Howdah

“ The European, being unused to this attitude, will soon feel violent cramps shooting through his limbs, added to which there is a disconcerting feeling of instability in spite of the tightly grasped cords. Nothing, on the other hand, can be more comfortable than a well-appointed howdah, where one is quite alone except for the mahout perched on the elephant's neck. The Maharajah's howdahs were all of cane-work, with a softly padded seat and a leather-strap back, which yielded to the motion of the great beast. ”

“ There was a loud bellowing and roaring and trumpeting as a huge white elephant ambled through the gate, carrying upon its back, sit ting cross-legged in a golden howdah, a tall man attired in a splendid cloth-of-silver costume, the arms encircled by jeweled bracelets, shimmering necklaces of pearls and moon stones hanging to his waist shawl, a naked, straight, six-foot blade across his knees. ”

“ Some time had passed, when two elephants were seen approaching, with several men on foot. On the back of one was a handsome howdah without occupants; on the other rode Buxsoo, with Sambro, who had engaged the animals, and made all arrangements for the journey. He had also brought some provisions, which were very welcome both to the ranee and her brother. They spent but a short time in discussing these; after which, the elephant kneeling down, the ranee took her seat in the howdah, urgently begging Reginald to accompany her. ”

“ With one leap it landed with its hind paws on the elephant's head, its fore-feet on the front rail of the howdah, standing right over the mahout who crouched in terror on the neck. The savage, snarling, yellow-and-black mask was thrust almost into Wargrave's face, and from the open red mouth lined with fierce white fangs he could feel the hot breath on his cheek as he tugged frantically at the under-lever of his rifle to open the breech and re-load. In another moment the tiger would have been on top of them in the howdah when a gun-barrel shot past the subaltern and pushed him aside. ”

“ The large white camel of Ayesha soon became the rallying-point of the insurgents, around which the fury of the battle concentrated. The reins were held alternately by the Modian Arabs, who chanted pieces of poetry; and it is said that out of the tribe of Benni Beiauziah alone not less than two hundred and eighty lost a hand on this occasion. The howdah, pierced all over with arrows, had something the appearance of a porcupine or a giant pincushion. ”

“ On that day I entered the howdah, the camel's howdah of Unaizah!
And she protested, saying, "Woe to you, you will force me to travel on foot."
She repulsed me, while the howdah was swaying with us;
She said, "You are galling my camel, Oh Imru-ul-Quais, so dismount."
Then I said, "Drive him on! Let his reins go loose, while you turn to me.
Think not of the camel and our weight on him. Let us be happy.
"Many a beautiful woman like you, Oh Unaizah, have I visited at night ”

“ King was almost pitched from his howdah; and an instant later he was fighting hand to hand, surrounded by the warriors of Beng Kher. The battle now resolved itself into a slow milling of elephants as the mahouts sought to gain advantageous positions for the crews in their howdahs. Here and there a young elephant, or one sorely wounded and driven mad by pain, broke from the mêlée and bolted for the jungle. Warriors leaped from their howdahs, risking injury rather than the almost certain death that would await them as the frightened beasts stampeded through the forest. ”

“ A sort of good-natured housekeeper-like bodies, who talk only of ayahs and amahs, and bad nights, and babies, and the advantages of Hodgson's ale while they are nursing: seeming in short devoted to 'suckling fools and chronicling small beer.'"—Letters from Madras, 294. See also p. 106.
AMBAREE, s. This is a P. word ('amārī) for a Howdah, and the word occurs in Colebrooke's letters, but is quite unusual now. Gladwin defines Amaree as "an umbrella over the Howdeh" (Index to Ayeen, i.) . The proper application is to a canopied howdah, such as is still used by native princes. ”

“ Hawksworth vaulted into the howdah and the entire world suddenly seemed to shudder as her mahout signaled Kumada to rise. He seized the railing surrounding him and gasped as she rumbled to her feet.
"You'll soon ride like a Rajput, Ambassador."
The elephant rocked into motion. It was worse than heavy weather at sea.
"I think it may take practice."
"Women from the zenana ride elephants all the way to Kashmir in the summer. I'm sure you'll manage a two-day hunt." Nadir Sharif swung easily into his howdah. Around them other elephants were kneeling for nobles to mount. ”

