but strictly guarded every passage by which anyone could leave it. No trace of the individual he sought could anywhere be found; till, at length, by severe threats, a confession was extorted from the Killadar that his royal master was lying wounded, as he supposed, in a gateway, to which he offered to conduct the conqueror.
The latter immediately accompanied him to the spot, where he beheld a mournful spectacle; it was here that the fiercest combat had raged, the wounded and dead were lying piled in heaps over each other, while the darkness which had just fallen rendered the scene still more dismal. It was indispensable, however, immediately to ascertain the fact; torches were brought, and the bodies successively removed till they discovered the Sultan's horse, then his palanquin, and beneath it a wounded man, who was soon recognised as a confidential servant, and who pointed out the spot where his sovereign had fallen. The body was found, and forthwith identified by the Killadar and the other attendants. The features were in no degree distorted, but presented an aspect of stern composure; the eyes were open, and the appearance of life was so strong that many of the spectators could not for some time believe him actually dead. Though despoiled of sword and belt, sash and turban, the well-known talisman that encircled his right arm was soon recognised by the conquerors. The amulet, formed of some metallic substance of silvery hue, was surrounded by magic scrolls in Arabic and Persian characters, and sewed carefully in several pieces of richly-flowered silk; but empire and life had both departed, in spite of all the mummeries of superstition.[1]
Sleep after a battle is most welcome; but Baird and
- ↑ "The ruler of Mysore was of low stature, corpulent, with high shoulders, and a short, thick neck; but his feet and hands were remarkably small. His complexion was rather dark, his eves large and prominent, with small arched eyebrows, and an aquiline nose He had an appearance of dignity, or rather sternness, in his countenance, which distinguished him above the common order of his people. When examined after death, he had four wounds – three in the body, and one in the temple; the ball having entered a little above the right ear and lodging in the cheek." – Narrative by Major Allan.
