mid-day, more or less overcast; towards the evening the sun appeared
through the dense atmosphere to be almost of a blood-red hue, and the
edges of the clouds of a deep copper colour. A little later the sun
became to a great extent obscured and hidden by a mass of clouds, so
much tinged by dusky red that the dark gray tone was almost
extinguished. As the mighty orb sank below the horizon, the red,
crimson, and copper tones quickly disappeared, except on the under
surfaces of some clouds high above the sea-line, and darkness spread
with extreme rapidity over everything, while a low moaning and fitful
whistling of the wind seemed to presage a struggle of the powers, which
from the beginning of the world has been attended with such fearful
results. The aspect of the heavens, the moaning of the wind, and the
uneasy motion of the waters, were not lost on the serang and his native
sailors. They took in all sail except a small triangular one, a sort of
apology for what we call a mainstay sail, to enable them to keep the
ship's head to the wind. They then lashed the salankeen to the deck, and
awaited with awe the bursting of the storm. It commenced with a perfect
deluge of rain, blinding flashes of long-forked lightning, followed
almost instantaneously by such rattling sharp crashes of thunder as for
a time to take away the sense of hearing.
Sea and sky were wrapped in total darkness, when not illumined by the
zigzag lines of lightning. The wind now increased, and the sea became
dangerously rough and angry. Had the wind gone on increasing, bark and
crew must have perished; but mercifully, it did not, its low muttering,
moaning, or occasional whistling note was heard at intervals; still it
never blew hard and furious as it threatened to do. The darkness, the
downpour of rain, the lightning and the thunder, continued, while now
and then a sea, and constantly the spray, swept over the vessel; for
though the wind did not increase, the sea had been so raised, and the
waves had become so threatening, that during two hours, while the worst
of the storm lasted, my brother expected every moment that some
overwhelming sea would whirl the unhappy _Satamar_ into the depths
below.
The storm had commenced a little after the sun had gone down, and
darkness had covered everything; then the furious rain descending in
sheets of water, with lightning streams and deafening thunder, had
continued at short intervals for three hours, and the sea had got up.
Everything depended on the increase of the wind, and for two hours more
there was nothing less than the prospect of instant death present to the
minds of all on board. Shortly after midnight the violence of the storm
began to abate; the wind, instead of increasing gradually, subsided; the
rain was less like a deluge; the flashes and streams of lightning were
less frequent and less vivid; the crashes of thunder less sharp, and
evidently more distant; but the sea did not go down. Nevertheless the
magnitude and the violence of the masses of water that rose and fell
were less appalling and less frequent.
It was now about half-past two, and there was an interval in the fall of
rain (the first that had occurred). The sea no longer came sweeping over
the deck, though the spray still kept everything wet, but the worst was
over, and my brother had lain down to sleep. He was awakened by the
serang with a native compass in his hand, followed by a sailor who was
holding up a lantern to enable my brother to see the card. The vessel
had been running down the coast, not very far from shore; but now a new
peril presented itself.
The darkness was less complete, and was rapidly becoming less and less;
this change enabled the natives to perceive something white not far
ahead; they knew at once that it was the foam of breakers caused by a
reef of rocks, on which if they kept their course they would certainly
strike. They could not sail towards the land, as the coast is rock-bound
almost everywhere, and they dreaded pointing the head of the ship out to
the broad ocean. It is ever the custom with native mariners to hug the
land, so in their distress, and seeing the breakers ahead, they had
come to ask directions from their passenger, though they knew he was a
hakim and not a sailor; but such was their respect for the knowledge of
Europeans, that they thought he must know what was best to do. My
brother at once directed them, in spite of their fears, to point the
head of the brave little craft that had stood the storm so well out to
sea, and such was their confidence in his wisdom that they at once did
as he desired. Having thus avoided the rocks, and seen the head of the
vessel pointed away from land, my brother again lay down to sleep.
