Heroes of Our Indian Empire Author:Henry Morris Purchase of this book includes free trial access to www.million-books.com where you can read more than a million books for free. This is an OCR edition with typos. Excerpt from book: CHAPTER III. THE HON. MOUNTSTUART ELPHINSTONE: The Accomplished Scholar. A.d. 1796—1827. " Cause caused it." The motto of the Scottish family of Elph... more »instone is the brief phrase—" Cause caused it." It means that the great Sovereign of all, God, the first great Cause, raised the family and caused it to prosper, thus expressing its obligation to Him and its desire to follow His guidance. Towards the close of the eighteenth century, a member of this family entered the East India Company's Civil Service, and became one of its most distinguished administrators. His name was Mountstuart Elphinstone. He was a younger son of a Scottish peer of that name, and was born on October 6,1779. Receiving his appointment at the early age of sixteen, he reached Calcutta on February 26, 1796, when Sir John Shore, afterwards Lord Teignmouth, was Governor-General ofBengal. He was soon brought into contact with the dangers and vicissitudes which then characterized Indian life. He had been in India just three years, and was Assistant to the Magistrate of Benares, when one of those incidents took place which, in that country, from time to time, unexpectedly and suddenly occur. Vizier Ali, the dethroned Nawab of Oudh, who had been detained in Benares, under nominal restraint, attacked the Residency, on January 14, 1797, killed Mr. Cherry, the Resident, and would have massacred all the European inhabitants, if his followers had not been kept at bay by the singular courage of Mr. Davis, the Judge and Magistrate of Benares, who defended his house with a spear until assistance could be obtained. Elphinstone and a young friend escaped on horseback, though closely followed by Vizier Ali's troopers. Just about this time Lord Wellesley became Governor- General, and an eventful period of diplomacy ...« less