Martinsburg herald. [volume] (Martinsburg, W. Va.) 1881-1920, 1894-12-08
j. II. MILLER & SONS.

4 ,
and the earthworks around it were not
put up for such an attack. Il was Only
from the mercy of God that we were
not nlassacred soon after the hesiege-
ment We We're resolved not TO allo.9-
ourselves to get into the hands Of those
desperadoes. Yen must remember that
we and all the women had heard OF the
butchery at Cawnpnr, ard we knew
what defeat meana If unable to hold
out any longer, we would have blown
ourselves NJ aud all gene oat Of lie to-
gether.
''Show ne. said, "the rooms whcra
the women and children staid dnrin4
those awful MONTHS" Then we crossed
over and went down into the cellar CT
the residercy With shudder Of hor-
ror Undesirable !! entered the cellars
where 622 women and Chi ldren had been
crowded until the whole floor was full
/ know the exact number, for counted
their Names on the roll. AS one of the
ladies wrote in her liary-speaking of
these women she said, They lay upon
the floor fitting into each other like bits
in puzzle. - Wives had obtained from
their husbands the promise that the hus
bands would shoot them rather than let
| them fall into the hands Of these desper
| adoes. The women within the resi-
| dency were Kept on tho smallest allow
ance that would maintain life. No op.
portunity of privacy. The death angel
and the birth angel touched wings as
they passed. Flies, mosquitoes, verlaii
in full possession of the place, and these
| women i'll momentary expectation that
the enraged savages would rash upon
them, i'll a violence of which club and
sword and torch end throat cutting
would be the milder forms
Our escort told US again and again Of
the bravery Of these women. They did
not despair. They encouraged the sol
diery They wa ted Oh the wounded 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 husband
or father fell, such prayers CT sympathy
were offered as only women can offer
They endured without complaint. They
prepared their own children for burial
They were inspiration for the mon who
stood 1T their posts fghting till they
dropped.
The Guns of Relief.
Our escort told rs that again and
again news lad come that Havclocls and
Outram were on TIE way to fetch these
besieged oIos out of their wretchcdncys.
They had received a letter from Havelock
rolled up in a quill and carried in the
mouth of a disguised messenSe7', q letter
telling them he was on the way, but the
next news was that Havelock had been
compelled TO retreat. 1t was constant
vacillaticn between hope and despair.
But ono day they heard the gurs of re-
lief sounding nearer and nearer Yet all
the houses of Lucknow were fortresses
filled with armed niscreaHts, and every
step of Havelock and his army WIS con
tested-fring from housetops. firing
from windows, firing from doorways.
| asked oar friend if lie 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 true story. He said he did
not know but that Is was true Without
this mans telling ms / know from iay
own observation that deliriun some
times quickens some of the faculties
and | rather think the Scotch lass III her
delirium was the first TO hear the bag
pipes. | decline to believe that class of
people who would like to kill all the
poetry of the wo7ld and Danish all the
fine sentiment They tell us that Whit
tier S poem about Barbara Freitehie was
founded on Gelusion, and that Long
fellow S poems immortalized things that
never occurred. The Scotch lass did
hear the slogan. l almost heard it my
self as | stood inside the residency while
my escort told of the coming Oh of the
Seventy-eighth highland regiment
Were you present when Hayelock
came I'M" | asked, fer could suppress
the question no longer. His answer
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 Havelock was in, and Outrani
was in, ard the regiments were pouring
in.
"Show Us where they came il, ex-
claimed, for knew that they did not
enter through the gate of the residency,
that being banked Up inside to Eeep-the
murderers out. 'Hero it is, answered
my escort. Here it is-the emlrasure
through which they came"
We walked up to the spot. 1t is row
broken down pile of bricks a dozen
yards from the gate. Long grass now,
but then q blood spattered, bullet scar
red opening i'll the wall.
As we stood there, although the scene
was 81 years ago, saw them come in
-Hayelock pale and sick, but trium-
plant, and Outram, whom all tho eques-
trian statues in Calcutta and Europe
cannot too srandly present
Deiiverance at Last.
"What then happencd:'' | said to my
escort. oh" he said, that is impos-
sible to tell. The Garth YVES removed
from the gate, and soon all the army of
relief entered, and some CT Us laughed,
and some cried, and some prayed, and
some danced. Highlanderi SO dust COW
cred and enough blood and wounds on
their faces to make them unrecogniza-
bic 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 ar
my had been slain on the way began to
have fearful effect, and the story of suf-
fering that had been endured inside the
fort, and the announcement to children
that they were fatherless, and to wives
that they were widows, submerged the
shouts Of JOY with waiting of agony.
Bat were you not embarrassed by
the arrival of Havelock and {, 400 men
who brought no food with thems'' He
answered: ''Of course VIC were put on