Vellenaux A Novel by Edmund William Edmund William (top non fiction books of all time .TXT) 📖
- Author: Edmund William Edmund William
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Whose Positive Injunctions To Him On Leaving England Were That He Was
Not To Attempt To Impose Upon Her With Any Account Of Dangers,
Difficulties, Or Surprising Adventures That Were Not Strictly True, For
She Hated Liars, And Would Cut Him Out Of Her Will If She Detected Him
Indulging In anything Of The Sort; But Requested That He Would Write To
Her A Full, True And Particular Account Of His First Battle, Should He
Be Engaged In One.
"At The Commencement Of His First Campaign He Wrote To The Old Lady A
Long Descriptive Letter, But Unfortunately He Did Not Pay Sufficient
Attention To His Orthography, And So Came To Grief, For One Paragraph Of
The Letter Ran Thus:
"'Our Entire Brigade, Ten Thousand Strong, Halted About Six In The
Morning, And By Seven The Whole Of The Tents Were Snugly Pitched, And We
Were Taking Our Breakfast Comfortably In The Tops Of Trees Which Grew On
Both Sides Of The Road.'
"He Spelt The Word Topes Without The Capital Or Letter E. Tents For Ten
Thousand Men Pitched In The Tops Of Trees. Oh, Was There Ever Such A
Monstrous Falsehood, And The Poor Old Lady Fairly Shook From Head To
Foot With Pious Indignation. The Letter Was Returned To The Writer
Without Remark Or Comment, And She Was Never Again Heard To Mention The
Name Of Her Nephew, And On Her Death, Which Occurred Soon After, It Was
Found That She Had Bequeathed The Whole Of Her Property To Establish A
Mission For Diffusing The Gospel Truth Among The Natives Of The Fiji
Islands, And The Unfortunate Victim To Bad Spelling Was Left Lamenting."
In Another Of His Epistles To The Fair Young Girl In Merry England, He
Winds Up With The Following: "Much Has Been Said And Written Concerning
The Sagacity Of Some Animals, Especially The Elephant, Horse And Dog,
But The Other Day I Was An Eye Witness To A Fact Which Developed The
Cunning, Reason, Instinct, Or Call It What You Will, Of The Indian
Jackall. Having Sauntered From My Tent In The Cool Of The Evening
Through Some Wild Cotton Plants, Down To A Clump Of Shady Trees That
Grew At No Great Distance From The River, I Sat Down To Enjoy A Cigar,
And While So Doing I Observed The Following Incident: A Jackall, One Of
The Largest I Believe I Had Ever Seen, Came Quietly Out From The Cover
Of The Jungle And Made For The River, Having In His Mouth A Large Bunch
Of Cotton; Curious To Know To What Purpose He Intended Applying His
Mouthful, I Watched Him. Having Reached The Water'S Edge He Turned
Deliberately Round And Faced In The Direction Where I Was Seated, But
Not In View, Then Depressing His Bushy Tail He Gradually Backed Into The
Water; Very Slow, Indeed, Was His Backward Movement, But On Gaining The
Centre Of The Somewhat Shallow Stream His Whole Body Became Submerged,
Leaving Nothing Visible Above The Water But The Tip Of His Nose;
Suddenly He Dived, And Reappeared On The Opposite Bank. After Giving
Himself A Good Shake, He Scampered Off, Apparently In High Glee, Leaving
The Cotton Floating On The Surface Of The Water. Determined To Find Out
If Possible The Meaning Of This Strange Proceeding, I Walked To The
River'S Bank, And Wading Some Paces In contrived, With My Long Riding
Whip, To Get Hold Of The Piece Of Cotton. You May Judge Of My Surprise
On Finding It To Be Actually Alive With Enormous Flees. The Cunning
Jackall Had Taken This Effectual Means Of Ridding Himself Of His
Troublesome Companions."
But Ere Long Scenes Of A Much More Stirring Character Engaged The
Attention Of Our Young Soldier, And Letter-Writing Had To A Considerable
Extent To Give Way To The Flashing Of The Sabre And The Blurr Of The
Trumpet. The Punjaub Was Again Swarming With A Discontented Population,
Whose Warlike Natures Rendered Them A Most Formidable Foe For Everywhere
It Was Acknowledged That The Seik Soldiery As A Body Were Very
Effective, And Their Cavalry The Finest Horsemen In The Country. These
Had Yet To Be Conquered And The Bloody Fields Of Mooltan And
Chillianwalla Had To Be Fought And Won, And The Campaign On The Sutlej
Brought To A Successful Termination, Ere The Troops About To Be Engaged
Could Return To Peaceful Quarters.
