The gold he gave you was simply to procure your
outfits, and he left it to the harem to reward you, as they chose, for
the service you had rendered.
"Well, Dick, I congratulate you heartily. It places your future beyond
doubt, and leaves you free to choose any mode of life that you may
prefer.
"I congratulate you, too, Margaret, on the lad's good fortune; which
he has well deserved by his conduct.
"See this, my sons. Here you have a proof of the advantages of the
training your cousin has had. The quickness and coolness he has
acquired, by it, enabled him to make his way down through the fort at
the top of the pass, and to defend the ruined hut against fifty
enemies. Now it has enabled him to seize the opportunity, opened by
the attack of the tiger on Tippoo's harem, thereby gaining the
Sultan's favour, his appointment to the rank of colonel in the Mysore
army, a post in his Palace, and this magnificent collection of gems.
Without that quickness and decision, his courage alone would have done
little for him. We in India have courage; but it is because our
princes and nobles are brought up in indolence and luxury that the
English, though but a handful in point of numbers, have become masters
of such wide territories.
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