Chapter XXXVI 1875–1880. Madras Presidency
Return to Madras—Death of Lord Hobart—Lord Pigot’s tomb and story—Interregnum—Duke of Buckingham—H.R.H. the Prince of Wales—Commanders-in-Chief—Famine—A relief camp—Ootacamund—Fever among British troops—Thebaw—Affghanistan—Sir N. Chamberlain as Envoy—Young soldiers versus old—Suggested scheme—Medical system—Inspection tours—New barracks—Calicut—Cannanore—Maliaporam—Bangalore—Bellary—Secunderabad—“Confidential” reports—Indication of illness—“New brooms”—Official demeanour—In the hills—Pleasant recollections—Back at Portsmouth—Finale.
We embark on the Mecca. A week passes; we land at Madras, bearing with us pleasant recollections of friendly hospitality received during our now bygone “Trip to Burmah.”335
The death of Lord Hobart,336 Governor of the Presidency, was an event regretted by those of us who had come to know his amiable though retiring character, and much sympathy was expressed towards the widowed Lady Hobart on her bereavement. The remains of the deceased were carried to the tomb with all the pomp and ceremony due to the high office he had occupied, and estimation in which he was generally held, the coffin committed to the tomb in St. Mary’s Church, Fort St. George.
While clearing out a place for the purpose, the workmen came upon the coffin of Lord Pigot, whose death took place in 1776, and whose place of burial, if not intentionally concealed, had long since ceased to be remembered. The story of his death was thus resuscitated, and reference made to history relating how the Council deposed him, how he was arrested by the Commander-in-Chief, placed in confinement, and there forcibly kept during eight months, at the end of which he died. No wonder that this audacious proceeding on the part of the chief actors in the drama produced astonishment and indignation at home.
An interregnum followed, during which the senior member of Council337 became head of the Government, the headquarters of which, together with those of the Commander-in-Chief, were shortly thereafter transferred to Ootacamund, where they remained until the following “cold” season, as it is called in Madras.
In the latter part of the year arrived His Grace the Duke of Buckingham and Chandos, appointed Governor. On the occasion of his landing, together with his daughters, the three Ladies Grenville, there was an immense gathering at the pier to receive the distinguished party. The assemblage comprised His Excellency the Commander-in-Chief, staff, high military officers, and heads of departments, a guard of honour, Government and municipal officers, representatives of the native princes and nobility, and, in addition, a large concourse of the community.338
The arrival of the Prince of Wales was an important event in the history of Madras. During the stay of His Royal Highness at the provincial capital, the best endeavours of all classes, official and non-official, natives and British, were directed to manifest duty and loyalty to the Heir Apparent. In addition to official entertainments and receptions given by Governor and Commander-in-Chief, the civil society, native princes and community, did all they could to do honour to him and to themselves on the occasion.
The next events of importance in reference to official affairs in Madras comprised a change in the head of the Army, Sir Frederick Haines being moved to Simla, and succeeded by Sir Neville Chamberlain. The departure of the former was much regretted by all classes, military, civil, and non-official; all honour and welcome were given to the latter, whose great military reputation and high character were known to and acknowledged by all.
In 1877 the Madras Presidency, as well as other parts of India, was visited by famine, large numbers of natives falling victims, notwithstanding the exertions by the Governor and officers acting under the orders of His Grace to combat the misfortune. Private associations and individuals added their endeavours to those by Government; missionary bodies provided for large numbers of orphans and other victims, with the result that many “converts” were added to their lists. The necessity for extended and improved systems of irrigation being shown, steps were taken in both directions. While not a few of the ancient methods had been abandoned, the modern substitutes were, in some instances, far from effectual for their purpose. Now also an important financial measure was adopted: a special fund against famine was established, the equivalent of eight million pounds sterling set aside for that purpose, and if some time thereafter that fund was otherwise absorbed, its original devisers and founders had passed from office before the change in question took place.
In obedience to orders, I visited a camp situated a few miles from the city of Madras for the reception and care of sufferers from the famine, the object being the somewhat technical one of making a report on the phenomena of starvation. In tents provided for their accommodation lay prostrated men, women, and children in all stages of absolute starvation. Carts were bringing in from the surrounding districts persons who, while proceeding along the highways in search of food and other aid, had fallen exhausted, and so lay on the roadsides. Altogether, the sights presented were very sad.
There being a prospect that Ootacamund would shortly become the permanent seat of the Presidency Government, His Grace the Governor appointed a Committee,339 of which I was senior member, to inquire into and report upon the general condition of that place. The subject was carefully gone into, the respects pointed out in which improvements were suggested, the nature of those improvements given in detail. In due time our report (written by me) was officially submitted; it passed through the usual official channels, and, having done so, was not acted upon. Years have passed away since then; the public prints record that evils have occurred at this beautiful locality which, it is safe to believe, would have been averted had our recommendations been carried out; those evils, moreover, definitely predicted in that report.
Another subject on which it fell to my lot to submit a report, related to the prevalence of fevers among our troops: a duty which caused myself much unpleasantness, inasmuch that practical experience was brought into somewhat violent collision with pure theory. All that need be noticed in this place is that, according to what is called the “scientific” school, the actual cause of those affections is dirt, and apparently dirt alone. According to the practical school, the causes are various, including the youth of the men, translation to an alien climate and alien conditions, exposure, indiscretions, etc. In accordance with the views first-named, numerous works to which the term “sanitary” was applied were undertaken at a cost to the Indian Government of many thousands, nay millions, of rupees. According to the second, many of those expensive improvements have been without their intended result, nor have they in any degree touched the root and origin of the evil, comprised in the general conditions just named.
The king of Burmah having died, the legal heir Thebaw was duly acknowledged his successor. No sooner had he attained to power than acts of maladministration and of atrocity drew upon him extreme displeasure of the Indian Government. Milder measures having proved ineffectual, a military force was sent to his capital, with the result that in due time it was captured, he himself deposed, and brought to India as prisoner of State. For a considerable time before that expedition was dispatched, preparatory arrangements for such a contingency had been as far as practicable matured—those of the department under my own supervision included.
