Her Face At The Time Was Covered With The Yashmak,
According To Eastern Usage, But At The Moment When The
Foremost of
the horsemen had all but reached her with their spears, she stood
up in her stirrups, withdrew the
Yashmak that veiled the terrors of
her countenance, waved her arm slowly and disdainfully, and cried
out with a loud voice "Avaunt!" {18} The horsemen recoiled from
her glance, but not in terror. The threatening yells of the
assailants were suddenly changed for loud shouts of joy and
admiration at the bravery of the stately Englishwoman, and festive
gunshots were fired on all sides around her honoured head. The
truth was, that the party belonged to the tribe with which she had
allied herself, and that the threatened attack as well as the
pretended apprehension of an engagement had been contrived for the
mere purpose of testing her courage. The day ended in a great
feast prepared to do honour to the heroine, and from that time her
power over the minds of the people grew rapidly. Lady Hester
related this story with great spirit, and I recollect that she put
up her yashmak for a moment in order to give me a better idea of
the effect which she produced by suddenly revealing the awfulness
of her countenance.
With respect to her then present mode of life, Lady Hester informed
me, that for her sin she had subjected herself during many years to
severe penance, and that her self-denial had not been without its
reward.
Enter page number
PreviousNext
Page 95 of 325
Words from 26309 to 26565
of 89094
