As we reached Bunnoo green cornfields extended as far as the eye could see, under mulberry trees just unfolding their leaves. Numberless channels of water irrigated8 the land; the bed of the Kurrum[Pg 275] alone, quite white, was flecked here and there with blue pools, and was presently lost in the rosy9 distance of the hills on the Afghan frontier.
The natives here were an even finer race than those at Peshawur, and more uncultured, never bowing when we met them, but eyeing us as we passed as if they were meditating10 some foul11 blow.
And in the evening at mess—a dinner given in honour of a regiment12 marching through—news was brought in that close to Bunnoo, in the Kurrum valley, two travellers had been murdered in the night.
The dinner-table was covered with flowers—Maréchal Niel and Gloire de Dijon roses—but enormous, as big as saucers, and of such a texture13, such a colour! a tissue of frost and light; and round the table, which was loaded with silver plate, were grey and red uniforms. Strains of music were wafted14 in through the open windows from the regimental band playing slow waltz-tunes a little way off.
As soon as dessert was removed two lieutenants15 got up, and seizing a couple of drums played away with all their might, while some other officers, under the pretext17 of dancing a Highland18 fling, cut the most amazing capers19. When the band had left[Pg 276] the fun went on to the sound of the banjo, lasting20 late into the cool night, all in the highest spirits.
When I went away home to the fort, where I was living with my friend Lieutenant16 F——, the sentinel's challenge, the tall grey walls casting sharp shadows on the courtyard silvered with moonlight, and another sentry21's cry; and still, in contrast with the cheerful evening, I could remember nothing but the tonga post-horse—a thing so frequent in this land of fanatics22, so common that no one gives it more than a passing thought.
Before daybreak, before the réveillée, the moollah's prayer roused the Sikhs, of which two regiments23 were quartered in the fort; and till it was broad daylight, till the sun had chased away shadows and sadness, I still felt the melancholy24, the twilight25 sense of uneasiness left by that slow and plaintive26 chant.
In the afternoon the soldiers tilted27 on horseback, four on a side. They tried to unhorse each other; two or three would attack one, succeeding at last in rolling him off under his charger, while they in their turn were attacked by others, ending in a mêlée, where the victors and the vanquished28 left fragments of their thin shirts.
Then there were races of baggage-mules, and competitions of speed in harnessing horses and in striking the tents. Finally the English officers rode a race, and then the prizes were distributed—money to the men and blue pugarees with gold thread to the native officers.
In the middle of the course was a stand, and there, with the officers and civil functionaries29, were four English ladies who had accompanied their husbands to this remote station. They thought of their dress and took care of their babies, living among these Sikhs whom the native priests are perpetually inciting30 to rebellion, and seeming to have not the least fear of danger.
When the road was made through Bunnoo a pile of stones was heaped up in the middle of the village. The Moslems finally persuaded themselves that this was a saint's grave; and they come hither to perform their devotions, planting round it bamboo flagstaffs with pennons, and adding to the mound31 the stones they piously32 bring to it day by day.
The heat to-day has suddenly become stifling33; the low clouds veil the colourless sun, and the flowers, which yesterday were still lovely, are now[Pg 278] withered34 and pallid35, and only give out their scent36 in the evening, when it is cool again.
Two more murders; one a squalid business with no motive—a man killed as he was on his way to gather his rice-harvest. Sixteen hill-men attacked him at once, riddling37 the body with bullets.
The other victim, the night watchman of a neighbouring village, was suspected of treachery towards the hill-tribes in a recent skirmish. One ball through the head had killed him, and his arms had been cut off.
At the polo-match in the evening the band played, and three ladies were present; in sign of the spring having come, a basket was hung to the branch of a tree, full of straw kept constantly wet by the coolies, and containing sundry38 bottles of soda-water.