Two hours had scarcely elapsed before he was again awakened by the
serang with the compass in his hand. It was now light enough to see
everything with perfect ease. The sea all round was comparatively calm,
but the land was not to be seen. This it was that had again excited the
fears of the crew, and had led them to appeal again to the European. On
learning the cause of their fear, my brother directed them to put about
and steer towards the land; they again obeyed, and again he went to
sleep. At about half-past six a.m. he was awakened by sounds of
rejoicing and singing, which he soon found arose from their sense of
security, thankfulness, and gratification, at having again caught sight
of the land. The sun was shining with power renewed, and everything was
dazzlingly bright; even the light reflected from the sea was too much
for the eye. The serang, however, soon rigged up a double awning which
kept a part of the deck in shadow. This permitted my brother to take his
breakfast comfortably. About midday they made the port of Goa, where he
landed, but stayed there only to dine. In a couple of hours they were
again at sea, and in two days more anchored at Tollicherry.
As soon as his trunks were landed, my brother made the serang happy by a
present of 5 Rs., and the sailors equally so by another 5 Rs., to be
divided amongst them. While waiting at the Bunder-Major's office for
bearers to carry himself and the palkee to the doctor's house, a peon,
with spotless garments of white save a red shawl twisted round his
waist, bearing an ebony sort of curved staff covered almost all over
with silver, presented my brother, after many profound salaams, with a
note from the First Judge of the Circuit, requesting that my brother and
his wife would give him the pleasure of their company till they could
find a house to suit them. This princely man added that he had ordered a
suite of rooms to be got ready for their reception, as well as rooms for
the children and the servants; finally, that he had sent two sets of
bearers to bring up the palankeens, and that the peon would procure
fresh sets of coolie bearers to bring up the children and the ayahs, as
well as means for forwarding the luggage.
On perusing this note, my brother jumped into his palankeen, which the
Judge's bearers shouldered at once, and almost ran with it to the
Judge's house, anxious to be the first to tell him that they had brought
the new 'hakim saib.' On getting out of the palkee, my brother found Mr.
V. waiting in the hall to welcome his guests. His first remark was,
while extending his hand to my brother: 'But where's Mrs. ----?' The
story of the going on active service, as it was supposed, and the
impossibility under such circumstances of taking his wife with him, had
then to be told. Mr. V. listened to the explanation, and then said: 'But
where is she? Have you left her at Secunderabad all this time?' 'No,'
replied my brother, 'she and the children have been staying at Anot,
where her brother (in medical charge of the 5th Cavalry) is stationed.'
'And when do you expect them here?' continued the Judge. 'Why,' returned
my brother, 'that depends, I believe, on the safe accomplishment of a
certain trouble that married people are occasionally subject to.' 'Oh!'
said Mr. V., 'that's the state of the case, is it? Well, it can't be
helped, I suppose; you must make yourself as comfortable as you can here
till the lady arrives.'
Mr. V. was not only a thorough gentleman in manner and exterior, but
truly so in feeling; no one could be more unmindful of self, or more
disposed to make everyone forget that he occupied the first position in
the district. Frank, sociable, generous, and hospitable, as well as
lively and good-humoured, he was a noble specimen of an Englishman, and
a typical example of the best kind of the old Indian burra saib, a class
that even in those days was fast disappearing, and cannot, I believe,
now be found. My brother stayed with this kind and generous man during
more than two months, and then he only succeeded in effecting his
departure on the plea that he must prepare his house for the advent of
his wife.
While Mr. V.'s guest, my brother made the acquaintance of all the
European residents at the station, paying and receiving the customary
visits, all which matters of form my brother heartily detested: but the
Medes and Persians of old were not more rigid in their laws than
Anglo-Indians are in the matter of paying and returning visits. My
brother, therefore, obeyed the _lex non scripta_ with as little delay as
possible. He first made his bow to Mrs. A., the wife of the second
Circuit Judge, a lady of whom it was whispered that she wore certain
portions of costume generally considered to be _propria quæ maribus_.
However this may have been, her husband, Mr. A., was a most kind and
excellent man. Mrs. H., the wife of the third Judge, with her husband,
both became valued friends. Both are doubtless gone to the 'better
land,' therefore it would not be kind or wise to grieve for them.
