My Indian Peregrinations: The Private Letters of Charles Stewart Hardinge, 1844-1847 0896724441, 9780896724440

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My Indian Pereg vinations

My

Indian Pe regrvinations ‘The Private Letters of Charles Stewart Hardinge

1844-1847 edited by

Bawa Satinder Singh

Texas Tech University Press

VF

HIGAY

/Se

200 © Copyright 2001 Texas Tech University Press All rights reserved. No portion of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any means, including electronic storage and retrieval systems, except by explicit, prior written permission of the publisher except for brief passages excerpted for review and critical purposes.

This book was set in Cheltenham BT and President. The paper used in this book meets the minimum requirements of ANSI/NISO Z39.48-1992

(R1997).(co) Design by Bryce Burton Printed in the United States of America

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Hardinge, Charles Stewart, 1822-1894. My Indian peregrinations : the private letters of Charles Stewart Hardinge, 1844-1847 / edited by Bawa Satinder Singh. p. cm.

ISBN 0-89672-444- | 1. Hardinge, Charles Stewart, 1822-1894—Correspondence. 2. India— History—1 9th century—Sources. 3. Hardinge, Henry Hardinge, Viscount, 1785-1856. 4. India—Officials and employees—Correspondence. 5. Great Britain—-Officials and employees—-Correspondence. |. Singh, Bawa Satinder.

Il. Title. DS475.2.H14 A4 2001 954.03'15'092--de2 |

00-010762 O1 02 03 04 05 06 07 08 09/98 Texas Tech University Press Box 41037 Lubbock, Texas 79409-1037 USA

800-832-4042 [email protected] http://www. ttup.ttu.edu

765432 1

For my sons, Robin and Kevin

I shall ever look back with pleasure to my Indian peregrinations. —Charles Stewart Hardinge

CONLENTLS

Preface xi

Introduction

Illustrations Map Handwniting Sample The Letters 153

Notes

211

Select Bibliography

219

Index

PREFACE

The originals of the eighty-eight letters of Charles Stewart Hardinge, addressed to Lady Emily Hardinge and Sir Walter and Lady Sarah James, are located at the Kent County Archives, Maidstone; South Park, Penshurst, Kent; and McGill University Libraries, Montreal. To identify the location of every letter, each has been marked at the top: [A] for the letters at Maidstone; [B] for the letters at Penshurst; and [C] for those at Montreal. The original version of the letters has nearly always been maintained. Exceptions have been made only where modernization of punctuation or capitalization was necessary for clarity or where summarization and elimination of portions of some letters were required to avoid repetition of content. [he salutations and closings of the letters have not been included for the sake of brevity. Most of Charles’s letters to Emily begin with “My dear mother” and close with “Ever your affect[ionate] son,” or “Ever your

devoted son.” Letters to Walter and Sarah start with “My dear Walter” and “My dear Sarah,” and end with “Your affect[ionate] brother.” All explanations, translations, and clarifications in the text of the letters are

bracketed. I wish to express my gratitude to the American Council of Learned Societies as well as Florida State University for their generous monetary help in this task. To the late Dowager Lady Helen Hardinge of Penshurst, who granted me access to these letters, | want to record a deep in-

debtedness, and I regret that she died before the completion of my work. I am most grateful to Professor Norman Gash of St. Andrews University for providing me with insight into the England of the 1840s, and to Professor W. H. McLeod of the University of Otago in Dunedin, New Zealand, from whom I have learned a great deal about the Sikh legacy. I wish to acknowledge my thanks for the gracious permission of Her Majesty the Queen to consult Queen Victoria’s Journals at the Royal Archives in

Preface Windsor Castle. I am very thankful to the following, who have, in one way or another, assisted me in my research: Lord Julian Hardinge of Pens-

hurst, the great-great-grandson of Charles Stewart Hardinge; Dr. Peter B. Boyden, head of the Department of Archives, National Army Museum, London; Mr. Vidya Sagar Suri, former director of the Panjab State Archives; Sir Robin Mackworth-Y oung, former director of the Royal Archives at Windsor Castle; Dr. Richard Virr, curator of manuscripts,

McGill University Libraries; Mr. Paul R. Quarrie, keeper of the college collections, Eton College, Windsor; Mr. A. R. Smith, Royal Commission on Historical Manuscripts, London; Miss Ierne Grant, National Register of Archives, Scotland; Dr. Richard Kelly, National Library of Scotland; Ms. Antonia Leak, Victoria & Albert Museum; Mr. Peter M. Meadows, archivist, Pusey House, Oxford; Mr. Mark Curthoys, archivist, Christ

Church, Oxford; Miss Ruth Vyse, Oxford University Archives; Professors Richard B. Gray, William W. Rogers, and John H. Moore, Florida State University; Professor Rashid A. Malik, Florida A&M University; Ms. Lesley Rich, Kent County Archives; Ms. Henrietta Poole, Royal Academy of Arts, London; Professor Bawa Ranbir Singh, Government College, Hoshiarpur; Dr. Joanne Tanenbaum, Rickards High School, Tallahassee; Dr. Timothy H. Baughman, Benedictine College, Atchison, Kansas; Dr. Warren W. Rogers, Gainesville College, Gainesville, Georgia; Miss Amy Hornick, Escambia High School, Pensacola, Florida; and Dr. Paul George, Miami-Dade Community College, Miami, Florida. In addition, I want to express my appreciation to my colleagues Professors Richard L. Greaves and Paul G. Halpern, who patiently answered questions relating to my research. I am also much obliged for numerous courtesies extended to me by Mr. Charles E. Miller, director, Florida State University Libraries, and several members of his staff, especially Mr. Joseph

P. Pettigrew, Mr. Gregory K. Toole, and Ms. Ann L. Spangler. I am particularly indebted to Dr. Margaret S. Lutherer and Ms. Carole J. Young of Texas Tech University Press, to copyeditor Ms. Robin DuBlanc, and editorial assistant Ms. Virginia Downs for assiduous guidance in the preparation of this publication. Special thanks are due to my

son Robin, who critically reviewed the manuscript. Finally, I am grateful to my classicist wife Karrie, who, semper et ubique, lent me her support in this endeavor.

INTRODUCTION

When Charles Stewart Hardinge, the future second viscount of Lahore,

went to India as the private secretary of his father Sir Henry Hardinge,! the governor-general from 1844 to 1848, he was probably the youngest man ever to hold that position. During those years the young aide, like his father, corresponded often with his family members in Europe. Henry Hardinge’s private letters, containing significant new information on the important events and personalities of the period both in India and in England, were edited by me and published in 1986.2 Charles Hardinge’s letters also furnish a wealth of information on many facets of India and England in the mid-1840s. His observations extend to a wide assortment of subjects, including life in Calcutta, Sikh affairs, the opium trade, the Kashmir insurrection, and historical monuments

in India as well as the

Oxford Movement and noted painters in England. Most significantly, they shed further light on the governor-generalship of Henry Hardinge, whom Charles admired and idolized. No one was closer to the governor-general in India, personally or officially, and none more privy to his thoughts than his son Charles. Moreover, Charles was not quite twentytwo when he began his career in India, and thus his letters tend to be perhaps less constrained and more outspoken about what he witnessed, read, or heard when he wrote to his mother Emily Jane,? his half brother Walter James,4 and Walter’s wife, Sarah Caroline.> There are hints that he also

corresponded with his younger sisters Frances Elizabeth® and Emily Caroline, but those letters remain untraced and are probably lost. Charles Stewart Hardinge was born in London on September 12, 1822. After his early education, which probably included private tutoring, he was sent to Eton. It is unclear how many years he spent at the school, but available records indicate that he was there as early as the autumn of 1835. While at Eton, Charles became an enthusiastic oarsman and in

Introduction

1836 he won several races.” It was also perhaps at Eton that he demonstrated a talent for sketching and painting, skills he put to good use, especially when he was in India, and which ultimately proved lifelong passions with him. Leaving Eton, he was admitted to Christ Church at Oxford in the summer of 1840. His career at Christ Church did not begin auspiciously, for in 1841 the dean placed him on academic probation.§ However, his scholastic performance improved and, exhibiting special interest in Western civilization and literature, he received a B.A. degree with third-class honors in classics during the Easter term of 1844. His classical studies made a lasting impression on him; his Indian letters are liberally sprinkled with Latin terms and references to ancient history. It was while he was an undergraduate that he sustained a serious injury, reportedly in a boating accident, that required the surgical removal of a foot and probably a part of his leg.? This tragedy occurred in the summer of 1842 and compelled him to miss the following Michaelmas term at Oxford.'!9 He was required to use a false leg for the rest of his years, and there are references to this in the letters of both Charles and his father from India. This accident greatly affected Charles's future, for he had long wished to seek a full-fledged professional career in the army but was of necessity forced to abandon his plans. Nonetheless, he persevered and his life afterwards, especially his travels in India, suggests that he seldom permitted this handicap to prevent him from doing whatever he set out to do. Undoubtedly the example of his father, whose left hand had to be amputated after it was ruptured by cannon shot at the Battle of Ligny in 1815, helped

him to accept his own loss. Indeed, during the Sikh War Henry Hardinge, while making rounds of the English camp hospital, comforted the wounded “by showing them a govr. Genl. without a hand & his son without a foot.” Charles had barely graduated from Oxford when he set out for India with Henry Hardinge in the second week of June 1844, arriving in Calcutta on July 22 via France, Egypt, and Aden. They were accompanied by Robert Wood,'? a nephew of the governor-general, whom

pointed his top aide-de-camp.

In January

he had ap-

1845 they were joined by

Charles’s younger brother Arthur.!3 These four men became an exception-

ally close-knit group and formed the innermost circle within the governorgeneral's household and his government at large. The Hardinge party reached India at an unpleasant time of the year—

July being one of the most oppressively hot and humid months in Calcutta.

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Introduction

The young private secretary, who called Calcutta’s climate a “vapor bath,” was never quite reconciled to it. Though he watched his diet, exercised regularly, and seldom ventured outside the family quarters in the daytime during the summer months, he fell prey more than once to heat-related afflic-

tions. Perhaps he compounded the problem by over-treating himself; his brother Arthur remarked that “he would be better if he did not dose him-

self with pills at bedtime.”'4 Nevertheless, Charles soon adjusted to the demands of his official duties.

His responsibilities included copying Henry Hardinge’s excruciatingly long official letters, occasionally corresponding personally on his father’s behalf with various people regarding sensitive political matters in India, and managing the finances of the governor-general’s large household establishment. He also dealt (ever so reluctantly) with numerous public complaints as well as the large volume of applications for government patronage. Sometimes he assisted in the drafting ofhis father’s addresses, such as the ones he delivered at Calcutta colleges, a chore Charles obviously enjoyed. Perhaps his most important function was serving as his father’s appointments secretary, for he thus usually determined who would gain access to the governor-general. Although mindful that his son was a novice at his post, Hardinge had complete trust in him and was pleased with his work. He described Charles at that time as shy but “manly, straight forward, & substantially civil but rarely complimentary.”!® Not everyone, however, was satisfied with Charles’s role and the degree of power his father had delegated to him. Characteristic of such disgruntlement was an editorial that appeared in the Englishman, a Calcutta daily, which called his appointment “unjudicious.” Insisting that he was unquallified for the job, the editor launched an attack against Charles, declaring: “A very young man, wholly ignorant of Indian affairs, not even understanding the terms which are unavoidably used in explaining ordinary matters of official business, could hardly, under any circumstances, satisfactorily fill an office which requires great abilities and long Indian experience.” Complaining that the governor-general had broken a long-standing tradition of personally listening to all petitioners, the writer accused him of “se-

cluding himself” and making his son “the channel of communication between himself and all official men, except two or three members of the sec-

retariat.”'7 Charles issued no public rejoinder but privately claimed that the criticism of the editor of the Englishman had resulted from his not having been invited to a ball at Government House. He dismissed the editor’s

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denunciation, asserting, “As long as no one can make out that I neglect my duty & that I give satisfaction to the g. general, it matters very very little what an editor may say” (letter 32). Charles’s life in Calcutta was not all stress and drudgery. He enjoyed riding and set up a small stable of his own horses. He was amused by the large, elaborate balls, which were always crowded in spite of the unbearable temperatures (letters 18—19), and by the rites of courtship in the British community of Calcutta (letters 13, 15, and 22). As an artist he was particularly impressed by the uniqueness of Indian subjects and found time

to make a number of sketches. He sent his work home to England for safekeeping, informing his family that he considered his drawings a journal of his stay in the country. However, his most exciting diversion proved to be his participation in “pig-sticking,” the sport of hunting wild boars on horseback with spears.'§ These sturdy, squealing boars, over three feet tall with sharp tusks and bristles a foot and a half long, provided a thrilling element of danger as they could, if not quickly and effectively speared, charge swiftly, kill the horse, and wound the rider. Some considered pig-sticking equal to or even more exciting than fox- or tiger-hunting. During the winter months Charles made several trips in pursuit of these animals in the dense jungles of Bengal and soon acquired a reputation as one of the best boar hunters in Calcutta. The governor-general was proud of his son’s exploits, all the more so because he realized that his son’s hunting ability had been unaffected by his physical impairment. In March 1845, after one of Charles’s especially successful forays, an exuberant Hardinge wrote to his wife: “Charley has come home this morning like David, having with his own spear slain the Goliath of boars in single combat, piercing him at the first tilt through & through &, when his horse would not go up to the savage beast, dismounting and putting him out of his pain on foot. He is the best & boldest rider here, & it is a great consolation to me to find that his cruel accident does not disqualify him from excelling in the most expert & daring of all sports.”!9 The pig-sticking season ended in early April and, with the advent of hot weather in Bengal, the Hardinges turned their thoughts to plans, contemplated since late 1844, of traveling to the cooler climes of the northwest.

The decision to embark on the trip was necessitated by the worsening political conditions in the Sikh kingdom and the possibility of an Anglo-Sikh conflict. Charles particularly looked forward to the opportunity of escaping from what he termed “this swamp.” It was also to afford him the opportunity to explore India and sketch a variety of new subjects. The journey

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Introduction

commenced late in September and culminated nine weeks later at Ambala near the Panjab border. The Hardinges traveled by steamer, by palanquin, and by carriage, sometimes drawn by horses and at other times pulled by men. On the way they visited many towns, including Benares, Allahabad, Agra, Fatehpur Sikri, and Delhi. Though Charles suffered from short spells of sickness on the way, he seemed quite caught up in the excitement of seeing the country. He spent a great deal of time visiting and drawing historical landmarks. Aided by his steadfast zeal as an artist and a special talent for drawing a genuine likeness of a new setting in a few hours, he succeeded in compiling a large portfolio of sketches. He also found time to write about the sites he depicted. Of one of these, the Taj Mahal at Agra, he wrote: “[S]uch is its purity of design that no drawing or imitation can give anyone who has not seen it a correct idea of its perfection. On entering the courtyard I fancied myself suddenly transported like another Aladdin to the land of fairies & genies. . . . But any description or imitation must fall very far short of the reality. It is worth a man’s while to come from Europe & brave the tropical sun to let his eyes feast upon the scene” (letter 32). However, Charles lost a golden opportunity to sketch the Mughal emperor when the two men caught a glimpse of each other in the royal gardens at Delhi. The sovereign expressed a desire to meet him, but Charles demurred, fearing he might be required to pay him homage. When the Hardinges arrived at Ambala late in November, they were surprised to find that conditions on the Sikh frontier at the Sutle} River were fast deteriorating. Despite the worsening anarchy in the Panjab state, the governor-general had not expected a clash of arms with the Sikhs in 1845. The bloody war, involving four major battles, broke out on the banks of the Sutlej on December 18 and did not end in British victory until February 10. Though a civilian, Charles remained throughout most of the war with Henry Hardinge, who had voluntarily chosen to be second in command to Hugh Gough, the commander in chief. During a heavy exchange of fire at the Battle of Mudki on December 18, Charles refused to

leave the battlefront in spite of his father’s urging, saying, “Wherever you go, sir, I will certainly attend you.”2! He rendered what assistance he could to the wounded and dying, who lay all around them. Among those he at-

tempted to help at Mudki was Major Arthur Somerset, one of the governor-general’s aides-de-camp, “who died in Charles’s arms.”?? The second 21 and 22, battle, at Ferozeshah (Firuzshahar, Pheroshahr) on December

was so furiously waged by the Sikhs that it led many Englishmen to remark

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Introduction

later that India was nearly lost to them during that contest. When the Sikhs launched a particularly vigorous offensive on the 21st, the governor-general, over Charles’s objections and pleas, ordered his son to the rear, claiming his civilian status prohibited his staying in the combat zone. However,

Charles yielded only temporarily and was reunited with his father the next day even though the battle continued.?3 Neither of the Hardinges participated in the Battle of Aliwal on January 28, 1846, but Charles was still very much by the governor-general’s side in the midst of the fighting during the fourth and final battle on February 10 at Sobraon. The sight of the hard-fought Sikh battles once again revived in him his ambition to join the army, but his father dissented. “I will not allow Charles to wear a red coat,” Hardinge wrote to his wife, “excepting in Leicestershire with the fox

hounds.”24 In spite of his deep involvement in the most important event of his father’s term of office in India, Charles still found time to write about it. He has left behind some of the best eyewitness accounts not only of the war itself but also of the behind-the-scenes politics relating to it. He provides considerable details on the reasons for the governor-general’s dissatisfaction with Gough’s military leadership, though his partiality toward his father is quite evident (letters 38—41 and 44). He also describes the political situation inside the Sikh kingdom during the conflict. While very critical of the invasion by the Sikhs, claiming with a tinge of exaggeration that “[n]ever in the annals of history was there ever so shameful & unprovoked an aggression” (letter 45), he nevertheless found instances in which to admire his antagonists’ gallantry. One such example is to be found in a memorable passage narrating the fate of adoomed Sikh warrior as he was being swept across the Sutlej in the aftermath of Sobraon: “Then ensued a scene which baffles all description. I shall never forget it—our soldiers were

driving their enemy headlong into the Sutlege, which was completely choked with dead and dying. We stopped one man who was levelling his musket at a dying Sikh in the river and to whom we promised protection if he chose to come to shore. The dying man shook his head as much as to say that he would never give into the feringhees and floated down the stream” (letter 45). Charles never did forget the valor and honor of the Sikhs. More than

forty-five years later, he eloquently recalled in his short biography of Henry Hardinge the Sikh soldiers’ idolization of their field guns in the aftermath of the Battle of Mudki: “Heaped around the captured cannon, fifteen in

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Introduction

number, lay the stalwart forms of the Sikh gunners, locked in death’s last embrace. How the native reveres his guns was well exemplified.”2°

Charles also recorded the postwar negotiations with the Panjab government, the British entry into the Sikh capital of Lahore, and the signing of the peace accords in March 1846. As normalcy returned to the governorgeneral’s camp, Charles’s nearly dormant drawing pencil was finally put back into motion. He sketched various Lahore monuments and Sikh leaders, and even drew a portrait of the boy maharajah of Panjab, but his attempt to record the beauty of the queen mother, “the handsomest woman in the East,” ended in rather amusing failure (letter 50). No sooner had peace been restored than Henry Hardinge proceeded to Simla while a party of several Europeans, including Charles and Arthur, set out for a tour of the newly created mountainous state of Jammu and Kashmir. Arthur Hay,”° a guest of the Hardinges who joined the group, was not quite sure that the Hardinge brothers, especially Charles, were capable of meeting the physical challenges such a strenuous trip would entail: “The two Hardinges, though very nice persons, can’t speak a word of the language & being both very delicate & one minus a foot will not do much as go far in a country where you must trust to your own legs for getting along as part of the roads do not admit either mules or ponies. ””” Nonetheless, Charles survived this hazardous but adventuresome trip, as did his brother and the rest of the group. Starting from Ludhiana on March 28, the party arrived at Jammu on April 14 and was royally received by the maharaja of Kashmir, newly installed by the British, who treated them to hunting and sightseeing in the environs of the town. On April 18 the group set out northward, traveling by foot and ferry boats, over rope bridges, and on mules and elephants, following a twisting route designed to pass through many mountain towns and villages and thus providing Charles with the opportunity to sketch the exquisitely beautiful scenery. Arriving in Kashmir City (Srinagar) on May 2,”° Charles was captivated by the fabled vale of Kashmir, and he moved excitedly from place to place, producing some of his loveliest sketches of lakes, boats, and mosques, with the snowcapped Himalayas in the background. Back at Simla,

Hardinge followed with keen interest news ofhis sons’ travels. He was convinced that their experiences would “emancipate them & enlarge their

minds,” but by May he was lonely and confided to Walter: “I miss Charles & Arthur more than I can express. A thousand little confidences pass be-

tween us, & I long for their return.””’ Perhaps for this reason, combined with a desire to return to his responsibilities as private secretary, Charles

ral

Introduction

started back from Srinagar on May 12, leaving Arthur and some other members of his party to venture into Ladakh and Iskardu. Traveling through what is now the state of Himachal Pradesh,” he rejoined his father at Simla in mid-June. The governor-general, who was eagerly awaiting his arrival, was delighted. “Fortunately Charles has returned,” he wrote, “or I think I should have deserted my post.””! While on tour Charles had learned that the viscountcy of Lahore had been bestowed on his father, the conferment of which would one day make

him the second viscount. Another piece of good tidings that reached him soon after his arrival in Simla was the news that some of his sketches were to be published in London. The moving force behind the drive to publish them was J. D. Harding,” his art teacher and patron in England. Plans were made to produce not only a selection of his earlier work from India but also his anticipated drawings from Kashmir. That mountain state still had for most Europeans the image of a remote and mysterious part ofthe world, and there was interest about the artistic insight the young Hardinge would provide. Charles’s thrill over the prospect of the publication ofhis sketches is quite evident (letters 52, 54, and 59-60). However, while he hurried to

send his latest drawings to England, he barely used his pencil in Simla. He considered it unappealing because the snowy mountain ranges were too far from it. He also busied himself with official work, and his letters of this period contain excellent accounts of affairs in postwar Panjab as well as details ofa rebellion that broke out in Kashmir against its new ruler (letters 54—5 and 57-60). They reveal an ever-increasing comprehension of Indian affairs. As winter approached, the Hardinges set out at October’s end on a

five-month tour of northern India that took them all the way through the Panjab hill districts annexed after the Sikh War to the Dun Valley, where they were to indulge in some tiger-hunting. Charles enjoyed camp life, only

too pleased to escape the bureaucratic formalities at Simla. Yet even while living in tents, the Hardinges were pursued everywhere by official red boxes. As at Simla, the lower mountains they were traversing (which, in the words of Arthur, had “few of the beauties but most of the inconveniences of their higher ranges”) did not fully inspire the artist in

Charles. Still, he did make a few sketches, including his striking depiction of the historic Kangra Fort high above the Beas River. Since the fort was

later leveled by an earthquake, this may be one of the few surviving likenesses of the imposing edifice. This trip also gave Charles an opportunity

to reflect on distinct Indian characteristics learned from his own experiences,

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and he penned some Kiplingesque observations—ranging from comments on various Indian attitudes and practices to remarks on the peculiar work habits of Indian minions (letters 62—3, 73). Though he was home-

sick for England and not too fond of Indian weather and life there in general, it is obvious in his writings that he also admired what the country had to offer: “Every place in India has some object of interest, some old fort or castle to which is attached some legend so that, were it not for the climate, which compels you to keep yourself within the walls of your tent until the sun shows symptoms of its being about to sink below the horizon, the East and the East alone is the country which possesses peculiar charms for the artist, geologist, or antiquarian” (letter 62). He seemed grateful for his many experiences in the East and wrote, “I shall ever look back with pleasure to my Indian peregrinations” (letter 64). As the grand journey of the governor-general’s retinue continued, it moved into the plains in mid-November and by slow marches reentered the Sikh kingdom a month later. Charles was again a close spectator of the latest events in the northwest and provides valuable and unrestrained accounts of the aftereffects of the Kashmir rebellion and the establishment of new arrangements with Lahore (letters 63—8). While he was in Panjab, the memories of the horrendous battles fought just a year ago were also very much on Charles’s mind. Prompted by melancholy and nostalgia, he returned in February 1847 to the former battleground of Ferozeshah and discovered that “[n]othing remains to mark the different points of attack except the bleached skeletons of men and horses which are scattered in that spot where the fire was hottest, and the plough has turned upon the soil where many a gallant spirit fell” (letter 71). Maintaining an unhurried pace, the Hardinge party moved from Panjab, inspecting various sites and tending to official correspondence as well as hunting and enjoying the crisp wintry days of northern India before returning to Simla late in March. While still on tour, Henry Hardinge was irked by Gough’s suggestion that the governor-general had urged the commander in chiefto retreat on the critical night of December 21 at the Battle

of Ferozeshah. The dispute deteriorated into an acrimonious confrontation between the two men at Simla. Gough finally retracted the charge, but Hardinge’s feelings were not easily placated, and Charles believed that the commander in chief had “behaved most shabbily.” Because this angry but private correspondence is no longer in existence, Charles in his letters provides perhaps the only direct account available of the rift between the two men (letters 74—5 and 77).

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During this, his last sojourn in Simla, the private secretary kept up his normal pace, and Hardinge remained well satisfied with his son’s achievements: “Charles as usual is very steady in all his ways, prudent & moderate in all his desires & very popular.”** However, his sketching pencil remained idle—except once, when he penetrated deep into the Himalayas. There, near Narkanda, about forty miles from Simla, he was held spellbound by the jutting range of snowy mountains, “which of its kind is perhaps the finest in the world” (letter 80).

