The confusion which ensued is indescribable. The few persons on the bank
of the river rushed hither and thither without any definite object; and
screams from some women, who had followed the men from the village out
of curiosity, rent the air, and added to the wildness of the scene.
On a sudden an exclamation broke from a youth who stood not far off; and
before they could turn to see what had occasioned it, he had darted from
the spot, and precipitated himself into the waters.
Cries of ‘He will be lost! he will be lost!’ flew from mouth to mouth;
and a dozen turbans were unwound and thrown to him from the brink, as he
still struggled with the current, supporting the slight and inanimate
form of her who was supposed to have been swept down the stream at
first.
Without waiting for a moment to answer the numberless queries which were
showered upon him by the spectators, or to ascertain whether the
senseless form he bore had life in it or not, he hastily covered the
features from view; and, declining the assistance of some old crones who
thronged around him, he pressed through them and hurried with the utmost
rapidity to his home.
Those who partly carried and partly supported the Khan himself conducted
him to the chowrie or public apartment for travellers; and seating him
upon such carpets and pillows as could most readily be found, they
proceeded to divest him of his wet garments, arms, and boots, with an
officious zeal, which, in spite of the protestations of his servant
Daood, all persisted in exerting. The Khan suffered all patiently,
apparently with almost unconsciousness, only at times uttering low moans
and interjections, which showed his thoughts to be absorbed in the fate
of her he deemed lost for ever. Gradually, however, the kind attentions
of his servant, whose sobs could not be repressed as he bent over him in
his attempts to remove his inner vest, which the others had hesitated to
touch, recalled his wandering senses; and, staring wildly about him, he
demanded to know where he was. Instantly, however, a fresh recollection
of the scene which had passed flashed into his mind, and all the words
he could find utterance for were an incoherent demand of Daood if the
Khanum had been found.
‘Alas, Peer O Moorshid!’ was the reply, ‘your slave saw nothing; he
assisted my lord here and—’
‘Was she not instantly rescued? What were all of ye doing that she ever
passed from your sight?’ exclaimed the Khan. ‘Holy Alla! give her back
to me or I shall go mad,’ he continued, starting up and rushing from the
spot into the air, followed by his attendant and a few of the others who
lingered about.
Distractedly the Khan hurried to the river-side, and in the misery of
despair began to search for the body of his wife. He ran from place to
place, shouting her name; he looked everywhere for any trace of her
remains, while his faithful attendant in vain besought him to withdraw
from the spot, for that further search was unavailing. His words were
unheeded: all the Khan saw, through the almost inky darkness, was the
faint glimmer of the wild waters hurrying past him; and the only sounds
he heard were their dull and sullen roar, above which arose the shouts
of his servants on the other side, and at intervals a shrill neigh from
one of the horses. Two or three persons only remained about the
river-side, and these seemed unacquainted with what had occurred; all
who had seen it had dispersed when the young man bore off the insensible
girl he had rescued. After some time of fruitless search the Khan
silently relinquished it, and sadly and slowly turned towards the
village.
Meanwhile the young man we have mentioned carried the lady with the
utmost speed he was able to his own home, a respectable house situated
on the other side of the village from where the Khan was: without
ceremony he entered the zenana, still bearing her in his arms, to the
astonishment of an elderly dame, his mother, and several other women,
servants and others who happened to be there, and to whom the news of
the disaster was being brought piecemeal, as first one and then another
hurried in with parts of the story.
‘Holy Prophet! what hast thou brought, Kasim Ali?’ cried his mother;—‘a
woman! By your soul say how is this,—where didst thou get her?—wet,
too!’
‘’Tis the Khan’s wife, and she is dead!’ cried many at once.
‘I care not what she is,’ cried the young man; ‘by the blessing of Alla
I saw her and brought her out of the water; she is still warm, and
perhaps not dead; see what ye can do speedily to recover her. She is as
beautiful as a Peri, and—— but no matter, ye can do nothing while I am
here, so I leave you.’
Whatever Kasim’s thoughts might have been, he had sense enough not to
give them utterance; and, leaving the fair creature to their care, he
again hurried forth, to see whether he could render further assistance
to the unfortunate travellers.
