A Christmas Welcome

A Christmas Welcome, drawn by Edward Hughes, 1871. Illustration to a poem by John Latey. 'The cause of this sweet strife you wonder, Why those fair damsels struggle so To kiss their grim old uncle under The mistletoe. But knew you his chivalric story, Th' heroic deeds of Colonel Doughty, You'd know why so in him they glory, Though old and gouty...His daring deeds in the Crimea Are talked of yet. At Inkerman, that dull grey morning, He, when the Russian mighty host Fell on us without note of warning, Was at his post; And when his ranks with shot were riven "Close up!" were all the words he'd spare; So fought until the foe was driven Back to his lair. Then of a wound at daybreak given He staggering fell in deadly swoon; With life-blood oozing, he had striven From morn to noon. And when Sebastopol was taken His troops were foremost, you may swear; And his hurrah the first to waken The echoes there. But ah, in India! - Each fair maiden Weeps as she tells the tale of woe, And with a bosom sorrow-laden Speaks soft and low. For there his heart's most precious treasure, His much-enduring, noble wife, She who had been his pride and pleasure, Gave up her life. In the Great Mutiny she perished...' From the Christmas Supplement to the "Illustrated London News", 1871. Creator: F Wentworth. (Photo by The Print Collector/Heritage Images via Getty Images)