196 



themselves in general terms of friendship, ap- 

 peared by their cnunlenances to doubt eifher thft 

 sincerity or value of the conlenipl .tted alliance of 

 the British. They stated, however, that the 

 Hiimbow Chiefs had appoiBted the conference at 

 ten o clock on the following morning. 



At ten odock on tho morning of the 20th, the 

 Governor's tent having been pitched on shore, 

 the gentlemen quitted the Zephyr, which was 

 lying at anchor with springs on her cable, in or- 

 der that she might be able to act in the event of 

 treachery ; forty of the sepoys were also disem- 

 barked, 1 hese latter were divided into two sec* 

 tions, each forming a street at the opposite doors 

 of the tent. Hour after hour parsed without any 

 signs of llie Humbow Chiefs, until al one m, 

 the sound of distant gongs came floating down ibe 

 stream. A fuU hour after this, the x>ariy came 

 in Mght and landed at the point. 



It fjontifited of Rajah Alii, the Rajah Burnbow, 

 with his motherj wife, and iuur or five other fe- 

 male?!, Syed Sabban, the Panghooloo Kutnbow, 

 the eii^ht Sookoos, the MooUah, &c. and about 

 150 armed men. As tlie individuals above enu- 

 merated evidently approached wifh great feelings 

 of dijftrust, it was communicated to them, as 

 they quitted their boats, that the troops would 

 '* present arms" to them as tht^y pas?ed up the 

 street, that being the customary honor which 

 Europeans paid to persons of disiinciion. Not- 

 withstanding this explanation, however, th© 

 Chiefs visibly started as the bands of the sepoys 

 simultaneously rang upon the slings, while such 

 of the savage multitude around, as were uncon- 

 scious of the meaning ol the ceremony, laid their 