At Simla his mind also turned toward the publication of his sketches, and he sent extensive instructions to the publishers. Before they were lithographed and put to press, his original drawings were exhibited at the Haymarket in London. His work was finally published later in 1847 ina 14%" x 174" volume entitled Recollections of India. Two versions of it

appeared—one in black and white, the other colorized. The Times praised the sketches for their “freshness and accuracy,” saying, “Mr. Hardinge [has] copied nature as she is, and not attempted by the aids of composition to produce pleasing pictures and imaginary landscapes.” It added, “The work is a very valuable accession to the arts, and to the knowledge of Oniental affairs.”*° , Despite a successful term of service, by 1847 Charles was ready to return to England and “bid adieu to the pestilential vapours of India” (letter 81). The Hardinges left Simla on October 26, returning to Calcutta on December | 1. Sailing down the Ganges, Charles pondered on what he considered to be the triumphant governor-generalship ofhis father. He felt that he too had learned a great deal in India. However, while he was uncertain of his future, Charles had no regrets over leaving, maintaining that he would depart “without casting one longing lingering look upon the shores of Bengal” (letter 88). On January 18, 1848, the Hardinges sailed out of Calcutta. Though Arthur Hardinge was to serve on the subcontinent again, Charles never did return to India. Back in England at age twenty-five, Charles had to look for an occupation to keep himself busy. In July 1848 he partially satisfied his longstanding desire to join the regular army by entering the First Volunteer Battalion Royal West Kent Regiment as a captain; he served in that position for four years.*° He also tried his hand at politics and was sent to the Commons without opposition in 1851 from Downpatrick in Ireland. Elected as a Tory, he espoused the political views of his Protestant constituents, most of whom were against any attempt by the British Parliament to grant any

further concessions to the Catholics since the Catholic Emancipation Act

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Introduction

of 1829. Ata post-election celebration he assured his audience that he was “opposed to all unnecessary innovation and unnecessary legislative interference.”*’ And, like a good budding politician looking to his reelection bid five years hence, he also stirred his listeners’ pride by referring to the “enthusiastic devotion and indomitable courage [with which] the Irish soldier fought” at Ferozeshah. However, Charles never again had to depend on voters to send him to Parliament. He became a member of the House of Lords with the passing of his father on September 24, 1856. Once in the Lords, however, the second viscount of Lahore did not take a very active part in politics. He did serve briefly as the under secretary of war in Lord Derby’s government in 1858—59,** but in later years rose only occasionally in the Lords to speak on public affairs. He preferred to spend most of his time at his country estate of South Park, near the village of Penshurst in Kent, which he had inherited from his father. On April 10, 1856, he had married Lavinia, the third and youngest daughter of the earl of Lucan.*’ During eight years of marriage she was nearly always in the family way, giving birth to eight children. Lavinia died on September 15, 1864, when she was only twenty-nine, having been confined again just a fortnight earlier. Charles never remarried and raised his children singlehandedly. Among his five sons none showed more promise than his second son, Charles (1858-1944). Joining the British Foreign Service in 1880,*” he went on to serve as ambassador to Russia and

France and followed in the footsteps of his grandfather to become the viceroy of India from 1910 to 1916. In 1910 he was created the first Baron Hardinge of Penshurst. The second viscount was equally devoted to the other members of his family. He remained close to his brother Arthur, who went on to become

the commander in chief of Bombay from 1881 to 1885 and died in 1892 from head injuries suffered in a carriage accident.*! Charles showed concern about the health of his younger sister Emily, who never married and died in 1876. And his familial partisanship was very evident when the husband of his sister Frances, Major General Cunynghame, was superseded as the commander in chief of the South African army by Major General Sir Garnet Wolseley.“ To his brother-in-law he described Wolseley, who in 1895 became the commander in chief of the entire British army, as “a bit of a humbug,” adding, “[He] is not I think the great man some people wd. make out.”*’ Later he sardonically remarked to Frances: “The fact of it is, the Govt. here think Sir Garnet is a Second

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Wellington”“* and proceeded to send out letters of complaint supporting his brother-in-law to Lord Carnarvon, the colonial secretary.” To no one else, however, was his loyalty stronger than to his late father. This is clearly evident in the occasional debate over the issues relating to his rule in India. Upon the eruption of the Mutiny in 1857, R. M. Milnes,*° a member of Commons, suggested that Hardinge had failed to heed the warning even after detecting hints of restiveness among the sepoys. Charles denied that there were any such discernible signs, adding that all the recent governors-general and commanders in chief “were as little apprehensive of a general rising as Ld. Canning [the last governorgeneral] was before the flame was ignited.”*’ On another occasion, when a historian*® reported in 1886 that Gough had on the eve of Sobraon rejected Hardinge’s advice not to launch the invasion because of heavy Sikh entrenchments, Charles publicly questioned the veracity of that account. In a letter to the Times, he wrote, quoting from the official dispatches of the

period, that Hardinge had recommended such a course to Gough only if the artillery could not be brought into action and if that would lead to heavy British casualties. Charles added that “the two chiefs were agreed, both before and during the action, as to the plan of operations and how they should be carried out.””” Charles also continued his active interest in the arts during his later life. He made several painting trips to the Continent. In 1856—57 he even went to the Crimea to sketch the battle sites of the war. He won recognition as a painter ofdistinction and between 1851 and 1876 as many as nineteen of his works, both of India and of Europe, were exhibited at the Royal Acad-

emy of Arts.”? He was elected a member of the board of trustees of the National Portrait Gallery in 1868 and unanimously voted its chairman in 1875; he held that position until his death. Charles suffered a paralytic stroke, probably in 1891. In the following year, as if in final tribute to Charles’s contribution to art, a four-part exhibition was held at Park Lane that displayed eighty of his paintings and included works depicting scenes from India, Crimea, Europe, and Britain.’!

After a protracted illness brought on by this stroke, Charles died on July 28, 1894, at South Park. He was buried on August 2 in Fordcombe churchyard near South Park, not far from the grave of his father.

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C. S. Hardinge. By Sir Francis Grant. Courtesy of Lady Helen Hardinge, South

Park, Penshurst.

Lady Lavinia Hardinge. By Sir Francis Grant. Courtesy of Sevenoaks Library, Sevenoaks, Kent.

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8) ureyde ’ who is now a miserable old man—stripped of all authority and in fact a mere puppet in our hands.” The govt. still allow every outward form of regal dignity to be adhered to, and till lately no European officer could visit him without paying him a nuzzur, or tribute, amounting to £30. This has very properly been discontinued, which is one of the sources of complaint which Mr. George Thompson has to bring ag[ain]st the govt.”°> The old king spends his time chiefly in shooting, and the poverty of his family is such that some of his sons may be seen carrying on petty trade in the city for their livelihood. Still he considers himself “every inch” a king, addresses the political agent in the terms of “slave” & “infidel” and talks of “my royal sister of England.”

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As I was strolling out the other morning with my sketch book, I fell in with his cortége as His Majesty was enjoying the cool air of the morning. He saw that I was an Englishman and immediately sent one of his officers to desire that Iwould come up & make my “salaam” to him. As I should in this case have been assailed with the demand of tribute, I politely declined the honor, although I must say the picturesque & motley appearance of his retinue tempted me to bend the knee with a view of putting His Majesty & suite on a sheet ofJ.D. H[arding]’s Faraday-tested paper. His palace bears the remains of the splendor of the Mahommedans— marble halls whose minarets are now crumbling to dust; mosques which formerly were thronged with the retainers of the Moguls are now filled with rubbish.7*° At Agra the ancient remains are kept in good order at the expense of govt. but here, owing to the king’s making it his place of residence, the govt. cannot interfere to repair the buildings. If you ascend any one of these lofty buildings and look over the vast plain, you see remains of tombs etc. for miles, which gives you a tolerable idea of what must have been formerly their villas of splendor. My time for sketching is so limited both by the climate and my other occupations that I seldom have time to do more than make a correct outline and dash in the effect of light and shade. The result is perhaps more pleasing than a more elaborate sketch. I hear you have improved amazingly.~>’ Harding always said you only wanted a little practice in yr. manipulation. I hear occasionally from my brother amateur Boulton,**’ who is quite an enthusiast about the arts. He tells me our friend Harding has never forgiven Ruskin for anticipating his attack on the old Masters by publishing his work ofwhich all the ideas, he says, have been borrowed from conversa-

tions held with Ruskin in his studio. I always thought it [was] the case, and it turns out that the publication of Ruskin’s book obliges the great Harding to expunge 2 thirds of his manuscript” which misfortune was attributed to the failure of lithotint!! This is worth anything. Everything as to Indian politics is going on favorably. The Punjab is in a much more satisfactory state since the late revolution, and it is to be hoped nothing will take place this year. Lord Aberdeen, who differed with the B[oar]d of Control and the govt. here as to whether the Imaum of Muscat was to be protected from the inroads and aggressions of the Wahabees by a land or marine force, has since come round entirely and thinks with Sir Henry that a naval demonstration in the Persian Gulph will answer every purpose.?”°

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The Court have entirely approved of Sir Henry’s plans with respect to the fortifications at Aden, and on every other question they appear to be on the best possible terms with the govt. here. My mother writes in excellent spirits. I only hope, now that the excitement of Fanny’s marriage is over, that she will not give way to low spirits. Love to Sarah and the baby. This note [is] for her as well as you.

36. [To Emily.] Delhi. Novr. 19, 1845 [B] I have not time to write you a very long epistle by this mail, but I must tell you we are all quite well & enjoying the bracing air which we now have in the mor[nin] gs & which does us all good. You gave so short an account of yr. doings that I hardly know how the wedding went off. Emily did not even write & tell me whether her dress was well-trimmed, but I can imagine it was all arranged as well as we could wish. I hope Walter acted the padre & looked as patriarchal as possible. We hear from all quarters that Cunynghame is a general favorite, & I fell in the other day with a Major Grant who was on the staff with him in China & who speaks of him in the highest possible terms. My father is as well as usual, takes more exercise than he did at Calcutta, & is much less hunted & harassed by these eternal red boxes than when there. We leave this place in the evening for Karnaul where we meet the commander in chief. There is much to admire in this ancient capital of the Mogul emperors. The mosque is the finest in the world & the king’s palace, built of marble, must formerly have been a fine specimen of the splendor & pomp of the

Musselman empire. The present king still retains all the outward forms & emblems of royalty, lives in a secluded part of the palace, & in fact looks upon himself as a sovereign possessed of supreme power. His Majesty is and his court and keep only allowed a sufficient stipend to maintain himself up appearances of royalty.*°! The Punjab is more quiet than it has been for some time.

We intend to delay providing you with Cashmere shawls until we arrive at Simla. Sarah & Walter write in good spirits & the baby [is] flourishing.

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37. [To Walter.] Camp Umballa. Dec. 2, 1845 [C]

We have all been so much occupied for the last few days with expectation of an outbreak in the Punjab that I have had but little time to write my overland letters. However, today the news from Lahore was of rather a

more pacific character. What has taken place is briefly this. There are two contending parties in Lahore—the English and the anti-English party. The latter, at whose head is an intriguing slave girl?°?

who has great influence with them, succeeded in urging the troops to demand their arrears of pay and, in the event of their failing to receive this, to compel the existing govt. to lead them against the English. The ranee, conceiving her own life to be in danger as well as that of her lovers Lal Singh & Tej Singh,*® who are at the head of the troops, and knowing that the treasury could not satisfy their demands, consented to march them to the Sutlege. The order to march was given, and the whole of the Sikh [army] was to have attacked our frontier in 7 divisions. The receipt of this intelligence produced no small degree of excitement on our side of the river. The political agent, fearing that they might keep to their word and really fire the first shot, rather hastily advised Sir Hugh Gough to move up 3 reg[imen|ts of inf[antry] and 2 of Europ[ean] cav[alrly from Meerut, a

station about 20 marches from the frontier. This has, of course, put everyone on the “qui vive.” [he ladies are enquiring where they are to be sent to and officers are congratulating themselves on the prospect of promotions. This will, I fear, have the effect of depriving the govt. for a time of its character for quiet & steady forbearance. However, matters have changed since the first report came in. The march of our troops was countermanded in consequence of the news which arrived from Lahore the day following that on which the Ist report was received, which was to the effect that the army had determined upon consulting the astrologers before they set out, that the latter had pronounced the day appointed to be an ill-omened one, and [that] no propitious day would occur before the 25th November. The troops were furious & separated, threatening to murder the heads of the existing govt. and to bring in Golab Singh of Jummoo. The arrears of revenue have not been paid for many months, the landholders refusing to adjust their accounts in consequence of the unsettled state of the country,-™ and one of the devices of the ranee & her advisers to

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pacify this rabble of an army was to give them assignments on the revenue in lieu of their pay if they would undertake to go & collect it by force. The Lahore vakeel sent word the following day that 2 brigades had marched from Lahore in spite of the remonstrances of the astrologers & had arrived at a station halfway between Lahore & the Sutlege.2° On ascertaining this to be a fact, Broadfoot, the political agent, had addressed a letter to the [Sikh] government demanding an explanation & enquiring why these hostile demonstrations have taken place. To this no reply has as yet been sent, and rumours are abroad that the Sikh govt. intend making certain demands with which it will be impossible to comply. The troops are still clamorous for their pay and declare that, if the ranee cannot satisfy their claims,*®° they will put Golab Singh on the throne and murder the former & her lovers. This is what will probably take place, and it would be the best turn which affairs could take. The ranee & her advisers are a most profligate, unprincipled set & will never be able to establish a govt. with any prospect of its being a stable one. On the [other] hand, Golab S. is a most able & cautious man, although a great scoundrel, & will probably be anxious to keep on good terms with us. If he can carry the army with him & collect the revenue with regularity, all will yet be well; if not, the outbreak

must take place sooner or later. On arriving here, Sir Henry found that Sir Hugh Gough had made no arrangements for relieving the troops which were to advance, that the commissariat supplies had not been provided—in short, that he [had] not anticipated, which he ought to have done, any movement in advance. However, Sir Henry with his usual energy soon pointed out to him what was wanting and, by giving the Sikh merchants in our protected states a percentage on the supplies given, a sufficient no. of troops can be collected on the frontier—say 40,000—to show the Sikhs they cannot face us with impunity. The notion at Lahore is that the Court, who are supposed to have recalled Lord E[llenborough] owing to his annexation of Scinde, have sent out his successor with instructions to subsidize the Punjab if interference should really be necessary and not to occupy it with a British force. They speak of us as “the terrified English” & “submissive feringhees. °°’

Some 20 or 30 of our sepoys have, I am sorry to say, deserted to their ranks.7°* Sir Henry’s opinion is that the ranee & her party will be murdered and Golab Singh will, he hopes, be able to establish a permanent Sikh

My Indian Peregrinations

govt.—at any rate sufficiently permanent to avert hostilities for another year. Sir H. Gough is an old woman, has never before served on the staff & knows but little of military operations on a large scale. His staff know but little more, & Sir Henry is consequently very anxious that hostilities should be avoided if possible. Since leaving Delhi we have passed through a flat country devoid of much interest excepting the different character of the inhabitants. The Sikhs in our protected states are a very fine race of men—tall, soldierlike, each man carrying his shield & matchlock, and generally mounted on horses on which they perform all sorts of military evolutions. Yesterday we came in sight of the Himalayas & the snowy range, which is [a] fine sight from the low plains. I have not done much in the sketching line since I left Delhi excepting studies of figures of which there is in this country a most picturesque variety. I have been much annoyed by having 6 or 7 of my sketches stolen by some native painter, I suspect, who came to my tent at Delhi. It is a great bore, as I feel that any little scrap I do here will be a memento of India hereafter. Camp life is very pleasant. We march at 6 o'clock every morning about 12 miles & then devour breakfast with a ravenous appetite. In the afternoon about 4 I generally stroll out with my sketch book or my gun. The game in these parts is confined to black partridges & quail, but, if we march through the valley of the river Dhoon””’ at the foot of the Himalayas, we shall fall in with tigers. Decr. 4

The latest news is that Sir Henry has been obliged to dismiss the vakeel, or envoy from the Lahore govt., in consequence

of his letter of remon-

strance to the darbar remaining unacknowledged. This will show that our govt. is not to be trifled with; and this morning it was reported that the artillery had advanced from Lahore 40 miles towards the frontiers. Sir Henry adheres to his former opinion that no aggressive movement place. 270 Love to Sarah & the baby.

will take

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38. [To Emily.] Camp Umbialla. Decr. 4th, 1845 [B]

I have just time to write to you a few lines before the mail goes out as we have all been very much occupied with this Punjab affair. Sir H[enry] has no doubt given you a correct acct. of all that has taken place & that, altho’ the aspect of affairs is menacing, there are still strong grounds for his adhering to his former opinion that no aggressive movement will take place. The present govt. at Lahore is on its last legs & what we all expect is that the regent & her party will be murdered; that Golab Singh, the only chief who has any chance of being able to carry on the govt., will be called on to take their place; that the revenue will then be regularly collected (which it has not been for several months); & that the soldiers will receive their pay as usual. This is all the latter want; those that have received it have gone away contented, & the men who are urging the regent & her party to advance ag[ains]t us are the discontented rabble who have not received pay. They have marched 1200 men nearly halfway between Lahore & our frontier, & each account brings us news of an addition to their force. Sir H.’s impression is that when they find that we take no notice of their hostile movements further than by asking for explanations, they will retrieve their steps, murder the heads of the existing govt., & bring on Golab Singh, the uncle of the young king. But this is only speculation.*”! Sir Henry found the commissariat arrange[men]ts very defective. Sir Hugh Gough had really done nothing in anticipation of our frontier being attacked, & the plan of operations which he laid before Sir Henry was anything but a good one. He is not the man to have charge of a large force. My father is remarkably well, altho’ all these matters must, of course, keep him in continual hot water. The climate at this season in the upper provinces is so far superior to that of Calcutta that it braces you up for the time, & you find you are able to go through more work & take more exercise. He takes his ride every morning & looks as vigorous & as energetic as ever. Ben is quite well & as amusing as ever. The commander in chief is pitched close to our camp, and the large force collected here extends for several miles in different directions. We gave a dinner of 80 yesterday to Sir H. Gough & today he returns the com-

pliment. Lady Sale & her party are here & are always bothering me to know if we are going to have what she calls a “scrimmage” with the Sikhs. She is quite a Moll Flaggon.*”” Lady Gough looks like a very respectable housekeeper but is a clever woman,

& Sir Hugh is a fine specimen of a

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soldier but nothing more. Then there are a host of women who follow in their train—some pleasant, others the reverse. The country about here is a desert, & there is nothing to sketch except figures, which are picturesque in the extreme. I enjoy the camp life amazingly &, now that we are on the frontier and every post brings news more or less exciting, it keeps one on the “qui vive” continually. In this climate you cannot exist without some kind of mental excitement which acts as a tonic to the system. Love to all. 39. [To Walter.] Camp, 29 miles from Loodianah on the Sutlege. Decr. 13, 1845 [B]

Since I last wrote to you we have all been in hot water, and everything now gives note of “deadly preparation.” In my last letter I told you that no

answer had been sent to the letter of remonstrance dispatched by our political agent in consequence of the orders given to the Lahore troops to advance. Up to that time no actual hostile demonstration had taken place, although everyone saw that the storm was gathering and that the only event that could possibly prevent a collision was the murder of the present govt. [leaders] and the establishment of a new govt. at Lahore. Each day’s post has brought us news which has prepared us for the approaching crisis. The regular and irregular troops of the Sikhs have been moving by slow marches towards the Sutlege, but we have, notwithstanding, reckoned on their pausing before they attempted to approach our frontier and strike the first blow, which they have now done at their peril. Sir Henry was walking before his tent this morning talking over matters with Major Broadfoot, the political agent in our protected states, when a courier galloped up, bringing with him a scrap of paper, sealed, which had been sent off by the agent at Ferozpore’” and briefly stated that eight battalions of the Sikh army had crossed the river a little way above Ferozpore and that the rest of the army were crossing at the time he wrote. This has not found Sir Henry asleep on his part, for, altho’ he did not anticipate that matters would so soon be brought to a crisis, he has been laying in supplies for the advance of the reserve, and there are now assembled within 8 miles of this camp a force of 14,000 men in as fine order and

discipline as you would see any army in the world. This force has been brought up from Umballa within the last three days, consisting of two troops of horse artillery, 2 light field batteries, the Queen’s 3d. Light

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Dragoons, H.M. 80th and 31st Foot, 5 native reg[imen]ts, one native reglimen]t of regular cavalry and one regiment of irreg[ular] cav[alr]y. These reg[imen]ts were reviewed at Umballa and looked ready & fit for

any service. Sir Henry has ridden over to the c.c.’s camp today to decide finally on the line of operations to be taken, which will probably be this: we shall join the c. in chief with our camp, 2 reg[imen]ts of cavalry, and one of native infantry, and march direct for Ferozpoor. The force from Loodianah,

7,000 strong, will join us halfway, after having captured a fort which has threatened to oppose their advance.” This will increase our numbers to abt. 18,000 men, and with this force we shall, I hope, give them good cause to repent of their temerity. Camp, 50 miles from Ferozpoor. Decr. 16th This morning we left our last ground at 12 o’clock at night, marching by moonlight to a fort 28 miles on the Ferozpoor [Road] where it was reported that a body of Sikhs had assembled and had given it out as their intention to stop all supplies for the advancing [British] force. We marched with the cr. in chief and Sir Harry Smith,?’> who commands the advance division, and arrived under the walls of the fort at 9 a.m. The people ofthe village [Wadni] still held out, and it was not until the horse artillery were drawn up on their front that they gave in and brought out grain and rice for the troops. The fort still holds out and, as the heavy guns are not up yet, the Ist and 2nd divisions will march forward tomorrow en route to Ferozpore and leave it to the rear division to raze the fort to the ground. We are still in the dark as to what has taken place on the frontier. General Littler’s*’° instructions are to be on the defensive until the safety of the town requires him to make a sally and, with regard to the enemy’s intentions, it is as yet doubtful whether they will attack him or scamper across the river again. We are on marching order. Bob and | sleep at night in a small hill tent and Arthur sleeps in Sir Henry’s. We have given up 300 camels and 60 elephants which carried our immense baggage for the use of the public service in carrying grain and ammunition. The sepoys have been making forced marches and are much fatigued. They have been told this morning that another day’s march will probably bring them before the enemy. They answered with a cheer and said they were ready to march any distance. Up to this moment Sir Henry has done everything as regards the moving of the troops and the commissariat

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arrangements. Gough is as gallant a soldier as ever lived, but he does not anticipate difficulties. Camp. Decr. 17th We are now within 37 miles of Ferozpoor. A spy was brought into camp who gave us intelligence. The enemy was 8 miles from Ferozpoor with 80,000 men.?”” Our whole force, 18,000 men, will be within 28 miles of Ferozpoor tomorrow, the | 8th, and on the 1 9th we shall fall in with and, I hope, make an example of these bold Sikhs. Since writing today, a letter has been brought in from General Littler who is at Ferozpoor with 10,000 men and who states that he has given up all idea of attacking them with his force, the odds being so much against him. He will consequently do his best to defend the town till relieved. His letter is dated the 1 6th (yesterday). He cannot be relieved before the 19th so that in all probability they will attack him on the 1 7th or 18th. The general opinion is that he can hold his own till attacked. Decr. 18

We left camp this morning with the intention of marching to Moodkee, 20 miles from Ferozpoor. On arriving within about 4 miles of that place, our advance guard was molested by a party of Sikh horse. These soon retreated before us, leaving the village in our possession. We then heard that the Sikh army was 10 miles off and meditating a night attack. Our men were so much exhausted by their forced marches, particularly the European troops, that a good deal of confusion ensued for the time in the village. This was soon restored, and the men were lying down on the ground, quite knocked up, when the enemy were reported to be only a mile off. The drums beat to arms immediately, and, as the news was heard first in our camp, Sir Henry mounted and rode to each regiment encouraging the men. [he commr. in chief very injudiciously advanced with horse artillery and cavalry unsupported by infantry, and for a moment, from exposing the latter to the sharp fire of the enemy’s heavy guns very unnecessarily, they

wavered. [his moment was a very critical one. Sir Henry saw this and dered up the infantry, who advanced in fine style and opened a sharp on the enemy's front. Broadfoot, our political agent, says this saved day, and it was very necessary for Sir Henry to act in the emergency on own responsibility.

orfire the his

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The action commenced at 4 p.m., at 5 the enemy gave way, and, as it was getting dark, our Europeans and sepoys broke their line with a cheer which I shall never forget. The day was now ours. The dust was so thick that we could hardly see a yard before us, and we got fired at by our own men in the melee. Sir Henry has lost one aid[e]-de-camp—poor Herries—his head being completely blown to atoms. Munro on our staffismortally wounded?” and Hillier, one of our A.D.C.’s, has had his leg shattered. Our loss has been very severe. General McCaskill has been killed?’’ and Sir R. Sale dangerously wounded.**’ Arthur carried an order through some very heavy fire and, thank God, escaped unhurt. At one time the balls rattled about us so much that I thought we should have come home with broken bones. However, we luckily escaped unhurt—that is, Sir Henry, Bob, Arthur & myself, although horses and men were falling around us in every direction and, owing to the obscurity of the night, one reg[imen]t was firing in the face of the other. We remained on the ground till midnight, having ascertained that the enemy had finally decamped,”*! and returned to camp to replenish the inner man~’ and get some rest. Sir Henry is wonderfully well. Camp Modkee. Dec. 19 This morning we rode out at sunrise to visit the scene of yesterday’s operations. It was a sad one—our infantry soldiers were lying close to the Sikh guns where they had been evidently engaged hand to hand with their artillerymen. The latter had stood to their guns nobly—in fact, natives, as they worship their guns, are known never to desert them. They evidently intend to come down upon us with their whole force and not attack

Ferozpore. Since I have written the above, our pickets have come back with the intelligence that Sikh cavalry are in front. The drums have beat to arms. The artillery has been moved into position, and so rapidly was this movement effected that in half an hour every soldier was drawn up in line. The enemy, however, did not advance within range of our guns but appeared in such force at intervals as to compel us to be under arms the whole day till sunset, when we returned to camp. You would be amused if you could see our system of bivouacking. Instead of sitting down to French dishes, the g.g. is now seen eating sandwiches under the nearest tree, each member of his staff foraging in the best

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way they can.”*? We sleep in our clothes at night and, as far as health is concerned, are infinitely better than we were in Calcutta.

Decr. 20th

This morning we buried poor Herries in his tent. We shall all feel his loss greatly. Today we have halted to allow 2 reg[imen] ts who are coming up to join, and tomorrow we expect to be with Littler’s force and attack the Sikh army conjointly. This morning Sir Henry tendered his services to the C.C. in any way he might think proper to avail himself of them, and the result has been that he has been appointed 2d. in command of the army. Gough has really done nothing up to the present moment. Since October last he has had every facility afforded him for making arrangements in the commissariat, and now at the eleventh hour everything is defective. He never thought of reinforcing the Umballa force by taking away that from Loodianah but would have gone at the Sikhs with 10,000 men and would probably have been annihilated. Sir Henry foresaw this and ordered down the Loodianah force to effect a junction with that under the C.C. which, with the Ferozpore force, amounted only to 18,000 men. The enemy’s force [is] estimated at 60,000 and 200 guns.*** Some people may think that there was some delay in ordering the troops to move, but the necessity of exercising moderation to the last and of giving the Lahore govt. every opportunity of altering the tone of their correspondence etc. made it advisable to delay the march ofthe troops until further delay was rashness. As it was, the troops marched from Umballah before a Sikh had set his foot on the Cis-Sutlege territory. Tomorrow we march at 4 in the morning and hope to have given an account of the Sikhs by sunset. Dec. 21st?*

We marched at the hour appointed—very cold—and | must first tell you that Sir Henry had yesterday suggested to Sir Hugh the propriety of leaving our baggage at this place in the fort with a reg[imen]t & 2 guns to protect it, as the impedimenta attached to an Indian army on the march are

enormous. Sir Hugh assented, and the result proved that, had we not done so, the consequences might [have] been disastrous.