Left among the women of the house, the Khan’s wife became an object of
the deepest interest to these really kind people. Her wet clothes were
removed; cloths were heated and applied to her body; she was rubbed and
kneaded all over; the wet was wrung from her hair; and after awhile they
had the satisfaction of hearing a gentle sigh escape her,—another and
another at intervals.
‘Holy Alla!’ cried one of the women at last, ‘she has opened her eyes.’
The light was apparently too much for them, for she shut them again and
relapsed into stupor; but the respiration continued, and the alarm that
she had died ceased to exist. Gradually, very gradually, she regained
consciousness; and ere many hours had elapsed she was in a deep sleep,
freed from all anxiety regarding her lord, whom on her first recovery
she had presumed was lost.
The Khan and Daood had scarcely again reached the chowrie, when a large
body of men with torches, shouting joyfully, approached it. Daood’s
heart leaped to his mouth. ‘She cannot have been saved!’ he cried, as he
advanced to meet them.
‘Ul-humd-ul-illa!’ cried a dozen voices, ‘she has, and is in the
Patél’s[6] house.’
-----
Footnote 6:
The chief or magistrate of a village.
-----
Without any ceremony they broke in upon the unfortunate Khan, who sat,
or rather lay, absorbed in his grief. Alone, the memory of his wife had
come vividly over him; and when he raised his head, on their intrusion,
his wet cheek very plainly told that his manly sorrow had found vent.
‘Ul-humd-ul-illa!’ cried Daood, panting for breath.
‘Ul-humd-ul-illa!’ echoed Kasim.
‘Do not mock me, I pray you,’ said the Khan sadly, ‘for grief is
devouring my heart, and I am sad even to tears. And yet your faces have
joy in them,—speak! she cannot live! that would be too much to hope.
Speak, and tell truth!’
‘Weep not, noble Khan,’ said Kasim; ‘she lives, by the blessing of
Alla,—she is safe in my own mother’s apartments; and such rude care as
we can give her, or such accommodation as our poor house affords, she
shall have.’
The Khan started to his feet. ‘Thou dost not mock me then, youth? Ya
Alla! I did not deserve this! Who saved her? By the soul of the Prophet,
any recompense in the power of Abdool Rhyman, even to half his wealth,
shall be his who rescued her!’
‘He stands before thee, O Khan!’ cried Daood, who had recovered his
speech; ‘it was that brave fellow who rushed into the water and rescued
her, even while my lord was being carried hither.’
In an instant rank and power were forgotten, and the Khan, impelled by
his emotion, ere Kasim could prevent him, had folded him in a sincere
and grateful embrace. Nay, he would have fallen at his feet, but the
young Kasim, disengaging himself, prevented it and drew back.
‘Not so, protector of the poor!’ he cried; ‘your slave has but done what
any man would do in a like case. Kasim Ali Patél would have disgraced
himself had he turned from that helpless being as she lay in such peril
on the bank.’
The Khan was struck with admiration of the young man, who with excited
looks and proud yet tempered bearing drew himself up as he uttered the
last words; and indeed the young Patél was a noble figure to look on.
He had not attempted to change his clothes since his rescue of the lady,
but had thrown off his upper garment; he was therefore naked to the
waist, and his body was only partially covered by the dark blanket he
had cast over his shoulders. His tall and muscular frame was fully
developed; and the broad chest, long and full arms, and narrow waist,
showed the power which existed to be called into exertion when
opportunity required. Nor was his countenance less worthy of remark.
Although he had hardly attained manhood, yet the down on his upper lip
and chin, which was darkening fast, proved that perhaps twenty years had
passed over him, and added not a little to his manly appearance. His
dark expressive eyes, which glistened proudly as the Khan regarded him,
a high aquiline nose, large nostrils expanding from the excitement he
had been in, exquisitely white and regular teeth, and, added to all, a
fair skin—far fairer than the generality of his countrymen could
boast,—showed that he was perhaps of gentle blood, which indeed his
courteous manner would have inclined most observers to determine.
‘Thou art a noble fellow, youth!’ cried the Khan, ‘and I would again
meet thee as a brother; embrace me therefore, for by the soul of my
father I could love thee as one. But tell me,—you saved her?—how?—and is
she safe in your house?’
