The Great White Hand; Or, the Tiger of Cawnpore: A story of the Indian MutinyMuddock, J. E. (Joyce Emmerson)
History
The Great White Hand; Or, the Tiger of Cawnpore: A story of the Indian Mutiny
Muddock, J. E. (Joyce Emmerson)
Anglo-Indian fiction; India -- History -- Sepoy Rebellion, 1857-1858 -- Fiction; Kanpur (India) -- Fiction
She loved him. Every look, every action, every tone betrayed that she
loved him with a true woman’s pure love. If it had sprung up suddenly,
it was none the less genuine or strong. She would have been content
to follow him, even if he, like the fabled “Wandering Jew,” had been
doomed to go on and on, restlessly and for evermore. Still would she
have followed, living in his shadow, drawing her very life from his
look and voice, sorrowing when he sorrowed, laughing when he laughed.
Nay, more; she would have taken upon herself all the pains, however
fearful, he might have had to endure. She would have rendered that last
and greatest sacrifice that one human being can make for another--she
would have laid down her life to save his.
It was a grand love, this love of hers--not the sickly sentiment of a
wayward girl, but the strong, powerful, absorbing passion of a woman; a
love as heroic as any that Homer ever sang of, or that moved the Roman
women of old to follow the youths to the battle-fields, and die when
they died.
Harper was a stranger in Cawnpore, but he knew that the numerical
strength of the garrison was ridiculously low, and, knowing this,
his heart sank as he observed unmistakable signs of coming mischief.
During the journey he had been astonished at the large number of
mounted natives he had met speeding along to and from Delhi, and he
had no doubt that these men were spies and agents, passing backwards
and forwards with news; so that he was not surprised when he found
that information of his coming had preceded him to Cawnpore; and as
he passed through the streets he was frequently met with the ironical
question, put by some insolent native, “Holloa! how fares it with the
English in Delhi?”
His companion, too, was also subjected to considerable attention.
Her appearance belied the idea that she belonged to the lower order,
although she was dressed in the commonest of native dresses; but there
was an air of refinement and bearing about her totally out of keeping
with her costume. This did not escape the keen scrutiny of hundreds of
eyes, and many were the ominous whispers that fell upon the ears of
Harper, and he frequently detected the words--“She is from the Palace.
She is one of the King’s slaves.”
He lost no time in proceeding to the English quarters; he found them
deserted; and he soon ascertained that the Europeans were congregated
with General Wheeler behind the earth-works. This place was some
distance from where he then was, and both he and Haidee were greatly
exhausted. But food and shelter were not to be had, so he set his face
boldly towards the fortifications.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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