There are oaks!" "No, no,
Yule, not oaks," cried Sir C. B. "They are (solemnly) IBEXES." "No,
not Ibexes, Sir C., you mean SILEXES," cried Capt.
- - , The A.D.C.;
Lady Canning and Yule the while almost choking with laughter.
On another and later occasion, when the Governor-General's camp was
peculiarly dull and stagnant, every one yawning and grumbling, Yule
effected a temporary diversion by pretending to tap the telegraph wires,
and circulating through camp, what purported to be, the usual telegraphic
abstract of news brought to Bombay by the latest English mail. The news
was of the most astounding character, with just enough air of probability,
in minor details, to pass muster with a dull reader. The effect was all he
could wish - or rather more - and there was a general flutter in the camp.
Of course the Governor-General and one or two others were in the secret,
and mightily relished the diversion. But this pleasant and cheering
intercourse was drawing to its mournful close. On her way back from
Darjeeling, in November, 1861, Lady Canning (not then in Yule's care) was
unavoidably exposed to the malaria of a specially unhealthy season. A few
days' illness followed, and on 18th November, 1861, she passed calmly to
"That remaining rest where night and tears are o'er."[47]
It was to Yule that Lord Canning turned in the first anguish of his loss,
and on this faithful friend devolved the sad privilege of preparing her
last resting-place. This may be told in the touching words of Lord
Canning's letter to his only sister, written on the day of Lady Canning's
burial, in the private garden at Barrackpoor[48]: -
"The funeral is over, and my own darling lies buried in a spot which I am
sure she would have chosen of all others.... From the grave can be seen
the embanked walk leading from the house to the river's edge, which she
made as a landing-place three years ago, and from within 3 or 4 paces of
the grave there is a glimpse of the terrace-garden and its balustrades,
which she made near the house, and of the part of the grounds with which
she most occupied herself.... I left Calcutta yesterday ... and on
arriving here, went to look at the precise spot chosen for the grave. I
could see by the clear full moon ... that it was exactly right. Yule was
there superintending the workmen, and before daylight this morning a solid
masonry vault had been completely finished.
"Bowie [Military Secretary] and Yule have done all this for me. It has all
been settled since my poor darling died. She liked Yule. They used to
discuss together her projects of improvement for this place, architecture,
gardening, the Cawnpore monument, etc., and they generally agreed. He knew
her tastes well...."
The coffin, brought on a gun-carriage from Calcutta, "was carried by
twelve soldiers of the 6th Regiment (Queen's), the A.D.C.'s bearing the
pall. There were no hired men or ordinary funeral attendants of any kind
at any part of the ceremony, and no lookers-on.... Yule was the only
person not of the household staff. Had others who had asked" to attend
"been allowed to do so, the numbers would have been far too large.
"On coming near the end of the terrace walk I saw that the turf between
the walk and the grave, and for several yards all round the grave, was
strewed thick with palm branches and bright fresh-gathered flowers - quite
a thick carpet. It was a little matter, but so exactly what she would have
thought of."[49]
And, therefore, Yule thought of this for her! He also recorded the scene
two days later in some graceful and touching lines, privately printed,
from which the following may be quoted:
"When night lowered black, and the circling shroud
Of storm rolled near, and stout hearts learned dismay;
Not Hers! To her tried Lord a Light and Stay
Even in the Earthquake and the palpable cloud
Of those dark months; and when a fickle crowd
Panted for blood and pelted wrath and scorn
On him she loved, her courage never stooped:
But when the clouds were driven, and the day
Poured Hope and glorious Sunshine, she who had borne,
The night with such strong Heart, withered and drooped,
Our queenly lily, and smiling passed away.
Now! let no fouling touch profane her clay,
Nor odious pomps and funeral tinsels mar
Our grief. But from our England's cannon car
Let England's soldiers bear her to the tomb
Prepared by loving hands. Before her bier
Scatter victorious palms; let Rose's bloom
Carpet its passage...."
Yule's deep sympathy in this time of sorrow strengthened the friendship
Lord Canning had long felt for him, and when the time approached for the
Governor-General to vacate his high office, he invited Yule, who was very
weary of India, to accompany him home, where his influence would secure
Yule congenial employment. Yule's weariness of India at this time was
extreme. Moreover, after serving under such leaders as Lord Dalhousie and
Lord Canning, and winning their full confidence and friendship, it was
almost repugnant to him to begin afresh with new men and probably new
measures, with which he might not be in accord. Indeed, some little clouds
were already visible on the horizon. In these circumstances, it is not
surprising that Yule, under an impulse of lassitude and impatience, when
accepting Lord Canning's offer, also 'burnt his boats' by sending in his
resignation of the service. This decision Yule took against the earnest
advice of his anxious and devoted wife, and for a time the results
justified all her misgivings. She knew well, from past experience, how
soon Yule wearied in the absence of compulsory employment. And in the
event of the life in England not suiting him, for even Lord Canning's
good-will might not secure perfectly congenial employment for his talents,
she knew well that his health and spirits would be seriously affected.
She, therefore, with affectionate solicitude, urged that he should adopt
the course previously followed by his friend Baker, that is, come home on
furlough, and only send in his resignation after he saw clearly what his
prospects of home employment were, and what he himself wished in the
matter.
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