Native Rajah. "Bring the petition that I have laid before the
Governor-General."
The moonshee produces the petition, and at the instance of the Rajah,
reads, or rather sings it aloud. The Rajah listens with pleasure to
its recital of his own wrongs, and I affect to be astounded that so
much injustice can possibly exist. During my rambles in India I have
been the guest of some scores of rajahs, great and small, and I never
knew one who had not a grievance. He had either been wronged by the
government, or by some judge, whose decision had been against him. In
the matter of the government, it was a sheer love of oppression that
led to the evil of which he complained; in the matter of the judge,
that functionary had been bribed by the other party.
It was with great difficulty that I kept my eyes open while the
petition--a very long one--was read aloud. Shortly after it was
finished, I craved permission to retire, and was conducted by a bearer
to the sleeping-room, in the centre of which was a huge bedstead,
a four-poster, but devoid of curtains. On either side were large
looking-glasses in gilt frames, not suspended on the walls, but placed
against them. Over the bed was a punkah, which was immediately set
in motion. The movement of the punkah served a double purpose; it
cooled the room, and drove away the musquitoes. Having thrown myself
on the bed, the bearer, who was in attendance, inquired if I would be
shampooed. This was a luxury to which I was always partial, and, having
signified that I desired it, four men were shouted for. Each took an
arm or a leg, and began to press it, and crack the knuckle-joints of my
fingers and toes. This continued until I had fallen asleep. I did not
wake until eight o'clock on the following morning, when I was waited
upon by the khansamah, who wished to know my pleasure with respect to
breakfast. He informed me that he had "Futnum and Meesum's," Yorkshire
pie, game pie, anchovy toast, mutton-chop, steak, sardines--in short,
all that the Sahib logue were accustomed to take.
My breakfast over, and my hookah smoked, I lighted a cheroot, and
walked out into a verandah, where I was soon joined by some of the
Maharajah's favourites and dependents, who poured into my ear a
repetition of the flattery to which I had listened on the previous
night. It is not very tedious when you become used to it, and know
that it is a matter of course, and is applied to every European guest
of any real or supposed importance. Whilst thus engaged, smoking and
listening, I was joined by the Maharajah, who held in his hand the
Delhi Gazette, the Mofussilite, and the Calcutta Englishman. Of their
entire contents he had been made acquainted by a half-caste, whom he
kept (so he informed me) for the sole purpose of translating, orally,
into Hindostanee, the Indian journals and the government gazettes,
published in the English language. There was no occasion for me to
read these papers, for the Maharajah gave me a very accurate resumé of
them; having done this, he asked me to play a game of billiards. I am
not a bad billiard-player; on the contrary, I have the vanity to think
that I play remarkably well; but it was quite evident to me that the
Maharajah did not play his best, and that he suffered me to beat him as
easily as I did, simply out of what he considered to be politeness. All
the while we were playing the favourites or courtiers of the Maharajah
were praising us both. Neither of us made a stroke, good or bad, that
did not bring down a shower of compliments. My impression is, that if I
had run a cue, and cut the cloth at the same time, the bystanders would
have shouted in praise of my skill and execution. I had already seen
enough of native character to know exactly how I was to act. I feigned
to be charmed with my success--childishly charmed. Whilst I was thus
(to the delight of my host) ostensibly revelling in my triumph, the
marker--a native, a Hindoo--took up a cue, and began to knock the balls
about. He cannoned all over the table, went in off the red and white,
screwed back under the cushion, and, in short, did whatever he pleased,
and with perfect ease.
I could not help expressing to the Rajah my astonishment at the Hindoo
marker's skill; whereupon, he informed me that, when he was a mere boy,
he had been taught by the best player (an officer in the Light Cavalry)
that ever came to India, and that for several years past he had been
marker at various mess-rooms where billiards were played. The name of
this Hindoo Jonathan was Runjeet. He was six-and-twenty years of age,
about five feet five in height, remarkably slim, had a very handsome
face, and eyes full of fire and spirit. He was for a long time marker
to the Horse Artillery mess at Meerut, where I once saw him play a game
with an officer celebrated for his skill. Runjeet gave his adversary
sixty points out of a hundred, and won easily. What with his pay, or
salary, the presents he received from gentlemen to whom he taught the
game, and the gold mohurs that he occasionally had given to him when he
won bets for his backers, Runjeet was in possession of some six hundred
pounds a-year; but he was so extravagant in his habits, that he spent
every anna, and died, I was told, "not worth money enough to buy the
wood to burn him."