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The brigades marched in beautiful order—left front in advance—and by 12 o’clock we had turned the enemy’s position, now about 5 miles off. I rode in advance with Broadfoot some way to reconnoitre as there was a cloud of dust seen in the direction of Ferozpore and shortly came close to what we thought were some of the enemy’s videttes. Upon closer inspection they turned out to be the pickets of Littler’s force. Sir John Littler came up very shortly, and it was arranged that he should attack the Sikh camp on the left while the C.C.’s force moved direct on its center. Only conceive Sir Hugh begging Sir Henry an hour before Littler joined us to allow him to attack the Sikh army with his own force.**° Sir Henry positively refused. Had he given way, India would have been lost. By 3 p.m. our line was formed, and at /2 past 3 our troops advanced steadily into action under a galling fire from the enemy’s batteries—Liittler, as arranged, attacking on the left, Sir Henry leading the centre, Gough the right. I remained by Sir Henry until several of the staff were wounded and the cannon shot was telling pretty severely among men & horses, when he desired me to retire, saying that as I was not in the army | had no business to be there. I ventured to tell him that I thought he was exposing himself too much to the enemy’s fire and begged to remain by his side. Broadfoot**’ & others came up and said that my presence would distract him from his duties and begged me to leave him. Under these circumstances | considered myself bound to do so, but I must say I regret that I did not disobey orders. However, I had seen the whole of one action and, as it was, I saw a good

deal of this.?** Soon after I left Sir Henry I remained with the reserve, which I had some difficulty in joining as I got under range of the enemy’s guns and had several narrow escapes. Darkness soon set in, and | determined to push on in advance and attempt to join Sir Henry again but soon after fell in with the artillery and cavalry who were falling back upon a village for water and who told me it would be madness to go any further. The result of the day had been that Littler had failed on the left.” Sir Hugh Gough had maintained his position on the right and Sir Henry’s division of the army had carried a portion of the enemy’s camp & intrenchment when they were bivouacking for the night. I bivouacked with the cavalry & artillery in a village on the left and never passed a more wretched night—very cold, no water to be had, uncertain what turn affairs would take the next morning, fancying that some of one’s dearest friends had fallen. All things conspired to make the night a most miserable one. I tried

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to sleep but the enemy’s guns were playing all night on the centre division where I knew Sir Henry was posted and where, owing to the darkness of the night, I could not join him. In the morning I went up to the position with the cavalry & artillery just at the close of the brilliant attack which our infantry made on the Sikh camp by which they completely routed them, capturing 90 pieces of cannon.~”” Sir Henry had passed an equally wretched night. The division of the army under his command had succeeded in driving the enemy from part of their entrenched camp, but in doing so the camp had caught fire and had caused several mines and some of our tumbrils to explode, by which many lives were lost on our side. Many of the officers, & among them the C.C., urged him to retire to Ferozpoor, saying that, if anything were to happen to the g.g., the consequences throughout India would be fearful. Sir Henry agreed that our men were a little disheartened and their position critical and calmly stated it to be his intention to attack the enemy at daybreak if the C.C. approved, determining in his own mind, as he told me afterwards, to be successful or perish in the attempt.” Such noble qualities are seldom found, such conduct unparalleled in the pages of history. Proud indeed may we be of one who, I may safely say, has by his sound judgement and cool intrepidity saved India. Had it been left to the C.C. (than whom a more gallant soldier does not exist), the result would, I fear, have been a

different one. Sir Henry, | believe, intends to send you a copy of his letter to Lord Ripon.?”” The attack at daylight may be described in a few words. Our infantry charged their guns and carried their position at every point, forming afterwards in beautiful order as at a field day. The enemy had been thrown into confusion and deserted their camp, flying in much confusion. I must tell you that in the night Bob Wood distinguished himself, heading the 80th in an attack upon some guns which were firing upon their bivouack and which were soon taken. Bob was slightly wounded in the thigh and is doing very

well. Sir Henry headed the left flank of our troops and the C.C. the right. It was a great mercy neither of them were touched as the grape and musquetry told pretty severely among our men. I was now able to join him again and reached the ground about 10 o'clock. At 11 the enemy came down and attempted to retake their camp. Our infantry were thrown out, supported by cavalry, to repel it, which movement was successful. They annoyed us, however, a good deal with their swivels, which are mounted on camels and carry two or three hundred yards, doing much execution. This attack was repeated three times and

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each time was unsuccessful until the whole S[ikh] forces were seen to retreat in much disorder towards the Sutlege. Our men were too much knocked up to join in the pursuit, not having tasted food or had any water

for 2 days, so that we were obliged to remain and hold the Sikh camp. One circumstance shortly afterwards occurred which does not reflect any credit on our cavalry & artillery. Capt. Lumley, the deputy adjutant genl., ordered them all off to Ferozepore on his own responsibility, leaving the infantry to guard the Sikh camp at Ferozeshah quite unprotected so that, had the Sikhs come down during the night, we should have been annihilated.” We immediately wrote off to Moodkee to have our sick and wounded brought up with our baggage & provisions, which were very acceptable, & afterwards, having rolled ourselves up in horse blankets, got a good night’s rest. Sir Henry the next morning rode into Ferozepore to make arrangements for the supplies, and for the next four days it was reported that the Sikh army was in position on this side of the river and had determined to make a final stand before they crossed the river. This, however, proved to be a false report. [hey had thrown out cavalry to support their retreat, which made our spies believe that they were still in position. Now there is not a Sikh on this side of the river, and today the C.C. is expected in Ferozpore. The army will be distributed here & there for the purpose of being the better able to get supplies, which is no easy matter as the country has been completely plundered by the Sikh army. For the last 6 days we have all been hard at work getting the dispatches ready and I have had plenty of work on my hands. Not a Sikh now remains [on this] side of the river. When I reflect upon what Sir Henry has done himself alone, all men must allow that were he to die tomorrow he would do

so with the reputation of having saved India. force to march upon Bussean?”’ to join that upon the army’s abandoning its baggage and all impedimenta? Who instructed Littler to

Who ordered the Loodianah from Umballa? Who insisted moving to the attack free from feel his way and effect a yunc-

tion with us on the 21st? And who prevented the C.C. from attacking the Sikh camp with the Umballa force alone? Where should we have been had these measures not been adopted? It is quite fearful to think of the consequences which wd. have ensued had there been a civilian at the head of the govt. of India who would have allowed Gough to have his own way. All Sir Henry did was rather in the face of Gough’s suggestions and opinions. In fact, where the march of troops was concerned, it was with great difficulty that he could be persuaded to give way.

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Our European reg[imen]ts are so crippled by the late actions & our commissariat arrangements at present so defective that I doubt very much whether we shall be able to enter the Punjaub this year. You will all be glad to hear that Sir Hugh Gough has mentioned Arthur in his dispatches as “a worthy scion ofhis parent” and has given him a lieutenancy in the 80th—Bob Wood’s reg[imen]t. This is not more than he deserves, for he is as fine a little fellow as ever breathed. It is quite surpris-

ing that he escaped. Sir Henry was also exposed to a most severe fire of cannon & musguetry. Indeed, he tells me he never recollects being under a more galling cannonade in any of the Peninsular actions. We are all well and in high spirits. We [ate] our mince pies on [Christ] mas day and filled a bumper to our friends at home, and I dare say you did not forget us the same evening in old England. God grant we may all meet there in due course of time & spend many happy days. Love to dear Sarah and the baby. This letter is for her as well as you and, as I may not have time to finish my letter to my mother, you can send her this. 40. [To Emily.] Ferozepoor. Janry. 15, 1846 [B]

We have remained here recruiting ourselves after the hard work we have had. The remnant of the Sikh army had crossed the river & made a precipitate retreat. They have since taken up a position on the other side & have been talking of crossing over & attacking us again, but I think they have had enough ofit. They have cried “wolf” for so long that we have ceased to beleive [sic] their reports. However, yesterday 10,000 [crossed] but, on the advance of our line with some heavy ordnance, they retreated back,

leaving about 3000 men ina stockade on this side protected by the range of their heavy guns on the opposite side of the river. Their policy is to keep us continually on the “qui vive” & to gain time, as they know that by the end of March the hot winds set in & all operations on our side must end. The policy of the ranee, on the other hand, is to have her army cut up,” as she is very well aware that, if they return to Lahore, they will cut her throat, & she is in hopes that they will gradually disperse & daily become more disor-

ganized, when she says she will come & throw herself at the governor genl.’s feet. With regard to our movements, I very much doubt whether we shall be able to cross before next autumn. Our policy has been strictly pacific. We

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have been prepared to act on the defensive, not on the offensive, & we should have got into disgrace with the home authorities had we encouraged a rupture by bringing up heavy guns to the frontier. The consequence is that now the seige [sic] train will not be here before the middle of Febry. Our engineer officers, moreover, have met & given it as their unanimous opinion that with 3 fortified towns, Lahore, Gobindhur,”’° & Umritsur, the latter stronger than Bhurtpore, it would be highly imprudent to cross the Sutledge with less additional artill[e]ry than 70 field guns & 50,000 rounds of ammunition. The demand is virtually a postponement of the campaign till next autumn, & in my opinion, considering that old Gough is perfectly incompetent (which all his own staff allow) & which is attested by the fact that they have come to Sir Henry several times begging him to assume the command, I think such a measure under existing circumstances would be expedient.*’’ By next autumn their army will have become considerably more disorganized. Ours, on the other hand, will be reinforced with recruits & a considerable addition to our artill[e]ry. Indeed, so rapid are the changes that take place occasionally in the govt. of these native states that for what we know the [Panjab] may of itself next year fall into our hands without much further resistance. Sir Henry has done everything as yet & undone many of old Gough’s rash & reckless intentions, but, in his very delicate position as the nominal successor of the present c.cf., it requires the greatest tact & forbearance to manage an obstinate old man who thinks of nothing but “bating [sic] the Sikhs”

& does not reflect upon the loss of life which his desperate movements entail. We are now in great want of ammunition &, contrary to Sir Henry’s special advice, there he was the other day firing it away ag[ains]t the enemy’s camp on the other side & doing, of course, very little damage among them. Your dear husband is wonderfully well in spite of all his anxieties. He remarked to me the other day that his present duties were rather different from his gardening operations at South Park. I told him I thought the day was not far off when he would exchange his sword [for] a pruning knife & enjoy in repose the fruits of all his labors. With regard to myself, I consider myself a most unlucky dog in not having a red coat to my back in these times, altho’ I have had the satisfaction of being with Sir Henry & seeing what war really is. I dare say you will think me very selfish, but you know I always had a hankering after the army &, had I not been influenced by your wishes, I should long since have been wedded to a profession for which I always had a decided taste.

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We have certainly had sharp work. I have told [Sir Henry] that he must not on future occasions expose himself in the way he did on the 22nd. It was necessary that he shd. give confidence to the troops by his presence, but his life is really too precious to the state & his friends to be exposed to imminent danger when circumstances do not require it. Had he been even slightly wounded on that day, the consequence might have been felt throughout the whole of British India, but I feel confident myself that he will not do so unless emergent circumstances require it, when no friend of his would wish him to shrink from his duty. Ben is in high spirits & enlivens the camp with his jokes. By mistake the extract from Sir Hugh Gough’s dispatch was not sent to you in which he speaks of him in high terms, & you have every reason to be proud of yr. son. He is, Sir Hugh says, “a chip of the old block””’* & will do credit to his name. Robt. Wood is now able to get about on crutches & in about a week may put his foot to the ground. He is now milty. secry. which, with his It. col[onel]cy’s pay, will give him £3000 a year. Sir Henry has recommended him for a C.B.ship. What a lucky fellow he has been. We have spent a tolerably merry Christmas, tho’ alas! some of our staff were missing. Sir Henry ordered 1500 mince pies to be made & distributed among the wounded men, who were delighted with the attention.

41. [To Walter.] Camp Ferozepoor. Jan. 16, 1846 [A] Since I last wrote to you, we have not moved from this station. The Sikh army could not recover from the defeats they sustained on the 22d and 23d°” and, altho’ reports were current for some days afterwards that they were still in position on this side of the Sutlege, it was found on the advance of our troops that they had all crossed with the remainder of their guns and their wounded on the 24th, leaving 95 guns, their camp, and ammunition in our possession. Since that period they have taken up a position on the other side of the river and have been reinforced with guns and infantry from Lahore, having thrown a bridge of boats across the river opposite to the position now occupied by the centre of our army. This is merely a demonstration on their part. They have no intention of crossing, although our

spies are continually reporting that their astrologers have fixed upon such and such a day for making the attack, but the day never arrives. The bridge, moreover, is not sufficiently strong to bear artillery, and it would

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be madness in them to think of crossing without this arm, which arm alone makes them a formidable enemy. Without it they are powerless. The news from Lahore is to the effect that the ranee will not hear of the Sikh army falling back upon Lahore. Her policy is to have them cut up in the hopes of being herself able to make advantageous terms with our govt., and she has told the army that, if they quit their position and disperse to their homes, she will immediately come & throw herself upon the mercy of the governor general. Golab Singh all this time is sitting quietly at Jummoo, seeing what turn affairs will take. He will probably act accordingly. As to our coming to terms with the Lahore government, which is now a cipher, the whole power being vested in the punchayets or delegates from the army, the thing is out of the question. We cannot rely on any assurances of good faith which Golab Singh or any other party may hold out.*°° Were we to march to Lahore and meet with any reverse, these are the very men who would be the first to turn against us, and the same answer has been invariably given to the different overtures which have been made—namely that we could make no terms under existing circumstances. You will in England, I dare say, be surprised that we do not follow up our success immediately. The answer to this surmise is that we were not prepared for offensive operations. The policy of our govt. was strictly of a pacific character—as long as our frontier remained inviolate, we had no grounds for bringing heavy guns and a siege train towards it, and the natural consequence has been that we are not prepared for offensive operations. The siege guns will not be up from Delhi till the 1 6th February. This is virtually a postponement of the campaign till next autumn, as the 70 guns cannot arrive before the end of February, and at the end of March the hot

winds set in and, with our Europeans in that country where the climate is so deadly and where they would have no barracks to cover them, the commencement of a campaign in March would entail upon us great loss by sickness caused by exposure to the hot winds which our poor Europeans cannot stand and to which our enemy is naturally insured. Up to the present moment no disaster has occurred. The enemy have been beaten back and, although they are still in position on the other side of the river, we have now, with the addition of the Meerut force,°’' as fine an army of about 30,000 men to defend the frontier as has ever been brought together in B[ritish] India. Great disunion is said to prevail in their [Sikh] camp among the chiefs, who cannot arrange matters satisfactorily with the delegates of the army, who one day instruct them to issue orders for crossing the river and the next

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day countermand them. They were to have crossed to attack us last Sunday, and the Sikh cavalry were to have forded the river below our bridge of [boats] which the engineers are now constructing and to have

made a night attack with the intention of setting fire to the governor general’s camp. However, this all ended in nothing. [Charles here recounts the temporary crossing of 10,000 Sikh troops over the Sutlej and their leaving behind 3,000 soldiers on the bridgehead as he has already narrated in his letter of January 15 to Emily (letter 40). He then continues]: It was not worthwhile to expose our men to the fire of their heavy guns on the other side which commanded the bridge in order to dislodge this small body of men, and the only thing done was to fire occa-

sionally some round shot into them to show that we were not asleep. [hey will never cross and face our force again. You will see by Sir Henry’s letter to Lord Ripon how utterly inefficient the C.C. [is] and how little trust can be reposed in him. Loodianah is quite safe now, having been reinforced from the rear. The Sikhs crossed there the other [day], but the only damage they did was to burn a few bungalows and then they retreated.°”" I have had no time for sketching. Indeed, there has been nothing to sketch except the battlefield, of which I made a hasty memento.°*”* If we do not go across this year, I shall do something in the hills. [Rest lacking] 42. [To Sarah.] Feroozepoor. 16 Jan., 1846 [A] Sir H[enry]’s [letter] will have told you about the battle of Moodkee

and Ferozshah and also that all our party are quite well. Three of our A.D.C.’s were killed, which is a source of great regret to us all, as they were all such nice fellows. The sight of the 21st was certainly not pleasant, as we had so few men collected together and could hear the Sikh drums and their cheers all around us. The Sikhs, having a suspicion of our helpless state, brought some field pieces within 50 yards of where our column was lieing [sic] down, which did great damage. Sir Henry got on his horse and told the 80th that those guns must be taken and that he knew they were the boys to do it. Notwithstanding that they had been without food from 3 o’clock in the morning and that the night was pitch dark, they got up with the greatest readiness and three times charged the guns and succeeded in spiking them. [The Sikhs], however, continued a very heavy fire from their batteries the

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whole of the night, and all the officers, among whom was seen the sanguine Sir Hugh, tried to persuade Sir Henry to retreat to Ferozepoor, there to reorganize the artill[er]y (for all our ammunition was expended), and then

to venture a battle. Sir Henry smiled at all these propositions and said that he was determined to attack them at daybreak. Sir Henry told me that he thought it would be a desperate struggle but that, in case of failure, he was determined never to survive it. He sent his sword*™ and star into Ferozepoor by our doctor and, riding in front of the line, told the men not to fire but to charge with their bayonets. I was now the only A.D.C. out of 11 that was not hors de combat, having escaped with the loss of a horse that was shot under me and having had another slightly wounded. Our line advanced beautifully, and Sir Henry, to whom I kept close, was the first that entered the front battery, winning by a neck, for there was following him a young officer with a cigar in his mouth, who mounted the largest of the guns and began cheering vociferously. Our line scoured the camp from end to end, taking 91 guns, some of them very large ones. We are at present in camp here—the two armies are vis-a-vis with the Sutlege between. I can assure [you that] during all the firing of the night of the 21st, Sir Henry and I talked a great deal*” about South Park and all your party, not forgetting the young lady who, I dare say, is charming. I should have wished to write you, my dear Sarah, a longer and less hurried letter, but I am ordered to go to reconnoitre at the river and this has been written while my horse is getting ready.

43. [To Walter.] G.G.’s Camp, Ferozepore, Janry. 31, 1846 [A]

Since you last heard from me, matters have up to within the last few days remained in status quo. | think I told you in my last [letter] that the Sikh

army had constructed a “tete-de-pont” [bridgehead] in advance of their bridge of boats where they had entrenched themselves and their guns, and so well has this position been selected by them and so completely protected on both flanks by their heavy guns on the other side that we could not without considerable loss turn them out of it. We have, therefore, remained contented with watching their proceedings and making them keep at a respectful distance. Indeed, a successful attack upon their entrenchments would lead to no result as they have only a few guns on this side and, moreover, we could not hold the position when taken.

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But while we have been watching the enemy in this neighbourhood, the movements of the Sikh force n[ea]r Loodianah have attracted Sir Henry’s

attention and caused him much anxiety. You are aware that he withdrew the Loodianah force from that station as soon as affairs on the frontier looked warlike in order to unite with the Umballa force and to make it more effective to gain the main object which was gained, i.e. a decisive victory over the Sikhs. Some risk was, of course, to be incurred, and Loodianah was exposed to the aggression of any Sikh force which might cross over &

attack it. Sir Henry at the same time knew that the force he had left in the fort there would hold its own and did not anticipate that the Sikhs would advance to any distance southward of the river as far as the burning of a few bungalows & barracks [was] concerned which were left exposed. Nothing was to be feared as long as no military disaster took place. However, some weeks ago a Sikh force crossed over, burnt some bungalows in the neighbourhood of the fort and retired. Intelligence was subsequently received that they were bringing over about 50 guns & reinforcements. Sir Henry had no apprehension with respect to the fort’s holding out but thought it just possible the Sikhs might advance some way in the rear of Loodianah and cut off our communication and supplies. Sir Harry Smith was accordingly detached from the main army with 5 reg[imen]ts of inf[antr]y, 2 reg[imen]ts of cavalry and 24 guns to maintain our line of communication and relieve the garrison at Loodianah. On arriving on the 2 Ist ult[im]o in the neighbourhood of Buddowal,*”° a fort situated on the high road between Loodianah and Bussean, from which place all our supplies are brought, he heard that the Sikhs were in force with guns at Buddowal. And here he seems to have made a mistake, for, instead of giving his enemy a wide berth, he advanced within a mile of the fort, upon which a heavy cannonade was immediately poured into him by the enemy, who had advanced some way out of the fort with the intention of falling back upon it if attacked. Sir Harry Smith’s rear was at the same time attacked and his flank turned by the enemy’s cavalry. Nothing therefore remained to him but to retire upon Loodianah as he best could, which he effected in perfect order but exposed to a very severe cannonade, being at the same time obliged to abandon his baggage, which fell into the enemy’s hands. He ought to have taken a lesson from Sir Henry and left it behind. It was during this cannonade that poor Campbell, a son of Sir John Campbell’s, was

killed.*°” He was making the best of his way to join our headquarters. The next morning, the 23rd, the enemy, hearing that reinforcements were moving up to join Sir Henry, evacuated Buddowal & retired towards 90

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the river. They were probably influenced in this by a false movement of Brig[adie]r Wheeler*®* who, instead of marching by the route laid down for him, took a line of his own along the river. When hearing on the 21st of Sir Harry Smith’s “defeat,” as it was reported by the natives, he retired upon Dhamkote

[Dharamkot], a fort some miles distant to the rear. The

Sikhs probably imagined that we were moving large reinforcements along the river with the intention of cutting them off from it, got alarmed, & retired. As soon as Sir Harry had refitted in Loodianah and had made up as well as he could for the loss of his baggage, he occupied Buddowal with the intention of moving out and attacking the enemy as soon as he was reinforced by Brigadier Wheeler. The latter officer came up on the 26th, but his troops were too much knocked up to march against the enemy. The attack was consequently postponed till the 28th.°”” At daybreak Sir Harry Smith moved his force out and found the Sikhs

in possession of the village of Aliwal,*'° about 4 miles from the river. They had advanced with the intention of moving down upon Bussean to intercept our siege train, which was moving on that village, and to cut off our supplies. This we know from the information of a European deserter from our ranks who commanded their artillery and who has been taken prisoner.*!! Our infantry charged the village at the point of the bayonet, and Sir Harry reports that, as soon as they were driven out of this part, the rout became general. Our cavalry are reported to have ridden down their squares and committed great havoc among them—not an infantry soldier escaped. Numbers were drowned in attempting to cross the river, and the whole of their guns were taken with the exception of 3 which were gallantly spiked by a young officer & [a] private of artillery on the other side of the river. The guns taken are said to amount to about 40 or 50. This is a very considerable addition to the 91 captured at Moodkee, and I trust that the loss of 150 guns will facilitate our advance to Lahore and that we shall be able to dictate terms there without much further bloodshed.*'” You will at once see the importance of expelling this Sikh force at Loodianah besides the very great inconvenience to which this army would have been subjected by having its supplies cut off. The danger oftransferring the war from Ferozepoor to Loodianah was to be apprehended, and Sir Henry has passed the last few days in the greatest possible state of anxiety, for all the messengers sent from Sir Harry Smith’s camp were intercepted by the enemy; and we hardly knew anything until Sir Harry’s

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dispatch announcing the victory arrived.”'’ You may suppose what a relief this has been to Sir Henry’s mind. We are all well and in high spirits with the news of this victory. Arthur is in great force. [No closing]

44. [To Emily.] Governor General’s camp. Ferozepoor. Febry. 2nd, 1846 [B] Weare still in Ferozepoor nearly choked with dust. Since I last wrote to you, no great change has taken place in the aspect of affairs up to within the last few days, which have brought us the intelligence of another victory over the Sikhs. The Sikh army encamped opposite to the C.Cf. has given Sir Henry little or no cause of uneasiness. [hey will not attack us,

& we cannot resume

the offensive until our heavy guns & seige [sic] train arrive when | hope we shall astonish their weak minds. No further intercourse now takes place between the 2 armies beyond skirmishes which occasionally occur between our videttes & theirs. We have ridden out twice to the army & remained a day or two, as the presence of the governor general among the troops gives confidence, more especially when the present c.cf. is a man in whom they have little or none. The Sikh camp looks more like a German fair than anything else; the soldiers are seen assembling in knots apparently very much at their ease altho’ our late success must have tended to depress them. [Charles hereupon provides details of the British success at Aliwal nearly identical to those contained in his letter of January 31 (letter 43) to Walter. The letter then continues]: The whole of [the Sikh] artillery —54 guns—& camp fell into our hands. In short, the victory was complete & gained with very little loss on our side, only 3 officers being killed. The addition of 54 to the number of our already captured guns must seriously cripple their resources, & we are daily expected to hear that the durbar at Lahore are anxious to come to terms. Before any can be entered into, the disbanding of their army must be insisted upon, & they must be limited to a certain number of pieces of artillery, otherwise we should always be liable to a renewal ofhostilities. If they do not show any anxiety to come to terms, the general opinion seems to be that one more general action would completely upset & disperse their army. I only hope it may prove to be the case. Sir Henry has ordered up Sir C. Napier with the intention of appointing him second in command. Indeed, it is very far from desirable that a man in his position should be exposed to the slightest risk, but in the late

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opperations [sic] there was a necessity for it. Sir Henry felt it to be his duty to interfere, & to him is to be attributed the success that attended our efforts. Lord Ripon wrote confidentially by the mail that matters were in such a state that a change of ministry might be expected on the arrival of the next mail. For Sir Henry to resign at the present moment would be impossible, but I think as soon as the Punjab is settled he will be very unwilling to serve under a govt. in which Peel was not the leader & head.°!4 Ben is quite well. Sir Henry’s horse fell with him the other evening & slightly bruised his knee, but he experiences no other bad consequences from it. I shall not allow him to mount the horse again or to ride so fast in the dark. He is wonderfully well, altho’ he has suffered much from anxiety owing to this Loodiana affair, which has luckily turned out so well. 45. [To Walter.] Kussoor in the Punjaub. Feb. 14, 1846°' [A] Here we are only 30 miles from Lahore with, I think, the game in our own hands. Since I last wrote to you, we remained for the first 7 or 8 days in a state of inactivity waiting for the arrival of our heavy guns, which at last arrived on the 5th. Sir Henry then lost no time in riding over from Ferozpore to the C.C.’s camp, having already explained his views on paper and laid down the plan of attack which old Gough immediately took advantage of.°'° The only questions [yet] to be considered [were]: whether there [was] a sufficient number of guns to counterbalance the loss we should experience in taking them; 2dly, whether we should be able to hold their entrenched position when taken; 3dly, whether the heavy guns of the enemy would not be brought to bear with great effect upon our attacking brigades and occasion great loss. All these questions were entered into & discussed when it was finally determined to attack the enemy on the | 0th. The engineers said they hoped to be able to shell them out of their position. They also said that we could hold it when taken and that the enemy entrenchments, being 6 ft. deep, would afford protection to our men from the enemy’s heavy [guns] on the opposite side ofthe water. In consequence ofthe opinions expressed by the engineer & artillery, Sir Henry determined to attack their enOth, clearing their camp in the first instance with trenched position on the |

shells and howitzers.

