round the other way and getting my gun, but really he looked so much
like a man that I could not have shot him. He continued to grin and
spit until I turned away, hoping he would resume his former sedate
position. As soon, however, as he thought my eye was off him he rose
leisurely from his chair, stepped slowly out of the verandah, caught
hold of a branch of the banian-tree, and swung himself up into it.
As he did this I saw that he had a long tail, so he could not, I
believe, have been an ourang-outang. Indeed I never heard of them
coming into this little island, nor, I think, into the district. I
went into my study, and immediately afterwards heard him scuttling
away over the roof of the house. I have not seen him since, but if he
comes back I shall try to make friends with him by giving him food,
though I believe he belongs to rather a treacherous family.
Whilst on this subject, I will mention another monkey which I saw a
few days ago. It is almost two feet in height, quite black, except
a circle of light-brown hair round its face, and is held in high
veneration by the natives. They come chiefly from a place up the
country called Brinderbund, where it is said there are nothing but
Brahmins and monkeys.
I was once driving with a friend when we met a party of pilgrims,
who had two or three monkeys with them. We stopped and spoke to the
people, and one of the monkeys came into the carriage and perched
himself on my lap. I offered the people two rupees for him, but they
said they were going to take the two to Juggernat'h, where the Rajah
would buy them. I asked how much they would take for them; they said
fifty rupees for the pair. This I could not afford, and I told them
so; they then said I might have them both for twenty-five rupees.
This, however, was more than I could give, and we therefore drove on,
though I was very unwilling to part with the little fellows, that
seemed to have taken quite a fancy to me.
The manner of reception at the judge's is much the same as I
described in my last; but here there are, however, two or three
different additional servants, who with long chouries keep flapping
the insects off the table and the faces of the company. Here is also
plenty of mutton; and cheese from England. All the side dishes are of
silver.
In the drawing-room most of the tables are marble. From the ceiling
is suspended a number of small plated chandeliers with glass drops;
in another room is a good piano-forte, and after dinner some very
tolerable music and singing. There is also a little rational
conversation.
[Sidenote: A BACHELOR'S PARTY.]
But now let me describe a bachelor's party at the commissioner's,
who, by the way, is above the judge in rank and in salary. I say a
bachelor's party, because his wife is gone to England for her health,
and he cannot therefore invite ladies. Before dinner there is much
general conversation about races, church-building, hunting, the
paucity of chaplains, &c. &c. Some magnificent prints are brought
forward; a set of splendid silver medallions of sacred history
are examined and admired; some ancient coins and inscriptions are
submitted to the inspection of the unlearned; the last English
reviews are brought under discussion.
In the mean time the gentlemen are lounging upon ottomans about a
large marble table, the host going from one to another, speaking to
and trying to please all. To the sportsman he speaks of his gun, to
the chaplain of a project of building a new church, to the engineer
of the aërial steam-ship, and, in short, makes every one pleased both
with himself and his neighbours. I need hardly tell you that our
commissioner at Cuttack is a most agreeable man; his great object
is to make others happy, and his kind good-natured face is welcome
everywhere. He is about thirty-six years of age, fond of sporting,
fond of reading, fond of children--although he has none himself.
Every one likes him, from the judge to the faquer, from the highest
to the lowest--unless, indeed, the lawless, and those he does not
spare. He has the grand tact of rendering himself agreeable to
everybody, and the means by which he does this is the exercise of a
kind heart. He does not obtrude his concerns, but listens patiently
and with interest to the remarks of others; and this, remember, with
cheerfulness and pure morality, is the means by which any person may
make himself beloved.
But to return: the conversation turns upon church music.
"You have an organ, Commissioner, have you not?" says one.
"Yes, but I very seldom use it."
"You should send it to the church," said I.
"Well, I have sometimes thought I would, but I am afraid you have no
place for it; and, besides, I don't know whether the tunes would do."
"Let us judge of that," says the magistrate; "give us a tune whilst
they are putting the dinner on the table."
"Very well; and I am sure, if the padre likes it, he is very welcome
to have it till Mrs. M. comes back."
