alas! too many of them very immoral characters, to whose vile passions they presented a more tempting bait, from the scarcity of white women in the country.

14

Some of the married people had liberty to build small houses for themselves outside the barracks.

15

I have received word since I left the regiment of this man's death.

16

She had already a Bible of her own.

17

The Cungie-house is intended to answer the same purpose as the black-hole for soldiers in this country; where the prisoners receive for subsistence boiled rice, and the water with which it is made ready, which kind of food is called Cungie; and from which also the place above mentioned receives the appellation Cungie-house.

18

Only, to be sure, in a certain sense; but it would have been verified strictly if the serjeant had been one of God's people.

19

Rice, in this country, may be called the staff of life.

20

We had several of our regiment who attached themselves to black women, by whom they were poisoned; one, in particular, suffered under a long lingering illness. This young man was the Paymaster's clerk, who had taken one of these women (who had broken her caste) and kept her for a considerable time, but, happening to have some words with her one day, he threatened to put her away; and she, taking it for granted that he would be as good as his word, gave him a dose of poison; but afterwards lived with him for some time, with all the apparent affection that a wife should show for a husband; nor did she leave him until a suspicion arose that she was the person who had done the wicked deed. This young man died; and his body having been opened by the surgeon, he was found to have been poisoned.

21

We were allowed neither candle nor oil all the time we were on board; but we sometimes cut off a piece of the fat pork served out to us, and burned it in one of our iron canteen lids.

22

The tally is a piece of wood, with the number of the mess to which it belongs marked upon it. These are used on board a ship, to distinguish between the pieces of meat, – for without something of this kind, it would be impossible for one mess to know its own.

23

This medical officer left our regiment, being promoted to the rank of head surgeon to his majesty's 33d regiment; and, at this time, was practising for himself in Edinburgh.