Relations between the Government of India and the Ameer of Affghanistan had been in a more or less strained condition since 1873, when “after the return of Noor Mahomed Shah from Simla, the Ameer’s language was very unsatisfactory” to Lord Northbrook. “A sum of £100,000 placed to the Ameer’s credit at Peshawur by the British Government was allowed to remain there, and never drawn.”340 During the early months of 1878 the general state of those relations was much discussed in military society and in civil, two different views being expressed regarding it: the one by officers and others of long Indian experience and practical acquaintance with frontier matters; the other, chiefly by those of shorter Indian experience, and less practical acquaintance on the border.
Later in that year, our much-esteemed Commander-in-Chief, Sir Neville Chamberlain, was ordered by Lord Lytton to proceed as Envoy to Sheer Ali, the Ameer. He did so, and now the Madras command fell during his absence to General Elmhirst, formerly of the 9th Foot, a good officer and amiable man. After much ineffectual negotiation by Sir Neville Chamberlain, in the hope of averting armed intervention, Lord Lytton declared war against the Ameer. Forces were meanwhile being gathered for the purpose of the campaign, the 67th Regiment with some other troops being sent from the Madras Presidency. Their equipment and the general arrangements for active service had to be provided under orders of the responsible officers concerned, of whom I was one. In due time, Sir Neville was received with welcome back from the important, but unhappily futile, mission upon which he had been sent.
While the general subject of young soldiers versus old was occupying the War Office authorities, the opinions held regarding it from personal experience of certain senior officers were called for, mine among them. To a number of definite questions, definite answers were submitted by us individually; but the tone of all was identical,—namely, that for the purpose of field service in India men of mature growth, and who had already been some years in the country, were most capable of withstanding the wear and tear incidental to war. Sufficient grounds for that opinion are casually stated in reference to incidents relating to the Mutiny campaign, and to the Siege of Paris.
In connection with the same subject, the question arose whether or not advantage might accrue from the introduction of a double system of recruiting; namely, short service for home, long service for India. Some of us elaborated a series of calculations, the outcome of which was that on the score of expense, including pensions, the latter scheme would be more economical than the system, then as still in operation, involving as it does the constant influx and efflux of men to and from India, the maintenance of expensive systems of transport, hill stations and sanatoria. This, however, is but one among several points relating to the important question now touched upon.
The process of “divorcing” medical officers from regiments had become general, notwithstanding representations and protests from men of long experience. In the early part of the nineteenth century, the defects incidental to “general” hospitals and methods relating thereto having declared themselves in the Peninsular campaign, what was called the regimental system was introduced in addition to, and partial supersession of that method, the better to meet the requirement professionally of the several classes pertaining to regiments. With the abolition of that system a retrograde step is taken, to the serious disadvantage of the soldier and all other persons concerned. No sufficient reason exists why the double system, staff and regimental, should not continue as before, and so fulfil alike the purposes of war and of peace.
Inspection duty to military stations within the command occupied the greater part of each “cold” season. In the performance of this somewhat invidious function, the agreeable far outbalanced the unpleasant, hospitality and every consideration by the officers with whom I came in contact going far to make each such tour a pleasure trip.
Barracks, hospitals, and other buildings for accommodation or other use by soldiers had recently been erected in accordance with plans and instructions formulated by the Sanitary Commission in Calcutta, of which I was a member, as already mentioned. In the majority of instances they had been in use by the troops during six to eight years; but so far, liability to endemic illness of their occupants showed no decrease statistically from what had occurred among occupants of “the old style” of barracks. With regard to several other matters connected with them, evidence was apparent that anticipations by that Commission had yet to be realized.
Beyond the objects of routine duty there was much of interest connected with the majority of places visited. On the west coast the history of what are now civil or military stations carries us back to a period when Tadmor in the wilderness, the ancient Palmyra, was a depôt for merchandise and goods imported in the days of Solomon from this part of India. It was off Calicut, at which there is now stationed a small force of British troops, that in May, 1498, Vasco da Gama came to anchor after a voyage of eleven months from Lisbon. In 1509, Albuquerque having failed in one attack upon that place proceeded to Goa, which he captured, and has ever since that time remained in Portuguese possession.
Cannanore, situated further up along the Malabar coast, is also a place of great antiquity, though now of small importance. From the days of Pliny, and long before then, the inhabitants of the whole district so named were known to be sea robbers and wreckers. At the present day, however, the descendants of those early pirates may be seen quietly at study, and learning useful handicrafts in the establishments belonging to the Basel Mission, which are in a very flourishing condition, if we can form an opinion on the subject from a cursory visit to them.
An isolated military post is Maliapuram, situated in a district mostly covered with dense jungle, at the distance of a night’s journey from Calicut. The result to me of the trip there and back through malarious forests was an attack of illness, recovery from which was due to the hospitable attentions received from Mr. and Mrs. Wigram. The object of the little garrison alluded to is to preserve peace among the Moplas, a manly, lawless race, whose descent is believed to be from Arab sailors who, in ancient times, formed connections with native (Tier) women. They are noted for their zeal as Mahomedans, for the rapidity with which “risings” take place among them, and the bloodshed incidental to those occasions.
Bangalore has been already mentioned in these notes. The large cantonment for British troops, in respect to completeness of arrangements, is unsurpassed in India. In near proximity to it is the residence of the representative of Government at the Court of Mysore.
From this place the routine usually is to proceed to Bellary, situated in the centre of the Indian Peninsula. Smaller than Bangalore, yet of considerable importance, it is the military centre of the Berar district, assigned in 1853 to the Government of India represented by Lord Dalhousie on account of certain subsidies then in arrear on the part of the Nizam.
