THE NUWAUB'S DAUGHTER.

BEFORE the British conquests had extended over the whole of the vast territory which now quietly submits to the government of the East-India Company, alliances with native ladies of rank were more frequent with European officers than they can be at a period of profound peace. The vicissitudes and changes produced by the varying fortune of the war, and the caprices of those despots, who, in the treatment of their ministers and viceroys, had not learned to dread the interference of a superior power, led to many circumstances which were favourable to a greater degree of intimacy between people of different countries and creeds, than exists at the present time. Military men, of the day of which we speak, became the heroes of many a true tale of love and enterprize; and though a witty writer has, in one of the Bengal annuals, ridiculed these oriental adventures by a description of the costume of a European officer, in "white shorts and silks, a red-coat and brass buttons, with a pair of tasty fringe epaulettes hanging well in front, a narrow white tight neck cloth, hair elaborately curled and powdered, a gold-laced three-cornered hat, and a pig-tail,”—it is questionable whether the race which has succeeded them will ever have it in their power to make a superior figure in the annals of their time.

It is not easy to say with what particular feelings Frank Ellerby commenced his military career as a cadet in the Honourable Company's service. The East-Indies was to him a terra incognita-a confused picture of bright rivers and dense jungles; the one filled with alligators, the other with tigers; gold pagodas rising in the distance: and, therefore, when he joined a regiment stationed in Bombay, he felt somewhat surprised, and, it must be said, a little disappointed, that all the wonders he had pourtrayed to himself did not burst upon him at once. At first, as it is usual, his thoughts continually recurred to his home, and he longed impatiently for the means of making a fortune which should enable him to return to the friends of his youth. But these hopes and expectations gradually subsided under the stern realities of his situation year after year stole away, and finding himself placed in employments of great trust, and involved in responsibilities of the heaviest nature, England faded away from his mind in a great measure, and he became almost wholly absorbed in the duties of his profession. Intelligence came of deaths, which, one by one, severed the links that bound him to his native soil, and when at length he was appointed to fulfil a diplomatic mission in a district belonging to a neighbouring potentate, he had learned to look upon India as the country of his adoption, and the only theatre on which he felt any desire to display his talents.

The vacillating conduct pursued by the native prince who swayed a large portion of the Deccan, rendered it but too probable that he would, at the first favourable opportunity, join the ranks of those who, in conjunction with the French, were assuming a very menacing attitude; it was, therefore, necessary to obtain as much information as possible from the natives of this district, concerning the state of affairs at the capital. Captain Ellerby, well acquainted with Hindoostanee modes and manners, soon established himself in the most friendly degree of intimacy with the subadah, or officer, who had been appointed to the government of this district. He was a Mussulman of high rank, and lived in that princely style of profusion in which the followers of the Prophet are apt to indulge, and which of course indicated the possession of very considerable wealth. At the feasts and festivals given during all the Mohammedan Asiat.Journ.N.S.VOL.21.No.83.

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holidays, by this personage, Frank Ellerby assisted with all the complaisance that could be desired, sitting smoking his hookah in the most praise-worthy and persevering manner possible, during the nearly interminable entertainments provided for the occasion. These festivals usually took place in a large quadrangle of the palace-like edifice in which Ismael Mohammed Khan Buhadoor resided. In the centre, a stage was erected for the accommodation of the musicians, bayaderes, wrestlers, and other performers who were assembled; the remaining portion of the court-yard being filled with multitudes of spectators. The Nuwaub himself occupied a verandah, or gallery, which commanded the best view of this stage, and a place of dignity, close at his side, was always reserved for Captain Ellerby. The native nobleman sate, according to the fashion of his country, with his knees on a level with his eyes, upon a cushion; the British officer upon a chair of crimson and gold, made expressly for the occasion; and both were attended by a cloud of servants, some beating away the flies, others scattering perfumes, a third set employed in fanning them on either hand, and a fourth in attending to the chillums. At the back of the verandah there was a lattice, and the sparkling of eyes, and the glistening of jewels, through its network, assured Ellerby that the ladies of the family had been admitted to a participation of the amusements. Not so completely taken up with the dancing, tumbling, wrestling, pretended combats, and other pantomimical diversions as the majority of the spectators, Ellerby, while apparently giving all his attention to the sports, often cast a glance with the tail of his eye, as the Scots have it, to a point which offered more attractions to him than the united talent of the dramatis persone on the stage. Whether by accident or design, a part of the trellis, within a very easy view, had been in the course of the performance broken away, and the aperture revealed a young and most beautiful face, at first apparently only eager to obtain a fuller sight of the performances, but afterwards, as if conscious of the stranger's admiration, confused and embarrassed, scarcely knowing whether to withdraw, or remain exposed to the gaze of the European. The veil, which had fallen back, was hastily drawn across the face, but, in another minute or two, its silvery folds were permitted again to drop upon the shoulder; the fragment of the lattice was then restored to its proper place, but still a pair of the most lustrous and languishing eyes in the world peeped through them, and Ellerby, completely fascinated, shewed, as much as his situation would permit, the effect which these dangerous eyes had produced upon his heart. The tamasha possessed too much attraction for the occupants of the verandah, and its adjoining apartments, to have any leisure to observe what was passing in their more immediate vicinity. Ellerby had acquired somewhat of the cautious imperturbability which the fashion of the East requires from those who put forth a claim to high breeding: his admiration was consequently of the subdued character which suited the time and place. Nevertheless, he took care to render it sufficiently obvious to the object of it, and she as plainly shewed that it was any thing but disagreeable. At length, there was an end to the performances, and Ellerby, who, if it had not been for the little episodical scenes in which he had acted the hero, would have been wearied out of all patience, withdrew with something like regret. He had little difficulty in guessing who the young houri was, who had so pleasingly disturbed the current of his thoughts; he had frequently heard of the beauty of one of the Nuwaub's daughters, the fair Goolaabee, whose charms had been sung by all the minstrels of the place; for, notwithstanding the seclusion in which they are immured, reports of the charms of the ladies of the zenana always get abroad, and those