Next to the Circuit Judges comes the Zillah Judge, who was also a
married man; consequently, to his house the hakim's palkee wended its
way in due course. He found this lady so rigid in her religious opinions
that she would not allow of any difference. On making this discovery he
congratulated himself that she did not possess the power to enforce
conformity; visions of solitary cells, bread and water, and other more
dreadful pains and penalties, forcing themselves on his mind. Her
husband seemed to be so far in leading strings as to have no opinions
except those held by his wife; though, independent of this little
weakness, he was very probably a good and estimable man. The expression
of this gentleman's countenance was, however, usually so lugubrious and
unhappy that my brother observed, when speaking of him: 'If his religion
has the effect of making him as miserable as the expression of his
features indicates, I very much doubt if it be the true religion,' and
certainly the Zillah Judge's melancholy face did _countenance_ such an
opinion.
It is now time to speak of Mr. G., the sub-collector, who was as unlike
Mr. H., the Zillah Judge, as it is possible for one man to be unlike
another. Mr. G., to begin with, had no wife to save him the trouble of
thinking on important matters, and was as good-humoured, jolly, and
generous, as the other was melancholy and penurious. He was, moreover,
as fond of fun as the other was fearful of it. H., in short, was a
killjoy, and G. was a lovejoy. The consequence of these differences was
that H. was not, generally speaking, a particular favourite, and G. was.
The list of officials closes, I think, with the Master-Attendant, or
Bunder-Major, as he was popularly termed. This old gentleman had been
captain of a merchant vessel, and was therefore, by courtesy, always
called Captain B. He was a red-faced, jolly-looking old tar, really
good-natured and kind-hearted, but one who murdered his mother tongue
at times in rather a determined manner. The letter V seemed to be
particularly obnoxious to him. When speaking of a gentleman named
Vaughan, he called him 'Waughan.' Or when speaking of several articles
of different qualities, he expressed himself thus: 'Oh, there was a many
on 'em of wery warious qualities!' The poor man had evidently come from
before the mast, but he had the manliness not to deny it, or be ashamed
of it; and he was, despite the murders he perpetrated daily, a sort of
privileged character, and to a certain extent a favourite.
Those not belonging to the list of officials may very soon be disposed
of. Old Mr. B., a retired civilian, and his son, Henry, occupy the first
place. The father was a jolly old _bon-vivant_, and had in his younger
days, so it was said, been somewhat gay, if the word be accepted not in
its literal sense, but in that in which it is usually employed in polite
society. His son was a chip of the old block, and a bit of a scamp into
the bargain. Mr. G., the German missionary, concludes the catalogue.
This individual was in high favour with Mrs. A. and her husband, and
with Mrs. H. and her husband.
The catalogue of European residents being concluded, it remains to
notice the Eurasians, the greater number of whom were descendants of
Portuguese and natives. Most of these were mean, degraded, lazy
individuals forming a section of the population not very much respected.
Some, no doubt, were respectable persons, acting either as writers
(clerks), or tradesmen, tailors, carpenters, etc. There were some few of
the Eurasian class descended from Englishmen and native women, who were
also employed as writers in the Circuit Court.
One of these, a Mr. James, occasioned considerable amusement, both to
the First Judge and to my brother, by presenting to the former a
petition for a fortnight's leave of absence. Mr. James had found out
that Mr. V. and his guest made it a regular practice to take an hour's
constitutional walk every morning between 4.30 and 5.30, _i.e._, before
the sun became unpleasant. The petitioner had made use of the
opportunity afforded by this practice to prefer his request, which, as
he removed his hat and made his best bow, he presented in the form of a
petition, his face all the while radiant with smiles. Mr. V., without
opening the paper, said: 'Well, Mr. James, what is the purport of the
petition?' 'A supplication for leave, sir,' replied Mr. J., 'for a
fortnight's leave.' 'This is a very unusual application, Mr. J., at this
period of the session.' 'Yes, sir, I know it is somewhat unusual,'
replied the petitioner; 'but still, sir, for the reasons assigned, I
hope you'll be kind enough to grant it.' 'Well, what are the
reasons?--state them.' Mr. J. had all this time been smiling blandly,
and looking persuasively suppliant. Now he looked, in addition, not a
little sheepish and ill at ease, shifting the weight of his person from
one foot to the other. At last, he said: 'Would your honour cast your
eyes on the paper?' 'What is it?' said Mr. V., 'are you ashamed to tell
me?' 'No, sir, I'm not.' 'Then, why don't you tell me? The sun will be
getting hot, and I can't delay my walk homeward any longer. Either tell
me at once, or present your petition in Court before the business
begins.'