Secunderabad, perhaps the largest military station in India, is situated at a distance of nine to twelve miles from Hyderabad. That important native city was visited after duty had been gone through, the visit performed on elephants, a guard of sowars furnished for our safe conduct; nor was the precaution unnecessary, if an opinion could be gathered from the expression of men’s countenances as we proceeded along the narrow winding streets. Our excursion was varied by a short trip by steam launch on the Meer Alum tank, and afterwards by a short visit to the mosques at Golconda.
An unpleasant duty connected with my position, but one which fortunately had only at rare intervals to be performed, was that of reporting otherwise than favourably on officers within my sphere of superintendence. Such occasions only arose at the periodical inspections, and then the method I adopted was to read to the officer concerned the portion of the usual official report relating to the particular point commented upon, requesting him at the same time to furnish his explanation regarding it, so that the explanatory document should be transmitted together with the adverse comment. Otherwise, as it seemed to me, an injury would be inflicted without the officer concerned being aware of the grounds or extent of it, and without an opportunity being afforded him to defend himself. In fact, the whole system of “confidential” reports is open to very grave objection, as by their very nature they more or less “strike a man in the dark.”
In some instances, fortunately of rare occurrence, it was found that an officer, previously known to be zealous, painstaking, and otherwise efficient, suddenly displayed impatience of administrative control, and in other respects brought himself unpleasantly before the authorities. In the course of experience I came to know various instances in which the sudden change alluded to was in reality the premonitor of illness; others in which it was the first indication of actual disease; consequently I was at the outset prepared to look upon such a change in one or other of these lights. This remark may apply to all classes of officers, more especially in the tropics, and I believe that much unnecessary disciplinary severity towards individuals under such circumstances could be with advantage exchanged for more considerate methods.
In my own branch of the general service, and in others, I had various opportunities of seeing the results of so-called “sweeping” reforms by “new brooms” and particular officers whose moving principle seemed to be that whatever is, is wrong, and therefore must be abolished. Happily for the personal comfort of all concerned, and for the benefit of the service as a whole, the great majority of administrative officers have learnt that reasons are forthcoming, if sought for, to account for whatever may not be at first sight evident in reference to particular modes of routine; therefore the officer of experience, as opposed to the mere “reformer,” endeavours, in the first place, to ascertain the nature of those conditions, and having done so, to introduce slowly and gradually such changes as altered conditions may suggest.
There are certain other points relating to administration which I may note. I had long ago become aware that in conducting duties, the making of promises other than such as could there and then be performed is a bad one; circumstances are apt to arise which render it quite impossible to carry out those made in anticipation. In such cases great disappointment and often chagrin to the officer concerned was the result. Very bitterly as a young man had I felt rough and cavalier action towards me by senior and official superiors. It was accordingly my endeavour to avoid similar demeanour towards my juniors. In communicating expressions of official dissatisfaction, it was an object of my endeavour to avoid giving such an expression the tone of personality.
During the greater part of the five years comprising my tour of service in the Madras Presidency, my family occupied a house in Ooty, for by that almost loving abbreviation was Ootacamund known. There my wife and daughter remained continuously, their occupation and enjoyment comprising horses, dogs, a farmyard, and garden. Thither in the hot season I repaired, as one of the officials entitled to that great privilege; and there, while carrying on departmental duties, I was able to participate in the various occupations and enjoyments special to the place. Among those were rides, drives, excursions, and picnics, visits to various Government and other gardens and plantations, including tea gardens; while to a lover of nature there was a never-failing source of interest in the phases of plant and animal life as we rode or walked along the various mountain faces by which the station was encircled.
Society was pervaded by a spirit of sociability and friendliness; that tone given to it by its leaders, the Ladies Grenville and Lady Chamberlain. Official duty was conducted in a spirit of kind consideration between officials, at the same time that it was well and honestly performed. It was, then, with great regret that my period drew to a close; that having ended, my “relief” arrived. My five years in the Madras Presidency were indeed “the green spot” in my somewhat long period of service. In December, 1879, I embarked for England.
In the early days of January, 1880, we landed at Southampton, whence we proceeded to Portsmouth, to which district I found myself again appointed. It was now the dead of winter. The rapid change from the heat of Madras to the bitter cold of this part of England caused severe illness in the person of my dear wife—a circumstance which gave rise to a fellow-feeling for the many soldiers’ wives and children who undergo the same transition between extremes, but without sufficient provision in clothing and other requisites to enable them to withstand its effects. The routine of duty was much the same as it had been some ten years previous; the one respect in which a change was visible referred to my own special department, into which alterations introduced seemed to tend neither to the well-being of the soldier nor comfort of the officer.
My period of service drew to a close under the terms of a recently issued Royal warrant. Arrangements were made accordingly for handing over to a successor duties the performance of which had become in a manner second nature to me, so much so that their cessation was looked forward to as a blank in prospect. In the early days of April the Army Estimates for the current year were published. In accordance with them I was one of six to whom was authorized the reward for “Distinguished Military Services.” On May 25, as the clock struck the hour of noon, I resigned my seat to the officer ordered to relieve me. In the succeeding Gazette the notification appeared that I was placed on retired pay. My active career was ended.
[P.S.—In the Jubilee Gazette, 1897, the distinction of K.C.B. was conferred upon me. On August 11 following, at Osborne, Her Most Gracious Majesty was pleased to invest me with the Insignia of the Order. On December 2 I had the additional honour of receiving the Jubilee medal, transmitted by command of the Queen, to be worn in commemoration of the sixtieth anniversary of Her Majesty’s Reign.]
The End
Footnotes
1 Sir James McGrigor, Bart., Director-General.
2 The date of appointment as Assistant Surgeon, June 8, 1841. My diplomas—L.R.C.S.E.; M.D. St. Andrews; both April, 1840.
3 7s. 6d.
