Life in the Eagle's Nest

A Tale of Afghanistan.
A. L O. E., (Charlotte Maria Tucker)
AUTHORESS OF THE CLAREMONT TALES, NED FRANKS, SHEER OFF, THE WHITE BEAR'S DEN, ETC.
London: GALL & INGLIS, 25 PATERNOSTER SQUARE; AND EDINBURGH.
PREFACE.
The Authoress of the following tale has often said that she has devoted her pen to her adopted country, India. Has she then changed her purpose in again writing a story for British readers? No; though in a different way, she is still seeking to serve the Missionary cause. A.L.O.E. wants money for her Mission Plough, a School for Mohammedan and heathen boys in Batala, and it occurred to her that hours, not taken from her city work, might be given to earning something by literary effort.
The School which A.L.O.E. thus attempts to prop up by her quill, sprang out of a felt want. Native boys were willing to hear the Gospel, and in the Government School were taught no religion at all. The Missionary Society to which A.L.O.E. belongs, restricts its attention to women and girls; of course not a penny could be taken from its funds for boys, though teaching them indirectly helps the Zenana work—the seed of truth being sometimes carried by them to the very strongholds of feminine bigotry.
Thus the Mission Plough is supported by no society; the expenses are to be met by personal effort, or the assistance of those who sympathise with its object. A.L.O.E most gratefully acknowledges the great liberality with which kind friends have come to her aid. May the Lord reward them a thousandfold for what they have done!
CONTENTS.
CHAPTER