PATNA DURING THE MUTINY. 169 



batteries, or catching mice in traps, or robins under a sieve, there 

 appears to me a vast difference between inviting a man to my house, 

 in order to kill him when he gets there; and inviting him, in order 

 that his followers shall not kill me, so long as I keep him handy. 



Or, to give an illustration which will be familiar to all. It was 

 surely an act of foul treachery on the part of Jael,* wife of Heber 

 the Kenite, to slay Sisera as she did. But, fearing injury from his 

 host, supposing she had enticed the captain into her tent, and kept 

 him in honourable confinement there, enjoying his milk and butter, 

 until all danger had passed away, who could have blamed her ? 



Of course, Colonel Rattray and his Sikhs could easily have surprised 

 and captured the Wahabees at their residence in the heart of the 

 city, but a display of this kind was the very thing we wished to 

 avoid, as there was nothing definite against them then, save that 

 they were the chiefs 



"Of that saintly murderous brood 

 To carnage and the Koran given. 

 Who think through unbelievers' blood 

 Lies their directest path to heaven." 



If this apology cannot be accepted according to the strict rules of 

 morality, all I can say is that circumstances alter cases, as the 

 following will show : — 



When my Marlborough brother commanded the 20th Hussars, 

 he sent for his head sergeant, who was a pattern of morality and a 

 shining light in every way, and asked him " what sort of fellow is 

 Trooper Jones ? " 



" He's a very queer sort of a man ! " 



" I hear he intends shooting me at the butts this morning." 



" Well, if that is the case," coolly replied the sergeant, " the best 

 way will be to keep an eye on him, and not show any signs of fear." 



* Deborah, the prophetess, who appears to have judged Israel at that time, goes into raptures over this 

 cruel act of treachery, and composed a very beautiful, and poetical panegyric in praise of Jael. Pity it was 

 not in a better cause. From the little we know about this lady, it is evident she had mistaken her profession, 

 and was more fitted to climb Parnassus, than to sit upon the bench 