The Maharajah, on leaving the billiard-room, invited me to accompany
him to Cawnpore. I acquiesced, and the carriage was ordered. The
carriage was English-built--a very handsome landau--and the horses
were English horses; but the harness! It was country-made, of the
very commonest kind, and worn out, for one of the traces was a piece
of rope. The coachman was filthy in his dress, and the whip that he
carried in his hand was an old broken buggy-whip, which some European
gentleman must have thrown away. On the box, on either side of the
coachman, sat a warlike retainer, armed with a sword and a dagger. In
the rumble were two other retainers, armed in the same manner. Besides
the Rajah and myself there were three others (natives and relatives of
the Rajah) in the vehicle. On the road the Rajah talked incessantly,
and amongst other things that he told me was this, in reference to the
praises that I bestowed on his equipage.
"Not long ago I had a carriage and horses very superior to these. They
cost me twenty-five thousand rupees; but I had to burn the carriage and
kill the horses."
"Why so?"
"The child of a certain Sahib in Cawnpore was very sick, and the Sahib
and the mem-Sahib were bringing the child to Bhitoor for a change of
air. I sent my big carriage for them. On the road the child died; and,
of course, as a dead body had been in the carriage, and as the horses
had drawn that dead body in that carriage, I could never use them
again." The reader must understand that a native of any rank considers
it a disgrace to sell property.
"But could you not have given the horses to some friend--a Christian or
a Mussulman?"
"No; had I done so, it might have come to the knowledge of the Sahib,
and his feelings would have been hurt at having occasioned me such a
loss."
Such was the Maharajah, commonly known as Nena Sahib. He appeared to
me not a man of ability, nor a fool. He was selfish; but what native
is not? He seemed to be far from a bigot in matters of religion;
and, although he was compelled to be so very particular about the
destruction of his carriage and horses, I am quite satisfied that he
drank brandy, and that he smoked hemp in the chillum of his hookah.
It was half-past five o'clock when we arrived at Cawnpore. The
officers, civil and military, and their wives, were just coming out
for their evening drive on the mall. Some were in carriages, some in
buggies, some on horseback. Every soul saluted the Maharajah; who
returned the salute according to Eastern fashion--raising the hands
to the forehead. Several gentlemen approached the carriage when it
was drawn up near the band-stand, and inquired after the Maharajah's
health. He replied that it was good and then introduced me to them
in the following manner, and in strict accordance with the letter he
had received from Lucknow: "This Sahib who sits near me is a great
friend of the Governor-General, and is a relation of all the members
of Council--a constant guest of the Queen of England" (then came
this addition of his own) "and of both Houses of Parliament." I need
scarcely say that I wished my Lucknow friends had not covered me with
such recommendations; for, wherever we went, and to whomsoever we
spoke--no matter whether it was an European shopkeeper or an official
magnate of Cawnpore--I was doomed to hear, "This Sahib who sits (or
stands) near me is a great friend," &c., &c. Having exhibited me
sufficiently in Cawnpore, the heads of the horses were turned towards
Bhitoor, and we were dragged along the road at a slow pace, for the
animals were extremely fatigued. The natives of India have no mercy
on their cattle, especially their horses. During the ride back, I was
again bored with the Rajah's grievance; and, to quiet him--for he
became very much excited--I was induced to promise that I would talk
to the Governor-General and the Council on the subject; and that if
I did not succeed in that quarter, I would, on my return to England,
take the earliest opportunity "some day, quietly, after dinner" (this
was his suggestion), of representing to her Majesty the exact state
of the case, and that an adopted son of a Hindoo was entitled to all
the rights and privileges of an heir born of the body. I furthermore
promised him most solemnly that I would not speak to the Board of
Control, or to the Privy Council on the subject; for the Maharajah
assured me that he had the most positive proof that both these
institutions had eaten bribes from the hand of the East India Company
in respect of his claim. On probing him, however, I discovered that
this positive proof was a letter from a villanous agent in England,
who had written to him to say that "the Company had bribed the Board
of Control and the Privy Council, and that if his Highness expected to
succeed, he must bribe over the head of the Company. Three lacs (thirty
thousand pounds) would do it all."
The Maharajah gave a nautch (native dance by women) that night.
On the following morning I awoke with a very bad headache, and in a
philosophic mood. The various perfumes which had been sprinkled over
my dress had somewhat overpowered me, and it may have been that the
story told me in whispers by one of the three slaves who came to sing
me to sleep had disordered my imagination. I was told that two women of
rank were kept in a den not far from my apartments, and treated like
wild beasts; and a third--a beautiful young creature--had recently been
"bricked up in a wall," for no other fault than attempting to escape.
After breakfast, the Rajah showed me his elephants, his camels, his
horses, his dogs, his pigeons, his falcons, his wild asses, his apes,
his aviary full of birds, and all the rest of his curiosities. Then he
exhibited his guns and pistols--by Purdey, Egg, and other celebrated
makers--his swords, and his daggers, of every country and age, and when
he had observed that he was very happy, under the influence of some
stimulant recently imbibed, I took an opportunity of discoursing on the
vanity of human wishes, and especially with reference to his Highness's
grievance. I translated many sentiments of Juvenal and Horace into
Hindoostanee; but, I regret to say, they had no effect on Nena Sahib.