The Bolivar bulletin. (Bolivar, Tenn.) 1888-1946, 1894-12-07
utting would be the mllder form,

ed and dying in the hospital. They
gave up their stockings for holders of
the grape-shot. They solaced each
other when their children died. When
a husband or father fell such prayers
of sympathy were offered as only wom-
en- can offer. They endured without
complaint. They prepared their own
children for burial. They were inspi-
ration for the men who stood at their
posts lighting till they dropped.
Our escort told us that again and
again news had come that Have
lock and Outram were on the way to
fetch these besieged ones out of their
wretchedness. They had received
letter from Havelock rolled up in
quill and carried in the mouth of
disguised messenger, letter telling
them he was on the way, but the next
news was that Havelock had been
compelled to retreat. 1t was constant
vacillation between hope and despair.
But one day they heard the guns of re-
lief sounding nearer and nearer. Yet
all the houses of Lucknow were fort
tresses filled with armed miscreants
and every step of Havelock and his
army was contested-fringf from house
tops. firing from windows, firing from
doorways.
l asked our friend if he thought that
the world famous story of a Scotch lass
in her delirium hearing the Scotch bag
pipes advancing with the Scotch regi-
ment was a true story. He said he did
not know but that it was true. Without
this mans telling me knew from my
own observation that dclirium some
times quiekens some of the faculties,
and rather think the Scotch lass in her
delirium was the first to hear the bag
pipes. l decline to believe that class of
people who would like to kill all tho
poetry of the world and Danish all the
fine sentiment. They tell us that Whit
tiers poem a about Barba Freitchie was
founded on a delusiOn, and that Long
fellows poems immortalized things
that never occurred. The Scotch lass
did hear the slogan. / almost heard it
myself as l stood inside the residency
while my escort told of the coming on
of the Seyenty-eighth highland regi-
mcnt.
'Nerc you present when HavelOck
came in?'' I asked, for co I'D suppress
INC 1uCSIIOu uO iOLSCC. MS duSW@r
came:
Il was not at the moment present, but
with some other young fellows l saw
soldiers dancing while two highland
pipers played, and ] said, What is all
this excitement?' Then we came
up and saw that Havelocl1 was in, and
Outram was in, and the regiments were
pouring in
"ShOw us where they came in lex
claimed, for l knew that they dill not
enter through the gate of the residency,
that being banked up inside to keep the
out. Here it is answered
my escort. Here it is-the embra.ure
through which they came
We walked up to the spot. 1t is now
Il broken down pile of bricks dozen
yards from the gate. Long grass now,
but then a blood-spattered, bullet scar
red opening in the wall.
AS we stood there, although the scene
was thirty. seven years ago, I saw them
come in-Havelock pale and sick, but
and Outram, whom all the
statues in Calcutta and Eu-
rope can not too grandly present
What then happened?' l said to my
escort. "Oh,' he said, chat is impos-
sible to tell. The earth was removed
from the gate, and soon all the army of
relief entered. and some of us laughed.
and some cried, and some prayed. and
some danced. Highlanders so dust COW
cred and enough blood and wounds on
their faces to make them unrecogniza-
BILE snatched the babes out of their
mothers arms and kissed them and !
passed the babies along for other sol
diers to kiss, and the wounded men
crawled out of the hospital to join in
the cheering. and it was wild jubilee |
until, the first excitement passed, the |
story of how many of the advancing
army had been slain on the way began |
to have fearful effect. and the story of |
suffering that had been endured in |
side the fort, and the announcement to |
children that they were fatherless, and |
to wives that they were widows; sub
the shouts of JOY with wailing |
of agony.
but were you not embarrassed by |
the arrival of Havelock and fourteen |
hundred men who brought no food |
with them?" He answered: "Of course |
we were put on smaller rations imme-
diately in order that they might share
with us, but we knew that the coming |
of this reinforcement would Aclp us
to hold the place until further relief |
should come. Had not this first relief !
arrived as it did, in a day or two at |
most and perhaps in any hour the be-
seigers would have broken in, and our
end would have come. The Sepoys had
dug six mines under the residency, and
would soon have exploded all.
On the following day, about four
miles from the residency, l visited the
grave of Havelocl. The scenes of hard
ship and self-sacrifce through which he
had passed were too much for mortal
endurance, and a few days after Have
Lock left the residcncy which he had
relieved he lay in a tent a-dying, while
his son, whom I saw in London on my
way here, was reading to the old hero
the consolatory Scriptures. The tele-
graph wires had told all nations that
Havelock was sick unto death. He had
received the message of congratlation
from Queen Victoria over his triumphs
and had been knighted, and such re-
,eption as England never gave to any
nan since Wellington came back from
Waterloo awaited his return. But he
will never again see his native land.
He has led his last army and planned
Inc last battle. Yet he is to gain an
other victory. He declared it when ID
lis last hours he said to Gen. Outram;
i die happy and contented. l have
n Id fa hot -boRa