Asia -- Description and travel -- Early works to 1800; Mongols -- History; Polo, Marco, 1254-1323?; Voyages and travels
“On coming near the end of the terrace walk I saw that the turf
between the walk and the grave, and for several yards all round the
grave, was strewed thick with palm branches and bright fresh-gathered
flowers—quite a thick carpet. It was a little matter, but so exactly
what she would have thought of.”[49]
And, therefore, Yule thought of this for her! He also recorded the
scene two days later in some graceful and touching lines, privately
printed, from which the following may be quoted:
“When night lowered black, and the circling shroud
Of storm rolled near, and stout hearts learned dismay;
Not Hers! To her tried Lord a Light and Stay
Even in the Earthquake and the palpable cloud
Of those dark months; and when a fickle crowd
Panted for blood and pelted wrath and scorn
On him she loved, her courage never stooped:
But when the clouds were driven, and the day
Poured Hope and glorious Sunshine, she who had borne,
The night with such strong Heart, withered and drooped,
Our queenly lily, and smiling passed away.
Now! let no fouling touch profane her clay,
Nor odious pomps and funeral tinsels mar
Our grief. But from our England’s cannon car
Let England’s soldiers bear her to the tomb
Prepared by loving hands. Before her bier
Scatter victorious palms; let Rose’s bloom
Carpet its passage....”
Yule’s deep sympathy in this time of sorrow strengthened the friendship
Lord Canning had long felt for him, and when the time approached for
the Governor-General to vacate his high office, he invited Yule, who
was very weary of India, to accompany him home, where his influence
would secure Yule congenial employment. Yule’s weariness of India at
this time was extreme. Moreover, after serving under such leaders as
Lord Dalhousie and Lord Canning, and winning their full confidence and
friendship, it was almost repugnant to him to begin afresh with new
men and probably new measures, with which he might not be in accord.
Indeed, some little clouds were already visible on the horizon. In
these circumstances, it is not surprising that Yule, under an impulse
of lassitude and impatience, when accepting Lord Canning’s offer,
also ‘burnt his boats’ by sending in his resignation of the service.
This decision Yule took against the earnest advice of his anxious and
devoted wife, and for a time the results justified all her misgivings.
She knew well, from past experience, how soon Yule wearied in the
absence of compulsory employment. And in the event of the life in
England not suiting him, for even Lord Canning’s good-will might
not secure perfectly congenial employment for his talents, she knew
well that his health and spirits would be seriously affected. She,
therefore, with affectionate solicitude, urged that he should adopt the
course previously followed by his friend Baker, that is, come home on
furlough, and only send in his resignation after he saw clearly what
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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