“ The mahout and I hung on with both hands for dear life, the guns and rifles crashing together with a deafening clamour of ironmongery, and I was most thankful that there were no trees anywhere near, for the terrified animal's first impulse would have been to knock off both howdah and mahout under the overhanging branch of a tree. When Chota Begum at length pulled up, she had to listen to some terrible home-truths about her ancestry from the mahout, who was bitterly disappointed in his beloved charge. ”

“ The Absians having taken possession of the howdah [110] and the property with the dispersed cattle, and a vast quantity of articles besides, asked the slaves about the bride, who was her husband, and who her father? Arabs, said they, she is called Aminah, the daughter of Yezid, the son of Handhalah, surnamed the Blood-drinker, the chief of all the princes of Tey; and her husband, to whom she is going, is called Nakid, the son of Jellah, a warlike and bold horseman, the protector of the race of Marah ”

“ There was one of the farm-servants who had been working almost the whole time at the Howdahs. His name was Michel Raudszus, and he came from Littau. He lived in a miserable hovel not far from Helenenthal, the walls of which were surrounded by piles of turf, so that the storms should not blow it down. ”

“ Howrah glared for a moment, but thought better of the hot retort that rose to his lips. Instead he struck a silver gong, and when the doors swung open ordered the prisoners to be produced.
“Escape through the palace-grounds,” he advised Alwa. “A man of mine will show the way.”
“Remember!” said Alwa across his shoulder with more than royal insolence, “I swore to help thee against Jaimihr and to support thee on thy throne—but in nothing did I swear to be thy tool—remember!”
CHAPTER XXI Howrah City bows the knee (More or less) to masters three, King, and Prince, and Siva. ”

“ And as the night came on, Joshua cried, “O Lord God, why hast thou brought us into this land to give us into the hands of our enemies to destroy us? O Lord, what shall I say when the men of Israel turn their backs before their enemies?”
And God said, “Get up, Joshua. Why do you lie upon the ground? There is a thief in the camp. One of your soldiers has disobeyed your orders. Find him, and punish him; then shall you have victory instead of defeat.”
So the first thing the next morning, Joshua made the army pass before him in a long procession, tribe after tribe, and he chose the tribe of Judah. ”

“ Many, it appears, were taken away at the age of twenty or twenty-four years, consequently they can give a full account of their route to Badagry, where they were shipped. They are by far the most industrious people I have found. Several very fine farms, about six or seven miles from Whydah, are in a high state of cultivation. The houses are clean and comfortable, and are situated in some of the most beautiful spots that imagination can picture. It is truly gratifying to find unexpectedly a house where you are welcomed in European fashion, and asked to take refreshment. ”

“ It was all done in a jiffy, while yell-ety-yell, scream-ety-scream come the sound, and the wild old woods rung again, and shuddered and shook with the echo! A thousand thoughts darted through my head as if lightning had chased 'em. I thought of poor Huldah; how she would feel, and what she would do, and what would become of her, away off here in the wilderness, if I was killed. I thought of her, and wanted to see her, and bid her good-bye at least; and would a give money for that little comfort. ”

“ This offer he laid at the feet of Laughing Water, and the old man and the maiden both bade the young hunter welcome; then Minnehaha prepared a meal and set it before the two men. When they had finished eating, Hiawatha spoke of his childhood, his friends, and of the happiness and plenty in his land. "After many years of strife," said he, "there is now peace between your tribe and mine. In order to make the peace more lasting and our hearts more united, give me this maiden for my wife." ”

“ We, the Brotherhood of Huo, laugh in scorn at the windy words of Zun. He sees a phantom up there in the darkness. Hia is swallowed up in Huo, whose body we have bound down to the rock for ever. Her spirit we have bound also to the moon-face, that we may see to work our will. By her bondage we shall live, but the life of Hia’s people shall be short and their death long. They shall die and become like soil, and those they leave behind them shall weep and wail and lament. ”