4 The hammock space per man was 9 feet × 1½.
5 Solution of chloride of zinc.
6 Mr. Mechi.
7 Captain Gurwood.
8 1815.
9 Captain Astier, 62nd Regiment.
10 March 28, 1842.
11 i.e., drawn by means of ropes attached to their masts.
12 21st.
13 Namely, 26th, 49th, and 55th.
14 i.e., silk produced by the Antherea paphia, and allied species.
15 Of the 50th and 62nd Regiments; more than 100 men were lost at Seckreegullee, that being the place where the typhoon occurred.
16 Colonel Wodehouse, Major Ryan, and Captain Tew.
17 December 28 and 29, 1857.
18 On the invitation of my friend, L. C. Stewart, 39th Regiment.
19 Gates of Somnath—carried thence, A.D. 1024, by the conqueror, Mahmood of Guznee.
20 Akbar the Great, A.D. 1556–1605.
21 Taj Mahal-Bibi ke Roza, or Crown Lady’s tomb, erected over the remains of Mumtaz Mahal, the Pride of the Palace, wife of Shah Jehan. She died in childbed of her eighth child, A.D. 1629, at Berhampore in the Deccan, whence her body was carried and buried where the Taj now stands.
22 The story of these events is concisely given in Sewell’s Analytical History of India, page 244.
23 At the time commanded by Colonel Clunie.
24 Eudynemus Orientalis.
25 Poor L.E.L.! Further memories of her will recur hereafter.
26 The words are so beautiful and pathetic that I transcribe them.
Float on, float on, my haunted bark,
Above the midnight tide;
Bear softly o’er the waters dark
The hopes that with thee glide.
Float on, float on, thy freight is flowers,
And every flower reveals
The dreaming of my lonely hours,
The hope my spirit feels.
Float on, float on, thy shining lamp,
The light of love is there;
If lost beneath the waters damp,
That love must then despair.
Float on, beneath the moonlight float,
The sacred billows o’er;
Ah! some kind spirit guards my boat,
For it has gained the shore.
27 Dewalee—Festival to Lakshmi, goddess of wealth and fortune.
28 Mrs. Tayler, mother of Lady Hope Grant, then a young girl in England at school.
29 37th.
30 Shere Singh, an unacknowledged son of Runjeet, “the Lion of the Punjab.”
31 Dyhan Singh, vizier of the above.
32 The Ranee Jinda, mother of Dhuleep. She was now Regent.
33 Subsequently Sikh commander at the battle of Ferozeshah, December 21, 1845.
34 Belonging to Luckimchund, at one time a Government contractor.
35 December 20, 1843.
36 Sir Hugh Gough.
37 Charley Grant Sahib, as he continued to be called many years afterwards when as a General Officer he commanded a Division.
38 Colonel Cureton now acted as Brigadier in command of the cavalry.
39 10th Bengal and 4th Irregular Cavalry.
40 Afterwards General Sir John Mitchell, G.C.B.
41 Namely, Dr. Walker of the Body Guard, Currie of 16th Lancers, and myself.
42 The strength of the opposing forces at the commencement of battle was: British, 14,000, with 40 guns; Mahrattas, 18,000, including 3,000 cavalry and 100 guns. The losses were: British, 106 killed, 648 wounded, 7 missing; total, 797. Seven officers were killed on the field or died of wounds. The Mahrattas sustained losses estimated at 3,000 to 4,000.
43 In repulsing a body of French Lancers in pursuit of a party of Scots Greys, for which, as marks of appreciation by the king, they were made Lancers and granted scarlet uniform.
44 Many years thereafter I became acquainted with Colonel Bray, who obtained his commission “without purchase” in acknowledgment of services rendered by his father and brother.
45 Jains. The origin of the sect of Buddhists so called dates from sixth or seventh century A.D., its decay in the twelfth or thirteenth.
46 The “Gwalior Contingent” so established joined the mutineers in 1857, and took prominent part in the investment of Cawnpore.
47 Under Lord Lake, September 3, 1803.
48 The festival takes place on the first day of the (Hindoo) month Baishakh, that is, commencement of the Solar year (March-April) and anniversary of the day on which the river Ganges first appeared on earth. Every twelfth year the planet Jupiter being in Aquarius, a feast of peculiar sanctity occurs; the great bathing day, or Maha Mela, coinciding with the new moon.
49 April 11.
50 Prepared from the roots of Andropogon.
51 October 16, 1844.
52 Or rather, fell into his hands as a result of his victory at Buxar.
53 That each act in this life bears its fruit in the next.
54 The attainment of a sinless state of existence.
55 Died 1805.
56 During the early wars by the East India Company the troops employed by it comprised men of various European nationalities, besides natives of the United Kingdom.
57 The officer alluded to, familiarly known as “Paddy” Graves, parodied a well-known soldiers’ song of Peninsular days after this manner:—
“The Sixty-second Springers all—are
Going to march unto Umballah—r;
And the Buffs, that gallant band—are
Going to their native land—are.
Love, farewell.”
58 In subsequent years large numbers of them were converted to Christianity; colonies established by them in Cachar and Assam.
59 In 1757 a stately range of two-storied barracks for “European” troops were erected at a cost of £302,278, the rupee then worth 2s. In 1834 they were abandoned on account of high rates of sickness and mortality among their occupants; average admission rate of 13 years per 1,000 strength, admissions 2,196, deaths 82. Of certain endemic diseases treated the rates of deaths to admissions were:—fever, 1 in 21; dysentery, 1 in 10; hepatitis, 1 in 9.
60 Then sixteen years of age. His grandfather, Jaffer Ali, Wuzzeer of Suraj ood Dowlah, Nawab of Bengal, a member of the Imperial family of Delhi, whom Lord Clive defeated at Plassee in 1757. It is related that on that occasion Jaffer Ali bribed a number of Suraj ood Dowlah’s troops; with them he deserted his chief and went over to the English side. Subsequently the Nawab was assassinated, and Jaffer Ali raised to a position he had no right to claim. Thenceforward the Nawab of Moorshedabad was an “ally” of the British Government.