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It was ascertained beforehand from our spies that the right was the weakest part of their position, that they had fewer guns in position on their flank, and the attack was determined upon accordingly. At 7% on the morning of the 1 0th we rode out to our advanced position at Bhadowala, about 1600 yards from the enemy’s batteries. Sir Henry drove to the ground in his palanquin carriage, as he was still suffering from the bruise on his knee. For an hour and a half we poured volleys of rockets, howitzers, and 12 pounders into their camp, which were replied to by their batteries. As soon as our ammunition for our heavy batteries was expended, the engineers gave it as their opinion that the effect produced by the shells had not come up to their expectations. The enemy were still serving their guns with the same steadiness, and it was evident they intended to make a desperate stand. At this critical moment Sir Henry, who had mounted his horse, rode up to the C.C. and recommended that the attacking brigades should have additional support, and accordingly Ashburnham’s*'’ brigade was ordered up to support Sir Robert Dick’s*'* division. At 9 a.m. the attack commenced. The European reg[imen]ts, the 53d

& 10th, advanced up to the batteries with a cheer and without firing a shot and, under a most galling fire of grape and musketry, climbed over the batteries with fixed bayonets. The Sikhs here fought desperately. I saw one fellow dash out of the batteries sword in hand and, before he was bayoneted, he had himself cut down two of our Europeans. On they went but,

on reaching the 2d battery (there being a triple line of breastworks), there

was a check for a moment. The Sikhs were sounding their drums and yelling like so many hounds at their temporary success. Sir Henry immediately saw that this check must be instantaneously remedied and ordered Genl. Gilbert*'? to come up and storm the batteries in

front. This movement had an immediate effect on the attacking brigades. Cheered by the support that was advancing to their aid, they rallied and carried everything before them. Gilbert’s div[isio]n was also checked for a moment owing to the destructive fire these batteries poured upon our gallant Europeans, but the latter, on seeing the attacking brigades committing great havoc among the Sikhs, again rushed forward, and in a moment every soldier was in their camp. Then ensued a scene which baffles all description. I shall never forget it—our soldiers were driving their enemy headlong into the Sutlege, which was completely choked with dead and dying. We stopped one man who was levelling his musket at a dying Sikh in the river and to whom we

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promised protection if he chose to come to shore. The dying man shook his head as much as to say that he would never give into the feringhees and floated down the stream. The enemy had a few heavy guns in position on the opposite bank, but in consequence of the panic which seized them they did not attempt to molest us. It is reckoned that about 3000 were bayoneted in the camp by our men, about 3000 were drowned in the Sutlege, and about 200 escaped wounded.*”° Twelve of their sirdars were killed—in short, they were com-

pletely annihilated.**' Sir Henry had one or two narrow escapes—a round shot, whilst I was talking to him, came within about a yard of his knee and knocked over the orderly’s horse. But his presence was of infinite value, although I could not feel otherwise than uneasy with grape & round shot flying about him. I laid hold of a Sikh standard in the trenches which I shall hang up at S. Park as a memento of the battle of Sobraon. Our loss, I fear, is heavy but comparatively small**? when you think of the immense slaughter among the enemy’s troops. The same night 6 reg[imen]ts crossed the Sutlege at Ferozepore. The bridge of boats having been laid down, in 2 more days the rest of the army were across and on the 14th were all concentrated at Kussoor* in the Panjaub, which had been evacuated. The same day intelligence arrived that Golab Singh, the present wuzzier, would come and implore the mercy of the British govt.*** As a prelude to this the 12 European prisoners captured [at] Buddowal were sent in, having been well treated at Lahore, and shortly afterward Major [Henry] Lawrence,” the pol|[itical] agent, received intelligence of his approach. He brought with him 2000 men [on the 15th], which were not allowed to pass our picquets [sic], and was received at the outposts by Lawrence. We had a street formed oftroops up to the governor general’s tent, and this cunning old sirdar was brought in on his elephant. On dismounting from the howdah, he was brought into the darbar tent where we were all assembled to receive him. He went up to Sir Henry and presented him with a bow as a token of submission and was followed by the

different sirdars who all appeared in their most “sorry suits” to indicate their contrition and repentence. Sir Henry then announced to him publickly [sic] that the blood of our countrymen called aloud for vengeance, that indemnity for the past and se-

curity for the future must be obtained, to which he replied that the young maharaja had been led away by evil counsels, that his youth could be the only excuse in that he was ready to submit to any terms which we might

My Indian Peregrinations

impose, and that the gates of Lahore and Gobindghur would be thrown open. As this durbar was in public, he was taken into Currie’s*”° tent where, with Lawrence, the pol. agent, the G.G.’s Proclamation’ was laid

before him, which is principally to the effect that the Sikh durbar must pay for the whole expenses of the war, that the whole of the country lying between the Beas & Sutlege must be ceded to us, that their army must be disbanded & placed on the footing on which it was established in Runjeet Singh’s time, and other terms which I will not enter into at present. I will only say that the preliminaries have been signed, that we march for Lahore the day after tomorrow where it will be finally concluded and the campaign, a short but a very brilliant one, brought to an end.** How thankful we ought all to be that Sir Henry has been preserved to us in the midst of all this. |am hard pressed for time and have given you a very hurried account of our proceedings. I hope to be able to write to you soon from the walls of Lahore. Never in the annals of history was there ever so shameful & unprovoked an aggression.

We are anxiously waiting for the mail. I think Sir Robt. [Peel]’s answer to the Queen in his peculiar position without a govt.—and a minister—has added not a little to his high character. At such a crisis all party feelings ought to be [at] an end.*”” My best love to Sarah & the baby. I must now write to my mother. [P.S.] Thanks for the pigment. I shall be at it again at Simla. 46. [To Emily.] Kussoor in the Punjaub. [>Feb. 16, 1846] [B] You will see by the date of this letter that we have put foot on the hostile soil. The Sikh army may now be said to be no longer in existence, & tomorrow we march to Lahore to dictate terms at the capital. This you will allow

is good news, but I must first tell you how this state of things has been brought about. On the 9th Febry. the long expected seige [sic] train arrived, & Sir Henry had for 3 weeks previous been in communication with the C.C. as to the necessity of attacking the enemy’s entrenched position on this side of the Sutledge. It was determined that if the attack was made on the weakest flanks & with a river in their rear, they could have no chance. It was, on the other hand, alleged that with heavy guns on the opposite side they would annihilate our troops as soon as they entered the enemy’s batteries.

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[Charles now describes the course of the fateful Battle of Sobraon, which he related in his letter of February 14 to Walter (letter 45). However, he adds that on February 9, after] much deliberation and hesitation

on the part of the engineer and artillery officers, Sir Henry strongly advised the commander in chief to strike a decisive blow and at the same time gave him his plan of attack, which the commander in chief adopted with one exception, which it was afterwards evident ought to have been acted upon. [Charles writes that this failure to follow his father’s recommendation in full resulted in the Sikhs stopping, on the morning of February 10, the 52nd European Regiment, which had been the first to move up to the breastworks. The letter continues]: [At that point] Sir Henry immediately ordered the division drawn up in front of their entrenchment to move down and support them by a simultaneous attack in front. This check was owing to the reserve of the attacking brigades not being strong enough, on which point Gough had declined taking my father’s advice.**’ However, it was soon remedied, for the attacking brigades, seeing the division coming to their assistance, rallied & carried everything before them. The day was then won, altho’ the Sikhs fought desperately to the last, & their loss must have been tremendous, being estimated at 10,000. 67 guns

have been captured, & their army is on its way to Lahore in a complete state of disorganization. On the same evening (the 10th) 6 British reg[imen]ts crossed into the Punjab, & on the 13th the whole of the

British force was concentrated at Kussoor, which had been evacuated imm|[ediate]ly after the battle. Yesterday we recd. intelligence that Golab Singh, who has lately been appointed minister at Lahore & who has been keeping aloof from the war party there, was coming to throw himself on the clemency of the governor general, & late in the afternoon he arrived in camp with all his sardars to arrange terms, presenting nuzzurs [gifts], etc. 47. [To Sarah.] Lullianee, 20 miles from Lahore. Feb. 18, 1846 [A]

I have written a hurried letter to Walter giving him all the news I can up to yesterday. This morning we marched here and at 4 in the afternoon the young maharaja of Lahore, Dhuleep Singh, was received in darbar, having come in to implore the mercy and protection of the B[ritish] govt. the night

before. We had all the troops out and formed a street of British infantry and cavalry to receive the young prince.

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Arthur and I went with Currie & Lawrence, our foreign secy. & political agent, on elephants to receive him as he came in with his minister Golab Singh. He shortly afterwards appeared in his howdah with him when a succession of salaams took place on both sides. The poor child (he is only 8 years old and a most intelligent-looking boy) appeared rather frightened at our array of troops and almost clung to Golab S. for protection. On dismounting from his elephant the raja took him up in his arms and brought [him] into the tent where Sir Henry & the C.C. with their staffs were assembled. Sir Henry met the child and kissed his cheek at the door, led him to his chair where, after declaring publicly his satisfaction at receiving the heir to the sovereignty of the Punjaub under his protection, had the different presents such as shawls, musical boxes, etc., laid before him, while [Sir Henry] impressed upon [the Lahore] minister the necessity of entering into such terms with the British as would ensure [peace]. After a repetition of the different Eastern ceremonies which are gone

through in all durbars, he was reconducted to his own tent through our troops & saluted with 24 pieces of artill[er]y. I was much struck with the intelligence of the boy although he could have been little aware how narrowly he had escaped being murdered during the last 2 years. The preliminaries of the treaty have been signed, and | hope it will be finally settled under the walls of Lahore without greater bloodshed. The Eastern costumes, the retinue, the little prince himself were objects individually picturesque—alas! I have not much time to think of “pigment” now. I hope your dear child is a good little woman and is everything you could wish. 48. [To Walter.] Lahore. March 4, 1846 [A]

Since [| last wrote to you, our troops have occupied the citadel of Lahore, and the govr. general is now dictating the terms of a treaty under its walls. The remains of the Sikh army remained about 20 miles from us for several days with about 40 pieces of artillery, half of the men unarmed [and]

greatly disheartened by their recent defeat. The sirdars came in and were told by Raja Golab Singh that on coming to Lahore & giving up their arms they would be paid the old rate of Runjeet Singh’s time & certain men

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selected for a new army. The men came in within 3 or 4 miles of our camp by 2 and 3 reg[imen]ts at a time and were paid off. But the durbar ordered the value of the gold bracelets to be deducted from the reduced pay because they had been extorted by the men. We advised the durbar not to make the deduction, but they persevered and the soldiers are very sulky. About 10 reglimen]ts have been paid off and 3 or 4000 men re-enlisted. 13 large brass guns belonging to the disbanded reg[imen]ts have been brought into our camp; 3 or 4 very fine 20 p[ounde]rs cast by General Court**! are of the number. The remainder will be sent ina day or two. We demand the surrender of every gun which has been pointed against the English. Their guns, 36 in number, will be in our camp before the 7th. This blow they will [feel] severely as a military nation, and, when matters are finally settled, the whole of the captured guns (220) will be paraded through Delhi & Agra to Calcutta to convince the incredulous Mussulmen that the Sikhs have been well beaten. By the terms of the treaty which will be signed here in open durbar in a few days, the Jellundhar Doab, a tract of country lying between the Beas & the Sutlege, will be annexed to the British possessions, and a million and [a] half [pounds sterling]demanded as compensation for the expenses of the war. The Lahore durbar being unable to give satisfactory security for that sum, Cashmeer and the hill districts [are] to be ceded in lieu of payment ofone million, the rest of the money being paid down before we leave this [place]. Lahore will be thus stripped of '/3 of its territories and revenues, & Raja Golab Singh will be declared the independent prince of the hill districts.*°* The impolicy and the difficulties of annexation are great. Peshawur, 300 miles in advance of the Sutlege with 4 deep rivers intersecting it, and the military occupation of Cashmeer touching Chinese Tartary with our troops extending down to Moultan would by no means improve our frontier line. The treaty will be signed on the 7th.**’ On the 9th Sir Henry will return the maharaja’s visit and will be received in his palace in state. As the Sikhs are particularly au fait in these “spectacles,” I dare say it will be a fine sight. Tents made of Cashmeer shawls are being prepared, and the presents are said to be quite out of the common way. IfIlay my hands on a good shawl, I shall not restore it to John Company. I have made some sketches of Lahore and the tomb of the emperor Jehangeer, which is on the other side of the river. His wife Nourmahal, the handsomest woman in the East, is buried near him, but the only remains of her tomb are a few crumbling arches with some tall palms which taper up to 2)

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the skies and give a melancholy appearance to what was once a building of some importance.’ The town is fortified—the streets very narrow and dirty like all native towns—but looked cheerful the day we passed through it as the inhabitants came out to see the “feringhees,” and the windows were crowded with Cashmere belles, although I hardly saw a pretty woman amongst them.*> Shawls are more expensive than they usually are owing [to] the great demand for them in camp. I shall reserve myself for Umritsir which we shall visit & which is the great shawl depot.**° We march there on the 10th & through the new ceded territory to Loodiana where we meet the chiefs of the left bank of the Sutlege, and from thence we shall make the best of our way to Simla and the snowy range, which will by that time be a “frigus amanum. >>’ Ben & Bob are flourishing, Sir Charles Napier has not arrived, and we

are to have the “army of the Sutlege” out tomorrow morning and a large dinner afterwards. I hope my godchild is flourishing. Tell Sarah this letter is for her as well as you. 49. [To Emily.] Camp Lahore. March 4th, 1846 [B]

Here we are at Lahore, with our troops in possession of the citadel; the treaty will be signed in a day or two, & everything has terminated in the best possible manner. On our arriving near the walls, the political secretaries with Sir Henry’s staff escorted the young maharaja to the gate, & a royal salute was fired on his dismounting from the elephant where Nourihal Singh, one of the Punjab sovereigns, was crushed by the falling in of abeam which, they said, was intentionally done by Golab Singh to get the prince out of the way, & his son, who was on the same elephant, fell a victim to his father’s treachery.*** The procession to the palace was very striking, for we were met half-way by the maharaja’s troops, who formed a prominent feature in the escort. The young prince is an intelligent-looking child but, of course, too young to be aware of his present position. And now I will speak of the g. general. He is remarkably well & in good

spirits, having settled the Punjaub business so satisfactorily. Matters have certainly turned out much better than I thought they would have done some time ago. [he hot weather was approaching &, had the attack on the 10th

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not succeeded in annihilating their army, we might at this moment be besieging the walls of Lahore instead of dictating terms at the capital. Sir Henry has quite recovered from his fall & rides & walks now about as usual. He certainly has a wonderful constitution. Arthur is remarkably well. Indeed, I think I may say we are all the better for the knocking about we have had in the campaign & infinitely prefer this part of the world to Calcutta. I have got what I flatter myself is rather a handsome silk dress for you lined with fur. I have been amusing myself with sketching lions of all descriptions.» The procession to the palace the other day was a fine sight, & the poor little maharaja,

covered with diamonds

and emeralds, little knew how

much of his country he had lost by this unprovoked invasion. 50. [To Sarah.] Camp Unritsir. March 14, 1846 [A]

We received your letter yesterday, and I was sorry to see by your letter that your sister’ had not improved in health. | trust that a milder climate may have the desired effect and, although by Walter’s account the medical men seem to hold out fair hopes of her recovery, I can conceive the anxiety you must feel on her account. We must hope for the best and trust in the Disposer of all things. There is no one, I assure you, who takes a greater interest in you and yours than I do, and I hope to hear a good account by the next mail. Since I last wrote to you from Lahore, everything has been satisfactorily settled. The treaty has been signed, and there is every probability that a permanent govt. may be installed at Lahore in the Punjaub. I will send Walter a copy of the treaty, in which you will see they have agreed to all our terms. The army has been disbanded, 37 guns have been surrendered to us, half a million of rupees has been paid and Cashmere and the hill districts ceded to the British govt., which we shall hand over to Golab Singh on his paying down £750,000. We let him off £250,000 (he was to have paid a million) as we shall reserve to ourselves certain portions of the hill territories to improve our frontier.*”! The treaty was signed in open durbar on the 9th, and it was one of the [most] interesting scenes I ever saw. We formed a street of troops for about a mile and then proceeded to escort the young maharaja from his palace to our camp. On his arriving there, he was met by Sir Henry who took him

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into his howdah, which was the signal for a general discharge of artillery. The procession then formed, and the young prince was brought into the durbar tent, attended by his minister Lal Sing*”’ and the rest of his followers. Sir Henry then made a short but very effective speech, stating that the recent successes of the British arms had not altered their character for forbearance and moderation and that he trusted, now that the mutinous Sikh army had been disbanded, the present govt. would be a permanent one,

etc. The treaty was then produced for signature, and, having been signed by the different ministers of the Lahore court, it was presented in due form

to the maharaja for his signature. The little boy took up the pen with great composure and, having written his name at full length, laid it down with the same self possession. The durbar then broke up after the usual interchange of presents. The following day we all went to Lahore to return the maharaja’s visit, who met Sir Henry outside the town and conducted him to his palace. What struck me most was the strong contrast between the narrow dirty streets of the town and the scene which presented itself in the interior of the palace. Imagine yourself walking through marble courts and treading on Cashmere shawls, sitting under canopies of the same material and listening to the trickling of fountains, and then you can fancy what an Indian durbar is. Slaves are grouped in the background in picturesque dresses, and each man seems to be in his proper place. Among the presents which the little maharaja gave Sir Henry was a tent made of Cashmere shawls and a silver bedstead with curtains of the same materials. They say it is worth £800. All these presents are afterwards sold to enrich the Company’s coffers so that you must pay down the value of your presents if you wish to retain them. I spent a very agreeable morning in the palace sketching. The little maharaja sat to me and was covered with jewels for the occasion, having the “Koinoor”**’ on his arm—a diamond said to be worth a million. He is a very intelligent boy, and I cannot help feeling the greatest interest in his fate. I then asked Raja Lal Singh, the ranee’s favorite, to let me sketch him, and he appeared to be pleased with the proposal as he took the trouble of putting on a suit of armour and, stroking his beard, seated himself in what he fancied was a most picturesque attitude. I was at one time touching up his eyes when he asked me whether I had put in a scar which he showed me above his eyebrow. I laughed and said, “No,” as I knew he had been

wounded at Feroz[s]hah[a]r by the bursting of a shell, a piece of which had struck his eye, and I did not wish to remind him of his disaster.°44

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As soon as I had finished my sketch I got up and proposed to go, when he said he wished me to take leave of the ranee, to which I, of course, consented, as I fancied I should be a favored individual if I got a peep at the handsomest woman in the East. However, I was doomed to be disappointed in this respect, for, after taking me through several courts, he brought me into a small room, and, having seated me on an ottoman, begged me to wait there, which I did for about 3 quarters of an hour, greatly bored, with the consolation that Her Highness was peeping at the feringhee through the curtain. However, Lal Singh appeared shortly afterwards with presents which he said the ranee begged I would accept. Upon

which I requested that he would tell her that I was highly honored by receiving anything from the handsomest woman in the East, thinking that a complimentary speech might possibly induce her to unveil the tip of her nose. However, my curiosity was not gratified. 17 March

We have now arrived in our new territory and shall be at Simla in about a fortnight. I long to see the hills after being in the plains nearly 2 years and, if Ican manage it, am thinking of making a little tour to Cashmere as Golab Singh has promised to show us all the lions whenever we choose to go there. I shall write a line to Walter. We are anxiously expecting to hear what Sir Robt. [Peel]’s measures are as well as what they will think of our doings in the East. Kiss your dear child for me. 51. [To Walter.] Camp Loodianah. [217] March 1846 [A]

[Charles begins by alluding to the new political arrangements with the Sikhs and Gulab Singh, which he included in his letter of March 14 to Sarah (no. 50). Then he adds:] After the signing of the treaty, the Lahore durbar begged that a British force might remain in Lahore until the new govt. was remodelled on a secure basis, as a disbanded soldiery might create disturbances which they could not of themselves put down. To this Sir Henry has consented, as he is anxious to give them every chance. 10,000 artilmen have been left there under a good officer, Sir John Littler, with autumn lery, and Sir Henry feels confident they are perfectly secure. Next useful they will return to our possessions and will in the meantime be most AOS)

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in keeping matters straight there.*** Some people will cry out and talk of the probability of their being attacked, recollecting the Caubal [Kabul] disaster’”° but forgetting what led to it. We are anxiously waiting for the mail. It will bring us the announcements of Sir Robt. [Peel]’s measures, and we reckon upon the letters being replies to those written immediately after Feroz[s]hahur. We are all very well and shall be at Simla on the 10th [of April]. Ld. Elphinstone*”’ is with me, and I am thinking of going with him to Cashmere for 6 weeks. [As Charles traveled with Arthur, Elphinstone, and others through the Himalayan regions from April to June, it seems he wrote no letters directly to Emily, Walter, or Sarah. He nonetheless did write to his father at Simla during that period. Henry Hardinge, in turn, sent Charles’s letters to Emily.*4* Since those letters have not been traced, they were presumably for some reason not preserved.] 52. [To Walter.] Simla. 17 July, 1846 [A]

I received the great Harding’s letter by the last mail, and not a little amusement did the contents afford me. He says that Hogarth*”’ of mounting celebrity is the man to undertake the business and that, as he (Harding) is at present working for him, he could superintend at the same time the publications of the Cashmere sketches. You will of course adopt any of his suggestions in this respect. I think I ought in return to indite an ode in his praise. It might begin

“O! et praesidium et dulce decus meum!”**°

for I consider our friendJ.D. H. knows as much about the true principles of art as any man, although he may not carry those principles out.

Here we are all 4 l’ordinaire except that we have been deluged with rain and hardly able to move out of the house. The Punjab is perfectly quiet and

the troops still continue healthy at Lahore, but at Kurrachee that scourge, the cholera, has been making sad havoc in the 60th Rifles—500 men and 2 officers were carried off in less than 20 days, & many of them in 2 or 3 hours. More like the plague at Athens as described by Thucydides than anything I can conceive.*”!

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Sir C. Napier & his family have fortunately as yet escaped, but while it 1s raging no one’s life is secure. Sir Geo[rg]e Arthur is still very ill, and it is said he has been prevailed upon by his friends to sail for England in the first ship. Who is to succeed him we have no idea. Lord Elphinstone & Arthur are still roaming about the “happy valley” [Kashmir] and talk of finding their way on to Ladak, but Lord E. is rather pottering and likes his comforts too much for travelling in a rough way.” Tell Sarah I have a fine tiger skin at her service. I sent home last September the skin of a leopard cat, which is a great curiosity, and which I wish you would order to be stuffed when it arrives. I had a letter from Bode**’ announcing his expectation of forming a matrimonial connection. The debates are interesting at this moment, and we spend our evenings in reading the “Morning Herald.” I often delude myself with the idea, when scanning a leading article, that | am ensconced in an armchair in Whitehall, but the idea vanishes as soon as a black visage comes to remind the sa[h]ib that the night is far advanced.

Adieu. Love to Sarah & her flock. 53. [To Sarah.] Simlah. Aug. 13, 1846 [C] Your letters which we received two days ago here [were], as usual, most

acceptable in these mountainous regions, perhaps more especially so as they assured us that you and your children were flourishing and my mother in good health in spite of hot rooms. We all rely upon those about her not allowing her to do too much. Before this reaches you, [you] will have received my Cashmere sketches which I hope will give you some idea of the beauties of the far-famed vale. The scenery certainly far exceeds anything I have ever seen, and Lord Elphinstone, who used to swear by the Italian lakes for beauty of scenery, has given his vote in favor of the Cashmere ones. | told you before, I think, that they are making a shawl for you there, which I hope will be ready in a few months. I also brought away with me a carved window which will do very well for the summer house at S. Park and have got inkstands with all your respective names inscribed in Persian, which are good specimens of Cashmeerey work.

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The scenery here is very poor—not picturesque. The hills are gigantic but like large mole hills and quite devoid of character, and the snow is so far distant that you can only catch a glimpse of it. I have consequently not touched a pencil since | returned. 54. [To Walter.] Simla. August 13th, 1846 [A]

I have but little news to send you from these parts. These provinces which but a few months ago were the scenes of war and bloodshed present a quiet aspect as compared with the political ferment which appears to be now at its height in our own country. And as for the two branches of the legislature, there seems to be now a mutual understanding among all parties that members are not to confine their observations to the subject matter before the House but are justified in making recriminating attacks on each other. I imagine a better specimen of coarse abuse could not be found in the annals of Parliament. One of the “on dits” which are numerous & some of which have reached

us is that Ld. John [Russell] will propose a 5 instead of 10 pound franchise and that he will dissolve upon that question. I fear he may be disposed to court popularity by conceding too much. We are of course anxious for arrival of the next mail, which will probably

announce whom we are to have at the Board of Control. I rather hope not Lord Auckland, as he will be continually corresponding with his Indian friends out here, which is very objectionable for many reasons.*>* There has been an encounter between the dewan [administrator] of Moultan’s troops and some of Lal Singh’s men which was contrary to the express orders of the former, who had told his troops to give way to the Lahore soldiers should they advance into his territory. A few broken heads were the consequence, and the dewan, who professes to be a true and faithful servant of the Lahore state, is on his way there to pay in his arrears of

revenue, which he has been a little remiss in completing and which Lal Singh on the other hand has been a little too hasty in enforcing.*>> But matters are now satisfactorily settled, and in another month the whole of the

troops will be paid off. The troops themselves complain greatly of the delay as they say they are thereby prevented from being employed in farming & tilling their lands, which is a good sign of their intentions to turn their swords into pruning hooks.

