Fisherman & farmer. [volume] (Edenton, N.C.) 1887-19??, 1894-12-07
REV. DIR. TALMAGE.
TIE BROOKLYN DIVINE'S SUN
DAY SERMON.
Subject "Sicge of Lucknow"

it, lou Shalt not destroy the trees thereof by
forcing an ak against thcm. ."-DeutcronO-
my XX., -.
The aw,ulcst thing in war is besiegement.
for 20 the work Of deadly weapons il adds
hunger and starvation and plague. Besege-
Gn"nt is sometimes necessary, Lut my text
commands mercy even in that. The fruit
trees must be spared because they afford
food for man. ''Ihou shalt not destroy the
trees thereof by forcing an AK against
them" But in my recent journey round the
world | founI at Lucknow, India the remains
OF the T0st merciless besieCement of the
ages, and proceed 10 tell you that story for
tour Great reasOns-.O show you what hOr
rid thing war is and to make you all advo-
cafes for peace, to show you what genuine
Christian character is under bombar lment,
10 put a coronation on Christian courage,
and TO show you how splcndidly goo people
di"
AS our train glide into the dimly lighted
station [ asked the guard, SIS this Luck
now" and he answered, lucknow" at the
pronunciation OF which proper name strong
| emotions rushed through body, mind and
soul.
The word is Il synonym Of suffering of
cruelty, Of hProism, OF horror such as Is sug-
gestcd by hardly any other worl. We have
| Tor thirty-ffvo years been reading of the
| HCOnies there endured an the daring deeds
there witnessed. It was my great desire to
have some ono who had witnessed the
scenes tranSaCte in Lucknow in 1857 con-
| duct us over the place. We found just the
| man. He was young soldier at tho time
the greatest nuttny of the ages broke out,
/ and he was put with others inside the
| residcncy, which was a cluster of buildings
| making fortress in which the representa-
| ttves of the English Govercment lived and
! which was to be tho scene of an endurance
and a Eombardment tho story of which
| poetry and painting and history and secular
GNIO how hon Ia
| pict. Our escort not only had n COOL
memory of what had happened, but had
| talent enough to rehearse the TRACE ly.
In the early part Of 1857 all over India the
| natives were ready to break out in rebellion
| against all foreigners and especially against
the civil ana military representatives, of the
| English Government.
| A half dozen causes are mentioned for the
| feeling of discomfort and fnsurrectiOn that
| wns cv.nced throughout India. The most
| OF these causes were mere pretexts. Creased
| cartridges We're no doubt an evaporation.
| The grease ordered by the English Govern
| ment to be use on these cartridges was
! taken from COWS or pigs, and grease to tho
| HindOOs is unc'ean, AMI to bite these car
| tridcCs at the loading of the guns would be
| an Offense to the Hin loo religion. Tao
| leaders of the HinlOOS sail that these
| creased cartridges was only part of an at
| tempt by the English Government TO make
! the natives give up their religion hence, un-
| lounied Indignation WAS aroused.
| Another cause OF the mutiny was that an
| other large province OF India IN been an
| n.Xei to the British empire, and thOuSan Is
| o officials in the employ OF the King of that
province were thrown out OF position, an
! they were all ready for trouble mrkilS.
Another cause was lil to be the bal gov
| Crnm"nt exercised by some EaGlish officials
| in India.
The simple fact was that the natives Of In
dia were a conquered race. an tho English
| were the cOnquerors. For 10) years the
| british scepter mad been wave over India,
! and the Indians wanted to break that scep-
! ter. There never had been any lOv3 or SYM
! pathy between the natives of In lia an the
| Europeans. There is none now.
Be ore the time OF the great mutiny the
| English Government riskei much power in
the hands Of the natives. Too many of them
manned the forts. Too many Of them were
in the Governmental employ. And now the
time hal come for Il wil5 outbreak. The
natives had persu lded themse YES that they
could send the English Government flying,
ami 10 accomplish it dag ger ali | sWor an
firearms and mutilatiOn and slaughter must
do their worst.
