Alfred Elwes - "The Adventures of a Dog, and a Good Dog Too"

Joseph Coppinger - "The American Practical Brewer and Tanner"

Various - "The Atlantic Monthly, Volume 14, No. 83, September, 1864"

Luigi Capuana - "Cardello"

Annual Bibliography of Commonwealth Literature 2007
This paper argues that discourses of love in Ghanaian market literature for youth offer a view into complex negotiations of agency and empowerment. Drawing on Deborah Durham's notion of youth as "social `shifters'" and Francis Nyamnjoh's conception of the "interconnectedness" of agency, I take Ghanaian market literature as one specific case of how African literature for youth foregrounds questions of continuity and change as African societies enter into increasingly complex global relations. In this literature for youth, received notions of love, often constructed out of impressions from American pop and hip hop music, carry new notions of agency that compete with existing "domesticated" forms. Authors like Ike Tandoh and Evelyn Tay employ discourses of love to offer youth alternative avenues for empowerment in a context of socio-economic disenfranchizement. In a creative process of "straddling", this writing both reveals and reproduces the contradictions that obtain in youth configurations of agency.

At the Point of the Bayonet

G >> G. A. Henty >> At the Point of the Bayonet




"In the first place, you must learn to speak English."

"But I do speak English!" Harry said, in surprise.

"Yes, such English as I do; but that is not as the white sahibs
speak it. We who have learned it speak the right word, but not in
the right way. I have seen young white ladies, when they first came
out here, and came to the house of your mother, sometimes smile and
scarcely understand what I said to them. It is not like that that
you must talk English--good enough for an ayah, not good enough for
a sahib--so we have decided, Sufder, Ramdass and I, that you must
go down to Bombay, and learn to talk proper English.

"We have thought much how this shall be done, and have settled that
our thinking, here, is no good. I must wait till I get to Bombay,
where I can get advice from people I know."

"Will you stay there with me, Soyera?"

"I cannot say what will be best," she answered, gravely; "I must
wait till I get there. Ramdass will go down with me. It is a good
time for him to go. The harvest work is done, he can be spared for
a month. He would like to go. He has never seen Bombay. We shall go
in the wagon."

The distance from Jooneer to Bombay was but about eighty miles, and
the journey was performed in five days, and Ramdass took down a
light load of maize, whose sale would pay the expenses of their
journey. Soyera rode and slept on the maize, except in two
villages, where she was able to procure a lodging for the night.
Ramdass and Harry walked by the bullocks, and slept at night by the
roadside, wrapped in their blankets.

On arriving at Bombay they put up at a khan, in the native town
and, the next morning, leaving Ramdass and Harry to wander about
and look at the wonders of the city, Soyera went to the shop of a
Parsee merchant, who was in the habit of supplying the canteen of
the troops, contracted for supplies of forage and other matters,
and carried on the business of a native banker. She had often been
to his place with Mrs. Lindsay; and had, from the time that she
entered her service, deposited her savings with him. She had, in
the first place, asked her master to keep them for her; but he had
advised her to go to Jeemajee.

The Parsee was, himself, in his shop. She went up to him.

"You do not remember me, sahib?" she said. "I was the ayah of Major
Lindsay. I was often here with the mem-sahib."

"I remember you, now," he said. "I do not often forget those I have
known. Yes; your master and mistress were killed, at their little
camp on the Concan. Nothing was heard of you, if I remember
rightly. I have some money of yours in my hands. Have you the
receipts?"

"I have them, sahib; but it is not for that that I come to see you.
I wish to ask your advice on a private matter."

The Parsee looked a little surprised.

"Come in here with me," he said, leading the way to his private
room, behind the shop.

"Now, what is it?" he asked, as he closed the door behind them.

"It was believed, sahib, that Major Lindsay's infant boy was
killed, at that time, like all others in the camp. It was not so. I
saved him. It is about him that I want to speak to you."

The Parsee thought for a moment.

"Yes, there was a child. Its body was not found, and was supposed
to have been eaten by the jackals. Is it alive still?"

"Yes, sahib, I have brought him up as my own. His skin has been
always stained; and none but my brother--with whom I live--his
wife, and one other, know that he is English. I love him as my own
child. I have taught him English, as I speak it; but I want him, in
time, to be an English sahib, and for that he must learn proper
English."

"But why have you not brought him down here?" the Parsee said.

