Wan Berings in India - Forgotten Books

WANBER INGS IN INDIA

g ith utter 5mm

L I F E‘

I N H I NDO S TA N .

B r JOHN IdANG,

l x -wxn,

“e1. an inn! nun?

NEW YORK ! 56 W ALKER STREET.

[TheAuthor reserves theright of Trmzala tiom]

P REFA CE

THE grea ter part Of thePapers which formthis haveappearedin HOUSEHOLD

W ORDS ; andtheAuthor has to acknow

ledge h is thanks to Mr. DICKENS for

reprint Of them.

LONDON ,J uly 15th, 1859 .

C O N TE N T S .

p aenTHE HIMALAYA CL UB

THE HAHOMMEDAN MOTHERBLACK AND BLUE

mmm m OF J EANS !

LUCKNOW ,BH I TOOR, mo .

THE UPPER PROV INCES[m 0

THE MARCH CONTINUED

THE UPPER PROV INCES

THE Hummu s

31m g ,&0.

WANDERINGS IN INDIA

THE HIMALAYA CLUB.

It is some eighteen years since this institutionwasfounded

, a t Mussoorie, oneof the chief sana taria intheHima laya mounta ins. Here all those who can

Obtain leave,andwho can afi

'

ordthe additiona lexpense, repa ir to escape the hot weather of the

plains. The seasonbegins about theendof April,andends about the first week inOctober. The clubis opento themembers of the civil andmilitary serViees

,to themembers of theb ar, the clergy, andto

such other priva te gentlemenas areon the Government House list, which signifies, insociety. Theclub-house is neither anexpensive nor an elegantedifice

,but it answers thepurposes required of it.

It has two la rge rooms, oneon the ground-fioor,andthe other onthe upper story. Thelower room

,

which is some six ty feet long by twenty-fivewide, isthedining-room,

breakfast-room, and reception

room. The upper room is the reading andthe ba llroom. Theclub has a lso its billiard-room, which is

built on theledge of a precipice ; andits stables,B

2 gW ANDERINGs IN INDIA .

which wouldastonishmost persons inEurope . N o

homesmt cept thoseeduca ted in India , would craw linto these holes cut out of the earth androck .

Facing theside-door is a pla tform about fortyya rds long by fifteen feet wide andfrom it

,on a

clear day, the eye commands oneof the grandestscenes in the knownworld. In the distance a repla inly visible theeterna l snows ; at your feet areanumber of hills, covered with trees of luxuriant

foliage. Amongst them is the rhododendron,which

grows to animmense height andsiz e, andis, wheninbloom

,litera lly covered with flowers . Onevery hill

,

ona level with the club, andwithina mile of it, a

house is to be seen, to which a ccess would seem im

possible. These houses are, forthemost part, whitenedwithout as well as within; andnothing canexceedinprettiness their aspect as they shine inthe sun.

From the back of the club-house, from your bed

room windows (there aretwenty-three sets of apa rt

ments) youhave a view ofDeyreh Dhoon. It appea rsabout a mile Ofi

'

. It is sevenmiles distant. Thepla ins that lie outstretched below the Simplonbea r

,

inpoint of extent andbeauty, to the Indian scene,

nothing like the proportionwhich the comparatively

pigmy Mont Blanc bears to the Dewalgiri. From an

elevationof about seven thousand feet the eye embraces a pla inconta ining millions of acres, intersectedby broad streams to the left

,andinclosed by a low

belt of b ills, ca lled the Pass. TheDhoon, invarious

THE H IMALAYA CLUB. 3

parts, isdotted w ith clumps ofjungle, abounding withtigers, pheasants, andevery species of game. Inthebroad tributa ries to the Ganges andthe Jumna , mayhecaught (with a fly) the mahseer, the leviathansalmon. Beyond the Pass of which I have spoken

,

you seethepla ins of Hindoostan. W hile you arewrapped ina grea t coat, andareshivering with thecold, you may seethe heat, andthe steam it occasions. W ith us on the hills, the thermometer is at

forty~fivew ith thosepoor fellows over there, it is a tninety-two degrees. Wecanscarcely keep ourselveswarm

, for thewind comes from the snowy range theycannot brea the, except benea th a punkah . Tha tsteam is, as the crow flies

,not more thanforty miles

Wearea ll idlers a t Mussoorie . Weareall sick,orsupposed to be so or wehave leave on privateafi

'

aim. Some of us areup here for a month betweenmusters. Weareinthe good gra ces of our colonelandour genera l— the genera l of our division, a verygood oldgentleman.

Let us go into the public room,andhave breakfast

for it is ha lf-past nine o’clock, andthe bell has rung.

Therearenot more thanha lf a doz ena t the table.Thesearethe ea rly risers who wa lk or ride round theCamel’s Back everymorning ! the Camel’sBack beingahugemounta in, encircled about its middle by a goodroad. The majority of the club

’

s members areasleep,andwill defer breakfast until tiflintime —ha lf-past

B 2

4 W ANDERINGS IN INDIA .

two. At tha t hour the ga thering will be grea t .

How these early risersea t, to be sure There is themajor, who, if you believe him,

has every compla int

mentioned in Graham’

s Domestic Medicine,ha s

just devoured two thighs (grilled) of a turkey, andisnow asking CaptainBlossom

’

s opinion of the Irishstew,

while he is cutting into a pigeon-pie.

Let us now while away the morning. Let us ca ll

onsome of the grass widows. There arelots of themhere

,civil andmilitary. Let us go first to Mrs.

Merryda le, the wife of our old friend Charley, of thetwo hundredth andtenth regiment. Poor fellowHe could not get leave, andthe doctors sa id another

hot summer inthe pla ins would be the death of his

wife. They aresevenhundred pounds indebt to theAgra bank, andareha rd put to it to live andpay themonthly insta lments of interest. Charley is only a

lieutenant. W ha t terrible infants aretheselittleMerryda les There is Lieutenant Maxwell’s pony

under the trees, andif these childrenhadnot shoutedout, Mamma Mamma I here is Capta in W a ll

,

Sahib i” I should have beeninformed tha t Mrs.

Merrydale was not a t home,or was poorly, which I

should have believed implicitly . (Maxwell, when a

young ensign, was once engaged to be married to

Julia Dacey, now Mrs . Merrydale, but her parentswould not hear of it, for some reasonor other.) As

it is,wemust be admitted. Wewill not stay long .

Mrs. Merryda le is writing to her husband. Grass


widows inthe hills a realways writing to their husbands, whenyou drop inupon them

,andyour pre

senceisnot a ctua lly delighted in. How beautiful shelooks ! now tha t the mounta in breez es have chasedfromher cheeks the pa llorwhich lately clung to theminthepla ins andthe fresh air has imparted to herspirits anelasticity, inlieu of tha t languor by whichshewas oppressed a fortnight ago.

Let usnow go to Mrs. Hastings. Sheis the wifeof a civilian

,who has a sa lary of fifteen hundred

l'

llpees (onehundred andfifty pounds) per mensem,

andwho is a manof fortune independent of his pay.

Mrs. Hastings has the best house inMussoorie. Sheis surrounded by servants. She has no less thanthreeArab horses to ride. She is a grea t prudc , isMrs Hastings, She has no patience with marriedWomenwho flirt. Shethinks that the dogma

W henlovely womengo astray,Their stars aremoreinfault thanthey

is allnonsense. Mrs. Hastings has beena rema rkablyfinewoman sheis now five-and- thirty

,andstill good

looting, though disposed toembonpoint. She weariesonewith her discourses onthe duties of a wife . Tha tsimpering comet, Stammersleigh, is announced, andwemaybid her good morning.

Theaverage rent for a furnished house is about fivehundredrupees (fifty pounds) for the six monthsEveryhouse has its name. Yonder areCocky Hall,Beludere

, Phoenix Lodge, the Cliffs, theCrags, the


Va le, theEagle’s Nest, &c . The va lue of these pro

perties ranges from fivehundred to fifteenhundredpounds. The furniture is of the very pla inestdescription, with oneor two exceptions, andis manufacturedchiefly a tBareilly

,andcarried here onmen’

s shoulders

the entire distance—ninety miles.W here sha ll wego now,

for it wants a nhour totifin time ? Oh ! here comes a janpan! (a sort of

sedan-cha ir carried by four hill men, dressed inloosebla ck clothes

,turned up with red, yellow,

blue, green,

or whatever colour the proprietor likes best ) Andinthe janpan sits a lady—Mrs. Apsley

,a very pretty,

good-tempered,andwell-bred little woman. Sheis

the grand-daughter of an English peer, andis veryfond of quoting her aunts andher uncles. My auntLady Mary Culnerson

,

”my aunt the Countess of

Tweedleford,

my uncle,Lord Charles Banbury

Cross, &0. But tha t is her onlyweakness, I believeand

, perhaps, it is ungenerous to a llude to it. Herhusband is inthe Dragoons.

W ell,Mrs. Apsley

, whither art thou going ? To

pay visits

No . I am going to Mrs. Ludlam’

s to buy a newbonnet, andnot before I want one, you will say.

”

May I accompany youYes, andassist meinmaking a choice.

There is not a cloud to be seen. The a ir is soft

andba lmy. The wild flowers areinfull bloom, andthe butterfly is on the wing. The grasshopper is


singing his cea seless song, andthe bees arehumminga chorus thereto.

Wearenow a t Mrs . Ludlam’

s. The janpan is

placed uponthe ground, andI assist Mrs. Apsley tostep from it .

Mrs. Ludlam is the milliner anddressmaker of

Upper India , andimports a ll her wares direct fi'

om

London andParis. Everybody inthis pa rt of theworld knows Mrs . Ludlam

,andeverybody likes her.

Shehas b y industry, honesty of purpose, andeconomy,amasseda little fortune andhas brought up a largefamily inthe most respectable andunpretending style.Some people say tha t shesometimes canafford to sella poor ensign’s wife a bonnet, or a silk dress, at a

pricewhich hardly pays. W ha t I have a lways admired InMrs . Ludlam Is tha t shenever importunesher customers to buy her goods nor does shepufl

'

The bonnet is bought ; likewise a neck-sca rf for

Jack. Andwearenow returning ! Mrs. Apsley to

her home, andI to the club. Mrs. Apsley invites meto dine with them ; but tha t is impossible. It ispublic night, andI have two guests. Oneof themis Jack, who does not belong to the club, becauseMary does not wish it .

Mrs. Apsley says shewants some pickles, andwemust go into Ford

’

s shOp to purchase them. Ford

sells everything ; andhe is a wine, beer, andspirit

merchant. You may get anything at Ford’s—guns,

8 W ANDERINGS - IN INDIA .

pistols, swords, whips, ha ts, clothes, tea , sugar, toba c co .

W ha t is this which Ford puts into my hand ? A

rafliepaper ! To be rafledfor, a single-barrelledrifle

,by Purdey The property of a gentlemanha rd

up formoney, andingreat difficulties. Twenty-fivechances a t onegold mohur (onepound twelve shil

lings)eacYes

, put myname downfor a chance, Ford.

AndCapta inApsley’

s,please, says the lady.

After promising Mrs. Apsley most fa ithfully tha t

I will not keep Ja ck la ter thanhalf-past twelve, andtaking another look into those sweet eyes of hers

, I

ga llop away a s fast as the pony can carry me. I amla te there is scarcely a vacant place at the long table.Wehave no priva te tables. The same boa rd shelters

the nether limbs of all of us. Weareall intimatefriends

, andknow exactly each other’

s circumstances .

W ha t a clatter of knives andforks ! Andwha t a

lively conversa tion It a lludes chiefly to the doingsof thepa st night. Almost every other manha s a

nickname. To account formany of them would in

deed be a difficult,ifnot a hopeless task .

Dickey Brown! Glass of beerI am your man

,

” responds Major George, N . I.

Fencibles.

At the other endof the table you hea r the word

Shiney” shouted out, andresponded to by Lieutenant Fenwick of the Horse Artillery.

Billy ! Sherry

rns H IMAL AYA own. 9

Adolphus Bruce of the Lancers lifts his glass withimmense ala crity.

It is a curious characteristic of Indian society thatvery little outward respec t is in private. shown to

seniority. I once heard anensignof twenty years ofageaddress a c ivilianof sixty inthe following terms“Now then

,oldmoonsifi'

, pass tha t claret, plea se.”Thetifiin over, a gool, or lighted ball of charcoa l,is passed round the table in a silver augdan (fireholder). Everymanpresent lights a cigar, andin a

fewminutes there is a genera l move. Some retire tothebillia rd- room

,others cluster round the fireplace

others pac e the platform andtwo sets go up-sta irs

into the rea ding-room to have a quiet rubber—fromthree till five. Those fourmensea ted at the tablenearthewindow have thereputationofbeingthebest playersinIndia . Thefoura t the other table know very little ofthegame ofwhist . Mark thedifl'erenceThe onesetnever speak, except whenthe cards arebeing dea lt.Theother set arefinding fault with oneanotherduring the progress of the hand. Thegood playersareplaying high . Gold mohur points—fivegoldmohurs onthe rub—give andtake fiveto two afterthefirst game. Andsometimes, at game andgame,they bet anextra five. Tellwell andLong, who arePlaying aga inst BeanandFickle, have just lost abumper—twenty-seven gold mohurs—a matter of

forty-three pounds four shillings.Inthebilliard-room,

there is a match going on

10 W ANBERINGS IN INDIA .

betweenfour oflicers who arefamed for their skill,judgment, andexecution. Heavy bets arepending.

How cautiously andhow well they play No wonder,whenweconsider the number of hours they pra ctise,andthat they play everyday of their lives. That ta llman

,now about to strike

,makes a revenue out of

billiards. I sha ll be greatly mistakenif tha t man

does not come to grief some day. He preys upon

every youngster in every sta tionhe goes to with his

regiment. He is a capta ininthe Na tive Infantry.

His name is Tom Locke . He has scored forty-sevenoff the red ball. His confedera te

,Bunyan, knows full

well tha t luck has little to do with his success. He,

too, will come to grief before long. Your clever vil

la ins areinvariably tripped up sooner or later, andignominiously stripped of their commissions andpositions insociety.

It is fiveo’clock . Some thirty horses andas manyponies aresaddled andbridled, andled up anddowninthe vicinity of the club. Everybody will be onthemall presently. The ma ll is a part of the road roundthe Camel’s Back. It is a level of about ha lf a milelong andtwelve feet broad . A slight fence stands

betweenthe riders anda deep khud (precipice). To

ga llop a long this road is nothing whenyou

tomedto it ; but a t first it makes oneverynervous evento witness it. Serious andfa ta l accidents ha ve ha ppened but, considering a ll things, they have beenfarfewer thanmight have beenexpected.

https://www.forgottenbooks.com/join


like Mrs . Apsley says, Come a long ; let us ha ve a

gallop.

”

W hy arethere so very many people onthe ma llthis evening ? A few evenings ago it was proposed a tthe club that a band should play twice a week . A

paper was sent round a t once, andevery onesubscribed a sum inaccordance with his means. Nextmorning the requirednumber ofmusicians wa s huntedup andengaged . Two com ets

,two flutes

,two violins

,

a clarionet, a fife, andsevera l drums. I t is the twenty

ninth ofMay— a day a lways celebrated in this great

military camp,

”as Lord Ellenborough described

British India . At a given signal, the band strikesup God save the Queen.

”Wea ll flock round the

band, which has taken up a position on a rockbeetling over the road. The ma le portionofus ra iseour ha ts, andremainuncovered while the anthem is

played. Wearethousands ofmiles distant from our

fa therland andour Queen, but our hearts areas trueandas loyal as though shewere inthe midst of us.

This is the first time tha t the Hima laya mounta inshave listened to the joyous sound ofmusic . Wehavedanced to music withindoors but never

,until this

day, have weheard a band in the open a ir in the

Himalaya mounta ins. How wonderful is the effect

From valley to va lley echo carries the sound, until a t

last it seems as thoughEvery mountainnow hadfound a band.

Long after the stra inhas ceased with us, wecanhear


it penetra ting into andreverberating amidst regionswhich the foo t of manhas never yet trodden

,and

probablywill never tread . The sunhas gone down,but his light is still with us.Back to theclub Dinner is served . Wesit

down, seventy-fiveof us. The fare is excellent, and

thechampagne has been iced inthe ha il which felltheother night, during a storm. Jack Apsley is onmy right, andI have thrice begged of him to rememher tha t hemust not stay la ter thanhalf-past twelve ;andhe ha s thrice responded that Mary has givenhimanextension of leave until daylight. Ja ck andIwere midshipmentogether, some years ago, ina lineof-battle ship tha t went by the name of the HouseofCorrection. Andthere is W ywell sitting opposite toUS—W ywell who was in the frigate which belongedto our squadron— the squadronthat went round theworld

,andburied the commodore

,poor old Sir

James in Sydney churchyard . Fancy wethreemeeting aga ininthe Hima laya mounta ins

Thecloth is removed, for the dinner is over. The

president of the club— the gentlemanwho founded it-rises . He is a very littlemanof seventy years of

age—fifty-three of which have beenspent in India .

Heis far from feeble, andis infull possessionof a ll

his faculties. His voice is not loud, but it is very

distinct, andpierces theear.

They do not sit long after dinner at the club. Itis only nine

,andthe members area lreadydiminish


ing. Some areoff to the billiard-room,to smoke

,

drink brandy-and-wa ter, andlook on a t the play .

The whist parties arenow a t work, andsevenmenareengaged at brag . A few rema in and

,drawing

their chairs to the fireplace, form a ring andcha tcosily .

Ha lloa ! wha t is this ? The club-house is heavingandpitching like a ship a t anchor ina ga le ofwind.

Some of us feel qua lmish. It is a shock of anearth

quake ; anda very violent shock. It is now midnight. A thunderstorm is about to sweep over

Mussoorie. Only look a t tha t lurid forked lightningstriking yonder hill, andlisten to that thunder !W hile the storm lasts, the thunder will never for a

second cease roa ring ; for, long before the sound of

onepea l has died away,it will hesucceeded by

another more awful. Andnow, look a t the DhoonThose millions of acres areilluminated by incessantsheet lightning. How pla inly wediscern the treesandthe streams inthe Dhoon, andthe outline of thepass which divides the Dhoonfrom the plains. W ha ta glorious panorama Wecanseethe black cloudsdescending rapidly towards the Dhoon, andit is notuntil they nea r tha t level land tha t they dischargethe heavy showers with which they areladen. W ha t

a luxury would this storm be to the inhabitants of

the pla ins ; but it does not extend beyond theDhoon. Weshall bear the day after to-morrow tha t

not a single drop of ra in has fa llen a t Umballa h,

Meerut, or Saharunpore.

THE HIMALAYA CLUB. 15

Thepa rty from thebilliard -room has come up tohavesupper, now tha t the storm is over. They arerather noisy b ut the card-players take no heed ofthem. They a retoo intent upontheir play to bedisturbed. Two or three of the brag pa rty ca ll foroyster-toast to be takento the table, andthey devourit savagely while thecards aredea lt round

,placing

their lightedcheroots meanwhile onthe edge of thetable.

Andnow there is singing— comic andsentimenta lIsle of Beauty is followed by the Steam Leg,the“Steam Leg by theQueenof the May,

” the

Queen of the May by the facetious version of

George Barnwell,” andso on. Jack Apsley— whohas ascerta ined tha t dear Mary is quite safe

,andnot

at all alarmed— is still here, andisnow singing“Rule

,

Britannia ,”with an energy andenthusiasm which

areat onceboth pleasing andridiculous to behold.Hehas been a soldier for upwards of sixteenyea rsbut thesa ilor still predominates inhis na ture whilehis similes have inva riably reference to ma tters connectedwith ships andthe sea . He told mejust now

,

that when he first joinedhis regiment, he felt as

much out of his element as a livedolphinina sentrybox

, andhehas just described his present colonel asa man who is as touchy a s a boa tswa in’s kitten.

Apsley’s Christianname is Francis, but he has a lwaysbeencalled Jack, andalways will be.It is now broad daylight, andhigh time for a man

onsick-leave to be inbed . How seedy anddisrepu

16 W ANDERINGS I N I NDIA .

table weall look, inourevemng dresses andpatentlea ther boots. Andobserve this ca rna tion inmybutton-hole— the gift of Mrs. Apsley ; shegave it tomeon the ma ll. The glare of the lights, andthea tmosphere of smoke inwhich I have been sittingpart of the night, have robbed it of its freshness, itsbloom,

andperfume . I am sorry to say it is an

emblem of most ofus.

Go home, Apsley ! Go home, reeking of tobaccosmoke andbrandy-and-wa ter—with your eyes likeboiled gooseberries, your ha ir infrightful disorder

go home ! You will probably meet upon the ma l l

your three beautiful children, with their rosy fa cesall bloom

,andtheir breath

, whenthey press theirglowing lips to those feverish cheeks of yours, willsmell as incense, andmake you ashamed of yourself.Go home

,Jack. I will tifl'

with you to-day at ha lfpast two.

Two young gentlemenwere victimiz ed last night

a t the brag party. The one,a lieutenant of the

N. I. Bufi'

s,lost six thousand rupees ; the other, a

lieutenant of the Foot Artillery, four thousand. Theday after to-morrow, the first of the month, will besettling day. How arethey to meet these debts of

honour ? They have nothing but their pay, andmustborrow from the banks. Tha t is easily managed .

The money will be advanced to them on their ownpersonal security, andthat of two other officers inthe

rns H IMALAYA CLUB. 17

serviceThey must a lso insure their lives. The

premium andthe interest togetherwill make themforfeit fourteen per cent. per annum on the sum

advanced Theloanwill be pa id 03 in three yea rs,bymonthly insta lments. The paymaster will rec eiveanorder from thebank secreta ry to deduct for thebank so much per mensem from their pay. For thenext three years they will have to live very mildlyindeed.There were a lso two victims (b oth youngsters) tobilliards. Onelost three thousand rupees in bets,another two thousand fivehundred by b adplay .

They, too, will have to fly for assistance to the banks.

Capta ins LockeandBunyanwon, betweenthem,last

night, onethousand four hundred pounds. Therewas but littleexecutiondone a t whist . Not morethanonehundred andfifty pounds changed hands .

Thosefour menwho play regularly together, andwhonever exceed their usua l bets

,have very little dif

ference betweenthem at theendof each month—notthirty pounds either way. This will not hurt themforthey haveall good appointments, andhave priva teproperty besides.

I find, on going to tifin a t Jack Apsley’s, tha t

Mrs. Jpck has heard all about the winnings andlosings at the club . Some manwent home andtoldhiswife

, andshehas told everybody whom shehasseen. In a short time the news will travel to head

quarters at Simlah, andout will come a genera l order0


gambling, which genera l order will be read a louda t theHimalaya Club, with comments by the wholecompany—comments which will be received with

shouts of laughter. Some youngsters will put thegenera l order into verse, andsend it to a newspaper.

This done, the genera l order will be converted into

pipe-lights. This is no doubt very sad but I haveno time to mora liz e. My duty is simply to pa int thepicture.

Mrs. Apsley is not angry with her husband forstaying up till daylight. S hethinks a little dissipationdoes him good ; andit is but a very little tha t

Jack indulges in, for he is a good husband anda

good fa ther. Jack has a severe headache, but hewont confess it . He says henever touched thechampagne, andonly drank two glasses of brandyandwa ter. But who ever did touch the champagne,andwho ever did drink anymore thantwo glasses o f

brandy andwater ? Ja ck came home with his

pockets filled with a lmonds,ra isins, prunes, nut

crackers, andtwo liqueur glasses but how they go tthere he has not the slightest idea —but I ha ve.W ywell, from a sideboard, was filling his pockets a ll

the while he was singing Rule, Britannia .

”

Mrs. Apsley,I have some news for you.

W hat is it,Capta inW a ll ?”

The club gives a ball onthe 7th ofJune.You don’t say so.

Andwha t is more, a fancy ball.


confesses he was slightly screwed, you, with quiet

ta ct, contradict his assertion.

For the next week the forthcoming fancy ball to

be givenby the club will be the chief topic of c on

versation amongst the visitors a t Mussoorie . Mrs .

Ludlam is in immense demand. She knows thecharacter tha t ea ch lady will appea r in; but it is

useless to a ttempt to extra ct from her the slightestpa rticle of informationontha t head. This ba ll will

be worth sevenhundred andfifty rupees to Mrs.

Ludlam.

Let us keep away from the club for a few daysfor

,after severa l ofi cers have beenvictimiz ed at pla y,

their friends areapt to talk about the ma tter inan

unpleasant manner. This frequently leads to a qua r

rel,which I dislike to witness.

W here sha ll wego ? To the Dhoon. I t is veryhot there ; but never mind. No grea t-coat, no fires ,an hour hence ; but the very lightest of garmentsanda punkah. The thermometer is a t eighty-fivedegrees there. The Dhoonis not a hea lthy pla ceinthe summer. It must have beenthe bed of anenormous lake, or small inland sea . I ts soil beinga lluvia l

,will produce anything ! every kind of fruit,

European andtropica l . You may gather a pea chanda planta inout of the same garden. Some of thehedges in this part of the world aresingula rlybeautiful

,composed of white andred cluster ro ses

andsweetbriers. Thereis an excellent hotel inthe

enough ,I finda . party of fivea t the hotel

all club men,and111t l a te friends of mine. They

,

too, havec omedownin avoid being present onthe

first settling da yfor If there should be any duelling,

it is just po ssib letha t Some of us might be asked to

act as sec ondWemu s t dineOEBucking-

pig inthe Dhoon. The

residents a t M 0 ssooneused to form their pig-parties

intheDh o on, j u st as the residents of London form

their whiteb a it b anquets a t Greenwich . I once took

gentleman, who was travelling inIndia , tooneof thesep ig

-parties, andhe made a very humo

rous noteo f it inhis book of travel, which he showed

to me. U nlikemost foreigners who travel inEnglish dom inions, he did not pick out andnote down

all theb adtra its in our cha racter ; but gave us

credit for a ll those excellent points which his experienceof mankind in genera l enabled him to

The Governor-Genera l’

s body-

guard is quartered

just now inthe Dhoon, andthere is a Goorka regi

ment here. The Dhoonwill send some twenty

couples to the fancy ba ll onthe 7th. Every lady

in the pla cehas at this moment a Durz ee (man

tailor)employed inher back verandah dress-making.

Weareadmitted to the confidence ofMrs. Plowville,who is g

oing as Norma . Anda very handsome

22 W ANDBBINGs IN INDIA .

Norma shewill make ; ‘

shebeing ra ther like MadameGrisi— andsheknows it.Wereturn to the club '

on the 2ndof June.There has beena seriousdispute, anda duel has beenfought ; but happily, no blood shed . The intelligence of the gambling a t the club has reached theCommander-in-Chief a t Simlah andhe has orderedtha t the rema inder of the leave granted to Capta ins

Locke andBunyan be cancelled, andthat thoseofficers forthwith join their respective regiments.

The victims a lso have been simila rly treated ; yetevery oneof these remanded ofiicers came up here onmedica l certifica te .

It is the morning of the 7th of June. Thestewards of the ba ll arehere

,othere, andeverywhere,

making arrangements. Severa l old hands, who ha teanddetest ba lls, andwho voted aga inst this ba ll, arewalking about the public room, protesting tha t it isthe grea test folly they ever heard of. Andin theirdisgust they blackball two candidates for admission

who areto be balloted for on the l0th instant.They compla intha t they canget no tifin, no dinner,no anything. But the stewards only laugh a t them.

The supper has beensupplied by MonsieurEmilie,the French restaura teur, anda very Splendid supper

it is. It is la id out inthe dining-room. Emilleis agrea t artist. He is not perhaps equa l to Braz ier

tha t grea t manwhom Louis Philippe gave to his

friend,Lord W illiam Bentinck, when Lord W illiam

THE H I MALArA CLUB. 23

was going out to govern India—but Emille, nevertheless

,wouldrank high even amongst the most

skilful of cuisiniers inE urope .

It is a qua rter past nine, andweof the club areready to receive our guests. The ladies come in

janpans ; their husbands following them onhorseback or onfoot. It is a beautiful moonlight night.Wearea lwa ys obliged to wa it uponthe moonwhenwegive a ba ll inMussoorie. Before teno’clock theroom is crowded. There arepresent onehundredandthirty-six gentlemen, andseventy-fiveladies.Oftheformer nine- tenths aresoldiers, the rema inderarecivilians. Of the la tter, seventy arema rried ; therema ining fivearespinsters.Here wea ll arein every variety of costume

Turks, Greeks, Romans,Bavarian broom-

girls,Medoras

,Corsa irs, Hamlets, Othellos, Tells, Charles

theSeconds, andQuakers Many have not come infancy costume

,but intheir respective uniforms and

Wheredo you seesuch a variety of uniforms as inanIndianba llroom ? W here will you meet with so

great a number of distinguished men There is theoldgenera l ! tha t empty sleeve tells a ta le of thebattle ofW a terloo. Beside him is a genera l in theCompany’s service, onewho has recently receivedthethanks of his country . He has seenseventy, butthereis no man in the room who could at this verytimeendure so grea t anamount of menta l or bodilyfatigue. Tha t youngster to the right of the genera l

24 W ANDBBINGs IN INDIA .

is to be made a brevet-major anda C B. as soon as

he gets his company. He is a hero,though a mere

boy . That pa le-fac ed civilian is a manof grea tability, andpossesses administra tive talents of thevery highest order . Sea ted on an ottoman

,ta lking

to Mrs . Ha stings, is the famous Hawkins, of theThird Dragoons . Laughing inthe side doorway is

the renowned W illiam Mumble . He is the bea uidea l of a dashing soldier. Yonder is Major Sta rcross

,whose gallantry inAfl

'

ghanistanwa s the themeof admiration in Europe . Andthere is ColonelBolt

, of the Duke’s Own. All of these menhavebeenunder very hot fire— the hottest tha t evenLordHardinge could remember . All of them aredec ora ted with medals andribbons . W here will you seehandsomer women than you frequently meet in a

ball-room a t Mussoorie or Simlah ? Amongs t thosenow assembled there arethree who

,a t any court in

Europe, would be conspicuous for their persona l

a ttra ctions—Mrs . Merryda le, Mrs. Plowville, andMrs .

Banks. Mrs . Apsley is a pretty little woman; b utthe three to whom I have a lluded a rebeautiful.Thedancing has commenced, andwill continue

until four o’clock,with aninterva l of ha lf-an-hour a t

supper-time. The second supper— the ladies beinggone— will thencommence, anda very noisy pa rty itwill be . Unrestra ined by the presence of the fa irsex

, the majority of those who rema inwill drink andsmoke inearnest, andthe chances are, there will be


several rows. Ensign Jenks, when the brandy andwater inflames him, will ask young Blackstone, of theCivil Service

,wha t he meant by coming up and

talking to his pa rtner during the last set of quadrilles .

Blackstone w ill say, thelady beckoned to him. Jenkswill say, It is a lie Bla ckstone will rise to assaultJenks. Two menwill hold Blackstone downonhis

chair. The genera l will hear of this,for Capta in

Lovelass (who is himself a lmost inarticula te) has sa idtoJenks

, Cossider selfuna rrest Jeuks will haveto joinhis regiment a t Meerut

,after receiving from

thegenera l a very severe reprimand.

While ta lking over the past ba ll, anarchery meeting or a picnic is sure to be suggested. It mustoriginate a t the club without the countenance of theclub , which is very jea lous of its preroga tive, noamusement can possibly be successful. A lady

,the

wifeof a civilian, who prided herself onher husband’slofty position, hadonce the temerity to try the experiment, andactua lly sent round a proposa l-paperinher own handwriting, andby oneof her own

servants. Shefailed of course. All the club peoplewrotethe word seen” opposite to their names ; butwithheld the importantword approved .

” Eventhetradespeople a tMussoorie a cknowledge the suprema cyoftheHimalaya Club .

Theseason is over. The cold wea ther ha s comweneedinthe pla ins. It is the5th of October, and


everybody a t Mussoorie is onthe move—goingdownthe hill

, as it is ca lled. Every house which wa s la telyfull is now empty, andwill rema in so till the comingApril. The only exceptions will be the schools for

young ladies andfor little boys ; the convent, thebranch of the North -W est Bank, andthe Post-Office.Invalided officers who reside at the sana ta rium duringthe summer will go down the hill, andwinter inDeyrah-Dhoon. In another month the mounta inswill be covered with snow,

andit would be dangerousto wa lk out on thesenarrow roads, few ofwhich arera iled in.

Let us sum up the events of the season. Four

young menwere victimiz ed— two a t cards andtwo a t

billiards. Two duels were fought on the day a ftertheba ll. Inoneof these duels an officer fell dead.

Inanother the offending party grievously wounded

his antagonist. Four commissions were sacrificed inconsequence of these encounters. There were twoelopements. Mrs. Merryda le went off with Lieutenant

Maxwell,leaving her childrenunder the care of the

servants, until her husband came to take them away.

Mrs. Hastings, who used to bore us about the duties

of a wife,carried off tha t silly boy Stammersleigh.

These elopements led to two actions inE .M . Supreme

Court of Ca lcutta , andsevenof us (four inonecaseandthree inthe other) hadto leave our regiments orappointments, andrepa ir to the Supreme Court to

give evidence. Some of us hadto travel fourteen


Ireland,andbecame eventua lly marker a t a billia rd

room ; andtha t Bunyan, who a lso came to poverty ,

was seendriving a cab for hire inOxford- street.

It behoves me,however, to inform the reader tha t ,

recently,the tone of Anglo-Indian society during

the hot seasons is very much improved . Six or sevenyears ago there never was a seasonthat did not endas unhappily a s tha t which I have attempted to describe ; but it is now four years since I heard of a

duel inthe Upper Provinces— upwa rds of four yea rssince I heard of a victim to gambling, andnea rlythree since there was anelopement. It is true tha tthe records of courts-martia l still occasiona lly exhib it

pa inful cases ; b ut, ifwecompa re the past with thepresent

,wemust admit tha t the change is very sa tis

factory. I do not a ttribute this a ltered sta te of things

to the vigilance of commanding officers, or the deter

minationofthe commanders-in-chiefto punish severelythose who ofl

'end. It isduechiefly to the improvedtone of society inEngland, from which country weget our habits andmanners. Theimprovement inthe tone of Indian society has been very gra dua l .Twenty years ago India was famous for its infamy.

Tenyears ago it wa s very b ad. It is now tolera ble.

Intenyears from this date,ifnot inless time, Indian

society will bepurged entirely of those evils whichnow prey uponit, andtrials fordrunkenness andotherimproper conduct will happenas rarely as inEngland.Year by yea r this communicationb etweenourfa ther

THE H IM ALAYA CLUB. 29

landandtheupper pa rt of India will become moreSpeedy andless expensive ; andthus will a grea ternumber ofoflicers beenabled to come home onfurloughfora year or two . N othing does anIndianofi cer somuchgoodas a visit to Europe. W hena manhas

oncecontracted b adhabits inIndia , he cannot reforminIndia . To be c ured he must be takenaway for a

Whilefrom the country. There have beeninstancesof officers who ha ve hadstrength of mind to a ltertheir courseof life without leaving the East but

thoseinstances a revery fewTheEast India Company should do all inits power

toencourage young oflicers to spenda certa in timeeverysevenyears inEurope. Instead of six months

’

leaveto the hills— which six months arespent inutter idleness

,andtoo frequently indissipation— give

them nine m onths’ leave to Europe . This wouldadmit of their spending six months inEngland, or ontheContinent

,where they would improve their minds

andmend their mora ls, a s well a s their constitutions.TheEast India Company should a lso bring thePeninsular andOrienta l Company to reasonable termsforthepassage of oflicers to andfrom India . A lieutenant who wishes to come home, cannot a t presentget a passage from Ca lcutta to SouthamptonunderOnehundred andtwenty pounds. So tha t he givesup more than four months

’

pay for being kept”

thirty-six days onboard of a steamer. Three poundstenshillings perdiem for food andtransit

30 W ANDERINGS I N INDIA .

THE MAHOMMEDAN MOTHER.

MUSSOORIE andLandour, situated inthe lower rangeof the Hima laya mounta ins

,form the favouritesani

tarium of the upper pa rt of India . The scenery ismore beautiful thantha t ofSimlah ; forMussoorieandLandour command a view of Dehra Dhoon

,which

resembles (except tha t theDhoon is grander andmore extensive) the plains of Ita ly as seenfrom theascent of the Simplon. The ma ll of Mussoorie iscrowded every evening with visitors some onhorse

back, some onhill ponies, some onfoot, andsome in

the°janpan(something like a sedan-chair carried by

four hill men) . A gayer scene it would be impossible

to conceive. Every oneknows his neighbour ; and,in passing a long the narrow road, stoppages arefrequent. Compliments must be exchanged, andthenews or scanda l of the day gossiped about . Everynow andthenyou hear a cry of “W hat a shame !”

from a terrified lady in a janpan, while a couple of

lovers ga llop pa st on spirited Arabs a t full speed.

Sometimes a shriek from a nervous mamma rever

bera tes through the va lleys, when shebeholds herchildreninthe way of the headless pa ir.Accidents sometimes occur . A few years ago, a

rnnMAH OMMEDAN mornnn. 31

ladyanda gentlemanwere riding round a place ca lledtheCamel’s Ba ck ; theroad gave way, andthey felldowna precipicesevera l hundred feet. The horseswerekilled

,but theriders miraculously escaped with

only a few severebruises. On another occasion, a

gentlemanof thecivil service was taking his eveningwalk

, whenoneof his dogs ranbetweenhis legs, andprecipitated him . He was killed onthespot.Onthe mall every evening wa s to be seena na tive

womanstanding by the side of the road, near a largerock

, watching those who passed by. Shewas welldressed

, andher fa cewas concea led, a ccording to thecustom of persons of her apparent sta tion in life.Thereshestood; a ttracting genera l a ttention. Shewas a womanof slight, but gra ceful figure, andra thertall. Many persons were curious to know who shewas

, andto seeher fa ce ; but shetook care tha t'

inthis respect none should be gra tified. Sometimesshewould go away early a t other times shewouldremainuntil it was quite da rk . Some suspectedandI was amongst the number— tha t shewas thenativewife of some Europeanoffic erwho haddivorcedhimself

, andvisited the Hills,

”whither thewoman,

to annoy, hadfollowed him andthere was no sma ll

amount of specula tiona s to whosewife shecould be.Someof the guesses, if they were seriously made,wereex tremely nugenerous, for they included severa lelderly officia ls, who could not by any possibility havebeenmarried to this mysterious la dy. I wa s de


terminedto knowwho shewas andonenight, whenmost people were thronged around the band

, I

approached her, andinquired if I could be of anyservice to her. Shereplied (her fa ce closely covered) ,Yes ; by going away. Shehada very sweet voice,

andits sorrowful tones inspired mewith pity, whensheadded

,I am a poorwoman myhea rt is crushed

do not addto mymisery by rema ining nea r me. Iobeyed her, after apologiz ing for having intruded.

Severa l other persons hada ttempted to extra ct someparticulars from the lady, andhadreceived the samesort of reply as that shehadgivento me.The ra ins were about to commence

,andstorms

were not unfrequent. The ma ll was less frequented ;only a few— those who cared little about hearingheaven’s artillery thunder in the skies

,

” or beingpelted by ha ilstones a s large as marbles—ventured

out ; but amongst tha t few was the na tive lady, who,punctua l as the light ofday, visited tha t huge,dismallooking rock

,andga z ed uponthe road.

I have seena storm onthe heights of Jura— sucha storm a s Lord Byrondescribes. I have seenlightning andhea rd thunder inAustra lia I have

, ofi’

Terra del Fuego, the Cape of Good Hope, andthecoast of Java , kept wa tch in thunderstorms which

have drowned intheir roaring the humanvoice, andmade every onedeaf andstupified but these stormsa renot to be compared with a thunderstorm at

Mussoorie or Landour.

runMAHOMMEDAN momma . 33

Inoneofthese storms of thunder,lightning, wind,

andhail, at about fiveo’clock inthe afternoon, I la idawagerwith a friendtha t the native lady would befoundas usual standing near the rock. Somethingsecretlyassured metha t shewas there a t thatmoment,looking onunmoved, except by the passions whichhadprompted her pilgrimage. How were weto decideit ? By go ing to the spot,

” I suggested. Myfrienddeclined but declared that, as far as the betwas concerned

,hewould beperfectly satisfied with

myword, either oneway or the other ; namely,WhetherI hadwonor lost.I set ofi'uponmy journey. The rock was at lea stthrfie-quarters of a mile distant from my abode. Mycuriositywas so much aroused—albeit I felt certa inthewomanwas there— that I wa lked through theStormwithout heeding it. Every now andthenIflew theelectric fluid descend into a valley ; thenheardthat strange noise which huge pieces of rockmakewhenthey bound from oneprecipice to another

,

teating up trees, andcarrying large stones andtheearth along with them intheir headlong ca reer but

stillmymind was intent onthe woman, andnothingelse.Was shethereYes ; there shesat, drenched to the skin; but I

couldnot pity her wet andcold condition, for I could900that sheca red no more about it than I caredabout my own. Shedrew her garment so closely

D


over her face, tha t the outline of her fea tures wa s

pla inlydiscernib le. It was decidedly handsome b ut

still I longed to seeher eyes, to confirm my

pression. I sat beside her. Thestorm still raged,andpresently the lady sa id, Theheavenis speaking,Sahib .

” I answered, “Truly but the lightning, the

parent of tha t sound which I now hear, I cannot see.”Sheunderstood me, andgave mea glimpseof hereyes. They were not like the eyes of a na tive ; they

were of a bluish hue, almost grey. I sa id to her,in

Hindoostanee, You arenot a na tive ; wha t do youdo here ina native dress

I would I were anEuropean, sheanswered me.My feelings, perhaps, would be less acute

, andIshould be sitting over a bright fire. Oh, how loudlythe heaven is speaking ! Go home, Sahib , you will

ca tch cold

W hy do you not go home ? I asked. You

will seeno oneto-day. No—not evenyour beloved .

I am the only being who will venture out ina storm

like this ; andI do so only for your sake.”

My heart is as hard as this rock,”shesa id, flipping

her finger aga inst the granite, to all except oneb eing— a child. Oh, how theheaven is speaking,Sahib !

”

Do younot fear the lightning andthe hail ? Iasked her.

I did once, shereplied. I trembled wheneverit came near ; but now,

wha t does it signify ? Bidglee


W henyou have left me.You arevery unkind thus to repulsemy civility.

It may be so ; but my heart’

s blood is curdled.

”

I bade her farewell andthrough thestorm, which

still raged, I went home andwonmy wager.I could not rest that night. The beautiful fa ce of

the na tive womanhaunted me. In va in I tried tosleep, anda t last I arose from my bed, andjoined a

card-pa rty, in the hope that the excitement of gam

bling would banish her from my bra in. But to no

purpose. I knew not wha t I was playing, anderelong I left OH indisgust.Almost every onewho visits the Hills keeps a

servant called a tinda l. His duty is to look after

the menwho carry your janpan,to go errands, to

keep up the fire, andto accompanyyou with a lanternwhenyou go out after dark . These tinda ls, like thecouriers on the Continent, area peculiar race ; and,genera lly speaking, a rea very sharp

, active, and

courageous people. I summoned my tinda l, andinterrogatedhim about the native lady who hadcausedso much sensa tioninMussoorie. The only informa

tionhe could afl'

ordmewas,tha t shehadcome from

a village near Hurdwar that shewas rich,possessed

of themost costly jewels, kept a number of servants,moved about ingrea t stateonthe pla ins, and, for all

he knew,shemight be the wife or slave of some

Could she, I wondered

,be the famous Rance

runMAH OMMEDAN'

MOTHER . 37

Chanda, themother of Dulleep Singh, andthe wife

ofRunjeet — thewomanwho, disguised as a soldier,hadescaped from thefort of Chuna r, where shehadbeenimprisoned for disturbing, by her plots, the

imagination of Sir Frederick Currie, when he wasResident at La hore The woman I hadseenandspokento answered to the description” of the Ranceinevery respec t,ex cepting the eyes . Dulleep Singhwas living a t Mussoorie, andhenot unfrequently rodeuponthema ll . RanceChunda hada sa tirica l tongue,anda peculia rly sweet-toned

, hut shrill voice, andshehadremarkably beautiful feet, andso hadthiswoman.

RanceChunda hadcourage which was superhuman;sohadthis woman. RanceChunda hada child—anonly child ; so hadthis woman.

l askedthe tinda l where the lady lived. He replied, that sheoccupied a sma ll house near thebazaar

, not very far from my ownabode. Sheis ingreat grief,” thetinda l yawned, about something orother.

Endeavour to findout the cause of hermisfortunes

,

”said I

,andyou shall be rewarded according

to your suc cess.

Nex tday the tindal reported to methat I was nottheonly Sahib who was deeply interested in thenativelady’s affa irs ; that many wished to make heratoquaintance, andhadsent their tinda ls to talk toher; but tha t shehadfirmly andlaconica lly dis~lhissed them all, just as shehaddismissed him

38 W ANDE’RINGS IN INDIA .

Tell yourmaster tha t the sufferings of anobject of

pity, such as I am,ought not to be aggravated by

the insulting persecutionof gay andlight-heartedmen.

”

Theday after the storm brought forth the loveliestafternoontha t canbe imagined . The sunshone out

brightly, the clouds were lifted from the Dhoon, andthe vast panorama resembled what weread of insome

fa iry ta le. All Mussoorie andLandour turned out.

The ma ll was so crowded,that it was diflicult to

thread one’s way through the throng.

W as thelady a t the rock ? Yes ; there shestood,as usua l, wa tching those who passed. The Maharajahwith his suite appeared. I was convinced that thewomanwas the Maharajah’s mother ; but I did notbreathe my suspicions

,lest I might cause her to be

arrested. W hen it became dusk, andthe visitorswere taking their departure, I aga inapproached the

lady, andmade my salaam,in that respec tful

phrase which is always adopted whenaddressing a

na tive womanof rank . Shea t once recognised mea s the personwho hadspoken to her during the

storm onthe previous afternoon,for shea lluded to

its fury, andsa id shehadtakena wrong road, hadlost her way after I hadleft her, anddid not reachhome till nearly midnight . Sheconcluded herlittle speech with a hope that I hadbeenmore fortuna te.

You should have allowed meto escort you,

rus MAH OMMEDAN nomnn. 39

saidI. I wouldha vehelped to carry your load ofsorrow.

”

Shelooked a t me, andsuddenly andabruptly sa id,“Yourname is L ongford.

”

You areright,” sa id I.

About threeor four years ago you stayedforseveral days with a friend ina tent nearDeobundYouwere onyour way to these mounta ins ?”Idid.”

“You hada littledog with you, andyou lost it a tDeobundI did losemydog, andmade a grea t noiseabout

it But howdo you know all this ?Shesmiled andsighed.

I was bewildered . My b elief tha t shewas theRanceChunda was a lmost confirmed It was closeto theencampment of theRance, whenshewas on

her way to Chuna r, that mydog was lost, andmyservants andthe oflicers of police declared tha t itmusthave b eensome of the Ranee’s people who hadstolenthe favourite.Thedog is still alive, sa id the lady ; andif

youW ill come to-morrow,a t twelve o’clock, to my

house, you sha ll seehim ; but you will promise not

to take him from meOf course I will not take him from you. But let

meseehim to-night, andtell mehow he came intoyourpossession. I will seeyou to your home.”“No, Sahib ; bepatient. I will tell you all to

40 W ANDERINGS IN I NDIA .

morrow ; and,whenyou have heard my story, you

will perhapsdofi

mea kindness. It is inyour powerto assist me. Tell mewhere you live, andI will sendmybrother to you at eleveno’clock. He will conduct

you to my house. Sa laam, Sahib.

I returned her sa laam,andleft her.

I didnot go to bed till two o’clock the next

morning, andwhenmy tinda l aroused meat eleven,andinformed methat a young manwished to seeme

,I was disposed to believe that my engagement

at twelve hadbeenmade inmy dreams.

I ordered the young man to be admitted . He

came to my bedside, andsa id in a confidentia l tone

of voice The lady ha s sent meto wa it your c om

mands.

” I got up, made a hasty toilet, drank a cup

of very hot tea , andfollowed the young man, wholed meto the little house near the thea tre, at thetopof the Ba z a ar. I entered the abode, andfound thelady sitting, native fa shion, ona ca rpet onwhich was

strewed marigold androse leaves . Her silver lou lean(small hookah) was beside her and

,sure enough,

there was my‘

long -lost terrier,Duke

,looking as sleek,

fat,laz y

,anduseless as a na tive lady’sdog could be.

After expressing my thanks to the lady for her con

descensioningranting methe interview,I spoke to

my former favourite, Duke, but he only stretchedhimself

,andyawned inreply.

Andyou have still tha t ring with the blue stoneinit,

”sa id the lady

,taking my hand, andsmiling

rns MAH OMMEDAN mora ss . 41

whileshelooked a t thering. I remember observing this when I saw you asleep

, onemorning, on a

couchinthe tent a tDeobund. HadInoticed it whenyouaddressed meduring thestorm,

I wouldnot havespokenso rudely to you.

”

I do not remember having seenyou previous totheother evening,” sa id I “

andif I had, I shouldnever have forgottenit. W herehave wemet 1” Irepeated.

Where I hadopportunities of seeing you, butwhere you could not seeme.”Therewas anold servingwoman, whom shecalledmother, a ttending uponher, andthe young manwhom sheca lled brother, a soldier-like lookingyouth,was still standing in the room to which he hadconducted me. The lady desired them both to withdraw, andthen begged meto bring the mo m (orstool) uponwhich I was sitting close to her side .

I obeyed her. Sheplaced her finely-formed head inthepa lms of her hands, andgave vent to a violentflood of tears. I sufl'eredher to weep without interruption. Grief appeared to relieve her rather thanto increaseher pa in. At length shedried her eyes

,

andsaidMy fa ther was a Mool'vee(Mahommedan law

cflicer), a ttached to the Sudder Court, inAgra Iamhis only daughter. Hewas absent from home allday. W hy should he not be ? He was pa id for it ;heatethe Company’s salt. Well, whenI was about


fifteenyears of ageI was enticed away from myhomeby theKotwa ll (na tive police ofi cer). He sent anoldwoman, who hadsilver onher tongue andgold inherhand . She told melong stories about love ; andpromised methat if I left my home I should ma rrythe Kotwa ll’s son

,who was young andhandsome . I

was but a child andvery foolish. Theservants whohadcharge of mewere a ll bribed heavily. Onereceivedthree hundred rupees

,another two hundred, a

third onehundred. These people encouraged methe idea tha t to marry the Kot'wa ll’s sonwould bethe most prudent thing in the world ; and, oneday,whenmy fa ther hadgone to the Court a t about teno’clock

,I eloped with the old womanwhom theKat

'wa ll hadsent to ta lk meover.Wetravelled all day ina bylee(native carriage) ,

gua rded by two sowars. I asked the oldwomansevera l times where shewas taking me, but her onlyreply was, Set your heart a t rest, child, andeat somesweetmea ts.

’

Thepawn which shegave memusthave beendrugged, for shortly after ea ting it I fellasleep. How long I slept I cannot say, but whenIawoke I found myself inthe house of a Sahib. Theold womanwas there a lso . I became a larmed

, but

my fears were quieted by theold woman’

s tongue.

Shetold meI was close to Agra , but the truth wa s,I was onehundred koss (two hundred miles) distant.Nautch girls were sent for, andthey danced beforeme. I hadthis hookah given to me, andthese


head to foot. Dhuro mut (do not fear), sa id theSahib andthenhe reproved

,but ina gentle voice,

the Nautch girls who were laughing loudly at me.The old woman

,too, bade mebanish myfears . After

a while,I ventured to steal a look a t the Sahib ; and

aga in averted my face, andclung to the old woman.

