Oxford Democrat. [volume] (Paris, Me.) 1833-1933, 1858-04-02
MIS- G. ELL A n Y .
rrom Household Words.
wANDERINGs IN INDIA,
The Lost Ornhnn 10y.

march towards Agra. During the drive,
the Lieutenant entertained me by relating
a number Of stories connected with the war
in AGshanis,an. Several of,hem interested
me exceedingly; one in particular. twas
this; which now give in the Lieutenant's
own words, as nearly as | can recollect them
About year ago, said be, was passing
through Meerut. on my way from the Hills,
whittier bad been on sick certificate, and
was putting up for few days with my
friend Richards, Of the Light Cavalry
man whom had known during the dlsIs.
trous campaign to which thi. narrative has
reference. Ono morning, after breakfast,
there came to the bungalow Of my friend ,
an Afghan, who was dealer in dried fruits
such as grapes, apples, and pomegrana,e',
and inquired IL the SIhib or Mem.sahib
was in want OF any Of these commodities.
which be had jus, brought from Caubul.
Ny friends wife. who bad also been in
AGehans,an, and spoke the mongrel Persian
current in that country, replied in the Aiir.
native, and the Afghan was admitted 10
tho vcrnniah, to exhibit his specimens and
declare hls prices. To talk TO these dealers
is rather amusing at times. especially when
you know their habits and customs, and
pcculiari,ies, as we'll as their language. To
people who have been in their country, 1t is
like meeting with an old friend, and one
fingers as long as possible over the business,
Of the bargain and sale. Aud ~ it was on
this morning. We bad him fOr a, least an
hour in the ,eandah, before my friends
w,Co would decide upon what she would
take. This matter concluded, the Afghan
inquired II the lady would buy ki,,cn--a
Persian kitten; kittens also being a con-.
modify with these travelling ATshans.
"Yes; where are the kiicns2" said the
lady.
A" Here" said the merchant, putting his
hand into huge pocket a, the hack Of his
chogah "a sort OF glrberline), and with
drawing. one by one, no les than sixteen Of
these liiilr animal, (,ll males). For more
than the hour which was consumed in ne.
go,iating about the fruit, aud talking on
other subjects, ,hi, living hustle bad remain.
ed perfectly moiionlc.s, and had not uttered
a single sound but now, when they sAw
the light. and were placed upon all four',
they ran abou, and mewed-bushy tail. on
cnd-after the most vigorous fashion i'm.
acinablc. Tncrc thew were! kittens as
black as the blackcst ink, kittens as white
as the whi'est snow, kittens as yellow as
tho yellowc.i gold. and kittens Picbald,
brindlcd, and grey.
There they are. Mcm.sahib. Take your
choice. Twenty rupees 1.-TWO Pound')
each"
Tno lady selected one Of the white and
one OF the black kittens, and for the two ho
was induced to accept thirty.Gye rupees
(thrcO pound. ten shillins'). This may
sem large sum Of money To give for q
brace Of young eats but !. mus. be rcmem'
bered that they came from Bokara, and were
Of the pures, breed that could possibly b,
procured.
Tho Afghan dealer took his leave, and
promised to rcnd the fruits in the course Of
the day. llo fuldlled his promise, a, nihn'
time there came boy Of about eleven years
OF age, bearing the basket containing them
upon his head, which was .hawled after thc
fashion Of the Afghan people. The boy
was admitted to the room. No sooST was
he shown in, than his exceedingly beautiful
countenance, aud its peculiar expression,
riyeted tho attention Of all Of US. and wC
put to him a variety Of questions, which he
answered with great Intelligence, and in a
tone Of voice 80 soit and sllyery that even
the cultural sounds he uttered, came like
music to the ear.
look into that boys face. said the
lady to her husband aud myself "obseryc
lis very feature and his tee,h-resard cs-
pccially hi, smile-ycs, and even the shape
Of his fingers, aud then tell me Of whom he
IA the very IMAGE
81 know" said my friend.
$50 do l." exclaimed your humble ser
want.
"Stay !" said the lady, enersetically
" Do not speak but let each Of us write
the name on slip Of paper, and see If we
agree" and tearing up an envelope and
taking tiny pencil case from her watch
chain, she wrote name upon one slip, and
then handed to me and to her husband, re-
spce,iyely, a slip and the pencil case. When
we had each written name, we compared
them. and they did not agree exactly. My
friend and his wife had written Captain
Percy -. i had written Mrs. Percy
=. That the boy was tho offspring OF
that unfortunate coupls, (cousius,) who
peri.hed in that campaign, and Of whose
young child no one knew what had ever be-
come, We were all quite satisfied /; and our
reflections became extremely melancholy.
ave questioned the boy as to his parent
age, his relation to the Afghan dealer in
eats and fruits, and on variety Of other
matters. His replies were simply to the
effect tha, he was an orphan and slave ;
that he knew not the place Of his birth, but
believed that it was AGshanistan that he
was Mahomedan, and that his earliest
recollections were associated with Caubul.
Al. tha