The gateway was, indeed, almost choked up with the bodies of those who
had been either suffocated in the crush, or killed by their pursuers.
On his palanquin being overturned, Tippoo had evidently risen to his
feet, and had at the same moment been shot through the head by an
English soldier, ignorant of his rank. In the evening he was buried
with much state, by the side of his father, in the mausoleum of Lal
Bang, at the eastern extremity of the island.
It was with great difficulty that, when the British soldiers became
aware of the massacre of their countrymen, a few days before, they
were restrained from taking vengeance upon his sons and the inmates of
the Palace. In the assault, 8000 of the defenders were killed; while
the loss of the British, during the siege and in the assault, amounted
to 825 Europeans and 639 native troops. An enormous quantity of
cannon, arms, and ammunition was captured, and the value of the
treasure and jewels amounted to considerably over a million pounds,
besides the doubtless large amount of jewels that had, in the first
confusion, fallen into the hands of the soldiers.
As Dick, after the fighting had ceased, went, by order of the General,
to examine the prisoners and ascertain their rank, his eye fell upon
an old officer, whose arm hung useless by his side, broken by a musket
ball.
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