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Lal Singh is a debauched character but an able man. His great fault is his love of money, which effectually precludes the possibility of his having the good of the state really at heart. We have occasionally curious reports of the ranee’s conduct. The last one was, — | his morning Her Highness, having assembled her female slaves, amused herself by making them bathe in the fountains in the palace garden and by holding their heads under water until they had nearly lost all sensation.” I wonder what our Queen would think of this amusement of royalty. Let me know what you and the greatJ.D. H[arding] determine to do about my sketches. I hope you will keep them for me as they are of little value to anyone but myself, and I look upon them as my journal. The Quarterly Review has not been sent out this time. I do not know why. Gleig, I think, is a poor writer**° and in his life of W[arren] Hastings

broaches strange doctrines for a parson.” Do not forget to send me my watch by Lord Ripon’s bag. It is now nearly a year since I have been without one, and I find it a great inconvenience. [P.S.] I beg you to observe that Lal Singh’s signature as well as Golab Singh’s is appended to the two sketches.*** 55. [To Walter.] Simla. Aug. 29, 1846 [A]

No news of any importance from these parts. J[ohn] Lawrence,*”” the brother of Col[one]] [Henry] Lawrence (who is ill), our agent on the frontier, has gone to Lahore to take charge of his political duties there and a few days ago sent us rather an unsatisfactory account of the state ofaffairs.

On his arrival he assembled the different members of the durbar and plainly told them that the time was now approaching when the Bnitish garrison must be withdrawn from Lahore; that any unnecessary delay in paying the disbanded troops must create disaffection & discontent which might result in consequences serious to the state; that the G.G. was most anxious to see a strong govt. established and that, unless they acted with justice to all parties and were fully alive to the dangers which they would inevitably incur by procrastination and inattention to the claims of the soldiery, those consequences would fall on their own heads. Lal Singh in his reply was loud in his expressions of gratitude to the British government, denying the assertion that he had rejected the just Oe

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claims of any parties and was appropriating to himself & [his] family an ample share of the resources of the state. He handed a paper to Lawrence showing that more than half the disbanded troops had been paid their arrears and promised faithfully that the remainder should be made good before our troops were withdrawn. Dewan Dena Nath, a very shrewd Talleyrand and a Sikh to the backbone,*”° was equally energetic in assuring Lawrence that no effort should be wanting on the part of the durbar to settle matters satisfactorily and that all would be well if the discontented sirdars did not intrigue to undermine the safety of the state. Fakir Noor-ood-Deen**! (the home secry.) stated that he had no doubts as to the permanent stability of the present Sikh govt. Moderation has been shown by the British, and every assistance held out to the durbar. If the latter failed, the fault would be their own.

Tej S., the C.C., & Bhaie Ram Singh*” (chancellor of the exchequer) chimed in a few words to the same effect, and the Sikh “cabinet” was broken up. All is quiet at Lahore, and I really believe they are earnest in their endeavors to bring matters to a speedy settlement. The G.G. is, I think, determined to adhere to his original declaration, namely that every B[ritish] soldier would be withdrawn in Decr. I am glad of it. A man ofless firm determination would be disposed to give them a lit-

tle more law, and we should be saddled with all the evils of the subsidiary system.

The war expenses will amount to a million and a half. The Sikh indemnity money will cover a million and a quarter. The revenues of the ceded states will pay for the new regiments which have been raised so that the war will not cost the state more than a quarter of a million. Compare this with the expenses of the Nepal campaign, the Burmese war, the siege of Bhuratpore, and the disastrous campaign in Affghanistan, and the item is comparatively a cipher. Sep. 2d.

Since | began this letter we have received a letter from the agent at Lahore respecting the state of Cashmere. The Lahore governor, Sheikh Imamooddeen,*™ had been showing a disinclination to give up the valley to Golaub Singh. The former is a thickhead and foolish fellow and has been induced to believe by those around him that the B[ritish] govt. would be

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very glad to have Cashmeer and would throw Golaub Singh over to gain their object. Under this impression he has been for the last 5 months throwing every obstacle in the way of the Jummoo maharaja, hoping that overtures would be made on our part for the transfer of the country to the B. govt. on the latter paying a certain sum. The last accounts stated that the Lahore troops in Cashmere occupied one side of the river and town & the maharajah’s the other, but the former are superior in numbers.°™ Orders have been sent from the Lahore durbar and the G.G. to the Sheick to give it up or resist at his peril, and his jagheers [tax-free lands] in the Punjab have been threatened with confiscation. | saw that there was a slight storm gathering when | was there but am sure it will all end in smoke. The “Sheick” is a very poor creature and will no more think of resorting to violence in the face of his own and the British govt. than offlying over the moon. Arthur had left the valley with Arthur Hay en route to Ladak. Lord Elphinstone & Ld. James Browne*® were two marches behind them. By the bye you have not sent us the “Quarterly.” I have as yet only seen extracts from it in the Indian newspapers and one to this effect—that the commander in chief was very anxious to reinforce Ferozepore with an additional Queen’s reg[imen]t shortly before the war broke out but that for political reasons the G.G. refused to comply with the demand. What are the real facts of the case? Why, that the G.G. urged upon the commander in chief on the 10th of Decr. the necessity of reinforcing Ferozepore with an additional Queen’s corps and had actually ordered H.M. 80th to proceed to that station without delay, which order was countermanded at the earnest request of the commander in chief and his assurance that SirJ. Littler was strong enough. This is an important point as want of preparation is one of the charges (& quite without foundation) brought against the G.G., and this false statement must have [been] furnished to Mr. Gleig by some of Ld. Gough’s personal friends. The G.G. will require Mr. Gleig to contradict it. The G.G. [had] also on a former occasion represented to the C.C. the necessity of posting another Queen’s corps at Ferozepore, but the latter always resisted it. I suppose we shall have the Quarterly out by this mail. The G.G. has written Sir John Hob[hou]se a long letter blaming the policy hitherto pursued, the difficulties which may be anticipated and the

advantages of interposing a Hindoo govt. between our frontier & the

Indus.2 He has offered to remain till the end of [18]47 when he hopes all

will be settled by that time. 109

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P.S. I see Gleig mentions in one of the extracts which I have seen that he has read private letters both from the C.C. and the G.G. The governor general wishes to know what letters you have shown him. The article is incorrect in one or two points and, without meaning it, leads the reader to in-

fer that the C.C. would have assembled a larger force but was prevented from so doing by the G.G. Had the G.G. sat quietly at Calcutta, only attending, as Gleig says he did, to education and the internal improvement of the country & had not anticipated events, what would have been the consequence? Why, the C.C. wrote in the autumn of 1844, “I can concentrate at and above Meerut 18,170 men & 84 guns.” Where is then a native force

which could beat such an army? Not all India concentrated!!! We fought the battle of Ferozshahar with upwards of 19,000 men & 65 guns brought up from Umballa in 9 days. The C.C.’s 18,170 men would have taken 10 days to concentrate, & after Sobraon 40,000 men, 106 guns & 42 heavy guns were assembled on the Sutlege. Gleig says only 30,000. But Bob is writing to you and will give you the details.°°’ [P.P.S.] The water colors in tubes have not reached me. 56. [To Sarah.] Simlah. Sep. 3, 1846 [C]

I have been cheering myself with the prospect of an earlier return than | bargained for and hope we may be enabled to get away in March [18]48. Our former letters will have led you to expect our return in the autumn of [18]48 or spring of [18]49, but if [we] can manage to bid adieu to this delightful country in March [18]48, it will be very desirable. I shall be anxious to see how Lord John [Russell]’s ministry succeeds. | hear Ld. Bessborough goes to Ireland*** on the distinct understanding that no blow is to be aimed at the established Church. Some people try to make out Sir Robt. [Peel] is prepared to make considerable concessions to the R. Catholics & that he is in favor of community of religions as well as civil privilege. Ireland will never be satisfied. Political gratitude is unknown. You give such delightful accounts of your children*® that I long to see them. The G.G. amuses himself with sending for all the children in Simla and giving them cakes.

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57. [To Walter.] Simla. Sep. 18, 1846 [A]

Since I last wrote to you matters have not taken a very favorable turn in Cashmere. The Lahore governor, Sheik Imamoodeen, has for the last

month been showing symptoms of resistance to Golab Singh’s authority, and it has at last come to blows, Golab Singh’s 2 reg[imen]ts having been attacked by the Sheikh’s guns and his vizier with about a thousand men killed.*”° It is quite impossible to fathom the depth of native intrigue, but it is pretty certain that this occurrence is purely owing to want of proper precaution on the part of the maharaja, who has for some years past been on the most intimate terms with the Lahore governor of Cashmere, & when the country was declared by treaty to be his, he entered into an agreement with his friend the Sheikh to hold the valley with his own troops for him. The story is that subsequently the Sheikh was anxious to escape to Lahore with the treasure he had amassed,*”! which Golab was equally anxious to se-

cure. Resistance to the latter authority was then planned which has ended in the Sheick being for the present master of the valley. This is unfortunate at the present moment, as there seems to exist at La-

hore also considerable ill feeling among the chiefs, and it will become a matter for serious consideration when the time arrives for the withdrawal of the troops whether our govt. ought to comply with the urgent request of the ranee & Lal S., which will assuredly be made, to leave our troops in La-

hore on terms which we may dictate. But this is too intricate a question to enter upon and is a subject on which much has been written and a variety of pro’s and con’s mooted. During the next two months matters will sufficiently develop themselves to enable the G.G. to form a decided opinion. The G.G. has sent home a voluminous correspondence with reference to Mr. Gleig’s article. It has been sent to Alick Wood?” (who will of course show you all the papers) for 2 reasons: first, because the G.G. thought you would probably be at the time in Northumberland; 2dly, because he was anxious not to involve you in a matter which might possibly but not probably lead you into a controversy with the author of the “Subaltern.”2”2 You will at once be convinced, on reading the correspondence,

of the injustice of Mr. Gleig’s remarks, which have annoyed the G.G. the

more from the patronizing & protecting tone of the writer.

slit

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You mention in one ofyour letters that you read portions of our letters to Mr. Gleig, and he mentions that he has seen letters both from the (GG. and C.C. The principal points on which the G.G. has touched and repelled Mr. Gleig’s assertions relate to the movements of the Meerut force, the question of reinforcing Ferozpore with Europeans, and the alleged suggestion of the C.C. to “close up the rear” which, as Mr. G. asserts, was disapproved of by the G.G. I am not aware that any of my letters ever alluded to the detail of military movements, and I presume if they had you would not have read such passages to Mr. G. for fear of their disagreeing with any of the C.C.’s statements. The G.G. feels satisfied Mr. Gleig could not have elicited his misstatements from his letters to you, and, as

Lord Gough has denied having furnished Mr. Gleig with these inaccuracies, we conclude they must emanate

from the letters of some

of Ld.

Gough’s staff put into Mr. Gleig’s hands by young Gough.*™ Be that as it may, the G.G. is determined to have these assertions refuted and will not rest till this is done, but he is most anxious that it shall not go beyond Alick Wood, Tom Wood, and yourself, as he would be very averse to be involved in anything like an Outram & Napier controversy.” Arthur is well out of the Cashmere émeute [tumult], being now in company with Lord Arthur Hay between this [place] and Ladak. We expect

them here at the end of the month. Pray write and let me know what you think of my sketches and what the greatJ.D. H[arding] says. I fancy there is nothing in Switzerland that can equal the beauty of Cashmere. I hope to take up my brush again on our tour through the hills to Kangra. I have not had time to do anything in that line since I came back from Cashmere. My love to Sarah. As Bob is gone ona trip to the snow, I fear I shall not have time to write a separate letter to her as I am off[icial]ly milty. secry. till he comes back. I wish you a pleasant excursion with J. D. H. and envy you your depictations with the Maecenas of amateurs. If I recollect right, Aristotle held a “life of contemplation” to be the summum bonum.°”° Contemplating the beauties of nature is certainly a great source of mental pleasure. I won't allude to the “E€vepyeta” [operation] of laying on the pigment.

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58. [To Walter.] Simla. Oct. 3, 1846 [A] Since I last wrote to you, matters in Cashmere have assumed a very un-

satisfactory aspect. The Sheikh, who but a month ago was a mere creature of Golab Singh’s, has been induced by those around him to resist the authority of the latter, has attacked & routed his troops, killing their commandant; the remainder have taken refuge in the Hurree Purbut Fort,*’’ which overhangs the town and ofwhich you will see a sketch among those sent home, and are closely besieged there. To give you an idea of the state of affairs & how all this has been brought about, I must first tell you that on our arrival at Jummoo in the beginning of April Golab Singh told us that he had arranged matters with Sheik Emamoddeen, the Lahore governor, that he had sent two of his own hill reg[imen]ts into the country, and that the Sheik had offered to hold the val-

ley for him with his Seik troops until he (the maharaja) could conveniently make arrangements to relieve them. The day after we reached the capital of Kashmere the fort of Hurree Purbut was made over to Golaub Singh’s troops, and they accordingly marched in & took possession. For the next 3 months matters went on very quietly, Lord Elphinstone & Arthur being provided with everything they wanted for their return to Simla via Ladack and no impediment being offered to their quitting the

valley. In the beginning of September Capt. Broome’ & Nicholson,*”” the English officers appointed to the maharaja’s service, went up to Cashmere with a detachment of troops and were received with every outward mark of civility by the Sheick. But they were not long in the valley before symptoms of insurrection began to show themselves, which [were] immediately re-

ported to headquarters here. Orders from the G.G. and the Lahore durbar were immediately sent to the Sheik to retire from Cashmere with his troops but to no purpose. He held out promises one day & broke them the next, and at one time had made every preparation for leaving the valley when the neighbouring chiefs got round him and threatened him in various ways. This state of affairs lasted for about a week when the European officers,

finding that their presence was of no avail but rather tended to embarrass the maharaja’s party to whom they were attached, left the valley unmolested.3*° The day after their departure the two parties came to blows,

My Indian Peregrinations

which ended in the defeat of the maharaja’s troops, and the valley is now in the Sheick’s possession. 6 of our native reg[imen]ts have been ordered up to Jummoo to protect the maharaja’s rear while the latter moves against Cashmeer. Tej S. also moves from Lahore with 5000 men to cooperate with Golaub S. It is very doubtful whether this force will be able to force the passes at this advanced season of the year. It is suspected that Raja Lal Singh has been intriguing with the Sheik, but of this there is no proof as yet altho’ the fact is not improbable. You may judge from this what a set of scoundrels we have to deal with. The maharaja of Jummoo has not solicited our assistance beyond the presence of our troops at Jummoo, so that we are not at present called upon to dirty our fingers with interfering in these intrigues.°*! Golab Singh has evidently been duped by the Sheick. The Sheick enters into an agreement with him to hold the valley with Seik troops and one fine day sets up for himself and defies the maharaja. It will remain to be seen whether the latter can regain his own. This occurrence is unfortunate as there has not been a shot fired since we crossed the river in Febry. last & the state of the Punjab was unprecedentedly tranquil. The fate of the present ministry at Lahore is uncertain, and it will be necessary to be prepared for any emergency. Annexation is greatly to be deprecated. The G.G. is more than ever averse to it. It may be said of him: Non civium ardor prava iubentium Mente quatit solida neque Auster “Prava iubentium” | wd. translate “crying out for annexation,”*** for many of our young civilians and ensigns panting for mility. honors see in this their only chance of promotion.

We expect Arthur here in about a fortnight. He has written for provisions, for he where he is. This may “Bothie.”*** We leave some

says there is great difficulty in procuring the necessaries of life

find you indulging in the picturesque near some Highland My best regard to J. D. H[arding]. Simla on the 24th Octr. for Kangra where we shall remain

time.

Love to Sarah. I hope the children are flourishing.

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59. [To Walter.] Simla. Oct. 21, 1846 [A]

I have first of all to thank you “iterumque iterumque” [again and again] for remembering me and my love of art. I shall value your memento the more as it will remind me hereafter that, altho’ distance separated us, we

were the same—unchanged. A sketch fresh from the brush of the great J. D. H[arding] will at once recall & bring with it pleasing recollections. With regard to my own sketches, I am glad you think them worth publishing and shall not be a little indebted to J.D. H. for condescending to put them on stone. Maecenas was never more considerate in extending his protection to Horace; Horace was never more grateful in his acknowledgements than your humble servant.*** Pray say all you can in my behalf to the great man, to whom I| must write myself in befitting terms. I have not yet, however, received his letter.

You mention in yours that you think of having two separate folios—one of views in the plains, the other of views in the hills. A very good idea [ think, and I have in consequence sent you by this mail a few small sketches done in Cashmere & elsewhere which may serve as “vignettes.” I have also sent 3 sketches—Calcutta, [the] palace at Delhi, and the gateway [at] Futtehpore Sikree as they are all objects of interest & may serve to give you an idea of the realities. I have had some difficulty in rolling them up in tin, and you will have the same in taking them out. Kindly have them mounted and kept with the others. I look upon them as the journal of my travels and am sure they cannot be in better hands than yours. You will, I am sure, make the necessary arrangements with J. D. H. about their publication so that no suggestions on my part can be required. If you want any further descriptions of the places, only say so, & I will send them. I hope I may have an opportunity of seeing Italy and Switzerland and judging of the comparative merits of both. Arthur, as I told you by the last mail, has returned much pleased with his tour. I shall leave him to speak for himself. Whilst I am on the subject of art & nature, I must tell you that the water colors in tubes have arrived and that I think them an admirable invention. I must beg of you to send me out another book about two inches larger in length & breadth with some more tubes as “reserve ammunition.” I have also one more request to make which is that you will send me one ofyour own sketches, which will prove ” very acceptable in this country in which I never see anything “artistical and or meet with anyone who could see any difference between Claude*®

My Indian Peregrinations

Robson,?*° Landseer or—I was going to say “Josi”®*’ but I forget that Sarah has a peculiar penchant for that eminent artist. I have some money with Cox,*** and, if you will let me know the amount of my purchase in England, I will send you a draft. And now as to Indian politics. I must tell you that affairs in Cashmeer are looking decidedly better. The Lahore govr. of Cashmere has tendered his submission to Lal Singh, promising to leave Cashmere on the 23d. He has raised the siege of the Hurree Purbut Fort and withdrawn his troops, but these native rulers are such slippery fellows that no dependence can be placed on their promises. We must first bag the hare, and it will be a matter for future consideration how he is to be wasted. The Sheick’s position was undoubtedly a difficult one: if he went to Lahore, he knew that he would be compelled to disgorge the treasure he had amassed; if he went to Jummoo, he was not sure of a more friendly reception. He had, as you know, undertaken to hold the valley for Golab Singh with his own Seik troops, and this arrangement had been concluded when we arrived in Cashmere, with the exception of a reg[imen]t who held & still holds the Hurree Purbut. Latterly, however, the Lahore govr., alarmed at

the prospect of his treasure falling into Golab Singh’s or Lal Singh’s hands and encouraged in his resistance by the lawless chiefs who inhabit the hill districts of Cashmere,**’ determined upon setting up for himself.

He has now become alarmed and given in. Tej Singh with 7000 regulars and backed by Golab Singh’s force must by this time have nearly reached the pass. Sir John Littler with 6 reg[imen] ts of n[ative] i[nfantry], H.M. 80th, & 24 guns are not far from the Chenab [River]. They are to advance as far as Bhimber*”’ for the purpose of making a demonstration on Golab Singh’s rear so that, altho’ the Sheick has tendered his submission, no relaxation in warlike preparations will be allowed until his person is secured. The advance of Tej Singh to the pass will, [ imagine, at once influence his unsettled purpose, altho’ it is impossible to reckon upon it as a certainty. The durbar have been distinctly told to speak out before it is too late on the subject of the withdrawal of the troops. This, as soon as the Cashmere affair is settled, will require serious consideration. If the darbar make no proposals, they must be left to their fate; if they agree to any terms which the B[ntish] govt. may propose, their proposals will, of course, be taken into consideration.

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We leave this place, of which I am heartily tired, on Monday en route through the low hills for Kote Kangra. I do not expect to see any fine scenery; we shall be too low for that. 60. [To Sarah.] Simla. Oct. 22, 1846 [A]

I have sent you some more sketches to keep for me & hope they will be approved of. Pray tellJ.D. H[arding] to send me his criticisms. There is more to be learned in this way than by repeated lessons. I am highly flattered by his approbation because I know he does not butter his pupils solely with a view of giving them encouragement. I have given Walter what is termed here a “précis” of Punjab intelligence. One of the great obstacles to the Sheick’s coming in is a handsome wife, a harem politician who bullies the unfortunate man to such an extent that he hardly knows his own mind for 2 minutes together. She is said to have posted sentries round the harem with orders to deny the Sheick admittance until he had attacked Golab Singh’s troops and he, it is said, yielded to this severe treatment and broke the peace. So you see what mischief the “females” have been working. Young Thelburn is an ensign & has not been out long & consequently has not yet qualified himself for staff employ. The G.G. will not forget him. Bhaee Ram Singh, one of the ablest of the Lahore ministry, died a few

days ago. His body was wrapped in 20 of the finest Cashmere shawls which his wives could produce & burned on the pile. The last time I saw him he was in good health and took me over the palace at Lahore. Arthur is quite well & has written to you. Take [care] my mother does not overwork herself. I hear she is thinner than when she returned. You will kiss your children for me.

61. [To Walter.] Camp Sukegts [>Sarka Ghat]. Nov. 2d, 1846 [A]

We left Simla on the 26th, reaching this [place] by easy marches yesterday. As the hills through which we have passed are low and not very picturesque, my pencil has remained inactive with the exception of an opportucunity I seized of sketching a most Salvator-like fort?’! built on a perpendi of lar rock overhanging the Sutlege. Tomorrow we go to Kumalgurh, one WANE

My Indian Peregrinations

the strongholds of Ranjeet and in his time deemed impregnable.*”’ Kangra we reach a few days hence and from that place descend into the Jullundhur to be present at a large native fair which is to take place early in Decr. and where there will be a gathering of Sikh chiefs. From Kashmir our last accounts are very favorable, and there is every prospect of that affair being speedily and peaceably brought to a conclusion. Lhe Sheick has left the city en route to Lahore, & the G.G. hopes to

be able to let the Secret Committee know before the mail goes out that he is fairly out of the passes and that Golab Singh is in possession. Tej Singh is at present within three marches of the pass with 7000 men. Shere Sing of Peshawur*”’ has also joined him with 6 reg[imen]ts & eight guns, and Golab Singh is bringing up the rear with about 3000 men. A British officer is with each division and has been of the greatest use in urging on their respective generals and encouraging the men. At Lahore everything is peaceable & quiet. Tom Ashburnham, whom you must recollect in Dublin, is in command there and occasionally sends me most amusing letters. Sir John Littler’s force is assembled on the Ravee [River] and will in a few days retire upon Lahore now that the Cashmere affair is settled.°”* The dewan of Moultan has arranged matters with Lal Singh, and all difficulties on that head have been removed. The ranee and Lal Singh have not abandoned their old habits. The former is furious whenever her favorite is remiss in his attentions to her and occasionally makes him a present of a slave girl in order to induce him to be more subservient to her wishes to the total exclusion of his legitimate wife. Only conceive her sending one of these slaves to the raja with the message that she was her own sister! Messalina must have been a Lucretia as compared with the ranee of Lahore.*”> I have lately been thinking of my future prospects when we return to England. I cannot say I look forward to any opening in the present state of parties, and it is not the way ofthe world to give the son a helping hand on the score of his father’s services. I often regret the army, as I should have

got promotion at least by the last campaign and be in the same position now with as fair a prospect of getting one eventually. For it is not to be assumed that the army disqualifies a man for other offices, although it is generally looked upon as an idle profession. However, I have been very fortunate in seeing in 2 years more than most men see in their natural lives & consider myself in great good luck.

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By the bye you must exert your ingenuity in finding out a spot at South Park for 2 six pounders captured from the Sikhs, which will be handed

down to posterity as the “spolia opima”*”® of the G.G. They must be under cover as the carriages are beautifully worked. Love to Sarah & children. 62. [To Sarah.] Camp Mundee. Nov. 3d, 1846 [A]

I have written a line to Walter and have only to give you a report of our party—that we are well and enjoying our march through this low range of hills. Every place in India has some object of interest, some old fort or castle to which is attached some legend so that, were it not for the climate,

which compels you to keep yourself within the walls of your tent until the sun shows symptoms of its being about to sink below the horizon, the East and the East alone is the country which possesses peculiar charms for the artist, geologist, or antiquarian. A group of Sikh soldiers with their sabres & matchlocks transports you at once as it were to the age of chivalry, and the rajas of these hills correspond in a great measure with the feudal chiefs & the system which we read of in history. The entrance to this place is most picturesque. The fort [Kamlagarh] & palace overhang the river which runs over the rocks till it disappears into its endless windings in the glen below. On the road near the town are the tombs of no less than 70 widows who performed suttee on the occasion of the deaths of their respective husbands, and every Hindoo who passes the spot makes a low obeisance out of respect to the memory of the unfortunate victims. An anecdote is told here of Vigne*”’ who travelled in the Punjab some few years ago. In passing through this place he offered a sum of money to rescue one of these women who was on the point of being burnt. The woman heard of his offer and, thrusting her hand into the faggots which

had just been lighted, replied, “Do you think that the wife of a Rajpoot who can bear pain as I do could be induced to shrink from her duty by a few rupees?” And this is one of the numerous instances of the firmness with which these women meet their death.

The Cashmere affair, as I have told Walter, is now settled, and I hope soon to get my shawls. I am delighted to get under canvas again—red boxes by day & large dinIn ner parties at night are rather too much ofa good thing when combined. AAD

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camp we are generally relieved from these matters of ceremony, and the gypsy life of a camp has its own charm. I hope your dear children continue to flourish. When we assemble at S. Park, I suppose I shall see many young olive branches.

