DYERS AT LUCKNOW.
They drove and afterward walked through the streets of the native city, and were greatly interested in the industries of Lucknow. They passed shop after shop of the jewellers, and saw the artisans busy with their simple apparatus of blow-pipe and a few tools; they had seen the same sort of work at Benares, and were impressed with the skill of the men who need so few tools to accomplish what requires a great many in the hands of a European. Lucknow is famous for cotton cloths in various colors, and the dyers are said to display great skill in their work, and to possess several secret processes in making colors that will hold. They work with a few pots and pans, and the indelible nature of their dyes is said to show itself by giving a tint to their hands that requires weeks of washing and waiting to eradicate.
They had a letter to an American resident of Lucknow, the Rev. Mr. Craven, and in the course of their morning's drive stopped at his office to deliver it. He asked if they had visited the Residency, which was made famous during the siege of Lucknow, and on learning they had not done so he made a proposition that was received with delight by the trio.
"Postpone your visit to the Residency till to-morrow," said he, "and I will meet you there and endeavor to introduce you to Mr. Kavanagh, the man who went through the rebel lines in the disguise of a native, and piloted the army of Sir Colin Campbell to the relief of Lucknow."
A proposal like this did not require many moments for acceptance. It was arranged that Mr. Craven would meet them at the Residency at seven o'clock to show the points of interest, and, if possible, would have Mr. Kavanagh join them an hour later.
At the appointed time our friends met Mr. Craven, and were shown through the Residency, which is in very nearly the state it was found when Lucknow was captured from the rebels in 1857. There are moss-grown and ivy-twined walls, and the shattered tower rises like a beacon above the tree-tops, as it rose when watchful eyes looked day after day for the relief that finally came from Cawnpore. An artificial mound supports the monument to Sir Henry Lawrence, who fell during the siege, and there are gravelled roads and paths through the shrubbery and among the plots of grass. Small columns of brick mark the positions of the various batteries by which the approaches were defended, and a neat fence encloses the cemetery where the dead of the memorable defence are buried.
Doctor Bronson and the youths were shown the many points of interest in and around the place. Mr. Craven explained that during the siege the underground rooms of the Residency were occupied by some of the women and children; the ground floor was used as a hospital, and the upper rooms were quite untenable in consequence of the shot and shell that poured through them. An officer was always on duty at the top of the tower, or on the roof of the building, with a good telescope, to report the movements of the enemy, and, when relief was expected, to keep a sharp lookout for it. While they were standing in front of the building, a gentleman with a robust figure and a snowy mustache and whisker joined them, and was introduced as Mr. Kavanagh; after a little preliminary conversation the party sat down on the lower step of the monument to Sir Henry Lawrence, and the story of the siege was told.
THE RESIDENCY AT LUCKNOW.