Thereupon we adjourned to an adjoining room, where there was a very
large upright organ, but, as Mr. M. said, "only a grinder." He puts
in the church barrel, and, turning the handle, plays, one after
another, several really beautiful psalm-tunes, whilst every one
stands serious and attentive. At last dinner is announced. The style
is much the same as at the judge's, except that almost all the dishes
are silver, and there is a magnificent racing-cup of the same metal
in the centre. The eatables, however, are many of them English.
There is fresh salmon brought from England, English soups, English
potatoes, carrots, oysters, cheese, &c. &c., all brought out in
canisters hermetically sealed.
Of course, as everywhere else, the beer, wines, &c., are from
England, for so devoid are we of any trading community, that in this
splendid climate no attempt has ever yet been made to manufacture
wine. Beer we could not make, at least so they say, for want of
barley;[4] but I believe that pine-apples, of which we get three or
four young juicy ones for a penny, would make splendid wine. England
has no pine-apples at all like ours. Then there are preserves and
pies made of green-gages, apricots, &c., all from home. Here also, as
at the judge's, there is abundance of champagne, or, as we call it
here, tokay. After dinner, at all houses, each person takes a small
glass of liqueur.
At the commissioner's, being a bachelor's party, we remained in the
dining-room. Cigars were introduced, with coffee and brandy-and-water
for those who liked it. I will now relate an anecdote I heard there:--
[Sidenote: A TIGER-STORY.]
"Why, B.," said Mr. M., "I heard you had an adventure yesterday. What
was it?"
"Oh! don't ask me; it makes me almost sick to think of it."
"Oh, nonsense!" from all present.
"Well, if I must, here goes." Then drinking off a glass of wine B.
began: "I suppose I must make a regular history of it, so I will
commence at the beginning. Last evening, in the bright and balmy,
or I should say gorgeous, splendour of an oriental sunset, when the
brilliant tints of--"
"Bah! B., don't be too absurd," cried some of us; "tell us what it
was without all this brilliant balmy nonsense."
"Why, I thought I was poetical; but I see you have no poetry in
your souls; so I will condescend to prose. I was obliged yesterday
afternoon to go down the river for a short distance; I had a boat and
three natives. When I had completed what I wanted I returned, and was
paddling along, not far from the bank, just on this side of those
enormous blocks of iron rock which keep the river from overflowing,
and form such a splendid monument of the great mechanical powers of
the ancient Hindus--"
"Come, never mind the antiquities; we will have them another time.
Let us hear your own adventures now."
"Well, I had just rounded this point when one of my men called out
most vehemently, 'Look, sir, look; there is a tiger!' My eyes were
instantly turned in the direction towards which he pointed, and there
I saw a most fearful sight. A man was tearing, springing, bounding
towards the river, and a hundred yards behind him followed a large
panther, pursuing him with those rapid leaps for which that animal is
so famous. I instantly ordered my people to pull towards the shore,
in the hope of rescuing the panting wretch who thus struggled for his
life. Before we reached the bank the man had made a bound into the
water, and stood immersed up to his neck. I suppose he was too much
exhausted to swim, for we could hardly hear his voice as he called to
us to make haste.
"At this instant I saw the dark blunt snout of an enormous alligator
rising slowly above the surface, as he made his way towards his
intended victim. I shouted to the man, 'Crocodile! crocodile!' He
heard me, hesitated an instant, then rushed back to the bank. This
sudden movement disconcerted the panther, who started back a few
paces, and the next moment our boat shot within reach. 'Come hither,'
I exclaimed. The man made a spring; the panther leaped forward, and,
as I seized the former by the arm, the latter seized him by the leg.
"Oh! the shriek of the poor victim! I shall never forget it.
Foolishly I had not brought my rifle, but I shouted to the men to
strike the beast with their oars. No; the cowardly wretches shrank
down in the farther end of the boat, and would not move. I could do
nothing, therefore, but pull at the man's shoulder, whilst his horrid
shrieks were ringing in my ears. Had I let go, the panther would
instantly have carried him off; had there been another European with
me, the man might have been saved.
"This takes long to describe, but it was all the work of a few
seconds. Presently I felt that I was drawing the man more towards
me; I looked, and saw the flesh of the leg peeling off in the jaws
of the panther until it came to the ankle, where, with one crunch,
the bone was severed, and the beast galloped off with the fearful
mouthful. I now drew the man, who by this time was quite senseless,
into the boat. I tied my handkerchief tightly round the upper part
of his leg, and with a piece of wood formed a sort of tourniquet. We
brought him to Cuttack, and sent him at once to the hospital; but he
died in the course of a few hours."
