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the king was able to say that it gave him great comfort to observe that the public credit was beginning to recover, and that he hoped it would be entirely restored when all the provisions they had made to that end were in operation.

On March 7 of the following year (1722) an act received the royal assent extending further clemency to the company by relieving it of some of its obligations and giving further time for the repayment of the million lent to it. At the same time the company received additional assistance by being invested with powers to dispose of the effects in hand by lottery or subscription if necessary. Eventually the disposal of the wealth of the company enabled a dividend of thirty-three per cent. to be declared, and so one of the most disastrous social epochs in our history closed.

There is probably no parallel in the records of the country of such unrestrained and shameless peculation in high places and such unreasoning gullibility on the part of the people. A thoughtless mania, quite unintelligible to their descendants, enveloped the whole nation, and when it is considered that it covered great and small, high and low, and even those who, by the ordinary standards of judgment, would always be considered of the highest intellect, it can only be concluded that, living in other times, apart from the sensations of that particular age, we are incapable of entering into its spirit or of judging or appreciating it. Even the poet Gay, who flourishes still in print, fell under the intoxication of the times. A competency was within his grasp if he had only sold out at the top prices the stocks given to him by patrons in the early days of the company, but he held on, with blind faith in the scheme, against the better judgment of many friends.

During this time our neighbors across the Channel had been passing through a similar period of financial fever and then of all-engrossing disaster. The means by which the debt of France was to be wiped off the slate and the finan

cial salvation of the country achieved was the Mississippi scheme of John Law. The proposals of this individual to the French government were that he should become the sole creditor of the nation, and be allowed to issue paper money to ten times the amount of the national debt, that is, to the extent of 2,080 million pounds. The scheme was so attractive in outward guise that the necessary permission was given to Law to found the Royal Bank of France and to issue his notes. The bank carried on all the usual business in paper, such as the receiving of deposits, the discounting of bills, and the issuing of promissory notes. It was at first amazingly successful, and the Royal Bank was given fresh power. The exclusive right of coining money was entrusted to it, the trade of the old French East India Company was transferred to it, and its directors were further conceded the monopoly of trading with the littoral of the Mississippi. Its history is widely that of the South Sea Company. A 5001. share was at one time worth 18,000l., and Law was then made comptroller-general. In 1720 the bubble was pricked, and a sovereign would have purchased ten thousand pounds' worth of the bank's notes; and, as in this country, so in France, universal ruin overtook the nation for a time.

From The Gentleman's Magazine.

A BISHOP IN PARTIBUS.

I.

Dr. George Smith, of Edinburgh, in his "Life of Henry Martyn," published in 1892, has the following passage: "Like Marshman and the Serampore missionaries, Henry Martyn kept up a Latin correspondence with the missionaries sent from Rome by the propaganda to the stations founded by Xavier, and those afterwards established by that saint's nephew in the days of the tolerant Akbar. At the beginning of this century, Anglican, Baptist, and Romanist missionaries all

a few military and other adherents; and great cordiality existed in the circle. Martyn was hard at work on his Persian Testament, and he used to summon an informal committee to consider the question of equivalent terminology. Mrs. Sherwood has described it as the strangest conclave to be imagined. The scene of this meeting was a garden gloomy with palm-trees and aloes, and the time usually sundown. There was an Arab and a monk, a missionary, a Bengalee gentleman, a local Moonshee, and doubtless a few catechists and students in the background.

