What though the spicy breezes Blow soft o'er Ceylon's isle; Though every prospect pleases, And only man is vile. - Reginald Heber

Thus heavenly hope is all serene, But earthly hope, how bright soe’er, Still fluctuates o’er this changing scene, As false and fleeting as ’t is fair.

With drooping bells of clearest blue
Thou didst attract my childish view,
Almost resembling
The azure butterflies that flew
Where on the heath thy blossoms grew
So lightly trembling.

The sepoys, however, were immoveable. Regarding the military oath as the most sacred of all obligations, they fired at a brahmin as readily as any one else, and kept guard at the gate of a mosque as faithfully and fearlessly as if it had been the gate of one of their own temples. Their courage and steadiness preserved Benares from ruin.