“ Throughout this period Ten-teh had surrounded Hoang with an added care, never permitting him to wander beyond his sight, and distrusting all men in spite of his confiding nature. One night, when a storm fierce beyond the memory of man was raging, there came at the middle hour a knocking upon the outer wall, loud and insistent ”

“ The school-boy with his master, the soldier with his officer—every subordinate knows instinctively if it is of any use “trying it on.” Not that he looked like one who would be harsh or tyrannical. On the contrary, his face was lit up by a courteous smile as Howard introduced his newly-found friend.
“Glad to see you,” said the General, offering his hand. “The country is in a disturbed state for travellers, and I fear that you will hardly get out of it without some risk. The river is still open to Berber, and you might get across from there to Suakim. But I cannot promise to help you much.” ”

“ But the musical Howadji will find a fearful void in his Eastern life. The Asiatic has no ear, and no soul for music. Like other savages and children, he loves a noise, and he plays on shrill pipes—on the tarabuka, on the tár, or tambourine, and a sharp, one-stringed fiddle, or rabáb. Of course, in your first Oriental days, you will decline no invitation, but you will grow gradually deaf to all entreaties of friends, or dragomen, to sally forth and hear music. You will remind him that you did not come to the East to go to Bedlam. ”

“ The daughter of a race of soldiers, she was deeply imbued with admiration for physical courage. With bold adroitness he assured Howaha that if his captive had become a subject of dissension among the red-men, he, their white brother, ever ready to oblige his allies, was willing to relieve them of the burden. He imitated the prolonged accents of the savages and addressed them in turn by their respective tribes, bands and families, calling their men of note by name as though he had been born among them. In all he said his voice and gestures answered to the words. ”

“ First of Hiawatha’s brothers,
First of Wabun, of the East-Wind,
Of the South-Wind, Shawondasee,
Of the North, Kabibonokka;
Then of Hiawatha’s mother,
Of the beautiful Wenonah,
Of her birth upon the meadow,
Of her death, as old Nokomis
Had remembered and related.
And he cried, “O Mudjekeewis,
It was you who killed Wenonah,
Took her young life and her beauty,
Broke the Lily of the Prairie,
Trampled it beneath your footsteps;
You confess it! you confess it!” ”

“ He sent to beg Huldah to appease heaven by her prayer is, and turn away those judgments from her countrymen; but she answered, that the decrees of God were not to be changed, though particular piety, such as that of Josiah, should not go unrewarded. ”

“ There's a letter in from Everton at Abu, saying he needs a man badly to go to Howrah and act resident there—says he hasn't heard from the missionaries and isn't satisfied—wants a man without too much authority to go there and keep an eye on things in general. Howrah's a hell of a place from all accounts. ”

“ He thought that the people at the villages need not feel any uneasiness.
"Very well, Father," replied Hoo-wau-ne-kah; "I will go back and tell my people what you say. They will believe you, for you always tell them the truth. You are not like us Indians, who sometimes deceive each other." So saying, he returned to his friends, much comforted.
The completion of the picketing and other defences, together with the arrival of a detachment of troops from Fort Howard under Lieutenant Hunter, at our fort, now seemed to render the latter the place of greatest safety. ”

“ This was a gloomy commencement of my journey; for I had nothing but a set of villains with me, ready to rob me when an opportunity should offer. The path from Whydah commences E. N. E. magnetic; and two miles N. E., then N. one and three quarters, I reached Savay, a small kroom of one hundred and fifty inhabitants, distant from [Pg 206] Whydah five miles and three quarters, instead of nine miles, as computed by the natives. The country is open, the soil red, loamy sand, of excellent quality. ”

“ Then Jehoiada made a covenant with the King and all the people, that they should be the Lord's people, and not idolaters any more; and they went into the house of the idol Baal, and broke it down; and they broke up the altars of Baal, and his images into small pieces, and killed the priest of Baal.
So all the people rejoiced greatly, and they brought the King to the King's house, and he sat on the Throne of Judah.
As long as the faithful High Priest lived, Joash was a good King. Jehoiada was his counsellor and friend, and under his advice Joash did much to repair the Temple of God. ”