Sunday, Dec. 2, 1838.
I was very much knocked up yesterday with the durbar of the day before.
I never told you--such a horrid idea! That box of yours, with that
lovely velvet pelisse--that blue cloak--those little '_modes_' of Mdlle.
Sophie, are all food for sharks, I much fear. Pray always mention the
name of the ship by which you send such treasures. You and R. both
mentioned that these particular treasures sailed the last week in June;
the only two ships in the list that _did_ sail then were the
Seringapatam and the Protector.
We have ascertained that the first had nothing for us, and the
unfortunate Protector was wrecked at the Sandheads, and only five of the
crew saved. There were all sorts of melancholy horrors about the
shipwreck, so for a long time it never occurred to me to think about my
own little _venture_ in it, but I suppose it must have been there. The
passengers, after they had been two days and nights in the boats, were
passed by a ship coming to Calcutta, but this ship was in great danger
from a squall, and as they were all a great way from land, she could not
contrive to shorten sail, so that the shipwrecked people must have seen
a ship pass them without making any sign, just as they were almost at
the last gasp. I am sure that must have added a pang to death.
A pang is added to the loss of my box, by my seeing 'a box of wearing
apparel picked up at sea, from the wreck of the Protector, to be sold
by auction for the benefit of ----' I forget who--the individual that
picked it up. Mine to a certainty, and if they will not let me have the
box, I cannot see why it is not sold for _my_ benefit. To return to my
Journal.--On Thursday evening G. gave a dinner to fifty generals and
colonels, &c., and they say St. Cloup covers himself with glory by the
dinners he turns out. They really are wonderful. I sent for him this
morning to tell him so, and he is always very amusing, so like one of
Mathews' negroes.
'Si madame est contente, il n'y a rien à dire, et assurément je fais de
mon mieux, mais enfin qu'est ce qu'il y a?--pas de légumes, pas de
fruit; il ne faut pas tuer un boeuf, à cause de la religion de ces
maudits Sikhs; enfin j'ai de la poussière pour sauce. Mon Dieu, quel
pays!'
On Friday morning G. went to return Runjeet's visit. It was just a
repetition of the same ceremonies, he says. He asked G. to come back to
a private conference for two hours before the nautch, which he is to
give us to-morrow. Some of his presents were very handsome, particularly
a bed with gold legs, completely encrusted with rubies and emeralds, all
the furniture of the bed being yellow shawl. There was also one pair of
blue shawls, which cost Runjeet 240_l._, and which are quite unique.
G. gave another great dinner to fifty colonels, majors, &c., and F. and
I dined in my tent. His man-dinner for once turned out pleasant and
talkative. St. Cloup maintained his reputation, and I think G. and W.
came over after dinner rather merry than otherwise.
This is a dreadfully noisy camp. The cavalry have pitched themselves
just behind our tents: one horse gets loose, and goes and bites all the
others, and then they kick and get loose too, and all the syces wake and
begin screaming, and the tent pitchers are called to knock in the rope
pins, and the horses are neighing all the time, till they are tied up
again. Then the infantry regiment has got a mad drummer (or two or
three). He begins drumming at five in the morning and never intermits
till seven. I suppose it is some military manoeuvre, but I wish he
would not. It was so like dear Shakespeare, specifying the 'neighing
steed and the spirit-stirring drum,' both assisting to make ambition
virtue, the particular virtue of patience being what he had in his eye,
of course.
I have got Captain X. and Captain M. to make a nightly round before they
go to bed, and I think the horses _are_ a few yards further off, but any
good sleep is quite out of the question.
Yesterday G. went off at three with B., C., and W., for a private talk
with Runjeet, but the old fellow did not talk much business, he likes
gossip so much better, and he said he thought the fakeer and B. might
meet and talk business without interrupting G. and him. F. got Sir W. C.
to come here and chaperon her to the nautch that was to be given in the
evening. She says it was very pretty, but not near so splendid as what
we saw at Benares or Lucknow. Runjeet gave her a string of small pearls,
a diamond ring, and a pair of diamond bangles.
G. has given her leave to buy any of them from the Tosha Khanna as a
keepsake, but the ring is the only tempting article.
Monday Evening, Dec. 3.
G. went to meet Runjeet at seven this morning, and F. joined them on her
elephant as they went through our street. I did not set off in the
carriage till past eight, and when I got to the ground I was still too
early, for Runjeet, instead of being satisfied with a general view of
the line, insisted on riding down the whole of it, about three miles,
and inspecting every man.
