Lucknow, after its recapture by the British, witnessed scenes of wanton destruction and indiscriminate plunder. William Howard Russell, the special correspondent of The Times, was then present in the city and has given an elaborate eye-witness account of the sacking of Kaiser Bagh on 15 March 1858. In the sketch is depicted one of the many exciting incidents of the day. A soldier is asking, “Is this string of little white stones (pearls) worth anything, gentlemen?”