species used for necklaces; gold ornaments, chains of the most beautiful workmanship, bracelets and bangles all of solid metal.  There were heaps, also, of the small, thick, native coin known as gold mohurs, thousands of which were accumulated by the prize agents and helped most materially to swell the amount.  I visited one room, the long table in which literally groaned with the riches of “Ormuz and of Ind”—­a dazzling sight to the eye, and one calculated to raise the spirit of greed in my breast to possess myself of some of the treasures so temptingly exposed to view.  When quiet returned, and the inhabitants of the city began to flock back to their former homes, whole streets, in which no doubt treasure had been concealed and had escaped the search of the prize agents, were sold to the people for sums ranging from 5,000 to 50,000 rupees.  All this helped to increase the prize to a sum which was variously estimated at from half to three-quarters of a million sterling; and even then it was asserted that only a portion of the vast wealth of Delhi had been found.

As far as I know, the Government, when distributing the prize-money in two installments—­in 1862 and again in 1865—­gave no account of the total amount which had been collected.  The private soldier’s share was reckoned as the unit, value about L17, increasing according to the pay of the different ranks—­the Ensign five shares, Lieutenant six and a half, Captain eleven and a half, and so in proportion among the higher grade of officers, while that of the Commander-in-Chief amounted to one-sixteenth of the whole—­an immense sum.  There were, of course, many exaggerations as to how much each rank would receive as its share, and there were many heart-burnings also when the true amount became known.  The sum had dwindled down to less than one-third of what we expected, and not a few expressed openly their conviction that some tampering had taken place with regard to the distribution.  This can hardly be believed, though it has always been a notorious fact that the Government are inclined to treat the claims of those who fight their battles with neglect, and in one particular at least, by repudiating the 5 per cent, promised till the Delhi prize-money was paid, they acted up to their usual unjust policy, and gave occasions for the complaints which were raised at the time.

I will now proceed to give an account of my experience when acting as an assistant to an officer who was accredited by the prize agents with a permit to search for plunder.  This officer, an old friend of mine, asked me to accompany him on his expeditions, saying also that he had no objection to my helping myself in moderation to part of the loot which we might happen to find.  Carrying with us the necessary tools, such as hammers, spades, and pickaxes, we each day started—­accompanied by two coolies—­on our plundering excursions.  For some days we were very unsuccessful, and for nearly a week only managed