The Sahib,after rema ining a brief while

,during

which bepra ised my beauty, retired, andI was oncemore happy . There

,

’

sa id the old woman, whenhewas gone you seethe Sahib is not a wild bea stout of the jungles, but as gentleas oneof your owndoves. ’

Onthe followingday I hea rd the Sahib ta lkinginthe next room I peeped through the keyhole of

the door,andsaw him seated a t a table. The fa rmer

(hea d clerk) was standing beside him, reading. Therewas a man in cha ins surrounded by burkanddzes(guards) a t the otherendof the room,

anda womanwas there giving her evidence . The Court-house wa s

dergoing some repa irs,andthe Sahib was ca rrying

onhis magisteria l duties inhis dining-room. The man

incha ins began to speak, anddeny his guilt. The

Sahib ca lled out, Cheap (Silence !) in a voice so

loud,tha t I involunta rily sta rted back andshud

dered. The prisoner aga inaddressed the Sahib, andoneof the burka fnddzes dea lt him a severe blow on

the head,accompanied by the words

, Suer ! Char(Pig ! Thief !) The case was deferred until the followingday, andthe court closed a t about four o

’clock

ra s MAa ommsDAN mora s s . 45

intheafternoon when theSahib aga inpaid mea

I was now afra idto show myfears, lest the Sahibshouldorder meto bek illed ; andI therefore put ona cheerful countenance, while myheart was quiveringinmybrea st. TheS ahib spoke to mevery kindly

,

andI beganto dreadhim less.Inthis way I sp ent a fortnight and, a t theend

of that time,I ventured to ta lk to the Sahib as

though I wereh is equa l. It afforded megrea tamusement to ’

w a tch the administra tion of justicethrough the keyho leand

, young as I was, I imbibedadesire to ha ve a sha re inthe arbitrary power whichwasdaily exerc ised.

“Oneday, wh enthe Sahib came into my room, Ibeganto ta lk to him about a case of which he hadjustdisposed. He laughed, andlistened to myviewswith grea t p a tience. I told him tha t the evidenceuponwhich the prisoner hadbeenconvicted wa s falsefrombeginning to end. He promised methat hewouldreverse the sentence of imprisonment ; and, intheecstasy of my joy a t finding tha t I really hadsomepower, I was intoxica ted andunconscious of

what I wa s doing. I suffered the Sahib’s lips to touchmine. No sooner hadI done so thanI felt a degradedoutcast, andI cried more bitterly thanI have words todescribe . TheSahib consoled me

, andsa id that hisGodandhis Prophet should be mine ; andtha t inthisworldandthe next our destinies should be the same .

46 W ANDss INc s IN INDIA.

From thatday I was a wife unto him. I ruledhis household, andI shared his pleasures andhis sorrows. He was indebt ; but, by reducing his expenses, I soonfreedhim, for his pay was fifteenhundred rupees a month. I suffered no oneto rob

him,andcaused the oldwoman, who was a grea t

thief andchea t, to be turned away . I loved himwith all my soul. I would ra ther have beggedwith him thanhave shared the throne of Ackbar

Shah. W henhe was tired, I lulled him to sleepwhenhe was ill

,I nursed him ; whenhe was angry, I

soonrestored him to good-humour and,whenI saw

him about to be deceived by subordina tes, I put himonhis guard. That he lovedmeI never hadanyreasonto doubt. He gave mehis confidence, andInever abused his trust.

“W ho was the man I inquired ; for I was indoubt, a lthough I suspected .

Be pa tient, Sahib,”shereplied, andthenresumed.

At theendof two years I became a mother.”Here shegave vent to another flood of tears.

The Sahib was pleased. The child seemed tobind us more closely together. I loved thechild I

believe it was because it boresuch a strong likenessto its father. W hen the Sahib was away from meonduty in the district, he seemed still by my side,whenI looked at the boy, who was as white as you

areI s the child dead ? I asked.

ra s M A HOMMEDAN mora ss . 47

Bepatient, Sa hib. Whenyou passed through

Deobund, andsta yedinthe tent with your friend, my

childwas two years old I was themistress of tha tencampment a t Deoband, andthe wineyou drank wasgivenout with this hand.

”

“How littledo menknow ofeach other Iex

claimed ; eventhosewho arethe most intima te Ihadnot the lea st idea there was a lady inthecamp,I assureyou.

”

“How angry with you was I, sa id she, “for keep

ingtheSahib up so late. You ta lked together thewholenight long. Therefore I hadno remorsewhenI tookyourdog. W ell

,as you areaware, soonafter

that theSahib was seiz ed with fever, from which herecoveredbut he was so sha ttered by the a ttack tha thewas compelled to visit Europe, where youknowShepaused.

Anative womanwill never, if shecan avoid it,

lpeakof thedea th of a personwhom shehas loved.

I vas aware of this, andbowed myhead, touchingmyforeheadwith both hands. Thefather of her childhaddied onhis passage to England.“Before he left me,” shecontinued, he gave me

all that he possessed ; his house andfurniture ; hishomes, carriage, pla te his shares in thebank ; hisWatch

, his dressing-case, his rings —everything wasgiventome, andI ownall to this hour. W hen Iheardthe sadnews I was heartbroken. Hadit notbeenfor the child I wouldhave starved myself to

48 W ANDss INGs IN INDIA .

death as it was, I took to Opium andsmok ingbhung (hemp). W hile I was inthis sta te, mySahib

’

s

brother— the Capta inSahib—came, andtook away

the boy ; not by violence. I gave it to him . W ha twas the child to methen2 I did not care. But theold womanwhom you heard mecall mymother, whonow attendsme, graduallyweaned mefrom the desperationinwhich I was indulging ; and, by degrees, mysenses returned to me. I thenbeganto ask aboutmy child, anda longing to seehim came over me.At first they told mehe was dead ; but whentheyfound I was resolved to destroy myself by intemperance, they told methe truth ; tha t the child wa sliving, andat school in these hills . I have comehither to be near my child. I seehim almost everyday, b ut it is at a distance . Sometimes he pa ssesclose to where I stand, andI long to spring uponhimandto hug him to my breast, whereonininfancy hishead reposed. I pray that I could speak to him

, givehim a kiss

,andbless him ; but he is never a lone. He

is a lways playing with, or ta lking to, the other littleboys a t the same school . It seems hard tha t heshould beso joyous while his own mother is so

wretched . Ofwhat useto meis the property I ha ve,

when I cannot touch or be recognised by myownflesh andblood. You know the master of theschool?

”

Yes .

”

Could younot ask him to a llow my child to visit

ra s MAHOMMEDAN mora ss . 49

you? I could then seehim once more,andspeak

tohim. You were a friend ofhis fa ther, andthe re

questwould not seem strange.I felt myself plac ed ina very awkwa rd position

,

andwould make no promise ; but I told the womanI wouldconsider thematter, andlet her know onthefollowingday, provided shewould stay a t home, andnot visit that rock upon the road anymore. Shestrovehard to extra ct from mea pledge tha t Iwouldyield to her request ; but, difi cult as itwas to deny her anything— shewas still so beautiful andso interesting—I would not commit myself,andheld to wha t I had in the first instancestated.

I paida visit to theschool at which my friend’schildhadbeenpla ced by his uncle

,a capta in in the

East India Company’s service. I saw some thirtyBeholars

, of all colours, on theplay-

ground ; but Isoonrecognised the boy whom I was so curious to see.Hewas indeed very like his fa ther, not only infaceandfigure, but inmanner, ga it, andhearing. I ca lledto thelittle fellow,

andhe came andtook my handWith a frankness which cha rmed me. The schoolmaster told metha t the boy was very clever, andthat, although only six years old, there were but fewOfhisplayma tes whom he did not excel. His fa therwasanoldfriend of mine, I sa id. Indeed our ao

quaintance beganwhenwewere not older thanthis

50 W ANDs s INGs IN INDIA .

child . W ould you have any objectionto a llow the

boy to spend a day with me?I promised his uncle,” was the schoolmaster’s re

ply,

“ tha t heshould not go out,andtha t I would

wa tch him closely but of course he will bequite sa fewith you. Anyday that you please to send for himhe shall be rea dy.

”

“Does he know anything of his mother ? ” I inquired.

Nothing, sa id the schoolmas ter. He was very

young whenhe came to me. I have no idea who,or

what,or where the mother is, for his uncledidnot

enter into the pa rticulars of his parentage. The

mother must have beenvery fa ir, if shewere a na tive,the boy is so very slightly touched with the tar-brush .

”

I went home, andsent for the mother. She came ;andI entrea ted her to forego her request, for thechild’s sake . I represented to her that it might nusettle him,

andcause him to be discontented. Iassured her tha t he wa s now a s happy andas well

taken care of a s any mother could desire her off

spring to be . Onhearing this the poor womanhecame frantic . She knelt a t my feet andsupplica tedmeto listento her entrea ty— a sight of her child

, a

few words with him,anda kiss from his lips. She

sa id shedid not wish him to know that shewas hismother ; tha t if I would have him brought into myhouse, shewould dress in the garb of a servantwoman, or syce’s (groom’

s) wife, andtalk to the boy

52 W ANDss INc s IN INDIA .

Sa laam, Sahib. She went away with a cheerful

countenance.

There areno such a ctors inthe world a s the peopleof Hindostan. The boy came to mea little beforetwelve

,andwas reading to me, whenDooneea , with

a child inher a rms, anddressed in the shabbies tapparel

,rushed into the room

,andcommenced a n

harangue. She sa id shehadbeen beatenunmerc ifully by her husband, forno causewhatever ; tha t hehadbrokenoneof her fingers, andhadattempted tostab her ; but shehadsaved her life by flight. All

this sheaccompanied with gesticula tions andtea rs,

according to the custom of compla inants inthe Ea st .

I feigned to be very angry with the husband, andhastily left the room

, as if to makeinquiry andtosend for him.

I ranround to anouter door,andpeeped inupon

Dooneea andher boy. She was repea ting the sameta le to the child

,andthe child was imploring her no t

to cry . It was a strange scene. The tears shew a s

now shedding were not mock tears. Theboy a skedher how her husband came to bea t her ? Shebeganthus I was sitting nea r the fireta lking to myeldest boy

, andhadmy arm round his wa istthere

,just a s I put my arm round your wa ist

andI sa id to the boy, It is getting very la teandyou must go to sleep

,

’

andI pulled him to

my breast —like this— andgave him a kiss on his

forehead, thenon his eyes there just as gently

t

ra s MAHOMMEDAN mora s s . 53

as tha t, yes, just liketha t. W ell,the boy beganto

W hydidhe cry ? Because you told him to go to

bed?”Yes

,sa id Dooneea ; but his fa ther came in,

andthought I was tea sing the child . He abused meandthenhebea t me.”The woman ga z ed a t her child and

,having a

good excuse for weeping inher a lleged wrongs, shedidnot scruple to ava il herself of it. From behindthescreenwhich concea led mefrom her sight, andthat of the boy

,I,too

,shed tea rs of pity .

I returned to the room, andsa id, Dooneea,since

you areafra id of your life, do not leave this house

until I tell you to do so but give your infant to thesweeper’s wife to take care of. I do not like yourchildreninmy house.

”

How thankful shewas She plac ed her headuponmy feet, andcracked her knuckles over myknees .

Cha rles Lamb says tha t the childrenof the poor

areadults from infancy. The same may be sa id of

thechildrenof therich in India . Dooneea ’s littleboydiscussed theconduct of the cruel husband, andsympathised with theill-used wife, as though he hadbeenca lled uponto adjudicate the affair ina court of

justice. He evenwent so far as to say, W ha t a

wicked man to bea t such a dea r looking woman

andhe gave Dooneea the rupee which I hadgivento


him on theday previous when I saw him a t theschool. W ith wha t delight did Dooneea tie up tha tpiece of coin

,from the child’s hand

,inthe corner o f

her garment. It seemed farmore precious to her thana ll the jewels which his dead father hadpresented toher indays gone by . It was a gift from her own

child,who was living, but to her, dead. Dooneea

spoke Persian—a language the boy did not under

stand. His father hadtaughtDooneea tha t languageinorder tha t their servants might not know the teno r

of their discourse. In tha t language Dooneea nowspoke to me

,inthe boy’s presence .

I s he not very like his father ? shesaid.

Very,

” I replied.

W ill he be as clever ?

He is too young for any oneto judge of tha t .But he will be as generous (shepointed to the

coin), andhe will be as ta ll, as good- looking, a s

passiona te, as gentle, anda s kind.

”

The boy’s boots were muddy . Dooneea observedthis

,andwith her own little hands cleaned them ;

andsmiling, sheasked him for a present, intha t toneandmanner which the poorest menia l inHindostanadopts whenaddressing the most haughty superior.

The boy blushed,andlooked a t me.

Have you nothing to give her sa id I .

Nothing,”sa id he I ga ve her my rupee .

Give her that pretty blue ribbonwhich is round

your neck, andI will give you onelike it,” sa id I .

ra s MAH O M MEDAN mora s s . 55

Hetook the rib b onfrom his neck andgave it toDooneea .

Dooneea twistedtheribboninher ha ir, andbegantoweep afresh .

Do not cry, you silly woman,sa id I ; I will see

that your husb and does not bea t you aga in.

Sheunderstood me, anddried her tea rs .

Dooneea aga in spoke to meinPersian. Sahib,said she

,they do not wash the childrenproperly a t

that school . Order meto do this .

Cha rley, why did you come to meinthis state,with your neck unwashed ?” I asked the b oy.

Weonly wash inwarm wa ter once a week on

Saturdays,” he replied . This is Thursday .

”

“But I cannot allow you to dine with meinthissta te

,

”sa id I

,inH indostanee. You must be well

washed,my boy. Dooneea , give the child a ba th.

”

W ith reluctant steps,the child followed his

mother to my ba thing-room. I peeped through thepurdah ; for I beganto fea r that I should have sometrouble inpa rting the mother from her child

, andhalf repented tha t I hadever brought them together.W hile Dooneea was brushing the child

’

s hair, she

said, Tooma 'ra. mama Ica hn/nha s —W here is yourmother

Theboy answered, I do not know.

I began to cough, to inform Dooneea that I waswithinhearing, andthat I objected to tha t stra inofex amination. Sheceased immedia tely.


I hadan enga g ement to ride with a lady on theMa ll. My horse wa s brought to the door ; but I wa safra id to leave Dooneea a lone with the boy, notwith

standing her solemnpromise that shewould not runoff with him. Yet I didnot like to hurry tha t eterna lsepara tion on earth which

,for the boy’s sake, I wa s

determined their separa tionshould be.I wa lked up anddownmyverandah for some time,

meditating how I could part them . At last it

occurred to methat I would send the boy away to

his school by stratagem,andtrust to chance how I

might best expla in to Dooneea that he would no treturn. I ordered a syce(groom) to saddle a littlepony that I possessed

,andtold Dooneea tha t I wished

the boy to take a ride with me,andtha t while we

were absent,sheought to take some food. It stung

meto the soul towitness how innocent shewas ofmyintentions ; forsheseemed pleased tha t I should showher child so much a ttentionas to be seeninpublicwith him.

As soonas wewere out of sight ofmyhouse, I tookthe road for L andour

,delivered the boy over to his

schoolmaster,told my groom to keep the pony out

till after dark, cantered to the Ma ll, kept my engage

ment,andreturned to my home a t about ha lf-pa st

seveno’clock . There was Dooneea wa iting for us in

the verandah.

W hereis the boy sheinquired, onfinding mereturna lone .

ra s MAH OMMEDAN mora ss . 57

I gave her no reply ; but dismounted andap

proachedher. Taking hold of her wrists, I sa id,in

thegentlest voice, Dooneea , I have fulfilled mypromise. You ha veseenyour child

, you have Spokentohim

, youhave kissed him. Enough . He has now

goneback to school You must not seehim again, if

youreally love him .

Shetrembled inmy grasp, looked piteously inmyface

, gasped severa l times for brea th, as though shelonged to speak, andswooned a t my feet. I liftedher

, carried her into the house, andla id her uponmybed; thensent for servants, andfor a doctor

,who

livednear my bunga low. The doctor came. W hilehefelt her pulse, andplaced his hand over her heart,l brieflyexpla ined to him wha t hadtakenplace. HeStillkept his finger on the vein, andga z ed onDooneea’s beautiful face. Blood began to trickle fromhernomils

,andfrom her ears

, sta ining the bed linenandthesqualid garments inwhich shehada ttiredherself. In a few minutes the doctor released hisholdof her wrist. Poor thing he ej acula ted.

“Hertroubles areover ! She is a t rest

Never moreonherSha ll sorrow light, or shame.

Shewas dea d .

Q as v

Theoldwomanwhom Dooneea ca lled “mother,andthesoldier-like looking youth whom sheca lled“brother

,

” decamped with her jewels andmoveables,


including my dog, Duke but the house nea r

Hurdwar,andthe bank shares -property to the va lue

of about four thousand pounds— rema ininvested inthenames of trustees for the benefit of the boy ; wh owill, I trust, make good useofhis little fortune, whenhe becomes of age.


regiment in India . Lord Millflower’s other sons,

four innumber, were all steady, well-conducted, andrather dull beings, while Francis wa s remar

gifted, as well as rema rkably vicious. He hadbothta lent andgenius, humour andwit ; and, much as hehadneglected his educa tion, he was well read andwell informed for his time of life. In personal ap

pearance, also, the reproba te hadtheadvantage overhis b rethren. None of them were evengood-lookingexcept Francis

,who was rea lly very handsome, well

proportioned, andta ll. Hismanners a lso, a lways frank ,

were, whenhe pleased, dignified andcourteous, andhis bearing peculiarly graceful . W ha t he wantedwas feeling, to regula te his passions. Of feeling, hewas inhis youth, wholly destitute.

LordMillflowerhadtakenthe precautionofwritingto the colonel of the regiment his sonwas about tojoin

,andof a t the same time enclosing a sum of

money for the purpose of freeing Francis from anypecuniarydifliculty. Colonel Role himself hadthemisfortune to have a very b adboy, andhe, therefore,sympathiz ed deeply with theworthy nobleman, andresolved to do a ll inhis power to reform the Honour

able Francis.After a passage of four months, the

‘Globea rrivedat Ca lcutta

,andthe Honourable Francis Gay pro

ceededto Chinsurah andjoined. For several weekshe conducted himself with (for him) wonderful pro

priety. It is true, tha t he drank andplayed a t b il

BLACK AND arms . 61

liards andcards, andsometimes anoath would escape

his lips, but he indulged innoexcesses . The ofi cersof theregiment, indeed, thought the ensigna grea tacquisition, for hewas not only a very plea sant butanenterta ining com panion.

But, by degrees, the Honourable Francis fell offanderelong, so fa r from having a friend inthe regiment

,therewas no onewho would speak to him.

Eventhecolonel was compelled to forbid him his

house. Many,very many a cts, unbec oming the

character of an omcer anda gentleman, hadbeenlooked over by his seniors ; but it was resolved tha t,onthevery next occasionof his transgressing, theHonourable Ensign should be brought to a courtmartial anddismissed the service. This resolve wascommunicated to the ensignby the colonel, who hadbecometired of lecturing him.

Thenext time you areintoxica ted ontheparadeground, or thenext time you useb adlanguage inthemess-room

,or the next time you publicly insult a

brother oflicer,provoking him to quarrel with you,

youwill forfeit your commission.

” Being the sonof

anearl,he was entitled— many colonels think— to

every possible chance of redemption. Hadhe beenthesonof a commoner, he would, most probably,havebeen court -martia lled andcashiered for thevery first offence.“Thank you, sir, replied the ensign, with a low

bow; I will be more cautious infuture.”

62 W ANDss INos IN INDIA .

He kept his word. From this time he did hisdutyextremely well and

,to a ll outwa rd appearance

,wa s

a reformed chara cter . The ofi cers observing this,generougly made a dvances with a view to resumingtheir former relationswith him . But the HonourableFrancis repulsed their advances. The whole regi

ment hadthought proper to cut him andhe nowthought proper to cut the whole regiment.

Severa l months passed,andduring that period the

ensign applied himself to HindostaneeandPersian!He encouraged the natives to come to his bunga low,

to ta lk with him,andby night andbyday pursued

his studies . The result was,tha t he soonconversed

with perfect ease anda ccura cy . He now beganto

live like a na tive—a Mahommedan and,exceptwhen

he hadto a ttend to his regimenta l duties, he wore

the native costume,andabsta ined from drink entirely.

W ith truth,he might have said with Conrad,

Thegrape’s gay juicemybosom never cheers ;I’

m morethanMoslem whenthecup appears.

H is food wassrice,milk

,vegetables, andfruit the

beduponwhich he slept was hard andmean such

as the natives use. The whole of his European furniturehe sold by auction.

His desire— the desire of a doubtfully reformedreprobate— to convert to Christianity a young Ma

hommedangirl, a stonished all those who became ao

qua intedwith this desire. The girl was the daughter

of a wa ter- ca rrier (Bheestie). She wa s not like the

BLACK AND anus . 63

natives of India , b ut m ore like those of Africa . Shewas coal bla ck, andhadthick lips andwavy ha ir.

Shewas short for her age—fourteen years—butthickset

, with powerful limbs. The girl’

s fa ther told

theservants belonging to otheromcers ofthe regiment,andthe curious whim ofGay’s became a topic of con

Jehan,the bheestie’s daughter, was a virtuous girl,

andFrancis Gay hadnever approached her with a

view to undermining her virtue. It was no ea symatter to persua de her to change her religion; but,strange to say, he at length succeeded, andNoorJehanwas b aptiz edas Ellen by a missionary who

journeyedto Chinsurah for the purpose of performingtheceremony . The sanity or otherwise of theenSignwas now very genera lly discussed inthe regiment,andthe preva lent opinionwas tha t he was a lunatic.But the good colonel was a little angry at the surmise. Surely,

”hesa id, “you do not accuse a man

ofbeing a mania c because he has converted anin

fidel.” c

Theregiment was ordered to march to Cawnpore,whither Ellenandher fa ther a lso proceeded. Cawn

pore was thenthe chief sta tioninthe upper provincesofIndia. Five thousand tr00ps were quartered there .

A regiment of dragoons, a regiment ofna tive cava lry,a regiment of British infantry, andtwo of na tive infantry. Besides horse andfoot there were companiesofartillery

,andsappers andminers.

64 W ANDss INc s IN INDIA .

Very shortly after the regiment was settledinCawnpore, the Honourable Francis Gay pa id a visit

to the chapla in, andintima ted a desire to be ma rried.

Thechapla in of course replied that he should bemost happy, andthere andthena day andhour w as

appointed for the performance of the rite but, whenthe reverend gentlemancame to hear who was to bethe Honourable Ensign

’

s bride— the black daugh terof a na tive wa ter-carrier— hecould not help rema rk

insI am sorry

,Mr. Gay, that I cannot with sincerity

offer you my congratula tions.”

To which the ensignresponded

My good sir, I did not ask them . Andretiredwith a how.

The chapla indrove to the house of Colonel Ro le,

andtold him of the interview which hadjust ta kenplace betweenhimself andensign the Honoura b leFrancis Gay. The colonel ca lled upon the youngman, andentrea ted him to reflect . I ha vereflec ted

,

sir,”was the ensign

’

s reply. The colonel then w ent

to the genera l, andthe genera l sent for Mr . Gay toattend a t his bunga low . Mr. Gay obeyed theenmmons, andlistened with attentionandmuch ca lmnessto a long andviolent speech . W hen it was ended

,

however, Mr . Gay, with extreme courtesy, andinthequietest of tones

,spoke thus !

Genera l, you hada right to command my a t

tendance here uponanymilita ry ma tter, butno t upon

BLA CK AND anus . 65

anycivil ma tter. H owever,I wa ive that

,bec ause I

believe your intention to be a good one. You,

general, ha ve a rriveda t the yea rs of discretion— perbaps at something beyond those years. You have

,at

allevents,a rriveda t a time of life whenthe tumul

tuous passion of youth canno longer be pleaded inextenuationof certa infollies. Now tell me

, general,which of us

,think you, sins the most, andsets the

worst exampleto the men, Europeanandna tive, inthisstation —I

, who wish tomarry this good Christian

girl ; oryou, who have inyour house Mr. Gaythenmade m entionof two very discreditab lemembersof the genera l

’

s establishment . This is a questionwhich I sha ll put to the commander-in-chief

,if you

abide by your threa t to report meto his excellency.

”

That night the general andColonel Role held a

consulta tion. The colonel still doubted the ensign’

s

insanity. It hadbecome a fixed idea inthe regimentthat Gay was insane. The genera l caught a t this,anda committee of doctors was appointed to examinetheensign. They reported that Ensignthe Honour

able Francis Gay was not only of sound mind, but

oneof the most intellectual youngmeninthe sta tionandthat he hadex pla ined to theirentiresatisfactioncertainconversa tions which he hadfrequently heldwith himself inChinsurah, at the mess-table.

Thewedding-day hadbeenput ofl'

inconsequenceof these proceedings ; but the parties now metinthe church

,which was crowded with ofi cers

,

F


including nearly theentire medica l staff, who werecurious to witness the spectacle. There stood thetall andhandsome English aristocra t, andbesidehim his coal-black bride, dressed ingarments of redsilk, trimmed with yellow andgold tinsel. Theeusignacted as the interpreter, andexpla ined to ElleninHindoostaneethe vows shewas required to take.This made the ceremony a very long one. W hen itwas concluded, the bride got into her pa lanquinandwas carriedhome. The bridegroom mountedhis

pony,androde by her side .

Ellen—now the Honourable Mrs. Gay—was a g irlof grea t natural ability, of an excellent disposition,andwas blessed with anexcellent temper. She had

,

moreover, a very sweet voice. After her marriageshewas never seenby anyEuropean in Cawnpore,except her husband. It was believed that the ensignsaved more thantwo-thirds of his pay, which Ellenwho hadan excellent idea of business, used to lendout insmall sums to people inthe ba z aar a t the ra teoffifty per cent. per mensem. I f shelent a rupee(two shillings), shewould get back at theendof the

month a rupee andeight annas (three shillings) byway of interest .

A year passed away, anda sonandheir was b ornto the Honourable Francis Gay. The child hadlightblue eyes, exactly like those of his fa ther ; but hiscomplexionwas quite as black ashis mother’s. W henthe child was three months old, it was brought to the


Canada ; his third brother, George, died of sma ll-pox

three days after he hadtakenhis father’s second title.Ofhis son Francis’s marriage, Lord Millflower hadb een informed, andalso of the birth of the bla ck

child,the Honourable ErnestAugustusGeorge Franc is

Frederick Gay. Colonel Role haddeemed it hisduty not to withhold these facts, a lbeit they were

disagreeable to communica te to the noble earl. Lord

Millflower begged of Colonel Role to institute an

inquiry into the fa te of his Francis,andthe Colonel

did so,but without success . No clue to his where

about could be discovered,norcould any onesaywha thadbecome of him. Under these circumstances it

was takenfor granted tha t he was dea d . Another

fiveyears passed away, andthe Earl of Millflowerdeparted this life. He was

,of course

,succeeded in

his titles andestates by his sonFrederick.

Now let us returnto Francis. He became a dea ler

in precious stones,andtravelled over the whole of

India,under the name of Mustapha Khan

,visiting

theva rious na tive courts. Every tour tha t he ma deoccupied him three years. Constantly moving about

inthe sunh adtanned his once fa ir fa ce ; andneitherfrom his appearance— forhewa s dressed as a native!

nor from his speech,could the na tives themselves

detect tha t he was anEuropean. He gave out tha this birthplace was Nepaul, where the natives aresometimes born with blue eyes. He bought andsold, andwas apparently very happy inhis occupa tion

BLACK AND BLUE . 69

Hiswifeandson inva riably accompanied him inhistravels. He hadnever writtento his family since hisarrival inIndia

,andhadnot received letters from

anymember thereof. India he loved,England he

detested, andwould not have taken up his fa ther’

s

titleif it hadbeena dukedom. Henever approa chedtheabode of an European

,andnever saw a news

paper. He wa s not likely, therefore, to hear of thechanges tha t hadtaken place a t home. In thebazaar at Delhi Capta inGay hada sma ll house, inwhich were deposited his effects, a few boxes filledwith clothes

,books

,&c .

,his sword

,andthe uniform

heused formerly to wear. These were under thecareofa man- servant, a sweeper. The bulk of his

worldlywea lth he inva riably ca rried about his person,asmanyna tives of India do.

Ernest Gay wa s now twelve years of age. He wasusually called by his parents Chandee

,a word signi

fying silver. Chandeewas clever andcunning, andlwl a wonderful ta lent for calcula ting numbers. In

less thana m inute,by counting on his fingers, he

Wouldtell you the interestdueonsuch sums as threerllpees, fiveanna s, andsevenpic, for twenty-onedays

,

atforty-onethree-fourth per cent. English he hadneverheard spoken andas he hadnever beentaughtthat language, he did not understand a single wordofit. Nor could he read or write Hindoostanee,although he spoke it inall I ts purity andelegance.There was about to take pla ce a ma rriage in the


family of theRajah of Pulbecala . Mustapha Khan

(Francis Gay) journeyed from Delhi to the Rajah’scourt

,to exhibit his jewels. Hehaddiamonds, rubies,

andemera lds of grea t price, andsome of these hehoped to dispose of to advantage . The Rajah, how

ever, hada lreadyprovided himselfwith these matters,andtherefore confined his purchases to a large ca t’seye ring, for which he pa id Mustapha fifty goldmohurs (eighty pounds). Onhis wayback to Delhi,at a place ca lled Kunda Ka Sera i, a band of robbersa ttacked the jewel-merchant. They hacked him to

pieces with their swords,but they spared his wife and

the boy. The whole of their treasures were stolen;eventhe rings from Ellen

’

s ears andfingers, andthegold bangles which Chandeewore uponhis arms.

W henher senses were restored to her, Ellen, withthe assistance of her son, dug a grave inthe sand,andburied her butchered husband. The bearers who

carried the pa lanquins ranaway as soonas the robb ersa ttacked the party

, andwere no more seen.r Most

probably they hadsome small share of the booty, theva lue ofwhich the Sirdar estima ted a t four lacs of

rupees (forty thousand pounds). W ha tever hadbeenFrancis Gay’s vices when a youth—andtheywere

grea t enough inall conscience—hehadbeena kind

andaffectionate husband to Ellen, andshemost bitterly deplored his loss ; violent was the grief of

Chandee, who was devotedly fond of his father.They heaped stones over the grave of the dead

BL ACK AND BLUE . 71

man, to mark thespot Where he was la id, and, after

their ownfashion,offered up prayers for the repose

ofhis soul .Themurder having been committed within thedominions of an independent prince

,Ellenknew that

her wrongs were not likely to be redressed if shecompla ined andtha t the British Government wouldnot interfere

,unless shemade knowntha t her hus

bandwas an Englishman. This shefelt would becontrary to thewishes of the dead. Hopeless andhelpless

,sheandher sonmade the best of their way

to Delhi, where, having collected a few debts that

weredueto them,they established a small shop for

thesale of nativesweetmea ts. They ca rried onthisbusiness for three or four years

,whenChandeegrew

weary of it,andset up inthe world as a box-waller

,

orpedler. H is box conta ined pens,ink

,andpaper,

needles,pins

,knives

,scissors

,soap

, eau de Cologne,tooth-brushes, ma tches, andso forth. His customerswere theEuropeanofiicers, who gave him the nameof Black andBlue, from the colour of his eyes andSkin. A box-waller is a lways a grea t chea t— as greata rascal as was Autolycus himself Black andBlue

,

ifthetruth must be t old, was not anexceptionto therule or ra ce. But no onecould grudge him his

profits whenthe cufi'

s andkicks which were playfullyadministered to him by the young lieutenants andensigns aretaken into considera tion. Black andBlue always took therough usage of his customers in


excellent part ; andwould genera lly make somesuch appea l as this (he hadpicked up a little Englishby this time) Ah

,well ! I know ! You rich white

gentlemans— I poor black devil. I pray all day a ll

night that ensignbemade leeft’nunt leeft’nunt, capita ine ; capita ine, capitain-meejor meejor, kunnullkunnull

,meejor-jinnera l ; andthenGod bless your

father andmother,andbrother andsister andthen,

for all that pray, I get so much kick andso many

b adwords. God make us all— black andwhite ; a llequa l right up above . Youwant blacking ? Hereyou

are. Very good bla cking quite genuine ; only onerupee a bottle . I suppose younot got ready moneyVery well, I wait till pay-day come . I very po orman. You mymaster. Khuda Lord Kuren.

”The

meaning of this expression, with which most natives

wind up a speech to anEuropean, signifies, MayGodmake you a lord 1

W henBlack andBlue was no more thanfiveyearsold, beway playing onemorning inhis fa ther

’

s com

pound (enclosure— the land a round the bungalow),whena pariah dog rushed Inandmangled him veryseverely . The dog was rabid Capta inGay ca lled

inthe doctor of a native cava lry regiment, who livedin the next bunga low,

who cauteriz ed the wounds.

The child was bitten on the a rms,legs, andchest,

andwas under the doctor’s trea tment for upwa rds offiveweeks. Onsevera l occasions whenhe visited his

patient, the doctor saw andconversed with Ellen,

BLACK AND BLUE . 73

whowasnaturally very anxious touching the child’

s

safety. This doc tor was oneof the number whoWitnessed the marriage of EnsignGay a t Cawnpore,andwas also present whenhis offspring was christened.Shortly after therecovery of the little boy, thedoctorhadbeenappointed a presidency surgeon, andhadcharge of oneof the hospita ls inCa lcutta , whereheremained for upwa rds of twenty years. He wasthenappointed superintending surgeonof the Meerutdivision He hada sonat Delhi

,a lieutenant inthe

foot artillery,andoccasiona llywent over(the distance

is only forty miles from Meerut) to pay him a visit.Ononeof theseoccasions, Black andBlue, who hadbeensent for

,ma de his appearance with his box, sa t

downonthe ca rpet cross-legged, andOpened out histreasures. There were severa l young ofi cers inthebungalow, chums of the lieutenant ; and, while thel“gaining wa s going on

,they beganto tease Black

andBlue . Oneremoved his turbanwith the pointOf a stick ; another sprinkled him with his eaudeCologne a third touched the tip ofhis grea t toe (hehadleft his shoes, out of respect, in the verandah)With the lighted endof a cheroot . Black andBluehowled with pa in

,whereupon the two roared with

laughter. The doctor, who was reading a paper

,

begged the young men to desist, and, somewha tMgrily, expostula ted with his sonfor trea ting a native80cruelly ; for he was touched with poor Black and

74 W ANDEBINGs IN INDIA .

Blue’s appeal God make us all . W henfireburnsblack man, black manfeels as much pa in a s wh iteman. Inhell, you rich gentlemans sing out just a smuch as poor box-wallet .

Black andBlue is used to it, governor, sa idthelieutenant.

Stuff,Robert !” sa id the doctor ;

“I addressmyselfto you, andnot to these gentlemen, when I say tha t

I have no pa tience with such fiippant cruelty.

”

Sahib, sa id Black andBlue, looking up a t thedoctor

, you arevery good gentlemans—very kindman

,andvery handsome. May God make you a

lord ; may your throne be perpetua l, andmay yourendbe peace but donot be angry with these gentle

men. They play tricks with Bla ck andBlue ; butthey areno enemies. I f enemies

,wha t for send to

buy Black andBlue’s property ? Sir, you grea tly

oblige Black andBlue if you smile once moreon

these gentlemans. Sir, doyouwant anyviolent (vio let)powder

,or onesma ll patent corkiscrew (corkscrew).

All menbornequa l ; God’s ra inwet black manandwhite manall the same. Devil’s fireburn, too, b oththe same.” Here he laughed a t the lieutenant.

Take onepacket of violent-powder. Every onerupee a packet. W ell

,then

,take two for one, twelve.

That can’t hurt anybody. Less than prime cost, I

give you my solemnword. Handsome sir, don’t be

angry.

”

Thedoctor, his a ttentionattracted by those light


Thedoctor placed his finger onthe sleeve of the

man’

s dress.

Yes. But biggermark tha t one. Howyouknow

that, Sahib 7

” He pulled up his sleeve andexhibiteda scar the siz e of ha lf-a -crown.

Andanother here— ou your hip— andanother

here, onyour ribs 7”

Yes. All them marks got, sir. How you know

that, Sahib 7

”

The doctor was quite sa tisfied tha t Black andBluewas no other thanhis little patient of former yea rs,andconsequently the heirto the Earldom ofMillflower.

Could it be possible,he thought, that Capta inGay

eventually abandoned his black wife andchild I f

not,how came it that the boy (now a manof two or

three andtwenty) should be a miserable pedler, livinginthe Ba z aa r a t Delhi 7 W henBlack andBlue hadsold all tha t the young officers wanted to buy—when

no amount of coaxing andfla ttering would induce

them to take anything more—hewas ab out to take

his departure ; but the doctor desired him to stay,andintima ted to his sonthat hewished to have someconversationinpriva te with Black andBlue.

W here is your fa ther 7” the doctor asked.

Hedead, SahiW hendid hedie 7”Long time ago—tenor twelve year ago.

W here did he die 7”

Mans— robbermans—kill him with sword

BLACK AND BLUE .

Andyour mother 7”

Black andBlue told the doctor the whole of theirhistory since thedea th ofCapta inGay, andhis statements were sub stantia lly true . Black andBlue

,

however,decla red most positively tha t his fa ther was

anative, andno European.

Do you think,” the doctor inquired

,tha t your

mother wouldseeme, if I went downto her home 7”O yes— why not ? Come a long, Sahib . I will

show where shelive. You ca ll for pa lanquin andget on. I runa longside .

”

Thedoctor’s curiosity was very strong, andhe couldnotres ist thedesire to satisfy it a t once. He a cceptedBlack andBlue’s invitation, andwent to the houseoccupied by Ellen. Habited as a na tive

,shewas

sitting on a coarse mat, smoking, andat the sametimemending anold garment of her son’s.Thedoctor recognised Ellen immedia tely

,a lbeit

shewas now aged . But a t first shedidnot recognisehim. Hewas a ltered very much inappearance. His

hair andwhiskers hadbecome very grey, andhe nolonger wore a mousta che .

Ellenpart ieda ll the questions tha t were put toher

, anda ffected to be as much surprised by themas by the doctor

’s visit . The sta tement of her son

8hesupported, tha t her husband was a native of

India0, but surely, sa id the doctor, this was the boy

Whom I a ttended a t Meerut, many yea rs ago, when

78 W ANDEBINc s IN INDIA .

you andyour Sahib were living near the Begum’

s

bridge 7”

The poor, ,womanlooked at him for a moment, then

repea ted his name, andburst into tears. Her recollections crowded before her too thickly to admit ofherdissembling any further with her visitor ; andsheadmittedthat shewas the widow of CaptainGay, of her

Majesty’s Regiment ofFoot.

The doctorwa s underno promise to Ellento keephis discovery secret ; andfeeling a t liberty to speak

of it, did so publicly as well as in private. Thepeerages were looked into, andBlack andBlue’spedigree ex amined. There were the names of all

the late lord’s sons, andsure enough there was

Francis’s name above that of Frederick’s, the present

earl opposite to the name of Francis were the let

ters signifying, died unmarried.

” Black andBlueof course became an object of great curiosity. His

right to a title did not induce him to a lter his pricesinanyway, andhence he was kicked andcuffed, andabused as much as ever, by the young lieutenants andensigns, who, by-the-bye

, a lways a ddressed him as

my lor and your lordship.

”

Pomatum,my lord ! Pomatum, did you say?

Yes ! But let mesmell it. 0 your lordship calls

this pomatum ! I ca ll it hog’

s lard washed insandal

wood wa ter. How much 7 Onerupee ! 0, you vil

lanous peer of the rea lm ! areyou not ashamed of

yourself7”

BLACK AND BLUE. 79

Anotherwould thus a ddress himLookhere

,LordBla ck andBlue. W hy don

’tyou

gohomeandupset youruncle 7 Turnhim out ofhis

titleandestates—eh 7 You would besureto marrysomebeautiful girl.To this Black andBlue would respondWhat do I want with title andbeautiful gal

This ismy home, andI got good business, good manyfriends, andtwo or three very beautiful gWhere

,Bla ck andBlue 7”

Ah ! that is my business.”

Well, wha t will you sell your title for7

Well, wha t you offer7

”

Onehundred rupees” (10l.)Sayonehundred andtwenty-five.N

Well, takeit— there. Give money, andI givereceipt. You writeit out I signit. Sold onetitletoEnsignMa thesonfor a hundred rupees.”

“But there aretwo titles, you ass ; oneanearldom,

andtheother a visc ounty .

”

Well, you take thetwo give two hundred rupees

No. The oneI have already bought is thebiggest andof the best qua lity ; the other is theSmall one

, andof inferior qua lity .

”

Well, I make reductioninprice take onewiththeother

, andgive meonehundred andseventy-fivelllpees. Tha t can’t hurt anybody tha t wants a title .

”

Wouldany of these lads, who hadnothing inthe

80 W ANDERINGS IN INDIA.

world beyond their pay, have consented to anunion

betweenBlack andBlue andoneoftheir sisters, after hehadcome into wha t were his rights 7 No ! W ould thepoorest andmost unprincipled ofi cers— civil andmilitary— in the whole of India 7 No ! W ould anyEuropeangirl of respectabilitywho hadlived inIndia ,to say nothing of the daughters of gentlemen andladies

,have wedded theblack heir to the title and

estates of the Earl ofMillfiower7 N0. Not inIndiacould his sable lordship have found a virtuous white

womanto a ccept his hand

Induecourse the story of Black andBlue’s birthcrept into the columns of oneof the Ca lcutta newspapers

,andere long an a ttorney of the Supreme

Court pa id a visit to the imperia l city, andhadan

interview with Black andBlue . He proposed to thebox-wa ller to take him to England, andestablish hisclaim to the esta tes, which he truthfully representedas worth more thanha lf a millionsterling—fifty lacsofrupees. He

,the a ttorney, would pay all expenses

of the suit, andinthe event of success, which wa s cer

ta in, would receive only fiveper cent . orfifty thousand

pounds, leaving Black andBlue a ba lance of fortyfivelacs.Black andBlue, who loved andadored money, on

hearing such a sum spokenof,rolled his blue eyes

andred tongue, anda lmost fa inted. But then,to

cross the black water t—as thenatives ca ll the ocean

that thought made him shudder andshake his head.

BLACK AND BLUE. 81

Theattorney represented to him that he shouldliveingreat comfort during the voyage ; that the bestcabininthe ship should betakenfor him ; tha t heshouldhave servants about him anddrawing forthanumber of prints of English beauties, he ex hibitedthemto the ga z e of Black andBlue.Black andBluesa id he would consult his Europeanfriends. Hedidso, andmany of those friends disShadedhim from going to England . Not that theyhadanydoubt as to the issue of his cla im,

if it shouldbedisputed ; but uponthe reasonable ground tha t hewas very happy where . hewas. Others advised himto go by all means, andtake up his title andthewealth that perta ined to it. His mother entrea tedhimnot to leave her. But in the endthe voice oftheattorney preva iled, andBla ck andBlue declaredhimselfready to accompany him.

Tenthousand rupees (onethousand pounds) weregivento Ellenfor her support during the temporaryabsenceofher son, who was to returnas soonas hehadrealized his forty fivela cs (four hundredandfiftythousand pounds). It was sa id that a mercantile firminCalcutta

,inwhich an illustrious native gentleman

was a partner, a dvanced the means required for thePurposeof establishing theblack man’s right to theearldom,

Theattorney pom dhimself of the proofs. Hehadthepapers of the Honourab le Francis Gay,amongst which were letters from the late Lord Mill

G


flower to his eldest brother, Lord Larkspea re. Hea lso, in the presence of credible witnesses, received

from the hands of Ellen the dead man’s uniform ;

secondly, he hadthe depositiononoath of the super

intending surgeon, andof severa l other ofi cers whowere cogniz ant of every pa rticular. Many gave thesedepositions with reluctance, but felt bound to spea kthe truth wheninterroga ted. Ina word

,the attorney

got his case up remarkably well .

Black andBlue andthe a ttorney lefi Ca lcutta inoneof the large passenger ships, andinthe month of

April landed at Gravesend, whence they journeyedtoLondon. Here Bla ck andBlue was preva iled upon

to wea r Christianclothes. Inhis snow-white muslin

dress,his pink turban

,andhis red slippers covered

with gold embroidery, Bla ck andBlue hadlooked an

aristocratic native, notwithstanding he was so very

bla ck. [Colour is no criterionof high caste or rank

in India . Thela te Maha rajah Rooder Singh, of

Darbungah, whose family— to borrow a phrase from

Burke’s Peerage is oneof stupendous antiquity,

hadthe complexionof anAfrican while his younger

brother, Basdeo, who now sits on the throne, is far

fa irer than his Highness the Maha rajah DuleepSingh ] But in his black trousers, black wa istcoa t,black surtout coa t

,white neckcloth

,black beaver ha t,

andW ellingtonboots, poor Black andBlue lookedtruly hideous ; while his slouching Indianga it wouldhave led most people to conclude that he was in

THE RANEE OF JHANSI .

ABOUT a month after the order hadgone forth fortheannexationof the little province of Jhansi (in

andprevious to a wing of the 13th Native In

fentry occupying the country, I received a letter inPersian, writtenupon gold paper,

”from the Rance,

begging meto pay her a visit. Theletter wasbrought to meby two natives of rank. Onehadbeenthe financial minister of the la te Rajah. Theother was thehead vakeel (attorney) of the Rance.The revenues of Jhansiwere some six lacs

a year, andafterdisbursing the expenses of government

,andpaying the troops in the la teRajah’s ser

vice, the ba lancewas some two lacs anda halfprofit. The troops” werenotnumerous, under 1000inall

,andtheywere chieflyhorsemen. The arrange

ment, whenthe country was annexed, was simply this !

tha t the Ranceshould receive a pensionof 6000l. ayear, to be pa id monthly.

The Ranee’s object in asking meto visit her at

Jhansiwas to consult meas to the possibility ofgettingthe order for annexa tion annulled, or reversed . I

should mentiontha t theRancehadapplied to meatthe instance of a gentlemanof the Civil Service, who

hadonce been theResident, or Governor-Genera l’sagent, a t a na tive court intheupper provinces a

THE BANEE or JEANsr. 85

gentlemanwho, incommonwith many other officia lsofrank inIndia

,regarded theannexa tionofJhansi

a trumpery sta te after a ll”—not only as impolitic

,

but unjust andwithout excuse . The facts werebriefly these—The late Rajah hadno issue by hisonly wife(the womanwho caused our countrymenandcountrywomenandchildrento be put to dea th inthefort, andwho, a ccording to la te advices, ha s beenkilled) , andsome weeks previous to his death, being“sound ofmind

,though infirm inbody, bepublicly

adoptedanheir, andgave notice to the Governmentofha vingdone so through the proper channel—namely,the Governor-Genera l’s representa tive thenstationedat Jhansi In short

,all the forms required by the

Government to prevent fraud insuch cases, hadbeencomplied with. The child was takeninto theRajah’

s

lap, inthe presence of his a ssembled people, andinthepresence of the Governor Genera l’s representative,andhe

,moreover

,signed a document, duly a ttested,

recitinghis act anddeed. The Rajah was a Brahmin;theadopted boy was a near relative ofhis.TheJhansi Rajah hadbeenparticularly fa ithful to

theBritish Government, andLord W illiam Bentinckhadpresented the brother of the late Rajah with a

British ensign, anda letter giving him the title of

Raja andassuring him tha t tha t title, andtheindependence a ttached to it, would be guaranteed bytheBritish Government to him,

the Rajah, andhisheirs andsuccessors (by adoption) . Tha t tha t treaty


(for such it purported to be) of Lord W illiamBentinck

was viola ted,without the slightest shadowofa pretence,there cannot be any sort of doubt . Inthe time of thePeishwah, the late Rajah of Jhansi was simply a largez emindar (landholder), andhadhe remained untitled,there canbe no questionthat his last wishes, so far as

the dispositionof his property was concerned, would

have beena ttended to. It was the acceptance of theRajahship” which led to the confiscation of his

esta tes, andthe exchange of 6000l. a year fora year . Strange as that assertionmay seem to thereader, it is nevertheless true.I was at Agra whenI received the Ranee

’

s letter,andAgra is two days

’ journey . Evenas I tra velledfrom Jhansi

,I sympathiz ed with the woman. The

boy whom the Rajah hadadopted was only six years

old,andduring his minority, tha t is to say, until he

hada tta ined his eighteenth year, theRanc e— so theRajah willed—was to have been the Regent, andthe boy’s guardian andit is no sma ll matter for a

woman— a native womanof rank,too— to give up

such a positionandbecomea pensroner, evenon6o00l.a year. Let medeta il the particulars of my journeyto the residence of the RanceofJhansi; I got intomy palanquinat dusk, andonthe following morning,at daylight, arrived atGwa lior. The Rajah of J hansi

hada sma ll house about a mile anda ha lf from thecantonment, which was used as a halting-place

,and

thither I was takenby the minister.

andthe v a keel

THE R ANEE or JHANSI . 87

who accompanied me. At teno’clock, after I hadbreakfasted andsmoked my hookah, it was proposedthat wego ona t once.” The daywas very warm,

but theRancehadsent a large andcomfortablepalanquincarriage inshort

,it was more like a sma ll

room thana ca rriage, fitted up as it was with everyconvenience

,including even a punkah

,which was

pulled from theoutside by a servant, who sat upona

foot-board In the carriage, beside myself andtheminister andvakeel,was a khansamah, or butler, who,with theappara tus betweenhis knees, kept oncoolingwater

, andwine, andbeer, inorder tha t, whenever Ifelt thirsty, I might be supplied a t a moment

’

snotice.This enormous carriage was drawnby a pa ir ofhorsesofimmense strength andswiftness. Each stood aboutseventeenhands high. The late Rajah hadimportedthem from France a t a cost of l 500l. The road wasrather roug h inmany places, but, onthe average, wegot over it a t the ra teof about nine miles anhour.At about two o’clock inthedayweentered the Jhansiterritory

,having changed horses twice, andwehad

now some nine miles todrive. Hitherto wehadbeenmoortedonly by four sowars (horsemen), but now our

escort amounted to about fifty, each horseman carrying animmense spear, anddressed much inthe samewayas the Irregula r Cavalry in the pay of the EastIndia Company. Anda long the road, a t intervals ofa fewhundred yards, were horsemendrawnup, andaswepassed, theyjoined thecava lcade so tha t by the

88 W ANDERINGS IN INDI A.

time wecame insight of the fortress—if thoseoldweak wa lls

,surmountedby some nine pieces of old

ordnance of inferior calibre,deserved the name—the

whole strength ofthe Jhansi cava lrywas ina ttendance.Thecarriage was drivento a pla ce called the Rajah

’

s

garden,”where I a lighted, andwas conduc ted by the

financia l minister andthe vakeel andother servants

of state, to a large tent, which was pitched benea th a

clump ofgigantic mango trees. The tent, which was

tha t inwhich the late Rajah used to receive thecivilandmilitary ofi cers of the British Government, was

elegantly fitted up, andca rpeted andat least a

doz endomestic servants were ready todomybidding.

I must not omit to mention tha t the companions of

my journey—the minister andthe vakeel - were bothmenofgood ability andpleasingmanners. Theywere,moreover, menof learning, so tha t my time upontheroadhadbeenbeguiled very agreeably.The Rance hadconsulted oneof themany Brah

mins who were supported by her as to the most

propitious hour for meto cometo the purdah behindwhich shesa t ; andthe Brahmins hadtold her tha tit must be betweenthe setting of thesun andtherising of the moon

,which was thennea r her full ; in

other words,betweenhalf-past fiveandha lf-past six

o’clock.

This important ma tter having beencommunicatedto me, I expressed myself perfectly sa tisfied with thetime of the appointment

, andordered dinner accord

frnnB ANEE or JBANsr. 89

ingly. This done, the. financia l minister, after betrayingsomeemb a rrassment, intimated that he wishedto speak to meona ratherdelicate subject, andthat,withmy permimion, hewould order all themenia lservants in a ttendance onme

,including my own

Birdar-bearer (va let), to leave the tent andstand at adistance. I complied, of course, andpresently foundmyself alone with only the officia ls” (eight ornineinnumber) of thelittle native sta te ofJhansi. W hatthefinanceminister wished to ask mewas thisWould I consent to leave my shoes at the doorwhenIenteredtheRanee’s apartment 7 I inquiredif theGovemor-Gencra l’s agent did so. He replied thattheGovernor-Genera l’s agent hadnever hadaninterview with theRance andthat the late Rajahhadnever received any Europeangentlemanintheprivateapartments of the palace

,but ina room set

apart for thepurpose, or inthetent inwhich wewere

knew wha t to say, for I hada few years previouslydeclined to bepresented to the King of Delhi

,who

insisted on Europeans taking off their shoes whenthey entered his presence. The idea was repugnanttomymind, andI sa id as much to theminister of

thela teRajah of Jhansi ; andI asked him whether

he would attend a leveeat the palace of the Queenof England, if informed that he must enter herMajesty’s presence with his head uncovered, a s didall her subjects, from thelowest to the highest. To


this questionhe would not give mea direct answer,but remarked, You may wear your hat, Sahib theRancewill not mind tha t. Onthe contra ry, shewillrega rd it as an additiona l mark of respect towa rdsher.” Now this was wha t I did not want. My desire was, tha t sheshould consider the wearing ofmyhat

,supposing I consented to take off my shoes

,a s a

species of compromise on her pa rt a s well as onmypart. But I was so amused with this barga ining, asit were

,tha t I consented giving them distinctly to

understand, however, tha t it was to be considered notas a compliment to her rank anddignity, but to hersex , andher sex alone . Tha t great point settled, Ipartook of a very sumptuous repast tha t wasprepa redforme, andawa ited patiently the setting of the sunor

the rising of the moon, determined, however, tha t I

would wear my ha t— a black “wide-awake

,

” coveredwith a white turban.