Next day was kept as the spring festival. Every man had a rose stuck into his turban, and a shirt embroidered39 in gold on the shoulders and breast. The women appeared in stiff and gaudy40 veil cloths, bedizened with trumpery41 jewellery. Everybody was gay; a little excited towards evening by arrack, and dancing, and singing to the eternal tom-toms. Even the fiercest men from the hills, with black[Pg 279] turbans and enormously full calico trousers that once were white, and shirts embroidered in bright silks, had set aside their ferocious42 looks and stuck roses in their pugarees, smiling at those they met.
At mess there were two newly-arrived officers, come from Tochi; they had been attacked on the road in the night by sixteen men. The driver and the horse were killed; they themselves had not a scratch, and they told the story very much at their ease, relating the comic features of the incident—how a bullet had lodged43 itself in a pot hanging to a mule's pack, and the frightened creature had kicked "like mad."
After sunset, in every garden, on every hedge, wherever there had been a scrap44 of shade during the afternoon, there was a perfect burst of flowers, opening in the cooler air and scenting45 the night. Round one bungalow46 the rose trees, overloaded47 with flowers, hardly had a leaf, and in the grass, violet and lavender larkspurs grew as tall as maize48 plants. Yellow stars gleamed in the tangle49 of creepers over the verandahs, and on a tree that looked as if it were dead blossoms glistened50 in the moonlight like polished steel.
In the plain the sowars were performing an[Pg 280] Indian fantasia. Charging at a gallop51, their wide sleeves flying behind them, they swept past like a whirlwind, aiming with their lances at a peg52 of wood stuck into the ground. Whenever it was speared there were frantic53 shouts and applause from a crowd of spectators, packed in the best places. In a cloud of dust, growing steadily54 thicker and hanging motionless over the riders, the performance went on, its centre always this same peg of wood, replaced again and again, exciting the enthusiasm of connoisseurs55 till the last ray of light died away.
The natives, to keep their money safe—it is always in coin, never in paper, which is not much trusted in these parts—either bury it or have it wrought56 into trinkets, worn by the women and children. Quite little ones of five or six, and perfectly57 naked, have round their neck sometimes three or four strings58 of gold pieces, or pierced silver rods as thick as a finger—and then one evening the child does not come home, and in some dark corner the poor little body is found bleeding, the jewels gone.
A Sikh, an old soldier, not long since bought a few acres of land; to pay for it he produced 800[Pg 281] rupees in silver, and on his wives, whom he brought with him, were 3000 rupees' worth of jewels.
A little study of manners, as related to me by my neighbour at dinner:—
A native judge is sitting cross-legged on a little mat in his house. A petitioner59 appears of the lowest caste, a Sudra. The judge, quite motionless, watches the man unfasten his sandals, rush up to him, and with a profound bow touch his feet in sign of submission60. For a man of higher caste, a Vaysiya, the ceremonial is the same, only instead of running forward the visitor walks up to the judge and merely pretends to touch his slippers61. Then comes a kshatriya advancing very slowly; the judge rises to meet him half-way, and they both bow.
In the case of a Brahmin it is the judge who hurries to the threshold, and affects to touch the priest's feet.
Colonel C—— went out shooting wild duck on a pool close to Bunnoo with a native, whose horse, led by a servant, came after them. But when they came to the native gentleman's village he mounted, and returned the civility of the salaaming62 people, who till then had avoided recognizing him, [Pg 282]regarding the fact that a kshatriya had come on foot as sufficient evidence that he wished to pass incognito63. Then, when they were out of the village, the native gentleman dismounted and walked on with the colonel.
When a Sikh is beaten and surrenders he takes off his turban and lays it at the conqueror's feet, to convey that with the turban he also offers his head.
When a native comes to ask a favour he brings a few rupees in his hand, and the patron must take them and hold them a few minutes. A retired64 Sikh trooper had come to see his son, now a soldier in the regiment, and met the colonel, who asked him whether he could do anything for him, to which the other replied:
"Can you suppose I should have insulted you by coming here without asking you some favour?"
