Across India; Or, Live Boys in the Far EastOptic, Oliver
General
Across India; Or, Live Boys in the Far East
Optic, Oliver
India -- Juvenile literature
"Finally, after a thousand adventures, which he never wrote out, he arrived
at the court of Oude, where, by some means, he obtained a captaincy in the
royal army, and, what was better, the favor of the king. In 1780 he was
commander-in-chief of the native army. But his enterprise did not end here;
for he was the king's trusted favorite, and of course he became a
millionaire, even though there were no railroad shares in being at that
period.
"He brought with him some crude notions of architecture, and he set about
reforming that of India. He was not a success in this capacity; and, as my
lord says, his work is ridiculed by men of taste. But this appears to have
been his only sin; for he used the money he had accumulated in establishing
schools, now known under the name of La Martiniere, in which thousands of
children are educated. As a Frenchman I do not feel at all ashamed of
Claude Martine."
"You need not, Professor," added the viscount. "But here we are at the
Lucknow station."
As usual, by the kindness of Lord Tremlyn, everything had been provided for
the arrival of the company of tourists. There were carriages and servants,
and officers as guides, in attendance. Captain Ringgold was very economical
of his time; and, as it was still early in the afternoon, he proposed that
the party should visit some of the objects of interest before dinner. The
baggage was sent to the hotel, and the carriage proceeded to the Residency,
which had been occupied by the official of the British government when the
province was under the native ruler. It was in ruins, for it was so left as
a memorial of the events of the past.
The city was attacked by the rebels; and the little garrison, with the
English people of the town, took refuge in this building. It was a
three-story brick house, not at all fit to be used as a fort. The
cannon-shot of the besiegers wrecked the building, and many of its
defenders, including Sir Henry Lawrence, the commander, perished in the
fight.
The visitors looked over the house and its surroundings, and then went to
the hotel.
CHAPTER XXXII
MORE OF LUCKNOW AND SOMETHING OF BENARES
"I suppose you recall the events of the Mutiny well enough to understand
the situation here in 1857," said Lord Tremlyn the next morning when the
company had gathered in the parlor of the hotel. "But there was no massacre
here, as in Cawnpore, to impress the facts upon your memory, though many
brave men lost their lives in the defence of the place. There were only
seven hundred and fifty troops in the town; but Sir Henry Lawrence had done
the best he could to fortify the Residency, ill adapted as it was for
defensive works.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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