THE PIPES AT LUCKNOW (1857) The siege of the Residency of Lucknow by the Sepoys had lasted three months before Havelock and Outram succeeded in relieving it. (The siege was not finally raised till six months later by Sir Colin Campbell.) PIPES of the misty moorlands, Not the braes of broom and heather, Dear to the Lowland reaper, Day by day the Indian tiger 'Pray for rescue, wives and mothers,- And the wrong and shame we dread.' 5 IO 15 20 Oh, they listened, looked, and waited, 25 30 'Dinna ye hear it?—dinna ye hear it? The pipes o' Havelock sound!' Hushed the wounded man his groaning; Hushed the wife her little ones; Alone they heard the drum-roll 35 And the roar of Sepoy guns. But to sounds of home and childhood As her mother's cradle-crooning Like the march of soundless music Of the heart than of the ear, Oh, they listened, dumb and breathless, 40 45 50 God be praised!—the march of Havelock! 55 Louder, nearer, fierce as vengeance, 60 But when the far-off dust-cloud Round the silver domes of Lucknow, O'er the cruel roll of war-drums 65 Rose that sweet and home-like strain; 70 And the tartan clove the turban, As the Goomtee cleaves the plain. Dear to the corn-land reaper The Pipes at Lucknow played! J. G. WHITTIER. 17. the Indian tiger, i. e. the Sepoys. [See Tenniel's famous cartoon of the time in Punch.] 45-6. Each clan has its own 'pibroch' or distinguishing piece of music, which is played on the bagpipes. 51. Goomtee. A tributary of the Ganges, HAVELOCK General Sir Henry Havelock died of dysentery in Lucknow two months after he had relieved the Residency. [See Forbes's 'Sir Henry Havelock', in English Men of Action Series.] HE is gone. Heaven's will is best, Ghoul in black, nor fool in gold S. BROOKS. 5 15 20 22. In hoc signo. Sc. vinces. By this sign shalt thou conquer.' In 312 Constantine, before a battle, saw a cross in the heavens bearing this inscription; he emblazoned it on his banner, and gained a complete victory. The apparition is celebrated in the feast of the Exaltation of the Cross. 1252.3 81 F THE WAR (1859) In 1858 an attempt was made on Napoleon III's life by Orsini and others. It was well known that these men had come from London, where they had made all their plans and manufactured their bombs. The indignation in France led Napoleon to publish a letter from French officers demanding to be led against 'the land that sheltered monsters'. The reply in England was the formation of the Volunteer Rifle Corps, now merged in the Territorial Army. THERE is a sound of thunder afar, Storm in the south that darkens the day, Be not deaf to the sound that warns! Let your Reforms for a moment go, Than a rotten fleet or a city in flames! Form! form! Riflemen form! Ready, be ready to meet the storm! 5 10 15 20 |