The hour came, andthe white elephant (anAlbino ,oneof the very few in a ll India), bearing onhis im

menseback a silver houdah,trimmed with redvelvet,

was brought to the tent. I ascended the steps, whichwere a lso covered with red velvet, andtook mypla ce.The mahoot, or elephant-driver, was a ttired in themost gorgeous manner. The ministers of state

,

mounted onwhite Arabs, rode oneither side of the

elephant the Jhansi cava lry lining the road to thepalace, andthus forming anavenue . The pa lacewasabout halfa mile distant frommyencampment ground.


with grea tdifi culty that I could bringmyself to takeoff my shoes. At length, however, I accomplishedit, andentered theapartment in stocking feet.

”In

thecentre of the room, which was richly carpeted,was an arm-cha ir of European manufacture, andaround it were strewn garlands of flowers (Jhansi is

famous for its beautiful andsweet-smelling flowers) .At theendof the room was a purdah or curta in, andbehind it people were ta lking . I sa t myself downinthe arm-cha ir, andinstinctively took off myha t but

recollec ting my resolve, I replaced it, andra therfirmly

—pulling it well down, so as completely to concoal my forehead . It was a foolish resolve, perhaps,onmy part, for theha t kept the breez e of the punkah from cooling my temples .

I could hea r female voices prevailing upona childto go to the Sahib,

”andcould hear the child objec t

ing to do so. Eventually, he was launched intothe room anduponmy speaking kindly to the child,he approached me—but very timidly. His dress andthejewels onhis person, sa tisfied metha t the childwas the adopted sonofthe lateRajah, andthe rejectedheir to the little throne of Jhansi. He was ra thera pretty child, but very short for his years, andbroad-shouldered—like most of the Mahra tta childrenthat I have seen.W hilst I was speaking to the child, a shrill anddis

cordant voice issued from behind the purdah, andIwas informed that the

,

boy was theMaharajah, who

rnE BANEE or 11110181. 93

hadjust beendespoiledofhis rights bytheGovernorGeneral of India . I fancied tha t thevoicewas thatofsome very oldwoman—someslaveorenthusiasticretainer, perhaps ; but the child having imagined thathewas spokento , replied, Maharanee andthus Iwas told theerror ofmy conclusion.Andnow theRance, having invited meto come

closer to the purdah, beganto pour forth her grievmess ; and, whenever shepaused, thewomen bywhom shewas surrounded, set up a sort of chorus—a

series of melancholy ejacula tions—such as W oeisme W ha t oppression!” It reminded mesomeWhat of a sceneina Greek tragedy—comica l as was

I hadhea rd from thevakeel that theRancewas avery handsomewoman, of about six or seven andtwenty years of age, andI was very curious indeedto get a glimpseof her ; andwhether it was by accident, or by design on the Ranee’s part, I knownot, my curiosity was gratified . The curta in was

drawnasideby thelittle boy, andI hada good viewof the la dy. I t was only for a moment, it is true ;still I saw her sufi cicntly to beable to describeher.

Shewas a womanof about the middle siz e— ra therstout, but not too stout. Her face must have beenvery handsomewhenshewas younger, andevennowit hadmany charms—though, ac cording to my ideaOfbeauty

,it was too round Theexpressiona lso was

Verygood, andvery intelligent. The eyes werepar


ticularly fine, andthe nose very delicately shaped.Shewas not very fa ir, though shewas far from bla ck.

Shehadno ornaments, strange to say, upon herperson

,except a pa ir of gold ear-rings. Her dresswas a plainwhite muslin, so finein texture

,and

drawnabout her insuch a way, andso tightly, tha t

theoutline of her figure was pla inly discernible—anda remarkably finefigure sheb ad. W ha t spoilther was her voice, which was something betweena

whine anda croak . W hen the purdah was drawn

aside, shewas, or affected to be, very much annoyedbut presently shelaughed, andgood-humouredlyexpressed a hope that a sight of her hadnot lessenedmy sympathy with her sufl

'erings nor prejudiced hercause .

Onthecontrary, I replied, if the Governor

Genera l could only be as fortunate as I have been,andfor evenso brief a while, I feel quite sure tha t hewould at once give Jhansi back aga into be ruledoverby its b eautiful Queen.

”

Sherepa id this compliment, andthe next tenminutes were devoted to aninterchange of such ma t

ters. I told her tha t the wholeworld resounded withthepra ises of her beauty andthe grea tness of herintellect andshetold methat there wasnot a cornerof the earth inwhich prayers formywelfare remained

Wethen returned to the point—her case. Iinformed her that the Govemor-Genera l hadno


productionof Jhansi), anda pair of Indianshawls.I accepted these things with grea t reluctance, butthe financia l minister entrea ted meto take them,

insomuch as it wouldwound the Rance’s feelings if Irefused. The Rancea lso presented mewith a portraitof herself, takenby a na tive, a Hindoo.

The stateof Jhansi was not restored to therule ofthe Rance, andweknow tha t sheafterwards riva lledtha t fiend Nena Sahib, whose grievance was

identica l with her own. The Government wouldnotrecognise Nena Sahib as the adopted sonandheir ofthe Peishwah the Ranceof Jhansi sought to berecognised as theRegent during the minority of

thela te Rajah’s adopted sonandheir.

TIRHOOT,L U CKNOW , BH ITOOR, ETC.

IT is some yea rs since I first landed inCa lcutta . Iwas inno way c onnected with the Government, andwas consequently an interloper or adventurer.

Thesewere theterms applied by certainofi cials toEuropean merchants, indigo-planters, shopkeepers,artisans, barristers, a ttorneys, andothers.It was no t long before I made up mymind to be

come a wanderer inthe East . I hadno occupation,

was my ownm aster, andhada large tract of countryto roam ab out in. My first step was to a cquire a

knowledgeof Hindostaneeandof Persian. By dint

ofhard study, at theendofsix months I found myselfcapab le, not only of holding a conversation

,but of

arguing a point in either of these languages ! andwith a light heart I took my departure from the

City of Pa la ces, andproceeded to Monghyr, onthe

The ch ief civilianof that district hadinvited metospend a m onth with him. Everyday I accompaniedmy friendto his court, andthereby got some insightinto theadministrationof justice inIndia , both civilandcrim ina l. Here

,too

,I first made acqua intance

with Thugs. Several most notorious characters of

tha t trib e were atMonghyr—not imprisoned, but per.H


mittedtomove about. They hadbeenpardoned onconditionthat they would become informers, and, toa certa in extent, detectives, in the suppression of

Thuggee inthe British dominions. It was a curious

feeling to be inconversationwith menwho hadea chcommitted his ninety or a hundred murders—to seethefingers tha t hadstrangled so many victims— to

wa tch the process, for they were good-natured enoughto a ct it. There was the unsuspecting traveller with

his bundle ; the decoy Thug, who engaged him in

conversa tion; the two men, who, a t the givensigna l,were to seiz e ; the executioner, standing behind withthe handkerchief, ready to strangle the victim. Theyevenwent through the operation of searching thedec eased, uponwhom they found nothing in thiscase but they assured methis frequently happenedinrea lity. Thereader is of course aware tha t it is a

part of the Thug’

s religionnot to rob a live body.

Thecrime of murder must precede that of theft.The play—the tragedy- over (to these domestica teddemons it was a mere farce), they laughed a t thesolemnexpressionwhich, I doubt not, was stampeduponmy features.

These Thugs were permitted to have their familiesat Monghyr ; andonemorning whenI strolled downto their camp, anold manmade fivechildren, theeldest boy not more thaneight years old, go throughthe business of strangling androbbing a victim. In

onerespect theseurchins outdid their progenitors in


Twenty-one shepersisted, andran them over,

counting onher fingers the places andtheda tes whenthe murders were committed. Her husband thenadmitted tha t shewas in theright, and, turning tome, remarked

Sheis a very clever woman, Sahib.

W ere your victims men or women7” I sa id to

All women, sheanswered me. Some old andsome young.

”

I was tempted to ask her to show mehow it w a s

done andafter considerable coaxing shecompliedwith my wishes. To my surprise shewas the onlyactor inthe scene, except the victim, with whom shewent through the process of strangling with a pieceof cord. The victim,

another Thuggess, was suppo sedto besleeping whenthe Opera tionwas performed, andI could not help admiring—horrible as the sight wa s—the a ccuracy with which sheperformed the throesandagony of dea th. To borrow anidea from Junius

,

None but those who hadfrequently witnessedsuchawful moments could describe them so well .”

At the house ofmyMonghyr friend I met a Frenchgentleman, an indigo-planter of Tirhoot, inBeharuHe invited meto pay him a visit, andto a ccompanyhim inhis boa t. He was about to sa il onthe fo llow !

ingday. I say sa il,

”for a t that time (theinonth 0

August), thecountry was inundated, andit wouldha ve

TIRH OOT PLENTY-“RS; 101 .

beenimpossible to travel by land . I acceptedthe.

invitation, andwesa iledfrom Monghyr to Hajeeporewithout going nea r the Ganges

’

for severa l days.Monsieur Ba rdon, the French planter, was oneof

themost a ccomplished andagreeable menI hadevermet

, andintruth oneof the grea test characters. Thehospitality of the Tirhoot planters is proverbia l inIndia

, andI believe I might have lived intha t GardenoftheEast

,a s it is ca lled, from thatday to this, as a

welcome guest of the various planters, if I hadchosenstill to betheir guest. As it was , I was eight monthsinthe district, andthenhadvery grea t dimculty ingetting away. A now celebra ted officer, at that timecommanding the Irregular Cava lry a t Segowlie, inducedmeto visit him ; andafter leaving his abode

,

I went to theBettiah Rajah, who initiatedmeinto themysteries of tiger-shooting . It was inthe dominionsof this sma ll chief that my hands andface were so

browned tha t I became far less fa ir thanmanyna tivesof the country. Before leaving Tirhoot, however, I

paid a visit to RooderSingh, the Rajah ofDurbungah,therichest na tive perhaps inall India . He has twohundred thousand pounds a year net revenue ; andina tank in his palac e there is lying, ingold andsilver

, upwa rds of a million anda half sterling.

Chutter Singh, the fatherof the Ra jah ofDarbungah,was a firm friend of theBritish Government duringthe Nepa l wa r. He ra ised a regiment of horse and

provisioned it . W hen asked by the authorities for

192 wmnnniisc s IN INDIA .

his bill, he replied tha t the Government owed him

After leaving the Bettiah Rajah, I proceeded toLucknow, where I improved myself grea tly inHindostanee. In this city

,andinDelhi, the purest is

spoken. At Lucknow I made the acqua intanceo fAlly NuckyKhan(the prime minister of the King o f

Oude, who is now imprisoned inFort W illiam), o f

W uzy Ally Khan (a celebrity of Oude, who is sin

dead), andofRugburdiall, the eldest sonof the la teShah BehareeLall

,oneof the richest bankers in

India . ShahBehareeLa ll is sa id to have died worthsevenmillions inca sh but I have rea sonto believetha t three millions sterling was the utmost tha t hedied possessed of. Rugburdiall heldthe office of

treasurer to the King of Oude. Ally NuckyKhan

gave methe idea of a manof sma ll mental capa city,but of immense cunning andinordinate vanity . Thelate Mr. Beechy, the King of Oude’s portra it-pa inter

,

must have takenat least a score of likenesses ofAllyNucky, who, to say the truth, is a remarkably good

looking personage . W uzyAlly Khanwas a ta ll andhandsome manof about five-and-forty. H is manners

were refined, his address charming, andhis bearinga ltogether that of a well -bred gentleman. Of his

talents there could be no question andhe was,

moreover,a learned andwell- informed man. There

could be no doubt that W uzy Ally Khan, inpoint offact, ruled the kingdom. The conversa tiona l powers


(of about forty-fivemiles), andan escort of fifteen

sowars (horsemen) for the road, at that time, betweenLucknow andCawnpore, was infested by robbers .

About a mile from Bhitoor my pa lkee was pla ceduponthe ground. I wa s asleep

,but awoke, andin

quired,Kia hua ? (W ha t is the matter ?)

I was informed by the bearers of my palkee tha tthe Maharajah Peishwa Bahadoor hadsent out an

escort inhonour of my approach,andpresently there

appeared at the door of my palkee a soldier- likelocking Hindoo

,who made mea very respectful

sa laam. Theescort consisted of eight foot- soldiers

with drawn swords,andfour sowars! The former

,

running by the side of my palkee, encouraged thebearers to make haste while thela tter caused theirhorses to curvet andprance

,andthus kick up a

frightful dust. At the abode of the Maharajah Baha

door,I was met by severa l ofhis musahib s (courtiers),

who were exceedingly polite, andconducted meto a

suite of apartments which hadapparently beenma de

ready formy reception; andso far as servants were

concerned, I was litera lly surrounded . A sirdarbearer (persona l attendant

,or Indian valet) took

charge ofmy two boxes which conta ined my wea ringapparel . A khansamah (butler), followed by threekhidmutghars (table servants), a sked meif I wouldtake some iced wa ter

,andinthe same breath informed

metha t every kind of Europeandrink was a t hand.

Brandy, gin, champagne, claret, sherry,port, b eer

A NATIV E GENTLDI I AN’

s nousn. 105

cherry-brandy, andsoda-water. Andwha t.

would Itakefor dinner ? W hatever theSahib’s heart mightdesire

,was in rea diness. Turkey ? goose ? duck ?

fowl ? beefsteak ? mutton-chop ? ham and eggs ?Andhere the khansamah (a venerable Mussulman)informed me

,sotto voce

,tha t the Maha rajah was con

stantly inthehabit of enterta ining Europeangentlemen andtha t

,a lthough his highness was himself a

strict Hindoo,he hadno kind of prejudice, so that if

I preferredb eef to any other kind of meat,I had

only to givethe order. I assured the khansamahthat since my arriva l inIndia

,I hadnever tasted

beef,or hog

’

s flesh, andtha t if he would have prepared for me, a s speedily as possible

,some rice and

vegetables, I shouldbe quite sa tisfied. W ith a

profound salaam the khansamah took his departure,followed by the khidmutghars. The sirdar bearers,andfour o ther men, then approached mereverentially, andbegged to conduct meto my sleepingapartment andthe bathing-rooms.

There is something peculiarly qua int about thearrangement of European furniture inthe house of anative gentleman. Inthe house of anEuropean

,the

servants are,of course, taught how to arrange tables,

chairs, andbeds, according to Europeanideas but itis otherwise with the servants of a rajah, or nativegentleman. The consequence is tha t inthe dining,or drawing-room

, you will finda wash -hand stand,anda chest of drawers. anda toilet-table, while inthe


bed-room you will, perhaps, discover anold piano, anorgan, a card- table

,or chefi'onier. The furniture ha s,

for the most pa rt,beenpurchased at various sa les

,and

has belonged to officers of a ll grades, civil andmilitary. There arethe tent-table andthe camp-stool of

the dead ensign, inthe same room with the marbletopped table andcrimsondamask covered easy chair

of some luxurious judge . On the mantel -piece you

will finda costly clock of the most elegant design

andworkmanship,andonea ch side of it, a pa ir of

japan candlesticks,not worth ha lf- a -crown. Inthis

way arearranged the pictures onthe wa lls. Immediately undernea th a proof print of Landseer’sBoltonAbbey

,

” or Hawking,”

you will observe a

sixpenny coloured print of the Duke of W ellingtonorNapoleonBonaparte. The pictures

,also

,have been

bought indiscrimina tely a t va rious sa les, andha vebeen as indiscrimina tely suspended on thewalls .

There a rethe print-shop ballet girls intermingled withengravings ofthemost serious cha racter. Fores

’

s sport

ing collectionwith the most classica l subjects. Foot

stools, musica l-boxes, andelegantly bound books,writing-desks

,work -boxes

,plated dishes

,sugar-basins,

andteapots,area rranged in the most grotesque

fashion imaginable . Upon an elegant mahoganysideboard you will finddecanters andglasses of everydescriptionandquality. Uponanother sideboard, inthe drawing-room

, you will finda va riety of dinnerservices, andearthenfragments thereof, all mixed.


I hadnot yet seen the Maharajah. It was notuntil past eight tha t a moonshee came andinquired ifI would have aninterview with his highness. I . replied that it would give megrea t joy, andwas forthwith conducted throughnumerousnarrow andgloomypassages to anapartment a t the corner of the building. Here sa t the Maharajah on a Turkey carpet,andreclining slightly ona huge bolster. Infront of

him were his hookah, a sword, andsevera l nosegays.

His highness rose, came forward, took my hand, ledmeto thecarpet, andbegged ofmeto be sea ted ona

cane-bottomed arm-cha ir,which hadevidently been

placedreadyformyespecia l ease andoccupation. Afterthe usual compliments hadpa ssed, the Maharajah inquired if I hadeatenwell. But

,perhaps

,the gene

ral reader would like to know wha t are the usua l

compliments.”

Native Rajah . The whole world is ringing with

the pra ise of your illustrious name .

Humble Sahib. Maha raj . You arevery good.

Native Rajah. From Ca lcutta to Ca bul— through

out the whole of Hindoostan— every tongue declaresthat you have no equa l . I s it true

Humble Sahib (who, if he knows anything of

Asiatic manners andcustoms,knows tha t he mustnot

contradict his host,but ea t his compliments with a

good appetite) . Maharaj .”

Na tive Rajah. The a cuteness of your perceptions,

andthe soundness of your understanding, have, by

A COa nsATI ON. 109

universal report, becameas manifest as eventhelightof thesunitse Then, turning to his attendants ofevery degree, who, by this time, hadformed a circleround meandthe Rajah, he put the question, I s it

true,or not

Thea ttendants, oneandall,declaretha t it was

true; andinq uire whether it could bepossible for a

great manliketheMaharajah to say that which was

Native Raj ah . TheSahib’s father is livingHumble Sa hib . No he is dea d

,Maharaj .”

Native Raj ah. He was a grea t man

Humble S a hib. Maharaj You have honoured

thememory ofmy father, andexa lted it inmy esteem,

byexpressing such anopinion.

”

Native Raj ah, Andyourmother ? Shelives ?Humble Sahib . By the goodness of God, such is

thecase.

”

Native Rajah. Sheis a very handsome woman?Humble Sahib. Ontha t point, Maharaj , I cannot

cfier anopinion.

”

Native Rajah. You need not do so. To look in

your faceis quite suflicient. I would give a crore of

rupees (onemillion sterling) to seeher only for onemoment, andsay how much I admired the intelligeutcountenanceof her son. I am going to Englandnext year. W ill theSahib favour mewith heraddressHumble Sahib. Maharaj


Here theNativeRajah calls to the moonshee tob ring pen, ink, andpaper. The moonshee comes

,sits

before me, pen inhand, looks inquiringly into my

eyes,andI dictate as follows, laughing inwa rdly a ll

the while Lady Bomba z ine,Munnymunt, ka uper,

Pec cadilleemee, BilgraveI squeere, Sunjons woodCumberwill which signifies this ! Lady Bomba

z ine, onthe top of the Monument,inPiccadilly

,Bel

grave Square, St. John’

s W ood,Camberwell.” This

mystifica tionmust be excused by the plea tha t theRajah’s assertions ofhis going to Europe areas truthful as Lady Bombaz ine’s address.

The Maharajah thengives instructions that tha t

document sha ll be preserved amongst his most

important papers,

and resumes the conversa

tion.

Na tive Rajah . The Sahib has eatenwell ?Humble Sahib. Maharaj

Native Rajah. AnddrunkHumble Sahib . Maha raj .”

Native Rajah. The Sahib will smoke hookahHumble Sahib . The Maharajah is very good .

A hookah is ca lled for by the Rajah andthen a t

least a doz envoices repea t theorder Hookah la c,

Sahib kewaste.” (Bring a hookah for the Sahib .)Presently the hookah is brought in. It is ra ther a

grand affa ir, but old, andhas evidently belonged tosomeEuropean of extravagant habits. Of course,no na tive would smoke out of it (onthe ground of


inIndia I have been the guest of some scores of

rajahs, great andsma ll, andI never knew s onewhohadnot a grievance . He hadeither beenwrongedby the government, or by some judge, whose decisionhadbeen against him. Inthematter of the government, it was a sheer love of Oppression that led to

the evil of which he compla ined inthe ma tter of

the judge, that functionary hadbeenbribedby theother pa rty .

It was with grea t difi culty that I kept my eyesopenwhile the petition— a very long one— was reada loud. Shortly after it was finished, I craved permissionto retire

,andwas conducted by a bearer to

the sleeping-room,inthe centre ofwhich was a huge

b edstead, a four-poster,but devoid of curta ins . On

either side were la rge looking-

gla sses ingilt frames,not suspended onthe wa lls, b ut placed aga inst them .

Over the bed was a punkah, which was immedia tely

set inmotion. The movement of the punkah serveda double purpose ; it cooled the room, anddroveaway the musquitoes. Having thrownmyself onthe

bed, the bearer, who was in a ttendance, inquired ifI would be shampooed. This was a luxury to which Iwas a lways partia l, and, having signified that I desired it, four menwere shouted for. Each took an

arm or a leg, andbegan to press it, andcrack theknuckle-jOints of my fingers andtoes. This con

tinned until I hadfa llen asleep. I did not wakeuntil eight o

’clock onthe following morning, when I

DI LL I AaDs W ITH NENA su ns . 113

waswaited upon by thekhansamah, who wished toknow my pleasure with respect to breakfast. He

informed methat hehad Futnum andMeesum’

s,

”

Yorkshire pie, game pie, anchovy toast, mutton-chop

,

steak, sardines— inshort

, all that theSahib loguewereaccustomed to take .

My breakfast over, andmy hookah smoked, Ilighted a cheroot, andwa lked out into a verandah,whereI was soonjoined by some of the Maharajah’sfavourites anddependents

,who poured into myear a

repetitionof the fla ttery to which I hadlistened ontheprevious night. It is not very tedious whenyoubecome used to it, andknow tha t it is a matterofcourse

, andis applied to every Europeanguest of

anyreal or supposed importance. W hilst thus engaged, smoking andlistening, I was joined by theMaharajah, who held inhis hand the Delhi Ga z ette,theMofussilite, andthe Ca lcutta Englishman. Of

theirentire contents he hadbeenmade acqua intedbya half-caste, whom he kept (so heinformed me)forthesole purpose of translating, orally, into H indostanee

,the Indianjournals andthe government

gazettes, published in the English language. Therewasno occa sionformeto read these papers, for theMaharajah gave mea very a ccura teresumeof themhaving done this, he asked meto play a game of

billiards. I am not a badbilliard-player ; onthecontrary

, I have the vanity to think that I play temarkablywell but it was quite evident to metha t

I


the Maharajah did not play his best, andthat hesuffered meto bea t him as easily as I did, simplyout of what he considered to be politeness. All the

while wewere playing the favourites or courtiers of

the Maharajah were pra ising us both . Neither of us

made a stroke, good or b ad,that did not bring down

a shower of compliments. My impression is, that if

I'

had runa cue, andcut the cloth a t the same time,

thebystanders would ha ve shouted in pra ise of my

skill andexecution. I hada lready seen enough of

native character to know exactly how I was to a ct.I feigned to be charmed with my success—childishlycha rmed . W hilst I was thus (to the delight of myhost) ostensibly revelling inmytriumph, themarkera na tive, a Hindoo— took up a cue

,andbegan to

knock the ba lls about . He cannoned all over thetable, went in Ofi

'

thered andwhite, screwedba ck

under the cushion, and, in short,did whatever he

pleased, andwith perfect ease.I could not help expressing to the Rajah my asto

nishment at the Hindoo ma rker’s skill whereupon,

he informed metha t,whenhe was a mere boy, he

hadbeentaught by the best player (anofi cer in theLight Cava lry) tha t ever came to India , andtha t forseveral years past he hadbeen marker a t variousmess-rooms wherebilliards were played . The nameof this Hindoo Jona thanwas Runjeet. He was sixand-twenty years of age, about fivefeet fiveinheight,rema rkably slim,

hada very handsome face, andeyes


ta lked incessantly, andamongst other things that hetold mewas this, in reference to the pra ises that Ibestowed onhis equipage.

Not long ago I hada ca rriage andhorses verysuperior to these. They cost metwenty-fivethousandrupees but I hadto burnthe carriage andkill thehorses.

W hy so

The child of a certa inSahib inCawnpore wasvery sick

,andthe Sahib andthe Memsahib were

bringing the child to Bhitoor for a change of air. Isent myb ig ca rriage for them . Onthe road the child

died ; and, of course,as a dead body hadbeeninthecarriage, andas the horses haddrawnthat dead bo dyinthat carriage, I could never usethem aga in.

”The

readermust understand tha t a native Of anyrank c onsiders it a disgrace to sell property.

But could you not have giventhe horses to somefriend— a Christianor a Mussulman

No hadI done so,it might have cometo

the knowledge of the Sahib, andhis feelings wouldhave beenhurt a t having occasioned mesuch a 1088 .

Such was the Maharajah,commonly known as

Nena Sahib. He appeared to menot a man of

ab ility, nor a fool . He was selfish but what na tiveis not ? He seemed to be far from a bigot inma ttersof religion and

,a lthough he was compelled to be so

very particular about thedestruction of his ca rria geandhorses, I am quite satisfied that he drank brandy,

CAWNPORE sons m us AGO . 117

andtha t hesmoked hemp in thechillum of his

hookah.Itwashalf-pa stfiveo’clockwhenwearrived atCawn

pore. Theomcers, civil andmilitary, andtheirwives,werejust com ing out for their evening drive onthemall. Somewere incarriages, some in

'

buggies, someonhorseback. Every soul sa luted theMaharajah ; whoreturned thesa lute according to Eastern fashion

raising thehands to the forehead. Several gentlemenapproa ched thecarriage whenit was drawnupnear the band-stand, andinquired after the Maharajah

’

s hea lth. Hereplied tha t it was good andthenintroduc ed meto them inthefollowingmanner,andinstrict a ccordance with the letter he hadreceivedfrom Lucknow This Sahib who sits nea rmeis a grea t friend of the Governor-General, andis a

relationof a ll the members of Council— a constant

guest of theQueenof England (then came thisadditionof his own) andof both Houses of Parliament.” I need scarcely say tha t I wished my Lucknow friends hadnot covered mewith such recommendations ; for, wherever wewent, andto whomsoever wespoke—no ma tter whether it was anEuro !

peanshopkeeper or anOmcial magnate of Cawnpore-I was doomedto hear, This Sahib who sits

'

(Or

stands) near meis a grea t friend, &c ., &c . Havingexhibited mesumciently in Cawnpore, the heads of

thehorses wereturned towards Bhitoor, andweweredragged a long the road at a slow pace, for the animals


wereextremely fatigued . The natives of India haveno mercy on their ca ttle, especia lly their h orses.

During the ride back, I was aga in bored with theRajah’s grievance and, to quiethim—for he b ecamevery much ex c ited— I was induced to promise tha t I

would ta lk to the Governor-General andthe Councilonthe subject ; andtha t if I didnOt succeed intha tquarter

,I would, onmy returnto England, take the

earliest opportunity some day, quietly, after dinner”

(this was his suggestion), of representing to herMajesty the exa ct sta te of thecase, andtha t an

adopted sonof a Hindoo was entitled to all the rights

andprivileges of anheir b orn of the b ody. I furthermorepromised him most solemnly tha t I wouldnot speak to the Boa rd of Control

,or to the Privy

Council onthe subject for the Maharajah assuredmethat he hadthe most positive proof tha t boththese institutions hadea ten bribes from the hand of

the East India Company inrespect of his cla im .

onprob ing him,however

,I discovered tha t this posi

tive proof was a letter from a villanous agent

England, who hadwrittento him to say that theCompanyhadb ribed the Boa rd of Control andthePrivy Council

,andtha t if his Highness expected to

succeed, hemust bribe over thehead of the Company. Three lacs (thirty thousand pounds) woulddoit an.

The Maharajah gave a nautch (native dancebywomen) thatnight.

W ANDERINGS IN INDIA .

THE UPPER PROVINCES.

I T is impossible for anEnglish gentlemanto take hisdeparture from the house of a na tive of India without giving a number of testimonia ls, inthe shapeof“ letters of recommenda tion

,

”addressed to no onein

particular. Nena Sahib hada book conta ining theautographs of at lea st a hundred andfifty gentlemenandladies, who hadtestified inwriting to the a ttentionandkindness they hadreceived a t the hands of

the Maharajah during their stay a t Bhitoor. Ha vingexpressed my satisfactionas emphatically as possib le

in this book,the khansamah (house steward) de

mandeda certifica te,which I gave him. Thencame

the bearer, the menwho guarded my door, the coa chman

, the grooms, the sweeper. For each anda ll ofthese I hadto write characters, andrecommend themto such of my friends as they might encounter byaccident or otherwise. It is a fearful infliction

,this

character writing ; but every oneis compelled to gothrough it.

I was now onmy road to Agra , to pay a visit to a

schoolfellow, who was then in the civil service, andfilling anappointment inthe station. I t was inthemonth of September that I made the journey—the

CHOLERA. 121

most unhealthy seasonof theyear. Oppositeto thefirstdak bungalow,

sometwelvemiles from the stationofCawnpore, I was stopped by a set of twelvepalkee bearers, who informed methat a Sahib whomthey were taking to Allyghur hadbeenseiz ed withcholera , andwas dying inthe bungalow. I hastenedto theroom andthere found, stretched upon the

couch, a young ofi cer of ab out nineteen years of

age.His facewas ashy pale, anda profuse cold perspira

tionstooduponhis forehead. His hands andfeetwere like ice, andhewas in very grea t pain. Theonly personnea r him was thesweeper, who kept onassuring methat the youth woulddie. As for theyouth himself he was past speech, andI wasdisposedto think with the sweeper

,tha t hewas beyond cure.

I administered, however, nearly a teaspoonful of

laudanum ina wine-glass half-full of raw brandy,andthen took a sea t near the patient, inorder to

witness theefi'ect. Erelong the severe painwas

allayed, andtheyouth fell into a profound sleep, fromwhich

,I beganto fea r, he would never awake. To

haveadministered a smaller dose at that stage of thediseasewouldhave beenuseless, for the b ody was on

thevery vergeof collapse. Nevertheless, I begantofeel the awkwardness of the responsibility which I hadtakenuponmyself. Presently a pa lanquincarriage,propelled by bearers

, came to the bunga low. An

elderly lady andgentlemanalighted, andwere shown


into a little room which happened to be vacant. [A

dak bunga low has only two little rooms ] To my

great joy I discovered that thenew a rriva l was a doctor

of a regiment, who, with his wife, was journeying to

Ca lcutta . I was not long in ca lling in” the doctor ;

andI hadthe sa tisfactionof hearing him pronounceanOpinionthat the young ensignwas all right,

”and

that the dose I hadadministered hadbeenthemeansof savmg his life. How readily, to be sure, do peoplein India accommoda te each other. Although the

doctor andhis wife were hurrying downthe country,anda lbeit the youth was pronounced out of danger,they rema ined with meuntil the following afternoon;when, having dined, weall took our departure to

gether—the youth andI travelling northward, thedoctor andhis wife inthe oppositedirection.

Thenight was pitchy dark ; but theglare from thetorches rendered every object near to us distinctlyvisible. The light, shining ontheblack faces of thepa lkee bearers

,they appeared like so manydemons

but very merry demons ; for they chatted andlaughedincessantly, until I commanded them to be silent

,in

order tha t,while wemoved a long the road, I might

listento the ensign’

s story, which he told meinthemost artless manner imaginable

I have only beensix weeks InIndia ,” he began,

andat present onlyknow a fewwords Ofthe language.How I came into the Benga l army was this. Myfather was inthe civil service of the Company

, inthe


Under my father’

s will shewas entitled to a ll tha t hedied possessed of, andwas appointed his sole executrix .

Thehouse inSouth-streetwas givenup, the unexpiredportionof the leasedisposed of, andthelittle placein’ Berkshire became our only home. My fa ther’s

pensionof course expired whenhedied, andwe, thefamily, hadnow to live onthe interest of the government securities. Mymother, who was as ignorant as a

child onall matters Of business, was recommended to

sell hergovernment securities, andinvest the proceedsina joint-stock bank which was paying, andfor morethana year did pay, eight per cent . But, alas, onewretched day the bank fa iled, andwewere reduced

suddenly from comparative aflluenceto poverty. Thecottage, furniture, andall tha t mymother possessed,was seiz ed

,andsold . This happened only two years

ago. Fortunately for me, my school educationwas

pretty well completed but of course the idea of my

going to Oxford, andsubsequently to the b ar, was a t

once abandoned. My sister was obliged to take a

situationas governess, in the family Of a director of

the East India Company ! andthrough that gentleman

’

s influence I Obta ined anensigncy intheNa tiveInfantry. The loss of her fortune, the parting with

my sister (who is now onthe Continent with the di

rector’s family) andmyself, hadsuch an effect upon

mymother, that it wa s deemednecessary to place herinanasylum ; where a t all events shewill betakencare of andtreated with kindness. But I have my

TRAVELLERS DOWN THE ROAD . 125

plans !” excla imed the young man, who hadjustescaped thejaws of dea th. Intenyears I will saveenough to take mehome to them ; for, if I study hard—andI w ill do so— I mayget a staff appointment

,

and ) 0

H erethebearers of my palkee informed metha ttwo oth er travellers were coming down the road.They saw the light inthe distance, more thana mileoff

, andthey— the bearers—beganto ta lk loudly andargue, that it was impossible for meto hear wha t theensignwas saying, anda ll a ttempts to silence themwereva in. They were discussing, as they carried us

along, whether they would exchange burdens withthedown-coming bearers, insomuch as they werenea rlymidway betweenthe stages. This is very Oftendone by a rrangement betweenthem, andthus, insuchcases, they get back more speedily to their homes. Itwa s decided tha t the exchange should take place, if

the other party were agreeable ; for, onthe down

com ing travellers pea ring us, thebearers of us— theup

-

going travellers—ca lled a halt. Forthwith the

four pa lkees were gently lowered till they rested on

the ground . Andnow the chattering of the bearers

became something awful. Ana tive ofHindostancan

settle nothing without a noise ; and, as each palkeehadtwelve men attached to it besides the torch

bearers andthose who carried our boxes, the numberof voices, whooping, shouting, asserting, contradicting,scolding, andsoothing, exceeded six ty. I andmy


companion, theensign, shout to them to go on At

length I got out ofmy pa lkee ina rage, andnot onlyscreamed a t, but shook severa l of theblack disputants.W hilst thus engaged, the doors of oneof the downward palkees were opened, anda voice— that of a

lady—thus greeted me, very good humouredly.

My good sir, depend uponit tha t you areretarding your ownprogress, andours

,by a ttempting,

violently, to accelerate it. Pray let them settle their

little afi'

air amongst themselves.”

I believe you arequite right, I replied.Haveyou any idea of the hour sheasked .

'

Yes . It is about a quarter to twelve,”sa id I.

I have lost thekey ofmywatch ; perhaps the keyofyours would fit it.

”

I hastened to my palkee, brought forth from be;nea th the pillow my wa tch andcha in and

,taking

them to the door of the lady’s pa lkee,presented

them through the opening.

Thanks,”sa id the lady, after winding up her

watch, thanks. It does very well,

”andshereturned

thewatch andchain. I saw,by thelight of the torch ,

not only her hand— which was very sma ll andpretty— but herface, which was more bewitching still, b einglovely andyoung.

I s there anything else you require ? I asked.

Nothing. Unless you happen to have with yousome fresh bread. My children

,who areasleep in

the other palkee, aretired of biscuits, andI imagine.

128 W ANDRRINos IN I NDIA .

read ; and, after pa rting with theensign at thedakbunga low at Bewah, theywere, indeed, most agreeablecompanions. I have mentioned this little episode inmyjourney, not b ecause there is anything init worth

recording, or because thereis anything romantictherewith connected ; but simply to show how readilywe(Christians) in India obliged oneanother, a lbeitutter strangers, andhow gladlyweassist each other,whenever andwherever wemeet. Such anepisodeinthe journey of a traveller in India is oneof itsmost commonplace incidents.Since the news of the recent deplorab le disasters

has rea ched this country, many persons have expressedtheir surprise that a lady should besufi'eredto tra vela lone with her children, or be accompanied by no

more thanonefema le servant. The fact is, or ra ther

was, tha t, onany dangerous road,a lady utterlynu

protected was safer thana gentleman. The sex wasactually its ownprotection. During my stay inIndia ,I knew ofa t lea st a score ofinstances inwhich omcersandcivilians were stopped uponthe roads, plundered,assaulted, andinoneor two ca ses murdered, in theUpper Provinces but I canonly bring to mind two

instances of Europeanladies having beenmolested.This is not to be a ttributed to any ideas of gallantryor chiva lry onthe part ofmarauders inthe East b ut

simply to the fact tha t they knew the perpetrators of

anoffence committed against a lady would behunteddownto the death

, while the sympathies entertained

A MEM-SAI I I R. 129

for the sufi'erings of a Sahib would beonly those

of an ordina ry character, and soon blow over.”

Eventhe pa lkeebearers knew the amount of responsibility tha t a tta ched to them

,whenthey b ore

away, from sta tion to station, a fema le burden; and,hadtnelady tra veller been annoyedor interruptedbyanEuropean traveller, they would have a tta ckedandbea tenhim ,

even to the breaking of his bones

andthedanger of his life,hadhe not desisted when

commandedby the la dy to do so. This has happenedmore thanonce inthe Upper Provinces of India .

InDecember, eighteenhundred andforty-nine, theroad between SaharumporeandUmb allah was infestedby a gang of thieves. Severa l Officers hadbeenstopped, rob bed, andplundered of their money andvaluables. I hadbeen invited to Lahore, to witnesstheinsta lla tionof Sir W alter Gilbert andSir HenryElliot as Knights Commanders of the Ba th . Thedanger, near a pla ce called Juggadree, was pointedout to meby a ma il contra ctor, who, finding medeterminedto proceed, recommended meto dress as a

lady for a couple of stages . I did so. I borrowed a

gown, a shawl, anda nightcap ; and, when I camenear thedangerous loca lity, I put them on

,andcom

mandedthe bea rers to say I wa s a mom-Sahib,”

inthe event of the pa lkee being stopped. Sure enough,thepalkee was stopped,nea r Juggadree, by a gang of

tenor twelve armed men, oneof whom opened the

door to satisfy himself of the truth of the sta tement


made by the bearers. Themoment the rufliansaw

mynightcap—a very prettily-frilled oneit was,lent

to meby a very pretty woman— likewise a sma ll

bolster,which

,benea th my shawl

,representeda

sleeping baby, beclosed the door, andrequested'

thebea rers to take up the pa lkee, andproceed ay, andwha t was more, he enjoined them to be careful of

themem-SahibI have incidentally spoken of the insta lla tion of

SirW a lter Gilbert andSir Henry Elliot,inDecember

,

eighteenhundred andforty-nine. Eight years ha venot yet elapsed, andhow many of the principalchara cters inthat magnificent specta cle have departedhence ! Sir W a lter is dea d Sir Henry is dea d. Sir

Charles Napier andSir Dudley Hill,who led them

up to Lord Da lhousie, aredea d . Colonel Mounta in,

who ca rried the cushiononwhich was placed theinsignia of the order is dead. AndSir Henry Lawrenc eis dead andpoor Stua rt Bea tson. Alas ! how m any

of that gay throng, men andwomen,husb ands,

fa thers, wives, anddaughters, who hadassemb led

to withess the ceremony,have perished during the

recent revolt in the Upper Provinces of India !Those who were present on tha t sixth ofDec em ber

,

eighteen hundred and forty-nine, andwho

, ineighteen hundred and fifty

-seven,quietly reflec t,

on wha t has occurred since,will sc arcely believe

in their own existence. It must appear to themas it often appears to me—as a dream ; a dream

132 W ANDERINc s IN INDIA .

now hurried a long the road a t the ra teof fivemilesanhour. My pa lkee was plac ed benea th a shed, andthe bearers congrega ted around it. Oneof thenumber lighted his pipe (bubble-bubble), andpassedit to his neighbour who, after three whifi‘

s,passed it

to the next ; who, a fter three whifi‘

s, sent it on

,until

ea ch hadpartakenof the smoke.

The little village, which was a short distance from

the road, c onta ined about sixty or seventy inhab i

tants, andabout double that number of childrenof

various ages . My presence excited no sma ll degreeof curiosity

,andthe whole of the villagers approached

the shed,to have a look a t me. The men and

women,of course

,were not a larmed

,andlooked on

simply with tha t stupidity which is characteristic of

the cultiva tors of the soil intheUpper Provinces o f

India . But it wa s otherwise with the more youthful,

the children. They holda loof,andpeeped from be

hind their pa rents,as if I hadbeensome dangerous

wild anima l . My bea rers wished to drive them a ll

away ; but I forbade this, pa rtly because I hadnodesire to deprive the villagers ofwha tever pleasurea

long inspection of memight afford them,andpa rtly

because I wished to sketch the group andlisten to

their remarks,which were chiefly of a persona l c h a

rac ter, andfor the most part complimentary, o r

intended so to be.A vivid fla sh of lightning, andanawfully loudc la p

of thunder, a ccompanied by a few la rgedrops of ra in,

speedily dispersed the crowd, andI was left to myself

A HAILSTORM . 133

andmybearers, who nowhuddled themselves togetherforwarmth’

s sake . The air hadbecome chilly, andevenI was compelled to wrap my cloak andmyblanket about my thinly-c lad limbs. Another vividflash of lightning, andanother awful clap of thunder ;thendowncame such ha ilstones as I hadnever seenbefore

, andha ve never seensince in the pla ins of

Hindostan. Insiz e andweight they equa lled thosewhich sometimes fa ll in the Hima laya mounta ins in

June andJuly. W ith these storms the ra ins usua lly

break up,”andthen the cold wea ther sets in, and

with this sea son of the yea r, what clima te in theworld is superior to tha t of the Upper Provinces of

India ? W henthe thunder, lightning, andha il hadceased

,andtheir continuance did not exceed fifteen

minutes, thesun came out

,andthe face of heaven

was as fa ir a s possible, but theearth gave evidence oftheseverity of the storm. Not only was the ground

covered with leaves andsma ll branches, intermingledwith theb a il, but ca ttle andgoats hadbeenkilled bythefm'ious pelting of thehuge stones ; whilst theelectric fluid haddescended ononeof the mudhutsofthevillage inwhich I hadtakenrefuge, andhadstretched out in. dea th anold man andtwo of his

grandchildren, a boy of six yea rs of age, anda girl offour. Theparents of these childrenwere absent fromthevillage, andwere not expected to return until

the evening . Onbeing informed of thea ccident, Iexpressed a desire to seethe bodies, andwas conductedby several of thevillagers to the hut in which they


were lying . I recognised a t once the fea tures of theold manwho was a prominent figure inmy sketch,andof oneof the children, the little girl who held theold man so tightly by the hand while shepeeped at

me. The face of the boy hadnot struck me. Therethey were lying dead, but still warm,

andtheir limbs,as yet, devoid of rigidity . The matter-of-fact way in

which the natives of India rega rd the dea th of their

relations or friends is something wonderful to beho ld.

It is not tha t their a ffections areless strong than

ours or their feelings less acute. It is tha t fa talityis the beginning andendof their creed. They aretaught from their childhood to regard visitations of

this chara cter as direct andspecia l a cts of God— as

ma tters which it is not only futile,but improper to

b ewa il. None of the villagers - men,women

, or

children,exhibited any token of grief while gaz ing

on the lifeless bodies they surrounded . And, on

askingmybearers whether the parents of the children

would weep when they returned, andfound their

ofi'

spring thus suddenly cut off, they replied, ra therabruptly

,W hy should they weep at God’s will ?

As I was preparing to leave the village, a. midd]eaged womancame up to me, andsa id

Sahib,the parents of the dead childrenarevery

poor,andthe expense of burning their rema ins w ill

press very hard upon them. Thewood for the oldmanwill cost eight annas, andthe fuel for each of thechildrenfour annas inall

, onerupee.


appea rance a t the door of his tent ; and, observingmy pa lkee, bore downuponit.

The Lieutenant wore a pa ir of white pyjamahs,which were tucked up to his knees,no shoes or stock

ings a blue shirt,no coa t

,no jacket a black neck

tie, anda leather helmet with a white covering, such

as onesees labelled inthe shop-windows for India .

”

H is personwas very sma ll certa inly,andthe ca lves of

his legs not bigger thanthose of a boy of twelve yea rsofa ge. In his mouth he hada huge (number one)cheroot, andinhis hand, a wa lking-stick

,with a wa ist

nearly asb ig a s his own. Resting his chest uponthis

walking-stick,andlooking mefull in the fa ce, per

fectly ignorant, andseemingly indifferent, as to

whether I might be a secretary to the government, or

a shopkeeper,he thus familiarly a ccosted me

W ell,old boy

,how do you feel after the shower 2

”

Very well,I thank you.

”

Come inandhave a cup of tea , anda round of

toast, ifyou a renot ina hurry to get on. It will setyou up, andmake you feel comfortable for the night .

”

This offer was so tempting, andso cordia lly made,tha t I wa s induced to a ccept it.

Bring the Sahib intomytent, inthe pa lkee, sa idLieutenant Six tieto mybearers andthenaddressingme

, he rema rked Don’t get out . You’

ll wetyour slippers.

”

The bea rers followed theLieutenant,andput down

my palkee upontwo tiers of sma ll boxes, which were0

LIEUTENANT SI XTIE. 137

spread over thespa ce of ground covered by the

tent.“ I was obliged to resort to this box dodge, said

myhost, or I should have beendrowned. I wish Iowned only a qua rter of this rhino wearetreading on.

IfI did,ca tch meat this work any longer, mymas

ters It wa s the treasure tha t the bo x es conta ined,

inall about twenty-fivethousand pounds. Lookhere, old boy . Forego, like a good fellow,

the teaandthe toa st . My servants will have such a botherto get a fireandboil wa ter . Have some biscuits andcold brandy - and-wa ter instead. You should neverdrink tea while tra velling. It keeps you awake

and,wha t is more

,it spoils the flavour of your

cheroots. By thebye,have oneof these weeds.

I thanked my host ; and,without any sort of

pressing, yielded to his every wish—even unto

playing 50am with him,while smoking his cheroots

anddrinking his brandy-and-wa ter . The stakeswere not very high . Only a rupee a game. Duringthedea ls

,my host would frequently excla im

By Jove wha t a godsend it is to have some oneto talk to for a few hours I have been out for fivedays ; and, during that time, have not uttered a

word inmy ownlanguage . Haven’t hadthe luck tocome a cross a soul. This escorting treasure is themost awful pa rt. of anofficer’s duty, espec ia lly a t this

But it must be done, I suggested .


Yes. But whynot by na tive ofi cers 1”W ould the treasure be safe with them ?Safe ? Just as safe a s it is now,

ifnot safer ; for,a lthough I am responsible for the money in theseboxes

,I don’t know tha t the whole amount is here.

I didn’t count it ; and, if there was any deficiency,I should say so. Now, a na tive ofi cer would sa tisfyhimself onthe subject before he took charge. Don’t

you seeH ere our conversa tionwas interrupted by a havil

dar (na tive sergeant), who appeared at thedoor of

thetent, sa luted the Lieutenant, anduttered in a

deep andsolemntone of voice the word Sa -hib

W ell . W ha t’s the ma tter ?” sa id the Lieutenant.

MannSingh Sipaheeis very ill.”W b at a ils him

He has fever.”

ThenI will come andseehim inonemoment .W ith these words the Lieutenant threw down his

ca rds, andinvited meto a ccompany him to the tentwhereinthe pa tient was lying.

MannSingh Sipaheewas a powerful Brahmin, whostood upwards of six feet two . He was a na tive of

Oude, andhada very dark skin. W henweenteredthe tent, he a ttempted to rise from thecha rpa i (na tivebedstead) onwhich he was reclining but the Lieutenant told him to bestill, thenfelt the sick man

’

s

pulse, andplaced his sma ll white hand across thebroad bla ck forehead of the soldier.


with the regiment a t Afi'

ghanistan, where they no t

only proved themselves as brave as the Europeansoldiers

,but where they showed themselves superior

to prejudices most intima tely connected with their

religion— their caste . That man, whom you seelyingthere

,is a Brahminof the highest caste yet, I ha ve

seenhim,andother Brahmins now inmy regiment ,

bea ring upontheir shoulders the rema ins of anofficer

to the gra ve. Of course, you a reaware tha t to do a

thing of tha t kind— to touch the corpse of anunbeliever— involves a loss of caste i”

Yes.”W ell

,sir

,these fellows braved the opinionandthe

taunts of every Hindoo in the country, in order topay respect to the memory of thoseofi cers whosedangers andpriva tions they hadcheerfully sha red.

You areaware, perhaps, tha t a t last the governmentfound it necessary to issue a genera l order to theeffect tha t any Sepoy of any other regiment who

insulted themenof this regiment, by telling themthey hadlost their caste

,would be severely punished

anddismissed the service ? Such was the case, sirandmany courts-martia l were held inva rious sta tionsfar the tria l of offenders aga inst this order andmany

Hindoo Sepoys andMussulmanna tive officers werevery severely dealt with. Andthe thing was put

down, sir ; andnow-a -days there is nothing more

commonthanfor the Hindoo Sepoys,ina ll the regi

ments, to ask permissionto carry therema ins of a

CASTE. 141

popular ofi cer to the grave. Indeed, ladies areoften

thus honoured, andchildren. They seem to have

agreed amongst themselves tha t this does not involves loss of ca ste. So much for caste

,if it canbegot

over by an understanding amongst themselves !Caste ! Morethan four-fifths of wha t they ta lkabout it is pure nonsense andfa lsehood, as anystraightforwa rd native will confidentia lly confess to

you. I don’t mean to say tha t some Hindoos arenot very strict . Many, indeed, areso. But I meanto say tha t a very sma ll proportionlive inaccordance

with the Sha sters, andtha t whenthey cry out, ifwedo so andso wesha ll lose our caste,” it is nothingmorethan a rottenpretext for escaping some

orfor refusmg to obey a distasteful order. There arehypocrites in all countries, but India swa rms with

them morethickly than any country inthe world.Andthefa ct is tha twefoster hypocrisy. Our fellows

,

andmost of them Brahmins, released a good many catsfrom the b ag, whenthey were taunted with havinglost their caste I fyou arenot ina frightful hurry

to get on, stay till wemarch, andgo with us ; andI’lltell you andshow you something more about caste.You cansend onyour pa lkee andbearers to the nextencampment ground, andI’ll drive you inmy oldtrap of a buggy. It is not a remarkably elegant

affair,but it is very strong androomy. By the bye

,

weshall have to travel three ina gig for I must

put MaunSingh, my sick Sepoy, betweenus ; and

142 W ANDERI NGS IN INDIA .

you will findhim a very intelligent fellow,I cantell

you, andthe dose I intend giving him will makehimas chirpy as possible.”

Theconversa tionandthe manners of the L ieute~nant free andeasy as were the la tter hadfas~cinatedme, andI a ccepted his invitation.


pounds tenshillings. Cawnpore,until recently

, was

chiefly famous for its ha rness, boots andshoes, bottlecovers

,cheroot-cases, helmets, andother a rticles ma de

of lea ther. A nest of Chinese settled in the baz a armany yea rs ago andintroduced the manufacture of

such ma tters. The horse which drew thebuggy hadbeena caster ; that is to say, a horse considered nolonger fit for the cavalry or horse a rtillery, andsold bypublic auction

,after being branded with theletter R

(signifying rejected) onthe near shoulder. He wa s a

ta ll,well-bred animal and

,a ccording to the Lieute

nant’s account,hadwonnoendofra ces since thedayhe

hadbeenknocked downto the Lieutenant for sixteenrupees

,or onepound twelve shillings . Thefault

, o r

ra ther the misfortune, forwhich this anima l hadbeendismissed the Company’

s service,was tota l blindness

of oneeye,andan inability to seemuch out of the

other.

