Thursday, Nov. 15, 1838.
The August mail came in to-day; a week after the September packet. Your
dear, good letter has come both these last times without making its
usual Calcutta detour, which is very clever of it. Certainly Newsalls is
a very nice place; mind you don't let it slip through your fingers till
I come trotting up to the door on my elephant forty years hence.
Friday, Loodheeana.
The cavalry and the artillery and the second regiment of infantry that
is to make up the escort met us this morning, and the salute was fired
by the howitzers that G. has had made to present to Runjeet. They are
very handsome, ornamented more than our soldiers think becoming, but
just what Runjeet would like; there is the bright star of the Punjâb,
with Runjeet's profile on the gun; and Captain E. says that thousands of
Sikhs have been to look at these guns, and all of them salaam to
Runjeet's picture as if it were himself.
Sunday, Nov. 18.
They have been building a small church at this station, and though it is
not finished, they were very anxious Mr. Y. should try it, as it is
uncertain when another clergyman may pass through Loodheeana; so all our
chairs and footstools were sent down to be made into pews, and Mr. Y.
preached a very good sermon. There are three American missionaries here,
but they have not made any conversions.
---- ---- is gone to hunt up Runjeet, who always gives himself the airs
of being missing when he is to have a meeting with any great potentate,
and goes off on a hunting expedition. He is generally caught in time,
but it is a matter of etiquette that neither party should appear to wait
for the other, so if Runjeet goes out hunting, G. must stop to shoot or
fish. It will not detain us long if we stop to eat all he can kill here.
Monday and Tuesday, Nov. 19 and 20.
We have marched ten miles each day without having seen tree or building,
I believe. Chance's elephant comes every afternoon to show himself, and
his education is progressing rapidly, under the care of a splendid
individual in a yellow satin dress, who has received the very
responsible situation of his mahout. He has already learnt to kneel
down, and the excellent joke of filling his little leech of a trunk with
water and squirting it at anybody who affronts him.
Chance and he are frightfully alike in disposition--greedy and
self-willed; and, barring the nose, very like in look.
Wednesday, Nov. 21.
The camp was very noisy the first two nights, and X. went round to the
various commanding officers and made fresh arrangements with the
sentries, who I fancy must have cut off the heads of any man, camel, or
elephant, who presumed to speak or howl, for there has not been a sound
since. 'Gentlemen who cough are only to be slightly wounded,' as the
'Rejected Addresses' say. It really is tempting, for the tent-pitchers
with all their wives and all their children have set up their marching
coughs, and as they sleep round their pitchees, there is a continual
sound of _expectoration_ going on. Rosina was robbed by her hackery
driver. X. had the man up before D., and the money is restored.
I had a little domestic complaint to send to him last night.
I always think these domestic stories may amuse you in England, from
their contrast to the habits of that excellent country, from which I
have been inveigled. There is a servant called the sirdar-bearer, or
head of all the palanquin and tonjaun-bearers, whose business it is to
walk by the side of the palanquin and see that the bearers carry it
rightly.
This has been rather a sinecure with us, but the man has always been a
good little servant and has attached himself to me, and is supposed to
be always at the door of my tent with an umbrella; he keeps the tonjaun
in readiness, and in Calcutta he always slept at my door, and was in the
way for everything that was wanted. In short, 'Loton' was a general
favourite, and supposed to be remarkably active. To my surprise, he came
in yesterday to say that he could not possibly go with my palanquin
every morning; the roads were so bad, he found it tired him. In short,
he evidently wanted a place on an elephant, which the servants who wait
at table have; but bearers are a class who can walk thirty miles a day;
and it was very much like your coachman asking to travel _in_ the
carriage, as it was too much trouble to drive. I said he had better go
to Captain X. when he was in difficulties, and that I did not doubt
Captain X. would find one of the other bearers who would be happy to
take the place of sirdar, and that Loton would then only have to carry
the palanquin half-way. (At present he carries nothing.) I told Captain
X. this morning, and I thought he would have had a fit. He is not yet
accustomed to the notion of the number of people who are merely kept
for show and even for work; there is a double set for everything. F. and
I have each thirty-two bearers, where other people have eight, that
there may never be a difficulty; and the idea that I was to direct my
own bearers on the road struck X. as remarkably amusing.
I should think it would have been, as I have not a single Hindustani
word to say to them. I left it to him to settle, and poor Loton is
degraded to the ranks. He cares very much about the gold-laced livery,
and still more about the two rupees a month which he loses. A bearer
lives on that, and sends all the rest home. They all come from the
neighbourhood of Patna, never bring their wives, but live together like
a large family; in fact, sell themselves for so many years, and then,
when they have earned enough to buy a bit of land, go home for life. I
hope Captain X. means to allow himself to be entreated like Major J.,
for I shall die of it if Loton is not restored in time. He was a great
favourite of Lord W.'s, and I rather think I spoilt him by raising his
wages partly on that account. Captain X. has the real Indian feeling
that a servant objecting to an order is a sort of depravity that cannot
be put up with--in short, that cannot be believed. I said that, as it
was a first offence, he should be as lenient as he could, and he said,
'Certainly, it would be very lenient only to turn the man away. I assure
you, Miss Eden, a native would have put the man to death who had refused
to run by the side of his palanquin!' I think I see myself cutting off
Loton's head with a pair of scissors. It is very awful to think of the
number of petty rajahs in the country who have the power of life and
death over their followers. It must be very often abused.
Saturday, November 24.
We have had three short marches. I am not much better. Except for the
march, I keep as quiet as possible, and have not been over to any meal,
or out of my own tent, except to sit in an arm-chair in front of it
between five and six. I always think the weather very trying in the
plains. In the morning the thermometer was at 45°, and we were all
shivering with shawls and cloaks on, and at twelve the glass rose to
83°, and we are now sitting under punkahs with a small allowance of
clothes. That happens every day, and I cannot think it wholesome. There
was an interesting arrival from Delhi this morning, my bracelet with
G.'s picture, which I had sent back to have a cover fitted to the
picture, and it has come back so beautifully mended--with a turquoise
cross on an enamelled lid. Then Mr. B., who superintended my private
bracelet, undertook on the public account a frame for my picture of the
Queen, which is to be given to Runjeet, and the frame came with the
bracelet. They had not time for the beautiful design of all the orders
of the Garter and Bath, &c., which I wanted, and so only made the frame
as massive as they could. It is solid gold, very well worked, with a
sort of shell at each corner, encrusted with precious stones, and one
very fine diamond in each shell.
The materials come to about £500. Forty jewellers worked at it night and
day, and the head jeweller expects a khelwut, or robe of honour, with a
pair of shawls, for his activity. It will be a very handsome item in
the list of presents, and is to be given in great form.
One of Runjeet's chief sirdars came into camp to-day, and there was a
very fine durbar, as he was to be received as an ambassador. He is a
great astronomer, and there was luckily at the Tosha Khanna an orrery
and some astronomical instruments which G. added to his presents, and
the man went away, they say, quite delighted. Every evening there is to
be an arrival of one hundred jars of sweetmeats, which is a great
delight to the native servants.