61 Plassee. From Palasa, “dâk tree,” or Butea frondosa.
62 Kulnah is 164 miles from the Sandheads.
63 Now, after an interval of fifty-two years, I still am proud to call him friend. Alas! since the above was written he has passed away.
64 January 19, 1845.
65 On April 29, 1845.
66 It is related that in A.D. 455 a battle took place near this spot between the Saxons under Hengist and Horsa, and the Britons under Vertimer, the latter being victorious; that among the killed were Horsa, the Saxon, and Catigern, the brother of Vertimer. One account relates that the cromlech alluded to is that of Catigern, Horsa having been killed at Horsted near Rochester.
67 Lieutenant Graham.
68 July 15—under command of Sir Hyde Parker.
69 Statistical Reports by Major Tulloch.
70 Regimental pay, 7s. 6d. per day; mess and band subscriptions deducted from it.
71 July 10, 1846, Staff-Surgeon, 2nd class.
72 Dating back to A.D. 1572, when, under Elizabeth, the regiment was formed out of the Trained Bands of London, its uniforms of Buff leather, whence its name, now a proud title.
73 Now, alas! while these notes are being transcribed, only one remains; namely, General Sir Frederick Francis Maude, G.C.B. Only lately did my other great friend, Deputy Surgeon-General Bostock, C.B., Q.H.S., die. While the notes are under revision, Maude has passed away.
74 When the first Europeans trading between Benin and Palmas asked where the gold and produce offered them for sale came from, the natives answered, “From Jenné” (on the Niger, near Timbuctoo). Her name was thus given to the Gulf of Guinea, and, indirectly, to the English coin, the guinea. (Timbuctoo the Mysterious, by Felix Dubois, p. 172.)
75 Mr. Barnes, with whom I was acquainted in 1847, had been with that force in 1826.
76 From the Portuguese Fetisso, a spell, or charm.
77 From August 1, 1838, slaves became free.
78 Thespesia, acacias, including the sensitive plant, abrus, convolvuli, palms, wild figs, tamarind, etc.
79 Of the Wesleyans.
80 Some account of L. E. L. is given in my separate book, Life on the Gold Coast. I consider that the cause of her death was disease of the heart, with which she was known to have been affected several years.
81 Still called “Napoleon.”
82 Under the title of Contributions to Ornithology.
83 Commander, afterwards Sir W. Winniett, R.N. He died on the Coast.
84 Captain Losack.
85 Lieutenant Bingham. He lost his health during the expedition, and shortly thereafter died in England.
86 C. Swaine.
87 The brig Governor Maclean.
88 Messrs. Brodie Cruickshank and Frank Swanzy.
89 Quako Acko by name.
90 Slave-ships captured by British men-of-war were taken to Sierra Leone, their cargoes there transferred to the establishment so-named.
91 On June 22, 1848.
92 Coccoloba uvifera.
93 Sorghum vulgare.
94 With my friend J. A. Bostock.
95 General Sir Henry King, K.C.B.
96 December 22, 1848.
97 January 13, 1849.
98 February 21.
99 Out of 570 officers and men who went into action at Albuhera, the commanding officer, 22 other officers, and more than 200 men were placed hors de combat. The “dead were found lying as they fought in ranks; every wound was in front.”
100 Davenish.
101 Dedicated to St. Molash, who died A.D. 563.
102 The manufacture of Beleek ware was then a thing of the future.
103 See Illustrated London News, October 12, 1849.
104 The ceremony solemnized by the Rev. J. A. Grant, of Nairn.
105 Major and Mrs. Shadforth.
106 Another statement is that his birth took place in Upper Merrion Street, Dublin; his baptism in St. Peter’s Church.
107 That was in 1850.
108 Parliament, June, 1845.
109 August 31, 1850.
110 London Gazette, August 12, 1850.
111 Born on April 12, 1851.
112 Killed at Inkerman.
113 London Gazette, May 23, 1851.
114 41° S.
115 On the twenty-second day of our river journey.
116 Afterwards Sir Hector.
117 “Cawnpore devils.”
118 Jehangir, A.D. 1605–1627.
119 January 28, 1846.
120 February 10, 1846. Punjab annexed, by Proclamation, March 29, 1849.
121 February 20, 1849.
122 Chenab-Acesines.
123 Composed of roots of the scented grass Andropogon muricatum.
124 Jacob.
125 The young man may be indicated by his initials, J. C. G.
126 In a soldier of the 14th Hussars at Meerut.
127 Dr. Henderson.
128 Eugenie de Montijo, Comtess de Téba.
129 Indicating bite by Bungarus (Krite).
130 These lectures were given respectively by the Chaplain (Rev. Cave Browne), Engineer Officer (Captain Davidson), and myself.
131 The Honourable Thomas Ashburnham.
132 Sir Charles Napier.
133 Published in 1897. Vol. ii., p. 418.
134 Mr. Sapte, long since passed away to the majority.
135 The Hydaspes of the ancients.
136 On September 1, 1853.
137 Telegraphic communication did not then exist.
138 Peshora Singh was drowned in the Indus.
139 Mr. Thornton.
140 Captain, afterwards General Sir William Payne, K.C.B.
141 Lithotomy.
142 On November 15, 1853; arrived on 23rd.
143 A.D. 1605–1627.
144 Sir James Tennant, K.C.B.
145 Called by the natives “Bijlee ke dâk,” or “Lightning Mail.”
146 Baptized on April 24, 1854.
147 By orders dated Horse Guards, October 7, 1854.
148 November 5, 1854.
149 Namely, 22nd, 96th, and 98th Regiments, 10th Hussars, and 12th Lancers.
150 Bhaugulpore Hill Rangers.
151 Together with 8th and 40th N.I., mutinied at Dinapore in 1857.
152 Delhi Gazette.
153 Colonel Blachford, 24th Regiment.
154 Of 8s. per day.
155 A son born on March 14, 1857.
156 The Palmyra.
157 Entomology, Kirby and Spence.
158 The 43rd Light Infantry.
159 Hosea xiii. 16.
160 Buckra-eed. In commemoration of the sacrifice by Abraham, according to the Koran, of Ishmael, child of his bondswoman.
