PROLOGUE THE STORMING OF
SERINGAPATAM 0
( 1799 ) Extracted from a Family Paper
I 1
address these lines -- written in
India 2
-- to
my 1
relatives in
England 4
3 .
My 1
object is to explain the motive which has induced
me 1
to refuse the right hand of friendship to
,
John Herncastle 7
.
The reserve which
I 1
have hitherto maintained in this matter has been misinterpreted by
members of
whose good opinion
I 1
can not consent to forfeit
5 .
I 1
request
them 5
to suspend
their 5
decision until
they 5
have read
my 1
narrative .
And
I 1
declare , on
my 1
word of honour , that what
I 1
am now about to write is , strictly and literally , the truth .
The private difference between
and
me 1
took its rise in a great public event in which
we 8
were both concerned -- the storming of
Seringapatam 0
, under
General Baird 9
, on the 4th of May , 1799 .
In order that the circumstances may be clearly understood ,
I 1
must revert for a moment to the period before the assault , and to the stories current in
of the treasure in jewels and gold stored up in
the Palace of Seringapatam 12
.
II One of the wildest of these stories related to a Yellow Diamond -- a famous gem in the native annals of
India 2
.
The earliest known traditions describe the stone as having been set in the forehead of
the four-handed Indian god who typifies the Moon 13
.
Partly from its peculiar colour , partly from a superstition which represented it as feeling the influence of
the deity whom it adorned 13
, and growing and lessening in lustre with the waxing and waning of the moon , it first gained the name by which it continues to be known in
India 2
to this day -- the name of THE MOONSTONE .
A similar superstition was once prevalent , as
I 1
have heard , in
ancient Greece 14
and
Rome 15
; not applying , however ( as in
India 2
) , to a diamond devoted to the service of
a god 16
, but to a semi-transparent stone of the inferior order of gems , supposed to be affected by the lunar influences -- the moon , in this latter case also , giving the name by which the stone is still known to
collectors 17
in
our 18
own time .
The adventures of the Yellow Diamond begin with the eleventh century of the Christian era .
At that date ,
the Mohammedan conqueror 69
,
Mahmoud of Ghizni 66
, crossed
India 2
; seized on
the holy city of Somnauth 19
; and stripped of
its 19
treasures
the famous temple , which had stood for centuries 20
-- the shrine of Hindoo pilgrimage , and the wonder of
the Eastern world 21
.
Of
all the deities worshipped in
the temple 20
22 ,
the moon-god 13
alone escaped the rapacity of
the conquering Mohammedans 23
.
Preserved by
three Brahmins 24
,
the inviolate deity , bearing the Yellow Diamond in
its 13
forehead
13 , was removed by night , and was transported to
the second of
the sacred cities of
India 2
26 --
the city of Benares 70
.
Here , in a new shrine -- in
a hall inlaid with precious stones 27
, under a roof supported by pillars of gold --
the moon-god 13
was set up and worshipped .
Here 27
, on the night when the shrine was completed ,
Vishnu 28
the Preserver 28
appeared to
the three Brahmins 24
in a dream .
The deity 28
breathed the breath of
his 28
divinity on the Diamond in the forehead of
the god 13
.
And
the Brahmins 24
knelt and hid
their 24
faces in
their 24
robes .
The deity 28
commanded that the Moonstone should be watched , from that time forth , by
three priests 29
in turn , night and day , to the end of the generations of
men 30
.
And
the Brahmins 24
heard , and bowed before
his 28
will .
The deity 28
predicted certain disaster to
the presumptuous mortal who laid hands on the sacred gem 31
, and to all of
and name who received it after
him 31
.
And
the Brahmins 24
caused the prophecy to be written over the gates of the shrine in letters of gold .
One age followed another -- and still , generation after generation ,
the successors of
the three Brahmins 24
33 watched
their 33
priceless Moonstone , night and day .
One age followed another until the first years of the eighteenth Christian century saw the reign of
Aurungzebe 34
,
Emperor of
the Moguls 35
71 .
At
his 34
command havoc and rapine were let loose once more among the temples of the worship of Brahmah .
The shrine of
the four-handed god 13
was polluted by the slaughter of sacred animals ; the images of
the deities 36
were broken in pieces ; and the Moonstone was seized by
an officer of rank in
the army of
Aurungzebe 34
38 .
Powerless to recover
their 39
lost treasure by open force ,
the three guardian priests 39
followed and watched it in disguise .
The generations succeeded each other ;
the warrior who had committed the sacrilege 37
perished miserably ; the Moonstone passed ( carrying its curse with it ) from one lawless Mohammedan hand to another ; and still , through all chances and changes ,
the successors of
the three guardian priests 24
40 kept
their 40
watch , waiting the day when the will of
Vishnu 28
the Preserver 28
should restore to
them 40
their 40
sacred gem .
Time rolled on from the first to the last years of the eighteenth Christian century .
The Diamond fell into the possession of
Tippoo 41
,
Sultan of
Seringapatam 0
68 , who caused it to be placed as an ornament in the handle of a dagger , and who commanded it to be kept among the choicest treasures of
his 41
armoury .
Even then -- in
the palace of
the Sultan 41
himself 41
42 --
the three guardian priests 43
still kept
their 43
watch in secret .