But,he is a ripper

,nevertheless

,sa id the

Lieutenant,touching the anima l very gently with

the whip,andmaking him hold his head up ;

“and

will put some more money inmy pocket next co ldweather, I hope. He is entered for the Merchant ’sPlate

, gentlemen riders, sir, andI am his . jockey.

”

I expressed a hope tha t he would be successful.

It wa s a moonlight night, andslow as was thepa cea t which weproceeded

,I never so much enjoyeda .

ride inmy life. Thescene a ltogether was highlypicturesque, and

, as far as I was concerned, hadthe

MAUN SINGH . 145

wonderful cha rm of novelty while it was impomiblenot to be extremely entertained by the volubility andlightheartedness of my military friend, who

,not

withstanding he hadextracted from methat I didnot belong to the civil service or the army, hadrefrainedfrom inquiring myname or pursuit, andinvariably addressed meas Old Boy, a lbeit myyears werecertainly not inexcess of his own.

W ell,MannSingh 1

” cried the Lieutenant, how

doyou feel nowQuite well, but very weak, was the Sepoy’s

Thenyou must have a little drop of weak brandyand-wa ter. Hold hard, syce, andgive methe suraiee(water

The brandy-and-water was mix ed in a silver

tumbler,andhanded to MaunSingh, who, a s soon

as thegroom went aga into thehorse’e'hcad, appliedit to his lips, anddrank, without any scruple. On

thecontrary, it struck metha t he liked the liquor .

You have lost your caste, sa id the Lieutenant,

jocularly. You ought to have drunk it, you know,

as medicine, out of your ownlota (brassThis observa tion— made with a view to draw theSepoy out for my edifica tion hadits effect . Itwas thus MannSingh discoursed, while the Lientonant andmyself smoked our cheroots oneither sideof him“TheSahib logue believe everything tha t the

L


na tives tell them about caste, andthe consequence isthey believe a grea t many falsehoods. I f I couldlose my caste by drinking medicine out of this

tumbler, I would lose it by drinking it out of my

owncup, because it came out of a bottle which you

have handled, andperhaps some drops of it touchedyour fingers, while you were pouring it from onevessel to the other. Empty a bottle of brandy or

gin into your chillumchee (brass wash-hand basin) ,andtell oneof your pa lkee-bearers to throw it away.

He andhis companions will drink it, but not inyourpresence. Ask the same man to drink the liquor

from your tumbler. He will put his hands together,andimplore you to excuse him,

a s he would lose his

caste.

”

But is it not forbiddenintheShasters ? sa id I .

There is no mention of brandy in the Sha sters,Sahib,

” returned MaunSingh, with some humour .

TheShasters aresilent onthe subject . But, sup

posing tha t it were forbidden; do not men of

every religion frequently andcontinually depa rt

from the tenets thereof, inminor things, or construe

them according to their own inclina tion or couve

nience,or make some sort of bundobust (agreement)

with their consciences ? Indeed, if wedid not makethis bundobust, wha t Hindoo or Mussulmanwould

come in conta ct a t all with oneanother, or withChristians, andcerta inly we

,thena tives of India ,

would not serve as soldiers.


simply to excite the na tive troops to mutiny andtokill their oflicers ; but the plot was happily discoveredby the informa tiongivenby the Sepoys of the l 6th

Grenadiers. There was an investiga tion, but thegovernment deemed it best to trea t thewhole affa iras a farce, andPet tah Singh wa s looked uponas a foolanda madman, andeventually set a t liberty It wa ssa id tha t the Sepoys who gave the informa tionwere

to receive anorder of merit ; they had’

no reward a t

all, however, beyond some expressions of pra ise fromthe authorities.

”

Suddenly, the treasure party ha lted, andall theSepoys were speedily congrega ted beneath a mango

tree .

W hat is thema tter ? cried the Lieutenant .

Adjutant Ba rgow Sahib’s grave,”

sa id Maun

Singh. Do younot remember the spot ?”

I did not, in this light, sa id the Lieutenant,

a lighting from the buggy, followed by myself andMaunSingh. Yes ; here he rests, poor fellow— oneof the best andbravest beings tha t ever brea thed .

He died suddenly onemorning whenwewere encamped here . He was a grea t favouritewith themen

,as you may judge from the respect pa id by

those now present to the spot where his ashes

repose.

Oneof the Sepoys suddenly b egan to call downcurses onthe head of some sacrilegious thief. He haddiscovered tha t the piece of marble which hadbeen

A GRAVE . 149

let into the hea d of the chunam . (plaster) tomb, andonwhich was cut the name

, age, andregiment of thedeceased, hadb eenabstracted .

Ah ! that o f course,”sa id the Lieutenant . It is

always the case. They stea l the bit ofmarble tomakea currystone— a stone onwhich they grind the ingreclients for a curry . It was not worth more than a

Shilling, intrinsica lly ; but if it hadonly beenworth oneanna

, or a qua rter of ananna—ha lf a farthing—theywould have carried it away all the same

,just as they

steal pieces of ironandlead from the stone bridges,andthus do immense mischief. All a long the GrandTrunkRoad you will findthe stones used for headstones ca rriedaway from the graves.

”

Themarch, thirteenmiles, occupied us fivehours,

so slowly did the bullocks crawl along with the treasure. It wa s about four o’clock whenwecame to theground— the hour a t which

,in strictness, the Lieu

knant should have sta rted but he informed metha twhenonsepara te duty, hetook a good dea l of re8pensibility onhimself, andwithout detriment to theinterests of government, suited his own convenienceandthat of his men. He therefore preferred makingnight work of thebusiness, andhaving the wholedayathis owndisposal.

Send your bearers away, andspend theday withme,” said the lighthearted Lieutenant . You cangetother bearers a t any of the villages inthe neighbourhoodor

,ifyou arenot ina violent hurry, march the

150 W ANDEEI NGs IN INDIA .

whole distance to Agra with me. I can stick your

pa lkee andboxes on the top of the treasure, you

know.

”

I accepted the invita tionwith pleasure, andentered

the tent,where wefound tea andbiscuits rea dy. After

partaking of this refreshment wethrew oumelves downon charpoys (na tive bedstea ds), andsoon fell fa st

asleep .

Weslept till ten, when wea rose, hadbreakfas t,consisting of—the old story grilled fowl, curriedfowl

,andeggs, with beer instea d of tea andthenwe

went out andsat under the mango trees, which formeda dense shade over the encampment. The Lieutenant

hadwith him a pellet b ow,andwas shooting at the

squirrels, which abound in the Upper Provinces of

India . W hile he was thus employed a Sepoy— a

Brahmin—ca lled out ! Sahib, you have no right to

do tha t. It is writteninthe genera l orders tha t youmust respect the religious feelings of the Hindoos,andhere areyou wantonly destroying the life of

animals inour presence. I sha ll report this to theColonel Sahib, whenwereturnto the regiment.”From the tone inwhich the Sepoy spoke, I thought

he was inea rnest. The Lieutenant, however, assuredmetha t he was only ridiculing oneof those absurd

genera l orders which frequently appear, but of whichhadanddiscontented Sepoys oftentake advantage .

Ere long this Brahmin, observing tha t the light of theLieutenant

’

s cheroot was extinguished, brought him

152 W ANDEEINGS I N INDIA .

witness andnot a dmire this part of the Hindoo andMussulmanreligions.

After oneo’clock, wheneverymanhadenjoyed hissmoke, there wa s scarcely a soul

,except myself and

the Lieutenant, awake inthe encampment. All werefast asleep inthe opena ir. TheAsia tic must sleepafter his mid-day mea l, if it be only for ha lf an

hour . The loss of this little sleep is a very severepriva tion.

At three o'clock the encampment was aga ina ll life .

Some of the Sepoys wrestled,andexhibited ama z ing

skill andstrength inthe art. To anEuropeanit is a

mystery how men who live uponnothing but fari~

na ceous food can be so muscula r and powerful .

Others smoked their pipes (sma ll hookahs), andplayed a t a na tive game ca lled puchesee, resemblinglotto while a goodly number congrega ted a round

Mussulman, who wa s reading a loud the Bagh-o-Baha r,

a Hindoostaneework of grea t celebrity . Two or threeof the company were musica l, andplayed a lterna telyonthe sitarre(na tive guita r or violin), accompaniedby the tom-tom (na tive drum), andthe voices of thosewho were disposed andable to sing. As for the L ieu

tenant andmyself webeguiled the time inconversationandwith Towa rds sunset a pa lkeedakca rriage was reported to be insight, coming downthe

road. Hooray !” cried the Lieutenant comea long ! let us board him . I am inwant of a fewsmall ma tters .

ANOTHER “OLD sor.

”153

It was not long b efore thedak carriage was abreastofthe encampment.Stop !” shouted the Lieutenant to the driver

,

who instantly pulled up. W hom have you got

insideBefore thedriver hadtime to reply, the door wa s

slided open,andan elderly gentleman rubbing his

eyes with his knuckles, put out hisnight-capped head ,andexcla imedHulloaWha t ! have wewoke you out of your sleep, old

boy2”sa id theLieutenant, laughing .

Yes,

”replied the old boy, very good-humouredly

,

what do youwant“Only to a sk you how you are.I’

m prettywell,”was the reply, but ha lf choked

with the dust.”

W ha t’s taking you downthe country ?

Urgent priva te afi'

airs”

Going to be married, I supposeW ell

, you have just guessed it .”

Make mymost respectful sa laam to your intended,Will you ?

”

By a ll means .

W hendo you expect to reach Cawnpore ?

To-morrow,a t three PM .

”

Andhow do you stand affected for liquors andWeeds ? Do you want anything, old b oy ? Brandy,beer

, soda -wa ter ? Say the word .

”


Nothing ; I have more inthe well here than Isha ll beable to consume.”

ThenI ’ll trouble you for the surplus ; for I amvery short, andcannot get anything till I rea chAgra , while you canreplenish a t every station, you

know.

”

All right, my child, excla imed the old boy ; and,with the grea test cheerfulness, he a lighted andbeganto unpa ck his stores. From these, the Lieutenanttook six bottles of beer, two bottles of brandy, a dozenof soda -wa ter

,andthree hundred Manilla cheroots.

This done, theold boyexpresseda desire to push on

but the Lieutenant deta ined him for a t least tenminutes with a series of questions, several of which

(I thought), were somewha t impertinent for instance,heinquired his intended’s name ? whether shewa sta ll

,short

,or of the middle height ? wha t wa s the

colour ofher ha ir andeyes ? good-looking, andaecomplished Andto all these questions, the old boy respondedwith as serious anairas if the Lieutenant hada perfect right to put them .

At last the old boy proceeded onhis journey .

Do youknow him ?” I inquired of the Lieutenant,

as the carriage rolled away .

Oh, yes,” was the reply he is a Major com

manding a native infantry regiment a t Banda . He is

a very good fellow, andhas heaps of property ; but afrightful fool, except in the way of money-making ,anda t tha t he is awfully clever. I first made his


remedied, a lbeit he couldunderstand but a few wordsthe old mansa id—so very indistinct was his speech

,

from sheer old age, andtheloss ofhis teeth .

A grievance, rea l or imagina ry, is quite necessa ry

for tha t old man’s existence,”sa id the Lieutenant

andif he can’t findonefor himself (which is a very

rare circumstance), he will concoct onefor the Sepoys .

To make grievances is theendandobject of tha t oldman

’

s life ; and, I am sorry to say, that he is a perfect

representa tive of the entire body of native commissionedoflicers, who are, genera lly Speaking, despisedby themen of the regiment, as well as by theEuropean ofi cers. These a rethe gentlemenwhobrew or ferment a ll the mischief tha t occasiona lly

occurs innative regiments. They suggest to the mento make all sorts of extortiona tedemands, just as a

regiment is onthe point ofmarching. Tha t oldman’

s

present grievance, as far as I could collect, is tha t thewa ter is very b adhere, a t thisencampment ground,andtha t government ought to have a new well sunk .

Hehappens just now to be sufl'ering severely from

oneof the very many a ilments consequent onhis timeof life

,andhe a ttributes it to thewa ter.”

W hich happens to be very good,” I remarked .

Precisely so . These na tive ofi cers, of every rankandgrade, are, inmy opinion, the curseof the nat iveservice. Many very clear-headed andexperiencedoflicers have recommended doing away with them, andappointing intheir stead more Europeanofficers ; b ut

AN AFFGHAN DEALER . 157

theadvice has never beenheeded, andneverwill be,

It wasnot until midnight tha t the little camp wasbrokenup, andweresumed the ma rch towards Agra .

During the drive, the Lieutenant enterta ined mebyrelating a number ofstories connected with the war inAfl

'

ghanistan. Severa l of them interested meexceedingly one, inparticula r. It was this which Inowgive intheLieutenant’s ownwords, as nearly asI canrecollect them

About a yea r ago, sa id he,I was passing through

Meerut,onmywayfrom the Hills, whither I hadbeen

onsick certific a te, andwa s putting up for a few dayswith my fri end Richards, of the Light Cava lry— a

manwhom I hadknownduring tha t disastrous cam

paignto which this na rra tive has reference. Onemorning, after breakfast, there came to the bunga lowofmyfriend anAfi

’

ghan, who was a dea ler indriedfruits—such a s grapes, apples

,andpomegrana tes,

andinquired if the Sahib ormem Sahib was inwantof any of these commodities, which he hadjustbrought from Caubul. My friend’s wife

,who had

also been inAfi'

ghanistan, andSpoke the mongrelPersian current intha t country

,replied inthe aflir

mative,andthe Afi

'

ghanwas admitted to the verandahtoexhibit his specimens anddeclare his prices. To

talk to these dea lers is rather amusing at times,especially whenyou know their habits, andcustoms,andpeculiarities, aswell as their language . To people


who have b eenintheir country, it is like meeting with

anold friend, andonelingers a s long as possible over

the business of the barga in andsale. Andso wa s it

this morning. Wehadhim for at least anhour in

the verandah before my friend’

s wife would decideuponwha t Shewould take . This matter concluded

,

the Afl'

ghaninquired if the lady wouldbuy a kitten—a Persiankitten; kittens being a lso a commoditywith these travelling Afl

'

ghans.

Yes where arethe kittens sa id the lady.

Here,’

sa id the merchant, putting his hand into

a huge pocket at the back of his chogah (a sort o f

gaberdine), andwithdrawing, oneby one, no less thansixteenof these little anima ls (a ll ma les). Formorethan the hour which wa s consumed innegotia tingabout the fruit, andtalking on other subjects

,this

living bustle hadrema ined perfectly motionless,and

hadnot uttered a Single sound ; but now, whentheysaw the light, andwere placed upon all-fours

,they

ranabout andmewed— bushy ta ils onend— after the

most vigorous fashionimaginable. There they wereKittens as black as the blackest ink

,kittens whiteas

the whitest snow,kittens as yellow a s the yellowest

gold andkittens pieba ld, brindled, andgrey.

There, mem Sahib ; take your choice. Twenty

pees (two pounds) each .

’

The lady selected oneof the white andoneofthe black kittens, andfor the two he was induced toaccept thirty-fiverupees (three pounds tenshillings).

160 W ANDERINS S IN INDIA .

handed to meandto her husband, respectively, a slip

andthepencil-case. W henwehadeach written a

name, wecompared them,— andthey did not agree

exactly. My friend andhis wife hadwrittenCapta inPercy andI hadwritten Mrs. Percy

Tha t the boywas the oflispring of that unfortuna te

couple (cousins), who perished intha t campa ign, andof whose young child no oneever knew wha t hadbecome, wewere all quite sa tisfied ; andour reflections became extremely melancholy.

Wequestioned the boy as to his parentage, hisrela tionto the Afl

'

ghan dea ler incats andfruit,and

on a variety of other ma tters His replies were

simply to the effect that he was an orphanandaslave ; tha t he knew not the place of his birth, but

believed it was Afi'

ghanistan tha t he was a Mahom

medan, andtha t his earliest recollections were asso

cisted with Caubul.

W hilst wewere thus interrogating theboy, the

Major of my friend’

s regiment, accompanied by his

wife, drove up to the door . They hadcome to pay a

visit ,W hen asked to look a t the b oy, andSay to

whom he b orea resemblance, they a t once decla red ,Poor Percy Severa l officers of the regiment

were sent for. They came, andimmedia tely onseeing the boy expressed anopinion tha t he was the

child of theunfortuna te oflicer whose name has beenpa rtially recorded. The poor boy

,meanwhile, ex

hibitedsome anxiety to return to his master. But

QUESTIONS AND ANSW ERS . 161

hewas deta ined andfurther questioned as to themanner inwhich he was trea ted. He confessed tha this master was ra ther severe

,but witha l a very good

man.

It was resolved to summon the Afl'

ghandea lerandmake him render an a ccount of the boy

, andof

how he becam e possessed of him. For this purposea messenger wa s dispa tched, andenjoined to makehaste.The Afi

'

ghan dealer came,andwas cautioned

that he must speak the truth whereupon—as is thecustom inIndia from oneendto the other—hedeclaredtha t henever spoke falsely, andtha t he wouldrather have his tongue tornout. This little preliminary over

,the ex amination(which was conducted by

theMajor of the regiment, a very shrewd andcleverman

, andwho , by the way, was distantly rela ted totheunfortuna tecouple to whom the boy bore such a

strong resemblance) commenced

W ho is this boy

Hebelongs to me. ’Your son?

’

No .

’

Any rela tionof yours

No .

’

Your Slave

Yes .

’

You bought him

Yes. ’


'W here

Caubul. ’

W hen

Four years ago.

’

From whom did you buy him

A merchant. ’

His name

Usnf Ooddeen. ’W hat did you give for him ?

’

Threecamels.

’

Ofwha t va lue

Thirty rupees (31) each.

’

Theboy was cheap, then?’No .

’

How so ?’

He was young andsickly.

’

Did U suf say where he got him from ?’

Yes. ’Thentell me. ’From a woman.

’

W ha t woman

A na tive of Hindostan.

’

Anayah

Yes. ’W as Shehis motherNo.

’

I s sheliving ?’No.

’

W hendid shedie


Yonmust speak, Sahib.

’

Onehundred rupees. ’He cost menearly tha t whenhe was very young

andsickly .

’

W ell, two hundred rupees.

’

No ; Sahib. Half a lac of rupees would no t

purchasehim .

’

But,my good man, slavery is not permitted in

the British dominions,andwewill deta inthe b oy.

’

Aga inst his will

Yes. ’Onsuspiciontha t he is bornof Europeanparents

of distinction

Yes.

’

ThenI will give the boy his liberty ; andif hethenwishes to follow me, andyou deta in him,

heisyour prisoner instea d of my slave. ’

Here the boy aga inentrea ted the Major to spa re

Never mind tha t .’

But suppose tha t I could prove to you tha t

he is the child of a sergeant of the Queen’s 13th

Regiment of Foot, andof his wife ? W ha t then?

W ould you take the boyYes .

’

You would ?’

Yes. ’Thenyou Sha ll ha vethe boy. Many of your

questions I answered fa lsely, onpurpose. The true

W HO W AS THE CH ILD ?

history of the child I will recount to you, andproduce such proofs as I have in my possession. Ivowed to God andto the Prophet that I would neversell the child

,andI have keptmy word. It will be a

bitter grief to meto part with him but, for his own

sake, I will endure it.Usnf Ooddeenwas my elder brother. He kept

a shop in the ba z a ar a t Caubul . This child was

brought to him by a womanof Hindostan,who not

not only deposited W ith him the child, but a sum of

money ingold mohurs andrupees likewisea quantity ofEnglish jewellery, andher owngold andSilverbangles. Sherepresented to my brother tha t thechild’s parents hadbeen killed, andtha t shewasafraid every European inAfi'ghanistanwould Sha re

their fate. My brother knew the woman,that is to

say, shehadbeen a customer a t his shop, andhad

purchasedfrom him sundry articles of warm clothingfor her employers andherself. After leaving the

child, andthe money, andthe jewellery, ina ll to the

value of about four thousand rupees, shewent herway, andnever returned . It is most likely tha t shediedsuddenly of cold, like very many of thena tiveservants of Hindostan, both ma le andfema le . Thefrost settled about their hearts, andthey slept theirlives away or, if they escaped dea th, they lost their

toes, fingers, ears, or noses.

W hen the British a rmy was victorious, andafl

'

airs were in a somewhat settled state, my brother


was most anxious to deliver up the child, the money,andthe jewels, to the British authorities but a num

ber of his friends dissuaded him from so doing, on

the ground that the ba re possession of the childwould place mybrother

’

s life injeopardy, by inducinga conclusiontha t he was the afl

'

righteda ccomplice ofmurderers, assassins, andthieves. I confess tha t Iwas onewho enterta ined this opinion, andI shookmy head W henever my brother repea ted his desire.Four or fiveyears ago, my brother died, andI a

wandering dea ler, became the guardianof this b oy

(for whom I have a grea t affection), andthe holderofhis money, for which I care not, andwhich I ha veno desire to reta in. He has travelled thousands andthousands ofmiles with me. He has beento Bokhara

,

to Cashmere, all over the Punjab, toMooltan,Scinde

,

all through thenorth -west provinces downto Calcutta ,to Simlah, Mussooree— W herever the English ha vesettled themselves inIndia andI have done a ll inmy power to expose him,

ina quiet way, to the ga z e

of ladies andgentlemen, inthe hope that someday hewould be recognised andrestored to his proper position in life. Never

,until now

,has any onebeen

struck with his countenance,beyond casua lly rema rk

ing to metha t hewa s a very pretty boy certainly,

no oneever seemedto have the slightest idea tha t hewas bornof European parents

,andis a Christian;

for he is not a Mussulman— though hethinks he isa Mussulman, andsays his prayers

,andis very c on


finger ofhis right hand, uponwhich was a Signet-ring .

This wa s his nishan. Weareof the same family,andthe nishanis the same .

’

TheAfi'

ghan, having examined the crest, aga in

smiled, andsa idW ha t else?’W hat more do you want sa id theMajor.

Do not be impa tient, Sahib,’

sa id the Afl'

ghan.

Theidentifica tionOf a child, who may be anheir toproperty

,is not so light a matter as the purchase of a

kitten. Did you know the child’

s mother ?’

Yes, ’ sa id the Major. She was a lso a rela tion

ofmine.

’

W ha t kind of personwas she? W as shehandsome ?

’

a c Very.

’

Thecolour of her eyes ?’Dark— a lmost black .

’

Andher ha irBrown the colour ofthis lady s (pointing to the

wife ofmyfriend) .

I f you saw her likeness,inminia ture, do you

think you could recognise it

I f it were a fa ithful likeness, I could .

’

The Afi'

ghanput his hand into the breast pocket

of his chogah, andproduced a greasy lea thern b ag,into the mouth ofwhich he inserted his finger andthumb, andpresently produced a sma ll tin box,round andsha llow

, which hevery carefully opened .

THE MINIATURE . 169

Having removed some cotton,he handed the box to

theMajor. All of us instantly recognised the fea turesoftheunfortuna te lady who hadperished by the sideof her husband

,in Afl

'

ghanistan. W ho could possibly forget tha t sweet feminine face of hers

,which

hadbeenpa inted for her husband by oneof the mostdistinguished minia ture pa inters of theage? The

productionof the likeness inthe presence of the boy

(who appeared to take little interest inwha t was

going on), hada sadeffect uponthe Major. He sa tdownupon a cha ir

,covered his manly face with his

hands,andwept bitterly.

Anddo you know this, Sahib asked the

Afl'

ghan, when the Major hadsomewha t recoveredhis violent emotion! placing inhis hand poor Percy

’

s

sealWeall recognised the sea l, the crest of which, of

course, c orresponded with the crest onthe signet-ring

ofthe Major.

Andthis asked the Afi'

ghan, holding up a

bracelet which wehadseenMrs. Percy wear many

andmany a time.Andthis ?’ holding up to our ga z e a sma ll

brooch sheused to wea r constantly. And, amongstnumerous other things, beexhibited to us a little

pocket-book, inwhich shekept her memoranda , suchas ! November 9th. Cut the ends of my dea r

little boy’s ha ir . Sent mamma a sma ll portion.

November 12th. Hada long ta lk to the old ayah,


who sworeto metha t Shewould andI believe her, for shehas beena good andconstantcrea ture to us

,inour dangers andourdifliculties.

’

Andthis ? Andthis ? Andthis ? andthissa id the Afi

'

ghan, withdrawing from the leathem b ag

its entire contents,every article ofwhich was instantly

identified. There,Sahib

,take them all, andthe

boy,into your custody . The money

, which was left

with him,I will restore to you to-night . It is a t

present in the ba z aa r,in the charge of my camel,

whom no onedare approach, except myself andthisboy

Here a very extraordina ry andpa inful, but perhaps natura l

,scene occurred. The boy

,who hadbeen

comparatively passive,now broke out into a vehement

expostula tion, andspoke with a rapidity which wa s

truly amaz ing, considering that he distinctly enun

c iatedevery sylla ble to which he gave utterance.W ha t he excla imed

,

‘will you then leave meinthe hands anda t the mercy of these unbelievers ?

W ha t have I done to deserve thisBe quiet

,

’

sa id theAfl'

ghanto the boy, ina gentletone of voice.

How canI be quiet cried the boy, clenchinghis fists convulsively

,anddrawing himself up, whilst

his eyes glared, andhis nostrils dila ted, with unc ontrollab lepassion

,andsomething like foam stood upon

his crimson lips. There could be no doubt whose

child he wa s, so wonderful inhis wra th was thelike

172 WANDERINGS IN INDIA .

affection, andonthe dea th of his grandfa ther, hewillsucceed to a title andanesta te worth eleventhousanda -year. The Afi

'

ghan, who was very fond of the boy,

corresponds with him regularly, andthey exchangepresents, as well as letters.

Kelly,of the 62ud

,who was killed at Feroz e

Shah, andwho formerly belonged to the13th Foot,when they were inAfi

'

ghanistan, told mea more

curious story of a little girl, than the oneI have tela ted to you of this boy .

W ha t was it ?” I asked .

My dea r fellow, sa id the Lieutenant, I cannot

ta lk any more just now. You sha ll have it someotherday. Wea renot going to pa rt company yet ,oldboy.

”W ith these words he fell a sleep

,his feet

over the dashboa rd,andhis head resting on my

shoulder.

THE MARCH CONTINUED.

THE next encampment-ground a t which wehaltedwas close to a dak bungalow ; and, during the day,there were severa l arriva ls anddepartures, the travellers merely halting for anhour or so, while somerefreshment was got ready. The Lieutenant, whoappeared to know everybody inHindostan (I nevermet a personwho did not know him) , contrived, tousehis own phrase, to screw a sma ll cha t out of

each of them . Ononeo cca sionhe returned to thetent richer thanhe left it. He carried inonehand a

small basket conta ining preserved oysters, crystalliz edapricots, andcapta ins’ b iscuits, andin the other astone bottle of Maraschino . Under his arm was a

quantity of gauz e, which hewanted for a veil, hesa id.

Thes e contributions behadlevied from a lady whowas going to Muttra , where her husband wa s an

ofi cial of some magnitude . She hadjust returnedfrom England, the Lieutenant informed me, andwaslooking a s blooming as possible. To my question,Do you know her i ” he responded, Oh yes sheis

oneofmy Sixty

Sixtywhat

First cousins.

All inIndia


Every oneof them. My good sir,I have a t this

moment, inthe Benga l Presidency a lone, upwards of

two hundred andtwenty rela tions andconnexions,

ma le andfemale,andevery oneof them —that is to

say, the men andthe boys—in the service of‘

thegovernment.

”

I s it possible ?

Yes. W ha t is more, four-fifths of the number

areinthecivil service . I Should have been inthecivil service too

,only I was sent away from Ha iley

bury for rebellion andcard-playing. It is not an

easy ma tter for meto go to any sta tionin theseprovinces without finding a cousininit.”

Do you know theassistant-magistra te ofAgra ?Yes.

”

I S he a cousinof yours ?

He. isn’t . But his wife’s father andmy fa therwere own brothers ; so it amounts to pretty muchthe same thing.

”

Anddo you know the judge of Jampore Thiswas a gentleman to whom I hadletters of introduction.

Yes. His mother was my aunt .

It must be dangerous,” I suggested, to express

anopinionof any onein India in the presence of a

manwho has so very many relations .

”

Oh, dear no !”sa id the L ieutenant . A man

with such a frightful lot of connex ions has no right

to be, andis not generally, very sensitive. Bless me


cheerq y endured any persona l inconvenience ; not

by a parcel of old grumblers like yourself, who ha veno right to refer to the career of those illustrious

3)

men.

Sahib, I was with Lord Lake’s a rmy .

Then, tha t’

s the very reason that you ought notto be here.

But our present Colonel, Sahib, was with LordLake

AndI W ish hewas with Lord Lake nowI Sha ll report this

,Sahib.

Very well. DoW hereupon the old ofi cer left the tent, andthe

Lieutenant assured metha t the Colonel,who wa s a s

imbecile as the Soub ahdar, would causethema tterto be investiga ted, andtha t he

,theLieutenant ,

would,to a certa inty, receive a severe reprimand .

For what ?” I asked.For not having made a rrangements for the sa fe

conveyance ofthe baggage, andfor ha ving trea tedw itha want ofcourtesy a na tive commissioned ofi cer of theregiment. I need scarcely say, that this reprimandwill not inany way interfere with mynight

’

s rest.”

But,the compla inant will forget it,

”sa idI

, before he gets back to theregiment.”

Forget it exclaimed the Lieutenant. Forgetit A na tive— especially a na tive commissionedofficer— forget a grievance ! Ca tch that old m anforgetting the slightest unplea santness tha t h a s

A “HAPPY RELEASE .

”177

occurred to him during this ma rch . He will,it is

true, forget his present grievance to-morrow,whenhe

has a fresh onebut a t theendof the journey theywill beforthcoming ina lump .

”

This prophecy was destined not to befulfilled ; for,presently, a Sepoy came to the Lieutenant, andreported tha t theSoubahdar was very ill. Wehastenedto theoldman’

s tent, andfound him, strange to say,inthe last ex tremity . He was going very fa st ; but,nevertheless, hecontinuedto gurgle forth a grievance .

Hedemanded, with his last brea th—why the EastIndia Company did not give him his pay, as inLordLake’s time, insicca rupees ?

You Sha ll, in future, receive it insicca rupees,”said theL ieutenant, bending over the Oldman, whosehand begrasped tightly.

Andwill my losses hemade good heasked,

with awfulenergy.

Yes,” sa id theLieutenant.It is Well ! andthe old manslipped almost im

perceptibly from oneworld to another .

Tha t the oldSoub ahdar, who was upwards of

eighty, haddiedofna tura l causes, there could benoquestion b ut, clamorous as was the entire companyfor the interment of the body, theL ieutenant determinedontaking it to Agra , for the purpose of a

surgical ex amination. Meanwhile the old man’s

sheets were scrupulously collected andput underseal.


Wewere now only twenty-six miles from Agra , the

capita l of the North W est Provinces,andit wa s

agreed to perform the distance in onemarch . Wetherefore sta rted a t sundown

,and travelled a ll

night. The moonwas shining brightly, the road was

inexcellent order, and, notwithstanding tha t the oldSoub ahdar was lying lifeless on thetop of some of

the treasure-boxes, the Sepoys were in high spirits,

andon several oqcas

ions even j ocular in respectto the deceased’s weakness tha t of perpetua lly

grumbling .

Shortly after theday haddawned, I beheld onthedistant horiz on something like a la rge white cloud.

Hadwebeena t sea , I should have sa id it was a sa il

or aniceberg, to which it bore a striking resemblance.

I pointed it out to the L ieutenant, who smiled.

Don’t you know wha t tha t is ?” he sa id .

No,

” I answered.Can’t you g uess ?

”

No. W ha t is it ?

Tha t is the famous Taj Maha l. Tha t is thebuilding tha t defies themost graphic peninthe worldto do justice to its grandeur andits transcendentbeauty. Bulwer, in theL ady of Lyons, has a pa s

sage which sometimes reminds meof the TajA palacelifting to eternal summerI ts marblehalls from out a gla ssy bowerOf coolest foliage, musical with birds.

But how far Short mirst any descriptionof such a


Emperors . Andmost assuredly our bunga lows,churches, andother buildings do present a most

begga rly appearance a longside thesemasses ofpolishedmarble andred stone. It looks as though wehad'noconfidence inour hold of the country,

andthereforewould not go to any expense worth Speaking of.

Look at our court -houses,in the civil lines, a s tha t

pa rt ofAgra is ca lled— a parcel of pa ltry brick andmortar pigeon-holes

,not to be compared with the

tenements tha t the menia l servants of the Emperorsinhabited . Look a t the Government House, theMetca lfe Testimonial, and other pa ltry Europeanedifices.

Surely,sa id I

, you would preserve rather than

deface or destroy these magnificent works of art

these wonders of the world

W orks of art andwonders of the worldtheydoubtless are; but, under existing circumstances ,they areeye- sores

,andI would pull downevery one

ofthem,andconvert thema teria l into useful buildings

—barracks—splendid barra cks for our British andna tive troops ; hospita ls, worthy of being ca lledho s

pita ls ; court-houses, churches, maga z ines, and so

But wha t barba rians the natives would think

W hatdoes tha t signify ? Arewethe conquero rsof the country

,or arewenot ? As to wha t they

would think of us,they can’t think much worseo f

A BREAK DOW N . 181

us thantheydo a lready. Do wenotea t swine’s flesh ?anddo not English ladies dance (thena tives ca ll it‘jumping andwith menwho arenot theirhusbands ? Barba rians ! W hy, the very dress tha twewear renders us barbarians intheir sight .

”

Thesunhadnow risenhigh in the heavens, andhis rays fell uponthe Taj , which wewere gradua llyapproaching . I was wrapped in admira tion, andwishing inmy inmost heart that my ta lkative com

panionwould cease, andlea ve meto ga z e in Silenceontha t glorious scene, whensuddenly the processionhalted

,andthe Lieutenant shouted out theword

Hulloa ina voiceso loud that I was completelystartled .

W ha t is the matter ? I asked.

Ma tter !” the Lieutenant echoed me. Ma tter

Look a -hea d ! There is a wheel ofl'

oneof those

rickety ca rts, andthose confounded boxes aresca ttereda ll over the roa d .

” Here the little officer

bounded like an Indian-rubber ba ll from his sea t,andin a towering pa ssion with a ll the world in

genera l, but no oneinpa rticular,rushed to the spot

where the disaster hadoccurred, andthere began tofret, fume, andsnort most violently.

Hush,Sahib !” sa id oneof the Sepoys, sa luting

his officer very respectfully, or you may wake the

Soubahdar, andthanwha t will happen7”

This appea l hadthe efl'ect of restoring the Lieu

tenant to ca lmness andgood-humour. Hesmiled,


andseemed to feel tha t ma tters would certa inly

have been worse, andthe delay more protra cted,hadtheold man been a live andwitnessed the

a ccident.

Oneof the boxes was smashed to pieces,andthe

rupees were lying about inall directions, the Sepoyspicking them up, andsea rching for others in the

dust andsand . I never witnessed a more ridiculousor grotesque scene than this— the na tive soldiers in

their red coa ts andcha cos,but with bare legs and

without Shoes, kneeling, andsifting the earth throughtheir fingers, the Lieutenant in his pyjamahs andsola r ha t, a cheroot inhis mouth, andinhis hand thebuggy-whip

,which he used as a batonwhile giving

his orders.

Does this oftenhappen? I was tempted to a sk .

Constantly, wa s the Lieutenant’s reply. TheGovernment has a bullock- tra infor the conveyanceof stores ; andevenpriva te individuals, by paying fortheca rriage, may have their goods takenfrom sta tionto sta tion; but, inrespect to treasure, wecling to theold system. The milita ry authorities apply to themagistra tes, whose subordina tes provide these ha ckeries

,which were invogue some fivethousand yea rs

ago. Andjust observe those rottenboxes .

”

W hy arethey not lined with cast ironor z incIt would be too expens ive. The Government

cannot afl’

ordit .”

But why should not the Government useits own


hold words in themouth of theLieutenant, for henot only appliedthem to things anima te, but inani-v

mate for instance, his corkscrew,his teapot, his

buggy, his watch, his hat, everything with him wa s

anold boy, incommonwith the Lieutenant-Governor,or the genera l commanding the division.

After I hadbeengreeted by my friend, who hadbeen at a loss to ac count for my delay inreachingAgra

—the Lieutenant thus addressed himI say, old b oy. Look here . I have a lot of trea

sure for you about sevenor eightmiles from this but

there has beena break down. Send out a lot of fellows to give assistance, will you ?

”

Yes.”Andlook here, old boy. There’s a dead Sou

b ahdar.

A wha t

A deadSoubahdar. Hedied suddenly, andIdon’t wish him to be buried without anexamina tion

,

because I bullied him mildly only a short time previons to his going out. You will manage tha t forme,Oldboy

,won’t you

Oh, yes.

”

He died of oldage; andhis la st grievance; b utstill I should like a medica l man’s certifica te just tosa tisfy the colonel who served with him in Lord

Lake’s time, you know,andall tha t sort of thing.

”

I canmanage all tha t foryou,” replied the ofi c ia l

,

riding by the side of the buggy ; but push on, for

CIV IL AND MILITARY . 185

thesunis becoming ra ther oppressive, andI have nohoodto my saddle, remember .”Myhost andhostess made meas comfortable and

ashappy as any traveller could wish to be made. Of

theformer I saw little or nothing from eleven in themorning till three or tb ur in the evening, for he waswhat is called a conscientious ofi cer, anda ttendedstrictly to his work, During these hours I used toread

, or pay a visit to the mess-rooms of a regimentwherea billia rd-table was kept. To the ofi cers of

theregiment I was introduced by Lieutenant Six tie,previous to his returnto his owncorps. He stayedeight days inAgra— upon some plea or other— andsent his company on, inadvance of him.

Agra—tha t is to say, the society of Agra—was a t

thetime split into two sections, the civil andthe military. They were not exactly a t openwar, but therewas a coolness existing between the two branches .

They did not invite each other, andvery seldomex changed ca lls. For me

,who was desirous of seeing

all parties, this was ra ther awkwa rd,living as I wa s

inthe house of a civilian. So I resolved upontaking asmall bunga low for a Short period

,andfurnishing it in

amildandinexpensive manner. I was candid enoughto confess to my host that, as I was inno way con

nectedwith either branch of the service, I wa s anxiousto avoid taking any part in their loca l differences ;andhe hadthe good sense not to press meto rema in

under his roof.


A few days after I hadlocatedmyself inmybungalow

,I received a ca ll from a na tive gentleman, a Seik

Chiefta in,who was

,andnow is, a sta te prisoner on a .

handsome stipend. He drove up to my door ina

sma ll phaeton,drawnby a pa ir of large bla ck mules

of incredible swiftness andagility . This fa llenchief

ta in— a ta ll andpowerfully-built man— was no other

thanthe renowned Rajah La ll Singh, who commandedthe Seik cava lry a t the ba ttle of Feroz eshah

,andwho

was subsequently Prime Minister a t Lahore, during a

portionof the time tha t the British Government un

dertook the administra tion of the Punjab onbeha lf

of Maharajah Dulleep Singh. La ll Singh was nowstudying surgery. More than onemedical ofi cer incha rge of the hospita ls which he a ttended, informedmethat the Rajah wa s a lready a compara tively skilfulopera tor

,andcould take off anarm or a leg with sur

prising dexterity. Notwithstanding his previous

chara cter— tha t of a sensua list and fa ithless in

triguer one,indeed, who hadnot been constant

even to his own villanies— I could not help likinghis conversa tion, which was humorously enlivenedwith imita tions of English omcers with whom he hadcome incontact, andwa s enterta ining to the las t degree. His anecdotes, rela ting to the la te Bunjec tSingh, were peculia rly interesting ; coming as they

did from the lips of a manwho hadbeenso much in

the company of tha t remarkable mona rch, who in

many respects resembled Napoleon the First, espe

188 W ANDERINGS IN INDI A.

ina cha ir, instead of cross-legged like a ta ilor on the

ca rpet. His dress was of the Simplest andmost unpretending character imaginable ; and, with theexceptionof a Signet-ring onhis forefinger, he hadnoornament onhis person. The table of the apa rtment

to which he conducted mewas litera lly covered withsurgica l instruments —saws, knives, sca lpels of everysiz e andShape. Amongst them I perceived a pa ir of

swords inwoodenscabba rds covered with rich greenvelvet, andornamented with gold andprecious stones .

Observing tha t my eyes rested on these swords, hetook oneup, andremarked, These have performedsome curious opera tions in their time ; but never ina hospita l. Theyhave beenused chiefly for taking off

neads. This once belonged to DhyanSingh, andtha tto Heera Singh, who were both assassinated. They a reof Damascus steel, andaresharper thanany of theseknives or scalpels I have sent a number of swordsto England to have them made into surgica l instru

ments.

”Here our conversa tionwas interrupted by

a domestic,who announced

“THE LAL LAH SAH I E ;

andpresently a na tive gentlemanwa lked, or ra th erlimped (for he was lame of the right leg) into theroom

,andmade a very gra ceful sa laam,

first to the

Rajah andthen to myself. Hewa s ra ther Short insta ture

, but very stoutly built,andabout forty years

of age. His eyes were full of intelligence andvigour,andhis fea tures regula r andwell-shapen. H is m an

LALL SINGH . 189

ners were ea sy, afi'

able, unassuming, andmodest, and

his attire as pla inandquiet a s possible.

“

This gentleman, Sahib, sa id the Rajah, addressing me, is a grea t friend of mine. This housebelongs to him. A strange W orld is this Only afew years ago, I offered a reward of a la c of rupees

(tenthousand pounds) for his head, or two la cs to anyonewho would bring him a live to my tent.

IndeedYes andif I hadcaught him,

how changed wouldhave beenthe whole fa ce of affairs inthis country l

”

How so

emanwas the contractor for the British

army ; and, if I hadgot hold Of him,the army could

not havebeensupplied.

But why was he worth more alive thandead Iasked

,with a laugh, inwhich the na tive gentleman

heartily joined .

Because,” returned the Rajah, coolly,

“ ifwehadsecured him a live wewould have made him feed uswith the supplies boughtwith his ownmoney which

should a lso have pa id the reward for his capture.

This,by the way,was cla imed by severa l who brought

inheads, a lleging ;tha t ea ch was the head of the

Lallah the contractor but thea ttempted impositionwasdiscovered, andthe perpetra tors were themselves

Unlike Hindoos andMussulmans,who drink in

secret,La ll Singh drank neat brandy Openly ; and,


rising from his cha ir, he administered unto himself acouple ofglasses—or ra ther a tumbler half-filled— on

this occasion. He could take more thantwo bottlesofbrandy W ithout being inthe least intoxica ted. Thiswas owing, of course, to thecircumstance tha t beconsumed considerable quantities of bhang ; just in

the same way tha t anopium-ea ter is ra rely or never

affected by drinking deeply ofwine.

The Rajah’s visitor,the La llah Jooteepersad, had

a grievance, anda ra ther substantia l one. He hadcla imed from the Government fifty-sevenlacs of rupees

(ha lf a millionandseventy-thousand pounds sterling)a s the balance dueto him for feeding the armiesemployed during the two Seik campa igns andtheGovernment hadthrea tened to prosecute him,

inoneof their owncourts, for an a ttempt to make anover

charge of forty thousand rupees, or four thousand

pounds.

Andif they understand the principles of good

government thoroughly,”sa id the Rajah,

“ they will

convict you, imprisonyou for life, andconfisca te a ll

your possessions, rea l andpersona l. Tha t is the waythe Lahore Durbar would have settled so largea

cla im. But the Indian Government has not thecourage to a ct intha t way.

But I have not a ttempted to make an over

cha rge andif my agents have done so, let it be deducted

,if it be incorrect

, sa id the La llah .

You area crimina l,

”sa id the Ra jah .


Andsuch was the opinion of many oflibers of theGovernment, civil andmilita ry !The contractor, however, was eventually acquitted,

andthe Government pa id the bill. But, to thisday,thena tives of India believe tha t the object of theGovernment was to chea t their creditor ; while theofi cers, civil andmilita ry, areequally sanguine tha tit was the honour of thefamily tha t led to the

most extraordina ry andprotracted tria l tha t ever wa sknown in India , andwhich was empha tica lly de

nounced, by the press andpub lic of every country inEurope

, as absurd, unjust, andshameful Nevertheless, Jooteepersfldcannot have harboured any revengefor the wrongs (involving disgrace anddishonour)which were heaped uponhim for it is he who hasfed

,for several months, the fivethousand Christians

during their incarcera tionin the fortress of Agra ;

and, amongst thenumber of civilians there Shut up,is the gentlemanwho conducted the prosecutionon

the beha lf of the Government, andwho, intheexecutionofhis duty, strove very hard indeed for a verdictof guilty W ithout Jooteepersirdwecould not haveheld Agra

W hen the sunhadgonedown, andit wa s c ool

enough to wa lk abroad, La ll Singh led meinto theextensive gardens which surrounded his temporary

abode. TheLallah hadleft us, andI was now a lone

with the ex-Commander of the Seik Cava lry andtheex-Prime Minister of Lahore. I felt much more

THE RANEE or LAHORE . 193

pleasure inhis society thanI should have felt b adhebeeninthe plenitude of his power ; for he bore hisaltered condition with grea t dignity andcheerfulness

, anddiscoursed uponall sorts of t0pics without

any restra int or reserve. He eventa lked about theRanee of Lahore— with whom his name hadbeenso

frequently coupled— andwith a chiva lrous spirit

(whether his a ssertions were true or not is anothermatter) assured metha t his intrigues with her hadbeenconfined exclusively to politics. I a sked him

where this helpless woman hadfled to,after her

miraculous escapefrom Benares,in the ga rb of a

man? Hereplied tha t he knew not. He was sureshewas not inNepa l— where the authorities sup

posed her to be—but somewhere in our own provinces.

W a s shea beautiful woman I asked.

No andnever hadbeen,”was his reply. But

shehadeyes which could charm like those of a snake,anda voicesweeter thantha t of a bird.

”

They say shewas the Messa lina of the East, and

Iexpla ined to him wha t the a llusionsignified.

I t is not true,” he excla imed vehemently. She

was a va inandclever woman; but the very oppositeof the chara cter tha t shehas beendescribed . Shewas proud of the influence shepossessed over meninmaking them subservient to her will andhercaprices.

”

Hadshegrea t power over Runjeet Singho


None. Shewas his doll, his plaything, andtheonly being who could ca lm him whenhe hadthehorrors. Nothing more.

”

How the horrors

Runjcet Singh began life as a petty chiefta in,

with a few hundred followers. He a cquired a va st

kingdom,andhadthe most powerful army tha t the

East ever saw,or will see. W hilst he went on c on

quering, shedding blood, andplundering, he wa s easyinhis mind but

,whenhe found that he hadgot a s

much as he could manage, he stopped ; andthencame his disquiet . His grea t fea r thenwas tha t hecould not reta inwha t he hadbecome possessed of

andhis chief horror wa s tha t the Koh -i-noor would

beca rried off— that diamond which Runjeet Singhstole, andwhich the Ranee has worn a thousand

times as a bracelet. That diamond which is now in

the crownof England .

”

W here did it come from origina lly

No onecansay tha t . The history of the Koh - i>

noor has yet to be written. Did you ever seea likeness of Runjeet Singh

Never .

”

Then I will show you a very fa ithful oneminia ture takenby a famous pa inter who came from

Delhi,andspent his life inLahore . TheMaha raj ah

was a diminutive,shrivelled man, frightfully pitted

with the sma ll-pox,which haddestroyed oneof his

eyes ; but with the other he could gaz e for anhour


once the site of a pa la ce andthesewalls arethoseof the ty-khana— a vault benea th thedwelling fromwhich the light is excluded. Inthese dark pla ces a reusua lly perpetra ted wha t you English ca ll da rk

deeds. ’

I expressed a desire to ex plore this newly discovered apartment of former days but the Rajah

told meit was then too la te, as the workmenhad

gone ; but he promised metha t if I would come tohim at daylight onthe following morning, he would

have grea t pleasure ingra tifying my curiosity.

On the following morning, having spent a very

dreamy night, I was carried inmy palanquinto theJ a tneeBagh . Such was the name of J ooteepersad’sgarden-house

,in which La ll Singh then resided.

The Rajah was dressing. I was confronted by a

Seik with an enormous beard,whose ha ir was a

yard long andtied up in a peculiar knot onthe topof his head, andwho politely inquired if I would takecoffee. Ere long the Rajah made his appea rance

,

andwewent together to the newly discovered tykhana , which was now guarded, since gold andsilverhadbeenfound there . The workmen, some twenty

innumber, came andcommenced their labour ! tha tof clea ring away the earth inall directions, inorderto get to the bottom of the apartment inthe ty-khana .

This was accomplished in about two hours, andwethenstood upona stone-floor inthe centre of a room,

a bout sixteenfeet square. In severa l of the niches

BRICKED UP .

”197.

were little lamps, such as areburnt uponthe tombsofMoslems, anda hookah anda pa ir ofmarble cha irswere found inthe subterraneous apartment of which

the sky was now the roof. W hilst examining the

wa lls, I observed tha t, upon oneside, there was a

ledge about six feet high from thefloor (andca rriedup therefrom), andabout a foot inwidth. This ledge,which was of brick andplaster, resembled a hugemantelpiece, andwas continued from oneendof theapartment to the other. I asked the Rajah the reasonof such a structure in the apartment. Herepliedthat he did not know, nor could any of the workmen

account for it ; oneof them,however, took a pickaxe

anddug out a portion, when, to my surprise andhorror, I discovered tha t inthis wa ll a humanbeinghadbeen bricked up. Theskinwa s still uponthe

bones, which were covered with a costly dress ofwhite

muslin, spangled all overwith gold ; around the neck

was a string of pearls onthe wrists andankles were

gold bangles, andonthe feet were a pa ir of slippers,embroidered all over with silver wire or thread ; such

slippers a s only Mahommedan women of rank or

wea lth c an afford to wear. The body resembled a

well-preserved mummy. The fea tures were verydistinct, andwere those ofa womanwhose agecould notat thetime of her death ha ve exceeded eighteenor

nineteenyears. The head was partially covered with

the white dress . Long black ha ir was still clingingto thesca lp, andwa s parted across the forehead and

198 W ANDERINGS IN I NDIA .

carried behind theears. It wa s the most horribleandghastly figure tha t I ever beheld .

The workmenappeared to take this discovery a s a

matter of course ; or, rather, to rega rd it only with

reference to the gold andsilver ornaments upontheskeleton, andit wa s with grea tdimculty tha t I couldprevent them stripping it, forthwith. As for the

Rajah,he simply smiled andcoolly remarked ! “A

case of jea lousy. Her husband was jea lous of her,andthought her guilty, andpunished her thusbricked her up alive in this wall, with no room to

move about,only standing room. Perhaps shede

served it,— perhaps shewas plotting aga inst his life ;perhaps shewas innocent ! who cansay ? Hindoos

as well as Mahommedans punish their wives in tha t

way.

”

You mean tha t they used to do so informer

times, previous to British rule inIndia . But such a

thing could not occur inour time.It does not occur so often as it did but it does

occur, sometimes, even inthese days. How do you

know wha t happens inthe establishment of a wea lthy

native ? Let us look a little further into the wall.

It strikes metha t wesha ll findsome more of themOrders were given accordingly to the workmen to

remove with grea t care the whole of the ledge, inshort, to pull away its entire face. This was done ; andhow shall I describe theawful spectacle thenpresented ? In that wall there were no less thanfive


INDIAN SOCIETY.