The want of foresight65 in the people here is amazing. A servant earning five rupees a month got his son married, a child of fifteen, and for this event he bought fireworks on credit, and at enormous interest, which would cost him three years' wages.
"How do you expect to pay?" asked his master, an officer.
"I shall pay as much as I can myself, and by-and-by my son will earn money, and we shall pay between us."
The highest peak of the chain that overlooks Bunnoo looks like the ruins of a fortress. A legend, which must have had its origin at some time when a man-eating tiger lurked66 in the neighbourhood, relates that it is the lair67 of a ferocious ogre always on the look-out for prey68. Nothing on earth would induce any of the natives to go up the mountain; nay69, for a long distance even the plain is not too safe.
All the men carry fighting quails71 in little cages made of a net stretched over a wooden tray and cone-shaped at top. Towards evening, in the shade of the houses, at the street corners, in the courtyards—everywhere, there is a group betting on the chances of a fight. The birds taken out of the cages at first turn slowly round each other, their beaks72 close together. Then a spring, a flutter of wings and flying feathers; the quails strike and peck, aiming at the head, and then suddenly they seem quite indifferent and turn round and round again, picking up grain from the ground. When a[Pg 284] bird is killed at the end of a battle, its eyes blinded and its breast torn open, it is considered a fine, a noble spectacle, and amateurs will talk of it for a long time. As a rule, after a few rounds one of the birds tries to get away. Then its owner pricks73 its neck with a knife, and the gasping74 creature dies slowly in the dust, the blood oozing75 drop by drop.
A very good quail70 that is often the victor, is worth eight or ten rupees. At a funeral a day or two since one of the bearers had his quail in a cage hanging from his girdle—a champion bird he would not part from.
A man in the fort always struck out the hours on a gong, very slowly, in the heat of the day. Twelve at noon was interminable—one, two, three were so feeble as to be scarcely audible. And then when it was cooler and the tom-toms could be heard in the distance, the strokes had a queer dislocated rhythm, and sometimes even a stroke too many, smothered76 in a hurried roll.
The sweepers, the saises, the bearers, the whole tribe of noisy, idle servants—men, women, and children—all sleep out of doors in the hotter weather. And all day long the camp-bed, the two mats, and half a dozen pots, which constitute the[Pg 285] whole furniture of a family, move round the house with the shade, only settling down after dark.
The moon at night shed an intense light, warm and golden. There was scarcely any shadow, and in the quivering atmosphere the flowers poured out their perfume on the cooler air. Frogs croaked77 a basso continuo to cries of night birds, and a sort of roar, very loud but very distant, almost drowned the concert in the fort close by.
White clouds grew opalescent78 against the deep, infinite, blue-velvet sky, and their edges next the moon were fringed with silver. The stars, of a luminous79 pale green like aqua marine80, seemed dead and had no twinkle.
Then, another day, the air was leaden, too heavy to breathe. The mountains of the gem-like hues had lost their glory; they were of one flat tone of dusky grey, and further away were lost to view, invisible in the dead monotony of the colourless sky. The silence was oppressive; there was not a bird in the air, and a strange uneasiness scared the beasts, all seeking a shady refuge.
Music in the evening, in the gardens which surround the library, the chapel81, and the tennis[Pg 286] courts. The ladies' dresses and the uniforms were lustrous82 in the moonlight. First we had the regimental band, and then songs to a banjo accompaniment; and all about us in the tall trees, the minahs and parrots shrieking83 as if it were broad daylight, finished the concert by themselves. A huge creeper, swaying between two branches, hung like a curtain of yellow flowers embroidered, as it seemed, on the airy tangle of leaves.
Gauze and muslin dresses moved gracefully84 about against the background of bamboos and roses. Light footsteps scarcely bent85 the grass; the ripple86 of talk, with its sprinkling of Indian words, was sweet and musical. Fireflies whirled above the plants making little tendrils of light; there was dreaminess in the air—an anticipation87 of fairyland to which the music seemed the prelude88.