161 Names of these and other victims to be mentioned are in my possession.
162 Five officers died in one day.
163 A detachment of 5th Fusiliers.
164 August 18.
165 Lloyd.
166 Out of fifteen officers, twelve were killed or wounded.
167 Mohurrum. The first ten days of the Mahomedan New Year are dedicated to the festival so called.
168 8th.
169 21st and 27th.
170 At Meean Meer the ball by the 81st Regiment took place on May 12.
171 July 30.
172 Phœnix, September 28, 1857.
173 Of September 3, 1857.
174 Native swords.
175 Calcutta Englishman, October 15, 1857.
176 At Manduri, ten miles from that station.
177 On September 21, 1857.
178 On September 25, 1857.
179 From Deoghur.
180 Forty years thereafter,—namely, in 1897,—Lord Roberts, bearing in mind the events of 1857, writes:—In reply to the question, “Is there any chance of a mutiny occurring again?” With reference to that question he, remarks after this manner: “I would say that the best way of guarding against such a calamity is—By never allowing the present proportion of British to native soldiers to be diminished or the discipline and efficiency of the native army to become slack.
“By taking care that men are selected for the higher civil and military posts whose self-reliance, activity, and resolution are not impaired by age, and who possess a knowledge of the country and the habits of the peoples.
“By recognising and guarding against the dogmatism of theorists and the dangers of centralization.
“By rendering our administration on the one hand firm and strong, on the other hand tolerant and sympathetic; and last, but not least, by doing all in our power to gain the confidence of the various races, and by convincing them that we have not only the determination, but the ability to maintain our supremacy in India against all assailants.
“If these cardinal points are never lost sight of, there is, I believe, little chance of any fresh outbreak disturbing the stability of our rule in India, or neutralizing our efforts to render that country prosperous, contented, and thoroughly loyal to the British Crown.” (Vol. I., p. 449.)
181 Of November 5, 1857.
182 Our force consisted of the 10th, 20th, and 97th British regiments; six battalions of Nepaulese troops, under the command of General Pulwan Singh; two Field Batteries, and some thirty to forty mounted men of the 10th. By virtue of seniority I assumed medical charge.
183 Under Captain Bartholomew.
184 For his gallantry in the attack mentioned he was awarded the Victoria Cross.
185 The Moulvie of Fyzabad, known by the name of Ahmed Alee Shah (also called Ahmed Oola Shah), was a native of Arcot, in the Madras Presidency. He was said to understand English and to have been a man of acumen and boldness. He was ultimately killed at Powayne.
186 Mrs. Orr and Miss Jackson.
187 Sir Hope Grant, K.C.B.
188 It comprised 10th, 34th, and 84th Regiments, 1,700 Sikh cavalry, a portion of military train as cavalry, and three batteries of artillery. I was principal medical officer, also in charge of the Staff, in addition to my regimental duties.
189 William Fenwick, than whom a more upright man could not be named.
190 Of that wound Koer Singh soon thereafter died. The command of his forces then fell to Umeer Singh.
191 Here we received Government General Orders relating to the late Jounpore Field Force, my name in the list of those “mentioned.”
192 Captured by myself and duly handed over.
193 Comprising 10th Foot, Military Train Madras Artillery, Madras Rifles.
194 An honourable man, considerate and straightforward in official as in private relations, he had effected much during the time he held command to restore to their normal state things already alluded to.
195 Government General Orders, dated Allahabad, June 16, 1858.
196 Namely, Juggernath Singh, Rajah of Powayne, a man who, in the early days of the mutiny, had acted in a very unfeeling manner towards such fugitives as fell into his hands.
197 Of October 1, 1858.
198 Friend of India, December 2, 1858.
199 Afterwards noticed in Chambers’ History of the Revolt, page 607.
200 Naval and Military Gazette, January 8, 1859.
201 Colossians iii. 15: “And let the peace of God rule in your hearts, to the which also ye are called in one body; and be ye thankful.”
202 Root of Orchis mascula.
203 July 24.
204 The 10th Regiment was composed of the following, according to religious denomination; namely, Episcopalians, 29 officers and 236 men; Presbyterians, 8 and 28; Roman Catholics, 5 and 301. It may be taken as an example of an “English” regiment.
205 Of their number a few enlisted into the 10th, and soon attempted to disseminate their particular doctrines. But Barrack-room Courts-Martial and sharp punishments—by means of belts—quickly convinced them that they were—so much matter in the wrong place.
206 5th and 6th Madras.
207 London Gazette, May 14, 1859.
208 Mr. (afterwards Sir Albert) Woods.
209 I was the first regimental surgeon invested by Her Majesty with the Cross of the Bath.
210 March 14.
211 Namely, that of Surgeon-Major.
212 January 4, 1812.
213 Exodus ii. 5, 6; see also Josephus.
214 The Alma.
215 Lat. 1° N.
216 In 1841 the island of Hong-Kong, considered by the Chinese as “only a barren rock,” was ceded to the British. Within the short period of nineteen years, the surprising transformation above indicated took place.
217 The date of my rank as Deputy Inspector-General, May 11, 1860.
218 Wingrove Cook.
219 Captured by the British, February 25, 1842.
220 In the early part of 1894 hundreds of these boats were destroyed by fire.
221 Phoong quei, or wind-box.
222 In 1841, a brother of Mr. Bowlby was appointed to the Army Medical Department, and ordered to the West Indies. From the first, he expressed a foreboding of death by yellow fever, an event which happened shortly after his arrival there. Nor is his a singular instance of the same kind; several have been met with in India.