F., Major W., C., and I waited at the flagstaff till their return, which
was a beautiful sight (I mean their return was beautiful, not our
waiting).
Old Runjeet looks much more personable on horseback than in durbar, and
he is so animated on all military matters that he rides about with the
greatest activity. G. and he, and their interpreter, finally settled
themselves at the flagstaff, and there G. sent for F. and me to come on
our elephants to them.
In front there was the army marching by. First, the 16th Hussars, then a
body of native cavalry, then the Queen's Buffs, then a train of
Artillery drawn by camels, then Colonel Skinner's wild native horsemen
with their steel caps and yellow dresses--the band of each regiment
wheeling off as they passed, and drawing up to play opposite to Runjeet.
Behind us there was a large amphitheatre of elephants belonging to our
own camp, or to the Sikhs, and thousands of Runjeet's followers all
dressed in yellow or red satin, with quantities of their led horses
_trapped_ in gold and silver tissues, and all of them sparkling with
jewels. I really never saw so dazzling a sight. Three or four Sikhs
would look like Astley's broke loose, but this immense body of them
saves their splendour from being melodramatic. The old man himself wears
a sort of red stuff dress with a little edging of the commonest grey
squirrel's fur, and a common red muslin turban. His horse, too, had less
gold about it than any other. He was quite delighted with the review,
and at the end of it his servants put down before him eleven bags, each
containing 1,000 rupees, to be distributed among the troops. When
everything was done, all the chief people went to one tent, which we had
pitched on the ground, where there was a _déjeûner à la fourchette_ and
all the right things.
I drove straight home to our camp as soon as the troops had marched by,
so I did not see the breakfast; but the cookery and the turn-out
altogether seemed to have given such satisfaction, that I have just been
buying a handsome diamond ring which G. is to present to St. Cloup, who
is an absolute black angel. He went over-night to the review ground to
cook his breakfast, then back here again, for a dinner of sixteen
people, and to-morrow we are to have Runjeet in the evening, and a
supper, or rather a dinner, for seventy people. St. Cloup says, with two
English kitchenmaids nothing would be so easy, but the instant he goes
to rest all the natives fling themselves on the floor and are asleep in
a minute, leaving the saucers to take themselves off the fire.
G. gave St. Cloup his ring, and his grin and jump would have delighted
Mathews, though perhaps a little overdone for the stage. Runjeet came
over early and went with G. to see the artillery, rather against his
lordship's inclinations, for he had been to look in the morning and
thought it a very poor show. However, Runjeet was delighted, and kept
them there for two hours. We had prepared our fête at the end of the
street--a large compound enclosed on three sides with a large tent for
us, and a small one for Runjeet filling up the fourth side, guards all
round to prevent anybody who had not an invitation from going in. The
large tent opened into a long _shemiana_--I hardly know how to explain
that, but it is, in fact, a tent without sides, merely a roof supported
by pillars; this looked out into the compound, which was laid out like a
flower garden, only instead of flowers there were little lamps laid out,
as thickly as they could be placed, in the shape of flower borders. On
the ground alone, P. said, there were 42,000 lamps, and the garden was
railed in by an _espalier_ of lamps. It was really very pretty and odd.
G. and Runjeet had their great chairs in the centre, with B. on the
other side of G., F. next to B., then Sir G. R. and a long row of
ladies. I sat by the side of Runjeet, and next to me Kurruck Singh, his
son, and then another long row of his sirdars.
The instant Runjeet sat down, three or four of his attendants came and
knelt down before him--one, the Fakeer Uzeez-ood-deen, who is his
interpreter and adviser and the comfort of his life. We all ought to
have Uzeez-ood-deens of our own, if we wish to be really comfortable.
The others arranged his gold bottle and glass, and plates of fruit, and
he began drinking that horrible spirit, which he pours down like water.
He insisted on my just touching it, as I had not been at his party on
Saturday, and one drop actually burnt the outside of my lips. I could
not possibly swallow it. Those two little brats, in new dresses, were
crawling about the floor, and he poured some of this fire down their
throats. We had two bands to play; and when the fireworks were over, a
large collection of nautch-girls came in front of Runjeet, and danced
and sang apparently much to his satisfaction. They were a very ugly set
from Loodheeana. I could not help thinking how eastern we had become,
everybody declaring it was one of the best-managed and pleasantest
parties they had seen. All these satraps in a row, and those screaming
girls and crowds of long-bearded attendants, and the old tyrant drinking
in the middle--but still we all said: 'What a charming party!' just as
we should have said formerly at Lady C.'s or Lady J.'s. I could not talk
with any great ease, being on the blind side of Runjeet, who converses
chiefly with his one eye and a few signs which his fakeer makes up into
a long speech; and Kurruck Singh was apparently an idiot. Luckily,
beyond him was Heera Singh, who has learnt a little English, and has a
good idea of making topics, and when C. came and established himself
behind the sofa I got on very well with Runjeet.
