218 THE BANKA BHAEE. 



directed by the same functionary to take up 

 liis residence in the palace, wherein guards 

 were placed to overawe and control their ac- 

 tions, thereby rendering them prisoners in 

 their own apartments. Such were the indigni- 

 ties offered to Her Highness Banka Bhaee, 

 the aged grandmother, and the widows of the 

 Maharajah of Nagpore, the faithful ally of the 

 British Government. 



These facts, being made known to their Wu- 

 keels in England, were duly set forth in a me- 

 morial to the Court of Directors. This brought 

 matters to a crisis, as no sooner had the 

 memorial reached Nagpore for transmission 

 through the prescribed channels, than such 

 threats were employed as frightened the Maha- 

 ranees into recalling their representatives from 

 England. Thus matters remained till 1857, 

 when the whole of our north-western provinces 

 were in open rebellion, and a handful of Eng- 

 lishmen struggling against fearful odds. But 

 Nagpore remained tranquil, for the Banka 

 Bhaee, a woman of masculine energy of charac- 

 ter and all-powerful influence in the state, 

 which, as Regent, she had long ruled, was fully 

 aware of the vastness of our resources, and felt 