over the East co-operated with each | 53rd Foot (now the 1st Shropshire), and other in translation work and social intercourse. More than once Martyn protected the priest at Patna from the persecution of the military authorities. He planned a visit to their station at Bettia, to the far north, at the foot of the Himalayas. In hospital, his ministrations were always offered to the Irish soldiers in the absence of their own priest, and always without any controversial reference." The consequence of this state of feeling was that when Martyn was appointed chaplain at Dinapore in 1807, and when his desire to become acquainted with the principal Mohammedan religionists led him to the neighboring city of Patna, it was quite natural that he should call on the Italian padre. The clergyman who, though then unrecognized by the government, offered his services to the Catholic soldiers at the military cantonment, was a Capuchin from Milan whose secular names were Giulio Cesare Scotti, and who, in the common parlance of the barracks, was termed Father Julius Cæsar. Martyn saw much of this monk, and his habits of inquiry and courteous interest in the views of his friend led Martyn to dream of his conversion to Protestant views. The subsequent career, however, of the Italian renders it unlikely that he was at any time disposed to question the security of his position. When, in 1809, Martyn was moved up to Cawnpore, Padre Giulio appeared there also; and as he fell at that place under the ken of the authoress Mrs. Sherwood, who was not unskilful at portraits executed with the pen, we become acquainted with his personality. There was a small religious society at that time in Cawnpore consisting of Daniel Corrie, his sister, Henry Martyn, Mrs. Sherwood, and her husband, who was paymaster of the

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Seven languages were employed, they were employed all together, and in an energetic key. By far the loudest was the tumultuous Arab, Sabát, then a Christian, and tyrannical dragoman to Martyn. Poor wretch! as he sat there, waving the locks of his Saracen's head and bawling in stentorian tones, he little thought what a future was awaiting him. Apostasy, bankruptcy, political intrigue in far Acheen, seizure, condemnation, the yawning sack, and the profound remorseless sea! The monkish member was Padre Giulio. He is thus outlined by Mrs. Sherwood: "The second of Mr. Martyn's guests, whom I must introduce as being not a whit behind Sabát in his own opinion of himself, was the Padre Julius Cæsar, an Italian monk of the order of the Jesuits, a worthy disciple of Ignatius Loyola. Mr. Martyn had become acquainted with him at Patna, where the Italian priest was not less zealous and active in making proselytes than the Company's chaplain, and probably much more wise and subtle in his movements than the latter. The Jesuit was a handsome young man and dressed in the complete costume of the monk, with his little skull-cap, his flowing robes, and his cord. The materials, however, of his dress were very rich; his robe was of the finest purple satin, his cord of twisted silk, and his rosary of costly stones, whilst his air and manner were extremely elegant. He spoke French fluently, and there Mr. Sherwood was at home with

him, but his native language was Italian. His conversation with Mr. Martyn was carried on partly in Latin and partly in Italian."

The monk was a Capuchin, and not a Jesuit as Mrs. Sherwood supposed. But these distinctions were little noticed in those days, and a priest was

profligacy and scepticism. But whilst he was circulating, apparently, from one Capuchin mission to another, a Catholic establishment, which had been founded many years before at Surdhana, north of Meerut, was being enlarged and endowed on a scale hitherto unwitnessed in that part of India. The

was being pushed forward was a Mohammedan convert to the Latin community, baptized Joanna, and highly pleased with the addition of "Nobilis" which her social position suggested. Her great church at Surdhana. dedicated to the Virgin, was consecrated in 1822 by Monsignor Pezzoni; and as it was to preside over this fabric that Padre Giulio ultimately received episcopal orders, it is necessary that it should be explained, as briefly as possible, how a territory specially secured to this princess by the Great Mogul should have been held in the interests of Rome. For, as has been remarked by Mr. H. G. Keene in the Calcutta Review, in an article entitled "Surdhana, the seat of the Sombres" (to which this paper is much indebted), "Many persons acquainted with the military cantonment of Meerut and its environs have, perhaps, wondered what are the facts which account for the appearance of a fine three-storied house and a large church in the midst of the characteristic squalor of a native village."

called a Jesuit as the Neapolitan fisher-princess in whose territory this work men are usually called Lazzaroni. The dress described was not monastic but clerical only. Some years afterwards, in 1824, Bishop Heber, then on that journey up country which he has rendered familiar, met Padre Giulio at Bankipore, the civil station of Patna, and thus records his impressions: "I met here a Franciscan friar, a remarkably handsome and intelligent-looking little man, whom I immediately and rightly guessed to be the Italian padre 'Giulio Cesare,' of whom so much mention is made in 'Martyn's Life.'" And again: "Underneath the walls of the Granary, I had a good deal of conversation with Padre Giulio, who speaks French, though not well, yet fluently. He is thoroughly a man of the world, smooth, insinuating, addicted to paying compliments, and from his various accomplishments an acceptable guest at all English houses where French or Italian is understood. He spoke with great affection of Martyn, who thought well of him, and almost hoped that he had converted him from Popery. He was apparently pleased with the notice which I paid him, and I certainly was much amused and interested with his conversation. I found him a great admirer of Metastasio, and of course not fond of Alfieri. He himself is, indeed, a Milanese, so that he feels for the former as for a countryman as well as a brother ecclesiastic."