These Brave, But Now Lawless People, Rendered Desperate By The Internal
Commotion Of Petty Factions Under Different Leaders, Each Seeking His
Own Personal Aggrandizement, Endeavored To Throw The Onus Of The Coming
Struggle On The Shoulders Of The British Government, Though It Was
Patent To All Nations, European And Asiatic, That It Had Been Brought
About By The Punjaubees Themselves.
The Bloody Fields Of Allewal And Sabranon, Where They Had Been Severely
Beaten, Was Not Sufficient To Deter These Dusky Warriors Or Prevent Them
From Again Trying Their Strength With The Paramount Power In India,
Formidable As They Knew It To Be From Past Experience, But It Is
Doubtful Whether The Seik Soldiery Ever Seriously Thought, Although They
Often Hauntingly Boasted Of Fighting With The Greatest Power In
Hindostan, Until Within Two Or Three Months Of The First Battle, And
Even Then The Rude And Illiterate Yeoman Considered That They Were About
To Enter Upon A War Purely Defensive, Although One In every Way
Congenial To Their Feelings Of Pride And National Jealousy. To The
General Impression Of The Seiks, In common With Other Indian Nations,
That The English Were And Are Ever Ready To Extend Their Power, Is To Be
Added The Particular Bearing Of The British Government Toward The
Punjaub Itself.
Throughout This Campaign It Was By The Fortune Of War Determined That
Arthur'S Regiment Should Serve, And Among The Brave Men Who Rode In Its
Ranks No Heart Beat Higher Or Bosom Burned With Greater Military Ardor
At The Prospect Of Glory Now Opening Before Them, Than That Of Arthur
Carlton, For With Him Promotion Was The Oyster To Be Eagerly Sought For,
But Which Could Only Be Opened By The Sword, And No Service, However
Dangerous, Must Be Shirked, In Order To Attain This Desired End.
"Gentlemen, It Affords Me Much Pleasure To Be Able To Announce To You
That I Have Just Received The Order For The Light Dragoons To Proceed
Forthwith And Join The Field Force Now Advancing Towards The River
Sutlej, For The Purpose Of Reducing The Strong Fortress Of Mooltan, And
Capturing Its Dewan, The Notorious Moolraj, Who For Some Time Past Has
Been Sowing The Seeds Of Disaffection Amongst His Subjects, And Has At
Last Succeeded In Inducing The Seiks And Others To Take Up Arms And Act
Offensively Against Our Government. This, Of Course, Can Lead To But One
Result--Their Overthrow And Ultimate Defeat; But It Will Also Give Our
Regiment An Opportunity Of Gaining Fresh Laurels And Again Proving To
These Fellows How Dangerous It Is To Measure Weapons With British
Cavalry. We March The Day After To-Morrow."
Thus Spoke Colonel Leoline, Commanding The Regiment In Which Young
Carlton Was Serving As A Cornet.
This News, So Pleasing To The Ear Of The Soldiers, Was Received With The
Utmost Enthusiasm By Every Officer Present. They Gave Three Cheers For
Their Gallant Leader, And Another Rouser For The Service They Belonged
To, Which Made The Walls Of Their Mess Room Ring Again, So Delighted
Were They At The Prospect Of Leaving Their Quiet, Humdrum Quarters For
The Dash And Excitement Of The Battle Field.
The Panorama Which Opened To The View On The Mornings Of The--Was
Glorious In The Extreme, And One Well Calculated To Awaken Feelings Of
Emotion In The Most Obdurate Breast. The Dark Waters Of The Sutlej
Glittering In The Sun'S Rays As They Flowed Onward, All Unconscious Of
The Bloody Strife About To Be Enacted On Its Banks: The Frowning
Fortress, With Its Embattled Walls Bristling With Cannon And Swarming
With Men, Whose Dusky Figures Beamed With Hate And Defiance; Around The
Outskirts Of The Town Were The Battalions Of Seik Soldiery, Drawn Up
Under The Dewan Moolraj, Watching With Savage Anxiety The Approach Of
The British Force, Whose Regiments Of Cavalry That Headed The Advance
Opened Their Glittering Ranks To The Right And Left And Made Apparent
The Serried Battalions Of Infantry And The Frowning Batteries Of Cannon.
The Scene Was Grandly Magnificent. The Eye Included The Whole Field And
Glanced Approvingly From The Steady Order Of One Foe To The Even Array
Of The Other. All This Spoke Gladness Of Mind And Strength Of Heart; But
Beneath The Elate Looks Of The Advancing Warriors There Lurked That
Fierce Desire For The Death Of Their Fellow-Men Which Must Ever Impel
The Valiant Soldier.