"Who would have looked after him, and cared for him, sahib, as I,
his nurse, have done? Who could have taken him? What would have
become of him? I am a poor woman, and do not know how these things
would be. I said to myself:

"'It will be better that he should live with me, till he is old
enough to go down as a young man, and say to the Governor:

"'"I am the son of Major Lindsay. I can talk Mahratti like a
native. I can ride and use my sword. I can speak English well. I
can be useful."

"'Then, perhaps for his father's sake, the Governor will say:

"'"I will make you an officer. If there are troubles in the Deccan,
you will be more useful than those sahibs who do not know the
language."'

"I can do all that for him, but I cannot teach him to speak as
English sahibs speak; and that is why I have come to you. You have
twelve hundred rupees of mine, in your hands; for I laid out
nothing while I was in the sahib's service, and my mistress was
very kind, and often gave me presents. My brother, Ramdass, had
five hundred rupees saved; and this he has given to me, for he,
too, loves the boy. Thus there are seventeen hundred rupees, and
this I would pay for him to be, for two years, with someone where
he would learn to speak English as sahibs do, so that none can say
this white boy is not English.

"Then he will go back, for two or three years, to Jooneer. He will
learn to use his arms, and to ride, and to be a man, until he is of
an age to come down and say:

"'I am the son of Major Lindsay.'"

"But if you were to tell this, at once," the Parsee said, "they
would doubtless send him home, to England, to be educated."

"And what would he do there, sahib? He would have no friends, none
to care for him; and while his Mahratti tongue would be of great
service to him, here, it would be useless to him in his own
country.

"Do not say that my plan cannot be carried out, sahib. For twelve
years I have thought it over. I have taught him all that I could,
so far; and convinced myself that it would be the best. The boy
loves me, and is happy: he would be miserable among strangers, who
would laugh at his English, and would make him unhappy."

Jeemajee sat for some time in thought.

"I am not sure that your plan is not the best," he said, "and after
saving his life, and caring for him, at the risk of your own, for
all these years, you have assuredly a better right than any other
to say what shall be done now. I will think over what you have
asked of me. It is not very easy to find just such a home as you
want, but I should consider the sum you offer is sufficient to
induce many Englishmen living here to take him; but it is not
everyone from whom he would learn English, as you would wish him to
do, or who could teach him the manners of white officers.

"Come to me tomorrow evening, but you must not expect that I shall
be able to answer you then. I must think it over, and make
enquiries."

It was three days, indeed, before anything came of Soyera's visits
to the Parsee trader; then he said:

"I think that I have found out just the place of which you are in
search. I spoke to a friend yesterday, and he at once mentioned one
whom I wonder I had not thought of, at once. Some years ago a
cadet, who came out here with a young wife, died shortly after his
arrival. As he had only been four years in the service, the pension
of his wife was but a small one. She did not go back to England, as
widows generally do. I know not why, except that I once heard two
officers speaking of her. They said that they believed her family
had quarrelled with her, for her marriage, and that she was too
proud to go back again. She had two girls, who must be about the
age of this boy. Her pension was not sufficient for her to live
upon comfortably, and she opened a little school for the children
of officers here.

"There are not many, you know, for they are generally sent home to
England, when they are quite young. But she has always had four or
five, sometimes eight or ten. They come to her every morning, and
go home in the middle of the day, and she sees no more of them.

"After I had heard this, I went to her. I supply her with many
things, for she gets her books and other things from me. I said to
her:

"'I have a white boy whose father and mother are dead. He is twelve
years old. There are reasons why I cannot tell you who they were,
but I can say that the boy's father was an English officer. He has
been brought up by natives, and speaks English in the way that
natives speak it. Those who have brought him up desire that he
should learn to talk English well, and learn to have good manners,
so that some day, when he goes to England, people should not say of
him:

"'"This is not an English gentleman, or he would not speak like
that."'

"I said that I had interested myself in the matter, and knew that
it was right, and had come to her to ask her if she would take him
into her house, which was very comfortable and well furnished, and
everything as it should be.

"She asked questions. I told her enough to interest her; and said
that, when the time came, it was hoped that he would be able to
obtain employment under the Government--perhaps in the army, as his
father had been. I said that those who brought him up were ready to
make great sacrifices for his sake, but that they could not pay for
him for more than two years; and that, as the boy knew so much
English, they hoped this would be enough. I asked how much, if she
agreed to take him, she would charge. She said that she would think
it over; and would call here, tomorrow, and tell me whether she
would take him.

