१८५७ का स्वातन्त्र्य समर (वीर विनायक दामोदर सावरकर - अंग्रेजों द्वारा छपने से पूर्व प्रतिबन्धित महाग्रन्थ)

HAVELOCK
Charles Ball says : “General Havelock began to wreak a
terrible vengeance for the death of Sir Hugh Wheeler.
Batch upon batch of natives mounted the scaffold. The
calmness of mind and nobility of demeanour which some
of the Revolutionaries showed at the time of death was
such as would do credit to those who martyred themselves
for devotion to a principle. One of them, who worked as
a magistrate at Cawnpore under Nana Sahib, was arrested
and put on his trial. But, he seemed so indifferent to all
the proceedings as if they all referred to someone else
and not to him. After he was sentenced to death, he rose
and turned his back to the judge and walked with a firm
step to the scaffold erected for him ; while the Maungs
were making the final preparations, he was looking at their
movements in an easy and natural manner. And without
the least agitation, he mounted the scaffold even as a Yogi
enters Samadhi ! Fortified by the assurances of his creed,
death to him was but a transition from the hated associa-
tion of the infidel Feringhis to the blissful enjoyment of
paradise.”⁴
While the British army entered Cawnpore and was taking
revenge ad libitum, Havelock praised the small army con-
sisting of English and Sikhs for having fought bravely in
an orderly, compact, and determined manner. Soon after
this, General Neill also arrived at Cawnpore, having left
a sufficient English garrison at Allahabad. When these
two English officers of equal rank came together, each of
them would have the desire of having all the troops under
his control and there was a possibility of more disorder
in the already disorderly English army. Seeing this,
Havelock told Neill plainly on the latter’s arrival, “Gene-
ral Neill, it is better that we should understand each
other clearly. So long as I am here, the whole command
is mine and you should not give any orders.” In order
that English interests might not suffer through the personal
4. Charles Ball’s Indian Mutiny, Vol. I, page 388.
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