Lives of Indian Officers - 1895 Author:John William Kaye 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: that his name had been duly entered tor a cadetship of infantry on the establishment of Bombay. He spent two months in London, studying under the well-known Orie... more »ntal professor, Dr Gilchrist, and watched over by Mr Joseph Hume, who gave him good advice of all kinds, and acted as his banker; and then on the 16th of May—his birthday —he attended at the India House and formally took the oath of allegiance. It was a matter of pleasant family arrangement that the eldest brother, James Burues, who had been appointed an assistant-surgeon on the Bombay establishment, should sail in the same vessel with Alexander; so they embarked together, early in June, on board the good ship Sarah. Of this voyage there are abundant records in the young cadet's journal, many passages of which exhibit considerable discernment of character, and no slight powers of description. But it must suffice here to state that, after an uneventful voyage, the Sarah arrived at her destination, and that, on the 2 1st of October, 1821, these two young Montrosians found themselves on the beach of Bombay, with very little money in their pockets, and with very slender interest; but with stout hearts, clear heads, and that determination to make for themselves careers in the public service which, in the days of the East India Company, carried so many members of our middle classes in India straight on to fortune and to fame. The brothers were soon separated. On the I3th of November, James Burnes was gazetted to do duty as an assistant-surgeon with the Artillery at Maloougah. Fourdays before this, Alexander's name had appeared in Genera. Orders, by which he was posted to do duty with the 1st Battalion of the 3rd Regiment of Native Infantry at Bombay. On the 1pth, he recorded in his journal that he had 'commenced his milita...« less