63. [To Emily.] Camp Rajpoora. Nov. 18, 1846 [A] We are, as you may suppose, most anxiously waiting for the mail which is now hourly expected. The last caused us no small degree of pain & anxiety, for at a time when we were reflecting upon the enjoyment you would derive from being quietly settled at South Park with those of your children about you who would cheer and comfort you in your widowhood, we were alarmed at hearing of your severe illness. You may imagine how much anxiety this has caused among us all, but I trust that you have ere this recovered even from the debility which so severe an attack must have left behind. You will have reached South Park before you receive our letters, and we rely upon Walter taking every care of you and not allowing you to exert yourself too much. You are physically so active and energetic that | am sure you have not been giving yourself fair play. I think it would be a very good plan

if you could pay Nice another visit, and we should in that case join you there in Janry. [18]48 and have a very pleasant tour homewards. In these parts all is going on satisfactorily at present. [he Cashmere affair is settled and the Punjab in a state of quiet such as it has not been witness to for many a long year. Meanwhile the Cashmere émeute has elicited certain disclosures which will probably lead to the removal of Lal Singh, the present vizier. The Sheikh has produced letters signed by Lal Singh and ordering the Sheikh to resist Golab Singh’s authority which, if proved to be genuine, will at once seal the raja’s fate. On the Sheikh’s arrival at Lahore the investigation will take place, and, if sufficient grounds for re-

moving Lal Singh can be established, it will facilitate future measures, principally by getting rid of the ranee, a most obnoxious lady who thinks of nothing else but her own interests and pleasure & is constantly distributing state land among the relations of her favored lover. As for the Sheick, he is [a] miserable creature. He has shown himself to

be as chicken-hearted in the hour of danger as he was bellicose in temporary security. He too is a victim to his wife’s influence, and they say the rustle of Mrs. Sheick’s petticoats sets the poor Sheick quite in a ferment. As you know, he put to death 2[00] or 300 of Golab Singh’s troops and, on 120

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the approach of Tej Singh’s force backed by British troops, showed the white feather at a season of the year when, if he had any pluck, he might have made stout and probably for the time successful resistance. We have had a very pleasant tour through the low hills, visiting Kangra, Mundee, and Kurta[r] ghur—all places of note in this country—and tomorrow we join our large camp in the plains and shall remain close to the frontier to watch events. The next two months will disclose much, and, if

the durbar agree to our managing the country with a British resident & British bayonets until the maharaja is of age, I am sure it would be as good an arrangement as could be made &, if annexation is forced upon the govt., we shall have the same result in the Punjab that we have experienced in Scinde, with the additional evil of its being one of the most difficult countries to hold in a military point of view. We are all glad that Arthur Cunnynhame has excharged into the Guards*”® as we shall always have Fanny near us, which will be a great comfort. The only objection my father sees to it, if objection it can be called, is that the command of a reg[imen|]t is always very desirable as giving a man an insight into the discipline and machinery of a corps independently of the responsibility, temper and discretion which are required in a com[mandin|g officer.

You will not, I imagine, like to leave England until Fanny is confined. I think as soon as that happy event takes place, a little tour abroad would do you good. I am obliged to seal this before receiving our Europe letters. | hope we shall hear of your perfect recovery. You have no idea how my father has suffered from the suspense.

64. [To Walter.] Camp Rajpoora. Nov. 19, 1846 [A]

Your letter removed a heavy load from my father’s mind, for you may imagine what a shock the account of my mother’s illness which appeared in the newspapers gave him. What made it worse was that the express with our Europe letters was delayed on the road, and the first intimation we received was that paragraph which was copied from the London papers. Our own letters did not reach us for two days, and those two days we spent in a most miserable state of suspense, so much so that my father was almost prepared for the worst, and the expression used—“no immediate danger” —only served to increase our alarm. Your letter, however,

lal

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removes our anxiety ina great measure,

as what we feared most was the re-

currence of one of those severe attacks of influenza which have occasionally seized her. Her illness as you describe it is to be ascribed to a very different cause, and we entertain sanguine hopes that with good medical advice, care on her own part and care on yours, we may hear of her health being completely restored and, I have heard it frequently quoted by medical men, as the result of such an attack rather improved than otherwise by the treatment usually resorted to. We hope for the best and are hourly expecting our letters. I am obliged to write today as I am always engaged on the day on which the express bag is made up, so that I am deprived of the pleasure which | had anticipated of being able to reply to a favorable account which we fully expect to receive. It will be a great comfort to her to be surrounded by her daughters with Sarah & yourself, and we cannot impress upon you too strongly the importance of keeping her quiet, as we fear Fanny’s confinement may tend to keep her continually in hot water. We should under other circumstances have had a very pleasant tour through the hills, but my mother’s illness has worried my father so much that he has not been able to enjoy it in any respect. Colfone]] Lawrence, the agent, has gone out to Cashmere with Golab Singh, and his last letters give satisfactory accounts of the conciliatory measures Golab Singh was then adopting towards the zemindars of Cashmere; one-5th of their revenues had already been remitted. Our own plans are to remain on the frontier until the time arrives for the withdrawal of the troops. It is impossible to foresee events, but I venture to predict that the durbar will be found to be willing, when the time arrives, to submit to any terms or any renewal of the treaty w[hic]h the govt. may think fit to dictate. It is now certain under existing arrangements, if no other measures are adopted, that, upon the withdrawal of troops, the murders of the ranee & Lal Singh would ensue and probably such scenes of anarchy & confusion as would leave the govt. no other course but annexation —a measure greatly to be deprecated. It is impossible to settle a country with a stroke of the pen, and even the annexation party allow that the best arrangement was made to meet every contingency at a time when it had been previously determined by the govt. at home and in India that annexation would by every possible measure be avoided. The Outram & Napier affair is still a mooted question. The Court have intimated their desire that the G.G. should issue a G[eneral] O[rder]

AI22.

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forbidding Co[mpany]’s officers to publish either in India or elsewhere documents which may have reached them officially, but the letter is so dubiously worded that it is not possible to discover whether the Court intend that a censure upon Outram’s publication should be conveyed in a G.O. or not. I am heartily sick of the whole question.*”” I have made one or two sketches lately which I think you would approve of. India certainly presents a fine field for the artist, and I shall ever look back with pleasure to my Indian peregrinations. I have hardly had the inclination to devote any of my leisure hours to my pencil during these last few days. We have been constantly kept in suspense and anxiety. 65. [To Walter.] Camp Kirtarpoor. Dec. 5, 1846 [A]

I have not heard from J. D. H[arding] but conclude he is too much engaged at his easel to send me a letter. You say he 1s thinking of using the tinted style in transferring my sketches to the stone. From what I have seen of former attempts to imitate coloured drawings, I cannot say | think the imitation a successful one. The most effective style is that which adopts for its material line engraving for the foreground and lithotint for the distance, of which there are some very good examples in Harding’s book on light and shade. We marched this morning “enroute” to the Beas. Currie, the chief secry., and Arthur have gone to Lahore, the former to conduct an enquiry which will probably implicate the vizier Lal Singh and, if fairly proved against him, tend to his deposition. The latter will avail himself of this opportunity to do a little regimental duty. I think I told you that the Sheick had produced certain documents bearing the raja’s signature & seal and authorizing him to reject Golab Singh’s authority. The object of the enquiry will be declared in the presence of the chiefs assembled, and as soon as the investigation is concluded, whatever

may be its result, the durbar will for the last time be made acquainted with the governor general’s resolution to withdraw the troops at the time appointed unless they should have any further request or proposals to make. This will bring them to the point, and, if they let the opportunity pass by, they must take the consequences, whatever they may be—however ruinous to their own interests or disadvantageous to ours.

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I have just returned from a day’s snipe shooting with a bag of 60 couple*” [with] 5 guns. I had the luck to bring down 8 couple off an elephant so that I may hope to improve in the shooting line. We have an addition to our staff—Astell, the son of the director and a very agreeable man.*”! Love to Sarah & the children.

66. [To Walter.] Camp Bhyrowal Ghat, 60 miles from Lahore. Dec. 19, 1846 [A]

We have alas! no letters by the last mail. Some, however, sent in Sir John Hobhouse’s heavy bag from Southampton have reached us, amongst others one from Eliza Peel.*”” The Marseilles mail containing all our private letters has, it is feared, been lost, as nothing has been heard of H.M.S. Volcano and it is known that she encountered a very heavy gale shortly after leaving Marseilles. It is to be hoped that she has put back and that we shall receive our missing letters by the next mail, which is due in 4 or 5 days. Since I| last wrote to you, important events have occurred. The Lahore vizier has been deposed, and the future government of the Punjab has been placed in the hands of a British minister who will exercise supreme authority during the minority of the little maharaja or for such shorter period as may be deemed advisable by the British government. By the terms of a proclamation issued during the insurrection in Cashmere, the life of Sheick Emamoodeen, the Lahore governor, was guaran-

teed to him as well as our intercession with the Lahore durbar in his behalf provided that he could produce written documents to prove that he had acted under the orders of the wuzeer Raja Lal Singh in opposing the occupation of Cashmere by Golab Singh. Currie was accordingly deputed to Lahore on the Sheik’s arrival, there to institute an enquiry on the part of the British govt. with the causes which led to the insurrection in Cashmere and the violation of the treaty. The whole of the durbar and the most influential chieftains of the Punjab were convened, and it was declared to them in open durbar that the governor general had directed the commission, composed of Mr. Currie; Col[one]| Lawrence, the agent; Mr.J.Lawrence, the commissioner of the trans-Sutlege states; with Sir John Littler and Co[lone]| Goldie,*™ to hear the charges which the Sheick had to bring against the vizier and the defence

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of the latter in exonerating himself from the grave accusations with which he stood arraigned. The chiefs assented unanimously to the proposed form of the proceedings, and Lahore for the first time saw 5 English gentlemen sitting in judgement on its vizier by the common consent of the members of its own government.

The evidence was conclusive. The defence [was] miserably weak. The two letters, written by the raja’s order and apparently signed & sealed by him, were notjudicially proved to be authentic, although the presumptive evidence was very strong. These letters plainly directed the Sheick to resist Golab Singh’s occupation and promised him rewards for such service.*”* But the letter that sealed the raja’s fate was one which he himself admitted to be authentic and which directed the Lahore troops under the Sheick’s command to remain with him & do his bidding without fear of consequences.” The raja, on being examined further, admitted that he had, subsequently to the outbreak of the insurrection, sent no order to counteract that previously given but used in his defence that the letter to the troops had been sent at the Sheik’s request to “give them assurance” as he termed it and not with the view of supporting their governor in his unjustifiable resistance. The purport, however, was very different, and the very fact of his having taken no steps to prevent any misunderstanding which the wording of the letter might have raised was enough of itself to convict him, independently of the other proofs which were adduced. The defence principally turned on the improbability of the wuzeer having been guilty of so flagrant a breach of faith towards the British government and on certain orders to the Sheick from the durbar directing him to retire, which the Sheick admitted to be genuine but which he refused to obey in consequence of the receipt of the private letters from the raja en-

couraging him in his rebellion. It is difficult to make an abstract of the whole of the evidence which was most ably summed up by Currie, who declared that the com[missio]n had found the raja guilty and pronounced in the presence of the assembled

chiefs the sentence of deposition.*”° The chiefs, having unanimously assented, signed the papers. The deposed raja was conveyed to his own house by an escort of his own troops where he was kept in surveillance.

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The governor general at the close of the enquiry addressed (in writing) the maharaja, stating that it was not his intention to visit the crime of the vizier on the Lahore state, that he was aware of the difficulties which surrounded him from his youth & inability to take charge of his own govt., that his friendly disposition towards him remained unchanged, but that, as an atonement for the infraction of the treaty, the govr. general demanded the expatriation of the offender. The letter further stated that it was the governor general’s intention to withdraw the troops at the stipulated period, but that he was ready to listen to any request the durbar might have to urge and would readily give the state his advice & support. The durbar in the name of the maharaja acknowledged the raja’s guilt and assented to his exile.*°’ They also requested that the British agent and the troops might be allowed to remain beyond the period agreed upon. The governor general then directed Currie to convene the chiefs a second time and to declare in their presence the only terms on which he would consent to the continued occupation of Lahore by a British garrison. The terms, which have been drawn up in articles of agreement supplementary to those of the treaty of March last, are briefly these: The British troops will occupy the capital and any forts the G.G. may choose to hold in such force as he may determine during the minority of the maharaja or for a shorter period if the government so decide. The annual sum to be paid to defray this and other expenses to amount to 22 lacs. A British minister to be at the head of the govt. The durbar to be changed or members removed at the will of the govr. genl. The ranee to have no political power but | lacs a year pension.*"* The milty. Sikh forces, the revenue, the political relations and, in short, all administrative power to be vested in the British officer, the govt. being carried on by native agency, making no changes in the customs & institutions of the Sikh nation. The British govt. may interfere as much or as little as it chooses. In coming to this arrangement the leading chiefs & sirdars were distinctly told that the G.G. was ready to withdraw every soldier and that the

rejection of the terms on which he would consent to the continuance of the British forces in the Punjab would make no alteration in the friendly relations between the two governments, as the assembled chiefs were the sole

judges of the affair, and that, if they determined upon making the attempt

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of carrying on the government without British bayonets to back [them], the G.G. would continue to give them every advice & support as far as was consistent with the treaty of March last. The chiefs & durbar, after deliberating among themselves, agreed to all the terms and signed & sealed the articles. The little maharaja is to arrive in our camp ina few days to affix his own signature,’’ when there will be the usual display of Eastern splendor. The Lahore treaty of the 9th March last will be in abeyance during our occupation, but no alteration in its terms will be made. The governor general intends to return the little maharaja’s visit at Lahore & to escort him back from this camp. We shall once more pay the Sikh capital a visit with the satisfaction of knowing that the tranquillity of the Punjab is secured for the next 10 years at least. The difficulties of annexation are daily becoming more apparent, the evils of the subsidiary system are equally so; whereas the system about to be adopted steers clear of the difficulties of the former as well as the evils of the latter. In the nizam’s country, in Oude, in Gwalior, etc., British bayonets are frequently the instruments of enforcing extortionate demands; in the Punjab the British resident will exercise control over all. I find I have consumed several sheets of paper, which will tax your patience, but it has struck me that these new arrangements will not be published in this country on time to admit of their finding their way into the English papers. I do not anticipate—indeed, | cannot see on what grounds the new govt. can disapprove of what has been done, although they say Palmerston is for annexation and nothing but annexation.*'” I hope to get hold of a few good oriental figures at the approaching durbars. I am now about to write a scrap to Sarah & will conclude in the words of Pliny “vive et me dilige.”*"'

67. [To Sarah.] Camp left side of the River Beas. Dec. 20, 1846 [A]

I have given Walter all the political news I have and therefore do not give . you a second edition. seriously The ranee, they say, is very disconsolate and at one time thought of rushing from the palace and throwing herself at Mr. Currie’s

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feet to intercede for her friend the raja. This would have been rather a good scene and might have been re-enacted at Astley’s*’* with equally good stage effect. In a few days we are to have little Duleep Singh here. The usual interchange of presents will take place, and we shall escort him back to Lahore. He is a very nice boy but, being fattened with butter, looks a little plethoric, as Mrs. Currie wd. say. Arthur came back from Lahore with a fund of Eastern anecdotes. All the Sikh sirdars say the “lord sahib ka beta nutent hey” which, being interpreted in French, means “le jeune fils du lord sahib est d’un esprit fort gaillard.”*!? This time next year I hope we shall be fairly on our way home. There is nothing now to keep the governor general in India beyond that time as the tranquillity of the Punjab is secured, & he may fairly [be] allowed to repose on his hard earned laurels. Tomorrow evening, the first anniversary of Ferozshahur, we shall enter-

tain the different reg[imen]ts in camps & have 60 people to dinner. I hope Mr. Squires will be filling your glass about the same time. The day will bring with [it], however, some sad as well as pleasing reflexions. Love to the children. 68. [To Walter.] Lahore. Jan. 2, 1847 [A]

We have once [again] to date our letters from the Sikh capital. The contrast between the state of affairs which existed in Janry. last and the present is strange! We had then only succeeded in drawing the reptile’s fangs. We have now completely tamed & subdued him. The English officers could not then ride through Lahore without being abused. The Sikh soldier now salaams him, and the mass of the people appear delighted with the prospect of our protracted occupation.*'4 The town itself is much improved. The streets are very narrow, but our system ofdrainage has been introduced with such effect that Lahore is now on a par with Agra or Delhi as far as cleanliness is concerned. We are en-

camped under the ranee’s apartments. Arthur & I intend to serenade her by moonlight, & ‘vaya luna’ is to be rehearsed. I have not, however, anything to tell you worth hearing since I last wrote.

The little maharaja and the durbar came to visit the governor general on the Beas, and the meeting was as fine a sight as these ceremonies always

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are.*'> We return his visit tomorrow in the palace and remain here about 8 days to make final arrangements for the occupation. Now that the Punjab question is solved, the work of reduction will commence and the pruning knife vigorously be applied. Since 1839 when the campaign in Affghanistan was first contemplated, the Indian army has been increased to upwards. of 50,000 men, thereby involving a charge of not less than one million [pounds] and upwards. Then the Affghan war cost above 8 million so that with Scinde, which does not pay its expenses, it may readily be conceived that our exchequer is not in a very flourishing condition. The Sikh war will not cost half a million, exhibiting a marked contrast with the sad results of the Affghan campaign. This new ceded territory will bring in an annual revenue of £500,000, and the 22 lacs which

the Lahore govt. are to pay us annually for our troops will be brought into play. And with regard to reductions, the gov. genl. proposes to reduce every nat[ive] inf[antry] corps from 1000 to 800 rank & file & the irreg[ula]r cavalry from 8[00] to 500 men. This will at once knock off from the Bengal army alone 15,000 men & be a saving to the state of £160,000 and, supposing the new ceded territory to pay £400,000 annually after deducting the civil charges, the total relief to the Indian finances by these reductions and the revenue of the ceded districts will amount yearly to half a million. I do not quite agree with you in the view you take of “Gleig’s article.” You seem to think that it is perfectly allowable for one man to be whitewashed at the expense of another. Now Gleig might have buttered Lord Gough quite as much as was required without making it appear that the Meerut force was countermanded by the gov. genl. contrary to Lord Gough’s advice, as well as insinuating that there had been want ofpreparation, etc. The misstatements, as you know, are numerous and have proba-

bly been sent to Lord Gough’s son by some of his own staff, some of whom look upon Lord G. as an incarnation of all the requisites for a great general. I dare say you think that the gov. genl. has paid more attention to it than the matter really deserves,’'° but you will, I imagine, on reflection see the importance of correcting misstatements in one of the first publications of the day which will probably at a future period be taken all for gospel. Lord Gough & the G.G. are on the best possible terms, and the former

wrote to say that in all matters in which he was concerned he wished the truth & the truth only to be published. He is the most gallant soldier that ever drew sword and the most amiable man in private life that can be conceived.

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I am very much obliged to you for all the trouble you have taken & are taking about my drawings. I am highly flattered by Her Majesty's approbation & consider myself very fortunate in becoming a contributor to the royal album. You could not have made a more fortunate selection for H.M.,*"” as I shall be able to replace them here. Hogarth’s objection may be a sound one—indeed, the sketches were never made with a view of being published, but they are not a bit more unconnected than Miss Eden’s drawings, which were not a losing concern to the publisher. This time next year we shall be making preparations for leaving India and the G.G. will close his career in this country, which has been a short but an eventful one. 69. [To Sarah.] Camp Lahore. Jan. 3, 1847 [A]

We have little of Indian news to tell you. Beyond our meeting with the maharajah on the Beas, nothing eventful has occurred. The boy*!® is much improved and amuses himself every day with watching workmen who bring their tools to the palace & show His Highness how shoes, swords, matchlocks, etc., are made. [his is much better for him than

spending his time with the ranee, and it shows that he has rather a mechanical turn. All sorts of stories are told about the ranee which, I dare say, make her

out much worse than she really is. Now that she has got her pension of £15,000 a year, she will be quiet and not meddle with state affairs. I am thinking of disguising myself as a native artist sent by the gov. genl. to take her picture or accompanying Mrs. Currie whenever she visits her as an “ayah” or lady’s maid. | think the latter would be more feasible but I should be [at] a loss how to put a ring through my nose, for all native women wear such an appendage. I hear that my Cashmere shawls will be ready in a month. I have already received a very pretty “choga” or small cloak which I ordered for my goddaughter and which [ think you will admire. The shawl bed[spread] will reach England in March. We are all very sensible of the tender care with which you have nursed mother—indeed we were sure she could not be in the hands of anyone who could pay more attention to her wants and who at the same time would enjoin prudence on diet, etc.

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You mention that a collection of rare animals & birds would be an interesting memento of India. I have often thought of it, but the difficulty of finding room for them always presents itself. I have at this moment in my tent the head of [an] alligator which we caught the other day and which measured 16 feet, and my servants are at this moment stuffing the head ofa “nylghaee,”*'® the largest of the deer tribe, which Bob & I shot the other morning after a run across country of 10 miles. We fired from our horses in the Sikh style. I luckily wounded him in the leg, and before he could charge us Bob brought him down with a shot which killed him at once. We are making a collection of the most curious deer, antelope, etc., for our hall at South Park where they will look well. 70. [To Sarah.] Camp Sobraon. Jan. 18, 1847 [A]

Many thanks for your letter. Pray give me a line whenever you have leisure. We are all much grieved at poor Fanny’s mishap but console ourselves with the reflection that she is going on so well, and we may hope that the pleasure of presenting her husband with a son is only deferred. It is under these misfortunes that a woman’s virtues are most appreciated. She appears to have borne them with great resignation & fortitude. I am glad my mother’s health has not suffered, as we feared that her anxiety might have interrupted her complete recovery. Your letter, which assures me your dear children are flourishing, gives me real pleasure. You must prepare them for seeing their Indian relatives. I do not know how to thank Walter sufficiently for all the trouble he has taken abt. my sketches. I know these publishers are ticklish fellows to deal

with & look only to their pockets. I am sorry young Lambton did not go up for honors because, however unsuccessful a man may be, the benefits of reaching for them are not over-rated. There are unfortunately too many inducements at Oxford to make a man idle. I think of nothing now but a speedy return to old England. The quiet of the Punjab is secured, & there is nothing to prevent our starting next Janry. Whenever you see Mr. & Mrs. Ellison, pray keep me alive in their remembrance.

Eel

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71. [To Walter.] Camp Ferozshahar. Jan. 20, 1847 [A]

Herewith I send you some rough notes which my baboo, or clerk, has copied from my notebook. I also send a slight sketch of Golab Singh’s life, thinking you might wish to give some account of that potentate in the frontispiece. I have done likenesses of Runjore Singh [Ranjodh Singh Majithia], the hero of Aliwal, as well as Dewan Dena Nath, the chancellor of the Punjab exchequer.*”° Shall I send them? If any of the Punjab news are published, I have one of the sacred tank at Umritsir which I should wish you to see. If you make use of any of the notes, you must polish them up as they are mere scraps from my journal. P.S. The field of Ferozshahar is scarcely capable of being recognized as the scene of the late contest. Nothing remains to mark the different points of attack except the bleached skeletons of men and horses which are scattered in that spot where the fire was hottest, and the plough has turned upon the soil where many a gallant spirit fell. 72. [To Walter.] Camp near Meerut. Feb. 20, 1847 [A]

As we are anxiously expecting the mail, we have no letters to reply to and no news to send. Everything is perfectly quiet in the Punjab, altho’ there was a report, for which it has turned out that there was no foundation, of a petty conspiracy to kill Tej Singh. The disturbances in the Hazarah country have been effectively put a stop to, and the Sikh troops have returned to Lahore.*”! In another matter we shall expect to hear what the home authorities say to the recent settlement of affairs in the Punjab. They have already approved of the plan, and they must consequently approve of its being put into execution.

On the 23rd we reach Meerut. We shall remain there about 4 days to entertain the good people of that station, and thence we proceed into the Dhoon to look for tigers and to enjoy a little recreation. They all say, however, it is very inferior sport to hog hunting which perhaps is the sport of all others. I have enclosed a packet forJ.D. H[arding] which contains some scraps of pigments which I thought he might make use of, as he tells me in his last letter that he and Mr. Warren*” intend to supply the deficiency in the figure

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line from their own imagination. Mr. Warren figures himself upon being the only artist living who understands the anatomy of the camel, so that one or two from [his] pencil will have great effect. They are certainly most picturesque animals, and I regret not having sent home several studies I have made of them. The army reductions bring a sharp newspaper fire upon the G.G., and the press, in which officers of the army write, talk of the disappointment which is felt in the military circles at this measure.*~* This is very natural and at the same time very unimportant. It is confidently expected that the deficit in our revenues, now a million and a half, will be reduced to half a million by April [18]48. 73. [To Sarah.] Camp near Meerut. Feb. 21, 1847 [A]

We are pursuing the even tenor of our way en route to Simla with the satisfaction of seeing peace completely restored on the frontier, an abundant harvest, and the people generally contented. The natives are a curious race of people and, as far as outward appearances go, are very zealous followers of their creed. The Mussulman twice and 3 times a day turns his face towards Mecca’ and on the public highways makes his obeisance to his prophet. The Hindoo will frequently undertake a long journey to visit some sacred shrine and spends a portion ofhis hard-earned pittance on the purchase of some small idol or charm. One oftheir most revolting ceremonies is whenever a relative is at the point of death they take him down to the Ganges in his enfeebled state and, after filling his mouth and ears with mud, send him adrift to float down the river where the unfortunate victim to this ordeal soon becomes a prey to the vultures. In some instances a son has been known to hurry his father down to the banks of the river often before his illness has become alarming for the sole purpose of plundering his house. The unfortunate victim fears in his own mind to irritate his gods by resistance. Suttee, or the burning of widows, is unknown now in our provinces but the practice is still in vogue in the Punjab, and, passing through a town the other day, we counted in the burial ground as many as 100 effigies raised in memory of the deluded victims.” The Mussulmans are perhaps the most bigoted class and in their hearts hate us cordially although they like the justice of our rule. The Hindoo on the other hand feels that, had it not been for our interposition, his religion would have been overthrown and his temples scattered to the winds by Q

Q)

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Muhammedan invasion. These are the kind of people we live amongst. The servants are attentive but will refuse to do anything which it is not their particular province to do. The Hindoo servant will not even take a cup of tea off the table, and the Mussulman would sooner leave your service than demean himself by fetching your slippers. All have their separate duties allotted, which occasions not a little confusion in the housekeeping line. We have no letters yet but expect them every moment. I hope you are all flourishing either in South Park or in Whitehall Place, young and old. It will not be long now before we shall meet again. My father was proposing a short detour to Thebes on our way home, and Bob Wood immediately re-

marked, “Well, I think we have had enough of sightseeing. I think we had much better take our places direct to the White Horse cellar.” I think, after riding an elephant and being carried in palanquins, omnibuses & hack cabs will be a pleasant change. Like Don Quixote “26 We shall probably mistake the first housemaid we see for an incarnation of all that is celestial. I have written to the greatJ. D. H[arding] anent the arts. Does he “your

ladyship” you as much as ever? 74. [To Walter.] Camp Ladhoura. March 4, 1847 [A]

[Charles begins by discussing at some length the titles of his sketches that were being selected for publication and explains the subject matter of his various drawings. He worries, however, that those in England trying to improve the quality of his work may tend to be too ingenious—misrepresenting, albeit inadvertently, what he has attempted to portray. Charles continues:] J. D. H[arding] said that Warren and he would supply any deficiency in the figure line from their imagination, and my only fear is that their imagination may be too fertile. Sir C. D’Oyly*”’ once sent home some Indian sketches for publication. In the foreground of one was a woman carrying a child and near her was a European civilian taking his morning walk with an umbrella. The publisher thought no European would permit one of the fairer sex to remain exposed to the sun and accordingly in the lithograph represented the “Sahib” paying the greatest attention to the black lady and holding the umbrella over her, the costume of the latter being “en sauvage”~® or little better than that which our first parents used to wear. Yesterday we went out in search of tigers but were unsuccessful in consequence of the jungle being too heavy. Our line of 70 elephants [was]

fairly shipwrecked. At least [?last] we got into a swamp in the middle of

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high grass to such a depth that the animals could not without difficulty be extricated. They then began to roll like a ship at sea and showed their alarm by making the most discordant sounds. It was a fine sight, and if we had had a tiger on foot we should have had sharp work. In a day or two we are to make another attempt and I hope be more successful. ‘Tomorrow morning we are to see the aqueduct at the head of the great Ganges canal which runs from Hurdwar to Allahabad and is to cost a million! The facilities ofirrigation will be then increased to such an extent that immense tracts of lands now out of cultivation will become most productive and realize a fair return.*”’ It is feared, however, by some that this abundant irrigation will increase the mortality of the native population. The reduction of the native army is progressing rapidly, and, as a liberal “bonus” is given to every sepoy claiming his discharge and as the number of recruits who have not yet been sworn in & who consequently have no claim to be retained in the service is very large, the measure is put into execution without causing much dissatisfaction.