From these notices we may gather generally the sort of man Padre Giulio was. Evidently of excellent character, well versed in the usages of societyaccommodating, pleasant, and accomplished; and, from the religious side, in no way wanting in zeal. There was in him, perhaps, a streak of the welldressed Abbé lettré of the last century, with the welcome absence, however, of

II.

In the old church of St. Mary's at Eastbourne there is a monument with a long inscription to one Henry Lushington. He was the son of the vicar of the place, Dr. Lushington, and the father records the virtues and misfortunes of the son in timid language. About the misfortunes, however, there can be no doubt. For, going out to India in the Company's service in 1754, when only sixteen years of age, the young man was in 1758 involved in the fall of Calcutta, and passed that dreadful night in the Black Hole. He was one of the twenty-three who escaped suffocation out of one hundred and

was concluded between the English and the French, but it was broken again in 1756. When Chevalier Law was sent by Lally to reinforce Chundernagore, the general carried Reinhardt with him. In 1757, however, the French settlement was taken by Clive and Admiral Watson, but Law and Reinhardt escaped. Coming out as a private, Reinhardt had reached sergeant's rank. It may be said here that his military aptitude was great. He seems to have drilled native soldiers very successfully, and to have been a reliable man in

The two wanderers were ultimately engaged; Law by the fugitive Emperor Shah Alam, and Reinhardt by Kasim Ali. The latter distinguished himself in the battle fought at Giriah, when the skilful resistance made by him could scarcely have been overcome, under the circumstances, by an officer of less conspicuous gallantry than Major Adams.

forty-six who were enclosed in the lock-up. But it was only a brief respite, for in 1763 he perished in the massacre of Patna. The Black Hole, like the earthquake of Lisbon, has taken its place amongst the terrible disasters of the world; but the Patna tragedy is far less known, though quite devoid of the element of accident, which in some degree modifies the eruelty of the dungeon story. The history of the times is complicated, and must be abstracted to yield only the facts bearing on the subject in hand. Kasim Ali was a nobleman the English had them-action-cool and ready in resource. selves raised to the Musnud of Bengal. In the course of time, certainly not without some provocation, this prince became dissatisfied with his foreign supporters and thought himself strong enough to dispense with their alliance, and so revolted. He was, however, defeated more than once, and was hanging about the neighborhood of Patnawhere he had already made the members of the factory, their soldiers, and adherents prisoners-when he heard that his capital, Monghir, had fallen. Greatly exasperated, Kasim Ali sent orders that the prisoners were to be executed. It is reported that the Armenian officer in command at Patna, Gregorius Khan, corrupted to Gurgin, refused to obey. A European adventurer named Reinhardt, in the service of the nawab, volunteered to carry out the wishes of the frenzied man. He placed the prisoners in a courtyard, and fired volleys into them from upper rooms. Forty-eight gentlemen of the civil and military services were destroyed, and buried in a well. Reinhardt is called on the monument that has been mentioned, "one Someroo, an apostate European." There is, however, no evidence that he ever apostatized, though he was certainly not an ornament to any creed. But his story must be sketched. His name was Walter Reinhardt, and he was a native of Trèves. He must have been born about 1720, and went out to Madras as a young man in the army of the French East India Company, and took part in the wars then going on. In 1754 peace