"She will be here at three. I think you had better come at that
hour. I am sure that she would like to speak to you. I do not see
why you should not say that you had been his ayah, and had saved
his life, and brought him up. Many officers have been killed and,
indeed, I do not see why you should not tell her the whole story.
It will interest her more in the boy. But of course, before you
tell her, you must ask her to promise not to repeat it."

Soyera went on the following day. She found that Jeemajee was
already, with a lady, in his private room. She waited until the
door was opened, and the merchant beckoned her in.

"This is the woman who has brought the child up, Mrs. Sankey," he
said. "As I have told you, she was his ayah, and has behaved most
nobly."

Turning to Soyera, he said:

"Naturally Mrs. Sankey asked why you had not come forward before. I
told her your reasons, and she thinks that, perhaps, you have acted
for the best for him. At any rate, she has consented to take the
boy for two years; and I am to pay her, for you, the sum that you
have named."

In reality, Mrs. Sankey asked a thousand rupees a year; but the
Parsee, with the generosity for which his race is distinguished,
had agreed to pay the extra three hundred rupees himself.

"Before it is quite settled," Mrs. Sankey said, "I should like to
see the boy. As Mr. Jeemajee has told you, I have two daughters
about the same age. I must, therefore, be guided in my decision by
my impression of him."

"I will bring him to see you, in three or four days," Soyera said.
"His stain is already faded a good deal, and I shall be able to get
it off, by that time. I have to get English clothes for him.

"I am greatly obliged to you for saying that you will take him, if
he pleases you. That I think he will do. I have taught him manners,
as well as I could. He is as anxious as I am to improve himself;
and will, I am sure, give you no more trouble than he can help."

"I will see that he is properly clothed, Mrs. Sankey," Jeemajee
remarked. "I knew his father, and have a great interest in him."

Mrs. Sankey chatted for some little time to Soyera; gave her her
card, with her address on Malabar Hill; and then left.

Soyera began to thank the Parsee for his introduction, but he said:

"It was a little thing to do and, as I knew his father, it was only
right that I should help, as far as I could. Will you bring me,
tomorrow morning, the measurement of the boy's height, size around
his shoulders and waist, the lengths of his arms and legs? You need
trouble yourself no further about it. I shall take that matter upon
myself. Come, three days later, for his clothes.

"Goodbye! I have other matters to see about," and, without waiting
for any thanks from Soyera, he at once went into his shop, and
began to talk to his assistant.

Many were the scrubbings Harry had to undergo, during the next few
days; and his hair and face were nearly restored to their proper
colour when Soyera returned, one evening, with a coolie carrying a
trunk of some size. It contained the whole outfit for a boy: one
dark suit, and four of white nankeen; with a stock of shirts,
underclothing, and shoes. Soyera showed Harry how these garments,
with which he was wholly unacquainted, should be put on.

"They fit you capitally," she said, when she surveyed him. "And you
look like a little English sahib."

"They feel very tight and uncomfortable," he said.

"They are sure to do so, at first; but you will soon get over that.
Now, Ramdass will take you out for a walk for two or three hours,
so that you can get accustomed to them. I should not like you to
look awkward, when you go with me to Mrs. Sankey's, tomorrow."

The interview next day was altogether satisfactory. The carriage
and bearing of the natives of India is easier, and more graceful,
than that of Europeans; and the knowledge Harry had possessed, for
some years, that he belonged to a conquering race, the injunctions
of Soyera, his strength and activity, and his unquestioned
leadership among the boys with whom he played, had given something
of confidence to his manner. Mrs. Sankey was greatly taken with
him, and he at once became an inmate of her house.

He remained there for two years, and became so great a favourite
that Mrs. Sankey insisted on his staying with her, without charge,
for three or four months after the time for which she had received
payment for him. He had worked hard and earnestly, and now spoke
English as well and accurately as any English boy of his own age.
He had, after being there a year, made the acquaintance of several
boys of his own age, the sons of officers or officials. They knew
him only as the orphan son of an English gentleman, in Government
employ; and he was often asked to the houses of their parents, and
none suspected that he had been brought up among natives.

At the end of his term, Sufder came down for him. Jeemajee, who had
remained his steady friend, arranged that he should go to his
house, and there resume his native dress and stain. In this garb he
felt even stranger and more uncomfortable than he had done, when he
first put on European clothes; but this was not long in wearing off
and, by the time he reached Jooneer, he was again at home in it. He
took with him, at Mrs. Sankey's suggestion, a number of English
books, by authors she recommended; so that he could, by reading and
learning some of them by heart, retain his knowledge of the
language.

