Letters from India Volume I/To a Friend 20
Amongst our visitors to-day we had one of the Mysore princes, the eldest son of Tippoo, who was ushered in by Colonel . He was eating pawn all the time, which is a measure of etiquette—a proof that he is an equal of the parties he visits. There is no sort of attention I should not like to pay his fallen grandeur, but I wish he would not eat pawn—it is the most horrid-smelling thing in the world. He said he thought I had not known him, when he passed George and me the day before, out riding. I repelled the false assertion with becoming scorn, and then he said, ‘I thought you would not know me, because now I do dress like my lord. My lord, he wear drab hat, so I have hat exackerly like my lord’s.’ This precise imitation of George’s hat was a velvet drab-coloured concern, bound with gold lace, and a great ruby stuck in front of it. He asked if George was likely to go on wearing a white hat, and I intimated, confidentially, that I knew he had a large case of black ones with him, upon which I Tippoo said he should return to his black hat whenever my lord did; and he ended by saying, he came to ask leave to join us when he met us out riding. Such a shocking prospect. He knows very little English, and his ideas probably are fewer than his words.
We came up to Barrackpore in the afternoon, and had the pleasure of reading your letter of June all the way up.
We had our conjuror last night. He was really very amusing—cockneyish in his language; but some of his tricks were very surprising, and at all events it had the full effect of pleasing the cantonment. The Danish Governor of Serampore (with the Governess) crossed the Hooghly on purpose to see him, and the old Governor nearly fell out of his chair with surprise and delight when Mr. made him blow on the six of ‘ ’arts,’ which immediately became the ace of spades; and as at Serampore they have not learned much English, and have nearly forgotten all their French, he expressed his gratification at the end of each trick by throwing himself back in his chair, with a roar of laughter, and saying ‘C’est ça!’ You will be glad to know that the Governor commanding the division stuck his foot on a box containing my pocket-handkerchief, and though the foot was a large one, the box a wooden one, and the handkerchief French cambric, yet the box was found full of peas, and my handkerchief was discovered under a hat at the other end of the room. The Brigadier professed he had not been so much amused since he came to India; and as for Major and Mrs. they had enough to think of for a month—I should say for more, considering how little thought does here. The rest of the company really thought it the greatest treat they could have had: a popular government in short. But they have all called here this morning—out of the proper day—to express their happiness, and I am so tired I should like to cry. However, we are paid for it, I suppose.
My young ladies’ quadrille is all arranged—even the dress is made and the partners all named, which, to spare their feelings, I did from my own observation, and made Captain write a regular aide-de-camp’s invitation to join my quadrille; and I believe the right gentlemen are secured, with one melancholy exception—that of a gentleman who dances eternally with everybody, seeing that he has two feet; but he has only one hand—one real hand I mean—the other is made of iron, but seems to me to have as many joints as the real one. However, the young ladies all objected to the gentleman with the iron hand, and as he had made a great point of coming, we could only avoid him by pleading eight prior engagements.
Fanny is now going to get up a married ladies’ quadrille. We are doubtful about it, so it is going on in an underhand way by means of Mrs. . I think it will come right at last. We cannot make out our dresses to our minds, but perhaps there will be a fresh supply of goods in the market before the day comes.
has just come in, in such a sailor-like fashion. He and the other aides-de-camp have built a boat, which was launched yesterday, and is called the ‘Emily,’ and they mean to pull in it themselves during the cold weather. They are all dressed like sailors, with ‘Emily’ worked in gold on their hatbands and badges. I am afraid the native servants will take to call me ‘Emily,’ as their ideas of Christian and surnames are rather confused.
God bless you, dear Mary! My best love to dear Robert and the children.
I have written this off as if you were close at hand, and now will send it to the post. You will have it to-morrow morning.
Sunday is always a long day with the people staying here, but it was enlivened after church by an arrival of English papers, up to August 1, and the hope of letters to-morrow. The ‘Windsor’ came in, three months to a day, from Portsmouth. Quite as good as an Overland despatch, and she always makes those quick passages. I mean to keep my eye on her for my return coach, but she will be very cockroachy by the time we go home, I am afraid.