I do not know whether the governor general has mentioned to you his “difference” with the C.C. However much this is to be regretted, it was quite unavoidable, but it is a subject into which I cannot enter in a few words and is one which should not be allowed to get wind. I hope you are all flourishing. 75. [To Emily.] Camp Ladhoura in the Dhoon. March 4, 1847 [A]

Your most acceptable letters arrived a few days [ago] and cheered our hearts. As the time approaches for our return (for we can count it now by months & [the] rest by days), my father’s spirits improve, and we walk up and down the tent together picturing to ourselves the pleasure we shall have in meeting once more. [Sir Henry] will also tell you of the coolness which now exists between the C.C. and himself, although it will not prove detrimental to the public service. The C.C. has behaved most shabbily and has got what he deserves. I have hitherto given him credit for being a frank & sincere friend as well as a gallant soldier, but his conduct has not shown him to be such. My opinion is that Lady Gough*” is at the bottom of it all, for you must excuse me ifIsay that you of the fairer sex are often great mischief makers. We are now en route to Simla and shall pass through the Dhoon, which is a most picturesque valley, to arrive there. We are to hunt tigers on the

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road if we succeed in finding them, and we intend that the governor general

should have some shooting to distract his mind, for a bow which is kept continually strung is apt to break; although there is no fear of his health breaking, for I never recollect having seen him in better spirits or in better health. I am anxious to see what the next session will bring [with] it. The govt. evidently do not stand on secure ground, for Hobhouse says in his last let-

ter, “We hope you will send us good news from India, for we need it.”*”’ Ireland appears to be in a deplorable state, and God knows how it will end, for the relief which is now afforded by govt. can only be looked upon as a temporary relief and not a permanent one.” The peasantry are said to be collecting arms, and everything looks as bad as it well can. In this country the reverse is the case. [he crops are abundant, the people flourishing & contented, the Punjab as quiet as Bengal, and all classes satisfied with the late arrangements. Hobhouse is most cordial in his professions to give the G.G. every support, and his letter in reply to one announcing the Sheick’s surrender could not have said more.**° I am delighted that Fanny has so rapidly recovered. I trust her fortitude will be ere long repaid. I have not time to write to Arthur [Cunynghame] by this mail, but tell him I will give him a description of a tiger chase by the next if we succeed in killing one. 76. [To Walter.] Camp Nah[a]n. March 19, 1847 [A]

Many thanks for your last letter. With your judicious interference the sketches will, |am sure, make good progress. I [don’t] quite gather from your letters whether “Kashmir” or “British India” are to appear first. The selection of the B[ritish] Indian sketches cannot be better, except that I should be inclined to substitute the Taj for one of them—the Jumma Musjid [in] Agra for instance.*** You will find in Colfone]| Sleeman’s work a full description of the history of these buildings,’ which I would send were we not obliged in most instances to confine the contents of the express to letters only. Of Dhuleep Singh little can be said, as his fame is hitherto wrapt in obscurity, and, until he is removed from the ranee’s harem (which must take place shortly), he cannot be expected to improve.

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We are now en route to Simla having had 6 days’ tiger shooting in the jungles & killing 3 tigers. My father was most successful, as the tiger on 2 occasions selected the representative of royalty as his antagonist and gal-

lantly attacked his elephant, the mahout having a very narrow escape. We have but little news to send home. Nothing has occurred to disturb the tranquillity of the Punjab and everything prospers. Would it were so at home where matters have assumed so gloomy an aspect. If ministers are only cautious and moderate in their measures, they will be entitled to a fair trial. In these times all ought to unite in the support of the existing administration as long as they show themselves to be deserving of their confidence. I should imagine the Bentinck & D’Israeli clique will eventually cut their own throats.*°° The [>worst] of the most alarming features in Ireland appears to be the absence of agricultural employ for the labourers, who from all accounts are obliged to resort to relief, which at the best can last but for a season. Much must depend now upon the landlords, who should at this crisis reside on their estates & do their utmost to afford the relief required. I see fixity of tenure and an amendment to the poor law are both talked of. Don’t forget to send me the proofs as soon as you Can.

77. [To Walter.] Camp Simla. April 3, 1847 [A]

I have received your letter of Dec./Janry. enclosing an impression of one of the sketches. The drawing and light & shade [are] very good, and the only criticism I can make is that the figures look like Albanians instead of Sikhs. TellJ.D. H[arding] that the Punjabees all wear one description of turban, and a very picturesque one it is. | showed the impression to one or two people, who immediately commented that the figures did not [at] all

look like Sikhs, and it is of some importance to preserve if possible in the minutiae the character of the people as well as the features of the country. I am anxiously waiting to receive the other impressions which you have promised to send. I should also much wish to see the description of the different places which you propose to publish as I think I might, with the assistance of my fellow travellers, make some useful additions to it. Lt. Edwardes, one of Lawrence’s assistants, has just returned from a

mission beyond the Indus with a considerable Sikh force, the object of which was to enforce the payment of the revenue of a large district tributary to the Sikh durbar. The revenue has hitherto been extorted by force alone,

but the appearance of a British It. with the Sikh force at once had a

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talismanic effect. The chieftains tendered their submission without delay,

and the arrears of revenue were soon settled. The old sirdar addressed Edwardes to this effect: “Do you think that my clan would have submitted to the Sikh durbar had there been no ‘sahib’ with the force? I and my children would have fought for terms as we have done for the last 30 years, but now we are in the hands of another power, and we know that you will see fair play on both sides.”*”” In Hazara, the most troublesome part of the Punjab, Mr. Agnew of the civil service has effected a settlement between Golab Singh’s dewan and the Musselmen population of the district.*°* Old Golab himself holds his sway in Cashmere and promises to be a Solon*” if he puts all his good intentions into practice. He has all his life been a huckster on a large scale, is undoubtedly avaricious, and no doubt finds great difficulty in ridding himself from habits of self-enrichment which have been year by year growing upon him.*””° The Sikh army will soon be reduced to 15,000 inf[antry] & 10,000

cav[alrly, which is less in amount than was stipulated for in the treaty, but the treasury is at present so much in want of funds that the resident must economize the resources of the country in order to remedy the mischief which has been done by the successive Sikh rulers. As it is now at an end, I may mention the difference which has for the last 2 months existed between the C.C. and the G.G. The circumstances are briefly these: a statement appeared in a newspaper to the effect that “the 2d. in command had ordered a retreat on the night of the 21st Decr. which had been countermanded by the C.C.”**! The G.G. took no notice of this libel (which was contradicted shortly afterward by some anonymous writer in the same paper) but, thinking it possible that the details of the campaign might hereafter be [>compared] when there wd. not be the same means of arriving at the truth, wrote to the C.C. and asked him whether he (the G.G.) had ever ordered a retreat or recommended such a measure. Lady Gough replied to this and expressed her regret at having accidentally? torn up Lord Gough’s reply. Another reply shortly came, merely

stating that the G.G. had never ordered a retreat but shirking the other query as to whether he had ever recommended a retreat. The G.G. repeated the query, and the C.C. replied “that the G.G. had never individually recommended a retreat to him but that he could not forget that 2 staff off[ice]rs*** came to him on the night of the 21st & stated that they were

authorized by the G.G. to recommend

the retreat of the army upon

Ferozpore; that he (the C.C.), on hearing their communication, stated that

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he did not believe the G.G. had directed any such message to be communicated to him; that he came up on the moment to the G.G. and asked him whether he had authorized the delivery of such a communication; that the G.G. emphatically denied that he had; and that there the matter dropt.”

The G.G. replied “that he was not aware of what might have been the tenor of the communication which these 2 staff off[ice]rs may have made to the C.C. on the night of the 21st; that he need not observe that he had not authorized the delivery of any such message but that he must take the opportunity of remarking that the C.C., in stating that he came up to the G.G. on that night and asked him whether he had authorized these officers to advise a retreat, was laboring under a misapprehension and had confused what actually took place at Soultan Khan Wala**’ on the 24th Decr. with what was alleged in his letter to have taken place on the night of 21st Decr; that the proof was this: that on the morning of the 24[th] the army moved from Ferozshahar to Soultan Khan Wala and, on arriving there, the G.G. & the C.C. entered into close conversation on the movement of

the troops (Col[one]! Benson alone was present); that during this conversation the C.C. asked the G.G. this question: ‘Did you send me any message during the night of the 21st through Major Tait to recommend a retreat?’; that the G.G.’s immediate reply was, ‘Ask Col[one]| Benson’;

that Col[one]| B. replied that Major Tait had received no such message and that the G.G. during the whole of the night evinced a fixed determination to attack the enemy at dawn.” You will observe that the fact of this conversation having taken place on the 24th cannot be reconciled with the alleged conversation on the night of the 21st between the C.C. and the G.G.; that Colfone]| Benson’s testimony (for he was present) confirmed the G.G.’s assertion that a conversation in these words had taken place at Soultan K. Wala on the 24th as well as my own collateral evidence, for I

the spot and heard of the conversation shortly afwas within a few yards of

terwards. So that you may imagine that the the C.C. would at once admit that he had sions. However, the C.C.’s reply was to this lect the Soultan K. Wala conversation and

G.G. naturally expected that been mistaken in his impreseffect: “That he did not recolthat he wd. sooner doubt his

own existence than doubt the fact of his having come up to the G.G. on the night of the 21st and asked him the question alluded to in his previous letter; that he did not now hesitate to name the 2 staff offfice]rs, Colfone]| Benson and Major Tait, and that they had told him they were authorized by the G.G. to advise a retreat.”

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The G.G. was, as you may suppose, much annoyed with this reply, for, besides charging 2 honourable officers with having abused the G.G.’s confidence, it insinuated that something remained to be cleared up on the G.G.’s part; that there was something concealed between him & Benson; and that the G.G. (altho’ admitted to have denied on the 2 | st having given any such message) is represented as having allowed the matter to drop. The reply, moreover, virtually denied the assertion of the G.G. that the Soultan Wala conversation took place as described, although Col[one]]

Benson’s evidence was most strong in confirming the G.G.’s statement. Upon being made acquainted with the charges contained in that letter, Colfone]] Benson addressed the G.G. and requested that the C.C. would either withdraw or substantiate them, and the G.G. sent his letter to the C.C. animadverting somewhat warmly but not intemperately upon the

statement made by the C.C. and the references which must inevitably be drawn from it. The C.C. replied that he was much hurt with the tone of the G.G.’s letter & trusted he would see reason to repent of it, and, altho’ the letter was of a conciliatory nature, no qualification of his former statements was expressed so that the G.G. was compelled to state in reply that, unless the statement was withdrawn, the whole proceedings must be laid before some tribunal competent to decide upon the case. Now mark the sequel. From the date of that letter the C.C. gradually commenced qualifying his statements until he ended by giving way on all points. I really think the whole of his conduct has been as shabby as shabby can be. He first admitted that the word “authorized” was too strong; that he never meant to impute dishonorable conduct to Col[one]] Benson & Major Tait but that his impression was that they stated they had come from the G.G. or had been with the G.G.; that, as the G.G. solemnly denied the fact of the alleged conversation between him & the G.G. on the night of the 21st, he would credit that solemn declaration; and that, had Col[one]] Benson and Major Tait previously declared that they never meant to convey to his mind the impression that they were authorized by the G.G. to come to him, he would at once have credited them. The governor general, in reply to this letter, expressed “his satisfaction

that the C.C. had exonerated both Col[one]] Benson and Major Tait from the charges which his previous letters contained but at the same time reviewed the whole of the correspondence and wrote [?to him] only because he felt strongly on the subject.*** The C.C. in reply requested that the correspondence might be transmitted to the Court of Directors in order that 140

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they might decide whether the G.G. was justified in addressing to the C.C. communications couched in that tone. The G.G. immediately assented,

and Wood and Col[one]! Gough** met the following day to compare the correspondence for that purpose, when Col[one]! Gough expressed his regret that any difference should exist between the G.G. and the C.C. & hoped that a reconciliation might be effected. Wood merely informed Col[one]] Gough that the C.C. must determine on the propriety of transmitting the correspondence to the Court; that the G.G. had not a syllable to retract of what he had written; and that any injury which the public service might derive from the difference becoming publicly known must rest with the C.C. Col[one]! Gough shortly afterwards returned & stated that the C.C. was much hurt by one or two passages in the G.G.’s letters which, in his opinion, impugned his (the C.C.’s) veracity and that, if the G.G. explained this, he would willingly close the correspondence on the condition that it should be burnt. The G.G. briefly replied that he never meant to impugn the C.C.’s veracity but that he wd. not consent to the correspondence being burnt.**° Col[one]] Gough stated that the C.C. would not press this matter under existing circumstances and said the C.C. would pay his respects to the G.G. the following morning. The C.C. accordingly came and made many “salaams” and the controversy is at end, altho’ the G.G. must always feel that the C.C. has acted most shabbily towards him.**” Colonel Gough admitted that he [had] never been consulted and that the C.C. should at once have answered a simple question when put to him without leaving inferences most injurious to the G.G.’s character to be drawn fr[om] his statement. I do not know whether I have made myself clear in giving you this long story. I need not caution you to not making it known. We are all well & counting the days as the time approaches for our return.

78. [To Emily.] Simlah. May I, 1847 [A]

We are going on quite a l’ordinaire. Time creeps on but we have still 8 months to pass in these oriental regions, and the perfect tranquillity which exists anywhere makes the daily routine rather monotonous. We never even have a report of a petty fort holding out, of any minor insurrection being stirred up. All is quiet & prospers, which is most desirable for the Company’s pocket. 144

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I see Lord Ellenborough has been speaking on Indian finance and what he did in India and in what state he left the resources of the country. He also talks of having left 10 million in the treasury*** after having reduced the deficit from a million & a half to £900,000. This is all a delusion. It is true that, in consequence of the close of the Affghan campaign & other causes, the deficit was considerably reduced, but the story about the 10

million is quite another affair. The expenses of the Affghan war (18 millions) are not easily paid off, but in 2 years we shall have a surplus instead of a deficit. We are about to take a short trip into the interior after the dispatch of the mail and join Bob Wood who is still far from well, but I hope the colder air will set him up. His complaint, which is dysentery, is not easily cured in this country where bowel complaints are so prevalent. I have just seen a print of the signing of the Chinese treaty, which contains a likeness of Arthur Cunynghame & which, they say, is the only good one among the whole lot. I cannot say much for the picture as a picture.” Arthur is very blossoming—indeed he has no cause to complain of India on the score of health as he eats & drinks as heartily as if he were in England & does credit to his food. My father is also as well as I have seen him for a long time. He amuses himself with rearing some pheasants which are intended for the Queen if they get to England alive. They are beautiful of their kind.*°°

The last report of your China dog was not very favorable. He had been taken ill in the Bay of Bengal but whether with sea sickness or some other malady does not yet appear. Adolphus has arrived at Bombay, but I do not suppose we have any chance of falling in with him. He will detest India after he has been a week in the country.**! I fear my budget this mail is an intolerably scrubby one. Be that as it may, I am as Bode wd. say “still still the same.” 79. [To Walter.] Simla. May 2d., 1847 [A]

I have not time to write a letter of any decent length as I have had more work on my hands in consequence of Bob Wood’s absence. Hobhouse writes to the governor general cordially in his private letters. But I think I see an inclination to pick holes if he can, and the G.G. has

most effectively refuted his arguments on several points where he had got 1492

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out of his depth, evidently from a desire to find fault wherever he could discover an opening for doing so.*” We have no news to send you. Events at Lahore are now as commonplace as those in Calcutta. Nepal is perhaps the only native state where intrigue and dissention [are] at work, but, as we have nothing to fear from

them, it is a matter of no great anxiety to the Indian govt.*>* I have not time to write to Sarah but I have time to send her my love through you. When we return | hope to see a goodly collection of olive branches. Sarina, I hear, is all you cd. wish.

80. [To Walter.] Nay Kunda [Narkanda]. May 24, 1847 [A]

I rode out here last night to pay Bob a visit, of whom we had not received satisfactory accounts for some days past, but |am happy to say that I found him better than I expected, with less fever and less symptoms of dysentery. Since my last letter |have made an expedition of 10 days to the passes and enjoyed the scenery, which ofits kind is perhaps the finest in the world. I have also added a few sketches to my book. Many thanks for sending out the impressions. | shall be anxiously on the lookout for them. I have no news to tell you. We are all flourishing both politically & individually, and nothing has occurred except poor Wood's illness to give my father any anxiety or annoyance, but, until Bob becomes decidedly better,

we cannot but feel anxious.*>’ I wish he had gone home last year as my father proposed to Col[one]] Wood, but the latter thought it would be more advantageous for him to remain with us & see the termination of the G.G.’s Indian career. Will you send me what you propose to publish in the way of letter press? It cannot be too short & at the same time too precise as to the geography & orthography of the several places. Vigne is a careful man in these matters &

can generally be relied on. Love to Sarah. 81. [To Walter.] Simla. June 9, 1847 [A]

You will be glad to hear poor Bob is much better and, I hope, free from any chance of another relapse. I send you the doctor’s bulletin which we

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have sent to old Wood. Whenever we get underweigh & bid adieu to the pestilential vapours of India, we shall throw all the pill boxes overboard. We naturally become impatient to get away as the time approaches and more especially as the financial prospects of the country are most cheering. The reductions in the army will [equal] £500,000, the improvement in the landed revenue will be £200,000, the contribution from the Lahore state £230,000, and the revenue from the Jellundhur & Cis-Sutlege districts £500,000 so that the improvement in Indian finance as compared with last year will be nearly a million and a half, and in 2 years there is the certainty of the revenue showing a surplus over the expenditure. The cotton grown in the newly acquired Sikh states is of a very inferior description to that produced in the regulation provinces, but the tea plant is very productive in the lower range of hills. Govt. have incurred some considerable outlay in extending the tea cultivation, and some people are sanguine enough to imagine that Indian will shortly be brought into competition with Chinese tea.*°° As to salt, Mr. Aylwin is here looked upon as a

“complete charlatan.” He talks as if it were the East India Company whose monopoly is held in timorem [in fear] over the Liverpool merchants,

whereas in fact it is the Arab and other merchants, who can import a cheap salt at a comparatively small expense, whose competition the English importers have to dread. But the Liverpoolers have burnt their fingers, and it is not probable that they will try that speculation again.**° At Lahore there has been a petty plot, as it is asserted, to murder the resident, but no proof is forthcoming so that the probability is that it is a false alarm. The ranee as usual is said to be at the bottom of it all, but much

is attributed to her in which in reality she has no share.*>’ In Hyderabad there has been a slight émeute among the nizam’s soldiery, which was soon quelled on the appearance of our troops. The only awkward part of the proceeding is that it appears the resident has backed up the nizam’s minister in an attempt to defraud the soldiery ofthe pay due to them—one of the great evils of the subsidiary system!*** In England little appears to have been effected during the last fortnight. I have not yet had leisure to read the debates as I at present, until Bob gets better, [am] doing double duty. Love to Sarah. I do not write to her because the letter is her property as well as yours. I hope the children are flourishing.

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82. [To Walter.] Simlah. July 7, 1847 [A]

I shall hope to hear by the mail, which is hourly expected, that the lithographs are by this time completed and that you have sent me a copy overland. I have not touched a pencil for the last 2 months, for I have not much

leisure or inclination to paint in the house. There is a daughter of Nimrod’s here (Captain Apperley)**’ who paints horses as well as her father used to describe them and is as good a judge of horses. I never met with any woman who drew animals so well. We have little or no news to send you. Lahore & Nepal are perfectly peaceful, and the only event which is talked of is a daring train robbery which has been commiited at Nusserabad in Rajpootana by a freebooter who with 200 armed followers broke into & robbed the treasury, overpowering our guard of sepoys. There appears to have been some neglect on the part of the brigadier in command to have a sufficiently strong guard over the treasury, which was detached from the cantonment.*” The reductions will shortly be completed & 50,000 men knocked off the strength ofthe Indian army. While 25 lacs will be annually appropriated to the Ganges canal, which is to cost a million sterling, the result of these retrenchments will convert in 2 years the present deficit into a surplus, and the incubus under which the govt. has been groaning for the last 5 years will in a great measure be removed. Aden is a source of continual trouble to the governor general. The engineers & the Bombay [presidency] are so anxious to convert it into a second Gibraltar that they send in their voluminous plans without reference to the expense which is to be incurred or to the numerous taxes which a governor general has upon his time.*°! We expect to hear something decisive with respect to the dissolution [of Parliament], and I am anxious to know what your plans are. Have you made any progress towards the purchase of Betteshanger?*®” I should much like to see you settled somewhere in the country, but you must not abandon public life and sink into a country gentleman. You have not served long enough for your discharge.

I have been thinking of bringing home one of my Arabs but, as the ex-

pense is considerable, I have abandoned the idea. To show you what prices horses fetch here I need only mention that I sold one of my horses for £130, the other for £100, & £150 has been offered for the pet of my stables who is a perfect Arab.

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Tell Sarah “en confidence” that the shawl I have selected for her has been pronounced by Lady Gough to be the best of the lot. 83. [To Emily.] Simla. July 27, 1847 [A]

The time is now drawing near for our departure although the weeks and months appear to go but slowly. Our establishment here is to be broken up on the Ist Octr. when, as we no longer can give large dinners, we intend to go two marches into the interior, remaining there till the 26th Octr., the earliest period at which it is possible to travel with safety. The governor general has told Sir John Hobhouse that the best arrangement which can be made will be for the new governor general to meet us at Cairo, in which case we shall leave Calcutta on the 20th Decr., but under any circumstances we are determined not to be detained beyond the first week in January. All augurs well for the close of the governor general’s career being as peaceful as the commencement was. When we consider that in the short space of 3 years and a half the last remaining Hindoo dynasty has been brought under our rule, its aggression chastised, its pride subdued, and, more than this, when we reflect upon the result of the war, the reduction of nearly 50,000 men, the convertion [sic] of a deficiency of 2 million into a surplus, which will be the case next year, you may congratulate yourself

upon the good which has resulted from the G.G.’s short but eventful reign. I send you a copy of Her Majesty’s letter, which says as much as royalty wills can say. This reminds me that you have never acknowledged the receipt of the Queen’s letters which we sent you home in original. At least my father does not remember your having done so. My father has given me a very handsome sword as a memento of the campaign, which I highly prize. [He] is wonderfully well & very anxious to be off. 84. [To Walter.] Simla. Sep. 5, 1847 [A]

We have little news to send you. The ranee’s removal from Lahore has gone off very quietly, and the durbar have got rid of a mischievous and intriguing woman. Every discontented man who was anxious to hatch a con-

spiracy against the govt. wd. have always found in her a ready listener to

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his overtures. Indeed, her confidential munshee, or secretary, was not long ago discovered plotting the murder of the resident. Independently of all these and many other reasons, the principal object in separating the son from his mother is to prevent for the future his being contaminated by her evil influence and example. This the govt. are bound to do as the guardians of the prince, and, were such a course not pursued, we should be permitting the boy to become a mere tool in his mother’s hands, while she would omit no opportunity of thwarting both the council and the resident.*™

From England the last mail brought but little news. I hope the expected one may prove more interesting.

You will by this time have doffed your senatorial toga and [are] probably enjoying a respite from your parliamentary labours.“ I was under the impression that I had answered that portion of one of your letters in which you propose that I should meet you on my way home either in Italy or Switzerland. Nothing wd. charm me more, but, after nearly 4 years’ absence, I feel bound to remember the anxiety which my mother naturally evinces for our return, and the feeling is no less reciprocated on our part. Indeed, if it were not so, it would be most unnatural, but

we may perhaps next year take a trip together. Love to Sarah & the children.

85. [To Walter.] Camp Cawnpore. Nov. 6, 1847 [A]

We reached this [place] yesterday after a dak*” journey of 9 nights and, as we have been long in getting off the overland dispatches, you must not expect a letter of any decent length. The kings of Oude for several generations have been remarkable either for opium eating & its consequences—loss of intellect—or for exercising the little of ability which they may have possessed in oppressing the people & squandering the resources of the state. The day will be a fortunate one when our govt. have just cause for annexing it, but without any such strong grounds the measure wd. be as impolitic as it wd. be unjust. The G.G. hopes to be able to enquire minutely into the state of the country and to put His Majesty on his good behaviour.*®° We have large dinner parties and durbars here for the next 6 days and on the 12th march to Lucknow the capital where the king is to entertain, as the eastern kings generally do, with displays of all sorts, from tiger fights

147

My

Indian

Pereg rinations

down to nautches and tumblers. You may imagine we are pretty well surfeited with these amusements. However, I may get time to do a sketch or two of the last native court I shall probably ever see. There is no news; all is quiet. We think now of nothing but home & its attractions and are naturally looking anxiously forward to the day of departure. Adolphus is here and goes home with us. Poor fellow, his ideas are rather circumscribed, but I think he has got Seaham’s**’ good humour & heart with perhaps a dash of Lady L[ondonderry]’s vanity.*** Love to Sarah. I have not time [to] write.

