Wichita eagle. [volume] (Wichita, Kan.) 1886-1890, 1889-10-13

drove him here; everybody knew it IL
England. You were mighty shabDny
treated at the ranch, and you requited It
by preventing what would have been
bloody row, and by lending US helping
hand. Even the old man recognizes
that; and 1 think he'd be glad to say so
to you, and see you, if you were not just
what you area cavalry officer"
"Why, what on earth can we have
done? If any of our cloth have wronged
Mr.. Maitland in any way, it is our right
to know it and take it up"
cit wasn't your cloth, old fellow"
said Even, thawing visibly, ''but it was
the cavalry all the same that broke his
heart and his pride, and made his life
the wreck it is, and drove him from his
home, stunning the sight of his fellow
men, all these years-exiling her, too, in
the prime of her young life. Dir. Perry,
there are only three or four Of us at
Dunraven who know the story, but we
have only sympathy and pity-no blame
for him, though he is the hardest
master | ever served"
''How did it happen:" asked Perry.
"All through his son. There had been
one-Archie-when the Lancers Were
ordered to South Africa. He was
youngster, only II, they tell me, and he
had just been gazetted to his cornetcy.
The old man was all wrapped up in him,
for of the three boys the eldest had died
only the month before the regiment was
ordered on foreign service and the Sec
ond had been killed in India. Both
these two who were gone had made
themselves famous among their COM
rades by their fearlessness and high
character, and the old man, of course,
could not ask Archie to quit the service
just when orders for dangerous duty
came. The boy went to the Cape with
his corps, and got into the thick of the
Zulu war Just at the time of the massa-
ere Of the Twenty-fourth at Isandlwhana
and the fight at Rorke's Drift. | was
at home then, and all England was
q'livering with grief over such needless
sacrifice as was made of that regiment,
and all ready to fall down and worship
who made the superb fight almost at the
same time.
''They say old Maitland wanted to go
himself, as volunteer or something, with
Lord Chelmsford, but it couldn't be
done. His father had fought at Alma
and Inkerman, and his grandfather had
led the Guards at Waterloo. The whole
Archie was with the Lancers in Zululand,
and the Lancers were going to wipe out
the disasters Of the first fights Of the
campaign, and Archie was to uphold the
grand old fighting name and come home
covered with glory. He was the heir
now, and Miss Gladys was but a little
girl. l have heard it all from Mrs.
Cowan; she was their housekeeper in
those DAYS, and a sort of companion, too,
to Mrs Maitland, who was very delicate.
The old man was very fiery and proud
and full of fierce denunciation of every
thing that had gone wrong in the cam
paign; and he offended some people by
the way he condemned some officer who
was friend of theirs, and there were
others who thought he talked too much;
but he fairly boiled over when the news
came of how the prince imperial had
been abandoned by his escort, and that
British officer and dozen men had run
two miles at top speed from a beggarly
little SQUAD of niggers before they dared
look round to see what had become OF
their prince, whom they had left to fight
the gang alone. That was old Maitland's
text for month. II any son OF his had
ever been of that party he would dlsown,
disgrace, deny him, forbid him his sight,
cut him off forever. And right in the
midst of it ala judgment, some people
said-there came the awful news that
Cornet Maitland of the Lancer5 was to be
court martialed for misbehavior in face
Of the enemy.
''Of course the old man only ragged at
first; said it couldn't be true; twas all
some foul invention or ridiculous blum
der; but he r2n I'd to London ard saw
somebody ct the Horse G-ua-ds-th ats
cur war Office, YOU know-and came
back looking q century older and simply
crushed to earth. Mrs. Cowan says they
showed him the official report of gen
eral officer who was called upon to ex-
plain why he had not sent certain troops
to the relief of an advanced and threat
ened post, and he replied that he had
sent the order by Cornct Maitland, of the
Lancers: had given him an escort of a
dozen men and strict injunctions to push
through by night, at all hazards, though
the way was beset with Zulus, and that
he neither went through nor returned,
but was found hiding at 4 kraal two days
after, only twenty miles away. The
escort returned, and after mach cross
examination had told the story, separate
" and collectively, that the young officer
had become utterly unnerved towards
midnight by the reports from scouting
parties and others; had declared to them
that it was simply madness to attempt
to push through; they would be massa-
cred to man; and, though they an
nounced that they were stanch and ready,
he refused, and ordered them TO bivouac
where they were for the night, and in
the morning he had disappeared. They
declared they supposed he had gone back
to camp, and after waiting day they
returned, reporting him lost.
when found at the kraal he was de-
lirious with fever, or pretended to be,
said the general, and he was brought in
under arrest and the trial was to pro-
coed. | don't know how it turned out.
IIa WIS not co,1rt r,1artialed hut hermit