Mr. James, thus urged, smiling more than ever and looking more sheepish
than ever, confessed that he wanted leave to get married. 'To get
married!' repeated Mr. V., with almost a scream of laughter; 'surely,
Mr. James, you don't mean that?' 'I beg you'll pardon me, sir, my
proposals have been accepted, and the day for the ceremony has been
fixed.' 'The day has been fixed, has it?' said Mr. V., greatly amused;
'why, I should have thought, Mr. James, at your time of life you'd have
given over all thought of such matters.' 'No, I haven't, sir,' replied
the victim of the tender passion. 'No, you haven't,' said Mr. V., with
renewed laughter. 'Why, what may be your age? It's in the register, you
know, so you may as well tell it.' 'Why, sir,' said this ardent sample
of humanity, 'I think I shall be seventy, or near it, next birthday.'
Here my brother could contain himself no longer, and joined Mr. V. in a
most uproarious fit of laughter. When the cachinnation was over, Mr. V.
said: 'On my word, Mr. J., you are a most inflammable individual. Pray,
how long has your first wife been dead?' 'Nearly eight years, sir, and
I've been alone all that time.' 'Oh, you've been alone all that time,
have you?' gasped out Mr. V. as soon as he could speak. 'It strikes me
that, at your time of life, if you kept alone a little longer it would
be no great punishment; but you ought to know best about that. Pray, who
is the lady who is anxious to have such a blooming bridegroom as
yourself?' 'Miss Lucretia Pereira, sir; her father is a very respectable
man, sir.' 'No doubt of it.' returned Mr. V.; 'but who is he? you don't
mean the head writer in the Zillah Court?' 'Yes, I do, sir,' simpered
Mr. James. 'Mr. Pereira! why, his daughter can't be sixteen.' 'No, sir,
I don't think she is more than sixteen.' 'And you are seventy,' said Mr.
V. 'Well, all I can say is that you are a bold man, a very bold man, and
I fear you will repent your boldness; but I will not stand in the way of
such a courageous young hero. I will grant you the leave you desire; but
tell the registrar to enter it, as well as the name of your substitute,
which, by the way, you have not mentioned.' 'Oh, thank you, sir, thank
you, it's young Mr. Pereira!' 'Well, well,' replied the Judge, 'now you
have got your leave, let me get home.'
As Mr. V. and my brother walked homewards they indulged themselves with
various jocose remarks at the expense of the amoroso. 'The old idiot,'
said my brother, 'he deserves all that's in store for him.' 'The whole
thing is comical enough, truly,' said Mr. V.; 'but, notwithstanding, I
am, in spite of my laughter, sorry to see an old man, hitherto accounted
respectable and well-conducted, laying up misery for himself at the
close of his career.'
For the sake of getting rid of Mr. James and his bride, though it
anticipates the dénouement considerably, I will state now what happened
five months after the date of the said Lucretia's marriage. At that time
she presented a little Miss James to her husband, who blandly remarked,
in reference to the occurrence: 'That it was an extraordinary instance
of what does sometimes happen, and of the wonderful powers of nature.'
Mr. G., who happened to be present when the news was reported, made a
somewhat cynical remark, which my brother declares he could never quite
understand, though, in illustration of his meaning, Mr. G. indulged in
making sundry grotesque contortions of his features, and in applying the
index finger of the right hand to the side of his nose; which departure
from strict decorum must, my brother presumed, be set down to his love
of fun, and keen appreciation of the ridiculous.
This young person's career was what might have been imagined from its
commencement, and more than fulfilled my brother's anticipations. The
wretched old man died within a year from the date of the event I have
recorded.
Let us now pass from the consideration of the Eurasians to that of the
native races to be found at Tollicherry. The Hindoos there located are
called Nairs and Teers. They possess good features, and are well formed
and proportioned. They seem to have the same usages as other Hindoos,
the same kind of temples, the same division into castes, and the same
reverence for Brahmins, snakes, and monkeys.