There were
three officers of
Tippoo 41
’s household
43 ,
strangers to
the rest 44
72 , who had won
’s confidence by conforming , or appearing to conform , to the Mussulman faith ; and to
those three men 43
report pointed as
the three priests in disguise 43
.
III So , as told in
, ran the fanciful story of the Moonstone .
It made no serious impression on any of
us 11
except
-- whose love of the marvellous induced
him 7
to believe it .
On the night before the assault on
Seringapatam 0
,
he 7
was absurdly angry with
me 1
, and with
others 45
, for treating the whole thing as a fable .
A foolish wrangle followed ; and
Herncastle 7
’s unlucky temper got the better of
him 7
.
He 7
declared , in
his 7
boastful way , that
we 11
should see the Diamond on
his 7
finger , if
the English army 46
took
Seringapatam 0
.
The sally was saluted by a roar of laughter , and there , as
we 11
all thought that night , the thing ended .
Let
me 1
now take
you 47
on to the day of the assault .
and
I 1
were separated at the outset .
I 1
never saw
him 7
when
we 11
forded
the river 48
; when
we 11
planted the English flag in the first breach ; when
we 11
crossed the ditch beyond ; and , fighting every inch of
our 11
way , entered
the town 0
.
It was only at dusk , when
the place 0
was ours , and after
General Baird 9
himself 9
had found the dead body of
Tippoo 41
under a heap of
the slain 49
, that
Herncastle 7
and
I 1
met .
We 8
were each attached to
a party sent out by
the general 9
’s orders to prevent the plunder and confusion which followed
our 11
conquest
50 .
The camp-followers 51
committed deplorable excesses ; and , worse still ,
the soldiers 52
found
their 52
way , by a guarded door , into the treasury of
the Palace 12
, and loaded
themselves 52
with gold and jewels .
It was in
the court outside
the treasury 54
53 that
and
I 1
met , to enforce the laws of discipline on
.
Herncastle 7
’s fiery temper had been , as
I 1
could plainly see , exasperated to a kind of frenzy by the terrible slaughter through which
we 8
had passed .
He 7
was very unfit , in
my 1
opinion , to perform the duty that had been entrusted to
him 7
.
There was riot and confusion enough in
the treasury 54
, but no violence that
I 1
saw .
The men 52
( if
I 1
may use such an expression ) disgraced
themselves 52
good-humouredly .
All sorts of rough jests and catchwords were bandied about among
them 52
; and the story of the Diamond turned up again unexpectedly , in the form of a mischievous joke .
“ Who ’s got the Moonstone ? ” was the rallying cry which perpetually caused the plundering , as soon as it was stopped in one place , to break out in another .
While
I 1
was still vainly trying to establish order ,
I 1
heard a frightful yelling on the other side of
the courtyard 53
, and at once ran towards the cries , in dread of finding some new outbreak of the pillage in that direction .
I 1
got to an open door , and saw the bodies of
two Indians 56
( by
their 56
dress , as
I 1
guessed ,
officers of the palace 56
) lying across the entrance , dead .
A cry inside hurried
me 1
into
a room , which appeared to serve as
an armoury 57
57 .
A third Indian , mortally wounded 58
, was sinking at the feet of
a man whose back was towards
me 1
7 .
The man 7
turned at the instant when
I 1
came in , and
I 1
saw
John Herncastle 7
, with a torch in one hand , and a dagger dripping with blood in the other .
A stone , set like a pommel , in the end of the dagger ’s handle , flashed in the torchlight , as
he 7
turned on
me 1
, like a gleam of fire .
The dying Indian 58
sank to
his 58
knees , pointed to the dagger in
Herncastle 7
’s hand , and said , in
his 58
native language -- “ The Moonstone will have its vengeance yet on
you 7
and
yours 59
! ”
He 58
spoke those words , and fell dead on the floor .
Before
I 1
could stir in the matter ,
the men who had followed
me 1
across
the courtyard 53
60 crowded in .
rushed to meet
them 60
, like
a madman 7
.
“ Clear
the room 57
! ”
he 7
shouted to
me 1
, “ and set
a guard 61
on the door ! ”
The men 60
fell back as
he 7
threw
himself 7
on
them 60
with
his 7
torch and
his 7
dagger .
I 1
put
, on whom
I 1
could rely , to keep the door .
Through the remainder of the night ,
I 1
saw no more of
.
Early in the morning , the plunder still going on ,
General Baird 9
announced publicly by beat of drum , that
any thief detected in the fact 64
, be
he 64
whom
he 64
might , should be hung .
The provost-marshal 65
was in attendance , to prove that
the General 9
was in earnest ; and in the throng that followed the proclamation ,
Herncastle 7
and
I 1
met again .
He 7
held out
his 7
hand , as usual , and said , “ Good morning . ”
I 1
waited before
I 1
gave
him 7
my 1
hand in return .
“ Tell
me 1
first , ”
I 1
said , “ how
the Indian in
the armoury 57
58 met
his 58
death , and what those last words meant , when
he 58
pointed to the dagger in
your 7
hand . ”
“
The Indian 58
met
his 58
death , as
I 7
suppose , by a mortal wound , ” said
Herncastle 7
.
“ What
his 58
last words meant
I 7
know no more than
you 1
do . ”