As he came nearer, I observed he was mounted on a tall Rosinante-looking steed, with a flowing tail and mane; his head-stall was of a sort of red bell-rope-looking cord; a bunch of red cloth, something like a handkerchief, dangled under his horse’s chin, from whence a standing martingale passed between his legs. Amulets and chains were round his animal’s neck, and the saddle (or cushion, rather) was covered with a square broad cloth of red and yellow chequers.
The cavalier himself, a dark-bearded Mahomedan, was a fine specimen of the Hindoostanee irregular horseman. His chupkun, or vest, of yellow broad cloth, reached to his knee, and his legs were encased in long wrinkled boots, something like Jack Sheppard’s, and which would not have been the worse for a touch of Day and Martin.
On his head he wore a cylindrical Cossack-looking cap of black felt or lambskin. A long matchlock was poised on his shoulder; a tulwar, or scimitar, was stuck in his cummerbund or girdle, and a circular black shield, of buffalo’s hide, swung on his shoulders.
Altogether, though I was brought up in the orthodox belief that one Englishman is equal to three Frenchmen, and of course, to an indefinite number of blacks, I cannot say I should have liked to encounter him upon my tatoo. However, his was a mission of peace, as I soon discovered.
On seeing me, he dug his heels into his horse’s flanks, and was soon beside me. Throwing himself off, he saluted me with an off-handed salaam, in which hauteur and civility were oddly blended, and then, taking off his cap, he extracted therefrom a letter, somewhat pinguinized and sudorificated, which he respectfully placed in my hands. It was addressed to “Ensign Francis Gernon, on his march to Delhi,” and ran thus:—
“My dear Sir,
“Our mutual friend Marpeet has apprized me of your approach; I write, therefore, to say that, as a friend of his, it will give me great pleasure if you can spare me a day or two, if not pressed to join. Your Colonel Bobbery I know well, and will undertake to mollify him if necessary. The sowar, the bearer of this, will conduct you at once to my encampment, and you can instruct your people to follow in the morning. I have a spare tent and cot at your service.
“Hoping soon to see you,
“I am yours truly,
“Augustus Sympkin.”