The Humour and Pathos of Anglo-Indian Life: Extracts from his brother's note-book, made by Dr. TicklemoreMayer, J. E.
General
The Humour and Pathos of Anglo-Indian Life: Extracts from his brother's note-book, made by Dr. Ticklemore
Mayer, J. E.
British -- India; India -- Social life and customs
As soon as the poor naigue reached the hospital a dose of brandy, a
little disguised and given as medicine, quickly overcame the syncope,
and Ram Sing opened his eyes, sat up, and when he saw W., who had walked
by the side of his litter to the hospital, standing by his side, his
eyes brightened, and he said, 'Saib ne marre?' W., who spoke Hindustani
fluently, assured him that, thanks to his courage and quickness, he had
received no hurt. Ram Sing was then told to lie down, and to be silent,
while his wounds were attended to. This was by no means an operation
without pain, but not a word nor a sound did the man utter. He had saved
his Captain's life, all the regiment knew it, and he was a man of mark
from that day forth. I verily believe that the pride and pleasure that
he felt in what he had done repaid him a hundredfold for the suffering
he had undergone; and as for the risk, he was too truly brave to think
for a moment about that, and, more than all this, he loved and respected
W. with a devotion that is not easy to describe. W. was always his hero,
his idol; W. could never do wrong in his mind. W.'s remarkable bravery,
imperturbable quietude in danger, together with his kindness and
generosity, had elevated him into the position of a sort of demigod or
superior being, and I truly and sincerely believe that almost every
native man in the gallant --th would have laid down his life for W.
without hesitation. The feeling displayed by these men brought strongly
to my mind that shown by Clive's Sepoys at the siege of Arcot, when rice
was so scarce that he feared he should be starved into surrender, and
when there were 20,000 foes surrounding the place.
This incident closes what we have to present regarding Captain Whistler,
one of the most noble-minded, brave and generous men that ever adorned
the Indian Service.
No. III.
MISS B. AND HER PRESENT.
From my brother's memoranda, said the Doctor to the company on board the
_Elephanta_, it would appear that several of the officers of the
far-famed regiment, the 13th Dragoons, possessed merits considerably
above the average. He gives sketches of most of them, portraits of a
few. These I shall not attempt to reproduce, but I will venture to make
some selections. He says:
'I found Colonel B., the officer commanding the regiment, one of the
most courtly-mannered men I had ever met, and though his figure was by
no means commanding, his easy elegant address was highly captivating,
and his superior intelligence, marked by every look and word, gained
respect at once, while the kind and urbane expression of his features
challenged esteem and regard.' Within five minutes after his card had
been taken in, and his name announced, my brother found himself, though
previously a total stranger, chatting perfectly at his ease with his new
commandant, such was the charm of Colonel B.'s manner.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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