The Sepoy Rebellion
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
N OT ours the woes, where, thick with earthly stain,
Ganges rolls slow and slower through the plain,
His myriad channels, winding as they go,
Mingling and lengthening in their mazy flow.
There mingling meet impostures old and new,
The crafty Moslem and the weak Hindu.
The former, keen and daring, gained his hold
With ruthless hand, then covered blood with gold;
The latter, steeped in superstitions foul,
Hoary with old iniquity, — where scowl
Such huge and hideous idols as alone
Might turn their countless worshippers to stone!
What wonder, then, that England, thither drawn
For Commerce only, should be thence led on
From war to war, from goal to further goal,
Till conquest made her mistress of the whole?
And ever as she grew from realm to realm,
Her ship of State saw Mammon at the helm,
Who, as he steered, still kept, for paltry pelf,
Her better, subject to her baser, self.
In vain a saintly Heber prayed, and strove,
And died, to spread the knowledge of Christ's love:
The worth of souls in-gathered to His flock,
Was naught, compared with that of India stock.
Planted in heathendom, proud England's sway
Cost money , and it must be made to " pay. "
But when God has His own great ends to win,
He teaches sinners, even through their sin.
Those who possess His Truth, must bear it on,
Or else its dread recoil will bear them down.
Eager for wealth, not land, yet England's fate
Still drove her onward to add State to State.
And each new province could be made secure
Only by further conquest. Thus kept poor
By wars on wars, her heathen subjects, too, —
Conquered but not converted, — also grew.
Millions on swarming millions soon were they;
While thousands only, those whom they obey.
And these are studious only how to please
Idolaters, and gather in rupees.
Aye! English rulers pay their shameless court
To idols; idol temples they support;
And Christian soldiers, with the pagan throng,
Must bow to idols as they pass along!
Shasters and Vedas are, with full consent,
Made text-books in the schools of Government.
Pagan Hindus are petted, paid and feared:
But if baptized , they are at once cashiered!
Bestowing thus her mercenary smile
On creeds so grossly false, corrupt and vile,
Only contempt or hate has England shown
For that religion which she calls her own.
Yet heathen rites although she thus upheld,
With heathen men her army's ranks she swelled,
Quite sure they would be, in her hour of need,
True rather to their salt than to their creed:
Supposing that, of course, those pagan curs
Would sell their faith as cheap as she did hers.
How wild the waking from these sordid dreams!
As the volcano bursts with fiery streams,
Pouring red ruin down from rock to rock:
Thus sudden and thus deadly was the shock.
The filth preserved with so much cost and care,
Leaped like the hungry tiger from his lair.
Fierce to the work the rampant passions rushed,
Lust lapping blood, and blood inflaming lust.
Murders most foul closed tortures most obscene,
With brutal rage, more like to fiends than men.
Ev'n woman, — in whose form are gathered up
The chiefest strength and sweetness of life's cup, —
Soul of man's honor, — home of all his love, —
The crown of Christendom, — its hope above, —
Through whom alone Man can be made to feel
An earthly antepast of heaven or hell, —
Woman — but hush! No justice can be done
To those who died a thousand deaths in one!
Let Havelock's tenfold thunderbolt of war
Strike on! Let Delhi's fall crash loud and far!
Let Greathed's column shatter as it goes,
And scatter to the winds its miscreant foes!
India's dark millions shall themselves look on,
Behold the vengeance, and then cry, " well done! "
For England, be her errors what they may,
Has wielded there a just and healthful sway;
To them her bloodiest cruelty is known
To be but mercy, seen beside their own!
The Faith of England, by this deadly strife
Baptized in blood, shall glow with nobler life.
No longer shall the Cross, so dearly bought,
Be veiled; nor Christ give place to Juggernaut.
Higher and higher shall the Day-star rise,
Enlightening with his beams long-blinded eyes;
Till idols all shall fall, while Saints shall sing,
And wise men from the East again shall bring
Their gifts to C HRIST the Lord , their P ROPHET , P RIEST and King .