which pass the ordinary standard, become celebrated from one end of India to the other. Goolaabee's destiny was supposed to be a high one, for she was betrothed to one of the sons of the most powerful prince in that part of the peninsula, who, it is said, sought the alliance in order to bind Ismael Mohammed more closely to the service of a master, whose interest was not always consulted by those placed in authority under him. The affianced pair had never met, and the heart of Goolaabee was, therefore, in all probability

vacant.

While seated, on a subsequent evening, in the verandah of his residence, pondering over the late adventure, and considering whether it would be possible to obtain an interview with the beautiful creature who had so strongly attracted his regards, Ellerby perceived a young native boy, handsomely dressed, strolling up the avenue which stretched before him. The boy, approaching, made his salaam, and then taking a pigeon from his breast, offered it to Captain Ellerby, with an injunction to detain it cautiously. The pigeon was one of remarkable beauty, even in a place celebrated for the number, variety, and brilliant appearance of its breeds. It was quite tame, apparently one of those kept for the purpose of affording recreation to the inmates of the zenana; the flights and evolutions of these birds, trained for the purpose of display, yielding the greatest delight to those who keep large flocks merely for the pleasure of witnessing their exploits in the fields of air. The one now presented to Captain Ellerby had a silver ribbon tied round its neck: after admiring it for a while, the boy directed him to let it go; it immediately flew up to a considerable height, the silver ribbon streaming behind it—remained stationary for about a minute-and then wheeled off in circles, returning nearly to the spot which it had left, so that there could be no difficulty in following its course. The boy made a significant gesture, and Ellerby, unmindful of the suwarree which would assemble shortly at his gate, for the purpose of escorting him in the evening exercise, started up, and took the direction which the pigeon pursued. It flew low, and as the sun had not yet entirely descended, it was easy to trace its course, especially by the silver ribbon which fluttered behind it.

Both the palace of the Nuwaub and the residence of Ellerby were situated in the out skirts of the city, being divided from each other by some unfrequented gardens at the back. Frank, therefore, did not meet any one as he passed along, the pigeon having betaken itself to a haunt which, from its proximity to the ladies' apartments, was considered sacred ground, and rarely visited by profane footsteps. The pigeon alighted at the foot of a tree, and then raising itself again upon the wing, flew over a high battlemented wall. Ellerby, at first, did not perceive any mode of egress; but, upon a more narrow inspection, he saw a window shadowed entirely by the spreading boughs of one of those quick-growing trees, which spring up every where in so luxuriant a soil, and which, with the carelessness we scarcely expect to find amongst such a jealous community, had been permitted to expand in a very dangerous direction. Ellerby climbed the tree in an instant, and in the next found himself upon a narrow hedge, close to a lattice, which yielded to his hand. It opened into a small room, which appeared, however, to be untenanted at present; a glimmering of light opposite indicated a door, and our adventurer, going down a narrow stone stair, entered a very circumscribed court or quadrangle, containing, besides a few parterres of flowers, one large tree and a fountain. The tree enveloped the whole place in gloom; but Ellerby's eyes, now accustomed to the failing light, discerned a female figure

