the moment approach when we must bid farewell to
earth, yet without feeling that unutterable horror which must have been
experienced by the unhappy victims at Cawnpore. We were resolved rather
to die than yield, and were fully persuaded that in twenty-four hours
all would be over. The engineer had said so, and all knew the worst. We
women strove to encourage each other, and to perform the light duties
which had been assigned to us, such as conveying orders to the
batteries, and supplying the men with provisions, especially cups of
coffee, which we prepared day and night.

I had gone out to try to make myself useful, in company with Jessie
Brown, the wife of a corporal in my husband's regiment. Poor Jessie had
been in a state of restless excitement all through the siege, and had
fallen away visibly within the last few days. A constant fever consumed
her, and her mind wandered occasionally, especially that day when the
recollections of home seemed powerfully present to her. At last,
overcome with fatigue, she lay down on the ground, wrapped up in her
plaid. I sat beside her, promising to awaken her when, as she said, her
"father should return from the ploughing."

She fell at length into a profound slumber, motionless and apparently
breathless, her head resting in my lap. I myself could no longer resist
the inclination to sleep, in spite of the continual roar of the cannon.
Suddenly I was aroused by a wild, unearthly scream close to my ear; my
companion stood upright beside me, her arms raised, and her head bent
forward in the attitude of listening.

A look of intense delight broke over her countenance. She grasped my
hand, drew me toward her, and exclaimed: "Dinna ye hear it? dinna ye
hear it? Aye. I'm no dreaming: it's the slogan o' the Highlanders!
We're saved! we're saved!" Then, flinging herself on her knees, she
thanked God with passionate fervour.

I felt utterly bewildered; my English ears heard only the roar of
artillery, and I thought my poor Jessie was still raving, but she darted
to the batteries, and I heard her cry incessantly to the men: "Courage!
courage! Hark to the slogan--to the Macgregor, the grandest of them a'!
Here's help at last!"

To describe the effect of these words upon the soldiers would be
impossible. For a moment they ceased firing, and every soul listened
with intense anxiety. Gradually, however, there arose a murmur of bitter
disappointment, and the wailing of the women, who had flock