"What a horrible affair!" exclaimed several voices.
[Sidenote: POWER OF THE HUMAN EYE.]
"But I thought," said I, "that the voice, or even the eye, of man was
sufficient to make any beast quail."
"So it is, provided they are neither very hungry nor very much
excited. This beast had been engaged in a long chase, and nothing
could have frightened him from his prey."
"Ah! of course that would have made a difference," I replied; "but
Mr. L. had a little adventure the other day which seems to prove the
power of the eye of man."
"Oh! there is no doubt that man is master of all, and I believe many
natives have been preserved by the power of the human eye, and many
more might be saved if they only had the coolness to exercise the
power which has been bestowed upon them. But what was the adventure
of L.'s?"
"It was nothing very wonderful or exciting. He was staying at Chugga
for a few days; and one morning he went out with his gun, accompanied
by a native Christian of the name of Perswa. Whilst they were in the
jungle they suddenly heard a distant shout, as of some one calling
'Perswa, Perswa!' They sat down and bent their ears to the ground to
listen. Presently the cry was repeated, 'Perswa, Perswa!' Again it
was renewed, 'Perswa, Perswa!' 'It is a tiger,' cried his follower.
They immediately hastened back to the village, but found no one there
but four old women, who told them that one of their people was hurt
by a tiger. Mr. L. started instantly to his rescue, and as he left
the village he was joined by at least fifty men, who in their fear
were hiding, but, being now encouraged by the presence of a white
man, sallied forth with him. Following the direction of the cries of
the poor wretch, they soon came to the spot where he stood facing a
large tiger.
"It seems that the man, whilst in the jungle, had suddenly caught
sight of it on the very point of springing upon him. With great
presence of mind he stood perfectly still, and fixed his eyes
steadily on the monstrous brute. The tiger wavered for an instant,
then, quailing before his eye, he slunk behind a bush. Still the man
kept his eye upon him, whilst the tiger every minute peered forth to
see whether that dreaded eye was withdrawn.
"From bush to bush the tiger moved, as if seeking to avoid the gaze,
in order that he might spring out to seize his prey. Slowly the man
turned from side to side, still facing his dreaded foe, and calling
upon Perswa and the Padre Sahib to come and save him; and this he
continued till the party came up, who by their shouts forced the
tiger to abandon his intended meal. Now this seems a strong instance
of the power of the human eye."
"It does indeed," replied F. "I have known it exercised with equal
success in another case. A young officer was walking through the
jungle; he foolishly had nothing but his pistols with him. Suddenly
he heard a noise, and observed the branches shaking near him; he
crept forward on his hands and knees, to see what animal was there.
Presently he found himself face to face with a huge bull bison. He
started to his feet, drew a pistol from his belt, and fixed his eye
upon that of the animal. The bison tore the turf with his teeth and
horns, stamping furiously, but yet he dared not charge while the
human eye was fixed on his. Presently the beast appeared to become
uneasy, moved his enormous shaggy head from side to side, and at last
slunk off to join the herd that were feeding in the distance; and so
my friend was saved by his own presence of mind and the power of the
human eye."
[Sidenote: BATS.]
But we have been long enough at the commissioner's dinner-table; so
let us go home and to bed. It is ten o'clock, and for the people
in the Mofussil that is a very late hour. I have told you what a
nuisance the mosquitoes are, and also the white ants. There is
another creature from which you are comparatively free in England,
and that is the bat. Numbers of all sizes make their nests up above
the chats or ceiling-cloths in the bungalows, some not bigger than
the humming-bird, others, as I have told you, so large as to deserve
the name of flying foxes. Often at night they come into the rooms.
One evening, when my wife was going to bed, she found five large bats
wheeling round and round in her dressing-room.
On such occasions as this I post myself in one corner of the room,
and my chokedar or watchman in another, both armed with long sticks,
with which we keep hitting at the bats until we knock them down, and
then we throw them out of doors. Often, as they whirl round the room,
one will hit himself against the punkah, and fall to the ground.
Instantly the mungoose springs upon him, and we hear the bones
crushing in his jaws.