And to and fro on the ramparts, the sentry, in an uniform of the same hue3 as the sun-baked bricks, paced his beat, invisible but for a needle of light on his fixed89 bayonet; till when crossing a patch of light he was seen like an apparition90, lost again in the shadow of the wall.
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1
tinge
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| vt.(较淡)着色于，染色；使带有…气息；n.淡淡色彩，些微的气息 | |
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2
transparent
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| adj.明显的，无疑的；透明的 | |
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hue
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| n.色度；色调；样子 | |
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hues
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| 色彩( hue的名词复数 )； 色调； 信仰； 观点 | |
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fortress
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| n.堡垒，防御工事 | |
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standing
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| n.持续，地位；adj.永久的，不动的，直立的，不流动的 | |
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7
wreck
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| n.失事，遇难；沉船；vt.(船等)失事，遇难 | |
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irrigated
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| [医]冲洗的 | |
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rosy
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| adj.美好的，乐观的，玫瑰色的 | |
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meditating
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| a.沉思的，冥想的 | |
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foul
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| adj.污秽的；邪恶的；v.弄脏；妨害；犯规；n.犯规 | |
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12
regiment
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| n.团，多数，管理；v.组织，编成团，统制 | |
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texture
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| n.(织物)质地；(材料)构造；结构；肌理 | |
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14
wafted
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| v.吹送，飘送，（使）浮动( waft的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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15
lieutenants
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| n.陆军中尉( lieutenant的名词复数 )；副职官员；空军；仅低于…官阶的官员 | |
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lieutenant
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| n.陆军中尉，海军上尉；代理官员，副职官员 | |
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17
pretext
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| n.借口，托词 | |
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18
highland
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| n.(pl.)高地，山地 | |
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19
capers
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| n.开玩笑( caper的名词复数 )；刺山柑v.跳跃，雀跃( caper的第三人称单数 ) | |
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20
lasting
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| adj.永久的，永恒的；vbl.持续，维持 | |
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sentry
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| n.哨兵，警卫 | |
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22
fanatics
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| 狂热者，入迷者( fanatic的名词复数 ) | |
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23
regiments
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| （军队的）团( regiment的名词复数 )； 大量的人或物 | |
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melancholy
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| n.忧郁，愁思；adj.令人感伤（沮丧）的，忧郁的 | |
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twilight
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| n.暮光，黄昏；暮年，晚期，衰落时期 | |
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plaintive
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| adj.可怜的，伤心的 | |
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27
tilted
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| v. 倾斜的 | |
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28
vanquished
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| v.征服( vanquish的过去式和过去分词 )；战胜；克服；抑制 | |
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29
functionaries
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| n.公职人员，官员( functionary的名词复数 ) | |
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30
inciting
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| 刺激的，煽动的 | |
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31
mound
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| n.土墩，堤，小山；v.筑堤，用土堆防卫 | |
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piously
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| adv.虔诚地 | |
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stifling
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| a.令人窒息的 | |
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34
withered
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| adj. 枯萎的，干瘪的，（人身体的部分器官）因病萎缩的或未发育良好的 动词wither的过去式和过去分词形式 | |
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pallid
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| adj.苍白的，呆板的 | |
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scent
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| n.气味，香味，香水，线索，嗅觉；v.嗅，发觉 | |
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riddling
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| adj.谜一样的，解谜的n.筛选 | |
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sundry
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| adj.各式各样的，种种的 | |
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39
embroidered
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| adj．绣花的 | |
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40
gaudy
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| adj.华而不实的；俗丽的 | |
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41
trumpery
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| n.无价值的杂物；adj.（物品）中看不中用的 | |
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42
ferocious
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| adj.凶猛的，残暴的，极度的，十分强烈的 | |
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43
lodged
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| v.存放( lodge的过去式和过去分词 )；暂住；埋入；（权利、权威等）归属 | |
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44
scrap
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| n.碎片；废料；v.废弃，报废 | |
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45
