The Caledonian. [volume] (St. Johnsbury, Vt.) 1837-1867, 1858-02-06
Jessie Brown and tho Rolief OF.
Lucknow.

LUCKNOW
/ We give on our first column an incident in
the relief Of Lucknow, beautifully done into
verse, which appears IN the Erb number Of
. the atlantic, The LoHdoD/1Imey.c contains O
letter from the wife Of au officer, at Luos ow
which reveals this samo scene, as dramatic
touching, and picturesque as any that can be
found ia fiction,
10 understand fully the condition Of the
hesogsd Il should be- remembered that Cen
iiBtrlrck was not au hour too soon in the
relief, as the advance Of the cncmys batter
les aud mircs bad settled he fate Of the gar
risoni aud It should be known that in the
continual upro1r Of the oannonadc and the
distractions Of huildiugs aud military works,
the belcaguercd and devoted garrison did not
hear or sec anything of the advancing relief
until the battle had been fought outside, and
the relieving force was marching up to the
gates,
"On every side death stared us in the iacci
no human skill could avert il any longer,
We saw the moment approach when We must
bid farewell 10 earth, set without feeling that
unuttcrablr horror which must have been eX-
pcricnced by the unhappy victims at Gavin
pore. We were resolve rather 10 die than
TO yield, and were fully persuaded that In
twenty four hours all would be over The
engineers had said 30, and we all knew
the worst We Women slrole Ia oncaursi,e
each other. and 10 perform the light dutir,
which had btcn assigned 10 us, such "a, con.
ycyng order, 90 the batteries, and supplying
the men with provisions, especially cup,
Of coffee, which We prepared Tor them day aud
night
had gone out TO Try and make myself use.
lul, In company with Jessie Brown, the wife
ola corporal in my husbands regiment. Poor
Jessie had bcc. IN a slatc.or restless excite
mcut ull through the siege, and had fallen
qway ,isibly within the last few days \
constant fever consumed her, and her mind
wandered occasionally, especially tha, day
when the rccollccliuns of home seemed pow.
crlully present TO her. At last, overcome
with fatigue, she lay down ON the ground,
wrapped up in her plaid sat beside her,
promising to awaken her when, as she said,
her father should rctu1u'from the blowing.
She tell, at ,ag'h !nto profound ,umbcr
motonlcss, and apparently brcathlc,,, ber
head resting in my lap. myself could no
longer resist the inclination to Sleep in spite
of the continual roar Of the cannon. Sudden.
ly / vn, aroused by Wild, ucarlhly ,crcam
close TO my ear my companion stood upright
beside me, her arms raised. ond her hrod
bent forward 600 the attitude ofli,,cuiug. \
look ur Wtcusc delight broke over her coup
tcnoncci she gruspcd my hand. drew mc.to-
ward her, and exclaimed, Diuuo yc hear it
Dmna yc hca, ii' Ay, I'm no drcamn irs
the slogan o. the Ilighandcr, We're saved,
3 --..s..11 :, ',-
Ihcn.- -liHetrF- tFTT6Ii on her knees, She
thanked God with passionate faryor fclt
utterly bcwildcrcd, my lmglist cars heard
only the roar of artillery, and ! Thought my
poor Jessie was still ra,ingi but she dartcd
to the batteries and heard her cry ipccssaut-
,ly TO thc men, Courage courage llark to
to- sIbgou-to the Macgrcgor the grandcst
of them a, Here's help at last" To describe
the effect Of these words upon the soldiers
would be Impossible Fer q. moment the,
ceased firing, and every soul listened in in
tense anxiety. Gradually however, there
arose -murmur Of bitter disappointment. and
the wailng Of the women who had nockcd to
the spot burst out anew as the colonel shook
his head. oar duh lowland ears heard no.
thing but the rattle of musketry
\ few minutes more of this dcathlikc sus-
pcnsc, Of this agonizing hope and Jessie,
who had sunk on the ground sprang TO her
feet, aud cried, in voice so clear and pierre.
ing, that it was heard along the whole Hne,
viii yc no believe it moo ? The slogan has
ceased. indeed, but the Campbclls are cominr
Dye hear, dye hcnr?' At that moment we
seemed indeed to hear the voice of God in
the distance, when the pibroch of the High.
landers brought us tidings of dclivcrcncc
for now Nhcrc was no longer any doubt of the
fact That shrill, penetrating, ccaseless
sound, which rose above all other sounds,
could come neither from the advance of the
enemy, nor from the work of the sappers.
No, it was indeed the blast of the Scottish
bugpipcs now shril and harsh, as threaten
ing vengeance on the foe, then in softer tones
c'ming to promise succor TO their friends in
need
Never, surely, was such a scene as that
which followed. Not heart in the rcsdcn-
cy of Lucknow but bowed itself before God.
All, by one simultaneous impulse, fell upon
their knees, and nothing was heard but burst
ing sobs, and the murmurcd voice Of prayer.
Then all arose. and there rang out from n
thousand lips great shout of Joy which re-
sounded far and wide, and lent new vigor 10
that blessed pibroch. To-our chrcr Of God
I ..... h,,... 49,. .-...1:.l L., III