“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.