N OT ours the woes, where, thick with earthly stain,
Ganges rolls slow and slower through the plain,
His myriad channels, winding as they go,
Mingling and lengthening in their mazy flow.
There mingling meet impostures old and new,
The crafty Moslem and the weak Hindu.
The former, keen and daring, gained his hold
With ruthless hand, then covered blood with gold;
The latter, steeped in superstitions foul,
Hoary with old iniquity, — where scowl
Such huge and hideous idols as alone
Might turn their countless worshippers to stone!
What wonder, then, that England, thither drawn
For Commerce only, should be thence led on
From war to war, from goal to further goal,
Till conquest made her mistress of the whole?
And ever as she grew from realm to realm,
Her ship of State saw Mammon at the helm,
Who, as he steered, still kept, for paltry pelf,
Her better, subject to her baser, self.
In vain a saintly Heber prayed, and strove,
And died, to spread the knowledge of Christ's love:
The worth of souls in-gathered to His flock,
Was naught, compared with that of India stock.
Planted in heathendom, proud England's sway
Cost money , and it must be made to " pay. "
But when God has His own great ends to win,
He teaches sinners, even through their sin.
Those who possess His Truth, must bear it on,
Or else its dread recoil will bear them down.
Eager for wealth, not land, yet England's fate
Still drove her onward to add State to State.
And each new province could be made secure
Only by further conquest. Thus kept poor
By wars on wars, her heathen subjects, too, —
Conquered but not converted, — also grew.
Millions on swarming millions soon were they;
While thousands only, those whom they obey.
And these are studious only how to please
Idolaters, and gather in rupees.
Aye! English rulers pay their shameless court
To idols; idol temples they support;
And Christian soldiers, with the pagan throng,
Must bow to idols as they pass along!
Shasters and Vedas are, with full consent,
Made text-books in the schools of Government.
Pagan Hindus are petted, paid and feared:
But if baptized , they are at once cashiered!
Bestowing thus her mercenary smile
On creeds so grossly false, corrupt and vile,
Only contempt or hate has England shown
For that religion which she calls her own.
Yet heathen rites although she thus upheld,
With heathen men her army's ranks she swelled,
Quite sure they would be, in her hour of need,
True rather to their salt than to their creed:
Supposing that, of course, those pagan curs
Would sell their faith as cheap as she did hers.
How wild the waking from these sordid dreams!
As the volcano bursts with fiery streams,
Pouring red ruin down from rock to rock:
Thus sudden and thus deadly was the shock.
The filth preserved with so much cost and care,
Leaped like the hungry tiger from his lair.
Fierce to the work the rampant passions rushed,
Lust lapping blood, and blood inflaming lust.
Murders most foul closed tortures most obscene,
With brutal rage, more like to fiends than men.
Ev'n woman, — in whose form are gathered up
The chiefest strength and sweetness of life's cup, —
Soul of man's honor, — home of all his love, —
The crown of Christendom, — its hope above, —
Through whom alone Man can be made to feel
An earthly antepast of heaven or hell, —
Woman — but hush! No justice can be done
To those who died a thousand deaths in one!
Let Havelock's tenfold thunderbolt of war
Strike on! Let Delhi's fall crash loud and far!
Let Greathed's column shatter as it goes,
And scatter to the winds its miscreant foes!
India's dark millions shall themselves look on,
Behold the vengeance, and then cry, " well done! "
For England, be her errors what they may,
Has wielded there a just and healthful sway;
To them her bloodiest cruelty is known
To be but mercy, seen beside their own!
The Faith of England, by this deadly strife
Baptized in blood, shall glow with nobler life.
No longer shall the Cross, so dearly bought,
Be veiled; nor Christ give place to Juggernaut.
Higher and higher shall the Day-star rise,
Enlightening with his beams long-blinded eyes;
Till idols all shall fall, while Saints shall sing,
And wise men from the East again shall bring
Their gifts to C HRIST the Lord , their P ROPHET , P RIEST and King .
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