One night I was suddenly awakened by something moving and scratching
about my head; I raised my hand, and found a large bat clinging to my
hair; dreading a snake, I had started up--there was a weight upon my
head. I dashed him off, and soon went to sleep again; but he appeared
to have taken a fancy to me, and I was again awakened in the same
manner; this time, therefore, I got out of bed, knocked the animal
down, and killed him. I have several times been roused at night by a
great cockroach, three or four inches long, crawling over my lace.
The other evening a flight of large maulises came into the parlour,
and soon drove us to bed. I have two cobras, which were both killed
in my own house; also a tarantula, which I caught in my dressing-room.
To turn to another subject. I have been endeavouring to render
society here more friendly and agreeable than it can be at large
formal dinner-parties, and I am happy to say it has been followed
by some of the most influential, and I trust that the custom may
become general. The plan is to invite about eight, and those all
friendly and intimate, to a quiet dinner at four o'clock. By the time
this is over the sun is getting low; and, instead of sitting for a
couple of hours over the wine, we soon follow the ladies into the
drawing-room. The carriages come to the door for those who like a
drive. Some stroll into the wood with their guns; some talk; and so
the time passes for about an hour, when the sudden darkness falls
upon us almost without warning. We all reassemble at seven for tea
and coffee; then spend a pleasant chatty hour or two, or disperse at
about half-past nine, having had more amusement than can be enjoyed
at a mere dinner-party.
We are making rather a large flower-garden between the house and the
river. The wages to a good gardener are about two pence a-day--to a
coolie, or labourer, a penny three farthings. My mollee, or gardener,
is a very good one; but I must explain what we mean by a good
gardener. It signifies neither more nor less than a good thief. I
plan my garden and lay it out, showing the man where the paths are to
be, where the beds, and where the lawns. Within a few days after it
is laid out I expect to find it tolerably full of flowers and shrubs.
Where they come from I do not know: you cannot purchase any such
things here. Of course, then, everything must come from the gardens
of my neighbours. In England this would be considered, and would in
fact be, a very dishonest mode of proceeding; but in India it is the
custom.
The mollees have the charge of the gardens, and they mutually supply
one another. If after a time I should have anything very choice in my
garden, my mollee would give cuttings or small plants of it to any of
the other mollees who wished for them, and thus every garden would
be improved. A person must be very churlish indeed to interfere with
this system of general accommodation, which in the end is equally
advantageous to all. The system, however, is liable to abuse, and
therefore I do not think I altogether approve of it myself. I was
once dining with a young officer, and we had some remarkably fine
peas. After praising them, I observed that I did not know he had a
garden. "Why, no," he replied, laughing; "but I keep a very good
gardener." Now this was decidedly most unjust. This young man would
not be at the trouble or expense of a garden himself, but chose to
take an unfair advantage of the industry and liberality of others. I
was not at all surprised to hear, shortly afterwards, that a court
of inquiry had been sitting to examine into the circumstances of a
most dishonourable action which he had committed, and for which, if
it had not been for the leniency of his commanding officer, he would
most probably have been cashiered.
[Sidenote: CRUEL TREATMENT OF SERVANTS.]
I think I have told you how cruelly some of the people here beat
their servants. I was standing with an officer in the porch of his
house when I was last at Midnapore, when his syce, or groom, brought
his horse to the door. Captain L. turned to me, and said, "I have
not given that fellow a thrashing for a long time, and he'll forget
what it feels like, and grow lazy." Now the fact was, the man was
so attentive and industrious that Captain L. could not possibly
find any fault with him. However, he went down the steps, and, on
the pretence that the man did not hold his horse properly, gave him
several violent blows on the face and head, kicked him three or four
times with all his force, and struck him on the back with a two-foot
rule with such violence that the man was obliged to have his back
plastered and bandaged up: and all this without the slightest fault
on the part of the servant.
Much as has been said about slavery, I do not believe that any of
the slaves in Jamaica were ever worse treated than are the servants
of some of our officers here. The excuse is, that it is impossible
to manage the Hindus without the whip; but I never use it, and I am
certainly quite as well served by all, excepting two. With these I
am going to part, for they have been spoiled by living with a very
violent man. I will give you an instance of the punishments I employ.