223 In the official position of P.M.O.
224 Chiefly the Taipings.
225 That is, the Treaty of Tientsin, dated 1858, was ratified, and, together with a Convention of Peace, signed by Lord Elgin and Prince Kung.
226 Chiefly privet (Ligusticum) and lycium. Among the representatives of British plants were the dock, dandelion, and ivy-leaved veronica.
227 On December 16.
228 Dr. Galbraith.
229 Messrs. Dent.
230 Copychus saularis.
231 Colonel Muter.
232 On February 9.
233 Details are given in my book China from a Medical Point of View, p. 437.
234 Zysiphus jujuba.
235 Holothuria.
236 Mr. Blodgett.
237 9th. Cypsilis affinis.
238 On March 22, 1861.
239 Hienfung.
240 Ezekiel xxvii. 23; xxix. 19.
241 The same that now stands on the Thames Embankment.
242 The Trent.
243 At the former Hôtel de Lille et d’Albion, now Hôtel St. James.
244 Something like its counterpart exists at Carrick-a-reed, near the Giant’s Causeway, Ireland.
245 Receiving a monthly allowance of 300 Rs.
246 Named after Mahomed ibn Abd-el Wahab, born 1691; a puritanical sect of Mahomedans.
247 Subsequently destroyed by the Kerseage, off Cherbourg.
248 Mr. Eddis, of Hazalabut.
249 At the time of his death sixteen sons of Dost Mahomed (Mahomed Akbar and Ghulam Hyder, the two heirs-designate in succession, died before their father) were alive, of whom the following are named in relation to the events above alluded to, namely: (1) Mahomed Afzul Khan; (2) Mahomed Azim Khan: these by a wife not of Royal blood. (3) Sheer Ali Khan; (4) Mahomed Amir Khan; (5) Mahomed Sharif Khan: these by a favourite Popalzai wife. (6) Wali Mahomed Khan; (7) Faiz Mahomed Khan: these by a third wife. Afzul Khan had a son Abdur Raman Khan, the present Amir of Affghanistan, and Sheer Ali had five sons—Ali Khan, Yakub Khan, Ibrahim Khan, Ayub Khan, and Abdul Jan.
250 See Forty-one Years in India, by Lord Roberts, vol. ii., pp. 41–43.
251 Referred to B.C. 1400—about.
252 Chiefly of Sâl. Vateria, interspersed with Bauhinia.
253 Eudynemus.
254 The Jain sect deny the divine origin and infallibility of the Vedas. It dates from the sixth or seventh century A.D.; culminated in the eleventh, and declined in the twelfth.
255 See India in Greece, by Pocock.
256 Under command of Sir Henry Tombs.
257 My wife and Miss Dickson with me.
258 So do some of the tribes in the Himalayahs. So did the ancient Spartans.
259 A severe epidemic of cholera among the British troops.
260 The son of Mr. Davis became Governor of Hong-Kong, and author of an extremely interesting history of China.
261 St. Luke xviii. 16.
262 George Dickson.
263 B.C. 1400–1200.
264 B.C. 286–247.
265 Believed to have been brought from Babylon.
266 Numbers xxxiii. 8; Exodus xv. 25. See also The Bible and Modern Discovery, p. 89.
267 Antiquities of the Jews, Book III. chap. i. sec. 2.
268 Referred to the period of the XXVIth Dynasty, B.C. 666–528.
269 Of England.
270 Dr. Maunsell.
271 Journal of the Geological Society, vol. x.
272 The Army Medical Society.
273 Leach, 46th Regiment; O’Leary, Royal Artillery.
274 At Saarbruck.
275 Of the 10th Infantry, corresponding to my old regiment.
276 In reality 80,000 men prisoners, and 200 guns lost.
277 The Resolution on the subject was proposed in the Corps Legislatif by M. Jules Favre.
278 According to Regulations at that time in force, conscripts and volunteers for the line, having served therein seven years, or on attaining the age of twenty-nine years, passed thence to the Garde Mobile; over that age they pass into the Garde Nationale. A soldier of the line engages in the first instance for the term of seven years; he may at its expiration re-engage for other seven or fourteen years. At the end of twenty-five years in the service he becomes entitled to a pension equal in amount to ninepence per day.
279 Five milliards of Francs; equal to two hundred millions of pounds sterling.
280 Red Cross badge worn on the arm.
281 Of the Mobiles billeted in the hotel where I resided, some re-entered quietly smoking their pipes or cheroots. One of them remarked that he had fired three shots against the enemy; but as his companions bolted, he did not see the fun, as he expressed it, of remaining to be killed.
282 The object of the demonstration was to demand that municipal elections should be immediately proceeded with.
283 La Cloche.
284 Mr. Whitehurst, of the Daily Telegraph, and myself.
285 The following form is that of letters permitted to be so dispatched:—
286 The fact transpired that certain ambulances were established rather for the advantage of their fondateurs than the good of sick and wounded. Others acted altogether independently, but had neither personnel nor matériel to fit them for their professed purpose. With such as were allied to military hospitals it was sufficiently easy to deal and adjust; not so with the others alluded to.
287 Composed of Sir Richard Wallace, Honourable Allan Herbert, Dr. Shrimpton, Sir John Rose Cormack, and the Rev. S. Smyth.
288 How strangely similar the circumstances alluded to to those of Prussia in the early years of the 19th century! Then “Prussia had made no provision for defeat. Her fortresses, though garrisoned, were ill commanded and unprepared for serious resistance. Passion and sentiment had dictated her war, in which prudence and foresight had no part. Her territory was reduced to a fragment, her army to a mere residue.”—Quarterly Review, October, 1893, page 425.