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After the Patna business, Reinhardt escaped in time to Oudh, having been first present, however, at the battle of Buxar, where the emperor and the Oudh vizier were defeated by Munro. He afterwards took service with the Jats, the head of which tribe, the Rajah of Bhurtpore, came prominently forward in the general confusion. Reinhardt formed his troops into an organized mercenary force; the brigade being said to consist of four battalions of foot, a cavalry corps, and six field-pieces. In 1775 he shared the defeat of the Jats when they were attacked by the Persian vizier of the restored emperor, and, finding that for the present the imperial influence was in the ascendant, he placed his brigade at the service of Delhi. For the support of these mercenaries a district surrounding the village of Surdhana was assigned, and these lands supplied a revenue of about six lakhs of rupees, or sixty thousand pounds, as rates then were. The adventurer has been called Reinhardt for clearness sake, but he was known as General Sombre, changed by the natives into Somroo. The sobriquet is said to have been given by old mates,

when he was a private, from his heavy | episode in a life already sufficiently romantic. She fell really in love. The gentleman who played Paul to her Virginia on this occasion was a wellconditioned young Frenchman named Levassoult, who had the command of her army after the departure of Thomas. To this officer she was united in Christian marriage in the year 1793. The union, for various reasons, was not popular with the troops, and a spirit of discontent arose which, fostered by Aloysius Reinhardt, led at last to conspiracy. The lovers, for such they really continued, agreed to escape or die together. They left Surdhana. Levassoult on horseback, the begum in her palanquin, taking with them a considerable amount of money in cash. They were pursued by the mutineers. The bearers were urged to greater exertions, but the footsteps behind grew louder. Thinking all was lost, the begum stabbed herself with a stiletto. The fact was told Levassoult. He put a pistol to his head and fell dead on the road. The rebels captured the wounded princess, and carried her back. She had not reached a vital part, and gradually recovered, but was kept in durance and subjected to indignities. Her old friend George Thomas came to her rescue. By his assistance the mutiny was put down, and Aloysius, who had appeared at Surdhana, was sent back to Delhi, where he shortly afterwards died. The begum's position was now secured. When the English appeared on the scene, and Lord Lake ultimately took Delhi, the Surdhana princess at once discerned the signs of the times, and hastened to the British camp to give in her allegiance. The hearty chief, impatient of Oriental etiquette, lifted the begum from her palanquin and gave her a good smacking kiss. This impropriety was explained by its recipient to her attendants as a parental embrace bestowed on a daughter desirous of reconciliation. For thirty years and more she continued the friend of the British, and governed her State in tranquillity and with success.

or sulky look. This may or may not be correct. In 1778 Reinhardt died at Agra and was buried in the old Catholic cemetery, where his mausoleum may still be seen with its inscriptions in Persian and Portuguese. He rebuilt, it is reported, the Italian Mission Church in 1772, and the fabric is extant, though no longer devoted to sacred uses. Though never, as far as is known, a renegade, the adventurer had adopted native habits, and was the possessor of a harem. About the year 1765 there was received into this zenana a girl of some twelve years. She was the daughter of a Mussulman of Arab origin, and had been well educated, but thrown with her mother on the world by an unfeeling stepbrother. In what capacity she entered Reinhardt's family is not known; perhaps as a dancer; perhaps, since she knew Persian, to amuse the ladies with tales, or to write letters for them to their relations. However this may be, she attracted the master's notice, being, though small, well-formed, with large and lively eyes. They were perhaps married by Moslem rites, and, at any rate, when Reinhardt died, she had acquired sufficient influence to be entrusted with his estates and the command of his army. In 1781 she was baptized into the Latin Church by the name of Joanna, but she figures in the history of the times as the Begum Somroo. Reinhardt had left a son, Aloysius, the offspring of a Mohammedan woman, but he was provided for with an allowance and lived at Delhi, under a native name. And the little lady remained supreme, with her troops, a subject population, and a staff of military and civil officers. The celebrated Irishman, George Thomas, entered her service about the year 1787, and it was by his skill that the begum was enabled in 1788 to rescue the emperor from a serious danger at Gokalgurh which he had encountered from a rebel chief. In a public durbar the begum was thanked, and honored with the title of "Ornament of her sex." And now follows a strange brief

It sounds strange in these days, but

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