My sirdar always goes home to his supper at nine o'clock. The other
evening, after he was gone, I found that he had neglected to get the
night-lamp ready, so I was obliged to do it myself. The following
morning, instead of thrashing him, I made no observation whatever on
the subject; but at nine o'clock in the evening, when he came to ask
whether he might go home, I said, "You did not bring the night-lamp
last night; I may want something else that is not ready, so for the
next week you will not go till eleven." This was a great punishment
to him, and yet it did not degrade either the man or myself as a
beating would do. At the same time I fully admit that the natives,
by their slowness and inactivity, are sometimes very provoking; but
surely that is no excuse to the Christian who gives way to angry
feelings.
FOOTNOTE:
[4] Plenty of barley is grown in Bhootan.
Cuttack, October 12, 1843.
I returned to Cuttack yesterday from Midnapore. It was a most
wretched journey, raining incessantly--not such mild gentle rain as
you have in England, but regular blinding torrents. The roads were so
desperately bad that, although I engaged two extra bearers at each
stage, yet each day's journey of fifty miles took me twenty-four
hours instead of fifteen. My last day's journey was from Barrapore to
Cuttack--fifty miles. I started at two in the afternoon, and arrived
at home at half-past two the next day.
About eight o'clock in the evening the rain came down almost in one
sheet of water: the men could hardly stagger along with their burden.
The rain was driven by the furious gusts of wind violently against
the doors of the palanquin, but they were closed and bolted. I was
smoking a cigar, and thinking about dear England, when suddenly
it struck me that it was becoming very cold. I wondered at it, so
closely shut up as the palanquin was. Still it became colder and
colder. I was lying on my back. I laid my hand on my face--it was
quite warm. I touched my chest--it was warm also. Suddenly I jumped
up--it was only the side of me underneath that was cold. My trowsers,
shirt, flannel waistcoat, &c., were all soaking. The rain had found
its way in at the crevice between the doors, and formed a little
puddle just where I was lying.
A severe cold is a very dangerous thing in this country, often
bringing on jungle-fever. I first stripped off my wet clothes, then
sopped up the puddle as well as I could, and stopped the leak. I then
wrapped myself up in a warm blanket. After these preliminaries I got
out of my canteen a small spirit-lamp and kettle, then hung them to
the top of the palanquin, struck a light, and boiled some water. This
I poured into a tumbler, and, adding a little brandy and a little
essence of ginger, drank it off, and then composed myself to sleep. I
dozed a little; awoke again; tried to go to sleep; could not; changed
horses--I mean men; on again; the blanket wet through; moved the
blanket so as to have a dry part next me; soon wet through again. At
last the blanket was soaking; felt my clothes, which I had hung up
to dry; still very wet, but they nevertheless seemed better than the
soppy blanket, so I dressed again.
I dared not call the man for my patarahs, or tin boxes, and get out
fresh things, for they would have been drenched in an instant. So I
dressed in the wet ones; stuffed the blanket up against the leak;
lighted another cigar, and puffed away until the palanquin was quite
filled with smoke. This created additional warmth, helped to dry my
clothes, and by its effects upon myself I have no doubt assisted in
keeping off fever.
[Sidenote: DESCRIPTION OF A PALANQUIN.]
But as I live so much in my palanquin, I think I had better give
a more accurate description of it than I have done. It is made of
wood, painted as an English carriage, and having arms, crest, &c.,
if you choose. The top is covered with a white cement to prevent its
leaking, and is slightly curved, so that the rain may run off. The
bottom is open wicker-work, on which is laid a mattress and other
cushions, covered generally with thin leather. The sides, top, &c.,
are lined, often with crimson silk. I have had my mattress and other
cushions covered with white drill; it is much more serviceable,
and will wash: my lining is of the same. The interior length of
my palanquin is six feet six inches, the breadth three feet three
inches, and of the same height.
The wicker-work of the bottom extends from the head to within one
foot three inches of the foot; then instead of wicker-work is a
wooden box, which in mine is covered with part of a leopard's skin.
In it I carry a few bottles of soda-water and beer and a bottle of
water. Over my feet, resting on brackets, is a box, an invention of
my own, which I find most useful. It is three feet long, one foot and
a quarter broad, and one foot high. In this I keep a great variety
of things that I may need.