After the conversation had lasted nearly an hour, there was, I suppose,
a little pause between G. and him, for he turned round and said
something which C. translated in his literal way, 'The Maharajah wishes
your lordship would talk a little more _friendship_ to him.' G. solemnly
declared he had talked an immense deal of friendship, but, of course, he
began again. Another of Runjeet's topics was his constant praise of
drinking, and he said he understood that there were books which
contained objections to drunkenness, and he thought it better that
there should be no books at all, than that they should contain such
foolish notions. He is a very drunken old profligate, neither more nor
less. Still he has made himself a great king; he has conquered a great
many powerful enemies; he is remarkably just in his government; he has
disciplined a large army; he hardly ever takes away life, which is
wonderful in a despot; and he is excessively beloved by his people.
I certainly should not guess any part of this from looking at him.
After two hours' palaver he got up to go. I gave him a large emerald
ring, and G. gave him a magnificent diamond aigrette. It only arrived
from Calcutta yesterday on speculation, and was thought too expensive,
but G. had a great fancy to give it to Runjeet, it was so beautifully
set. After the Sikhs were all gone, we went back to our private tents,
where there was a _souper-dinatoire_ for seventy people: and that is our
final festivity.
Thursday, Dec. 6.
All the gentlemen went at daybreak yesterday to Runjeet's review, and
came back rather discomfited. He had nearly as many troops out as Sir G.
R. had; they were quite as well disciplined, rather better dressed,
repeated the same military movements and several others much more
complicated, and, in short, nobody knows what to say about it, so they
say nothing, except that they are sure the Sikhs would run away in a
real fight. It is a sad blow to our vanities! you won't mention it to
the troops in London--we say nothing about it to those here.
This morning we marched again, only just five miles, so as to get into
the Punjâb; and G., who had more last words to say to Sir G. R. and the
army, did not come till the afternoon.
Saturday, Dec. 8.
Shere Singh, Runjeet's son, is our _mehmander_, and takes care of us
through the Punjâb. Runjeet feeds the whole camp while we are in his
country, men and beasts--the men 15,000 (we thought it was only 10,000;
but when every regiment we had sent in its full muster-roll, it came to
15,000).
Shere Singh is a very jolly dog, and proffered to dine with us
yesterday, which means sitting at dinner with his eyes fixed on G.; he
will drink, but not eat. I did not go in to dinner, but was in the same
tent, and thinking the conversation seemed to flag, sent Chance to W.
O., who made him show off the multitude of tricks he has acquired; and
it set Shere Singh and his attendants off laughing, and filled up the
time. I dare say Shere would be pleasant if one spoke his language.
Sunday, Dec. 9.
To our horror, Shere Singh offered himself again for dinner yesterday.
We had four strange officers as it was, and this promised to be an awful
dinner; but it turned out very well. He brought his little boy, Pertâb
Singh, seven years old, with eyes as big as saucers, and emeralds bigger
than his eyes; and he is such a dear good child! G. gave the little boy
a box containing an ornamented pistol, with all sorts of contrivances
for making bullets, all of which Pertâb knew how to use. We accused
Shere Singh of having taken a watch that had been given to his little
boy; and he pretended to put this pistol in his sash, and it was very
pretty to see the little fellow's appeal to G.; but in the middle of it
all, he turned round to his father and said--'But you know, Maharaj Gee
(your Highness), what is yours is mine, and what is mine is yours; I
will lend it to you whenever you like.' Shere Singh thought the child
was talking too much at one time, and made him a sign, upon which the
boy sunk down in the eastern fashion, with his legs crossed and his
hands clasped, and he fixed his eyes like a statue. None of us could
make him look or hear, and we asked his father at last to let him play,
as we were used to children at home. He said one word, and the way in
which Pertâb jumped up was just like a statue coming to life. His father
is very fond of him, but Runjeet very often keeps the boy as a hostage
when Shere Singh is employed at a distance.