For the next three months he spent his whole time in practising
with sword, pistol, and gun; under the tuition of an old soldier in
Jooneer, who had been a noted swordsman in his time. He was already
far stronger than the sons of Ramdass, although these were now
young men. Anxious to, at once, exercise his muscles and gain in
skill, he now attached himself to a famous shikaree who, seeing the
boy's strength and courage, took him as an assistant when he went
on excursions among the hills. Here Harry learned to dig pits for
the capture of tigers; to smear leaves with a sticky substance,
obtained from a plant resembling mistletoe, so that when a tiger or
bear trod upon them and, finding them sticking to his feet, paused
and rubbed these on his head, until he became blinded and
bewildered with a mass of sticky foliage, a well-placed shot would
stretch him dead.

[Illustration: For a year he worked with the shikaree.]

For a year he worked with the shikaree. Sometimes they hunted
simply for the value of the skins; but more often they were sent
for by villagers, who were suffering from the depredations of
tigers or leopards, and who were willing to pay for having them
killed. Harry Lindsay acquired quite a reputation in Jooneer and
the surrounding country, for the shikaree spoke freely of his
bravery, intelligence, and skill with his arms. His width of
shoulders and the strength of his muscles caused him to be regarded
as a prodigy; and it was generally considered that, when he grew
up, he would become a great fighter, and attain wide renown as a
leader of bands in the service of Holkar, or the Peishwa.

When he was sixteen, Sufder, who had watched his progress with
great approval, said to him:

"You are scarce a man in years yet, Puntojee; but you are strong,
skilful with your weapons, and far more of a man than many ten
years older than yourself. It is time that you should see something
of war. Since the death of Scindia, a few months back; and the
succession of his nephew Doulut, who is about your own age; things
have become even more unsettled than before. Scindia was a great
man and, although at times worsted by his rivals, always managed to
repair his fortunes and to add to his power; but whether the young
Scindia will keep the wide territory that his uncle won is
doubtful. Holkar, although at times he and Scindia united, as when
the English marched against Poona, has been his rival and enemy.

"The Peishwa has sometimes been in alliance with one of these great
princes, sometimes with the other. His minister, Nana Furnuwees, is
a man of commanding talent. Had it not been for him, it is probable
that Scindia and Holkar would long since have become altogether
independent; but he has always contrived to play one off against
the other and, by securing the services of the secondary chiefs,
such as the Rajah of Nagpore and the Rajah of Kolapoore, to hold
the balance of power; but he is an old man, and at his death there
is no saying how things will go.

"Matters are complicated, too, by the fact that Scindia has now in
his service sixteen battalions of drilled infantry, commanded by
French officers; and these have proved so valuable, in the various
sieges he has undertaken, that Holkar has been obliged to imitate
his example. There are many who think that the introduction of
infantry will, in the end, prove disastrous to the power of the
Mahrattas; whose strength has hitherto lain in their cavalry, which
could perform long journeys, strike a blow and be off again, and so
were more than a match for the infantry of other Indian princes.
But with infantry all this will be altered, for the marches must be
no longer or faster than they can journey. The order of battles,
too, will be changed altogether; and we shall depend more upon
foot, while our horse, until now almost invincible, will become of
secondary importance.

"However, that is not the question, at present. The first thing to
be considered is, to which of the three great leaders you are to
attach yourself. As you know, I was for many years in Scindia's
service; but at his death the position was changed. Scindia knew
that I was active and capable; had he lived, I should soon have
gained much promotion. However, his chief minister took a dislike
to me; and I felt that, now the Maharajah was gone, Doulut would be
easily swayed by the counsels of those around him; and that instead
of promotion I should be more likely to lose my command, and
perhaps be put out of the way. Therefore I left Doulut's service,
and have entered that of the young Peishwa who, at the advice of
Nana Furnuwees, has given me the command of a troop of a hundred
men.

"Years ago I gained Nana's goodwill, by apprising him of the
hostile intentions of the Rajah of Nagpore; when he promised me
that, should I at any time leave Scindia's service, he would give
me as good a position as I held there in that of the Peishwa. The
young prince is but twenty-one, and I will ask Nana to present you
to him as one who, in time, will become a valuable officer; and it
is likely that Mahdoo Rao will receive you well when he hears that,
though so young, you have gained great credit as a slayer of wild
beasts; and that, as he will see for himself, you promise to grow
into a strong man, and a brave soldier.

