'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
As we were passing a place called Bullhga this morning, we saw an
enormous concourse of natives, and it turned out to be a great fair for
horses. So we stopped the steamer, and persuaded G. to go on shore, just
'to go to the fair,' as we should have done at home, only we sent all
the servants with silver sticks, and took our own tonjauns and two of
the body-guard, and went in the State barge and with all the
aides-de-camp. In short, we did our little best to be imposing,
considering that we have only the steamboat apparatus to work with; but
we had hardly landed when A. came breathless from the other steamer to
say that Mr. B. and Mr. C. were both half mad at the idea of a
Governor-General going on shore in this way, and that C. was actually
dancing about the deck with rage; and A. wanted us to turn back and give
it up. Luckily, G. would not be advised to do this. They said we should
be murdered amongst other things; but in my life I never saw such a
civil, submissive set of people. Our people and the police of the place
walked on first, desiring the crowd to sit down, which they all did
instantly, crouching together and making a lane all through the fair.
They are civil creatures, and I am very fond of the natives. There were
a great many thousands of them, and some beautiful costumes; the bazaars
were full of trinkets, and pretty shawls and coloured cottons. We went
in our tonjauns, and G. walked till he was tired, which is soon done;
and A. left us quite satisfied as to our safety, and almost persuaded it
was a dignified measure. We wanted him to tell C. that he had left G. in
one of the 'merry-go-rounds,' of which there were several, but it was
not a subject that admitted of levity. ---- said the Governor-General
should never appear publicly without a regiment, and that there was no
precedent for his going to Bullhga fair. I told him we had made a
precedent, and that it would be his duty to take the next
Governor-General, be he ever so lame or infirm, to this identical fair.
We went this evening to see the Government stud. It was rather fine to
see five hundred young horses rush at once out of their stalls, and all
kick each other and then run away; but, barring that little incident,
both studs on each side of the river are rather tiresome sights--such
ugly places!
Ghazeepore, Sunday, Nov. 12.
We arrived at three. Mr. T., the brother of our late dear T., is the
Resident here, and lodges us. He had made a ghaut with a flight of steps
to his house for our landing, and the 44th Regiment, with their band,
were drawn up all round his lawn.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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