W HILST I was a t Agra , a distinguished milita ry officerof high rank, who hadjust beenappointed as a member of the Council, passed through the sta tion onhis

way to the seat of government, Ca lcutta . It wa ssupposed tha t this genera l officer would

,on the

first vacancy,become Deputy-Governor of Benga l

andof course the society ofAgra wa s resolved to do

him honour. It would not do for anybody to hangback on an occasion like this ; and, for the nonce,both the civilians andthe military were of onemind,andactua lly met onanamicable andpleasant footing,

to ta lk the ma tter over, andto decide uponwha t wa sto be done. After a friendly deba te, which lasted forfour hours

,it was resolved tha t Sir Gunter andLady

Ga lloPaway should be invited to a ba ll andsupper,

andnot to a dinner . It was further determined tha tthe enterta inment should take pla ce, not a t Govern

ment-house (tha t would be too Civil)—not at anymess-room (that would be too Milita ry) —but a t a

good-siz ed ha ll ca lled the Metca lfe Institution, thisbeing perfectlyneutra l ground. My friend, the civilianwith whom I hadbeenstaying, hada perfect contemptfor these loca l squabbles— a lthough hewas rea lly com

A BALL . 201

polled to take a pa rt therein and, after the meetingwa s over

,he sa t down andwrote a metrica l squib,

ridiculing the whole afi'

a ir,andsent it for publica tion

to oneof the newspapers, the Delhi Ga zette. For

this squib—seeing tha t it sneered a t both the civiliansandthe military— I unfortuna tely got the credit, andthe consequence was

,tha t

, whenI made my . appea r

ance a t the ba ll,severa l of the heads of the society

who hadformerly received mewith extreme cordia lity,answered meonly inmonosyllables whenI addressedthem . Indeed

,I learnt afterwa rds

,from my friend

’

s

wife,that a meeting hadactua lly beenca lled to con

sider the propriety ofnot inviting me, andthat I hadvery narrowly escaped tha t punishment for haditnot beenfor the vote of her husband myname wouldhave been omitted, as there were ten for andtenaga inst me, whenhe held up his hand inmy favour.But to the ba ll . There were present some twenty

c ivilians, all dressed inblack with white cravats andea ch hadbrought with him his wife, or a sister

,or

daughter. Ofmilitary men(all infull dress uniform)there were about forty-fiveor fifty ; andthe ladieswho came with them may have numbered thirty . In

a ll, say that there were present—including visitors

andstragglers like myself— onehundred andforty.

I was ra ther la te, and, onentering the room,beheld

oneof the oddest sights that I ever witnessed all the

bla ck coats were huddled together, andso were a ll thereds. They hadbeenunanimous only so far as giving


the enterta inment was concerned ; andit seemed tobedistinctly understood by ea ch pa rty tha t there

was to be no mixing ; andso the civilians formed

quadrilles anddancedwith the civil ladies, andthesoldiers with themilitary ladies. Hadthere been a

roya l regiment inAgra , there would have beenthreeparties

,owing to the jea lousy that ex isted formerly

betweenthe Queen’s andthe Company’s ofi cers. Besidesmyself, there were two interlopers inthe East ”

present a t tha t ba ll. The one,a French gentleman

the other, a GermanBa ron. They

,too

,were travel

ling about insearch of the picturesque,andhere they

hadit with a vengeance . The Frenchmancould not

comprehend this exclusiveness on the part of the

blacks ; but the German assured us tha t to him it

was a very common sight, andto be witnessed a t

every ba ll in every ga rrison town inhis country.

But there,”sa id he

,

“ the military look downonthe

civilians, while here, it seems to me, tha t the civilianslook downonthe military. See

,see! See howdis

dainfully that oldMrs. Revenue Board scrutiniz es the

dress ofMrs. Lieutenant-Colonel DamzeSure enough such was the case. But regard i

”

sa id the Frenchman how angry is tha tMrs . SudderAdawlut

,because tha t little Mrs. Infantry (whose

husband,I am told

,is the younger son of a poor

English lord) is contempla ting her nez en l’a ir.

Truly this is a magnificent spectacle ! I s it a lwaysso, I wonder ?”


Genera l by those who desired tomake him rememberthem in the future. However, it was managed a t

la st ; and, somehow or other, wethree interlopers contrivedbefore long to monopoliz e his a ttention—weetheonly people inthe room to whom he could not beof any service—for there was nothing tha t he couldgive, or get for us, if wehadwanted his patronage.We

,ra ther ma liciously so far as the crowd was con

cerned— stood about the distinguished old man and

gua rded him andI have reasonto know tha t he wa s

grateful to us for so doing. Towards the hour of

twelve, however, wehadto stand back ; forMrs. Lieu

tenant-Colonel Damzecame andsa t uponthe sofa on

the left side of the Genera l,andta lked to him inan

animated but somewha t anxious manner, which became evenmore anxious whenMrs . Revenue Boardapproached, andtaking a sea t onthe Genera l’s right(eyeing Mrs. Lieutenant-Colonel Damzewith a somewha t haughty expression), oongra tulatedthe Genera lonhis recent good fortune. At this advanced stageof the evening a lso

,Lady Gallopaway was flanked

right andleft by old Mr . Revenue Boa rd andLieutenant-Colonel Damze, GB. The reader is req uestedto note that these two letters— C.B.

— were Damze’sby right or

,a t all events, tha t he hadbeenrecom

mended for the order, andtha t the recommenda tionhadbeen instantly a ttended to ; a lbeit Damzehadnever been within range of an enemy’s cannonin the whole course of his life. Lady Ga llopawayyawned.

A QUESTI ON or PRECEDENCE . 205

At length a gong sounded, andthe band struckup tha t usual signal that supper is ready, O

,the

Roast Beefof Old England, 0,the Old English Roast

BeeThe anxiety of the ladies who sat oneither side of

theGenera l was now at it height. They fanned

themselves with fearful vigour ; andwe, the three interlopers, fancied tha t wecould hear the pa lpitationof their hea rts . Meanwhile their husbands, respectively, by their looks, evinced a corresponding anxiety .

Each stood ready to ofl'er his arm to Lady Gallopawayas soonas theGenera l hadmade his election— of the

lady he would lead to the supper table . Each partywas equa lly confident but equally nervous, like the

parties to a lawsuit. For weeks past this questionof precedence hadbeen deba ted inAgra, andverywarmly deba ted—namely, whether Mrs . Revenue

Board,of the Civil Service, or Mrs. Lieutenant

Colonel Damze, C.B. , was entitled to the pa s . Now

was the moment for a decision, or at all events an

authority in support of either positionor argument .

Theold Genera l (uponwhom bothMr. Revenue Board

andLieutenant-ColonelDa zme,C.B. ,hadtheir anxious

eyes) rose, .smiled, bowed to the ladies who hadflanked

him,left them,

andwandered about the ba ll-room,

looking to theright andleft, a s if searching for someone. Presently he stopped short before little Mrs.

Infantry, who was ta lking to a com et of the 17th

Light Cava lry . The Genera l offered her his arm .

Shetook it very graciously, andwas led away. But

206 W ANDERINGS IN IND IA .

before leaving the room sheha lted,turned round

, andstared very significantly a t the two elderly ladies who

were still sea ted onthe sofa , overwhelmed insurprise,horror, andindignation. Infantry, who was only a

lieutenant inhis regiment, observing that the Genera l

hadrecognised thesocia l right of his wife, which shehadderived solely from him, instantly rushed up to

Lady Gallopaway, andofl'eredher anarm (which she

took), ledher away intriumph, leavinghis ownColonel(Damze) andold Mr. Revenue Board gasping and

gaping at ea ch other inmutua l disgust andconsternation. Hada shell burst inthebuilding, hadthepowder magaz ine exploded andsha ttered all the windows

,thecommotioncould sca rcely have beengrea ter

thanit was a t that moment. No onecould account

for this extraordina ry conduct, or caprice, as it wa s

termed,onthe part of theold Genera l. Damze, who

hadjust beenfla ttering him concerning his wonderful

a chievements, now decla red tha t the old fool hadbecome ha lf-witted since eighteenhundred andfortyseven,

”while Revenue Boa rd

,who a quarter of an

hour previously had, to the Genera l’

s face, held forth

on the unflinching independence which hadma rkedhis character through life,now protested—openly pro

tested— that he hadbeen a time- server throughout

his entire career, andhadsome object in thus truckling before the son of an influential peer The

la dies on thesofa sta red a t ea ch other ; now com

miseratingly andin silence for at least two minutes,


wine with anabsent forma lity,which was very enter

ta ining to lookers-ou, who were inno way interested

inthe momentous questionwhich wa s preying ontheir

very souls.“It shall notendhere

,sa id Damze

,moodily fixing

his eyes onthechandelier.Not

,indeed !” sa id Mr. Revenue Board.

I sha ll put my case to the Governor-Genera l di

rect,

”sa id Damz é . His Lordship is a near con

nex ionofmine .

”

I am perfectly aware of that,sa id Mr. Revenue

Board ; but it is my intentionto submit my ca se tohis Lordship through Mr. Bommerson, the Lieutenant-Governor of these provinces

,officia lly ; and, if

his Lordship’s opinionshould be adverse,I sha ll ha ve

my appea l to the Court of Directors, amongst whom ,

thank Heaven! I have severa l rela tions andwa rmfriends .

Andyou will write, I hope, my dear, sa id Mrs.

Revenue Board, to Sir JohnBobgrouse, who is thePresident of the BoardofControl, andwhose secreta rymarried your first cousin— recollect

Wecanwrite, too,” sa id Mrs. Lieutenant-ColonelDamze.

You may write to anybody you please, sa id

Mrs. Revenue Boa rd,defiantly andcontemptuously

but you will remember tha t the point betweenus

is this— tha t evenifyour husband, inconsequence of

having got, no matter how,a C.B.ship, has theright

A KNoTTr QUESTION . 209

to precede my husband, a civilian of twenty years’

standing—whether you have the right to precede meThat is the question andI hope

,Revenue dear

, you

willnot fa il to ra ise it.”

Reader,the questionwas submitted in a ll its

bearings for the considera tionof theMost Noble theGovernor-Genera l of India

,who, declining to take

uponhimself so fea rful a responsibility, referred thematter to theHome Government. Leadenhall-streethadsomething to say to it, andso hadthe Board of

Control. W hile thecase was pending, the newspapers in every part of India litera lly teemed withletters onthesubject, andtheir editors were invitedto give their opinions thereon. Only oneof the

number was weak enough to do this, andbitterlydidherepent of his rashness ; for, ha ving decided infavour of the CB . andof Mrs. C.B. , he lost (so heconfessedto me) no less thansix -and-twenty civilians

,

(each of‘ twenty years

’

standing) in his subscription

list. For more thaneighteenmonths this precedence

questionformed a leading topic,not only inthe public

prints , but inpriva te circles. It became, inshort,a

perfect nuisance . At length the decisionof the HomeGovernment came out to India ; but, a las they hadonly ha lf done their work . They hadgiven C.B.

theprecedence over thecivilian of twenty years’

standing, but hadbeensilent about their wives So,

thematter was referred back.

”A clerk inthe Private

Secretary’

s omoe told methat he was occupied forP


three hours in copying only the Governor-Genera l’

s

minute on the Court’s despa tch, which was a very

lengthy one, andsigned by the cha irmanfor himselfandthe other directors, whose names were giveninfull. He further informed methat the whole of the

documents connected with this weighty afl'

air would,if put into type, form a volume fivetimes as bulky asSirW illiam Napier

’

s Conquest of Scinde!How the ma tter was settled eventua lly I do not

know ; for, when I left India , the questionhadnotbeendecided. On the grea t point, whenit was referred for a second time to the Home Authorities

,

there was a difference of opinionbetween the Court

ofDirectors andthe Board of Control, anda longcorrespondence ensued onthe subject

,betweenea ch

of these departments of the IndianGovernment andthe Governor-Genera l, who was required to have thecaselaid before the Advoca tes-Genera l of the SupremeCourts at the various Presidencies. These gentlemendiffered onewith the other in their views of the ca se

,

ea ch a lleging tha t the point lay in a nutshell, andwas as clea r a s possible. For a ll I know to the contrary, it may be in the nutshell a t this moment.Both Lieutenant-Colonel DamzeandMr . RevenueBoard laid

“cases” before the Ca lcutta barristers, who

pocketed their fees, andla conically expressed theiropinions respectively, tha t the parties who consulted

them were in the right there could be no doubtonthe point,

” they sa id . Damz é sent a copy of his

212 W ANDEEINGS IN INDIA .

colonel,in the way of interest. Presuming on the

acqua intancewhich existed betweenhis fa ther andtheCommander-in-Chief

,he wrote a letter to tha t func

tionary, anda few days afterwards found himself ingeneral orders. Thewra th of Damzemay be eas ilyimagined, especia lly as he hadboasted to severa l of

his oflicers ofhaving put a spoke inthe Lieutenant’swheel. Andby wayofthrowing sa lt uponthe Colonel

’

s

wounds,the Lieutenant ca lled uponhim, and, in the

politest manner possible, inquired if there was anything he could do for him a t head-

qua rters .

W hile a t Agra , a BengaleeBaboo ca lled uponme.Judging from his appea rance, I Should have guessedhis ageto be about fifty yea rs but he was upwa rds

of seventy . He spoke English with marvellous

fluency andaccuracy, andcould read andwrite thelanguage as well anda s elegantly as any educa ted

European. Hewas, perhaps, the cleverest Hindoowhom I encountered during my sojournin theEast.His manners were peculia rly courteous andwinning,andthere was an a ir of penitence about the man

,

which,apart from his abilities

,induced meto trea t

him with kindness andconsideration. His name wa s— let us say—Nob inkissen.

The history of Nob inkissenwas simply this. He

was a Brahminof the highest caste, and, a t the ageof eighteen, was a writer inthe service of thegovernment, on a sa lary of ten rupees per month. He

DEGREES BOUGHT AND SOLD . 213

ingratiatedhimself with every civilianunder whom

he served, andgradua lly rose, step by step

,until he

became the Sheristadar,or head clerk

,of a circuit

judge of a court of appea l . Inthis ofi cehe acquiredriches

,andwas still adding to his store

,whenhis

officia l ca reer was brought prema turely to a close.

I mus t here inform the reader tha t not Onecivilianina hundred, no ma tter wha t his rank or grade, can

read andwriteHindostaneeor Persian, a lthough themajority of them have some colloquia l knowledge of

both those languages. Yet,a s a matter of course

,

they a ppend their Signatures to every document of

which,on hea ring it read a loud to them by their

native ofi cia ls,they approve . Their orders they

dictateora lly ; those orders aretranscribed by theSheristadar, who gives them to a native writer to copy.

This done,they areread a loud for correction or

approval, andthen signed in English by the cove

nantedcivilian. Before leaving omoe everyday, suchcivilianmay have to sign fifty, sixty, or a hundred

documents for the rule is,not to sign each of them

whenread, but to Signthem ina mass at the breakingup of the court. Here Nobinkissen invented hismeans ofmoney -making. W henever the judge gave

a decree inany case of importance, he made a coun

terpart of such decree,andwhenthe signing time

came, Obta ined, without any sort of trouble or inquiry,

the signa ture of the Sahib andthe sea l of the Courtto both documents. Hewas thus, to all intents and


purposes—or, a t a ll events, forhis own— inpossession

of something tantamount to the fee-simple of thelands indispute. He could arm either the appellant

or the respondent with the fina l decree of the Court,under the hand and

.

oflic ial sea l of the judge. Theonly questionwith himnowwas, which ofthe litigants

would give the most money, andto each, inpriva te,andinthe Sahib’s name, beexhibited the documents .

Thehighest bidder, of course, ga ined theday, whereuponNob inkissentook the coin, handed over oneofthe decrees

, andburnt the other.It fell out tha t Nob inkissenwa s a ttacked with

fever,and

,ina sta te bordering ondelirium,

he pa rtedwith

, tha t is to say, sold,to both respondent and

appellant,a decree

,under the hand andseal of the

judge, such decree a rming the holder with the power

to take possession of a very large estate inBenga l .

Each party, fearful of a disturbance, which often

occurs when possession of an esta te is sought for,applied to the magistra te of a district, under a certa in

regula tionof government, for a ssistance, in order to

enable him to carry out the judge’

s decree,which

each, as a matter of course,produced . The magis

tra tewas na turally much perplexed, andmade a

reference to the judge, who could only say he hadsigned but onedecree. There was then a reportmade to the government by the magistra te. Anin

vestigation ensued, andthejudge was, meanwhile,suspended , for grea t suspicionlurked inthe minds of


ga ins. His wife hadtakencare of them during his

captivity.

At the time that Nob inkissen“ ca lled uponme, thegevemment of India were inconsiderable difliculty inrespect to finance.

"

A new loan hadbeen opened,

but it did not fill, andthe government hadverywisely determined upon closing it . Nobinkissenmade this a topic of conversa tion

,andhis views

albeit they came from a manwho hadbeenconvictedof a fraud— are, a t the present time especia lly, entitledto the very gravest considera tion.

Ah, sir !

”heremarked, “ it is a pitiful thing

that the government of a grea t empire like this

should ever be in pecuniary difficulties andputto their wits’ endfor a few millions annu

order to make the receipts square with the ex penditure.”

But how canit be helped ? I asked.

Easily,sir,

” he replied. W hynot make it ex

pedient to do away with the perpetual settlement of

Lord Cornwallis, andresettle the whole of Benga l

Tha t is by far themost fertile province in the Eastbut it is taxed lighter thaneven these poor lands of

the Upper Provinces. Look a t theDurbungah Ra jah.

Nearly the whole of Tirhoot, the ga rden of India,

belongs to him,andhe does not pay into the govem

ment treasury half a lac (fivethousand pounds) perannum

,while his collections amount to upwa rds

of twenty lacs . These arethe menwho get hold

FINANCIAL MATTERS . 217

of the money andbury it,andkeep it from circu

la ting.

”

But all zemindarees (lands) arenot so profitab le

inBenga l

N0 ; many arenot worth. holding— espec ia l]ythesmaller ones, a lthough the land is just a s good,andjust as well cultiva ted .

But how is tha t ?”

They areso heavily tax ed. You must know,

Sir, tha t inthose days—the days ofLord Cornwa llisthe grea test frauds were committed, inrespect to theperpetual settlement. Thena tives who were about,andunder, the settlement oflicers all made immense

fortunes, andthe z emindars ! from whom they took

their bribes, have profited ever since to the cost of

the poorer z emindars, who could not or would not

bribe, andto the cost of the British government . Itis a grea t mistake to suppose tha t the whole of the

landholders in Benga l would cry out aga inst a ré

settlement of tha t province. Only menholding vasttracts of country, at a comparatively nomina l rent,would cry out.

”

Andta x the British government with a breach

offaith ?

Yes. But wha t need the government care for

that cry, especia lly when its ac t is not only ex pedient, but would be just witha l ? InBenga l, all

the grea t z emindars arerich, very rich men. Inthese

provinces, with very, very few exceptions, they a re


poor,so tha t thewhole ofUpper India would be gla d

to seethe perpetua l settlement done away with,and

the land resettlW hy so

Tha t is only human—and, certa inly, Asia tic

nature. Few of us like to behold our neighbours

better ofi‘

than ourselves ; so tha t the cry of fa ith

breaking would not meet with a responseinthis partof theworld.

”

Yes ; but inEurope thecry would be too powerful to contend aga inst. The Exeter Ha ll ora tors andthe spouters a t the Court of Proprietors would

Ah, sir India should either begoverned inIndiaor inEngland. It is the number ofwheels in thegovernment tha t clogs themovement of themachine. ”

Very true.”

But who arethese men— these z emindars with

whom you arerequired to keep animplicit fa ith ? Arethey your friends ? I f so, why do they never come

forward to assist you inyour difliculties ? Did asingle z emindar, when, a fter the ba ttle ofFeroz eshah,the empire was Shaking intheba lance, lift a finger tohelp the government of India ? And, to morrow,

if

your rule were a t stake, anddependent ontheir assistance, think you they would render it ? Think you

they would furnish money if your treasury was

exhausted ? Not onepice ! Think you they wouldfurnish men to protect your stations denuded of

troops ? No Although hundreds of them caneach


with such men as these W hat cla im have they to

our faintest considera tion! W ha t right to expect

tha t weshall any longer forego the collectiono f

severa l extra millions annually— severa l extra mil

lions which, to every intent andpurpose, is our justdue

There is a line inShakespeare, sir, NOb inkissencontinued, which the government of India shouldadopt as its motto, andac t up to consistently

Cesarnever does wrong without just cause.Our conversa tionwas here interrupted by a noise

inthe road. I went to the window, andobserving a

grea t crowd, inquired of oneof my servants who wa s

standing inthe verandah

W ha t is the ma tter ?”

A bullock has fa llendown, andthey a retrying toget him up

— tha t is all,Sahib,

”was the reply .

I rushed to the spot, followed by Nob inkissen, and

there beheld a scene which inno other country wouldhave beentolera ted by the crowd a ssembled .

Oneof a pa ir of bullocks,drawing an over-la den

cart, hadfrom weakness andfa tigue, sank benea th

the burden. The driver of the anima ls (a Hindoo)hadbroken

,by twisting it violently, the ta il of the

poor beast, which was nothing but skinandbone, andwas covered with wounds from ill-trea tment. Hea vyblows andthe ta il breaking having fa iled to makethe jaded ox stand uponhis legs, the driver— heedlessofmy remonstrance—collected some straw andsticks

H INDOO PREJUDICES . 221

andlighted a fireall round him . Thepoor beastnow struggledvery ha rd, but was unab le to rise

,

andpresently he resigned himself to bescorched todea th.

I a lways thought tha t the cow was a sacred

anima l with Hindoos sa id I to Nob inkissen.

Yes,” sa id be.Andhere is a H indoo who works oneof his gods

till he drops downwith Sheer fa tigue, andthencruellyputs him to dea th !”

“Yes, tha t often happens, said Nobinkissen,

Then, wha t an absurdity andinconsistency forthe Hindoos a t Benares, andother holy pla ces

, to

make such a noise if an European only strikes a

sacred anima l with a whip ! W hy, it was only the

otherday tha t a mob collected around thehouse ofthe magistrateandset the authorities at defiance ! a llbec ausethe magistrate hadordered tha t oneof thebulls which crowd the streets should be shut Up, on

the ground tha t he hadgored severa l people .

”

Tha t is the doing of theBrahmins, who incite thepeople to such acts andevery concessiononthe pa rtof the government leads thoseBrahmins to believethat they have great power, andleads the people a lsoto believe it. I f a Mahommedanfinds oneof thosebulls intheway, andgives him a thrashingwith a thick

stick,or probes him in the side with a sword, the

Brahmins saynothing,nor do thepeople of Benares.

”


W hy is tha t

Because it would not be worth while. The strife

would be profitless for, you see, Sir, the Mahommedans arenot therulers of this country, but the Sahibsare; andhence the jea lousy with which they arewa tched. Intime, the Government of India will seethenecessity of forbidding Hindoo festiva ls in the

public streets— abolishing them—just as Suttee wasabolished. It is only the dissolute rich andtherabble who take any delight in these festiva ls, many

of which areindecent anddisgusting. Sensible andrespectable H indoos take no pa rt in them on the

contrary,they avoid them

, andthink them a nuisance .

Hindooism will never become extinct,so long a s this

world lasts ; but the British Government ha s the

power of doing away with those obnoxious Ob servances inthe public thoroughfares, which only disfigurethe religion.

”

W ell, in tha t case, you would have to do away

with theMahommedanfestivals

Most certa inly— inthe public streets. Inprivate,the Mahommedans as well a s the Hindoos might be

permitted to keep their festiva ls inwha tever way they

thought proper. Do you suppose tha t the Mab om

medans, when in power, suffered the Hindoos to

block up the streets continua lly with their processions, as they do now ? Think you tha t they entertainedthe same considera tionfor the bulls andthemonkeys a t Benares as the British now enterta in?


W ell,that is something, Nob inkissen.

Andofwhat class of people areyour converts ?Respectable menof all classes, I suppose.”The dregs ofboth Hindoos andMussulmans. The

most debased anddegraded of Indiaus— men who

only a ssume Christianity in the hope of tempora l

advantage andpreferment— andwho fling aside their

newly put-ou fa ith, andlaugh andscoff at your

credulity themoment they findtheir hope frustra ted.

I could give you at least onehundred instances ; butonewill samoe. Not long ago a Mussulman, nam ed

Ally Khan, was converted by Mr. Jones, a missiona ry

inCa lcutta , and, Shortly after his conversion, obta inedanappointment with a sa lary of onehundred rupeesa month, in the Baptist Missionary Society. H ere

he contrived to embez z le sixteenhundred rupees, forwhich Offence he was indicted inthe Supreme Court,found guilty, andsentencedto a year

’

s imprisonment

inthe Calcutta gaol. Onhearing thesentence heexcla imed Inthenameof the devil, is this the rewa rdof renouncing my religion? Farewell, Christianity

From this hour I am a Moslem aga in

Another very flagrant case occurredin this verysta tion. A civiliantook into his service a recentlyconverted Hindoo, as a sirdar-bearer. Thefellow hadcha rge of a money-b ag, andranofi

'

with it. Andwhere andhow do you suppose hewas apprehended ?At Hurdwar, taking an active part in theHooleeFestiva l TheRoman Ca tholic priests have long

CONV ERTS To CHRISTIANITY. 225

since left off a sking the natives of India to becomeChristians. Those who volunta rily present themselves

,are

,a fter a strict examina tion, anda due

Warning tha t theymust hope for no tempora l advantage, admittedinto the Church.

”

Anddo they have any applications

Very very few,indeed but those whom they

admit do,rea lly andtruly

,become Christians.

”

These las t words ofNobinkissenwere sca rcely pronounced

,when a palkee wa s brought up to my door,

andout of it stepped a RomanCatholic priest— an

Italiangentleman,a Jesuit—whom I hadmet a few

evenings previously a t the house of a mutua l friend.

Nobinkissen,who appea red to know the reverend

father intima tely, rela ted to him thesubstance of theconversa tionwehadjust held, or ra ther the la tterpart thereof, andthe priest corrobora ted every allegationthat Nob inkissenhadmade .

Yea,

” he a dded,

wenow devote our a ttention,

exclusively,to the spiritual wants of the white man

Who requires our aid— convinced,as weare, of the

hopelessness of the task of converting the Hindoo andtheMussulmanto Christianity.

”And, inadditionto

theinstances of falseconverts afforded by Nob inkissen, he did not scruple to deta il severa l others ofanequally a trocious cha racter andcomplex ion.


THE UPPER PROVINCES .

HAV ING seen Agra , its edifices, ruins,

society,

Europeanandnative, andhaving visited Secundra ,Futteypore, Sickri, andMuttra , I journeyed upwa rdsto Delhi, where I was received by Mr. Joseph Skinner

,the eldest son of the la te Colonel Skinner

,re

nowned as the founder andcommandant of the famousSkinner’s Horse. Mr. Joseph Skinner’s house wa s

, .a t

all times, opento all travellers. Hewas without exceptronthemost hospitablemanthat I ever met inanypart of the world. At his board were to be met da ily,either a t luncheonor a t dinner, civilians andmilita rymenof every rank andgrade inthe service

,a s well

as na tive gentlemen of position in India—HindoosandMahommedans. Even the young princes, sonsof the King of Delhi anddescendants of the Grea tMoghul, used frequently to honour Mr. Skinner with

their company. The title by which theywere usua lly

greeted was Sahiban-i-Alum,signifying Lords of the

W orld.

”But the most remarkable native tha t I ever

met a t Mr. Skinner’s hospitable board was thela teMaharajah Hindoo-Rao, a little

,fat, round Mahra tta

chiefta in, with sma ll twinkling eyes, anda conute


the positionof oneof ourba tteries . Night afternight

intha t house would furna ces b laz e,while some im

postor, who pretended to ha ve the secret, was at work

I ought to mentiontha t this Mahra tta chief was anear relationof the roya l family ofGwa lior, andthathe hadb eenb anished andpensioned for having beenengaged insome intrigues aga inst the Gwalior Sta te.TheMaha rajah Hindoo-Ra o was a grea t gourmand,

andthose who partook of his dinners never forgot

them. It was not oftentha t the old chief could beinduced to discuss politics, but onthe occasionof the4l st Regiment of Infantry having mutinied a t Delhi

- a mutiny which, by the way, was hushedup—I

heard him very energetica lly excla im ! Ah ! if you

go on humouring your na tive soldiers in this way,they will never be sa tisfied until they govern thecountry

The la te Sir Charles James Napier visited Delhi

while I was there . He came,not as ordinary com

manders-in-chiefusually come, with a large suite andanescort covering a squa remile of encamping ground,but attended only by two aides-de-camp anda milita ry secretary . It wa s onthe morning of his Excellency

’

s arriva l tha t the mutiny inthe 41st Regiment,to which I have just alluded

,occurred. Sir Cha rles

reviewed the regiments thenquartered a t Delhi,in

cluding the 4l st, andcomplimented themenmasse!The review over

,Hindoo-Rao

,who was a grea t horse

SIR CHARLES NAPIER . 229

man,rode up to the commander-in-chiefonhis spirited

cha rger, andexpressed the happiness it afl'

ordedhimto seeanoflicer who hadso distinguished himself inthemilitary anna ls of his country. Sir Cha rles ap

pearedmuch pleased with the open, frank manner andindependent bea ring of the old Mahra tta chiefta in

,

andac cepted, onbeha lf of himself andhis stafl'

, an

invita tion to dine with him tha t evening. A large

number ofgentlemen, Europeanandna tive, assembledto meet his Excellency ; andwhen Sir Cha rles returnedthanks for the honour tha t hadbeen paid to

him indrinking his hea lth, he ma de allusion to the

pleasure tha t it afl'

ordedhim in seeing‘ Christians,

H indoos, andMussulmen on such good terms, andliving together insuch amity andconcord. W hat a

change sincetha t evening, which to meseems but a syesterday ! Severa l of our party

,on tha t occasion,

havebecome chiefs of the recent rebellion,andwere

accessory to the massacre of English gentlemenandladies.Hindoo-Rao died ineighteen hundred andfifty

four. His funera l was thus described to meby a

friend who witnessed it They dressed up the Old

gentleman’

s corpseinhis most magnificent costume,covered his a rms with jewelled bracelets of gold, with

costly necklac es of pea rls anddiamonds hanging downto his wa ist, placed him in a cha ir of state, sat him

bolt upright—just as he used to sit whena live— andthus, a ttended by his rela tions, friends, andsuite

230 W ANDERINCS IN INDIA .

he was carried through Delhi to the banks of theJumna , where the body was burntwith theusua l rites,andthe ashes throwninto the river .

”

Mr. Skinner a lso is dead. He died in eighteenhundred andfifty-five. W henI think of him I amrejoiced tha t he did not survrveto be bruta lly ma ssacred, as his brothers have been; or to seehis house(near theCashmere Ga te) which was a lways the sceneofgood-followship andgood-feeling, turned into a ba t

tery by the rebels or the church,built by his fa ther

,

bumedanddestroyed by the people who hadforyears andyears paid

,or affected to pay, unqualified

respec t anddevotionto his family.

I made the a cqua intance of another personage a t

Delhi,for whom I hada very grea t liking andregard.

This was Mirz a FuttehAllee Shah Bahadoor, the heirapparent to the throne of Delhi. He was a very

amiable andintelligent prince, andhadanex tra ordina ry thirst for knowledge. Amongst other things

tha t he was curious to lea rnwas the history of steam

power, ra ilroads, andthe electric telegraph . Forhourstogether he would encourage me—nay, importune me,to ta lk with him onthese matters. Apropos of this

prince andhis family—while I was a t Delhi the festival of the Eedcame to pass, andthere was anomenwhich was variously interpreted. The King, inother

words the Grea t Moghul, sacrifices a camel . The Kingkills (or used to kill) the came] with his ownhand ,by driving a spear into the breast of the anima l . On


Queenwould be led upon the arm of such Emperorto visit the tomb of the Prisoner of St. Helena .

After leaving Delhi I crossed over to Meerut, whichwas then, as it a lways ha s beensince its formation, thefavourite stationinthe Upper Provinces of India . I n

eighteenhundred andforty-six’

andforty-seventherewere as many as ten thousand troops qua rtereda t Meerut, including two regiments of British fo o t,a regiment of dragoons, andthree troops of ho rse

(European) artillery. Until la tely,it has a lways been

deemed prudent to keep a very large Europeanforc ea t Meerut inorder to keep Delhi (only forty m i lesdistant) incheck for it was stipulated inoneof our

trea ties with the family of the Moghuls, tha t noBritish infantry or cava lry, or other Europeantroops,should ever be quartered inthe Imperia l City or its

immedia te vicinity . W hen,however

,the Punjab wa s

annexed, the Europeanforce a t Meerut was lessenedto meet theexigencies of the times andof la teMeerut has not been, in respec t to the number of

Europeantroops, the stationtha t it was formerly.

There areno ancient buildings to be seen a t

Meerut. All is of Europeanstructure. The church,

the barracks, the court-houses, the trea sury, the

theatre,the bungalows of the civilians andmilitary

officers, as well as those ofthemerchants and“others,”areall of brick andmortar, la th andplaster ; andtheywere for the most part thatched, so tha t the Sepoyshadvery little trouble insetting fireto them . The

THE PRESS IN INDIA . 233

reasonwhy houses arecommonly tha tched instead of

tiled andshingled, is tha t the thatch keeps the interior of the dwelling so verymuch cooler.

W hile a t Meerut I was a guest of the editor of thejourna l which used to issue from tha t station, andas

mystay extended over six weeks, during which periodI frequently assisted the editor inhis work, I ga inedsome knowledge ofthepra ctica lworking ofthe press inthe Upper Provinces. I am authorized to make anyuseI plea se of this knowledge .

Inthe first plac e I maymentiontha t the order ofGovernment forbidding civilians ormilitary mencorresponding with the press, was, to every intent andpurpose, a perfect farceanda dead letter. On thestaff of the Meerut paper were severa l gentlemenbelonging to each branch of the service . Thesegentlemennot only wrote, but some of them wrote for pay—for so much per column while the correspondence

columns were filled with letters from covenanted

civilians or commissioned ofi cers, judges, andmagistrates

,andtheir subordina tes brigadiers, colonels

,

majors, capta ins, andsuba lterns contributed anony

mously, whenever the spirit moved them. Ay ! andfrequently the members of thestaff Of theGovernorGenera l andof the Commander-in-Chief would notonly send items ofnews, but comments thereon; andIhave reasonto know tha t this practicewas continuedup to the da te of therec ent outbreak, andis still continned . By the way, the la te Major Thoma s was vire


tually the editor of the Mofussilitea t Agra a t thetime he received his dea th wound in the field of

ba ttle. TheDelhi newspaper was a lso writtenfor bycivilians andmilitary menaf all grades.It was the press tha t introduced to thenotice of

the Government many clever andable men, who hadno other interest to help them. I could mentionscores of instances, but two will suflice. HerbertBenjaminEdwa rdes, of the Benga l Fusiliers, the

Brahminee Bu of the Delhi Ga zette, andMr.Campbell

,of the Civil Service

,who was givenUp

”

to Lord Da lhousie as the Dela tor” oftheMofussilite,andpromoted to anoffice of grea t responsibility . In

the last-mentioned paper there a lso appea red, in

eighteen hundred andforty-seven,forty- eight, and

forty nine,19. series of leading a rticles onmilita ry

reform andother ma tters, some of which a ttra cted

the notice of Sir Charles Napier . They came from

the pen of Genera l (thenMajor) Mansfield, of the

Fifty-third Foot,andat present chief of the staff of

Sir ColinCampbell . It was not to silence these men,who displayed their ability in thenewspapers, tha tthey were placed in staff employ, or promoted. On

the contra ry,I know that they were expected— and

in some instances requested— to usetheir pens indefence of certa inGovernment measures ; andtha t,onsevera l occa sions

,they did vigorous battle with

their former litera ry chief,the editor of the paper in

which they first made their appearance inprint . I


skilled in English, andhis chief employment wastransla ting the na tive correspondence . Having con

stant a ccess to the desks of the compositors, this

press moonsheeacquired a knowledge of every item

of news furnished by European a s well as na tive

correspondents, andof this knowledge he fa iled not

to ava il himself. This,however, was but a small

evil,compara tively. Unknown to the conductor of

the Meerut paper,a much greater evil arose from the

publica tionof the na tive print . Ava iling himself of

such sources of informa tion, its editor seiz ed theviewsof his employer—views intended only for Europeaneyes, andgave his ownversionof them to his readersinthe Hindoostaneelanguage and, wha t was equallymischievous

,he published quantities ofma tter which

the conductor of the Meerut paper thought proper to

suppress after it was set up intype. These were themorsels inwhich the native editor took most delight.A single instance will suflice. Thefollowing appearedinthe leading columns of the J am-i -J umsheed, thefacts having beenkept out of the columns of the

Meerut paper, at theinstance of the friends of thegentlemanwho was guilty of the indiscretion!

worthy magistrateof thisdistrict. I twas supposedthat anescapedconvict from thejail was secreted in a villageabout four miles distant from this cantonment. In thedead of thenight, themagistrate, at thehead of a largebody of police, visited thevillage, arousedtheinhabitants from their Slumber-S, anddemanded eculprit.Thevillagers denied any knowledgeof him. TheIn hr, withcharacteristic kindness andc onsideration, gavethem half-an-hour tomakeup their minds. At theex pirationof that time, as thecul

NATI VE SARCASM . 237

prit was not produced, heset fireto thevillage. Inthoseflames,which illumina ted thecountry for miles round, thirteenlives weresacrificed ; namely, thoseof threemen, fourwomen, andsix children.

Oneof theunfortunatewomenwas in labour a t thetine. Somemalicious na tives intheneighbourhood of Meerut giveout that theSahib has beennotoriously madfor several years past . Let us hope,but after complimenting themagistrateonhis vigour andhis zeal, appoint him to thefirst judgeship that may becomevacant . No lessthansix hundred persons are, by this fire, rendered homeless beggars.But what of tha t ? Must justicebeobstructed ?It remains for us to addthat theescaped convict of whom the

magistratewas insearch, ha s beenin Oudefor thepast month, andthat no noticeof this afi'air will appear inany of thepapers printedinEnglish andedited by theSahib Logue. Thosegentlemenarefar too modest to makeknownthemanifest blessings which ariseoutof British ruleinIndia .

For upwa rds of a yea r anda -half the native paperwent on filching news, andwriting in the abovestrain. At length the conductor of the Meerut

journal was furnished with some informationwhichledto his discha rging hisemployees, the head pressman and the moonshee, andbreaking up their

journal,theJ am-i-Jumsheed. Andmore than this

wasdone. Thedanger ofpermittingna tivenewspapersto be published without any sort of supervisionwaselabora tely, andfrom time to time dwelt uponby

theEnglish editor, anda t length the Governmentwasmoved to ca ll for a returnof thejourna ls printedinthe Hindoostaneelanguage inthe Upper ProvincesofIndia

,andfor anaccount of the number Of copies

that each issued. W ith this returnandaccount the

Government was well sa tisfied first,because the

aggregate circulationwas so ridiculously small (com

paratively), that it was quite clea r tha t the na tive

238 wa snsamos IN INDIA .

press hadno power or influence and, secondly, tha tthe tone of the b est conducted andmost respectablejourna ls of the native press were loud intheir pra ises

ofBritish rule, andfirm supporters of the Government. It was overlooked with reference to thefirstpoint

,tha t inno country, andin India especia lly, is

the actua l circulationof a newspaper any criterionof

thenumber of persons a cqua inted with its contents,its chief items of intelligence, andits sentiments on

the most important questions of theday. Let us take

for example, thegrea test paper in the world— theTimes. Compare the number of copies tha t arestruck ofi

'

da ily with the number ofhands into which

tha t paper pa sses, the number of eyes tha t rea d it,

andthe number of ea rs tha t listento hear it read .

As to the second point, the pra ise of the Government

of India , it was laughable to hear it mentioned,a lbeit the subject was of so serious a cha ra cter . Tha t

pra ise was b estowed very much in the same spirit

tha t Ja ck W ilkes is sa id to have conveyed a seriouswarning, with a humorous grin, to an electionmob

I hear tha t it is your intention, gentlemen, totake tha t person (there who is interrupting me

,

place him under tha t pump, andduck him Now,

if you should do so, no ma tter how much it may befor his owngood, you will— I give you this empha tic

wam ing— incur mymost serious displeasure, gentlea

men They (the na tive editors) used to wrap upthemost b itter irony in the most complimentary


comprehended it, he would, without any sort of doubt,ha ve admitted tha t it was the most ex traordinary

andingenious admixture of satire andobscenity tha tever was printed andpublishedThe same editor

,during the second Sikh campaign,

burlesqued the despa tches of Lord Gough ; but socleverly

,tha t theywere takenby English people, who

hea rd them translated, as genuine productions. This

was the manwho never lost an opportunity of bringing British rule in India into disgra ce, ridicule

,and

contempt amongst his countrymen, andwho,even

tually, by producing his writings, andhaving themtransla ted literally, succeeded inob tairiing anappointment under the Government w orth onehundred andfifty rupees permensem The grea t article onwhichhis good fortune was based, was onedescriptive of

Lord Da lhousie,on the back of an elephant, pro

ceeding to a spot appointedas the plac e of anin

terview betweenhis Lordship andthe la te MaharajahGoolah Singh . Neither the Londonnor the Paris

Cha 'r'iva ri ever surpassed this squib , so fa r as its spirit

of ridicule was concerned, while inpoint of mischiefthose European journa ls of funwouldnever ha vedreamed of going the lengths of the Asia tic writer.W ha t became of thisna tive editor ?

”maybereason

ab ly asked. I hear tha t he is now a ide-de-camp andmilita ry secretary to Bahadoor Khan, the rebel, whois at the head of a considerable army, and, a ccordingto the la test accounts, in possession of theentire

THEATRICALS IN INDIA . 241

Bareilly district. He (the na tive editor) I s 8. Ma

hommedan, of very ancient andgood family ; he hasanextremelyhandsome personandplausible manners,andshould I aga inwander in India , it will not at

all surprise meto findhim in the service of the

British Government, andfilling some omco of con

siderab ledignity andemolument.I have incidenta lly spokenof the thea tre a t Meerut .

It wa s a building about the siz e of the Adelphi

Thea tre, andwas built by subscription,some twenty~

fiveyears ago. The performers were,of course

,ama

teurs,officers in the civil andmilitary services

,and

now andthen an interloper,possessed of histrionic

abilities. The ladies were those young gentlemenwho could be best made up to imita te the gentler

sex . The scene-pa inters,scene-shifters

,prompters,

andso on, were menbelonging to the va rious Euro

peancorps quartered in the sta tion,menwho had

beenabout, or connected with, Londonthea tres, andwho understood their business thoroughly. On an

average, there was a performance once a fortnight.Tragedy was seldom or never a ttempted ; nothingbut standa rd comedies andapproved fa rces. It pa insmeto think of the last performance I witnessed on

theMeerut boards ; for, with the exceptionofmyselfandanother gentleman, every onewho hada chara cter assigned to him is now numbered with the dead.

Theplay was TheLady of Lyons. Claude Melnottewas anofiicer inthe Governor-Genera l’s Body-

guard ;B

242 W ANDERINGS IN INDI A .

his height was under fivefeet, andhis weight exac tly eight stone. Pauline was the magistra te of

Bolund-Shahur, who was six feet three, andweighedtwenty-onestone andsome pounds. Inshort, Claude

was about the sma llest, andPauline about the biggestman

,in British India . These two died of na tura l

causes withinthe la st three years. The rest have a ll

b eenmassa cred or killed ina ction. Some perisheda t Cawnpore, andother sta tions, andsome ha ve

fallenbefore Delhi andbefore Lucknow. And,alas !

amongst the audience of that night, how many ha vesince beenprematurely despa tched from this world

men, women, andchildren!There aresome ma tters connected with thea trica ls

inIndia,inthe Upper Provinces

,which would strike

any gentlemanor lady fresh from Europe a s very

odd. Huge punkahs aresuspendedfrom the ceiling,andpulled by na tives during the performance.W ithout the punkahs the heat inthe house would be

unbea rable. Then, there areno boxes, andthereisno pit. Onepart of the house, tha t nearest to thestage, is set apart for the ofi cers civil andmilita ry

,

andtheir wives andfamilies. The rest of the houseis generally filled by non-commissioned cmcc ta andprivatesoldiers. As a ma tter of course, the grea testorder preva ils throughout theplay, which is usually

produced under the pa tronage of the ofi cer com

manding the sta tionandhis lady.

” The actors arenever hissed ; but theapplause, inwhich the men


the way, areall dead) were possessed of grea t

genera l ability, andhad, respectively, received a goodeduca tion.

It is not for a wanderer andan interloper like

myself to make any suggestions to anenlightened (Iusethe word advisedly) Government but I do hopetha t whenorder is restored throughout our Easterndominions, when the affa irs of the country a reama tter of loca l considera tion, the hea lth, comfort, andrecreationof the British soldier in thosehot pla inswill command more a ttentionthanhas hitherto beenbestowed upon them . I hope to seebarracks inwhich the men can live in compara tive comfort

barracks lofty andspacious, andfitted . with punkahs,andother conveniences such as arerequired for theclima te

,andsuch as onea lways finds inthe abodes of

ofi cers andgentlemen. I hope to seesepara te sleeping apartments for the married couples, andsepa ra tesleeping apartments for the mass of childrena bove

sevenandeight years of age. I hope never aga intoseemen, women, young girls, andboys

,andinfant

children,so huddled together tha t those who esca ped

demora liz a tion ought to have been exhibited as

curiosities of the human species. I hopeneveraga in to behold white children, girls of thirteenyears of age, the ofi

'

spring of British soldiers, mar.

ried, in order tha t they might remainin the regi

ment.Surely, I once remarked to the Colonel of a

THE EAST INDIA COMPANY . 245‘

Royal regiment inIndia , who made some rema rks onthepa inful topic last a lluded to Surely this mightbeobvia ted

Yes,my good sir, was his reply. But it would

c ost this Government anoutlay of a few thousands ofrupees. A little while ago I hada battle with the

Government. I insisted onhaving punkahs hung upinthe barracks, andI spoke ina tone so decided tha t

eventhe frowsy military board—composed of severa l

very old andfeeble Company’s officers of the last century—was frightened into something like a ctivity .

W ell, sir, the punkahs were suspended,andI fancied

tha t I hadga ined an immense triumph ; but I wasverymuch mistaken. It wa s a ca se of There areyour punkahs, andnow let your men pull them,

or

employ the natives to do so So tha t the punkahs,

after all, instead of promoting a current of fresh air,

impeded it, andserved only a s perches for the flies,

andcobweb-booms for the spiders. The idea of the

poor menpaying for punkah cooliesW hat would it cost to punkah the whole regi

ment during the hot season1” I a sked .

I cantell you exa ctly,”said the colonel for I

have made a correct estima te . The cost for the fivehot months would be under three hundred pounds ;andby laying out this sum the Government would

save some three thousand or four thousand pounds

3 -year,at the very least.

”

How so 2”


Many mencannot bea r the heat of these ba rrackrooms, crowded as they are

,andleftwithout punkahs.

The consequence is, tha t they become ill, go into

hospita l anddie there, or spend thegrea ter pa rt of

their time there. I should say tha t if the men hadbetter accommodation, andthesame means as weofiee'rs have of keeping their apa rtments cool

, weshould save in every regiment fifty lives annua lly .

Now,every recruit who comes from home andjoins a

regiment inthe Upper Provinces, to fill up a dea th or

casua lty inthe ranks, costs the IndianGovernment ahundred andtenpounds sterling. I have pointed a llthis out but it is of no use.”

“ I would report it to the Horse Guards! sa id I .

I did so,two years ago .

”

Andwha t did the Horse Guards say inreply toyour sta tements ?”

Precisely what the lea rned world sa id of po or

G eorge Primrose’

s paradoxes they sa id nothing .

They treated them with dignified silence, andperhapsc ontempt. However, I did not st0p there. I wentfurther.

You addressed the Throne, or Prince Albert ?

No ; I did not go so far as tha t. Wehadjustgot the Albert hat out, anda fter a careful examina

tionof it, I came to the conclusion that his RoyalHighness would hardly be disposed to give muchearto my compla int touching thediscomfort of theBritish troops in India. But I wrote to an elder


supposedto be, guilty of some sort of oppression

towards a sable cultivator of the soil,andwewill

pretty soongrind his b ones to make our bread, myboy ; but, for Heaven

’

s sake,andthe sake of the

Houseof Commons, don’t inflict uponus yourBritishsoldiers.

”

To leave the colonel, andexpress my further hopes—I hope to seein every large sta tion throughout

India two Christian churches erected— onefor theProtestants andanother for the Roman Ca tholics.

Both erected a t the expense of the Government. I

hope to see,a lso

, in every large sta tion, a library to

which every soldier, at sta ted hours, shall have access.

I hOpeto seesoldiers’ gardens—such as thelate SirHenry Lawrence recommended— inwhich the menmay, whenthey feel disposed, work, or amuse them

selves inthe cold season. I hope to seea thea treinevery la rge sta tion built andkept inrepa ir

,not by

subscriptionfrom the poormen, but a t the cost of theSta te. I hope, infact to seetheBritish soldier in

theEast—not potted, pampered, andmade a fuss of,

but made as sensibly comfortable as the climateinwhich he serves will admit of his b eing made. Ihope, from the bottom of my heart, never to seeb rave menput into such a b arrack as that a t Loodianah, which fell inupon

, andburied inits ruins, theremnant of her

.Majesty’s 5oth Regiment of Foot

Oneof the most gallant regiments in the Army List.They went into the field

,during the first Sikh cam

THE 5OTH REGIMENT or FOOT. 249

paign, nine hundred strong. Ninehundred brightbayonets glittered inthe sunas they marched away

to give thefoe(inthewords of Lord Gough a tasteOf cold sta le.” They wereat Moodkee, Ferozeshah,Aliwal, andSobra on. Out of tha t nine hundred,only three hundred returned to quarters inMarch,eighteen hundredandforty-Six . In three months,six hundred hadfallenin battle ! The campa ign

over, they were qua rtered a t Loodianah, andplac edinba rra cks which hadbeenfrequently reportedrotten,unsound, anddangerous. But of thisreport—though

forwa rded by theCommander-in—chief— the militaryboa rd took no notice. Theconsequence was, tha t ina dust-storm onthe night of the twenty-first of May,

tenyears ago, the ba rracks came down! Benea th

tha t mass of dust andsmoke, andunburnt b ricks, layall the men, women, andchildren, left to representthe glorious 5oth Regiment of Foot Benea th

tha t mass were the heroes who had( seepedthecarnage of the ba ttle

-fields inwhich three to oneof theRegiment haddied Fifty-onemen

,eighteenwomen,

andtwenty-nine children, were killed by the fa ll ofthosebarra cks ; onehundred andtwenty-Six men,thirty-nine women, and thirty-four children, werebadly wounded—many ma imedanddisfigured forlife ! W ell might theColonel of that regiment cryaloud, My God ! there is no 5oth left ! The

enemy did its worst ; but it is the Company Baha

door tha t has givenus thefinishing blow l


The English reader may possibly doub t the accu

racy of these deta ils but there is a huge grave a t

Loodianah conta ining the bones of those men, women,andchildrenof the 5oth andscores of Ofi cers still

live to bear testimony to the truth of my assertions

inrespect to this horrible ca tastrophe.

The engineer a t Loodianah was writtento by thesecretary oftheMilitary Board, anda sked whyhe hadnot made a report of the sta te of the barracks which

hadfallenin2 Hereplied tha t he hadwrittenthreeletters onthe subject

,andtha t his predecessor inomce

hadwrittenseven; andthe foolish manwas stupid

enough to ransack the records of his ofiice, and hadthe honour to transmit for information of theBoa rdcopies of these documents.” For this ab surd efi'

ort

ofmemory, andridiculous a ttempt to clear himself of

blame, he was removed from his appointment, andsent to do dutywith the Sappers andMiners— a sort of

very severe punishment inthe East for any engineerofiicer guilty of anindiscretion.


goons This oldman lived by the churchyard, tha tis to say, he derived a very comfortable income from

looking after andkeeping in repa ir the tombs of

those whose friends a renow far away but whosethoughts nevertheless still turn occasionally to tha t

Christian enclosure in the land of hea thens andidola tors.

I get, sir, for this business, sa id the old man,pointing with his stick to a very magnificent edifice,two pounds a yea r. It is not much, but it is wha tI asked

,andit pays mevery well, sir. Andif you

should go back to England, andever come a cross anyofher family

,I hope

,sir

, you will tell them that I domy duty by the grave not that I think they ha veany doubt of it

,for they must know— or, leastways,

they have beentold by them they canbelieve— tha tif I never received a farthing from them I woulda lways keep it inrepa ir, as it is now. God bless her,andrest her soul ! Shewas as good andas beautifula womanas ever trod this earth .

”

W ho was shet”The wife of anofiicer inmy Old

'

regiment, sir. Iwas inher husband’s troop. He’s been out twicesince the regiment went home, only to visit this

grave for he has long since sold out of the service,andis a rich gentleman. The last time he came was

about fiveyea rs ago . He comes wha t you ca ll incog . ;

nobody knows who he is, andhe never ca lls onany

body . All that he now does inthis country is to

A LADY’S GRAVE. 253

come here, stop for three days andnights, putting up

at the dak bunga low, andspending his time here,crying. It is there tha t he stands, where you stand

now,fixing his eyes onthetablet, andsometimes lay

ing his hea d downonthe stone, andca lling out hername Ellen! Ellen! My own dear Ellen Hedidlove her

,surely, sir.