A few words explained all: the eddy in its force had cast the lady upon
a bank below, almost immediately after her immersion, and fortunately
with her head above the water. Had she not been terrified by the shock
so as to lose her consciousness, she would have been able to drag
herself upon the dry land, though she could not have got to shore, as
part of the river flowed round the bank on which she had been cast. Thus
she had continued in very imminent danger until rescued; for any wave or
slight rise of the water must have carried her down the stream; and who
in that darkness and confusion would ever again have seen her?
Gradually therefore the Khan was brought to comprehend the whole matter;
and, as it ought, his thankfulness towards the young Kasim increased at
every explanation. It is not to be supposed, however, that he was the
less anxious about her who had been saved; he had been with some
difficulty restrained from at once proceeding to the Patél’s house, and
desisted only when Daood and his companion declared that such a
proceeding would be attended with risk to the lady. She too had been
assured that he was safe, they said; and in this comforting certainty,
overcome by fatigue and excitement, she had fallen asleep.
‘But that is no reason why my lord should not come to my poor abode,’
said Kasim; ‘this open room is ill-suited to so damp a night, and my
lord has been wet.’
‘I need but little pressing,’ he replied, and rose to accompany him.
Arrived at the house, which, though only a large cabin, was yet of
superior extent and comfort of appearance to the rest in the village,
the Khan found that every preparation the inmates had in their power had
been made for him. A carpet was spread, and upon it was laid a
comfortable cotton mattress; this was covered with a clean fine sheet,
and some very luxurious pillows placed against the wall invited him to
repose.
Fatigue rapidly asserted its mastery over even the Khan’s iron frame. He
had been assured by Kasim’s mother that his lady slept sweetly, and, an
ample repast concluded, he attempted for a time to converse with the
young Patél, but without much success.
The young man took in truth but little interest in the replies. The Khan
himself was abstracted; sleep gradually overpowered him, and he sunk
down upon the bedding in total unconsciousness after a short time.
After seeing him covered, so as to prevent the cold and damp coming to
him, the young Patél left him to the care of Daood, and withdrew. His
own bedding was in an inner room of the house, near to the apartments of
the women, and his mother heard him gently pass to it, and joined him
ere he had lain down.
‘My blessings on thee, my brave boy!’ cried the old lady, melting into
tears at the mingled thoughts of what might have been her son’s danger,
and his gallant conduct; ‘my blessing and the blessing of Allah on thee
for this! thou art thy father’s son indeed, and would that he were alive
to have greeted thee as I do!’
‘It is of no use regretting the dead now, mother: what I did I am glad
of,—and yet I could not have done otherwise; though I thought of thee,
mother, when I cast myself into the raging waters: thou wouldst have
mourned if Allah had not rescued me and her. But tell me,’ he continued,
to avert the old lady’s exclamations at the very thought of his death,
‘tell me, by your soul,—say, who is she? she is fair as a Peri, fair as
a Houri of the blessed Paradise; tell me if thou knowest whether she is
his wife, or—or—’
‘His daughter, thou wouldst say, my son.’
‘Ay, why not?’
‘I understand thy thoughts, but they must pass away from thee. She is no
daughter of his. She hath but newly used the missee;[7] she must be his
wife. Hast thou not asked the servants?’
-----
Footnote 7:
A powder which women apply to their teeth only after marriage.
-----
‘I have not, mother; but art thou sure of this?’
‘I am.’
‘Then a bright vision has faded from my eyes,’ said Kasim despondingly:
‘the brightest vision I have yet seen in my young life. It seemed to be
the will of Allah that she should be mine; for she had been lost to the
world and to him, only that I saved her!’
‘Forbid such thoughts,’ said his mother quietly, for she knew the fiery
yet gentle spirit of the young man, and how easily she might offend
where she only intended kindness. ‘She can be nothing to thee, Kasim.’
‘Her fate is with mine, mother: from the moment I was impelled to rescue
her from the waters, I felt that my life was connected with hers. I knew
not, as she lay on the sand-bank, that she was beautiful or young; and I
could not have hesitated, had there been a thousand devils in my path,
or the raging waters of the Toombuddra.’
‘Alas! my son,’ she replied, ‘these are but the fantasies of a young
spirit. It was thy generous nature, believe me, which impelled thee to
rescue her, not thy destiny.’
