Far Off; Or, Asia and Australia Described: With Anecdotes and IllustrationsMortimer, Favell Lee
Religion
Far Off; Or, Asia and Australia Described: With Anecdotes and Illustrations
Mortimer, Favell Lee
Asia -- Description and travel; Australia -- Description and travel
During the voyage, a furious storm arose, and all on board despaired of
life. _Then_ it was the youth remembered the prayers he had offered up by
his dying father's bed; _then_ it was he felt he had not turned to God
with all his heart, and _then_ it was he vowed, that if the Lord would
spare him this _once_, he would seek his face in truth. God heard and
spared.
And did the youth remember his prayers and vows? He did, though not at
_first_,--yet after a little while he _did_. He read the word of God, he
prayed for the Spirit of God, and at length he enjoyed the peace of God;
and now he neither fears storm nor sword, because Christ is his shelter
and his shield.
BELOOCHISTAN.
Just underneath Affghanistan, lies Beloochistan, by the sea coast. It is
separated from India by the river Indus. You may know a Beloochee from an
Affghan by his stiff red cotton cap, in the shape of a hat without a
brim; whereas, an Affghan wears a turban. Yet the religion of the
Beloochee is the same as that of the Affghan, namely, the Mahomedan, and
the character is alike, only the Beloochee is the fiercer of the two: the
country also is alike, being wild and rocky.
Beloochistan has not been conquered by the British: it has a king of its
own; yet the British have fought against Beloochistan. On one occasion a
British army was sent to punish the king of Beloochistan for not having
sent corn to us, as he had promised.
The army consisted of three thousand men, and amongst them was the young
soldier, of whom you have heard so much already. His father was ill at
the time, and could not fight; but the youth came upon his pony, with a
camel to carry his tent, and all his baggage.
The troops as usual marched in the night. In the morning, about eight
o'clock, they first caught sight of Kelat, the capital of Beloochistan.
It was a grand sight, for the city is built on a high hill, with a
citadel at the top. The dark Beloochees were seen thronging about the
walls and the towers, gazing at the British army, but not daring to
approach them.
Our soldiers, when they first arrived, were too much tired to begin the
attack, and therefore they rested on the grass for two hours. At ten
o'clock the word of command was given, and the attack was made. The
British planted their six cannons opposite the gates, and began to fire.
Where was the young soldier? He was commanded to run with his company
close up to the wall, and there to remain. As he ran, he was exposed to
the full fire of the enemy. The youth heard bullets whizzing by as he
passed, and he expected every moment that some ball would lay him low;
but through the mercy of God he reached the wall in safety. _Close_
underneath the wall was not a dangerous post, for the bullets passed over
the heads of those standing there.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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