Judging from the ageof the lady, twenty-three,andthe da te of her dea th, he must be rather anoldmannow .

”

Yes,sir. Hemust be more thansixty but his

love for her memory is just as strong as ever . Shedied of a fever, poor thing. Andfor tha t business

,

”

heagainpointed with his stick to a tomb admirably

preserved, I used to get two pounds tenshillings a

year. Tha t is the tomb of a little girl of fiveyearsold

,the daughter Of a civilian. The parents arenow

dead . They must be, for I have not heard of’em or

received anything from’em for more than six years

past”

Thenwho keeps the tomb inrepa ir ?

I do,sir. W henI am here, with my trowel and

morta r,andwhitewash, why shouldn’t I make the

outside of the little lady’s last home on earth as

bright andas fa ir as those Of her friends andneighhours ? I have a nursery of

’em, as I ca ll it, over inyonder com er— the children’s corner. Some of ’emarepa id for, others not but when I ’m there doingwhat’sneedful, I touch em up a ll a like, bless their


dear little souls. Andsomehow or other every gooda ctionmeets its ownreward, andofienwhenwelea stexpec t it. Now,

for instance, sir, about three yea rs,anda ha lf ago, I was over thereputting the nurseryingood order, whenup comes a grey-headedgentleman

,andlooks about the graves. Suddenly he

stopped oppositeto oneandbeganto read, andpre

sently he took out his pocket handkerchief andput itto his eyes.

Did you know tha t little child, sir ?’

sa id I,

whenit wasnot improper to speak. Know it 2’ sa idhe, ‘

yes. It was my ownlittle boy .

’ Dearme, sir !’I answered him. Andyou are

,then, L ieutenant

Statterleigh I was,’

sa id he but I am now thecolonel of a regiment tha t has just come to India , andis now sta tioned at Dinapore. But tell me, who keepsthis grave inorder I do, sir,

’

says I . At whoseex pense says he . At nobody’s, sir,

’

says I. It iskept inorder by thedicta tes of my ownconscience .

Your little boy is ingood company here ; andwhileI am whitening the tombs of the other little clears,I have it not inmy heart to pass by his without

giving it a touch also.’ Blest if he didn’t take me

to the house where he was staying, andgive mefivehundred rupees ! Tha t sort of thing has happened to memore thanfiveor six times inmy life,not tha t I ever hope or think of being pa id for Suchwork andlabour whenI am about it.”

Tha t must have b eena magnificent afi'

air, said


them would give way, andthe lady not wishingto ofi

'endeither by showing a preference,

andfinding herself ina dilemma

, declined to dance with

either. Not satisfied with this, they retired to theverandah

, where they hadsome high words, andthenext morning they met, behind thechurch there, andfought a duel, inwhich both

'

of them fell,mortally

wounded . They hadsca rcely time to shake handswith oneanother when they died . Inthose days

ma tters of the kindwere very ea sily hushed up ; andit was givenout, though everyb ody knew to thecontrary, that onehaddied of fever andtheother ofcholera

,andthey were both buried side by Side inone

grave ; andthis tomb was erected over them at thejoint expense of the two regiments to which theybelonged . I get tenrupees a year for keeping this

grave inorder.”

W ho pays you 1”

A gentleman in Calcutta, a relation of oneofthem. I’ll tell you wha t it is, sir. This foolishafi'

a ir,

which ended so fa ta lly, sowed theseeds of the fevertha t carried off that beautiful andgood womanyonder.

Shewas maddened by the thought of being the causeof the quarrel inwhich they lost their lives. I knewthem b oth, sir

,from seeing them so often on the

parade ground anda t the b and stand ; very fineyoung men they were, sir. Yes ; here they sleep inpeac e.”

“W hose tomb s arethose ? I asked, pointing to

GENERAL CONSIDINE . 257

some two or three hundred which were all exac tlyalike, andin three stra ight lines ; in other words,three deep .

Those arethe tombs of themen of the Cameronians

,sir. Thesegraves areall uniform,

as you oh

serve. Fever made sadhavoc with tha t regiment.They lost some three companies inall. Behind themarethe tombs ofthemenofthe Buffs, andbehind themthetombs of the menofotherRoya l Regiments of Infantry— all uniform you see, sir ; but those of each

regiment ra ther differently shaped. To the right,flanking theInfantry tombs, arethe tombs of the

menof theCavalry, 8th and11th Dragoons, andl 6thLancers . Inthe rea r of theCava lry arethe tombsofthe Horse andFoot Artillerymen— all uniform you

see, sir. Egad ! if they could rise just now,

wha t a

pretty little a rmy they would form,of all ranks, some

thousands of’em,

andwell oflicered, too, they wouldbeandhere a manto leadthem . This is the tomb

of Major-Genera l Considine, oneof the most distinguishedmen in the British a rmy . He was the

officer tha t the Duke of W ellingtonfixed upon tobring the 53rdFoot into good order, whenthey ran

riot inGibra ltar some years ago. This is the tomb ofGenera l Considine, rotting andgoing rapidly to

decay,though it was only built in the year 1845 .

A grea t dea l of money is squandered in thechurchyards in India . Tombs areerected, andat a

great expensefrequently. After they areonce put8


up it is very seldom tha t they arevisited or heeded.Tens of thousands of pounds have beenthrownaway

onthe vast pile of bricks andmorta r andstone tha t

younow seewithin this enclosure,andwith theex

ceptionof a few all arecrumb ling away. A Hindoo- a sweeper— sa id to metheotherday inthis graveya rd, W hy don

’t you English burnyour dead as wedo

,instead of leaving their graves here, to tell us how

much you canneglec t them andhow little you ca refor them W ha t is the useof whitening a fewsepulchres amidst thismass of black ruin?’ I hadnoanswer to give the fellow,

sir indeed the same thoughthadOftenoccurred to mewhile a t work inthis wilderness. Do you not think, sir

,tha t the government,

through its ownexecutive ofi cers, ought to expendafew hundred pounds every yea r onthese ya rds, inorderto avert such a scanda l anddisgrace ? I do not speakinterestedly. I have as much a lready onmy hands

a s I can perform,ifnot more but I do often think

tha t there is rea lly some reasonintherema rks of tha tsweeper. All these graves tha t you seehere so

blackened andleft to go to ruin, arethe graves ofmenwho have served their country anddied inits serviceVery little money would keep the yard free from thisgrass andthese rank weeds, andvery little more wouldmake a ll these tombs fit to be seen forneither labournor whitewash is expensive inthis pa rt of the world.Onewould ha rdly suppose, onlooking about him justnow, tha t the sons anddaughters of someof the best

260 WANDERINGS IN INDIA .

andrequiring him to seetha t the grave of everyChristian—man, woman, andchild— is kept ingoodorder. But horrible a s is the conditionof this church

ya rd— looking as it does, for the most part, more likea receptac le for the bodies of felons thanthose of good

'

andbrave soldiers andcivilians, andtheir W ives andchildren— it is rea lly nothing when compared with .

thegraveyard ofKernaul. Kernaul, you know,sir,

was our grea t frontier sta tionsome twenty years ago .

It was, infa ct, as la rge a stationas Umb allah now is .

It hadits church, its play-house,its ba rra cks for

cavalry, infantry, anda rtillery, its mess-houses,nificent bunga lows, anda ll the rest of it. For somereason or other— but what that reasonwas I couldnever discover; nor

‘

anybody else to my knowledgefithestationwa s abandoned with a ll its buildings,which cost thegovernment andpriva te individua ls.lacs andlacs of rupees . You maybe pretty sure tha tthe villagers were not long inplundering every housethat was unprotected. Away went the doors andwindows, thevenetians, andevery b ar, bolt, na il, ofb it of ironuponwhich they could lay their fingersnot content with this, the brutes set fireto many or

nearly all of thetha tched bunga lows, inthe hope ofpicking up something amongst the ruins. Thechurch— the largest andbest inthe Upper Provinces,with no oneto takeca reof it—was oneof the firstplaces tha t suffered. Like the other buildings, it wa s

despoiledof its doors, windows, benches, bolts, na ils,

KERNAUL . 261

&c. , and they carried away every marble tabletthereinerected, andremoveable without much dith

culty. Andthe same kind of havoc was made intheburia l-ground—the tombs were smashed, some of the

graves, andespecially the vaults, opened andpla inlyenough was it to be seen, tha t the low castemenhadbrokenopenthe coffins andex amined their contents,inthe hOpeof finding a ring, or anear-ring, or someother ornament on the personof the dea d. I wenttherea year ago onsome business connec ted with thegrave of a lady, whose husbandwished her rema ins toberemoved to Meerut, andplaced inthe same vaultwith those of his sister, who died here a bout eighteenmonths since . I wasnot successful, however. There

was no trace of her tomb. It was of s tone, andhad

beentakenaway bodily,to pave the elephant shed or

camel ya rd, perhaps, of some rich na tive intheneighbourhood. Looking a round me, as I did, andremembering Kemaul when it was crowded with

Europeans, it seemed to meas though the Britishhadbeen turned out of the country by the natives,andtha t the most sacred spot inthe c antonment hadbeendesecra ted out of spite or revenge . Andit isjust what they would do if ever they got theupperhand.

”

[Whilst I write, it has just occurred to metha tthis old soldier andhis family perished inthe msacre a t Meerut on theloth of May. He was in

some way related to, or connected by marriage with,


Mrs . Courtenay, thekeeper of the hotel, who, withher nieces, was so barbarously murdered on tha t disastrous occasion]

W hy, bless my soul !” excla imed the old man,

stooping downandpicking up something,“ if the Old

gentlemanhasn’t shed his Skin aga in This is the

skinof a very large snake,a cobra capella , tha t I

have knownfor the la st thirteenyea rs. He must beprecious old from his siz e

,the slowness of his move

ments, andthe b adcough he has hadfor the last fouror fiveyears. Last winter he was very b adindeed,andI thought he was going to die. He was thenliving inthe ruins of old General W ebster’s vault

andi

coughing continua lly, just like a manwith theasthma . However

,I strewed a lot of fineashes and

some bits ofwool in the ruinto keep him wa rm by

night, andsome finewhite sand a t the entrance, uponwhich he used to crawl out andbask

,whenthe sun

hadmade it hot enough ; andwhenthe warm wea therset inhe got all right aga in.

Rather a strange fancy of yours, to live uponsuch

amicable terms with the grea t enemy of the human

raceW ell

,perhaps it is. But he once bit andkilled a

thiefwh0 came here to rob a child’s grave of the ironrailings, which its parents, contrary to my advice

,had

pla ced round it, andever Since thenI have liked thesnake, andhave never thought of molesting him . Ihave hadmany an‘opportunity of killing him (if I


obligedto come down, andsit opposite to the Oldgentleman (the snake) who commenced, with hisforked tongue, andkeeping his eyes uponhim a ll thewhile, to slime his victim all over. This occupiedhim for at least forty minutes, andby the time theprocess was over the hawk was perfectly motionless.

I don’t think he was dead. But he wa s Very soon,

however,for the old gentlemanput him into a coil or

two , andcrackled up every bone inthe hawk’

s body.

He then gave him another sliming, made a big

mouth, distended his neck till it was as big round a sthe thickest part of my arm

, anddownwent thehawk like a shinof beef into a beggarman

’

s

Andwha t became of theminarHe was off like a shot, sir, themoment his enemy

was introuble, andno blame to him. W ha t a funnything nature is a ltogether, sir ! I very often think

of tha t scene whenI am a t work here.”

But this plac e must be infested with snakes

I have never seenbut that one, sir, andI haveb eenhere for a long time. W ould you like to

the old gentleman, sir? As the sunis up, andthemorning ra therwarm,

perhaps he will come out, if Ipretend to be a t work andgive him a ditty. I f he

does not, wewill look inuponhim.

”

Come a long, sa id I.

I a c companied the old manto a tomb, close to themonument benea th which the snake was sa id to havetakenup his abode. I did not go verynear to the

MUSIC HAS CHARMS . 265

spot, b ut stoodupona tomb with a thick stick inmyhand, quite prepared to slay themonster if be ap

proa chedme; for from childhood I have a lways hadaninstinc tive horror of reptiles of every species, caste,andcha racter.The old man began to hammer away with his

ma llet andchisel, andto sing a very qua int old songwhich I hadnever hea rd before, andhave neverhea rd since. It was a dia logue or duet betweenthelittle finger andthe thumb, andbegan thus. Thethumb sa id

Dear RoseMary Green!W hen I am king, littlefinger, you sha ll bequeen.

The little finger replied

W ho told you so, Thummy, ThummyP W ho told you so ?

The thumb responded

I t was my ownheart, littlefinger, who told meso

The thumb thendrew a very fla ttering picture of

thelife they would lead whenunited inwedlock, andconcluded, as nea rly as I canremember, thus

THUMB

Andwhenyou aredead, littlefinger, as it may hap,You sha ll beburied, littlefinger, under thetap.

LI TTLE F INGER .

Why, Thummy, Thummy W hy, Thummy, ThummyP W hyThummy, Thummy W hy 7

”

THUMB.

That youmaydrink, littlefinger, whenyou aredry ?But this ditty didnot bring out the snake. I


remarked this to the old man, who replied Hehasn’t made his toilet yet—hasn’t rubbed his sca lesup, sir ; but he

’

ll be here presently. You will see.Keep your eye ontha t hole

,sir. I am now going to

give him a livelier tune,which is a grea t favourite of

his andforthwith he struck up anold song, begin

nrng’Twas inthemerry month of May,

W'

henbees from flower to flowerdidhum.

Out came the snake before the song was ha lf over !Before it wa s concluded he hadcrawled slowly and

(if I da re usesuch a word) ra ther majestica lly, to

within a few pa ces of the Spot where the old man

was standing.

Good morning to you, sir, sa id the old manto

the snake. I am happy to seeyou inyournew sui t

of clothes. I havepicked up your Oldsuit, andI ha vegot it inmy pocket, anda very nice pa ir of slippersmy old wife will make out of it. The last pa ir tha t

Shemade of your rejected apparel were given as a

present to Colonel Cureton,who

,like myself, very

much resembled the grea t Genera l Bliicher in persona l appea rance. W ho will get the pa ir ofwhich Ihavenow the makings, Heavenonly knows. Perha ps

OldBrigadier W hite, who has a lso a Blucher out

about him. W hat songwould you like next ? Ka th

leenMavourneen Yes, I know tha t is a pet songof yours andyou sha ll have it .”

The old man sung the melody with a tenderness


idea of two gentlemen keeping in order a district of

such dimensions was simply absurd ; but they did

their best,andtha t was a ll tha t could be expected of

them. I rema ined four days andnights a t Burnampore

,andduring tha t timewas a guest of the assistant

magistra te, whose a cqua intance I hadmade a t Meerut.Anything more monotonous anddrea ry than theexistence of a gentleman sta tioned a t such a pla ceit would be very difficult to imagine. My host

assured metha t if it were not for an occasiona l

visit pa id by sometraveller on his way up or down

the country,both himself andhis superior ofi cer

would have died of ennui . I f it were not for theshooting, which is very good inthis district,

” he added,I would ra ther be a permanent passenger on board

ship, or the inma teof a debtors’ prisoninLondon, orany other part of England— ineither case, onewouldhave something like company, andonewould ha ve,a t a ll events

,a somewha t cooler andmore congenia l

climate .

”

In the district of Burnamporethere area grea tnumber ofwolves

,andduring2my short stay, even, two

were brought in, andthe Government rewa rd (tworupees a -head) claimed upon them. These ferocious

crea tures Oftenca rry Off the young childrenof poor

people anddevour them. It was inthis district tha ta wolf child

,

”as the na tives of India express it, wa s

found some yea rs ago, andtakento Meerut, where itWa s exhibited as a curiosity. There can be no

HANGING IN INDIA . 269

question, sa id my friend andhost, when I spoke tohim onemorning onthis subject, tha t the ma le wolf

,

inall these cases, seiz es andruns off with theinfant,andtha t when he has carried it a live to the den,the fema le

,especia lly ifShehappens to have cubs at

the time,instead Of killing anddevouring, suckles

andfosters the little humanbeing. So,after all

,the

story of Romulus andRemus may not be a merefable.”

No,

sa id I. But wha t is that Greek epigram

from the Anthology of Bland andMeriva le ? The

she-goa t tha t suckled the whelp of a wolf, which wolf,

whenshehadno more milk to give it, killed her andeat her. Something about

Bekind, begentle, anddo what you will,A stubbornnaturewill bena turestill. ’

Yes,

” replied my host . I do remember some

thing about it ; andby andbye wewill ta lk thema tter over, andrefer to the volume, which I haveamongst my books ; but at present you must excuse

me,for I have a duty to perform. You may come

with meandwitness the opera tion, ifyou like but

understand me, I sha ll not be offended ifyou declineto do so .

”

W ha t opera tion?

Tha t of hanging.

W ha t ? Hanging ! Hanging wha t ?

A man— a culprit—a murderer. I S is a pa rt of

my duty to seethis opera tion performed. Come,”


he added energetically, andslapping meon theshoulder. Come

,be a sort of Selwyn for once in

your life.

W hilst I was hesitating, the magistra te approachedinhis buggy . He hadbeen taking his morningdrive

,andhaddropt in upon his assistant to ha ve

some friendly conversa tion. He hadforgotten a ll

about the forthcoming execution; and,onhearing

tha t wewere just about to sta rt for the Spot,he

very kindly offered to take us there an Offer

which was a ccepted by his assistant with manythanks. SO, Ofi

‘

wedrove, three in a gig, like so

many men going to witness a pugilistic encounter inEngland during the beginning of thepresentcentury .

W henwehadarrived a t the placeof execution,

a field some distance from the gaol, inwhich hadbeenerected a temporary gallows, I was surprised a t

not finding a mob . There was no onethere but theculprit —who was ea ting as much rice as he could, andas fast as he could— a couple of na tive policemenwith drawn swords gua rding him the ga oler, who

was a Mahommedan, anda Benga leewriter (clerk),who stood with pen, ink, and

‘paper inhand. ready

to dot downthe officia l particulars of the sc ene, pre

pa ra tory to their being forwa rded to Government,a ccording to a certa inregulation.

I s everything ready ?”sa id the assistant magis

tra te to the gaoler.


At times I feared, so desperate were his struggles,tha t he would break the beam

,snap the rope

,or

bring down the whole appa ra tus. In the days Of

Henry Fielding, thevulga r used to speak of hangingas dancing onnothing,

”andthis horrible idea the

Indian culprit ontha t morning amply rea lised. Therea der must not, however, sympathiz e with his sufferings. He hadbeenjustly convicted . andwa s justlyput to dea th for murdering, intha t very field wherehe expia ted his offence

,a little girl of sevenyea rs o f

age, in order to possess himself of a single bangleshewore— a bangle va lued a t onerupee four anna sha lf-a -crown of English money. I cannot a ccusemyself of a cruel or brutal disposition; but, if themonster whom I saw

'

hanged hadhada thousand

lives instead of one,I could have witnessed the

taking of every oneof them without a single a tomof a desire to save him .

The cuttingdownof theculprit,as soonas it wa s

discovered tha t life was extinct (for a s there wa sno crowd of pickpockets andvendors of cakes andginger-beer to take a moral lesson, the prescribed

hour was unnecessa ry) wa s quite as primitive as the

foregoing pa rt of the opera tion. Oneof the na tivepolicemenwith his blunt sword, severed the rope bysawing it just above the tie

,anddown came the

corpse. I was tempted to jump out of the buggy

inwhich, sitting between the magistra te andhis

a ssistant, I hadwitnessed the ex ecution, andexamine,

BRAHMINS . 273

orrather look a ttentively at, thedeceased. A finerhead, ina phrenologica l point of V iew,

I hadneverseen

, andacross thenakedchest was suspendedthesacred thread

,indicating tha t theculprit was a

I s it not very Odd,”sa id I

,onmy returnto the

buggy, that most of the diabolica l crimes committedinthis country arecommitted by BrahminsNot a t a ll Odd,

”replied my host. Do younot

know tha t they believe nothing can hurt their puresouls after dea th andhence their c ompara tive recklessness inthis world ? Therewa s a Brahminhangedhere

, about a yearago, who, just before he was turned03

, madea speech such as tha t made byNapoleononpaper to Sir Hudson Lowe You may convictmeof wha t you please ; you may make mea prisoner ; you may, ifyou like, shacklethese limbs, andconsignmeto a dungeon; but you will findthat mysoul will bejust as free, just as proud, a s whenitawed all Europe ! ’Ah, b ut tha t wa s theemanationof

W ha t thedeuceis tha t cried themagistra te,who was driving us rapidly towards home. SeeThat thing intheroad.

”Andcoming up to it, he

reined inthehorse.Thesyce(groom), who was running behindthe

buggy, picked up theobject, at his master’s b idding.

It was a cloak—a lady’s cloak—made of most costlymaterials—sa tinandsilk

,andwadded throughout. I tT


hadevidently fallen, unobserved,from some palanquin

during the night, andan examina tion of thefootprints showed tha t the last traveller who hadm oveda long the road was journeying upward, andwas thenmost probably staying a t the dak bunga low,

a t Decbund, a ha lting-place some twelvemiles distant . Thé

assistant magistra te, after wehadbreakfasted, pro

posed that he andI should drive to Deobund, andmake inquiries. I wa s nothing loth, anda swift

mare having been ha rnessed andput to the buggy,off westarted, two sowars (na tive horsemen or

mounted police) cantering behind us.

About two miles from the bunga low to which wewere proceeding, weovertook a tribeoflargemonkeys.I should say there were as many as four hundred

,

andeach carried a stick of uniform length andshape.They

,

moved a long in ranks or companies, just, in

short, a s though they were imita ting a wing of a

regiment of infantry . At the hea d of this trib e was

anold andvery powerful monkey, who was nodoub tthe chief. It was a very odd sight, andI became

greatly interested inthe movements of the crea tures.There could be no questionthat they hadeither somebusiness or some pleasure onhand, andthe fa ct ofeach carrying a stick led us to conclude tha t it

was the former uponwhich they were bent. Theirdestinationwas, like ours, evidently Deobund, wherethere aresome hundreds ofmonkeys fedby a numberofBrahmins, who live near a Hindoo temple there

,

276 W ANDEumc s IN INDIA .

know their business will tell strangers thenameoftheirmaster ormistress .

“ What is your name? hetheninquired of the

I don’t understand you,” was thereply, inH indostanee, accompanied by a shakeof thehead. Itis wonderful how rapidly thechildrenof Europeans“

inIndia take a cuefrom a native servant ofeithersex . Not a lways

,but invery many cases, it is in

deceit andfalsehood that children arefirst schooledb y theservants Thereader must understand tha tdeceit andfa lset arenot regarded a s immora litiesintheeyes of Asiatics. A man or womanwho, byM udandperjury wins 9. tea ms

,or gains any other

point, isnot lookeddownuponas a rogue, but up toasa veryc leverfellow. Several otherexperiments weremade inorder toextract from theayah thenameofhermistress

,but to no purpose. Theonly informa

‘tionwecould learnwas, tha t thelady was muchfatigued, andwas sleeping. Wesa id nothing ab out

The servants of thebungalow,andat Deobund

( thereWerefour ofthem) now cameup to maketheir most respectful sa laam to oneof the lords of

thedistrict, the assistant-magistrate, andonquestioning them inprivate as to thenameof thelady,‘

wewereinno way suc cessful. All that the ayah

would tell them, they said, was, that shehadcomefromCalcutta , andwas going to S imlah. Sheis a

A MYSTERY. 277

burra beebee, however, Sahib , addedtheKhansamah ; for all a long the road, after sheleft thesteamer a t Allahabad, until shearrivedat Meerut,shewasesc orted by two sowars ; andwhenshereachestheSaharunpcrebunga low, shewillfindsowars ready.This is theonlydistrict inwhich shehas hadnoescort.”This wa s a mystery tha t my friendcouldnot um

ravel why, if other magistrates hadbeenindenwdupon (as magistraws very frequently were, when

heshould be omitted ;especially as his district wasasdangerous to pass through as any other (not thatthere wa s much or any danger intho“days), wasmore than hecould understand; andheverynaturrally becameall the morecurious (apart from theownership of the cloak) to know thename of theladywho hadbrokenthelink of her escort whenshecameinto his district. Perhaps,

”said he to me, eithm.

’

I have ormy chiefhas givenher husbandsome ofi'encc,

and, possibly, he is sma ll-minded enough to decline

asking meto do what after all is only a matter ofduty, or of civility andcompliment, which amountsto prettymuch thesame thing. However, weshallsee.”

very oldbut very activeandintelligent man, thesight wehadseen on theroad—theregiment of


Ah !” excla imed the old man

,it is about the

time.”

W ha t time

W ell,Sahib

,about every fiveyears tha t tribe

comes up the country to pay a visit to this place ; andanother tribe comes about thesame time from the upcountry— the hills. They meet in a jungle behind

the old Hindoo temple, andthere embra ce ea ch otheras though they were human beings andold friendswho hadbeenpa rted for a length of time . I ha ve

seenintha t jungle as many as four or fivethousand.

The Brahmins say tha t onela rgetribecomes a ll thewayfrom Ajmere, andanother from the southernsideof the country

,andfrom Nepa l andTirhoot. There

were hundreds ofmonkeys here this morning, but now

I do not seeone. I suppose they have gone to welcome their friends.

The sowars who hadbeen deputed to follow thetribe now rode up, andreported tha t inthe vicinity ofthe old temple there was anarmy of apes— ana rmy

of forty thousand ! Oneof the sowars, in the true

spirit of Orienta l exaggera tion, expressedhimself tothe effect tha t it would be easier to count the ha irs ofone’s head thanthe number there assembled.

Let us go andlook a t them,

”I suggested,

“and

by thetime wereturnthe lady may be stirring.

But wewill not go onfoot,

”sa id my friend we

will ride the sowars’ horses. Inthe first place, I ha veaninstinctivehorror of apes, andshouldliketo have


W ell, sir, tha t is a very old monkey. His ageis more thantwenty years, I think . I first saw himfifteen years ago. He was then full-grown. His

na tive place is Meerut. He lives with theBrahminsa t theSoorj Khan, near Meerut. Thesma ller onesarehis sons, sir. They have never beenhere before;andyou seehe is showing them all about theplace

,

like a very good fa ther.

”

Having seenenough of these sacredanimals,”we

returned to thebunga low ; wewereonly just intimc ,for the lady was about to depart, a lbeit the sunwas

very high in the heavens, andthe day, for thetimeofyea r, was extremely hot. Wecaught sight of herinthe verandah . My friend became deadly pa le

,and

excla imed ! I s it possible !”

W ha t ? I asked him.

I will tell you onour way home . I must seeherspeak to her— pa inful as our meeting must be.

Only fancy, if tha t cloak should be hers

The lady, who must have learnt from theservantsa t the bunga low the name of my friend, the ofi cial,evidently desired to avoid aninterview with him ; for

uponour approach sheretired from the pa lanquin,

which shewas arranging, andentered hastily theroom shehadoccupied. We(my friend andmyself) went into the other room of the bungalow, which

happened to be vacant. Presently weheard the voiceof the ayah . Shewas very angry andwas accusingthe servants of the bungalow of being thieves. She

A PALS] ! Ac cusA'rION. 281

hadnow,for thefirst time sincetheywerelost,missed

several artic les, andamongst them thecloak of hermistress . Shewas perfectly ready to swear tha t shehadseenthem all sincetheir arriva l at the bunga low ;tha t shehadremovedthem from the pa lkees with herownhands ; andif the servants hadnot stolenthemwho hadl—who could have done so ? Distinctly didwehear the lady command the ayah to be silent—tosaynothing of the loss, andenter her pa lanquin but

theayah, too much enraged to hear or to heed thecommand, repea tedher ac cusa tion; whereupon theservants ina body rushed into theapartment inwhichwewere standing listening, andafter protesting theirperfect innocence of the theft, referred to the character for honesty which every oneof them hadhomefor many years. Strange to say, frequent as aretheopportunities which the servants at these bungalows

haveof pilfering from travellers , they rarely ornever

avail themselves of such opportunities and, wheneverit has happened that a lady orgentlemanhas died in

oneof them, themoney andeffects have always beenforthcoming, with nothing wha tever missing.

The lady now forced the ayah to depart, andenterher palanquin, inwhich the little boy was sitting ; shewas about to follow, whenmy friend rushed into theverandah, and, seiz ing her by the hand, deta ined her.

Shewas as agitatedas he was ; andquite as pa le.Heheld her hand in his with a firm but witha l a

gentle grasp, andlooked into her fa ce, which must


have beenbeautifulwhenshewas a few yea rs younger.As it was, shehadstill a charming profile andcountenance

,anda skin as whiteas snow. From the

window,or ra ther looking through the venetians, I

beheld the scene, which reminded meof tha tex quisite picture of Mr. Frank Stone TheL a st Appea l.There was a look of agony anddespa ir inthe face of

the man; while the woman, who appea red to sympa

thise with his sufferings, did not for awhile ra ise hereyes from the ground. But a t length shedid so, and,looking mournfully into my friend

’

s face for a fewseconds

,burst into tears

,andpresently her head, in

volunta rily as it were, rested onhis shoulder. Suddenly recollecting herself, sheaga ina ttempted to takeher departure ; but my friend, now grown despera teseemingly, placed her arm beneath his, andwa lkedwith her to a clump of shade-giving mango trees, in

front of the bunga low, andthere they held a conver

sationwhich lasted some tenminutes. The lady then

tore herself away from my friend, andafter biddinghim farewell

,shethrew herself into her pa lanquin

,

which was speedily lifted by the bearers andhom eaway, followed by the two sowars, who were c om

mandedto escort the fa ir traveller to thenext sta tion.

My friend,from the verandah ofthe bungalow,

wa tched

the processiontill it was out of sight, andthen, sea ting himself on the steps

,covered his fa ce with his

hands, andwept like a child .

Come I sa id, after a time, laying a. hand on


some time after our unha ppy separationwecorrespondedregula rly ; but suddenly the correspondenceceased . Her letters to me, andmineto her, were in.

tercepted. Meanwhile,the old judge, to whom shehad

beenpromised, pa id his addresses to her. Sherefused him . Manydevic es wereresorted to inorder toweanherafi'ections fromme. They all failed. At length

they hit upononewhich hadthe desiredeffect. Theycaused a pa ragraph to be inserted inoneof theCalcutta journa ls, to the efi

'ect tha t I hadmarried thedaughter of a ha lf-caste merchant. Alicewas permittedto seethis pa per, but none of those containingmy indignant denia l of the truth of theannounce!ment.

Indisgust at my imagined fa ithlessness, andindespair andrecklessness, Aliceat length accepted thehand of the old judge. Theywere married W hen

made ac qua inted with this horriblefact, I becamehalf-mad. I drank very hard

,hadana ttack of de

lirim tremens, andwas sent home for change of a irandsc ene, to recruit my hea lth. Onmy return to

India , after anabsence of eighteenmonths, I was sentto Dacca , where there was not the slightest chanceofmy ever seeing Alice. Subsequently, I was, a t myownrequest

,transferred to these provinces, but sent

to Banda—a sort of penal settlement for i

refrac toryc ivilians ; not tha t Iever committed any offence beyond tha t of loving Alice andbeing beloved; by her.You must understand tha t

,owing to the infl senceof

a'

rInN'r. 285

his brother,her oldhusband, shortly after his mar

riagewith Al ice, became the great manhe now is ;andhe hadonly to express a wish in this country,touching the appointment ordisappointment of anyjunior in the service, to ha ve such wish instantly

realised. My only surprise is, tha t whenit became

necessary for her to pass through this district, I wasnot orderedaway to Scinde, onsometrumpery business, a lleged to bespecia l. H adthere beenany ideathat we‘

should meet—a s by the merest chanc e wehave met—aga in in this world, I should certa inlyhave beenremoved, andordered to some other sta tion

ever seenher sincewepartedinCalcutta , now morethannine years ago, until thisveryday. But

, thank Heaven sheloves mestill 1"I was afra id, whenI saw you talking to her he

neath tha t ch umof trees, that I was about to

Ah,no ! he interruptedme. “Thereis no

danger. Grea t andlasting as my love for her is, Icouldnot bear thethought of ta king the slightest advantage of herfeelings ; or to seeher fall from the

Sheisnot happy,neither am I. But spirits will re

01m is not a solitary case; sometimes whenladies inIndia fall theydeservefar moreof pity than of


THE HIMAL AYAS .

I HAVE a lready spokenof a GermanBaron anda

French gentlemanwhom I met at Agra , andI havesa id that they, like myself, were travelling insea rch

of thepicturesque, andwith a view to becomeacqua inted with Orienta l character from persona lobserva tion.

W hile staying with my friend at Barnapore, I receiveda letter from the former, proposing tha t weshould meet on a certa inday a t Mussoorie, in theHima laya mounta ins, andtravel into the interiortogether. I agreed with all my heart ; andmyfriend, the assistant magistra te, was tempted to apply

for six weeks’ leave, inorder tha t he might a ccompany us.

Let medescribe these foreigngentlemen. They

were respectively about my ownage—thirty- two

hadseena great dea l of the world, andof the societya t every court andcapital inEurope. They were

both possessed of considerable ab ilities,andof the

most enviable dispositions a lways good-na tured andgood-tempered ; pa tient andcheerful under thoseinnumerable little difficulties that a lmost inva riablybeset a wanderer in the East

, or, infact, a wanderer


So much has b eenwritten. of Debra DhoonandMussoorie, tha t evena brief sketch of these placeswould be unwarranted inthis narrative.As soon as wearrived a t Mussoorie webeganto

collect coolies (hill-men), to carry our baggage andstores. Werequired in all about onehundredandfifty for the expedition, andby thetime that wehadgot these people together, andmadearrangementswith them,

andtheguides whom werequired, and

hadla id inour stock of provisions, &c . ,the foreign

gentlemenjoined us, andexpressed their readiness tostart a t any givenmoment. Welingered, however,for two days, inorder tha t they might take some rest,andmake the acquaintanceof the gentlemena t thec lub, who, a t the instanceofmyfriend, hadmade themas well as myself honorarymembers of theinstitution.

On the third morning, inthefront of the c lub

house, our ma rching establishment was collected, andtheonebunded andfifty menofwhom it was com

posed werela den with the baggageandstores .

There were tents, the poles thereto belonging, c amptables, cha irs, b eds, bedding, leather b oxes of everykind, containing our clothing, &c .

, dea l chests, conta ining all sorts of provisions, dozens of cases of wineport, sherry, claret—beer, ducks, fowls, geese, guns(rifles andothers), umbrellas, grea t-coats, &c ., &c. , &c .

Having seenthis tra infa irly off, we, the four of us ,followed shortly after onfoot, andovertook them at

theLandour Hill, a mountaina bout ninethousand

A QUOTATION . 289

feet above the level of thesea . Wewere all inhighspirits— including my friend the a ssistant magistrate—notwithstanding he put onhis lady love

’

s cloak as

soona s wewere out of sight of the club, andbeganto quote ina melancholy but very loud voice, which

reverbera ted through the va lleys oneither side of us,thoseglorious lines of the poet Thomson

ThereI s a powerUnseen, that rules th’ inimitableworldThat guides itsmotions, from thebrightestStar to least dust of this sin-taintedmould ;W hileman, who madly deems himself thelordOf all, isnought but weakness anddependence.This sacredtruth, by sureex periencetaught,Thoumust havelearnt, whenwandering all aloneEach bird,each insect flitting through thesky,W as moresufi cient for itself thanthan1”

Our first ha lting-place was ab out nine miles from

Mussoorie. It was a flat piece of ground, some distance downthe southernfa ce of the peak over which

theroad wound . The plac e was ca lled Sowcowlee,andhere andthere were to be seena few pa tches ofcultiva tion anda cowshed. Our course lay in the

directionof Almorah, another Hill Sana tarium for

the English in India . The tents pitched, anda ll

made snug andcomfortab le, wethrew ourselves downuponour beds, not to sleep

,but to take some rest

after a long walk. Meanwhile our servants busied

themselves inpreparing the dinner, for which theexercise andthe change of a ir hadgivenus all a keenappetite.W ell excla imed my friend (whom infuture we

U


will call Mr . W est), ra ising to his lips a bumper of

c laret, andquoting from the Sentimenta l Journey,

“ the Bourb onis not such a b adfellow,after a ll.”

Neither the Frenchmannor the German under

stood the a llusion but when it was expla ined they

relished it amaz ingly . Wewere ra ther a temperateparty ; andafter the second bottle of wine wa s

emptied,wecaused the gla sses to be removed from

our sma ll table,anda green cloth spread over it .

Wethen began to play at whist— a game ofwhich

wewere all equa lly fond ; and, wha t was of grea t

consequence,wewere a ll equa l a s players. Wedid

not gamble exa ctly but the stakes were suflicientlyhigh to make either side a ttend very ca refully to thegame. The whist over

,weea ch took a tumbler of

warm drink, andturned infor thenight, andslept, asthe reader may imagine, very soundly .

On the following morning, a t sunrise,wewere

awakened, andinformed tha t upon a hill opposite to

our encampment there were severa l large deer.Wea rose

,andwent in pursuit of them. After

dodging them for some time wecame withinrange,andea ch of us

,selecting his anima l

,fired. One

shot only took effect, andtha t was from the Ba ron’srifle. During our ramble wediscovered tha t therewere plenty of pheasants in the loca lity, andso weagreed to rema infor the day, and, after breakfa st, seewha t wecould do amongst them . Under the circumstances weshould have been compelled to halt

,


pervades so many of our dreams ? The sweet anx iety

that seiz es us whenlistening to some wonderful ta le ;the voluptuous shiver which agita tes our fram e

, theindefinite yearning which fills the heart andthesoul.All this is a guarantee tha t some invisible cha inlinks

our world with another . Letno onecondemnas idle

nonsense that which our sha llow reasonmay refuseto accept. Can the most acute understanding expla in, or evencomprehend, its owngrowth ; or eventhe growth andcolouring of a mere flower ? I s not

Na ture herself a perfect mystery unto the minds of

thinking men“W ha t is thema tter, Baron? asked the Frenchman.

Have you a nightmare inthis broad daylight ?”

No,no

,

” returned the Ba ron,with good-na tured

irnpetuosity. It is not so . I wish to tell you some

thing— a little story, ifyou will listen.

”

Pray go on,

”we(his threecompanions) cried out,

simultaneously.

Some ten or twelve years ago, the Baronpro

ceeded, I was travelling from Munich to Berlin.

Tired by the continua l rumbling of my carriage, Iresolved upontaking a day’s rest a t Augsburg. Itwas the day of All Souls. The autumna l sunwas

shining brightly, anda large processionwent its waytowards the cemetery

,a mile distant from the town.

W herefore, I know not ; but I was instinctively ledto jointhis procession. Ona rriving a t thecemeterywefound it, compara tively, crowded. All the graves

THE BARON’

s STORY . 293

weredecked with flowers andsprigs ofyoung cypress,andnea r every stone there sa t or knelt

,a t lea st

,one

m o u rner. Tears of love andregret wetted the sacredea rth . In a singularly agitated frame of mind

,I

w andered through the cemetery . The recollectionof

dep a rted friends, andof dea r ones far away, made mesad, unhappy, miserable. AndI could not helpth inking tha t if I hadbeen then entombed, nofriendly hand would on tha t day havedeposited a

wrea th or a flower uponmy grave, no beloved eye

sheda tea r of sorrow,no fa ithful heart sent up to

Hea vena fervent prayer for the eternal rest of mysoul. Haunted by such gloomy thoughts, I wanderedon

,anda t la st came to a newly-made grave . An

hour previously hadbeenburied inthat spot a younggirl of seventeenyea rs of age. The parents andthelo ver of the girl stood weeping near her grave, andher young friends adorned the mound with freshly

ga thered flowers. Ina fit of profound melancholy, Ib ent down, mechanica lly picked up a ha lf-opened

rose-bud,andwa lked on. Approaching the gate of

the cemetery,with the intentionof returning to my

hotel, my eyes fell upona tablet uponwhich were

engraved the following words Respect the pro

perty of the Dead. Flowers arethe property of theDead. ’ These simple words made a very grea t im

pressiononmy a lready excited mInd andglancing,involunta rily, at the rose-budwhich I still held in

my hand, my hea rt smote mefor having carried it


away from the girl’

s grave . I was onthepoint ofreturning to re-deposit the flower, whenanindescribably fa lseshame prevented my doing so, andI leftthe cemetery with the rose inmy hand . Onreturn

ing to my hotel, I put it in a glass of wa ter, and

placed it on a sma ll table near the hea d of my bed,uponwhich I threw myself, andsoonfell into tha t

sta te which all ofyou must have experienced ! a sta te

inwhich the senses hover betweensleep andwakefulness, as though undecided which to choose . Suddenly my apartment was filled by a bright b ut

soft light, without my being able to perceive whence

it came . Beit knowntha t I hadextinguished mycandle. Erelong, the door ofmy room was opened ;andinglided, noiselessly, a pale spectra l figure, clad

ina white robe, andwea ring a garland offlowers. I t

was the figure of a young girl, andthe face wasangelic. W ith motionless eyes and outstretched

hand sheapproached my couch, andin pla intivevoice asked me W hy hast thou robb ed the Dea d ?W hy hast thou taken tha t flower which a fa ithful

lover threw upon my last resting-place on ea rth

Seemingly my pulses ceased to b ea t, andI couldscarcely brea the . The phantom thenstretched forth

the left hand, andtook the rose out of the glass ; and

with the right hand shebeckoned to me, sayingCome ! Come

,andgiveback the property of the

Dea d. Respect the property of the Dead. ComeFollowme1’ Invain I tried to resist. I arose

,and


earlier compositions, which, strange to say, were a ll

of a very melancholy cast. Saphir, however, to thisday asserts that his story of The Dea th Rose ’ is a

fact, andtha t it happened to himself.”Oneby one

,wedropped ofl'

to sleep,andslept for

about anhour anda -ha lf. Onawakening, the FrenOh

man, W est, andmyself, a lmost simultaneously ex

cla imed, Confound your Dea th Rose, Baron!”for

the truth was tha t the story hadtakenpossessionof

our senses, while wewere asleep .

I thought it would,”sa id theBaronlaughing.

Everybody dreams of theDea th Rose after I ha vetold the story. But, ah ! Seein the distance IHerearethe coolies returning ! I c anmake out my

guitar-box onthe head of oneman. Ah ! to-night wewill sing plenty of songs !

”

Andinthe evening the Baronsang for severa l hours

(wecould have listened to him all night) some of themost sentimenta l, andsome of the most humorous

songs tha t I hadever hea rd. Fortunately I knewenough ofGermanto apprecia te them andmyfriend,Mr . W est, was equa lly fortuna te. As for the French

manheunderstood andspoke— a lbeit very imper

fec tly— every language current inEurope. Ontha t

night weretired before twelve, for wehadagreed torise andproceed early onthe morrow.

Inpursuance of such agreement, as soonas the daydawned westruck our tents

,packed up our traps

,

loaded the coolies, andset out for a place ca lled De

runSERON . 297

mooltee,distant some fourteenor fifteenmiles. The

road,which hadbeenvery, very seldom travelled over

byEuropeans, was a narrow andb adroad, windinground andlea ding over loftypeaks, some tenor eleventhousand feet above the level of the sea . Above us

andbelow us wefrequently saw herds ofGhooral andother deer but a s wecould not, orwouldnot ra ther,have stayed to pick up any tha t wemight kill, wesuffered them to gra z e on, andpreserved our ammunition. By thewaywesaw ananima l which none of

us hadever seenbefore— ananima l called the Seron.

It is a species of chamois,but la rger andstronger.

Its colour was reddish, andit hada quantity of stiff,short ha ir onthe neck, which gave it theappearanceofa b oggedmane. Thenative guides told us tha t itwas a very shy anima l

,andonly to befound where

there wa s a grea t quantity ofwood. The scenery of

varied . At times wehada good view ofMussoorieandthe surrounding country. At other times wemoved through vast forests of pine, andwoods of oak,rhododendron, andother magnificent trees. In themidst of oneof thesewoods our halting-place wassituated, a large grassy fla t, bounded oneither side bya deep andsteep precipice, while in every directionthesurrounding mounta ins, which lookedus in, werecovered thickly with trees.

Wha t foolsmenare,” excla imed theBaron, whilsttheservants were unpacking, to huddle themselves


together inold countries whenlands like these rema in

uncultivated andunenjoyed Andwha t fools arethose travellers who go, year after year, ga z ing on

compara tively paltry mounta ins andlakes which theeyes of the vulgar of all nations have beheld, whensuch fresh andgorgeous scenery as this maybe lookedat ! Travelling inSwitz erland andIta ly— b ah 1

”

But,my dear Baron,

”sa id the Frenchman, you

forget tha t the Peninsular andOrienta l Company de

mand four pounds a day for conveying you from England to India

,inconsequence

,they say, of the dea r

ness of coals.”

Ah ! well,laughed theBaron, opening with his

ownhand a bottle of hock, andemptying the contentsinto a silver tankard, if you regard the ma tter inan

economica l point of view, you a t once cut short myargument andmy sentiment. Egad what grapes

could be grownonyonder hill,in that warm va lley !

W ha t wine could be grownthere I will come out

to this country with a few Germanpeasants. I willhave vineyards. I will make a fortune so colossal

tha t Rothschild,whenheis indifficulties

,will have to

write to me. Yes, I will. The thing is to be done,andI will do it.”

But you forget, sa id Mr. W est,tha t you a re

now some twelve or thirteenhundred miles from thenearest sea -port

,Ca lcutta

,andtha t there would be

some little difliculty intransmitting the producetoEurope .


quantities now whynot, having made the ex periment, grow it in la rgequantities ? I would say to

Mr. Chinaman, I thank you verymuch, but I do notwant anymore of your tea . You areinsolent, overbearing, andinsulting inyour dealings with me, andnow you maydrink your own tea , andI will drinkmy owntea ; and, ifyou like, youmay stir yours with '

your ownpigtail. Wewill bring China into our owndominions, for God has givento this climate andtothis soil the same properties as your soil andclima tepossess.

’ I do not say it, a s you know, with any sort

of intentionto ofl'end, but the result ofmyexperience

leads meto believe that the government of this

country is, inall ma tters (save annexa tion), as slow

as the government of the Dutch was inby-

gone days.

There is a listlessness anda languor about its move

ments ; a want of everything inthe shape of societyandenterprise, andseemingly such anearnest desire

to discourage the efforts of those who wouldinrea litydevelope the resources of India , tha t I am astonished

any manunconnected with the services should persevere inthe attempt to make a living intheEasternBritish dominions ”

I quite agree with you, sa id Mr. W est, espe

c ially a s regards tha t portionof your rema rks which

rela tes to the obsta cles thrown in the way of enter

prising Englishmen. I have beena member of theCivil Service for nea rly tenyears

,andhave always

beenimpressed with the idea that the policy of the

A BEAR . 301

government inrespect to settlers inIndia , was andisa very erroneous policy .

”

Theconversationhere was brought abruptly to a

c loseby theapproa ch of oneof the guides, who, inavery confidentia l manner, imparted to us tha t there

wa s a kakur (a barking deer) gra z ing ona crag not

fa r from theencampment. So weseiz ed our guns,

went inpursuit, andwere fortuna te enough to killtheanimal. His bark resembles exactly tha t of a

Skye- terrier when very much excited . On our teturnto the encampment weencountered a huge bea r,andsucceeded inkilling andcarrying him to the

do or of our tent, where the na tives skinned him anddeprived him of his fa t

,which they boiled downand

used inthe lamps instead of oil. Andvery brightlydidit burn but the aroma was not a peculia rly plea

sant one. I am afra id to say how much grea se was

taken from this enormous bear ; but I know tha t Iam speaking within bounds whenI a ssert it was inexcess of two ga llons anda ha lf.Wedined a t dusk, andthen, as usual, betook our

selves to whist, but so cold did it become shortly after

dark, tha t wewere forced to put on our grea t coats,notwithstanding there was anenormous wood fireinfront andat the back of our tent . These fires hadbeenlighted to serve another purpose beyond tha t ofgiving warmth— namely, to sca re away the leopards

which abounded inthat locality. It wa s a very picturesquescene ; the white tents standing out inrelief


from the dark wood, lighted up by the fires, andhereandthere groups of coolies wrapped up inblankets,andsitting as closely as possible to the blaz e .

At daylight onthe following morning our march

was recommenced. Wehada distance of tenmilesto travel before wecould rea ch thenext ha lting-pla ce

,

named Kanah Tall. During this march wedid notgo out of our way for game, but only took such a s

chanced to cross ourpath . Allwekilled wasghooral ,(which wedidnot stop to look a t even) andtwo bra cesof pa rtridges of very peculia r plumage. They wererema rkably handsome birds

,with a red mark round

the eye anddowneach side of theneck,olive-coloured

feathers ontheir backs, andtheir wings andbreastscovered with white andred spots. Wecould not fa ilto admire the beauty of the flowers which flourished

inthis locality. The ground oneither side of thenar~

row andwild road was literally covered with violets,dog- roses

,anda lily of the va lley, andother little de

corations of the ea rth, ofwhich I know not the name.Throughout the whole ma rch the scene was truly

fa iry- like. Kanah Tall was only fivethousand feeta bove the level of the sea

,andtherefore very much

warmer thanour last ha lting-place. Of this wewereby no means sorry

,not only for our own sakes

, but

for the sakes of our persona l servants, who hadneverbefore travelled out of the plains. Here

,a t Kanah

Ta ll, wefound the English holly growing. Botanistsmay tell mewha t they please about this holly of the


ner. The bees build in cavities inthe wa lls Of the

houses, which areclosed withinby a moveable b oa rd,andareonly entered by the bees, by a sma ll aperture

from without. W henthe owners of the houses wanthoney they darkentheinterior Of the house

, andremoving the board, which forms the ba ck part of thehive

,extract as much as they require. The b ees

during this process fly out into the light to discovertheir enemies, who then close theba ck pa rt of thehive

,andrema insafely within doors until the wra th

of the bees ha s subsided.

Inthe evening wetook a wa lk in the village ofJullinghee, which appea red to berich andpopulous,but very dirty. Our arriva l hadcaused a great stir

,

andthere was a large concourse of people near our

tents to look a t us. A short distance from the villagewere the ruins of several houses which once formeda separate hamlet, but which hadbeen deserted forfear of a ghost which was sa id to haunt it . Thesameeffect of superstitionis byno means uncommoninthepla ins of India . There is a very curious instance intheMeerutdistrict . A village hadlong beendesertedunder the idea tha t it wa s haunted by a fakir . Thesettlement oflicer, however, with much difficulty preva iled upona neighbouring Zemindar to farm the landa t something like a nominal revenue. Shortly afterwa rds the Zemindar presented himself to the settlement officer, andrepresented tha t he hadbeen veryill, andtha t the visita tionwa s a scrib ed by his friends

A W EDDING PARTY. 305

andby himself to his impiety in interfering withhaunted lands. The settlement ofiicer

,however

,

talked to him andinsisted onhis keeping his engagements

,andonce more did he venture to brave the

ghost. SO complete wa s his success tha t the villageshortly became oneof the most flourishing inthe district

, andthe very rela tives who hadbeenforemost inreproaching the z emindar for his impiety

,brought a

suit against him inoneof the loca l courts, to recovera share of his large profits

Ontheday following wema rched to a place calledTeree

, a la rge straggling village, situated on a pla inofsome extent

,at the junction of the Billung and

Bhagarutteerivers. A regular hot wind was blowinghere

, andour tents were unbearable ; so wethrewourselves beneath the shade of a huge tree which

grew onthe banks of the Billung, andwhich servedalso as a shelter for a pa rty from Srinugger, who werecelebrating the marriage festiva l of a Bunneah (commerchant) of some twenty-two years of age, with a

young lady of eight . The littledamsel was on theground, anddid ample justice to the marriage dinner,which consisted Of rice, butter, sweetmeats, anda goa troasted whole— a goatwhich hadbeendecapita ted byoneblow,

andcooked without anysort of prepa rationbeyond the remova l of the entra ils ; it was not evenSkinned. Portions of this feast were distributed on

plantain leaves to each guest by the Brahmins, who

Officiatedas cooks andwa iters .