Ii was evident in Lucknow that the na-
tiYes were about to rise an put to death all
the Europeans they could lay their han IS
on, and into the rrsidency the Christian po D.
ulatiOn OF Lucknow fastened for defense
from the tigers in human form Wuich were
growing for their victims The occupants
of the resdency, or fort, Were-nilitary an
non-comhatants, men. women and children
in number about 1862.
| suggest in one sentence some of the
chief woes to which they were suAjecte
when l say that these people were in the
rcsdency five months without a single
change OF clothing some of the time tho
heat ut 120 and 130 degrees the place black
with flies and all a-sQujrn with vermin
firing OF the enemy upon them ceasing
neither day nor night; the hospital crowded
with the dying; smallpox, scurvy, cholera,
adding their work to that Os shot and shell
women brought up in all comfort AMI never
having known want, crowded aud sacri-
feed in Il cellar where nine children
were born less and less foo no water eX-
cept that wnicl was brought from Il we'll
un Ter the enemys fire, so that the water OBJ
tanned was at the price OF bloc | the stencil
Ofthe dead hoses aid ii to the cff1uva of
corpsCs, and all waiting Tor the moment
when the army OF 6J.OOl shriekng HinIoo
devils should break in upon the garrison OF
the rasidency, now reIu:el by woun Is AMI
sickness and death to 976 men, women an
ch | lren.
Call me carly" Isaid, ''to-morrow morn
InG, and let US be ut the r1sidency beforath
sun becomes too hot" At O'Clock ir the
morning We left our hotel in Lucknow, and
said to our obliging, gentlemanly escort,
"PieHse take US along the rO1d hy which
| HaveiOck AMI Outram came to the relief of
the residency." Tdat was the way we went
There was a solemn stiffness as We ap-
proached the cato of tho residency Bat
tered and torn IS the masonry OF the EN-
| trance Signature OF shot and punctuation
| OF cannon ball all uD ami down ami every
| where
Here 10 the left" slil our escort, care
| the remTins of a building the first floor of
| which i'll other days had been use as a ban
n
| ptal. At this part the amputations took
| place, and all such patients died. The heat
| was 50 great and the fool so insufficient
| that the pOOr fellows could not recover
| from the loss othlooi. They all died. Ampu-
| tatiOns WSre performed without chlOrO.Orm.
All the anaestheticS were exhausted. 4
| fracture THAI in other climates and I'M
der other circumstances would have come to
| easy cOnvaescence here proved fatal. NOn-
| der WAS DR.. Fayrer's house, who was sur
| geOn of the place and is now Queen Victor
| las "OctOr. This upper room was the OFF,
| Gers room, and there Sir Henry L1wrence
| our dear commander, was wounde /. Whilo
| he sat there a shell struck the room, and
! some one sug 5estC that he had better
/ leave the room, but he smiled and said.
| 81 ghtninS never strikes twice in the
same place Hardly had he said this
when another shell tore OF his thigh, an he
| was carried dying into DIR. FLyrer's house
on the other side of the road. Sir Henry
Lawrence nau EePH III poor neaIu lOE d
lOn2, time before the mutiny. He had been
in the Indian service for years, an he had
started Tor England to recover his health,
I ut getting us far as Bombay the English
Government requested him to remain at
Ieas, awhile. Tor he could not be spared
in such dangerous times. He came here to
Lucknow, AMI foreseeinS the siege Of this
| resi- iency had filled many of the rooms with
| grain, without which tho residency would
| have been Obliged to surren Ter. There Wer5
also taken hy him into tbs reSllencv rice
| and sugar and charcoal and 10 tder Tor the
oxen and hay for the horses. But now. al
| the time when all the people were looking
TO him for wisdom and courage, Sir Henry
| is dying"
Our escort describes the scene. unique
tender. beautiful and overpowertng, and
while I stood on the very spot where the
slghs and groans Of the besiegei AMI lacera-
ted and broken hearted met the whiz OF but
lets, and the demoniac hiss OF bursting she'll
hofko wiz O. - Cpu