'Up the Country': Letters Written to Her Sister from the Upper Provinces of IndiaEden, Emily
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'Up the Country': Letters Written to Her Sister from the Upper Provinces of India
Eden, Emily
Eden, Emily, 1797-1869 -- Correspondence; India -- Description and travel
We rode to Mr. B.'s yesterday, knowing that otherwise that bunch of
grapes would be slurred over, and not even mentioned to us. I began by
saying, we thought it beautiful, and just the present for a great
potentate, upon which B. said: 'Yes, it is almost too expensive, but I
was thinking of asking his lordship to let me present it to Shah
Soojah.' Luckily, that was too much even for G., and he said: 'No, if I
allow it to be bought at all, it could only be for a Governor-General to
give away; besides, we are going to give Shah Soojah a kingdom, which is
quite enough without any presents.'
'A defeat,' I thought, and Mr. B. looked as if emerald grapes were
remarkably sour, and on our ride home G. said he meant to take them for
Runjeet Singh.
Tuesday, Oct. 30.
G. took a fancy on Saturday to go, after dinner, to play at whist with
Sir G. R., so we all jonpauned off, and very cold it is at night in
those conveyances. The cold brought a bilious attack I had been brewing,
to a crisis, and I had one of the worst headaches I ever had in my
life, on Sunday, and could not sit up for a moment. It is the first
day's ailment I have had since the week we came to Simla, and very lucky
that it came before we go into camp. This day week we start. 'No ind to
my sufferens!' as some novel says.
Thursday, Nov. 1.
There! now I am quite well again, and in travelling condition; and
perhaps, setting off in such good health, marching may not be so
fatiguing as it was last year. We have had nothing but take-leave visits
the last three days. Mrs. R. sets off to-morrow with her own children
and those two little orphaned G.s, whom she is taking to England. The
wives to be left here are becoming disconsolate and fractious.
Dear J. left us for good this morning. I do not think he cared much for
_us_; but all the old servants, of whom he has had the care for eleven
years, went with all their eastern, devoted-looking ways, and took leave
of him and quite overset his nerves, and he went off in a shocking
state. After taking leave of F. he quite broke down in G.'s room, and
could not come to mine; and my jemadar came in with large tears running
down: 'Major Sahib so unhappy. He say he not able to speak to
ladyship--he cry very much!' I asked if they were all sorry he was
going. 'Yes, very. He very old gentleman at Government House, and know
everything, and very just.' And then, to wind it up with a fine piece of
language, 'he _adapt_ properly well to all lordship's poor servants.'
What that means I have not a guess, but I think it sounds comfortable;
and I see now that the fault of India is that nobody 'adapts properly
well' to my English feelings.
Sunday, Nov. 4.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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