But the young man only sighed; and after awhile, finding that her words
had but little power to remove the feelings which the events of the
night had excited, she blessed him and retired to her repose.
Left to himself, Kasim in vain tried to court sleep to his eyelids. Do
what he would, think of what he would, lie how he would,—the scene of
the Khan’s advance across the flood,—the waters hurrying by,—the rough
eddies caused by the resistance to it made by the bearers, upon which
the light of the torches rested and flashed,—their excited cries, which
rung in his ears,—their every step which seemed before his eyes,—till
the last, when all fell,—and then that one wild shriek! Again the
despairing shout of the Khan, and the eager assistance rendered to him
when he cast himself into the river,—the hurried search for the body,
and the exertions of the bearers to raise the palankeen in hopes that it
might be in it,—their despair when it was not,—the renewed search, for
some moments unsuccessful,—then the glimpse of her lying on the bank,
and his own efforts,—all were vivid, so vivid that he seemed to enact
over again the part he had performed, and again to bear the lifeless yet
warm and beautiful body to his home with desperate speed.
‘I saw she was beautiful, O how beautiful!’ he said; ‘I felt how
exquisite her form. I saw her youthful countenance,—hardly fifteen can
she be,—and she the bride of that old man! Monstrous! But it is my
destiny: who can overcome that? Prince and noble, the beggar and the
proud, all have their destiny; this will be mine, and I must follow it.
Ya Alla, that it may be a kind one!’
He lay long musing thus: at last there was a noise as though of talking
in his mother’s apartment. He heard a strange voice—it must be the
lady’s: he arose, crept gently to the door of the room, and listened. He
was right: her pure, girl-like and silvery tones came upon his ears like
music; he drank in every word with eagerness,—he hardly breathed, lest
he should lose a sound.
He heard her tell her little history; how she had been sought in
marriage by many, since he to whom she was betrothed in childhood had
died: how her parents had refused her to many, until the Khan, whose
family were neighbours, and who had returned from Mysore a man of wealth
and rank, hearing of her beauty, had sought her in marriage. Then she
related how grandly it had been celebrated; how much money he had spent;
what processions there had been through the noble city of Hyderabad;
what rich clothes and jewels he had given her; and how he was now taking
her with him to his new country, where he was a soldier of rank, and
served the great Tippoo. All this she described very vividly; and with
the lightheartedness and vivacity of girlhood; but at the end of all she
sighed.
‘For all the rank and pomp, she is unhappy,’ thought Kasim.
Then he heard his mother say, ‘But thou sighest, Khanum, and yet hast
all that ever thy most sanguine fancy could have wished for.’
‘Ay, mother,’ was the reply, ‘I sigh sometimes. I have left my home, my
mother, sisters, father, and many friends, and I go whither I know no
one,—no, not one. I have new friends to make, new thoughts to entertain,
new countries to see; and can you wonder that I should sigh for the
past, or indeed for the future?’
‘Alla bless thee!’ said the old lady; and Kasim heard that she had
blessed her, and had taken the evil from her by passing her hands over
her head, and cracking the joints of her fingers against her own
temples.
‘Thou wilt be happy,’ continued his mother; ‘thou art light-hearted for
thine own peace,—thou art very, very beautiful, and thy lord will love
thee: thou wilt have (may Alla grant many to thee!) children, of beauty
like unto thine own; and therefore do not sigh, but think thou hast a
bright destiny, which indeed is evident. Thy lord is young and loves
thee,—that I am assured of, for I have spoken with him.’
‘With him, mother?’
‘Ay, with him; he came a little while ago to the screen to ask after
thee, and spoke tenderly: young, wealthy, and a soldier too, ah! thou
art fortunate, my daughter.’
‘But he is not young, mother,’ she said artlessly. Kasim was sure there
was regret in the tone.
‘Why then, well,’ said the old lady, ‘thou wilt look up to him with
reverence, and as every woman should do to her lord. But enough now;
thou hast eaten, so now sleep again. May Alla give thee sweet rest and a
fortunate waking!’
Kasim heard no more, though he listened. His mother busied herself in
arranging her carpet, and then all was still. He thought for awhile, and
his spirit was not easy within him: he arose, passed through the outer
chamber, where the Khan still slept, and his servants around him, and
opening the door very gently passed on into the open air.
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