I

306 W ANDERINc s IN INDIA.

Tereeis the residence of a Rajah,named Sooder

sa inSaha , whose family, before the Goorkha invasion,ruledover the provinces ofGurhwal andSirm00r, andindeedover the whole hill country as far as Simlah

,

andfrom thesnowy range to the pla ins. Expelled b ythe Goorkhas, he sought refuge with the British andafter defea ting the Goorkhas, was replaced by us in

the grea ter part ofhis territories ; a part of them wereta ined as the price of our amistance,namely, a portionof Gurhwal

,the whole of Dehra Dhoon, anda

pa rt of the Tera i. Andwehold Landour andMussooriefrom him at a nomina l annua l rent. TheRajah is ex tremely civil to Europeans, andthe mo

ment heheard of our arriva l he sent a deputa tion to

wa it uponus. The deputa tionbrought with them a

va riety of presents, consisting of milk,sweetmea ts,

dried flour,dried fruits, anda couple ofgoa ts. The

deputa tiongave us to understand that it would afl'

ordthe Rajah very grea t pleasure to make our persona l

a cqua intance andwewere just onthe point of sta rting for his H ighness

’

s abode,whenhis arriva l was un

expectedly announced to us. At Srinugger, ina portionof the country wetook from him,

is situa ted thefamily pala ceh a handsome andsubstantia l building .

This is rather a sore point with theOldRa jah, andashe considers the more modern abode which henowinhabits benea th his dignity, he prefers going to seeany onewith whom he is desirous of having aninterview.

308 W ANDERINes IN INDIA .

Of course this bridge is only passable by men. Ca ttle

andmules swim across the river much higher up,where the torrent is not so rapid.

Weasked the Rajah where he hadgot his idea of

anironsuspension bridge, andhe replied ! From a

picture-book which was givento meby a gentlemanwho was out ona shooting excursionsome yea rs ago

inthese hills.”

Westayed two days at Teree, and, despite the hea t,enjoyed ourselves ama z ingly. Ournext encampment

ground was at a place ca lled Pon, a ma rch of eleven‘miles. Our route a t first lay along the south bank of

the Billung river, andthenup a deep glena t the fo ot

of a mounta in,whose summit was some fivethousand

feet above the level of the ocean. Themonotony of

this day’s journey was broken by meeting with

another marriage party, some of whom! carried pa ra

sols of evidently Chinese manufacture, andmade out

of painted paper . Weshot a lso severa l greenpigeons- a very different bird from the greenpigeons of theplains, andmuch better eating. By-the-by wealsomet a pilgrim andhiswife ontheirway to Gungootree,the source of the Ganges ! both of them were pa intedandbedaubed after the most grotesque fashion. TheFrenchmantook a sketch of this couple, andI haveheard tha t it now adorns ana lbum in the possessionof the Empress of the French.

Ournext march wa s to a place called Tekowlee,where weha lted benea th the shade of'

some large trees,

MOORCRorT AND REARSBY . 309

andnear thebanks of a clear stream of wa ter. On

oneside of thestream there grew a quantity ofwild

mint,someofwhich wega thered andcooled, prepa ra

tory to using it for cup. There is a modera te-siz ed

villagenea r Tekowlee, anda Gosains’ house or monastery, which is inhabited by a la rge number of this

sect ! wevisited, andentered into conversa tionwiththem. The building was composedof a large squarecourt-yard, surrounded by a range Of two -storiedb arracks

,or ra ther cells, the lower story ofwhich is pro

tected by a verandah . Thepla ce was full Of men,

women,andchildren the Gosa ins being the only'

mona stic order who arepermitted by their tenets to

Wehadbeenout sixteendays before werea chedLoba

,nea r to which place the Commissioner of Ku

maonresides during the ra ins andthe autumn. His

bunga low is built upon the spur of a hill Of consider

able length, andthere is a good quantity of flat groundinthe vicinity. Not far from the bungalow is anoldfort

,a Goorkha stronghold, which commanded the pass

leading to Almorah. It is chiefly celebra ted, however,as the plac e where Moorcroft andHearsey were discovered ontheir returnfrom the Munsarowar lake,whither they hadgone disguised as Bairagis andsowell hadthey sustained their chara cters, tha t theywould have returned undetected

,hadnot a rumour

of their a ttempt reached the ears of the authorities

andexcited their vigilance. They wereharshly

310 WANDERINGs IN INDIA .

treated for some days, but eventually released ona

promise that they would returndirect, andwithoutdelay

,to theBritish territories.

The Commissioner was not at thebunga low whenwearrived Mr. W est, however, knew himeufi cientlywell to warrant our taking possessionof it for theday.

After a residencefor some time intents, a house is a

very agreeable change .

On‘ leaving Loba wecame uponthe Pilgrim road,

constructed by a former Commissioner ofKuma ontofacilitate theprogress of thepilgrims to the sac red

humane project,formany of the unfortuna te pilgrims

usedformerly— overcome by the difl‘iculties of the

route—to liedown andperish by theway-side. Of

these pilgrims wemet swarms—hundreds, if notthousands— andwith some weoccasiona lly stoppedto converse.

Our encamping ground, a t which wearrived a t fourinthe afternoon, was a sho rtdistance from a villageca lled Guniah. Our tents were pitchedbenea th a

clump of trees, andclose to a clear stream ca lled theRam Gunga , inwhich wecaught a quantity of fish

with a casting-net. There a resomemines betweenLoba andKumaon, but wedid not go out of our way

to visit them. Here an a ccident happened to theBaron. Hespra ined his ankle andcould .not wa lk

so the next morning weput him into a Dandi, and

he was carried along the road by four of the coolies.

312 W ANDERINs s IN INDIA .

I must relate a little matter which I now know to bea fact, but which I could scarcely credit when it wa sfirst told to me. A party ofGoorkhas—say fifteenor

twenty— will proceed to a jungle inwhich they knowthere is a huge tiger. They will surround the jungle,form a circle

, andclosing ingradua lly, hem in theferocious beast. Every manwill thendrop down on

the right knee, as soldiers do forming a squa re, and,kookeree inhand

,wa it for the spring of the tiger, wh o

becomes somewha t bewildered andanxious to makehis escape. After moving about for a brief while in

'

thisden,of which the bars arehumanbeings (about

fivefeet high), andgla ring first at oneandthen a t

another, he lashes himself into a fury andmakes hisspring then the nea rest Goorkha delivers a blow

with his kookeree which divides the tiger’

s skull.

W onderful as this fea t is, I once saw a t Jutog, nea rSimlah, a sight tha t struck meas evenmore wonderful. A Goorkha batta lionwas (andnow is) quartereda t Jutog . There was a festiva l a t which the Goor

khas sacrifice anox. The adjutant of the ba tta lion

asked meif I should like to witness theceremony ; a sit was something new to me, I replied inthe affirms.tive

,andwewa lked to the parade ground, where the

whole regiment, inundress, was assembled,andsur

rounding the victim andthe executioner. The ox

was forced to kneel, andby the side Of him knelt thelittle Goorkha , armed with the kookeree, which isnothing more than a huge curved knife, but very

KUMAON . 313

heavy; andas sharp as a ra z or. At a givensignal hestruck the ox immediately behind the hump over the

shoulder, peculiar to all Indian ca ttle ; andthe bodywas divided into two parts. He had, with a singleblow, gone though the ox just as completely andas

cleanly as a butcher with his ha tchet would removea chop from a loinofmutton. They area very oddraceof people, those little Goorkhas ; wonderfullyhonest evenamong themselves ; light-hearted almostto childishness ; capable of enduring any amount of

toil obedient andrespectful, without cringing to,fawning on, or flattering their superior, thewhite man.

Thegrea t blot upontheir characters is their frightfuljealousy of their wives. W oebetide thewomanwhogives her Goorkha husband the fa intest reasonto suspect her of infidelity He a t once takes the law andthekookeree into his ownhands, andslays both thewife andher (rea l or supposed) gallant. I am gladto saythis is not a frequent occurrence, though it doeshappennow andthen. As a b ody, the Goorkhawomenareas virtuous as their husbands arehonest

TheCommissioner of Kumaonreceived us at Al

morah, his head quarters, with grea t cordiality and

kindness, andoffered us rooms in his house . Thisofferwedeclined, inasmuch as our party consisted of

four, andhis house was not a large one. Besides, he

hadother visitors who were putting up at his bunga

low. Weaccepted, however, his invitationto dine,

314 W ANDERINGs I N INDIA .

andonour way rode through the town, which is consideredthe b est inthe British hill possessions. BishopHeber writes that Almorah reminds him of Chester.

It consists of onestreet about a mile anda ha lf long,andabout sixty feet wide

,paved with la rge slabs of

slate, andclosed a t eitherendby a ga te. Oneha lfof the townis much higher than the other, andthestreet is divided inthemiddle by a low flight of steps

onwhich theponies pass up anddownwithex tra ordinary self-possession. Thehouses aresma ll

,but nea t

andwhitewashed. They all consist of two or more

stories. Thelower ones areshaded by woodenverandahs more or less carved. At oneendof the townistheold Goorkha fort at the otherendFort Moira ,a small English fortification, near to which weretheSepoy lines . A nea t little church ha s just b eenerected a t Almorah. The people of the pla ce areall fa ir-complex ioned

,andsome of the childrenas

white as thosebornof Europeanparents.


pitab ly received, partly out of regard for ourselves in

particular, but chiefly because our host hadnot seena white face forfiveweeks.

Thecutcherry, or court-house, was undergoing re

pair, andthe magistrate, therefore, was obliged to administer the duties of his ofi ceinhis own abode, or

rather inthe verandah ; for a large number of half

c lad na tives ina hot country do not impa rt to a con

fined space anagreeable perfume by anymeans. To

methis scene—the native court—was particularlyinteresting. There sa t the covenanted officia l in an

a rm-cha ir,with his solah hat onanda cheroot inhis

mouth, listening very a ttentively to the Sheristada r,or head clerk

, who was reading or singing a loud theentire proceedings inthe case thenpending.

Theprisoner, surrounded by half- a -doz enna tivepolicemen

,all with drawn swords, was standing ten

paces ofl'

. Ever andanon beinterrupted thecourtby protesting his innocence, andassuring the Sahib

that the whole of the depositions were false from

b eginning to end. This interruptionwas usually— Imay say invariably—rebuked by the words, Choop

raho, suer Hold your tongue, you pig And,not unfrequently the nearest policemanaccompaniedthis mandate by giving the culprit a smart blow on

the back or a dig inthe ribs.” I have seenprisoners

well thrashed inour Indiancourts of justice by orderof the presiding magistra te for ta lking out of their

turn; but that was not the case in thepresent in

A CRIMINAL CASE. 317

stance. N0 more violence was resorted to thanwasabsolutely necessa ry for the ma intenance of order andtheprogress Of thetria l. The Offence of which theprisoner stood charged was tha t of forging a bondforfivehundred rupees, andsuing thereon for principal andinterest . The defence was

,that the signa

ture to the bond was not a forgery, andthat themoney hadbeenadvanced to the prosecutor to provewhich

, no fewer than seven witnesses were ca lled.

Each of them swore,point black, that, upona certa in

day anda t a certa inplace, they saw the prisoner payover the m oney, andsaw the prosecutor execute thedeed. To rebut this, the prosecutor called elevenwitnesses who swore, point blank, tha t, uponthedayandat the hour mentioned as the dayandhour on

which the deed was executed, they met the prosecutor at a village forty miles distant from Bijnore. In

short,if their testimony was to be relied upon, the

elevenwitnesses hadproved ana libi .

This was oneof those cases which happen con

tinually in courts of justice in India ; where themagistra te orjudge must not be, andis not, guidedbythe oaths of the witnesses, but entirely by circum

stances . I t is oneof those cases, too, in which itwould be dangerous to consult the na tive ofiicers of

thecourt ; for having received bribes from both

parties, their advice would be dicta ted entirely by

pecuniary considerations. W ith them the question

would be simply out of which party— the ac cused or


the prosecutor—could most money begot inthe eventof guilty or not guilty.

”W ith regard to the

characters of the witnesses, they arepretty equa l, andgenerally very badonb oth sides. Indeed

,innearly

a ll these cases, the witnesses areprofessiona ls ; tha t isto say, menwho areaccustomed to sell their oa ths,andwho thoroughly understand their business. Theyknow exactly wha t to saywhenthey come into court,just as anactor, who is letter perfect inhis part, knowswha t to saywhenhe comes on the boards! Infac t,a case is got up exactly as a play is. Each man. has

his particular part andstudies it separa tely ; beforethe day of trial comes they meet andrehearse, andgo through the business till they verily b elieve

(such is my opinion) tha t they arenot perjured, butarespeaking the truth . As forshaking the testimony

ofmenso tra ined to speak to a certa instring Offacts ,I would defy the most eminent nisi prius advocate

inEuropeBesides, even if you should reject onepart of a sta tement, it does not follow,

in a na tive

court, tha t you should rejec t thewhole Thepricepa id to these professional witnesses depends, ina greatmeasure, onthe na ture andmagnitude of the cause.It is about twelve per cent. out of the sum indiapute.I believe it is distributed amongst the witnesses, andthe like sum amongst the na tive ofi cers of the courtThis, of course, does not include little extra presentsgiven secretly to those who aresupposed to have thegreatest amount of influence with the Sahib, andwho

320 W ANDERINGs IN INDIA .

I cannot say, although I have thought a gooddea l on the point. Evenwhile wewere playingwhist, to-day

’

s proceedings were uppermost in my

mind. Nothing canbe clearer thanthat either oneside or the other is perjured.”

Both sides areperjured. I f thebond be genuine,the menwho rea lly witnessed the executionandwhosubscribed their names as witnesses will not comeforward, or else they aresuch fools tha t thena tive lawyer for the defence will not trust to

them lest they should be confused andcommit themselves.

”

But wha t do you think ? I s thebond a genuinedocument ornot ?

”

Tha t is the very question. Andwhenthere isnoevidence to weigh, how a reyou to a ct ? ”

I suppose that inthose cases you give theprisonerthe benefit of the doubt ?

” I remarked.

Not always. I f I did that, I should acquit almostevery culprit that is brought before me, andso wouldevery judge throughout the length andbreadth of theland. By theway, about a yea r ago, I sent a casetothe sessions judge —a case ofmurder. I fancied therecould be no doubt as to the guilt of the a ccused ;which was the Opinion of the sessions judge andofthe Sudder Court of Appeal . The manwas hanged

about six weeks ago ; andnow I have discovered,beyond all question, tha t he was hanged for the

offence of which his prosecutor was guilty ! It may

NATIVE HOLIDAYS . 321

bea ll very well for people inEngland to ra il at thea dministra tion of justice in this country ; but they

would be less severe upon some of us if they could

only come out here andseethe materia l with whichwehave to dea l . The a dministra tionof justice maybe, I confess, very much reformed andimproved

,but

where the grea t bulk of the people arecorrupt,it

scarcely be in anything like a perfect sta te.”

This sta tement, remember, was made. by a magistra te

who speaks as well as writes the na tive languageaswell as the na tives themselves . But conceive the

c onfusion andinjustice in those courts, where themagistra tes solely depend oncorrupt moonshees for

wha t they know of the evidence.

There is but very little twilight inIndia andby thetime tha t wehadreturned from the drive it was da rk .

Shortly afterwa rds, dinner was announced. Dinnerover

,weresumed our whist, andplayed until mid

The followingday was a na tive holiday— a H indoo

holiday . W ha t with Hindoo holidays andMa b om

medan holidays, nea rly a third of every yea r is

wasted ! for, upon these days public business is sus

pended andthevarious offices closed . It is devoutlyto be hoped tha t

,whenour rule inIndia is completely

reestablished, these absurd concessions— these mere

pretexts for‘ idleness—will no longer be suffered to

prevail. It is only the pampered na tive servants of

the Government,civil andmilita ry

,who areclamorous

Y

322 W ANDERINGS IN IND IA .

for the observance of these grea t days, as they ca ll

them. Go into the fields or ride through a ba z aa r on

oneof these holidays andyou will seethe people attheir work, andthe shopkeepers pursuing their respectiveavocations. You pass the court-house

,the

treasury, themagistra te’s ofi ce, andobserve tha t theyareall shut up . You ask the reason

,andareinformed

tha t it is a na tive holiday . You go to an esta blish

ment founded andconducted by priva te enterprisea printing-ofi ce, for instance andyou Observe

Hindoos of every caste, andMussulmans a lso,a t

their da ily labour. W hy ? Because the hea d of

such anestablishment stipula tes tha t those who wish

for employ must work a ll the yea r round,andthey

prefer employ on such terms to no employ a t a ll.

So it is in some mercantile firms inCa lcutta , anda t

the other Presidencies albeit such firms experience

very grea t inconvenience from the circumstanceof

the Government banks being closed onthese holidays ;if a merchant wishes to get a cheque ca shed, or a billdiscounted, he must wa it sometimes for days together .Eventhe doors of the Queen’s courts areoftenclosed

,

andthe judges andthe counsel left unemployed, notwithstanding tha t the litigants areBritish subjec ts ;andthis because thena tive writers in these c ourts

andthe ofi cers a tta ched to them,arepa id by the

Company’s Government,which recognises absence

from duty onthese holidays.

It would be ha rd to deprive either of the grea t


Then,how far am I from Meerut

A very considerable distance—forty miles a t

least.”

How the deuce is tha t ?

W ell,sir— inthe words of the EtonLa tinGram

mar— I may reply

Felix qui potuit rerum cognoscerecauses.

But where have you come from

From Seharry something or other but confoundthese nores, andpores, andbores There’s no rec olleeting the name of any pla ce, for anhour together.

Themagistra te— I forget hisnamejustnow ; but itwa sRadley, Bradley, Bagley, Ragley, or Cragley, or somesuch name— told mehewould push meonto Meerut

,

andhere am I, it seems, forty miles out Of my roa d !

W ell, look here . I am Lord JamleigIndeed W ell

, you arewelcome to some refreshment andrepose inmy home, incommonwith yourfriend andwhenever you desire to be pushed on

,

’

I will exert my authority to the utmost to further

your views.”

0,thank you. My friend is my va let. Here

,

Mex ton, jump out andtake my things into a room .

”

W hile Mex tonis obeying this order, andwhile hislordship is following his host, let us inform the reader

who his lordship was, andwha t was the objec t of hismissionto India .

His lordship was a young nobleman, who wa s about

to enter Parliament,and

,being desirous of acquiring

LORD J AMLEIGH . 325

informationconcerning India inorder to be very strongwhen the question for renewing the charter came onineighteenhundred andfifty-two or fifty-three

,he re

solved ontra veflmg inthecountry for a few months !theentire period of his absence from home

,inc luding

thejourney overland, not to exceed ha lf a year.

After a passage of thirty-four days—b aving alreadyseenthe Island of Ceylon

, andapproved of it—his

lordship landed a t Madras, was carried up to Government house

,where he took a hasty tiflin

,andwas

then ca rried back to the bea ch, whence he te

embarked onboard the steamer, andwas, three daysafterwards

,landed at the Ghaut inCa lcutta

,where

hefound a carriage ready to convey him to the viceregal dwelling. After twodays’ stay

,he wa s pushed

on,

”at his ownrequest

,to the Upper Provinces ! his

destina tionbeing Lahore. The newspapers got holdof his name, andcame out with something of this

kind Amongst the passengers by the Bentinck isLord J amleigh, eldest sonof the Right Honourable

the Ea rl of Dapperleigh. H is lordship leaves Cal

outta this evening, andwill pass through the following stations.

” Then came a list. At many of

the sta tions he was met— ofliciously met, by

gentlemen in authority, who dragged— litera lly

dragged— him,in their anxiety to have a lord for a

guest, to their houses, andkept him there as long as

they could taking care to have the north-west

journa ls informed ofwhere andwith whom his lord


ship hadput up. He was not a llowed to stay a t a

dak bunga low for anhour or two,andthenproceed,

taking— in the strictest sense of the phrase— his

bird’s eye view of India , its people, its institutions,andso forth . Some of them threw obsta cles in the

way of his getting bearers, so tha t he might rema in

with them for four-andtwenty hours, and thus

thoroughly impregna te andair their houses with an

a ristocra tical a tmosphere. Others lugged him to

their courts andcollectora tes,a lbeit he hadseenone

of ea ch a t BurdwanandBengal, andconsequentlyhadseen the working of the Indian judicial andrevenue departments

,andknew all about them !

This sycophantic importunity of a few government

oflicia ls soured his lordship’s temper, which imparted

to his manners a rudeness which was perhaps foreignto his na ture. His lordship was led to believe tha t

a ll Indian ofi cia ls were a parcel of sycophants—pro

gress-impeding sycophants— andhence he grew to

trea t them all a like ! andhe did not scruple, a t last,to extract his informa tionfrom them much in the

same way tha t a petulant judge who has lost a ll

pa tience with a rambling witness, takes him out of

the hands of counsel,andbrings him sharply to the

point. For instance,I know all about tha t, but tell

methis,

” —note-book in hand— would Lord J am

leigh in such wise frequently interroga tehis civil

hosts, who insisted on doing themselves thehonourof enterta ining his lordship . The fact wa s tha t, in


Oh, yes ; some hundreds of thousands.

Ah Andcrime— much crime !” his lordshippersevered.

Very much. But wearegoing to reduce it,

during theensuing ha lf-yea r, exa ctly thirty -three anda -ha lf per cent ,

”answeredthe magistra te, looking

uncommonly statistical.

How

W ell, that is wha t my assistant andmyself havedecided upon.”

I do not understand you. How canyou possibly

say a t this moment whether,during the next six

months,the amount of crime shall be grea ter or less ?

”

His lordship was puz z led .

“How ? W hyjust inthe same way tha t the directors of a joint-stock bank determine in their

parlour what shall be the amount of dividend payab leto shareholders. My assistant wanted to make a

reduction of fifty per centum on the last returns ;but I think thirty-three anda -halfwill be a very fa ir

figure.”

You intend, perhaps, to be more severe ? sa idthe young legislator.

Nothing of thekind. On thecontrary, weintend to beless energetic by thirty -three anda

ha lf per cent— to take ma tters more eas ily, in

short .

I wish I knew wha t you meant.I will expla init to you.

”

CRIME . 329

As briefly as possible, please . His lordship didnot want to be bored

,evidently.

By a ll means.”

I only want facts, you see.

AndI am about to give you facts—dry facts.

W ell

Thefac ts arethese . There is a district in theseprovinces nearly twice the siz e of this, andit conta insnearly double the number of inhabitants.”Yes.”During the past ha lf-yea r, the number of con

victions intha t district has beenvery much less thanthenumber of convictions in this district. AndtheSudder Court ofAppea l has come to the conclusion,onlooking a t thefigures in the ofi cial return, tha ttheproportionof CRIME to popula tion, inthis district,is grea ter thanit is intha t district.

”

Veryna turally.

”

Indeed ? But suppose that the magistra te of

that district only a ttends his court once or twice a

week, andthenonly for anhour or two onthose days ;

andsuppose that his assistant is a young manwho

makes sport his occupa tion andhis business, andbusiness his recreationandhis sport. Andsuppose

that I andmy a ssistant work hard, anddo our bestto hunt up all the murderers, thieves, andotherculprits, whom wehea r of, andbring them to justiceandto punishment. W hat then? Arethe figuresinthe oflicial returns, touching the convictions, to be


taken as any criterion of the crime perpetra ted in

our respective districts ?” His worship delivered

these questions triumphantly.

Inthat case, certa inly not.W ell

,the Sudder have looked a t theconvictions,

andthe consequence has been, tha t inthe las t printedreport issued by tha t august body (c omposedof threeold andimbecile gentlemen) to the Government, themagistra te of that district andhis a ssistant have beenpraised for their z ea l, andrecommended for promotion, while the magistra te andassistant of this

district have been publicly censured ; or, to usethecant phrase of the report, handed up for the con

sidera tionof the Most Noble the Governor-Genera l

of India .

’

I s it possible ? asked theLord, throwing up his

hands.

You ask for dry facts, andI ' have givenyou dryfacts.

”

May I make a note of this ? (pulling out an

elegant souvenir). Not tha t I should think of

mentioning yourname.”

You maymake a note of it ; and, so far a s mentioning myname is concerned, you may do as you

please. I have a lrea dy written to the Sudder wha tI have sta ted to you,

”was the answer.

W ha t ! about the thirty-three anda -ha lf per

cent ?”

Yes ; and, what is more, I have insisted ona


Poor devils !” excla imed ourhost,smiling . But

,

as they wont know anything about it,they wont

feel it much—indeed,not at a ll.

”

To whom areyou a lluding ?”asked my lord .

The Hima layas,

”sighed our host

, passing theclaret to his lordship, who, by this time, haddiscovered tha t he hadnot got into a nest of sycophants,who worshipped a title

,no ma tter how frivolous or

how insolent the manmight be who wore it ; but

tha t he hada cc identa lly fa llen into the company of

persons of independent cha racter ; anda lbeit,they

were desirous of giving him a welcome andmakinghim comfortable—being a stranger who hadlost hisway—nevertheless

,were determined to make him

pay insome shape for the want of courtesy he hadex hibited when the bearers set his pa lkeedown a t

the door of the bunga low. This discovery made hislordship a little uncomfortable

,andra ther cautious

inhis observa tions. He felt,in short

,as onewho

knows tha t he has committed anerror,andtha t some

pena lty will be exacted but wha t pena lty, andhowexa cted

,he cannot imagine. Hadhe beenable to

get away,he would probably have taken a hasty

farewelli

of us. But tha t was impossible. His

j aded bearers were cooking their food, and,until

twelveo’clock,there was no hope of getting them

together .

The khansamah came in with a fresh bottle of

wine. Our host, withdrawing his ciga r from his lips

,

CHAMPAGNE . 333

inquired of him if the wants of the gentleman’

s

servant hadbeena ttended to .

“Yes,Sahib

,

”was the reply .

Andhave you givenhim any champagne

No, Sahib

Thendo.

Oh,pray do nothing of the kind ! excla imed his

Lordship . Heis not a ccustomed to it“Then hewill enjoy it a ll the more

,sa id our

host . I hope he is taking notes, andwill writea book onIndia . I should much like to seehis impressions inprint ; andhe may possibly dignify mebydevoting a few lines to the chara cter of my hospitality. It is to be hoped, however, tha t, should histravel inspire him with a thirst for literary distinction,hewill confine himself to a persona l compila tion of

his experience, andnot go into judicia l or revenuematters for, should he do so, you may findyourselfclashing with him, andthat would be awkward . His

publisher’

s critic might be inclined to break a spearwith your publisher’s critic, intheir respective reviewsofyour respec tive works, andit would be quite impossible to conjecture where the controversy mightend. Indisposed as I am, genera lly, to obtrude myadvice upon any one, andmuch less on a perfectstranger, I nevertheless feel that I am only doing youa kindness when I say tha t, if I were you, I wouldregard Hindostan a s a sort of Juan Fernandez

,

myself the Crusoe thereof, andthis va let a s myman


Friday ; andthen, with a dueobservance of tha t lineof demarca tionwhich should a lways be drawnbetweencivilised man andthesavage, I would not perm ithim to keep evena stick whereon to notch the dayor time of any particula r event tha t occurred duringmy residence inthe country, lest he should somedayor other— in consequence ofmy having dischargedhim,

or he having discharged me—rise up andstiga tesome man or other to ca ll in questiontheaccura cy ofmy fa cts. The wine is with you ; will

you fill, andpass it on?Lord Jamleigh became very red in theface

, andra ther confused both inmanner andspeech . As for

myself andthe two a ssistant-magistra tes, there wassomething so benignant inthe expressionof our host’s

handsome anddignified countenance— something so

qua intly sa rcastic inthe tone andmanner of hisdiscourse, tha t, hadweknowntha t dea th was the pena ltyof not ma inta ining the gravity of our fea tures

, our

lives would certa inly have beenforfeited .

A silence for severa l minutes ensued andthenLord Jamleigh spoke to our host as follows

Most of the young noblemenwho come to thiscountry, come only to travel about andamuse them

selves. I come onbusiness— I maysay, Parliamentarybusiness . My time is short, andI must make themost of it. I dare say, whenyou saw myname inthe

papers, as having arrived inIndia, you little thought

tha t I was not a manof pleasure andexcursion


point. So I suggested tha t he might he put into hisvehicle a t once. Thena tive servants, of course, wereafra id to touch him

,lest he should awake and hit

out so we, thefiveofus, Europeans, the magistra te,

the two assistant magistra tes, Lord Jamleigh, andmyself

,hadto lift, remove, andpack inhis pa lkee, the

overcome,andperfectly unconsc ious valet. He must

have b eensipping b randy-andwater before he cameto the bunga low,

for he hadonly ha lf finished hisbottle of champagne . Lord Jamleigh now got intohis palanquin, andcomposedhimself for the night, or,ra ther, the rema inder of it, andin order tha t theremight be no mistake as to his Lordship

’

s destina tion,

the magistra te sent a horseman to accompany thecortege, with directions tha t “the Sahibs were to betaken to Durowlah, on the road to Meerut

,andto

thehouse of the magistrate, by whom Lord Jamleighhadbeen invited, or ra ther, petitioned,

” to stay

with him,should he pass through tha t sta tion, and(to

usehis Lordship’s ownterms), a s he hadpromisedtodo so, hesupposed tha t he must keep his word. W hen

a palanquinis escorted by a sowar, the sowa r whenthe destination is approa ched, rides on andgivesnotice tha t a lady, or gentleman, as the case may he,is coming ; and, as the na tives of India canneverpronounce Europeannames properly, the precautionis usua lly taken of writing down the name of the

traveller ona card,or a slip of paper

,andgiving it

to the sowar. In this case,Viscount Jamleigh

A PRETTY MISTAKE. 337

was writtendown for the guidance andinformationof the Durowlah functiona ry.

It was about sevenA M . when this card was putinto the hands of the gentlemanwho hadinvitedL o rdJ amleigh ; whom, by the way, he hadneverseen. Thebunga low was immedia tely a ll life andincommotion; the servants ordered to prepare tea andcofi

'ee; the best bed-room vaca ted by the present ocenpants ; hot wa ter inreadiness andere long a palkee—a single pa lkee— loomed inthe distance theot herpa lkeewas a long way, some three miles

,behind.

Oneofthe bea rerswho was ca rrying it, hadfa llenandinjured himself, andthus was a delay of anhour anda ha lf occasioned. Andduring tha t hour andha lf apretty mistake was committed. The first pa lkee wasthat conta ining the va let, andthe onebehind wastha t of his lordship . The valet hadnot recoveredtheeffects of his pota tions ; and, onbeing awakened

,

seemed, andrea lly was, b ewildered andstuPified—so

much so, tha t he could not inform the magistratetha t he was only a andnot entitled to theattentions that were showered upon him. W ith

trembling hand, he took the cup of tea from the sil

ver salver, andgaz ingwildly round, murmured, rather

Brandy ! Little Brandy ! ” which was at oncebrought andadministered. He thenhadhis warmwash, sa t down on thebest bed, andsufi

'eredhimself to be punkahedby two domestics insnow

z

338 W ANDERINc s IN I NDIA .

white garments. This revived him somewha t but

still he felt far too ill to ta lk. He simply shook his

head, andthere was a good dea l of meaning in tha t

shake, if the magistratecould only have understood it.Takesome brandy andsoda-wa ter, mylord,” sa id

Thevalet noddedassent.Themagistra te mixedthedose, andadministeredwith his ownhands.

Theva let sighed, and“

aga inshook his head.

You will be better presently, my lord,”saidthe

Drunk as a lord hiq theva let.0, no, my lord I t was thejolting along the

mad.”

Intha t cofin? sa id theValet, who now begantorega inthe useof his tongue .

Yes, my lord.

Am I 9. lord ? He, he he ! W here am IAt Durowlah, my lord.

Andwho areyouYour host, my lord .

Thenthis is not thestation-houseNotex actly, my lord .

”

Give us a little drop more of that last b rew.

”

Yes, my 10Ah ! Thank you ! I feel better now—much

better. It was that champagne. Good it was,though. W hat placewas that wewerea t

340 WANDERINGs IN INDIA .

in fact, the whole uncomplimentary truth. Lord.Jamleigh, andperhaps with rea son, was dreadfullyannoyed at the idea that the servant should have b eenmistakenfor himself ; but he let out

,however

,that

tha t was the third time the thing hadhappened, andtha t infuture he should insist uponthefellowwearinglivery, instead of pla in clothes

,anda black wide

awake ha t.

The va let was speedily lifted out of thebest bed,andtransferred to another apa rtment, where he slepthimself sober, anda rose a t about ha lf-past oneto explainto his lordship tha t he was not much infault.

I would advise a ll noblemen andgentlemenwho,like Lord Jamleigh, would take a bird

’

s-eye look at

India , not to tra vel with anEuropean servant, who,

intha t country, is as helpless a s an infant, andquitea s troublesome, besides being inthe wayof everybodyinevery house. It is

,moreover

,cruel to theservant.

He canta lk to no one,andbecomes perfectly miser

a ble.

MISCELLANEOUS.

THE houseof a civilian(a magistra te andcollector)inthe heart of a district

,such as Bijnore

,is rea lly

worthy of contempla tion. W ith theexceptionof abunga low,

which is usua lly occupied by the assistant, andwhich may, therefore, be sa id to belong tothemagistra te’s house, there is no other Christianabode within five-and-thirty or forty miles. Thehouse is usua lly well

, but not extravagantly, furhished ; the wa lls areadorned with prints andpictures, andthe shelves well stored with books. In

a word,if the punkahs andthe venetianblinds, the

therm-antidotes, andsundry other Indian peculiarities were removed, you might fancy yourself insomelarge c ountry-house inEngland .

There was a t Bijnore a na tive moonshee who wasa very good scholar ; and, as I was anxious to readHindostaneeandPersianwith him (the more especially as I much enjoyed thesociety ofmine host andhis assistant), I was induced to accept aninvitationto rema infor a month . During this period I studiedfor severa l hours a -day, besides a ttending the Court

House regula rly, to listen to the proceedings, and


acquire some knowledge of a most extraordina ry

jargon, composed of a little Hindostanee, a little Persian, anda good dea l of Arabic. This ja rgon is

known in India as the language of the courts . A

good PersianandHindostaneeschola r cannot understand it, unless he is a ccustomed to it. Many magis

tra tes andjudges have insisted upon! having pureHindostaneespoken; but to no purpose. Up to a

rec ent period, Persianmixed with Arabic was thelanguage inwhich lega l proceedings were conduc ted,—PersianandArabic being as foreign languages tothe people of India as English, German, or French .

And,when the order went forth tha t Hindostanee

was to be used, the na tive ofiicers of the courts, andthe na tive lawyers who practised therein, compliedwith it by putting a H indostaneeverb a t theendofeach sentence, andusing the Hindostaneepronouns,reta ining inall their integrity (or rasca lity) the Persian andArabic adverbs

,prepositions

,nouns, adjec

tives, andconjunctions. Anindigo planterinTab oot,who spoke Hindostaneeperfectly

,having lived

amongst the natives for upwa rds of twenty yea rs,assured methat he did not comprehend a single sentenceof a decree incourt Hindostanee, tha t he heardread out to him— a decree ina case to which he wasa party. W ha t is evenmore absurd, each court hasits own peculiar jargon, so tha t the magistra te or

judge, who from long experience has acquired a

thorough knowledge of the jargonof his own court,has very grea t difficulty incomprehending the jargon

344 WANDERINes IN INDIA .

anx iety, ifnot of fear, onmyfea tures, he bade menotto be alarmed. I longed to orderhim to cease ; but, asthepa inwas becoming less andless acute, andas Ireta inedmy consciousness intact, I suffered him to

proceed. To tell the truth, I doub t whether I c ould'

ha ve uttered a sound . At a ll events, I did not makethe a ttempt. Presently, tha t is to say, after two or

three minutes, the pa in hadentirely left me, andIfelt wha t is commonly ca lled, all in a glow . The

na tive doctor now removed his eyes from off mine,andinquired if I were better. My reply

, which Ihadno difficulty ingiving a t once, was inthe afiir

mative; in short, tha t I was completely cured.

Observing tha t he placed his hands over his head,andpressed his skull

,I asked him if he were suf

Yes,slightly, was his reply ; but I am so

ac customed to it, it gives mebut little inconve

I thenbegged of him to expla into mehow it wastha t he hadthe power to afi'ordmesuch miraculousrelief. That, he sa id, he was unable to do. Hedidnot know. I thenta lked to him of mesmerism andof the wonderful performances of Dr. Esda ile, intheCalcutta h08pita l. He hadla tely heard ofmesmerism,

he sa id but, years before he hea rd of it, he was in

the habit of curing people by a ssuaging their pain.

Thegift hadbeengivento him soonafter he attainedmanhood. Tha t, with oneexception, andthat was

MESMERISM . 345

intheca se of a Keranee— a ha lf-caste—no, patient

hadever fa llenasleep, or hadbecome beehosh (unconsc ious), under his ga z e. The case of the half

caste,” hewent on to say, a la rmed me. He fell

asleep, andslept for twelve hours, snoring like a manina sta te of intoxica tion.

” I was not the first Europeanhe hadopera ted upon, he sa id ; tha t inBareilly,where heformerly lived

,he hadafi

'

ordedrelief tomany ofi cers andto severa l ladies. Some hadtoothache

, some tic-douloureux, some other pa ins. But,

”

he exc la imed, energetically, the most extraordinary

caseIever had, was tha t of a Sahib who hadgonemad drink delirious. ’ His wife would not suffer

him to be strapped down, andhe was so violent tha tit took four or fiveother Sahibs to hold him! I wassent for, and

,a t first

,hadgrea t difi culty with him

andmuch trembling. At last, however, I lookedhiseyes up ,

as soonas I got him to look a t me, andkepthim for severa l hours as quiet as a mouse, duringwhich time he hadno brandy

,no wine

,no beer and,

though he did not sleep, he hada good long rest. Istayed with him for two days

,andwhatever I told

him to do he did immedia tely. He hadgreat sorrowonhis mind, poor man. Three of his childrenhaddied of fever withinoneshort week, andhe hadlostmuch money by the fa ilure of an agency-house in

Ca lcutta . There was a ca ttle 8t eant, too, anEuropean, whom I also cured of tha t drinking madness bylocking up his eyes.

”


W hat do you meanby locking up his eyes ?

W ell, wha t I did with you ; I locked up your

eyes. W henI got his eyes fixed onmine, hecould.not take them away— couldnot move.”

But canyou lock up any one’s eyes inthe waytha t you lookedup mine?

No not everybody’

s. Therewas anartillery capta in once who defied meto lock up his eyes. I tried.very ha rd ; but, instead of locking up his, he lockedup mine, andI could not move till bepermitted me.Andthere wa s a lady, the wife of a judge, who hadpa ins in the head, which I couldnot cure, because,shelocked up my eyes. W ith her I trembled much

,

by stra ining every nerve, but it wa s ofno use.”

Do you know any otherna tive who has the samepower tha t you possess ?”

Only three ; but, I da resay, there may be hundreds intheseprovinces who have it, andwho useitAndnow, Sahib ,

”sa id the native doctor, taking from

his kummerbund (the cloth that encircles the waist)a bundle of papers

,Idesire to show you some of

my certifica tes, a t thesame time to beg of you to

pardonmy apparent want of respect inappearing inyour presence in this skull- cap insteadof a turban;but the fa ct is

,tha t whenI hea rd you were insuch

great pain, I did not think it humane to delay untilI hadadorned myself.”

I proceeded to examine very carefully every oneofhis many certifica tes ; not tha t I wa s inany way in


certa inly, but their vanity (I am speaking of the

better class) is evengrea ter. Onehundred rupeeswas equal to ha lf a yea r’s earnings of the na tivedoctor

,andyet he preferred holding the useless auto

graph of an insignificant Sahib like myself for theamount rather than realiz e it. The na tive doctor

evidently reasoned thus I might spend the onehundred rupees, might not hebelieved if I made theassertion tha t I hadreceived it ; but here is thevoucher.” Some may imagine tha t he kept it as a

sort of decoy-duck but this I am perfectly sa tisfied

was not the case.

I was now about to leave BIjnore, and, a s time wasofno object to me

,I made up mymind to tra vel no

more by pa lkee, or horse dak, but inthe most independent andcomfortable manner. I therefore providedmyselfwith two sma ll tents

,andtwo camels to

carry them, two bullocks to ca rry the tent furniture,my baggage, andstores a pony for my ownriding,anda Similar anima l for a boy khitmutghur, who was

a lso my persona l servant or bearer.

I engaged a lso a cook anda sweeper,or general

helper so that,whenthe sawans (cameldrivers), the

bullock-man, andthe syces (grooms), were included,my establishment numbered, in a ll

,eight servants,

whose pay inthe aggrega te amounted to fifty rupees(fivepounds) per mensem. This

,of course

,included

their keep, for they provided themselves with food.Theexpense of keeping the camels, the bullocks, and

SHUMSHEER. 349

theponies,was

,ina ll

,thirty-fiverupees (three pounds

fifteenshillings) permensem ; whilemy ownexpenses,including everything (except beer andcheroots), werenot inexcess of fifty rupees permonth so tha t I wasthus enabled to travel about India a t a cost of notm ore thantwo hundred pounds per annum,

or twohundred andtwenty-fivepounds a t the very outside.

Therea der must remember tha t in a lmost every oneof the villages inIndia , fowls, eggs, rice, flour

,na tive

vegetables, curry stuff,andmilk areprocurab le

,and

a t very sma ll prices,if your servants donot chea t you,

andmine did not ; for I made anagreement with

my boy khitmutghur to tha t effect ; indeed, I enteredinto a regula r contract with him previous to sta rt

ing, touching the purchase of every a rticle tha t would

be required during my journey. This boy was, in

short, my commissa ria t depa rtment. H is name was

Shumsheer (a word signifying inthe Persianlanguage,a Sword but he genera lly went by thename ofSham . He hadbeenfor severa l months inthe serviceof the assistant magistra te of Bijnorewho

,a s a very

grea t favour, permitted the boy to a ccompany meonmy travels he was so clever

,so sharp, so intelligent,

andso active a servant . He was not more thansix

teen, andvery short, for his agebut stoutly built,andas strong as a young lion. He was, moreover,very good- looking, andhad, for a native ofHindoo

stan, a very fa ir complexion. He hadbeenfor severalyears the servant, or page, of anofficer onthe sta ff of


a governor-general, andhe spoke English with cousiderab lefluency, but with an idiom so quaint

,tha t it

was amusing inthe last degree to listento him . Hehadbeen spoilt,

”in onesense of the word

,while

a t Government House, not only by his ownmaster,‘

but by thewhole staff, who hadencouraged him to

give his opinions on all subjects with a freedom

which was a t first very disagreeable to me. But, erelong, I to o encouraged him to do so ; his opinions wereso replete with such strong commonsense, andwereexpressed insuch anorigina l fashion. I f an inquirytouching a certa inadministra tionhadbeenca lled forby Parliament, wha t an inva luab le witness would

that b oy have b een before a Committee of either

house—provided he hadnot b eenpreviously tam

pered with

W henall my preparations hadb een completed, Itook leave of my friends, andleft Bijnore a t threeo’clock onemorning. My destina tionwas Umba llah.

I did not take the ma inroad ; but a shorter cut across

thecountry, conducted by a guide who knew thedistrict well, andwho was enjoined to procure for meanother guide as soon as his information failedhim.

By seveno’clock wehadtravelled over twelvemilesof ground, andas the sunwas beginning to be verywarm, I commanded a ha lt. Our tents were thenpitched beneath a tope (cluster) ofmango-trees whosebranches formed a dense shade. Having b a thed,

3 52 W ANDERI NGS IN INDIA.

chara cteristics Of India , it would not only be undesirable, but impossible to introducethe English ploughgenera lly as an implement Of husbandry— a h implement requiring physica l strength, manua l dexterity,anda superior breed Of ca ttle for draught. Rudeandsimple as the na tive but is, or as it may seem to the

casua l observer, cursorily viewing the Opera tion Of

ploughing, it has still many good qua lities which render it peculia rly suited to the genius Of the Indiancultiva tor andit is not inany immedia te endeavourto improve it or a lter it tha t any rea l benefit can be

c onferred onthe cause of Indianagriculture . All the

efforts, therefore, tha t have beenmade intha t dircotionhave beentime andtrouble expended to no purpose . I t has been sa id tha t all improvement to berea l must be spontaneous, or take rise withinitself;andit would seem to be more reasonable to improvesuch means andappliances as thena tives useandnuderstand, without running counter to the ideas andShocking the prejudices which theyenterta in, byendeavouring to compel their adoption Of Europeanmodes of culture, which, however well suited to the

land Of their origin, have not the qua lity most necessa ry to their prac ticab ility, tha t of being c omprehensible to the people of India . Thetrueendof agriculture

with artful toil

To’meliorateandtamethestubbornsoil,

To givedissimilar yet fruitful landsThegrain, or herb, or plant, thatea ch demands,

THE LAND TENURRE. 353

is b est to be a tta ined by a iding anda ssisting the de

velopment of those resources of the soil which havea lready b eenmade visible by the people themselves.

Hereit is tha t the duty Of the Government begins. Theprecariousness Of the land tenure is one

,Of

the grea test impediments to the outlay of capita l by

thetenant intheimprovement Of the land andas

thereis but little prospect of the remova l of this Oh

jec tion, the Government should fulfil wha t would,

werethe case different, hethe Obvious plans of thelandholder in developing the resources Of the soil.Irriga tionandmanure arethetwo grea t points mostdeserving Of a ttention. Onboth points the resources

of the country a reinca lculable ; the a dvantages evident andimmedia te ; both require system andan

outlay of capita l, which the z eminda r (na tive land

holder) is Oftenunable, andOftener unwilling, to adoptandincur— from want of confidence intheadministra tionof the law andthe law itself. W ith the ryot

,

or cultiva tor, the ca se is very different. The law,or

the a dministra tionthereof, affects him ina very slight

degree compa red with the z eminda r . The land tenurema tters very little to him ; his rights have been secured he profits by the outlay of capita l onthe land .

Risk he has none. His a dvantage is immedia te . But

he does not possess the means of improvement inany

way. He may build a well, dig a tank, or plant a

grove to the memory of a departed ancestor, andbySO doing enhance the va lue of the land to the zemin


dar ; but he a lmost a lways ruins himself by thea c t,lea ving his debts to bepa id by his descendants, andthewell, tank, or grove mortgaged to the banker fo rthe extra expenses incurred initsestablishment I t

behoves an enlightened Government to do for thepeopleandthe country wha t they areunable to do fo rthemselves . An inquiry properly set on foot, andundertakenby competent persons onthe part Of theGovernment, to investigate all particula rs regardingthe state of agriculture, would bring to light manyfacts, which, if made fitting useOf, would not onlygrea tly redoundto the honour but adduce grea tly to

the advantage andprofit of the Sta te. The informa

tionthus acquired, andnot founded onthe reports ofna tive (Government) collec tors, police Ofiicers, and

pea ons (messengers), but ascerta ined by the persona linspectionofEuropeanOfiicials, andfrom the opinionsof the z emindars andcultiva tors themselves, wouldenable the Government to know anddeviseremediesto obviate theevils a rising out Of the gradua l declineof the agricultura l classes inour ea rliest occupied ter

ritories. It would Show the Governmentmany placeswhere the expenditure Of four or fivethousand rupees(four or fivehundred pounds) in the repa irs or erectionof a dam,

for the Obstruction Of some ra in-fillednullah (a wide anddeep ditch), would yield a returnyearly ofequa l amount, besides afi'ording employment,andthe means of livelihood to hundreds of persons.I t would show where the Opening Of a roa d

,or the


(It was inthis way tha t he ranonwhilst laying thetable.)

But why areyou preparing covers for two, whenI am dining a lone ?”

Yes,sir. But only poor mans has table la id for

one. Tha t pla ce opposite is for company sake. Andsuppose some gentleman come—not likely here, but

suppose ? Then all is ready. N0 running about

no ca lling out, Bring pla te, knife andfork, andspoon,andglass,

’

andall that. Andiftwo pla tes la id,master,

if he like—when I am standing behind his cha ir keeping the flies off while he ea ts—may fancy that somefriend or some lady sitting opposite, andinhis own

mind he may hold some guftoogoo (conversa tion).Tha t’s why I lay the table for two, Sir.I hadbeen wa rned by the gent lemanwho per

w itted Sham to accompany me, tha t he was such an

inva luable servant, it was only politic to let him havehis ownway in trifling matters andtherefore instead Of objecting to his proceeding, I applauded hisforesight .

W hilst discussing the stewed duck,which wasex

cellent— a s was indeed every dish prepared by Sham,

whenhe had“his ownway andwhile hewas standing behind me, keeping the flies Off with a chowria

(a quantity of long horseha ir fastened to a handle), Italked to him without turning my head

You sayyou wish to take a gun. Have youeverbeenout Shooting

SHOOTING A TIGER . 357

Oh, yes, sir. W hen my master went up from

Ca lc utta to Mussoorie andSimlah with theGovernorGenera l

,I went with him . AndI oftenwent out

Shoo ting in the Dhoon, with my master, who was a

grea t sportsman, sir. AndI was out with mymaster—on the same elephant—whenthe Governor-Genera l

Shot the tiger.

”

W ha t Did the Governor-Genera l shoot a

tigerOh

,no

,sir. Butmymaster andthe other gentle

mens make him think he did,sir.

”

Expla inyourself.

W ell, Sir, the Governor-Genera l sa id he hadhearda grea t dea l of tiger Shooting, andshould like to seesomefor once. So mymaster, who was a very funny

gentleman, went to anofi cer inthe Dhoon another

very funny gentleman— andbetween them it was

agreed tha t his lordship Should shoot onetiger . Andso they sent out some native Shikarees (huntsmen),told them to wound but not kill oneb ig tiger in thejungle, andleave him there . Andthe na tive Shikarees did Shoot oneb ig tiger in the jungle, andtheycame andmade a report where he was lying. Then

next morning whenall the elephants andgentlemenswas ready, andthe Governor-Genera l hadhis gun inhis hand, they all went to the jungle ; andwhenthey

got to theplace andhea rd the tiger growl very angrily,mymaster ca lled out There

,my lord— there he is;

take your Shot !’ andmy lord fired his gun, andmy


master cried out very loud My lord,you’ve hIt

him !’

Andmy lord, who was very much confused

not being a sportsman— sa id,Have I Anda ll the

gentlemens cried out Yes,my lord !

’

Andthensome of the gentlemens closed round thetiger andkilled him

,by firing many bullets at him. Andmy

lord hadthe tiger’

s Skintakenoff, andit wa s sent toEngland to be make a carpet formy lord

’

s sittingroom. Andformany days a ll thegentlemens laughed,andasked of oneanother, W ho shot thetiger ?’ Andthe Governor-Genera l was so happy andso proud, andwore his head as high as a seesu-tree. But he hadenough of tiger-shooting inthat onetiger ; for he wasnot a sportsman

,anddid not like the jolting of the

elephant inthe jungle.”

My repast ended, andthe tab leo cloth removed, Ilighted a ciga r, andtook my camp! stool once moreto the opening of the tent, when, to my surprise

,and

somewha t to mydismay, I found myself besieged bya host of ryots, cultivators of the soil

,each bearing a

present inthe Shape of a basket Of fruit or vegetables,or a brass dish covered with a lmonds, ra isins

,and

na tive sweetmeats. These poor crea tures, who doubt

less fancied tha t I was a Sahib inauthority (possibly,Sham hadtold them tha t I was a commissioner—a

very grea t man—ou a tour Of inspection), prostratedthemselves a t myfeet, andinthe most abject mannerimaginable craved my favour andprotection. I promisedea ch andevery oneof them, with much Sin


F O R W A RD.

I W AS twelve days ma rching from BIjnoreto Umba llah

,and

,by keeping away from the high - roa d, I

did not seeduring my journey a single Europeanface. I moved entirely amongst the people, or ra therthe peasantry

,ofthe Upper Provinces ofIndia— a very

poor andvery ignorant peasantry, but, compa ra tivelyspeaking, civil andhonest . Sham made a much

grea ter impression upon them thanI did ; mountedonhis pony

,anddressed invery gay a ttire—a purple

velvet tunic, pyjamahs of red silk trimmed with gold

lace, a turbanof very gorgeous aspect, andshoesembroidered a ll over with Silver . He hadmore theappearance of a young rajah or prince thana gentle

man’

s servant. AndSham ta lked to his countrymen— if the wretched Hindoos could be so ca lled—ina

lofty stra in which vastly amused me, though I didnot approve of it. I sa id nothing, however . As for

the camp arrangements, he hadcompletely takenthem out of my hands, andhe was SO much better

manager thanmyself tha t I was well content that itshould be so a ll tha t was left to mewas to name thehour for depa rting from anencampment-ground, andthe next Spot whereonI wishedmy tents pitched.