scenting
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| vt.闻到（scent的现在分词形式） | |
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46
bungalow
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| n.平房，周围有阳台的木造小平房 | |
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47
overloaded
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| a.超载的，超负荷的 | |
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48
maize
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| n.玉米 | |
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49
tangle
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| n.纠缠；缠结；混乱；v.(使)缠绕；变乱 | |
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50
glistened
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| v.湿物闪耀，闪亮( glisten的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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51
gallop
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| v./n.(马或骑马等)飞奔；飞速发展 | |
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52
peg
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| n.木栓，木钉；vt.用木钉钉，用短桩固定 | |
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53
frantic
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| adj.狂乱的，错乱的，激昂的 | |
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54
steadily
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| adv.稳定地；不变地；持续地 | |
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55
connoisseurs
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| n.鉴赏家，鉴定家，行家( connoisseur的名词复数 ) | |
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56
wrought
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| v.引起；以…原料制作；运转；adj.制造的 | |
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57
perfectly
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| adv.完美地，无可非议地，彻底地 | |
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58
strings
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| n.弦 | |
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59
petitioner
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| n.请愿人 | |
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60
submission
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| n.服从，投降；温顺，谦虚；提出 | |
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61
slippers
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| n. 拖鞋 | |
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62
salaaming
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| 行额手礼( salaam的现在分词 ) | |
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63
incognito
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| adv.匿名地；n.隐姓埋名；adj.化装的，用假名的，隐匿姓名身份的 | |
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64
retired
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| adj.隐退的，退休的，退役的 | |
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foresight
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| n.先见之明，深谋远虑 | |
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66
lurked
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| vi.潜伏，埋伏（lurk的过去式与过去分词形式） | |
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67
lair
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| n.野兽的巢穴；躲藏处 | |
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68
prey
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| n.被掠食者，牺牲者，掠食；v.捕食，掠夺，折磨 | |
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69
nay
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| adv.不；n.反对票，投反对票者 | |
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70
quail
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| n.鹌鹑；vi.畏惧，颤抖 | |
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71
quails
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| 鹌鹑( quail的名词复数 )； 鹌鹑肉 | |
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72
beaks
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| n.鸟嘴( beak的名词复数 )；鹰钩嘴；尖鼻子；掌权者 | |
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73
pricks
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| 刺痛( prick的名词复数 )； 刺孔； 刺痕； 植物的刺 | |
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74
gasping
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| adj. 气喘的, 痉挛的 动词gasp的现在分词 | |
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75
oozing
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| v.（浓液等）慢慢地冒出，渗出( ooze的现在分词 )；使（液体）缓缓流出；（浓液）渗出，慢慢流出 | |
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76
smothered
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| （使）窒息， （使）透不过气( smother的过去式和过去分词 )； 覆盖； 忍住； 抑制 | |
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77
croaked
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| v.呱呱地叫( croak的过去式和过去分词 )；用粗的声音说 | |
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78
opalescent
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| adj.乳色的，乳白的 | |
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79
luminous
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| adj.发光的，发亮的；光明的；明白易懂的；有启发的 | |
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80
marine
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| adj.海的；海生的；航海的；海事的；n.水兵 | |
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81
chapel
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| n.小教堂，殡仪馆 | |
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82
lustrous
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| adj.有光泽的；光辉的 | |
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83
shrieking
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| v.尖叫( shriek的现在分词 ) | |
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84
gracefully
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| ad.大大方方地；优美地 | |
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85
bent
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| n.爱好，癖好；adj.弯的；决心的，一心的 | |
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86
ripple
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| n.涟波，涟漪，波纹，粗钢梳；vt.使...起涟漪，使起波纹； vi.呈波浪状，起伏前进 | |
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87
anticipation
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| n.预期，预料，期望 | |
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88
prelude
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| n.序言，前兆，序曲 | |
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89
fixed
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| adj.固定的，不变的，准备好的；(计算机)固定的 | |
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90
apparition
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| n.幽灵，神奇的现象 | |
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