beside the fountain. He approached it—a start, real or affected, shewed that his presence was not unnoticed; and being well versed in the language of Eastern compliment, he immediately broke silence, with one of those speeches to which women usually lend a gratified car. Goolaabee, though wholly unused to flattery from the lips of the opposite sex, listened as if she had been accustomed to masculine homage all her life; nor was she at any loss for a reply. With the intuitive address of an accomplished coquette, she pretended to be totally ignorant of the manner in which her admirer had effected an entrance, endeavouring to make him believe that the pigeon, which she now held in her arms, had accidentally made its escape, and, in fact, that she had neither art nor part in the adventure. Ellerby was quite willing to allow her to suppose that he gave her credit for all she chose to say, but he would not depart without an assurance that she would meet him again on the following night. Returning by the way he came, he got back to his own home unobserved, and mounting the elephant in waiting, went out as usual. Though unable to deny himself the gratification of an adventure, which promised to relieve, in the most agreeable manner, the monotony of his present existence, he was by no means desirous that it should be attended with any unnecessary éclat. The Nuwaub had made himself popular in his government, and it was of great importance that he should continue to be attached to the British interests. A breach with him might precipitate hostilities, which it was desirable to postpone, if they could not be altogether avoided; and Ellerby, in his most secret cogitations, questioned whether he was not in some degree betraying the trust reposed in him by engaging in an affair, which, if discovered, might possibly compromise the government by which he was employed. Men, however, under the influence of passion (it is a trite remark), seldom attend to the dictates of prudence. Ellerby, who had left England too young to have formed any attachment, had not, since his arrival in India, seen any beauty to compare to that which characterized the native women, and Goolaabee formed a rare specimen even in the midst of loveliness. Her complexion was not darker than that of many Italians, and though her cheeks were destitute of colour, the hue of the rose glowed upon the delicately carved lips, while no pearls could exceed her teeth in purity and brightness; her nose, finely chiselled, emulated that of a statue, and this charming countenance was lighted by a pair of eyes, the sweetest, the softest, the most lustrous and languishing of all the dark orbs which are the boasted gift of the daughters of the land; large and luminous as those of the gazelle, but far exceeding them in the witchery of their expression. Her figure was perfect, and its exquisite proportions, revealed by the tight silver tissue boddice, which gleamed through a vest of the finest gauze, shewed how lavish nature had been in its gifts: the small and finely-moulded hand and arm, the beauty of the fairy foot and ancle, and the surpassing softness of the skin, presented a combination of charms which none but a stoic could resist. Ellerby, after a faint attempt to withdraw his thoughts from a pursuit, which his acquaintance with the prejudices of the country assured him would be somewhat perilous, resigned himself to the indulgence of hopes and expectations of the liveliest nature.

At the appointed hour, on the following night, having stolen out of his chamber without attracting the notice of any of his numerous retinue, he proceeded to the friendly tree, by a tortuous path, and, wrapped up in one of the dark blankets worn by the lower classes of natives, he soon reached the small room before mentioned, which he now found lighted by a silver chiraug, and furnished, according to the Hindoostanee fashion, with a carpet and a few

cushions. On one of these Goolaabee was seated, and on another an addition to the party whom the visitor neither expected nor desired, a middle-aged woman, who, it might be easily conjectured, was the mother of the urchin who had been entrusted with the pigeon. Goolaabee, with her long black hair braided over her brows, and hanging in rich plaits fastened with precious stones, her whole person bedecked in the richest stuffs and jewels, had left nothing unstudied which could assist in the captivation of her new admirer. Her companion, though in all probability not above the condition of a slave, was handsomely and becomingly dressed; she had preserved her good looks to a later period than is usual amongst her countrywomen, and she shewed a knowledge of the world, and an acquaintance with its ways, which convinced Ellerby that she had been engaged in many adventures similar to the present, and had rendered the window useful in perchance more than one previous instance. The ladies had provided a collation for their guest, consisting of some very rare confections, a choice pilau, and two or three kinds of sherbet. Goolaabee, though apparently well-pleased with the soft speeches and passionate admiration of her lover, frequently interrupted them with eager questions concerning his country, and the customs of its inhabitants: she asked if England was a large place, and whether it had many gates, forming her idea of it from the only portion of earth with which she was acquainted. She then enquired if it was really true that the Feringee ladies walked about openly in the street unveiled, frequenting the mosques in the company of men, and more especially, whether the latter were restricted by the law to one wife.Ellerby returned very veracious answers to these questions: but the account he gave of Christendom appeared to be so improbable to his inexperienced auditor, that she could not avoid the expression of a doubt. Ameena, her companion, better informed, laughed heartily, both at her questions and her incredulity, corroborating the testimony of the European guest in a manner which proved that the most adverse circumstances will not always prevent an intelligent woman from acquiring information. Although, to persons who are not in love, and who are accustomed to intellectual society, such conversation would appear very vapid and uninteresting, it was by no means destitute of charms to a man who had not been taught to form a very high opinion of the sex. Beauty, simplicity of manners, and that kind of flattering deference which is an acknowledgment of inferiority, are frequently far more effective than all the information and accomplishments which render women (apparently) more suitable companions for men of science, and there is no necessity to go to Hindoostan for instances to prove, that ignorance will captivate where intellect would only create disagreeable sensations. Ellerby, at least, was quite satisfied with the amount of mental acquirements which the beautiful Goolaabee displayed; her puerilities amused him, and her loveliness, the great charm in his eyes, atoned for the want of education. Had he seen death and disgrace in his path, he would still have pursued it; and the presence of Ameena, throwing an obstacle in the way of the immediate gratification of his wishes, rendered him still more determined to possess himself of the lovely creature who had first awakened his soul to a new and blissful emotion. Another appointment was made, and kept; the genius of the duenna materially assisted in smoothing the difficulties of the path; indeed, it seemed clear that, without her assistance, the lovers would never have met at all.

Nothing would have been more easy than to have carried off the fair Goolaabee and her confidante; but it became necessary to guard against the consequences of such a step, and to prevent any suspicion from attaching to the