ETIQUETTE IN INDIA . 361

It was past six O’clock onthe morning of the 2oth

ofApril,when I came within a few miles of Um

b allah . The mornings andthe nights were still cool ;but

,inthe day the hea t was beginning to be very

severe . However,after taking my coffee andmaking

my toilet, I caused my pony to be te-sa ddled,and

,

followed by Sham mounted onhis pony, rode into

the cantonments,inquiring myway, as I went a long,

of the various servants who were moving about . Ieventua lly found myself at the door of a bunga low,

which wa s tenanted by a very Oldfriend anddistantconnexionofmine . He was anoflicer inoneof herMajesty’s regiments of foot

,then sta tionedat Um

You will Sleep here, of course, during your stay,

he sa id ; but you arethe guest of the mess, remember. Wehave settled all tha t, andwewill goup inthe buggy presently to deposit your pasteb oard

inthe mess reading room . I will point out to you

where you will a lways findyour knife andfork,and

I will introduce to you all the servants— the mess

sergeant especia lly.

I mustnow digress for a briefwhile, inorder to givethe uninitia ted reader some idea of Indianetiquetteas it exists amongst Europeans, members of society.

Inother countries,or a t a ll events inEngland, when

a gentlemangoes to take up his abode, for a long or

a short period, ina strange locality, it is usua l for the

residents, if they desire to Show him any civility, or


make his acqua intance,to call uponhim in the firs t

instance. In India thereverseis the case. Thestrangermust make his round of ca lls, if he wishes t o

know theresidents and, wha t is more, he must leavehis cards onthe mess, for the colonel andOfiicers o fher Majesty

’s Regiment.

”You may lea vea .

card on every Ofi Cer in the regiment, from thesenior colonel downto the junior ensign; andea ch of

them may, andpossibly will , invite you to his priva teb oard but, ifyou omit to leave a card on the mess,it would bea gross breach ofdecorum inanymemberOf the mess to invite you to dine at themess-table,because you have not left a card onthe mess.” Andnot only to the roya l regiments does the rule perta in,but to every regiment inIndia , andto every brigadeof a rtillery.

Having left my cards a t the mess of the regimentto which my friend belonged, I was driven to themess-houseof the Dragoons, where another

expenditure of cardswas incurred thento themesshouses of the two na tive infantry regiments, andthemess-house of the na tive cava lry regiment. I wasthenwhisked Off to the houseof Genera l Sir DoodleDudley, who commanded the division. The

Genera l was very old, close uponeighty but hewas

made up” to represent a gentlemanOf about forty.

His chesnut wig fitted him to perfection, andhiswhiskers were died so adroitly

,that they were an

exact imita tionof their origina l colour. The white


my friends a t the HorseGuards a t least a doz entimes . I want thegovernorship andthe commandin-chief at the Cape ; but, if they thrust Bombay

uponme, I suppose Imust take it . Onecan’taa lwayspick andchoose

,andI fancy it is only right to oblige

now andthen.

”

Wesha ll be very sorry to lose you, Genera l,sa id my friend, mechanica lly very sorry indeed .

”

So I have told his Excellency,

” excla imed the

Genera l, who presumed tha t my friend was now

ta lking onanentirely different subject. So I havetold him. But he will not listen to me. He says

tha t if the court-martia l still adheres to its finding of

murder,he will upset the whole of the proceedings,

andorder the man to returnto his duty ; andthecourt will adhere to its origina l finding for the court

says,andI say, tha t a priva te who deliberately loads

his firelock,anddelibera tely fires a t andwounds 3.

8t eant, cannot properly be convicted ofmanslaughteronly. W ell, it cannot be helped, I suppose. Thefac t is, the commander-in-chief is now too old for his

work ; andhe is, as he a lways was , very obstina te andself-willed .

”Andthe Genera l continued, For the

command of anarmy or a divisioninIndia , wewantmenwho arenot above listening to the advice of

the experienced officers by whom they aresur

roundedW henwewere leaving the Genera l, he mistook

NOT A DELUSION . 365

mefor my friend andmy friend for me, andrespectively addressed us a ccordingly (his eyesight was veryimperfect, andhe wa s too va into wear glasses). He

thankedmefor having brought my friend to ca lluponhim

,andassured my friend tha t it would afford

him the grea test pleasure in the world if the ao

qua intance,tha t day made

,should ripen into

friendship .

Heis an imbecile, I rema rked, whenweweredriving away from the Genera l’s door.

Yes andhe has been for the last six or sevenyears

,

”was the reply.

But he must be labouring under some delusionwith respect to being appointed to the command-in

chief of anIndianpresidency ?”

Nothing of the kind . He is certa inof it . He

will go to Bombay before six weeks areover, youwill see.TheGenera l didgo to Bombay, where he played

such fanta stic tricks before high heaven, tha t the

angels could not have wept” for laughing a t them.

Amongst other things, he insisted on the officers of

the regiments buttoning their coa ts andja ckets up

to the throa t,during the hottest time of the year.

He would have nothing unmilitary,he sa id

,hot

clima te or no hot clima te .

” He wa s quite childishbefore he relinquished his command, andwas broughthome just intime to die inhis fa therland, anda t the


country-sea t ofhis aristocra tic ancestors. Although

utterly unfitted, inhis after life, to command troops,he was a very polished old gentleman, externally ;and, having enjoyed a very intimatea cqua intancewith Bl

'

ucher, andother celebrated commanders, hecould repea t many anecdotes of them worthy of temembrance. Bliicher,” he usedto say, generally

turned into bed a ll standing, jack-boots included ;and

,ifhis va let forgot to take off his spurs, andthey

became entangled with the sheets, woebetide theva let. The torrent of abuse tha t bepoured forthwas something terrific.

” I also heard theGeneralsay tha t Bliicher, having seeneverything inLondon,remarked with grea t earnestness, Give meLudgateHill 1” andon being asked to expla inwhy, replied,with reference to the number ofjewellers

’

andsilversmiths’ shops which in tha t day decora ted thelocality,

MeinGott l what pillage

After leaving theGenera l’s house, weca lled uponsome six or eight other magnates of Umba llah for

the time being ; andon returning to the mess-housea t the hour of tifiin, I wa s ra ther fatigued. Thescene, however, revived meconsiderably. There weresea ted round the la rge ta ble, in the centre of thelonely room

,some seventy or eighty officers of all

ranks,from thevarious regiments in the sta tion.

There was to be a meeting held tha t day a t themess-room, to discuss some loca l matter

,andthe


lounging about, andmaking inefl'ec tual attempts to

keep up a conversa tion. The shooting-coa ts andthewa istcoa ts were now discarded

,andthe suspenders,

andthe shoes, or boots ; in short, each person only

werestrictly necessa ry clothing, while the na tive(coolie) in theverandah was ever andanon loudly

ca lled uponto pull the punkah a s strongly as possible.Tha t room tha t afternoonpresented a perfect pictureof cantonment life in India during the summer

season, betweenthe hours of two andha lf-pa st five,RM . The body is too much exhausted to a dmit of

any serious menta l exertionbeyond tha t which sheeramusement can afford ; andit is by no means uncommon to findyour partner or yourself dropping03 to sleep whenca lled uponto lead a card, or follow

suit. The three menwho were sitting (or lying) out,soonyielded to the influence of the punkah

,closed

their eyes, andgot up a snore,each holding between

his fingers the cheroot he hadbeensmoking.

Ah, yes ! It is very b adto have to endure thefrightful hea t —to feel one

’

s blood onthe broil,even

under a punkah, andwith doors andwindows closed,to exclude the hot a ir of the Openday. But what

must it be for the men, the priva tes andtheir wivesandchildren? They have no punkahs

,though it

has been shown tha t they might have them at a

trifling cost. They have no cold wa ter,much less

iced wa ter to sip— though they might have it, if thea uthorities hadthe good sense (to put humanity cn

I CE MAKING . 369

tirely'

out of the question) to be economical of tha t

invalua ble commodity in India, British flesh andblood. They

,the men of theranks, andtheir wives

andchildren, have no spacious apartments (with wellfitted doors andwindows), to move about in, thoughthereis no reasonwhy they should not have them

,

forthe land costs nothing, andlabour andma teria l islitera lly dirt-cheap inthe Upper Provinces of India .

But the Roya l Infantry Ba rra cks a t Umballah isa fine, la rgebuilding !” it may be suggested. I reply

,

Not for a regiment onethousand strong —a regi

mentmustering onethousand bayonets, to saynothingof the numerous women, andthe more numerouschildren. In a cold clima te, it would beample fortheir accommodation; but not here, where ina room

occupiedby an ofi cer,the thermometer frequently

stands a t ninety-three degrees, andsometimes a t onehundred andfivedegrees. In the matter of ice

,the

reader must be informed how it is manufactured.

During the cold wea ther, (a s the winter is a lwayscalled,) small earthenware vessels of sha llow build

,

resembling saucers in shape, arefilled with wa ter,

andplaced inanopenfield, upona low bed of straw.

At dawnofday there is a coa ting of ice upon each

vessel, of about the thickness of a shilling. This is

collected by men, women, andchildren(na tives), whoreceive for each morning’s, or hour’s work, a sum of

money, incowries, equa l to about ha lf of a farthingWhencollec ted, it is ca rried to an ice-pit, andthere

B B


stored. Theexpenses areborne by a subscription,andthe amount for each ticket depends entirely onthenumber of subscrib ers. Insome la rge sta tions,anice-ticket for thehot seasoncosts only three pounds.In smaller sta tions it will cost six pounds. Theamount of ice received by each ticket-holder is aboutfour pounds, andis brought away ea ch morning at

daylight, in a canvas b ag, envelopedin a thick

blanket, by the ticket-holder’

s own servant. I t is

then deposited in a ba sket made expressly for thepurpose . In this basket is plac ed the wine

,beer

,

wa ter, butter, andfruit. The b ag of solid ice is inthe centre of all these, andimparts to ea ch anequalcoldness. These four pounds of ice

, if properlymanaged, andthea ir kept out of the basket,will coolaninconceivable quantity of fluids, andwill last fortwenty-four hours—that is to say, there will besomeice rema ining whenthe fresh bag is brought in. If

a. bewildered khansamah, or khitmutghur, inhis

haste to bring a bottle, leaves the basket uncovered,the inevitable consequence is, tha t theice melts, andthere is anendof it for theday. I have scarcely

knowna family in which corpora l punishment was

not inflic ted onthe servant guilty of such a piece of

neglect. But, grea t as was the priva tion,it was

a lways cheerfully endured by the society, whenthe

doctors of the various departments indented onthemfor their shares of ice respectively. Andthis occasiona lly happened, whenthe hospitals were crowded

372 W ANDERINGS IN‘

INDIA .

the evening commences, andmany very pleasantevenings have been spent in tha t Umb a llah messroom, despite thehea t. Thecolonel of the regiment!to which my friend belonged was a manof very goodsense; andduring the hot seasonhe sanctioned hisomcers wea ring, except whenonparade, a white twilljacket, of a military cut, with theregimenta l buttonandhe hadnot the slightest obj ectionto a loosenecktieinstead of a tightly-fitting black stock. This ma tter ought to have been sanctioned by the highest

milita ryauthority, the commander-inchief or ra ther,

it ought to have beenstated ina genera l order that

such ra tional attire was approved of, instead of beingleft to the caprice of a colonel, or brigadier, or gene

ral of division. Theregiment of roya l ca va lry, too,were equa lly fortuna te intheir colonel. He was a lsoof opiniontha t the comfort of the ofl‘icers under hiscommand was worthy of some considera tion

, andhecould not seethe necessity of requiring a gentlemanto sit down to dinner in a thick redcloth jacket(padded), andbuttoned up to thevery chin. But

before I left Umb a llah, the old Genera l a ltered this,

andinsisted on“ this loose andunsoldierlike a ttireb eing instantly abandoned .

” He hadoverlooked itfor severa l months, or, at all events, hadexpressed noobjection but suddenly the major-genera l command

ing was aroused to observe with great regret tha t thedress insome regiments was fast becoming subversive,&c . ,

&c . Thereason of themajor-general’s sudden

THE BAND . 373

acuteness of observa tionwas this —hewas about togive a ba ll a t his own house, andfor some inexplicable c a use hadnot invited any of the officers of her.

Majesty’s Regiment of Foot. But onthe morning of thenight onwhich the ball was to takepla ce,herequested his a ide-de-camp to write the followingnote

TheM ajor-General commanding theDivision desires that thebandof H .M .

’

s Foot maybeinattendanceat theMajor-General’shouseat ha lf-past nineprec isely.

”

Andtheband went a t half-past nine, for theGenera lhada perfect right to order the mento a ttend at his !

house whenever bepleased but the band went without their musica l instruments

,for they (a s I believe is

theca seinall regiments) were the priva te property of

the officers for the time being, and, like the regimenta l

plate, the loanthereof for anyparticula r occa sionmust’berega rded a s a matter of favour, andnot a s a mat

ter of right. So the Genera l had'

no music out of the'

band andthe omcers inthe sta tionhadno com rt

intheir dress, until the Genera l left the sta tionforhis command at Bombay.

It may possibly be imagined that the Genera l had,inhis,

ea rlier days,done

‘

theSta te grea t service as a

milita ry commander,andfor that his appointment

was the reward . Nothing of the kind. W henhe

left thearmy, andbecame una ttached, he was only a

regimenta l colonel, andhadonly beenonce mentioned.‘by the Duke ofW ellingtoninhis despa tches, ashav


ing ga llantly led his regiment into action; for this

single mentionhe was made a brevet major-general

anda Q B , while other colonels who hadperformedprec isely the same service, rema ined unpromoted andundecora ted. Sometimes, during his Indianca reernot tha t he was intoxica ted by wine, for theGeneralinhis dota ge was ra ther abstemious—hewould beutterly oblivious to the fact tha t hewa s inIndia , andwould hold a conversationwith some young ensign,

(who hadbeen oneof his dinner pa rty, andwho, inhaste to get away ea rly to billia rds, came up to say

good night) after the following fashionLook here

, my pretty boy, as you will bepassingFribourg andPontet’s

,just look inandtell them—O,

how like you areto your dear mother ! I canremember her when shewas thought, andtruly, to beoneof the prettiest womeninall Europe Charm

ing eyes— lovely complexion! W ell, look ina t Fri

bourg andPontet’s.”

Yes, Genera l.”“Andtell them to send mea canister of the Duke

ofKent’s mixture. O how very like you areto yourdearmother, my pretty boy ! The last they sent mehadscent init . Tell them I hate scent insnuff.”

Yes, Genera l .O how VERY like you areto your dea r mother !(The Genera l hadnever seen the boy

’

s mother inthecourse ofhis long anduseless life.)

Yes, General.

”


after timn, he will ‘perha ps get a few winks whilerea ding the newspaper or a book, or while sitting on

the bench inthe billiard-room,

“wa tching thegame.”Have these young men, it may be asked

,nothing to

do ? Have they no occupa tion? Yes. They have

to keep themselves alive andingood spirits, andthatis no easy task either, in the hot wea ther of the

Upper Provinces. Some of them (a few) inthe EastIndia Company

’

s Service will take to studying thelanguages, in the hope tha t proficiency thereinwill

lead to staff employ. Those,however, who do not

happento have good interest to back their cla ims soon

findout tha t the order of the Governor-Genera l inCouncil touching a knowledge of the Na tive lan

guages is a mere sham andtha t ignorance clothedwith interest is—s o far a s advancement inlife is concerned— far preferable to a well-stored hea d anda

steady character.

MILITARY MATTERS.

A COURT MARTIAL ! I s it possible ? excla imed myfriend

, onlooking into the genera l order book, whichwas put before him onthe breakfast- table. W ell, Ididnot think it would come to tha t.

I did,”sa id theMajor of the regiment, who was

sitting opposite to him. For it strikes metha t thechief is never so happy as whenhe is squabbling withthemembers of the courts, andpublicly reprimanding .

them for their inconsistency,or wha tever else may

Occur to him . This is the seventh court ma rtia l heldinthis sta tionwithin the past two months, andwiththeexceptionof onecase

,the whole of them were un

necessa ry.

”

I was tempted to a sk who was to be tried.

Two boys,” replied the Major

, who thought pro

per to quarrel at the mess-table, andto make useofa certa inlittle word

,not a ltogether b ecom ing gentle

men,if applied to oneanother . The Senior Capta in

,

Who was the senior officer present, very properly putthem under a rrest

,andsent them to their quarters.

Our Colonel,who is, I am very happy to say, ex

tremely pa rticular on this as well a s onevery other.

point tha t tends to preserve the tone andchara c ter'

of


the regiment, wished these lads to receivefrom a

higher authority than himself a severe reprimand .

Tha t authority was the Genera l of theDivision; andif the Genera l of the Divisionhadbeen Sir JosephThackwell, ancfi cer of sound judgment, or any c om

mander of Sir Joseph’s stamp, all would have b een

well . But the Colonel, who has since found out themistake tha t he made innot weighing the individualcharac ter of Sir Doodle, forwa rded the case onto himthrough the Brigadier inthe regular way, the young

gentlemenmeanwhile rema ining under a rrest. The

Colonel a lso saw Sir Doodle privately,andpointed

out to him, so far as he could make himself under

stood, tha t a severe reprimand was all tha t wa s required . SirDoodle, however, didnot view the ma tterinthis light, andforwarded the proceedings to theCommander-ia -Chief

,at Simlah. After a fortnight

’

s

delay,during which time those two boys have been

confined to their respective bunga lows, the order has

come downfor a genera l court ma rtia l, to assemble

andtry them. This will involve a further imprison

ment of some three or four weeks ; for the chief is

sure to findfault with the court’s finding, andsend back the proceedings for revision andreconsidera tionprevious to confirming andapproving of

them

Andwha t do you suppose will be the upshot Iasked .

Tha t the lads will be relea sed,or ordered to re


them wished to plead guilty, andsa id so ina low toneto theDeputy Judge-Advoca te -Genera l, who in an

equa lly low tone of voice,sa id

N0,don’tdo tha t say Not guilty

But look here,my dear fellow

,sa id one

of the prisoners to tha t functiona ry, who wa s.

the prosecutor on theoccasion wha t’s the useof denying it ? Wedid make two fools of our

selves ”Yes ; wha t’s the useof wasting time ? sa id the

other prisoner.

I fweplead guilty, there’s anendof it,andthe

court cansentence us a t once,andsend the papers up

to Simlah by to-night’

s post. I am sick of tha t

cursed bunga low ofmine, andwant to have a changeof air.

”

W ell,do as you like, sa id theDeputy-Judge

Advoca te. But my advice is tha t you plead Not

guilty, andtheninyour defence you canput forth

wha tever you please inextenua tion, andmitiga tionofthe punishment .”

But here wearebrought up for ca lling ea ch otherliars ina moment of pa ssion, andif wesaywedidnotcall each other lia rs

,wewelia rs.

Andwha t is more, wea reliars incold blood,urged oneof the prisoners .

W ill you admit that ‘

you were drunk ? sa id theDeputy-Judge-Advoca te-Genera l.

N0, they both ca lled out. Wewerenot strictly

on SCREW ED .

”381

sober, perhaps. But where is it about b eing drunk ?

Wedidn’t seethat inthecharge .

”

Yes, here it is, inthe second instance ofthe secondcha rge, having while ina sta te of intoxica tionat themess -ta ble ofherMajesty’s Regiment of Foot, on

thenight, ’ &c . , &c .

Oh tha t’s an infamous fa lsehood, you know.

W ho sa id tha t ? Not Capta inStansfield,who put us

under a rrest ? I f he swears tha t he sha ll answer for

it. Intoxicated not a bit of it ! Screwed,nothing

more cried the young officer in a sort of stage

whisper. Onmy honour, as anofiicer anda gentleman, nothing more .

Thesecha rges have come down from head-quarters, having beenprepared inthe office of the JudgeAdvocate-Genera l .

”

“ W ho is he ? W hat’s his name ? a sked the

Colonel Birch, was the reply.

Thenhe sha ll give up his authority .

W ell, plead Not guilty, andyou will have it.”

Very well, then, off shegoes Not guilty Fifty

not guilties, ifyou like, ontha t point.W hile this little, but interesting, deba te wa s pending

betweenthe prosecutor andthe prisoners, the va riousmembers of the court were holding with each othera miscellaneous conversa tion, or otherwise amusingthemselves .

Colonel Jackstone, of the Na tive Infantry (who

382 W ANDEEINc s IN INDIA.

was the president of the court martia l, invirtue oftheseniority of his rank), was talking to Colonel Colverlyof the Dragoons, about some extra ordinary a ilment ofhis wife which required the constant administra tionofbrandy andsoda -wa ter, inorder to keep her a live. I twas a low sinking fever, he sa id, from which shehadsufi

'eredfor the last six or sevenyears at intervals of

three months andit was a lways worse in the hot

weather thana t any other seasonof the yea r . Cap

ta inBulstrade, of the Artillery, was ta lking to Major

W a llchafl'e,of the Light (Benga l) Cavalry, concerning

a fly-trap which he hadtha t morning invented ; a

ginger-beer or soda -wa ter bottle ha lffilled with soapsuds andthe opening besmea red with honey or moistened suga r. Capta inDundrifi'ewas recommendingCapta inNolens to buy some beer which a na tivemerchant hadrecently imported into the sta tion. Lieutenant Blade, of the Dragoons, was playing a t oddandevenwith his fingers, onhonour, with LieutenantTheston, of the same regiment and

,with a pretence

of being ready to takenotes of the proceedings of thecourt martia l, each, pen in right hand, wa s keepingana ccount of the score . Blade used to boast of beingthe inventor of this simple game, but there were oflicers inIndia who decla red that it owedits existenceto a late Commander-in-Chief of the Forces

,andwho

invented it a t school whenhe hadbeen shut up ina

dark room (with another boy as fond ofgambling as

384 W ANDEEINGs IN INDIA .

most ofus at thisendof the table,for the punkah is

too far distant to admit of our receiving any benefittherefrom. This is anawful business .

”

Incompliance with the request conta ined in theabove note, I

'

left the Court,drove off as rapidly a s

possible, andcommunica ted my friend’s wishes to hisservant, who immedia tely hastened to fulfil them.

By thetime I returned to the Court the first witnesswas under ex amina tion. Such a waste of time !

Such a tria l to the temper of all present ! Instea d of

allowing the Senior Capta into state the fa cts— andhe would have done so in less thanthree minutesandthen take them down onpaper

,ea ch question

was writtenon a slip of paper, andsubmitted to thePresident, by the Deputy-JudgeAdvoca te, who

showed it to the ofiicers sitting oneither side of him,

who nodded assent. The questionwas thenread

a loud to the witness

W ere you present onthe night of the l oth of

April, at the mess-table of her Majesty’

s Regiment

ofFoot ?

The Capta inreplied,I was.

The question andanswer were then copied into

the book,”andthe slip of paper onwhich the ques

tionwas origina lly writtenwa s tornup. This occu

pied (for the Deputy-Judge-Advocatewas not a rapid

writer, .andwas appa rently inno particula r hurry,being a man of very equable temperament) eightminutes . The second questionwas put inprecisely

THE PROCEEDINGS . 385

thesame way, the same ceremonies having beengonethrough . Thesecond questionwasW erethe prisoners present onthat occasionThey were,

” replied the Capta in.

Again thecopying process went on, slowly and

methodic a lly, andBlade, who was still playing oddandeven

,called out in a loud voice

, to make itappear tha t he was giving up his mind entirely to the

W ha t was the answer ? I did not hear it dis!tinctly ;

-beso good as to request thewitness to speakup.

”

Hesaid, They were, ’ returned the DeputyJudge-Advoca te-Genera l.Oh They were,’ repea ted Blade writing

downa mark, signifying tha t he hadjust lost fourruP938!

Twenty minutes hadnow elapsed,andtheabove

was all that hadbeen elicited from the first witness,who was seemingly a s impa tient asmost of the members of the Court . The Deputy-Judge-Advoca teGenera l

,h owever, hadpa tience enough for all pre

sent, andso hadBlade, andhis adversa ry a t odd andeven. My friendhaving scowled at Blade for puttinghis question, andthus prolonging the inquiry, thataggrava ting Ofiicer now periodically spoke to theDeputy Judge-Advoca te-Genera l, who invariably putdownhis pento answer him just as if he could not

possibly speak with that instrument inhis hand . I t

C C


was a qua rter-pa st two whenthe examinationinchiefwas concluded. It began a t twelve precisely ; so

that two hours andfifteenminutes hadbeen con

sumed intaking downthe following, andno moreI was present on the night in question, and

placed the prisoners under anarrest,for giving each

other the lie in an ofi'ensiveandungentlemanlike

manner . They were excited seemingly by the wine

they hadtaken; but I cannot say tha t they weredrunk.

”

The Court then adjourned for ha lf-an-hour to themess-room,

to take some refreshment—every onedripping, drenched . Then came the opening thefronts of the thick red cloth coa ts

,andthe imbibing

of brandy andsoda -wa ter,iced beer

,andother fluids

,

andsundry violent exclamations,tha t it was worse

thanthe ba ttle ofSobraon—more trying to the consti

tution. Every onethen sat down to tiflin; and,having hastily devoured a few morsels

,smoked

cheroots.

I say, Blade, sa id the Senior Capta in,

what

did you meanby wishing meto speak up ? Surelyyou heard my answer

Mean, my dear fellow ? I meant nothing— or if

I did,it was only to take a mild rise out of you

However, don’t interrupt mejust now

,for I am

thinking over a lot of questions I intend to put toyou, whenweget ba ck into Court.Questions ? About wha t ?”


cla imed, —looking a t the Colonel,he positively

refuses to tasteit, even.

Nonsense,”sa id the cavalry Colonel, approa ch ing

them with a serious a ir, andwith anempty gla ss inhis hand. Nonsense Do you rea lly meanto say

tha t our Madeira is not good —excellentNO, Colonel,

”sa id the Senior Captain of the

Roya l Infantry regiment.Tasteit, andsay wha t you think of it

,Colonel,

sa id Blade, filling the Colonel’

s glass, which wa s held

up to receive the liquid, with a willingness whichimparted some mirth to the beholders. Taste it.

There.”

I have tasted it,”sa id the Colonel, andpro

nounce it to bethe best I ever drank inmy life, and,inmy judgment, infinitely superior to tha t of anyothermess .

SO I say, sa id Blade, filling his glass“ but the

misfortune is, he won’t believe me.”

Order a fresh bottle of our wine for him,Blade

,

said the Colonel, andlet him taste the top of it.”

N0,thankyou, Colonel,

”sa id the Senior Capta in;

I would rather not. Remember,I have to conclude

my examina tion.

”

Ah, so you have, sa id the Colonel, moving away.

But take myword for it, that better Madeira thanours was never grownor bottled .

”

W hen the Court resumed its sitting, I observedtha t some of the members of the Court became

BLADE CROSS-EX AMINES . 389

drowsy, anddropped off to sleep, opening oneeyeoccasiona lly, for a second or two others becamefidgety, impetuous, andargumenta tive. The Presi

dent inq uired if the memb ers of the Court would liketo ask thewitness any questions. Severa l respondedintheamrmative, and beganto write theirquestionsonslips of paper. Blade

,however

,was the first to

throw his slip across,the tableto the Deputy-Judge

Advocate-Genera l, who, having read it,handed it

across to the President, who showed it to the oflicersoneither side of him,

who nodded assent. The ques

tionwa s then handed back t o the Deputy-JudgeAdvoc a te-Genera l, who proceeded to read it aloud

You have stated that theprisoners were under

the influenceofwine, but tha t they were notdrunk .

Wha t do you mean?”

I mean,

”sa id the Senior Capta in, tha t they

Not so quick, please,”sa id the Deputy-Judge

Advoca te-Genera l . You mean tha t - Yes—I amquiteready.

if

I mean,sa id thewitness, that though theyhad

both beenpartaking freely ofwine, they were notFreely ofwine—don’t be ina hurry, said theDe

puty-Judge-AdvocateGeneral, repea ting each word

tha t he took down.

“Mind, he says Freely, said Blade. F reelyofwine .

’

Theword freely is important—very im

portant . Haveyou got downthe word freely ?”Yes. sa id theDeputy-Judge -Advocate-Genera l,


having put down his pen to ascerta in the fa ct, and

make it knownto his interroga tor.

Very well,

”sa id Blade. Thenput the rest Of

the answer down, a t your earliest convenience. I aminno pa rticula r hurry.

”

W ell sa id the Deputy-Judge-Advocate-Genera lto the witness they were not—not wha t

Not drunk,”sa id the witness.

There is nothing about drunkenness in thecha rges,

”sa id the President ; where a rethe

charges

Here, sir,”sa id the DeputyJ udge—Advoca te-Ge

nera l. But, please let mewrite downyour remarkbefore wego any further.

”

W ha t remark ?” inquired the President.Tha t there is nothing about drunkenness in the

cha rges. Acc ording to the last genera l order by his

Excellency the Commander-inChief, on the last

court martial held in this sta tion,everything that

transpires should berecorded.

”Andthe Deputy

Judge-Advoca te -Genera l thenresumed his writing in

the slowest andmost provoking manner imaginable.Severa l of the audience wa lked out of the Court, andwent into the room where therefreshments were . Ifollowed them. Werema ined absent for more than

tenminutes ; but, whenwecame ba ck, the DeputyJudge-Advoca te-Genera l hadnot yet writtenup to

the desired point,previous to going onwith Blade’s

question. This a t length a ccomplished, he lookedatthe President andsa id

, Yes, sir

392 W ANDERINGs IN I NDIA .

memb er of the Court . Somesignified by a nod,

some by a shake of the head, others by a shrug of theshoulders, wha t they thought about it ; andas thereseemed to bea difference of opinion, the Court wa sagaincleared in order that thevotefor or aga inst

might be taken. So once more .weweredrivenintothe mess-room to refresh ourselves andlaugh over theabsurdity of thewhole proceeding. After w a itingthere for ab out five-and-thirty minutes, theAdjutantannounced, ina loud voice, The Court is open

andwereturned to hear the President say tha t, a s itwa s now nearly four o’clock, the Court must beadjourned—another absurdity in com mon with

courts martial. After four o’clock, theCourt mustnot sit, evenif twenty minutes inexcess of tha t hourwouldendthe proceedings, andrender another meet

The DeputyJ udge-Advoca te-Genera l'

thenlockedup his papers in a box, placed it under his arm

,

bowed to the Court, walked ofi', called for his buggy,anddrove home . Themembers of the Court

,the

prisoners,andtheaudience then dispersed, andte

tired to their respective bungalows ; all very tired,andvery glad of some repose. My friend, on takingoff his coat, asked meto feel theweight of it, out of

curiosity. Sa tura ted as it -was,it must, including

the epaulettes, ha ve weighed some five-and—twentypounds.

The nextday at eleventhe Court againmet. The

THE SECOND DAY . 393

first thing tha t was done was to rea d theproceedingsofthepreviousday. This duty was performed by the

Deputy J a dge-Advoc ateGenera l, and,slowly a s he

read,it wa s over intwelveminutes, for I timed him.

Tha t is to say, it hadtakenfour hours anda ha lf to

get through the rea l . business of twelve minutes, or,giving a very liberal margin, the business of ha lf-an

Andnow another very curious fea ture of anIndiancourt martia l presented itself. The President askedtheDeputyJ udge-Advocate-General if he hadfurhishedtheprisoners with a copy of the past day

’

s

proceedings. TheDeputyJ udge-Advocate-Genera l

“No ; theprisoners hadnot a sked for a copy.

ThePresident sa idTha t does not signify. Did you tender them a

copy 7”

N o, sir.

”

Thenyou ought to havedone so.

The prisoners here sa id tha t theydidnot want a

ThePresident’s answerto this.innocent remarkwas,that whatever they hadto say they must reserve tillthey werecalled uponfor their defence.Desirous ofnot provoking theanimosity of thePre

aident, they bowed, andveryrespectfully thanked himfor the suggestion. W hereupon the President, whowas a terrible talker, andpassionately fond of a llu


sions to his owncareer inthe army,mentioned a case

withinhis ownpersona l knowledge . It was a casetha t ha ppened inCanada

, andhe hadreason, he sa id,to remember it, because he was at the time onthesta fiof tha t distinguished ofi cer, Sir James Kemp, andheard Sir James rema rk uponit. The Honourable

Ernest Augustus Fitz b lossom,a younger son of the

Ea rl ofMillflower, was tried for chea ting a t ca rds,

was found guilty, andsentenced to be ca shiered.

This sentence was confirmed andapproved by theGenera l Commanding-in-Chief

,andthe Honourable

Lieutenant went home. An appeal was made to

the Horse Guards,andit came out tha t no copy of

eac h day'

s proceedings hadbeen tendered to theprisoner

,andupontha t ground the whole of the pro

ceedings were declared by his Royal Highness theDuke ofYork to be null andvoid. He (the Presi

dent) did not meanto offer any opinionontha t ca se,

but bemerely quoted it, andbeing onSir James’s

staff at the time, he hadreasonto remember, inorderto show tha t such was the rule .A Capta in inthe Bengal Cava lry sa id he knew of

a case which occurred in this country (India) wherethevery reverse was held . The prisoner— a Lieu

tenant Burkett, of the Bengal Na tive Infantry— wastried for being drunk whilst on outpost duty. The

tria l la sted for seventeendays,forno less thanthirty

eight witnesses—principa lly na tives—were examined.TheLieutenant

,a t theclose of thecase for the Pro‘


ease ; andso this desultorynarrationof individualexperiences went onfor onehour anda ha lf— theDeputyJ udge-Advoca te, with his tongue protruding,writing away as methodica lly as possible.

" W ha t hewaswriting I donot know but I fancy hewas takingdown the heads” of thevarious cases tha t werequoted; inorder tha t his Ex cellencytheCommanderinAChief might ha ve theSatisfac tion of examiningthem . I was told afterwards tha t we, theaudience,andthe prisoners, ought not‘ to havebeena llowed torema inincourt during this narrationof cases, andtheanecdotes which thenarrators wove into them ; but Ineed scarcely say I was very gladtha t our presencehadbeenoverlooked ; for if I hadnot seenandheardwhat took pla ce, I Should not c erta inly havebelieved, andtherefore. should .not have dreamt of

describing, it. It wa s during this conversationtha t

thegrea ter portionof themoney he hadlost on thepreviousday ; nor tha teither Bladeor his adversaryfailed to take a part intheconversation, for both of

them would now andthenejacula tq W ha t anex

traordinary case Didyouever I” N0,never !”

It seems impossible !” Cashiered him Shameful W ho could havebeen the chairmm of theCourt ofDirectors “A ‘Dissenter

,I’ll be bound

Well, Sir,

”sa id the DeputyJ udge-Advocate

Genera l to the President, when he hadfinished his

writing, wha t sha ll wedo ? Sha ll weadjournthe

THE THIRD DAY . 397

Court until a copy of yesterday’s proceedings is made,andgivento the prisoners

No doubt, sa id the President that is the onlyway inwhich the error canbe repa ired. But a copymust bedelivered to ea ch of them.

”

But hadwebetter not take the o pinionof the

Court onthe subject suggeaedtheDeputy-JudgeAdvoc a teoGeneral.

By a llmeans,

” conceded thePresident ; but in

tha t ca se, the Court must becleared, whilethevotesaretaken.

Clear the Court !” cried theAdjutant ; andout

wea ll marchedagain, into the mess-room, wheremorecheroots were smoked, andmore. weak b randyand-wa ter imb ibed .

Thethird day came, andthe Court re-assembled .

TheDeputy-Judge-Advoca te—Genera l read over the,entire proceedings, beginning from the very beginning,theswea ring of the members, up to the adjournmentofthe Court, andthe reasons for such adjournment .Here another discussionor conversationensued, as towhether it wa s hecessary to read more thanthe lastday’s proceedings. The Deputy-Judge-AdvocateGenera l sa id he was quite right. The President

thought otherwise. All theothermembers of theCourtSpoke onthe subject, many of them a t thesame time.Bla de andhis adversa ry also gave their opinions, the

former for, andthe la tter opposed to the view takenby thePresident . As this was a point tha t must be


cleared up, insomuch as the decision that might be

come to would regula te the future proceedings inthisrespect, theCourt was aga in cleared

,

”andweaga in

ma rched into the room where the refreshments wereto be had. In half-an-hour’s time wewere re-admitted. But it was not until the followingday (formembers arenot a llowed

,in short

,they arebound

by oa th not to divulge what may be decided when

the doors areclosed), tha t welea rnt the DeputyJudgo-Advoca te-Genera l hadca rried his point

, andtha t a sort of parody of tha t old nursery story

, ab out

the firebeganto burnthestick, the stick began tobea t thedog, thedog beganto bite the pig,” was theproperwayto openthe proceedings of ea chday duringa protra cted trial by general court-martia l !

SO curiously is humanna ture constituted, tha t I, incommonwith the rest of the audience, began, a fter

the fifth day, to like the business, andto wa tch

its various twistings and turnings with grea t

interest. The mess-house,a t which the Court was

held,became a favourite lounge for a lmost everybody

in the sta tion; andit was curious t‘ hear the betstha t were made with reference to theprobable finding, andthe sentence. The trial las ted over thirteendays, inclusive of two Sundays which intervened ;andthe proceedings were thenforwarded to Simlah,where they rema ined for a fortnight awa iting thedecisionof the Commander-in-Chief

,who

,in fulfil

ment of Blade’s prophecy,certa inly didput forth

a snorter of a Genera l Order,” andas full as it could


It was a ma tter of grave doubt whether the determina tion, thusex prmsed, to uphold discipline inthea rmy, was inany way assisted by such genera l ordersas thosefired off from thepenof the ardent Com~

mander-in-Chief the . moreespecia lly a s such gene?ral orders were copied into thenewspapers, andwereread by (or listened to whileothers werereadingaloud,) everynon-commissioned ofi cer andpriva tein

after the promulgationof thegenera l order just a lluededto, a trooper inthedragoons having b eentalkedto seriously by thecaptain. of the troop, for someirregular conduct, thusunburthened himself

You W ha t do I c arefor wha t YOU say ? You

areoneof those infernal fools whom the Commanderin-Chief pitched into theother day forBEING a foo

Andas theperora tionof this speech consistedof thedashing CH of the speaker

’

s cap, andhurling it intothecapta in’s face, the manwas tried, convicted, andsentenced to be transportedfor life.I f it be inquired by the rea der whether the ab ove

descriptionof a Court Ma rtia l inIndia is a fa ir specimenof what usually transpires a t thesetribunals

,I

reply,empha tically

,

“Yes andI make the assertionafter ha ving wa tched the proceedings of no fewer

thaneighteenCourts Martia l during my sojourn intheEast Indies.

SIMLAII . 401

Four oflicers who hadobta ined six months’ leave ofabsence

,andwho hadrented between them a fur-r

nishedhouse at Simlah, were about to proceed there.I was tempted to accompany them . Weleft Umballah a t sunset inpalkees, andat seveno’clock on

thefollowing morning arrived at the foot of the hills,

at a pla ce ca lled Ka lka , where there is an hotel.Having breakfasted, wecommenced the ascent on

ponyb ack, andinthe courseof anhour anda ha lfarrived at Kussowlie

,where a regiment of her

Majesty’s Foot was quartered . Herewerested fora brief while

,and then pursued our journey.

Strange to say, although theclimate is superb,andthe scenery grand beyond description, themen.

(so I wa s told) preferred the pla ins, regarding themto usetheir ownwords less like a prisonthanthe !

hills.” From Kussowliewepushed on to Siree,

which is about ha lfway betweenSimlah andKa lka .

Here there is a bunga low,a t which wedined onthe

everlasting grilled fowl,” hard-boiled eggs, and

unlcavenedbread. Some friends at Simlah, who hadbeenwritten to previously, hadsent fivehorses tomeet us ; so that, whenweresumed our journey, wewere mounted onfresh ca ttle. All along the roadthescenery is extremely picturesque andbeautiful ;but

,inpoint of grandeur, it does not, inmy opinion,

equal tha t of the Alps.It was nearly dark whenwearrived at ourdestina

D D


tionandentered the house, wherewefound everything ready for our reception; theservants hadb eensent ona dayor two inadvance of us.It is a long andfa tiguing ride, forty miles in the

sun, a lbeit there is generally a light breez e to modify

thehea t ; andwewere a ll disposed to retire to rest .

But wewere unableto do so. Thegentlemenwhohadsent thehorses to meet us, as soonas they wereinformed of our arrival, came to seeus, and, wha twa smore

,to take us to a subscriptionba ll, which was to

take placetha t night at the Assembly Rooms. I t

was useless to plead weariness. Wewere compelledto go.

Thesociety of Simlah, though composed of thesameelements, difi'ers very much from the society ofMussoorieThepresence of the Commander- in-Chief

,

or the Governor-General, andsometimes both (as wasthecasewhenI was at Simlah), imposes a restra intonthe visitors to this sanitatium. Theyoungermenareless disposed to runriot, andincur the risk of having their leavecancelled, andthemselves sentdownto the plains. A ba ll, therefore, at Simlah differsfrom a ball atMussoorie . I t is so muchmore sedate.More thanoneha lf of those who prefer Simlah toMussoorie, do so inthe hOpeof prepossessing oneorother of the Grea t Authorities, by b eing brought into

contact with them, andthus obtainstafl'

employ or

promotion andvery amusing is it to look onat a

public entertainment andwitness thefeelings of


accept the picture, he did so,and thenext

Ga zettemade known tha t Capta inCloughcough wasa Major ofBrigade. By the way, this was anexcellentappointment, for the omoe required no sort of ability,andCloughcough hadnone ; he was, moreover, a m ostdisagreeable person

.

inhis regiment, andconstantlyquarrelling with his brother officers, who were delighted to get rid of him . To chronicle a ll theseductive little a rts which were resorted to on that

night, to effect a desiredend, would half fill a volume.But I cannot omit the following ! it struck mea s soex tremely ingenious. There was a lady

,the wife of

a young civilian, who hadtwo very pretty little children—a boy anda girl. Of these children

,the

Governor-Genera l took grea t notice, and, whenever

he saw their mother, made inquiries touching the

little pets,”as he was wont to speak of them. On

the night of that ba ll, his Lordship didso. The ladyreplied tha t they were quitewell but that the doctor

hadsa id their returnto the pla ins would be fa tal tothem,

andtha t they must be sent to England.

Thenyou hadbetter take the doctor’

s advice,

sa id the Governor General.

But,a las ! my Lord, sa id the lady

, wehavenot the means. My husband’s payis only 700rupeesa month, andweare, unfortuna tely, very much in

debt.”

Tha t’s a b adjob,

sa id my Lord.

Yes, sighed the lady ;

“ it is a very pa inful te

SIMLAH . 405

fiection— theidea of losing one’

s little dears. But

what is to be done I dread the coming of the 15thof October, whenmy husband

’

s leave will expire,

more thanI dread my owndeath .

Could younot rema inup here with them throughthewinter“Andbe absent from my husband, my Lord ?Besides, two establishments on700rupees a monthTha t is true.”

I f wecould sendthem to England under thecareof some friend, wewould do so

,before the hot

Weather sets in. But wecannot afford it. Or ifmyhusband hadanappointment insomehealthy station

,

out of the pla ins, then they might be spa red to us.Thethought of the beautiful roses on their cheeks

just now leaving them,andtheir dear little fac es

becoming pa le and‘

sa llow,andtheir little limbs

shrinking till they area lmost skeletons— it makesmy very heart bleed (Andthe pretty andingenious little lady took her kerchief, ra ised it to hereyes, andsuppressed something like oneof Mrs .

Alfred Mellon’s stage sobs, which went, stra ight a sana rrow, to the Governor-Genera l

’

s sensitive hea rt.)“If,

”shecontinued, my husband were a favourite

With the Secretary ; but he is not— for he is too in

dependent to crave— then the case would be verydifferent.”

The Secretary ! excla imed the Governor-Gene

rel,wha t has he to do with it 2

”


(The lady hadaroused his Lordship’s sympa thy,andnow shehadtouchedhis pride

,andinflamed his

I thought he hadall to do with it,my Lord.

You sha ll seetha t he has not, sa id the Govem or

Genera l. Be comforted,mydearmadam, andcome

to the refreshment room .

”His Lordship ga ve her

his arm,andled her away from the couch onwhich

they hadbeenconversing.

This children’s dodge, as it was ca lled,wasemi

uently successful. The lady’s husband was appointedsuperintendent of oneof the most delightful hill

stations in India,ona sa lary of 1200 rupees (l20l.)

per mensem.

The ba ll over, at half-past two inthe morning we

returned to our house, where I was disgusted to heartha t a leopard hadcarried off out of the veranda h a .

favourite dog of mine . It is no easy matter to keepa dog inSimlah, except inthe house. The leopa rdsarea lways onthe look-out for them,

andwill oftencarry them off inyour very sight, while you areridingor wa lking a long the road.

The grea t business a t Simlah, as a t Mussoorie,is

devising the means of amusement, or ra ther of va ry

ing the amusements so a s to render them less irksome

thanthey would otherwise become. Cards andbilliards arethe principa l pastimes ; and, now andthen

,

pic nic andexcursionparties aregot up ; and, onceor twice a month, privatetheatrica ls areresorted to.

408 W ANDERI NGS IN INDIA.

sheep is not equa l to W elsh mutton; but when properly kept anddressed, it is very good ea ting. Thehill ca ttle a lso afi

'

ordtolerable beef; but the jointsarevery small. House-rent a t Simlah is a lso much

dearer. Thefurnished ab ode, for which wepa id1001. for the season, wecould have got at Mussooriefor 601. The samemaybe sa idof articles of clothingandofmerchandiz e. Themajority of the Europeanshopkeepers (there were only fiveor six ) appearedtobedoing a good business ; but I question whether

they ma de money. They have to give, inmost cases,very long credit, pay high ra tes of interest to thebanks formoney, andhigh rents for the extensivepremises they areobliged to occupy, to saynothingof having to live as all English peoplemust live inIndia . The hotel didnot pay the proprietor, notwithstanding his house wa s genera lly full of people,andhis cha rges were seemingly exorbitant .There was no club a t Simlah when I was there

but, since then, onewas established. I ts ex istence,however, was very brief. Thefact is, people inIndiavery soongrow tired of a thing ; and, wha t is evenworse, you will findtha t when a large number of

persons, who have rea lly nothing to do but amusethemselves

,very frequently meet, they wrangle,

quarrel, split into small coteries, andb ecome onverybadterms with each other. How the old Himala ya

Club at Mussoorie has existed so long, is miraculous.A club inIndia is not like a club inEngland, where

SIMLAH . 409

scores of the memb ers areunknownto ea ch other,even by name

,andpossibly do not meet more

thanonce ina month.

Some of the views at Simlah aremagnificent ; andfrom severa l points may beseen, in the far distance, the river Sutlej , stealing its way through the

mounta ins. Thewa ter ha s tb appearance, whenthesunis shining uponit, of a narrow stream of quick

silver. Some of the hills areLiterally covered withrhododendrontrees, fifty or sixty feet high, andwhenthey areall infull bloom the. cfiect may beeasilyimagined.

To Jutsy, some fiveor six miles from Simlah, andwhereoneof the Choosha battalions was always sta

tioned, I ha ve already alluded . There arebut two orthree bungalows there, andthey areoccupied by theofi cers of theba ttaliontThe seasontha t I spent at Simlahwas a very plea

sant one, andnotwithstanding it was enlivened by

severa l exc iting incidents—to !wit, a duel, a policeafi

'

a ir,a court martial, andanelopement, -I was very

glad whenit was over, andwe. couldreturnto the


TANTIA TOPEE .

W HEN I visited the Nena Sahib, I saw thismiscreant,who has since so distinguished himself as a soldier

anda genera l, andhas recently been captured andhanged. Hewasnot called Tantia Topeea t Bhithoor,but “Bennie,

”simply. He wasnot a servant ex a ctly

- a t all eventsnot a menia l servant but oneof thosenumerous hangers-on

”ofNeua Sahib who repa id by

fla ttery the favours they received in the shapeofboard, lodging, andpresents. Thename of Tantia

Topee,

”so a na tive gentlemaninIndia informs me

,

was anassumed one; andI will, therefore, speak of

thehero as Bennie,

”whom I remember sufficiently

well to describe him. I hadnot the least idea whenI gave him a genera l letter of recommendation, tha t hewould fill so many pages of Indianhistory, andgivebrigades anddivisions of British troops such troubleandvex a tionbefore they succeeded incatching him .

Bennie wa s not more thanthirty, anda t the timeof his executionhis agecould not have exceededforty yea rs. I questionevenif he were so old as tha t,though he may have looked older. He was a man

of about the middle height—say fivefeet eightrather slightly made, but very erect. He was far


evidence) tha t so far from giving an order to his

turbulent soldiery to kill or a ttack Messrs. Vans

Agnew andAnderson,he did all inhis power to

shield them from harm . Indeed the verdict of thecamp which condemnedhim,

rather inconsistently,brought in a verdic t of Guilty ; but a victim of

Tha t Nena Sahib welldeserves thefate tha t is instore for him

, whenever heis captured, there canbeno spec ies of doub t ; but, in theabsence of some

proof, I should besorry—especia lly after theletters Ihave readonthesubjeet— to a ttribute to theman

tha t fiendish trea chery andhorrible massacres whichtook place a t Cawnpore inJ uly, 1857. Neua . Sahibhadseenso much of English gentlemenandla dieswas persona lly (ifnot intima tely) a cqua intedwith so

many of thesufferers; that it is only fa ir to suppose,

whenhe ordered boats to be go t ready, he wa s sin

cere inhis desire tha t the Christians should findtheirwayto Ca lcutta , andthat wha tensuedwas inviola tionof his orders

,andthe act of those who wished to

place for ever betweenNena Sahib andthe BritishGovernment animpassableb a rrier, so fa r as peaceandreconcilia tion were concerned. No oneknewbetter thanNena Sahib that in theevent of theBritish becoming aga in theconquerors of India

,the

very fac t of his ha ving spa redthe lives of those whosurrendered, would have ledto thesparing of his own

life, andhencethepromise hemade to Sir Hugh

TANTIA Torres . 413

W heeler. Onefriend (a gentlemanof greatex perience) writing from India onthis subject, says

Inmy Opinionit was the Mahommedansoldiery

who insisted on tha t awful mea sure.

many helpless Christians in their absolute power,

they could not resist the temptation of sacrificingthem,

for theirfa ith’

s sake.It is to be regretted that previous to hangingTantia Topee,

”some sta tement was not extracted

from him touching what took plac e at Cawnpore . Of

course, it could not have beenrelied uponper se, but,as evidence, confirma tory or contradictory, of other

sta tements made by other miscreants, who may yet

fall into our power, it would not have beenentirelyva lueless . I do not mean to say tha t the culpritshould have been a llured to confess by any promise,or insinuation, that his life would be spared if he'

spoke the truth . That is, I would not have b rea thedtheword of promise to hisear, andthenhave brokenit to the hope ; nor wouldI ha ve subjected him to

any corporea l torture. Nevertheless,I would have

had out of him”something like the truth — if

not the whole truth, andnothing but thetruth,andso would Sir JohnLawrence, or Mr . W ingfield,now a t Lucknow, or Mr. Dampier, or Major Elwa ll,anda score oferr-Thuggee cmcct a now living. It isa sadmistake to hang this sort ofpeople ina hurry ;or

,for the matter ofthat

,to hang them a t all. They

have not tha t dread of dea th tha t Europeans have,


but a lmost invariab ly meet their fa te without ex

hibiting the fa intest fear. There arepunishmentswhich, to their minds, arefar more terrible . Theyarenot as cowards who die a thousand dea ths in

dreading onewhich must come a t last.” They arera ther cowards whodiea thousand dea ths indreading onelifewhich they long to end. I was nevermore impressed with thetruth of this thanwhen

,

with the permission of Lord Da lhousie, I hadaninterview with Mooha j inhis cell a t Lahore ; he wasthenunder the charge of Dr. (now Sir John) Logic ,who is “in a ttendance” on the Maharajah DulleepSingh. The constant cry of the wretched captive

was, Ah, let them take my life by oneblow ; butnot draw it out of meby slow degrees !” As far as Icanrecollect, it was not thendecidedwhether his lifeshould be spared ornot.

I would trea t culprits like Tantia Topee, NenaSahib, Bahadoor Khan, theNawah of Bandah, &c .,

much inthe same way as theconvicts of Norfolk

Island were trea ted informer days—make dea th thefirst favour for which they should crave

,andthe last

which should be granted unto them but with this

difference, that if they murdered each other, the hOpeof ending their days for the deed should be a va in

one. To hang such menis to frustrate theendandrea l object of all punishment, which is to deter othersfrom the commission of the same offence . W hen

suchmenareexterminated they arespeedily forgotten,

Wan Berings in India - Forgotten Books

Documents

Transcript of Wan Berings in India - Forgotten Books