With The General Details During The Progress Of The Siege Our Story Has
Little To Do,--Suffice It To Say That It Was A Bloody And Protracted
Affair. The Mooltanees Fought With Their Usual Desperate Valor, But They
Had To Cope With Men Who Never Turned Their Backs Upon A Foe When The
Fiat Of Battle Had Gone Forth, Who Scorned To Yield Even When Greatly
Outnumbered, And Regarded Defeat, If Not Actually A Crime, An
Imperishable Disgrace; And So The Strife Waged Fast And Furious Up To
The Closing Hours Of The Conflict.
The Siege And Train Heavy Ordinance Of The Besieging Force Hurled Their
Ponderous Shot And Shell Against The Masonry And Buildings That Defended
The Town And Citadel, Destroying, Crushing, And Burning With Terrible
Effect, While The Field Artillery Poured Forth Continuous Discharges Of
Lighter Projectiles Of Every Description Then In Use, Sweeping With
Dreadful Result Every Opposing Force That Appeared On The Walls Or Other
Parts Of The Fortification. Amid The Dire Confusion And Heavy Clouds Of
Smoke Caused By The Incessant Cannonading The Infantry Effected An
Entrance Among The Advanced Mounds And Trenches Of Petty Outworks, And
Animated By Their Partial Success, Formed Themselves Simultaneously Into
Wedges And Masses, And Headed By Their Brave Leaders Rushed Forward In
Gallant Style. With A Shout They Leaped The Ditch And Up Swarming
Mounted The Ramparts And Stood Victorious Amid The Captured Cannon.
The Cavalry Were Effectually Employed Around And About The Outworks Of
The Town, And Many A Dashing Charge And Smart Encounter Took Place
Wherever The Enemy'S Horse Made A Sortie Or Sally, Which Was Of Frequent
Occurrence.
Wherever The Blows From The Tulwa'S Of The Seik Horse Rained Heaviest
There Was To Be Seen The Flashing Sabre Of Our Young Cornet, Cutting And
Slashing With Right Good Will. The Early Training Of Old Bridoon Stood
Him In Good Stead, And Although Scarcely Twenty-One He Had Strength And
Nerve Far Beyond His Age, And On Several Occasions His Conspicuous
Bravery Drew Forth The Hearty Plaudits Of His Own Men And Others Who
Witnessed His Dashing Courage.
In One Of The Outworks Captured From The Enemy During The Early Part Of
They Siege Had Been Erected A Field Hospital For The Wounded, Under
Charge Of Assistant Surgeon Dracott Of The Light Dragoons. Now It So
Happened That On The Day Of The Grand Attack A Party Of Seik Horse In
Attempting To Effect A Retreat From The Town Were Met By The Dragoons,
And After A Severe Contest Driven Back And Pursued As Far As It Was
Thought Advisable. A Number Of These Fellows Turned Down A Narrow
Passage In Hopes Of Escaping Into The Country At Another Point Less
Guarded, And In So Doing Came Suddenly Upon The Hospital Alluded To, In
Which There Was A Considerable Number Of Poor Fellows Who Had Been More
Or Less Hurt During The Attack. Filled With Rage And Discomfiture At The
Failure Of Their First Attempt, And Seeing The Place Was Guarded Only By
A Small Party Of Sepoys, For Whom They Had A Supreme Contempt--For The
Independent Yeomanry Warriors Of Afghanistan And The Punjaub Held In
Light Estimation The Hired Native Soldiery Of Southern India. There Were
Numerous Instances On Record During The Afghan And Seik Wars Where The
Men Of The North Were Seen, Sword In Hand, To Attack The Company'S
Sepoys, Beat Down Or Turn Aside Their Bayonets, And With The Other Hand
Drag Them From The Ranks By Their Cross Belts And Slay Them. Even When
Run Through The Body They Have Been Known To Seize A Firm Grip Of The
Musket Until They Had Dealt A Fatal Blow To Their Antagonist And Both
Fall Together Mortally Wounded, So Hostile And Revengeful Were They One
To Another When Engaged In conflict, Creed Against Creed, For The Sepoys
Of The South Were, As A Rule, Hindoos, While The Seiks And Afghans Were
Mahomedans--They Conceived The Brutal Design Of Destroying The Hospital
And Ruthlessly Putting To Death All They Could Lay Their Hands On, In
Revenge For The Morning'S Defeat, Then Escape To The Plains Beyond The
Town. After A Few Moments' Consultation They Commenced The Onslaught;
The Sepoy Guard Made But A Feeble Resistance To These Powerful Horsemen,
They Threw Down Their Arms And Fled In Haste Leaving The Poor Invalids
To Their Mercy.
Draycott The Moment
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