The costume of these people, as far as relates to the men kind, does not
differ much from that of the male Hindoos of other parts of India; that
of the women is a little peculiar, as they wear nothing over their
shoulders or busts. Their dress consists chiefly of a cloth, which they
wrap round their waists so as to form a becoming sort of petticoat, or
what serves the purpose of one. In the absence of any upper garment,
they set a grand example to the great majority of the ladies of this and
other civilized countries, where these feminine divinities use every
conceivable art and contrivance to help to display the last hair's
breadth that custom will allow.
The dwellings of the Nair and Teer people are pretty to look at, as they
all have a small piece of ground that is well cultivated. They grow
cocoa-nut trees, and other palms, pepper, vines, and plantains; and
those who possess a larger portion of land raise rice and other grains.
The Mussulman population are not very numerous, and the greater number
of these are shipowners and traders to the Persian Gulf, Arabia, and the
Red Sea. They possess, many of them, considerable property, and inhabit
large upstair houses which, according to native ideas, are very
convenient and highly respectable, but unfortunately are not clean. The
Bazaar men mostly inhabit huts like those to be found all over India.
The dwellings of the Moplahs, a sort of cross breed sprung from Arabs
and the natives of this coast, are like those of the Mussulmans, but
inferior.
For the due understanding of the tale I have to tell, it is necessary
that I should describe the manners and customs of the Moplahs in detail.
I shall, therefore, return to them by-and-by. At present it will be
convenient to finish the enumeration of the native inhabitants. It would
indeed be a poor sketch of the place that did not bestow some notice on
the numerous pariah dogs that roam about during the day, or the jackals
that do the same by night, making it hideous by their howling, and
dangerous too, as they generally go about in packs, tearing over the
place, flying over the roads, which are narrow and mostly sunk between
opposite banks which are about 6 feet high. In their spring over these
roads, should a man be riding along (unless he is very quick), his head
being slightly above the height of the banks, he is sure to be bitten;
and if it was only ear, or nose, or cheek that suffered, though an
unpleasant infliction, it would not be of any serious consequence. But
this is not the case; these howling devils, in their snap, generally
convey the poison of hydrophobia. Those who get this dreadful disease in
this direct way are, however, few; it comes to man through the pariah
dogs, who are frequently bitten by these mad jackals, and who, having
themselves become infected, convey the poison by their bites to men.
During the first year of his residence at Tollicherry, my brother
reports that seven Sepoys died of this incurable malady. The number of
villagers and country people who died of it in this time was unknown.
The authorities did all they could to keep down the number--I might say
the swarms--of pariah dogs. The sub-collector, in this respect a man of
dogged determination, was very diligent in collecting tongues and tails:
for every pair of which he paid an anah. This practice was resorted to
every hot season, and continued for more than three months; so that the
dog-days, in this part of the world, last longer it would seem than they
do elsewhere. But jackals and dogs form only a small part of the native
inhabitants of Tollicherry. My brother says, 'I do not include in my
list domestic animals such as horses, oxen, buffaloes, goats, sheep, or
even donkeys, which we all know are common enough everywhere; but those
ugly and deadly things not met with everywhere. In all the backwaters,
rivers, and marshes, there are numerous muggers, or alligators; and some
of these monsters are so large and so powerful that they have been
known to drag down into the water, in spite of the poor animal's utmost
efforts, a full-grown buffalo.' My brother witnessed an occurrence of
this kind, as he was driving in a buggy within sight of a backwater. He
was too far off to render the poor creature any aid; he was besides
without weapon of any kind, though nothing but a good rifle would have
been of any use.
In the sea all along this coast sharks of all kinds abound; and on and
in the land there are snakes, scorpions, and centipedes innumerable. Of
the birds, my brother says little or nothing, as they did not to his eye
differ much from those met with in other parts of the country. There
were kites and crows, those invaluable scavengers, and many smaller
birds which he did not notice. He concludes his list of native
inhabitants with the monkeys, which were very numerous; differing much
in size, shape, and colour. He describes a monkey standing about 3 feet
high, and black all over, except the white ruff under his chin, as a
very fine and handsome specimen of the race, and of a species differing
from the rest of the quadrumana.