289 See Guerre de 1870–1871, Paris. Par Alfred Duquet.
290 Muffs.
291 The militia force so-called comprised the Garde Nationale Sedentaire, and Mobiles, the first named having its own “organization,” if such a term is applicable, the last being affiliated to the regular army.
292 It will be remembered that on the outbreak of mutiny among the sepoys at Dinapore, it was contemplated to arm the “Amazones” of the 10th Regiment of Foot, and that men had every confidence in their fighting qualities.
293 Under the command of General Ducrot.
294 I was with the Americans on this occasion.
295 On 28th.
296 On 30th.
297 Namely, on the 27th.
298 According to a tablet erected in the Madeleine: “Mort pour la Foi et la Justice, en la Prison de la Roquette le XXIV Mai MDCCCLXXI.”
299 Le Journal Officiel, November 5, 1870.
300 The following is a transcript of the “ticket of authority” to receive their daily allowance of meat granted by mairies to persons authorized to remain within the walls, namely:—
ARRONDISSEMENT
NO. D’ORDRE
M..................
Nombre de personnes..................
Demeure..................
Nom de boucher..................
Demeure..................
Quantité de viande { Bœuf
{ Mouton
Jours de distribution..................
Heure de la distribution..................
Timbre de la Mairie.
301 This episode was subsequently illustrated in one of the pictorial scenes relating to the siege exhibited in London.
302 December 1.
303 On November 28 General d’Aurelle de Paladine, at the head of the army of the Loire, while endeavouring to force his way from Orleans to Fontainebleau, whence he hoped to advance to the rescue of Paris, was attacked near Beaune la Rolande by the army under Prince Frederick Charles, and defeated, with a reported loss to the French of 1,000 killed, 4,000 wounded, and 1,600 prisoners.
304 The chief officers in command were Vinoy, Ducrot and De la Roncière.
305 Notwithstanding the free use of antiseptics and disinfectants of many kinds.
306 Journal du Siége par un Bourgeois de Paris, p. 573.
307 Referring to confusedly expressed news received by pigeon, which was interpreted to the effect that Faidherbe had repulsed the enemy in the Pas de Calais; Chansy and Bourbaki were at Nevers “watching” on either flank of the army of Prince Frederick Charles; at Nuits, “a French general” had with 10,000 French beaten 25,000 Prussians.
308 On January 18, 1871, at Versailles.
309 The remark refers to those in the Jardin des Plantes and Jardin d’Acclimation. The flesh of these animals was sold at exorbitant prices.
310 On one occasion thirteen were so counted, bringing to the rear a wounded comrade.
311 The following places were those that chiefly suffered within Paris, viz., The Luxembourg quarter, Boulevard St. Michel, Rues St. Jacques, d’Enfer, Vaugirard, Hôpital Val de Grace, Théâtre Odéon, Church of St. Sulpice, the Jardin des Plantes, Panthéon, Ministère de Commerce, Invalides, Church of St. Germain, Rue Boissy d’Anglais.
312 “The city of Paris is to pay a contribution of 200,000,000 francs (equal to £8,000,000 sterling) within a fortnight. Public property is not to be removed during the armistice. All German prisoners of war shall immediately be exchanged against a proportionate number of French prisoners; also captains of vessels and others, as well as civilian prisoners on both sides.”
313 At this very time the ordinary 3 per cent. Rentes stood at 51·20; while the new loan for the indemnity stood at 52·40.
314 Among other circumstances to which this want of confidence was assigned, on various occasions I heard enumerated “The Confessional” of the Romish Church, to which the great majority of the people belong. The direct effect of that observance is said to be the breaking of confidence between members of the same family, and so on upwards throughout public, as in private life. In connection with this allegations made by so many with whom I had communication, the circumstance is significant that whenever and for whatever political end a “Revolution” takes place in Paris, the class of persons who are first and invariably attacked are the clergy of that particular denomination.
315 One of the first measures of the Government of M. Thiers, after crushing the insurrection by the Communists, including the National Guard, was to suppress the militia “force,” so called.
316 Surgeon-General Sir J. H. Innes, C.B.
317 The only one that remained.
318 Date of gazette, February 21, 1871.
319 The late Mr. Laurence Oliphant.
320 The following rules were those alluded to: 1. Never write in a hurry. 2. Be unswayed by personal feeling. 3. Judge charitably. 4. Never act upon a one-sided statement; audi alteram partem. 5. Avoid irritating expressions. 6. Obtain, if possible, “the last word.” 7. In giving decision, take nothing for granted; have clear grounds for that decision. 8. Confine remarks and recommendations to their proper sphere.
321 The 5th Division, or that of Picton, as also the Duke of Brunswick’s contingent, both left Brussels at 5 a.m. of the 16th. Doubtless, therefore, the noises referred to were caused by the various arms belonging to it. (Horsford’s Waterloo.)
322 June 24, 1859.
323 Convention de Genève: Un Souvenir de Solferino. Paris: Hachette & Cie.
324 Surgeon-General, April 1, 1874.
325 My wife, daughter, and self.
326 Mr. Oliphant.
327 From Mr. John Ogilvie.
328 These are given in detail in Our Trip to Burmah.
329 There was a rumour that his head had been disinterred and carried away, perhaps to be made use of after the manner of the Scythians.
330 I by Dr. Lamprey of the 67th.
331 General Sir F. Haines, Brigadier-Generals Howlett and Stewart, and myself.
332 Major Kingsley, 67th Regiment, kindly extended his hospitality to me.
333 By the hospitality of Major and Mrs. Lloyd.
334 Demons.
335 Under that title an account of it was published by Baillière, Tindall & Cox, London.
336 On April 27, 1875.
337 Mr., afterwards Sir William Robinson, K.C.S.I.
338 By the London Gazette was announced my appointment as Honorary Physician to the Queen, March 22, 1876.
339 The other members were Mr. Macallum Webster, I.C.S., and Surgeon-General Cornish, C.I.E.
340 Affghanistan, by P. F. Walker, p. 62.