"Nana Furnuwees is a man who, by his conciliating manner, gains the
confidence of all who come under his influence; and it is wholly
due to him that the authority of the Peishwa has not been entirely
overthrown by Scindia and Holkar. He is a reader of men's minds,
and has always surrounded himself with friends of discernment and
courage; and I think you would be likely, if you remained in the
Peishwa's service, to rise to a very much higher rank than I should
ever do, being myself but a rough soldier with a heavy hand.

"Holkar, at present, is fast becoming altogether imbecile. He is
worn out both in mind and body, and I should not advise anybody to
join him. Therefore the choice rests between Doulut Rao Scindia and
the Peishwa; as far as I can see, there is an equal chance of your
seeing service with either."

"I can choose without hesitation," Harry said. "Had you still been
in the army of Scindia, I would have joined it, too; but as you
have now entered that of the Peishwa, who is the lawful ruler of
the Mahrattas, though overshadowed by Scindia and Holkar, I should
certainly choose his service.

"In any case, I would rather be with you. You have taught me the
use of arms, and to you I owe it that I was not killed, when an
infant; therefore I would assuredly rather fight under your orders,
than take service with Holkar or Scindia.

"As to their quarrels, I know nothing. Ramdass has often told me as
much as he knew of these matters, but it all seemed to me to be
confusion; and the only thing I could understand was that they were
always intriguing against each other, instead of putting all their
forces in the field, and fighting it out fairly, and so deciding
who was to be the chief lord of the Mahrattas."

"Although but a soldier, Puntojee, I cannot but see that this
constant antagonism, between the three principal leaders of the
Mahrattas, is unfortunate in the last degree. We are wasting the
strength that, if properly employed, might bring all India into
subjection and, when trouble really comes, we shall be a divided
people, instead of acting under one head and with one mind.
However, it is not for us soldiers to meddle with these things; but
to do our duty to the chief under whom we serve.

"Well, if such be your choice, I will present you to Nana
Furnuwees. I am glad that you have chosen that service for, in the
first place, being young, he may take a liking to you, and you may
obtain rapid promotion; and still more, because I should prefer to
have you with me."

Hitherto, Harry had worn only the scanty clothing in use by the
peasantry, and the small cultivators; but Sufder now bought him
clothes such as were worn by youths of a superior class. Soyera had
offered no objection to his departure and, indeed, Sufder had
spoken to her on the subject, before he had broached it to Harry.

"'Tis hard upon me to give you up," she said to the lad; "but I
have always known that it must be so, and indeed, for the last year
I have seen little of you. The change will be good for you. You
will learn the manner of war, and take an interest in the intrigues
and troubles that are constantly going on, and of which we hear
little.

"When you rejoin your countrymen, a few years hence, I shall go
with you. You need my testimony, to show that you are the son of
Major Lindsay; and I can be useful to you, in managing your
household. But at present it is best that I should stay here. A
young soldier would not care to have his mother looking after him,
and it is for your good that you should go your own way; and
besides, you will have the counsels of Sufder to aid you. I should
be out of place and, for the present, I am happy here with my good
brother and sister-in-law, the latter of whom would miss me sorely.
Moreover, Poona is but two days' ride from here, and you will no
doubt be able sometimes to come over and see us.

"I have done what little I could for you. You are now old enough to
make your own way. The bird that has taught its nestling to fly
does not try to keep it in the nest, when it is once able to take
care of itself."

"I can never be sufficiently grateful, for all that you have done
for me," Harry said earnestly. "You have been more than a mother to
me and, wherever I go, I shall not be happy unless you are with me,
though I see it is best, this time, that I should go alone; but
assuredly, when I join my people, and have a home of my own, it
would not seem like a home to me if you did not share it."

Two days later, Harry mounted a horse that Ramdass had given him,
and started with Sufder for Poona. On arriving there they rode to
the little camp, half a mile out of the town, where Sufder's troop
was stationed.

"You don't carry your tents with you, when you are on service in
the field?"

"Not when on an expedition where haste is needed; for we should
make but poor progress, if we were hampered by luggage. When on a
distant expedition, we take tents.

"This is a standing camp, and there are a score like it round the
town. They always remain in the same position; sometimes one troop
occupies them, sometimes another. When we go on an expedition, we
leave them; when we come back, if they are still unoccupied, we
again take possession. If they have been allotted to another troop,
a vacant one is found for us.

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