It is needless to review the slow but gradual decay of the Great Mogul Empire.  With the adoption of Aurangzeb’s policy of intolerance it began to crumble, and none of his successors proved able to restore it.  He died in 1707, and the throne of the Moguls was never again occupied by a man of force or notable ability.  The history of the empire during the eighteenth century is merely a record of successive failures, of disintegration, of successful rebellions and of invasions by foreign foes, which stripped the Moguls of their wealth and destroyed their resources.  First came the Persians; then the Afghans, who plundered the imperial capital, desecrated tombs and temples, destroyed the fortresses and palaces and left little but distress and devastation when they departed.  One by one the provinces separated themselves from the empire and set up their own independence; until in 1804 the English took possession of the remnant and have maintained their authority ever since.

Within the wall of the great citadel at Delhi, for reasons of policy, the English allowed the great Mogul to maintain a fictitious court, and because the title continued to command the veneration of the natives, at state ceremonies the nominal successor of Timour the Tartar was allowed to sit upon a throne in the imperial hall of audience and receive the homage of the people.  But the Moguls were not allowed to exercise authority and were idle puppets in the hands of their advisers until the great mutiny of 1857 brought the native soldiers into the palace crying: 

“Help, oh King, in our Fight for the Faith.”

It is not necessary to relate the details of that awful episode of Indian history, but it will do no harm to recall what we learned in our school days of the principal incidents and refer to the causes which provoked it.  From the beginning of the British occupation of India there had been frequent local uprisings caused by discontent or conspiracy, but the East India Company, and the officials of the British government who supported it, had perfect confidence in the loyalty of the sepoys—­the native soldiers who were hired to fight against their fellow countrymen for so much pay.  They were officered by Englishmen, whose faith in them was only extinguished by assassination and massacre.  The general policy and the general results of British administration have been worthy of the highest commendation, but there have been many blunders and much injustice from time to time, due to individuals rather than to the nation.  A weak and unwise man in authority can do more harm in a year than can be corrected in a century.  Several so-called “reforms” had been introduced into the native army; orders had been issued forbidding the use of caste marks, the wearing of earrings and other things which Englishmen considered trivial, but were of great importance to the Hindus.  Native troops were ordered over the sea, which caused them to lose their caste; new regulations admitted low-caste