Narrative of the Life and Travels of Serjeant B——Butler, Robert
History
Narrative of the Life and Travels of Serjeant B——
Butler, Robert
Butler, Robert, 1784- -- Travel -- India; India -- Description and travel
means of delivering her from this dreadful malady; and I understand
that, since that time, bleeding a person almost to death, has
repeatedly been tried with success in India, for this disease.
CHAPTER X.
_March 19, 1811._--We left Trichinopoly, to proceed to Bangalore.
I had upon this march a doolie, for the first time since we came to
India; and I had now travelled about 1600 miles with the Royals, since
the regiment arrived in the country. We reached Bangalore upon the
12th of April; and, as I continued still very poorly, the doctor told
the commanding officer, that it was in vain to keep me in India, in
the hopes of regaining my health; for that was a thing not in the
least to be expected, so I was ordered to be invalided. I accordingly
passed the Board upon the 20th of August, along with thirty-two more;
but only eighteen of these were ordered for Europe.
I now, according to promise, resume my story of the little girl that
went to Serjeant Brown at Trichinopoly, when we took home the orphan,
to whom my wife had been godmother. This serjeant's wife was attacked
by the flux, after we came to Bangalore, and being a woman grievously
addicted to liquor, she was for some time abandoned by all the women
who wished well to their character; but my wife hearing of her
deplorable state, could not think of a countrywoman dying amongst
black people, without any European woman paying the least attention to
her. She determined, therefore, to render her what assistance was in
her power; and, accordingly, went one day to her room, where she found
her in a very loathsome state, attended only by her black female
servant, and the child crying very much. She asked the woman what made
the child cry so bitterly? to which she replied, _choar elia_,
(that is, she has no meat; or rather, she is crying for hunger.) After
putting clean clothes upon Mrs. Brown's bed, and doing all that she
could do for her immediate comfort; she brought the poor starved
little creature into our hut[14], and said unto me, "O! Robert, if you
will not take it amiss, I will keep this poor object, and see if I can
do any thing for her." I cheerfully agreed to her humane proposal; and
could scarcely help crying, when I saw the child crying; and my wife
also bathed in tears. We accordingly kept the child, and Mrs. Brown
still getting worse, died in a few days. My wife became much attached
to the little girl; and the period drawing near when I had to leave
the regiment, we proposed to Serjeant Brown to take her home to
Scotland with us, but he formally refused, saying that he would get
her brought up himself; but we could not think of leaving her in the
country, as Serjeant Brown might soon be taken from her by death[15];
and, likewise, because a man in his situation could not do his duty to
a child like this, when he had no one but a black woman to look after
his domestic matters; and besides, we could not think of taking her
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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