86. [To Emily.] Residency, Lucknow. Nov. 19, 1847 [A] Your letters of the 7th Octr. reached us yesterday in the midst of the hubbub and confusion of our festivities at this place. We were cheered on our return from the palace by reading so good an account of you all, which acted as a very fair counterpoise to our annoyance in hearing that Cockerell’s House*’ had failed, by which we lose for the present (until it is known what amount of dividend the creditors are to get) £2,900. We were at first

alarmed lest the firm in Calcutta shd. have appropriated in their distress £8,000 which Alex Wood sent to them in July and were glad to hear from Larpent*”’ who is staying in this house, that the money had been invested previous to his departure from Calcutta. They say the House in town 1s solvent, but I imagine we shall be fortunate if we get 10s. in the pound. I have myself lost £300 from my little bag of rupees, which I was bound to leave in the House as I employed them as my agents. It is annoying, but it might have been much worse. We have been very shy of leaving money in the House for any length of time and are sufferers from the necessity which existed for sending £3,000 home & which we could not remit through any other channel without giving Larpent’s House a slap in the face.*”! I grudge at the same time every sixpence which may be lost because I know how dearly it has been earned but have lived long enough to know that happiness does not consist in wealth. Poor Larpent is obliged to leave & go post haste to Calcutta to look into his affairs and, as you may suppose, is very much down in the mouth. His wife is a pretty little French woman who feels it more than he does but, like all French women, does not betray the least symptom of low spirits in society.

148

The Letters

Here we have been for the last 4 days sightseeing & paying visits of ceremonies. Balls, illuminations, durbars have passed before us like scenes in

the play, never, I am glad to say, again to be enacted. All Eastern exhibitions are exactly what you wd. see at Astley’s any day.*”” I am heartily sick of them by this time. P.S. Tell Bob’s people when you see them that I never saw [him] look in better health than he is now.

87. [To Walter.] Soonamooky, off Rajmahal. Dec. 4, 1847 7 days’ sail fr[om] Calcutta [A] I delight in being able to send you a line from this place, as it will show you that our wanderings in the East are on the point of being brought to a close, and we have reason to congratulate ourselves on the prosperous condition in which the country will be handed over to its new ruler, whose task will be a comparatively easy one, although in this vast empire many a stone as yet remains unturned. Nothing can be more cheering than the financial prospects of the coming year——abundant harvests, an increased demand for opium, and, last [but] not least, the mility. reductions will equalize our revenue and expenditure, and next year we may expect in surplus of a million, a state of things unknown in India for the last 12 years.

My father will have told you of our loss in Cockerell’s House. I have not heard whether they are likely to be able to pay any dividend. Most probably they will not pay a sixpence, will pass through the insolvent court & resume business again. What a set of rascals the mercantile community are! In Calcutta great distress prevails. Civilian & military men who had invested their hard earned savings in different banks & agency houses have in many cases [been] ruined, and every mail is now looked forward to with

dread, as being likely to bring news of additional failures.*”° Lord Dalhousie is to arrive in Calcutta on the 25th.*”* The G.G. will give him a large dinner & Lady D. a ball before we embark, and the Ist of Janry. will, I hope, find us at sea.

I suppose we shall find you at Dover when we land. Do tell Sarah to be prepared to receive 4 sallow-looking Indians with a large importation of Chinese dogs, Himalayan pheasants—in short, a menagerie. The arts as far [as] I am concerned have been dormant. I have, however, done two sketches en route—one at Lucknow, the other at Benares—of which I hope you will approve.

149

My Indian Peregrinations

88. [To Emily.] Soonamookee Yacht, off Rajmahal. Dec. 4, 1847 [A]

Here we are once more afloat on the Ganges and within 7 days’ sail of Calcutta. It is now rather more than 2 years since we followed the winding course of this river on board the very same boat in our progress to the Northwest. Who could then predict what might occur? Who would have ventured to assert that within the short space of 60 days the proud Sikh would have seen the English colors on the walls of Lahore, his forces annihilated, & the descendant of Runjeet Singh thrown on the mercy & forbearance of a British govt. Now “c’est un fait accompli” & with what results? The days of revolutions, murder, & intrigue have passed away, and the Punjab in the memory of man has never known such repose & prosperity. Our thoughts, which were then engrossed with speculations of such a nature, are now turned homewards, and by the time that this scrap of paper reaches you, we shall have shaken the dust off our feet without casting one

longing lingering look upon the shores of Bengal. My father will tell you the result of the Oude negotiations, which I am confident will meet with the approval of the home authorities.’ Francis Fane comes out on [Dalhousie’s] staff,*”° which | hear is already filled up by Ramsays of every class. Adolphus & his friends have gone to Lahore & return to Bombay in March.

[The foregoing letters were the last ones Charles wrote from India to his relatives in England. He, as well as his father, expected to leave India no later than the first of January 1848, and they may have felt it fruitless to send letters that would reach England after their own return. But once they arrived in Calcutta, plans for a quick retreat from India did not materialize, as the Hardinges were deluged with farewell gatherings and overwhelmed by the arrangements to be made for the voyage home. Their departure was further delayed by the arrival, later than anticipated, of Hardinge’s successor, Lord Dalhousie. The new governor-general was sworn in on the 12th of January, and it was not until the 18th that the Hardinge party was finally at sea. Accompanying it, as hinted by Charles (letter 87), was a tiergarten of pedigreed dogs from China, multicolored Himalayan pheasants, Henry Hardinge’s horse Miani, which he had ridden during the Sikh War, and even an erstwhile man-eating Bengal tiger—most of which were

to be presented to Queen Victoria.*”’ The Hardinges journeyed home via

The

Letters

Aden, Alexandria, Corfu, Trieste, and Ostend before sailing up the Thames to London and, as Charles would later reminisce, were “de-

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1. Lieutenant General (afterwards Field Marshal and Viscount Hardinge of Lahore and King’s Newton) Sir Henry Hardinge (1785— 1856) was a veteran of the Peninsular Wars and fought at Albuera,

Vimiera, Vittoria, and Ligny. He sat as a Tory in the House of Commons from 1820 to 1844 and served in various executive positions, including secretary of war from 1828 to 1830 under the duke of Wellington and again from 1841 to 1844 under Sir Robert Peel. As the governor-general of India, in addition to active participation in the First Sikh War, he introduced meaningful educational, social, and economic reforms. In 1852, Hardinge became the commander in chief of the entire British army and

remained so till shortly before his death. 2. Hardinge Letters, 1844—1847: The Letters of the First Viscount of Lahore to Lady Hardinge and Sir Walter and Lady James (London, 1986). 3. Emily Jane (1789-1865) was the seventh daughter of the first marquess of Londonderry (1739—1821)by his second wife Frances (d. 1833).

Emily’s first husband was John James, the minister to Holland, who died in 1818. She subsequently married Henry Hardinge in 1821. She had a son by her first marriage and four children by the second—two sons and two daughters. 4. Sir Walter Charles James (1816-93), afterwards the first Baron Northbourne of Betteshanger and Jarrow Grange, was the son of John James and Emily Jane. He was raised by Henry Hardinge, his stepfather, as if he were his own son. Walter was then a member of Parliament from Hull. 5. Sarah Caroline (d. 1890) was married to Walter James in 1841. She was the fifth daughter of Cuthbert Ellison (1783-1860) and Isabella

Notes

Grace of Hebburn, Durham. Ellison was the former high sheriff of Hebburn. 6. Frances (Fanny) Elizabeth (d. 1894). In 1845 she married Major (afterwards General) Arthur Augustus Thurlow Cunynghame (181284) of the Third East Kent Regiment (the Buffs). 7. R. Quarrie, keeper, Eton College Collections, to this editor, Sept.

22, 1986. 8. Christ Church Archival Records, 1841, D.P. v.a.3, Oxford University, Oxford. 9. The Dictionary of National Biography (22:814) implies that Charles lost a leg, but a Christ Church Collections Book entry in 1842 (li.b.5) seems to read “Absens, praeciso pede” (“Absent, because his foot has been amputated”). However, the cause of the amputation is not en-

tirely clear. In a letter to this editor, dated August 21, 1994, Lord Julian Hardinge, a direct descendant of Charles, wrote that it might have resulted from a riding accident. 10. It remains undetermined whether the accident took place at Oxford or elsewhere. 11. Hardinge to Walter, Dec. 30, 1845, HHL, 136. 12. Captain (afterwards Lieutenant General) Robert Blucher Wood

(1814—71) was a nephew of Emily Jane Hardinge, whose sister, Caroline Stewart (d. 1865), was his mother. 13. Lieutenant (afterwards General) Arthur (Benji) Edward Hardinge (1828-92). 14. Arthur to Sarah, Aug. 6, 1845, Hardinge (Arthur) Letters, i. 15. See Charles to George Broadfoot, Dec. 7, 1844; and Broadfoot to Charles, Jan. 20; Sept. 5, 9; and Oct. 27, 1845, in Broadfoot, Career, 147-48, 171-72, 332-37, 355-56; and Charles to Gen. Ventura, Feb. 6, 1845, Ripon Papers, Add. MS 40,871.

16. Hardinge to Emily, March 8, 1845, HHL, 58. 17. The newspaper also claimed that, when Lord Ellenborough (governor-general, 1842—44), Hardinge’s predecessor and brother-inlaw, “heard of this appointment, he said that his successor would find it to be a great mistake” (the Englishman’s “Overland Summary,” Oct. 7, 1845, reproduced in the Bombay Times and Journal of Commerce, Oct. 18, 1845, 683). 18. William, the crown prince of Germany and Prussia (1882-1951), who hunted in India at the turn of the century, describes the precise art of

pig-sticking: “There are two ways of killing the beast. You either use... a 154

Notes

long bamboo spear, sticking him, as you ride, behind the shoulder-blade, or a short spear is used which is plunged perpendicularly from above. This last method requires . . . practice and skill and a particularly sure hand.” See From My Hunting Day-Book, 28-29. For more on the sport, see Simson, Letters on Sport in Eastern Bengal,

and Wardrop, Modern

Pig-Sticking. 19. Hardinge to Emily, March 8, 1845, HHL, 57-58. 20. Lieutenant General (afterwards Field Marshal and Viscount of Gujarat and Limerick) Sir Hugh Gough (1779—1869) was the veteran of various Peninsular campaigns and the First Opium War in China. He was

the commander in chief of India from 1843 to 1849. 21. Hardinge to Emily, Dec. 20, 1845, HHL, 132. 22. Hardinge to Emily, Jan. 1, 1846, HHL, 137. Major Arthur William Fitzroy Somerset was the eldest son of Field Marshal Lord Fitzroy James Henry Somerset, first Baron Raglan (1799-1855). His mother, Emily Harriet, was the niece of Richard and Arthur Wellesley. 23. Arthur Hardinge confirmed his brother’s stubborn resolve and wrote to his mother that Charles “insisted on accompanying my father all through the action and sometimes under very heavy fire” (letter of Jan. 14, 1846, Hardinge [Arthur] Letters, 11). 24. Hardinge to Emily, Jan. 31, 1846, HHL, 140. 25. Hardinge, Viscount Hardinge, 87. 26. Arthur Hay (1824-78), the future ninth marquess of Tweedale, who was a lieutenant in the Grenadier Guards (First Regiment of Household Infantry), was visiting India and saw action in the Sikh War. He was the son of Lord Tweedale, the governor of Madras. 27. Hay to Tweedale, March 25, 1846, Hay [Arthur] Papers, MS

14,445, ff. 101-3. 28. Lal, Siyahat-i-Kashmir, 1-30. Lal, an East India Company employee at Ludhiana, was assigned to accompany Charles’s party. He kept a useful chronological account of the trip to Kashmir. 29. Letters of April 19 and May 5, 1846, in HHL, 30. Lal, Siyahat-i-Kashmir, 30—60.

165 and 167.

31. Hardinge to Sarah, July 4, 1846, HHL, 180. 32. James Duffield Harding (1798-1863), a professional lithographer and engraver, was a well-known painter and author of various books on drawing. 33. Arthur to Walter, Nov. 20, 1846, Hardinge (Arthur) Letters, 1.

BD

Notes

34. Hardinge to Emily, Aug. 12, 1847, HHL, 229. 35. The Times, Dec. 28, 1847, 4e. 36. He rejoined as a lieutenant colonel in 1860 and was made an honorary colonel of that regiment in 1891. 37. During his speech a supporter shouted: “You won’t be Castlereagh on our hands,” a remark that was greeted with laughter and cheers. (The Times, Aug. 11, 1851, 5f.)This was a reference to Robert Stewart, the second marquess of Londonderry (1769-1822), who had acted as the chief secretary of Ireland during the Irish rebellion of 1798 and favored granting emancipation to the Irish Catholics, resigning in 1801 when George III opposed it. Castlereagh, of course, was Emily Jane Hardinge’s half brother and Charles’s uncle. 38. Nonetheless, his letters to the fifth duke of Richmond during that year seem to suggest that he was keenly involved in the affairs of his department. See Goodwood Papers, MS 1826, 1837, and 1847. 39. Field Marshal George Charles, third earl of Lucan (1800-88). Lavinia’s mother was Anne Brudenell (d. 1877). 40. Earl Dufferin (afterwards marquess and viceroy of India, 1884— 88), under whom the young Charles served as the third secretary in 1882 while the former was ambassador in Istanbul, was much impressed with him. He told the second viscount: “[Charles] is extremely able, wonderfully steady, and with great force of character. I augur for him a very successful future” (letter of Nov. 3, 1884, Hardinge [Charles, First Baron of Penshurst] Papers). 4]. The Times, July 16, 1892, 2f. 42. Major General (afterwards Viscount and Field Marshal) Garnet Joseph Wolseley (1833-1913). 43. Letter of June 9, 1875, Cunynghame Papers. Charles is probably alluding to Wolseley’s military campaign in 1874 against the Ashanti tribe in west Africa. Parliament had praised his “courage, energy, and perseverance” and awarded him £25,000. (Who’s Who [London, 1904],

1670.) 44. Letter of Aug. 20, 1875, Cunynghame Papers. 45. Henry Howard Molyneux (1831-90), fourth earl of Carnarvon, was secretary of state for colonies from 1874 to 1878. 46. Richard Monckton Milnes (1809-85), afterwards first Baron Houghton, was the M.P. from Pontefract. 47. Charles Hardinge to Milnes, Oct. 28, 1857, Milnes Papers, Eur.

MonEZap:

156

Notes

48. Walpole, History of England, 5:319. 49. The Times, Dec. 23, 1886, 7b. 50. Graves, Royal Academy of Arts, 382. 51. Exhibitions Handlist, Victoria & Albert Museum, 200 B.T. 52. Emily alludes to the loss of her husband’s letters written between July 19 and August 7. (HHL, 28.) 53. Charles had bouts of ague and suffered a bile disorder. (Hardinge’s letters of Aug. 17, 1844, to Walter James and Emily, HHL, 28, 33.) 54. A worn-out or broken-down horse. 55. In his attempt to discourage his wife from undertaking the journey to India, Hardinge referred to the great heat he had encountered near Aden and wrote to Emily: “I scarcely think you could have survived it.” Later he added, “I thank God repeatedly to Charles that you are not with us” (letter of July 4, 1844, HHL, 25-26). 56. Sir Frederick Smith, Arthur’s tutor, probably taught at the Royal School of Military Engineering at Chatham, Kent. 57. The Sixty-fourth Bengal Native Infantry Regiment mutinied at Shikarpur, Sind, in April 1844. During and after the mutiny, considerable concern in the affair was exhibited in London, especially by the earl of Ripon (afterwards Viscount Goderich), president of the Board of Control from February 1843 to July 1846. (Ripon to Wellington, Sept. 13, 16, 1844; Ripon to Prime Minister Peel, Sept. 16, 17; Wellington to Ripon, Sept. 18; Hardinge to Ripon, Sept. 19; Ripon to Hardinge, Oct. 3, 4, 5; Ripon to Peel, Nov. 7, Ripon Papers, Add. MS 40,869.) Ultimately, six mutiny leaders were executed, and Colonel Moseley, the regiment commander, was dismissed from service. (See letter 4.) 58. At first some, including Wellington, seemed critical of Gough’s response to the insurgency, but he was eventually vindicated. 59. William Wilberforce Bird (d. 1857), the senior member of the governor-general’s council, had served in India since 1803. He directed affairs at Calcutta from the time Ellenborough stepped down on June 15 to

July 23 when Hardinge took over. 60. Major General (afterwards Field Marshal and Baronet of the Khyber Pass) Sir George Pollock (1786-1872) served as the military member of the governor-general’s council from September 1844 to March 1847. Joining the Bengal army at the turn of the century, he had received special recognition as the commander of the British expedition to Kabul during the final stages of the First Afghan War.

Notes

61. Dissatisfaction had been growing in the Bombay presidency since 1843 when, under Ellenborough, a tax of two rupees per maund (about 80 pounds) of salt was first imposed. Early in September 1844 riots broke out at Surat even after the East India Company’s Court of Directors cut the salt levy by half. However, the Bombay government abolished the tax altogether, arguing that the court’s reduction “will prove no relief .. . to many classes of the community.” The governor-general overruled Bombay, declaring its action would result in a huge loss to Indian revenues. (Bombay governor to Hardinge, Sept. 7, 1844; and Hardinge to Bombay governor, Sept. 14, Ripon Papers, Add. MS 40,869.) See also letters 3 and 20. 62. Sarah (Sarina) was the infant daughter of the Jameses. In 1871 she married John Arthur Godley, the first Baron Kilbracken (1847-1932)

and lived to 1921. 63. At the time Hardinge assumed office, the Sikh kingdom was in a

state of steady political and economic decline. Since the death of Ranjit Singh (1780-1839), its perspicacious maharaja who had maintained a pragmatic policy of peace with the British, many factions vied with each other in a series of fierce and bloody contests for power. [he real authority at the Sikh capital of Lahore had gradually passed into the hands of the increasingly avaricious and rebellious khalsa (Sikh army) and its panchayats (councils of elders) elected by the soldiery. By 1844, the unbridled actions of the army, combined with the clashing ambitions of various Sikh politicians, had caused the violent deaths of three successive maharajas, two

wazirs (ministers), and many of the statesmanlike figures of the Ranjit Singh era. Hardinge, like other British leaders in Calcutta and London involved in policy-making decisions about India, wondered whether such continuing anarchy on their strategic northwest frontier might not lead to a war with the Sikhs. 64. By the provisions of an 1829 treaty between the Bombay government and the small Maratha state of Kolahpur, the former, early in 1844, placed that territory under the ministership of Pandit Daji Krishna, a

member of the Bombay civil service. That was done in response to repeated allegations of maladministration during the minority of its raja, a descendant of the well-known eighteenth-century Maratha king, Shivaji. Late in the summer of 1844, the Ghadkaris, instigated by the young raja’s aunt, Tara Bai, arrested the pandit and seized the forts of Samangarh and Budurgarh. Bombay reacted by issuing a proclamation of urgent concern

and sent a request to Calcutta for additional forces, but Hardinge firmly turned it down. Declaring that the Bombay government had enough troops

Notes

at its disposal to control the situation, the governor-general scoffed at the proclamation, saying that it was “calculated to excite alarm by conveying the impression that there is some imminent danger to British power against which we are to provide by calling on all our allies to assist us in our extremity—whereas the truth is that the paltry district of Kulapoor is now, as it has been on various other occasions, in a state of disturbance &

insurrection ag[ainst]

the Raja’s native minister-—&

nothing more”

(Hardinge to Ripon, Oct. 22, 1844, Ripon Papers, Add. MS 40,869). 65. Lieutenant Colonel (afterwards Lieutenant General and Baronet) Sir James Outram (1803-63), then the resident at Satara, had previously

served as a political agent in Sind. (See letters 57 and 64.) 66. Major General (afterwards Lieutenant General) Sir Henry Pottinger (1789-1856), who had seen service in various parts of India includ-

ing Sind, was critical of the manner in which Sind was annexed to British India in 1843. He condemned the removal of its amirs as “the most unprincipled and disgraceful [act] that has ever stained the annals of our empire in India” (Lambrick, Sir Charles Napier and Sind, 243). In London, Pottinger’s efforts on behalf of the ex-amirs were stalled by Peel and Ripon, who nonetheless worried that the Whigs might exploit him. (Ripon to Peel, Oct. 5, 1844, and Peel to Ripon, Nov. 20, Ripon Papers, Add. MS 40,869.) Detecting only scant concern for Sind, Pottinger abandoned his cause. Ripon summed up the situation well: “The Opposition are trying to get hold of [Pottinger]; but he is not disposed to bite: and I suspect that he finds that nobody here cares about Sind and the ex-Amirs now” (Ripon to Hardinge, Dec. 5, Ripon Papers, Add. MS 40,869). 67. Yet Hardinge’s measure did reduce the annual salt assessment of over two million pounds sterling in Bengal by about £120,000 (Hardinge, Viscount Hardinge, 64—65). 68. Whole thing; overall effect. 69. A branch of the Ganges, it flows through Calcutta and into the Bay

of Bengal. 70. Murshidabad was the seat of the nawab of Bengal. 71. Various Greek tales such as “The Tortoise and the Hare” and “The Fox and the Grapes” are attributed to this semi-legendary sixth century B.C. writer. 72. Hindu College, founded in 1816 and influenced by such noted

Orientalists as Horace Hyman Wilson (1786-1860) and Henry Louis

Vivian Derozio (1809-31), was one of the first to impart Western educa-

tion to brighter Indian students. 59

Notes

73. An Eastern Himalayan resort town located in northern Bengal at an elevation of about 7,000 feet.

74. There was considerable excitement among the Hindu elite of Calcutta, who expressed much gratitude to Hardinge over the new policy contained in the government’s Resolution of October 10. Ata public meeting on November 25 presided over by Raja Kali Krishna, a speaker named Babu Shama Charan Sen denounced the damage done by centuries of the “tron-rod of Moslem tyranny” but then declared that the Indians could still be saved “when such men as Sir Henry Hardinge are delegated to rule over our destinies and seize the helm of government in a firm and secure grasp.” Subsequently, on December 14, at a gathering of over five hundred Calcutta residents, the raja read an address of thanks to Hardinge. The governor-general responded extemporaneously “with great feeling” and concluded, “Rely upon it, gentlemen, you can not perform a more patriotic service to your countrymen than by encouraging and promoting education among the native population” (Bengal Hurkaru and India Gazette,

Nov. 28, 1844, 603; Dec. 16, 675). 75. Opium was one of the chief sources of British revenue in India,

yielding as much as 3% crores (one crore equals ten million rupees) of rupees annually (governor-general to the governor of Madras, April 16, 1847, IPP, F96/1, vol. 1, ff. 1-95). See also letter 20. 76. Outram, who favored a policy of pacification rather than one of bloody confrontation, served in Kolahpur only for several weeks. As the disturbances spread to the adjoining state of Sawantwari, the Bombay government replaced him with Lieutenant Ovans. After Ovans’s seizure by the rebels and his subsequent alleged sympathy for his captors, Bombay put Kolahpur affairs under its political agent, H. W. Reeves. In December

the British forces won Ovans’s release and captured the rebels’ strongholds, but peace was not fully restored in the Maratha lands until the spring of 1845.

77. Captain (afterwards Brevet Major) Frederick Raleigh (1808—56), of the First Bengal Native Infantry Army. His brother was Edward Ward Raleigh. 78. Ft. William, located at Calcutta and named after King William of Orange, had been the headquarters of the Bengal presidency since 1700. 79. The controversial practice of purchasing commissions had been in

vogue since the reign of George III. It was abolished by a royal warrant in 1871 under Gladstone, who said that “the nation must buy back its own

160

Notes

army from its own officers” John Morley, The Life of William Ewart Gladstone [New York, 1903], 2:361—65). 80. William Wells, a longtime resident of Penshurst and a friend of the

Hardinges. 81. Hira Singh was the minister from September 1843 to December 1844 and was killed by the Sikh army along with nearly 1,000 of his followers. A darling of Ranjit Singh when a boy, he was the son of Raja Dhian Singh, the powerful wazir from 1828 to 1843. Hira Singh was elevated to the wazarat (ministry) more out of sympathy for his father’s assassination in September | 843 than for his ability, and he found it difficult to cope with his high office. (See letter 7.) 82. Pandit Julla, a bright but tactless man from Jammu, was a close confidant of Hira Singh at Lahore. 83. Raja Gulab Singh (1792-1857),

afterwards maharaja of Kash-

mir, was the doyen and now the only survivor of the influential quartet called the Jammu rajas. He and his younger brothers Dhian Singh (d. 1843) and Suchet Singh (d. 1844), as well as his nephew Hira Singh, were Hindu Dogra Rajputs from Jammu. They all found employment un-

der Ranjit Singh and rose rapidly under his patronage. Gulab Singh impressed Ranjit Singh with his various successful military campaigns, and in recognition of his services the Sikh ruler granted him the rajaship of Jammu in 1822. Thereafter, Gulab Singh was rarely at Lahore and spent most of his time subjugating territories around Jammu through a blend of foresight, artifice, and force. While these victories were ostensibly claimed

in the name of Lahore, in reality vast mountain regions, including Kishtawar, Iskardu, and Ladakh, had by 1842 passed under his personal control. He had thus virtually carved out an autonomous territory within the Sikh kingdom. For more on the Jammu chieftain, see Singh, The Jammu Fox. 84. Sohan Singh was the second son of Gulab Singh. 85. Mian Labh Singh, also a Jammu native, was a commander loyal to Hira Singh. 86. Major George Broadfoot (1807—45) served as Hardinge’s politi-

cal agent on the Sikh frontier from 1844 to 1845. An officer in the Madras Native Infantry, he had been stationed on the frontier since 1841 when he had defended Jalalabad during the Afghan War. 87. A full-sized wild boar. 88. Frederick Wilhelm Waldemar (1817—49), a nephew of King Frederick William IV of Prussia. He traveled in India under the pseudonym of Count Ravensburg.

oul

Notes

89. His entourage included Count Grueben and Count Oriolla as well as Dr. W. Hoffsmeister, a naturalist.

90. “As regards his beard.” Charles calls him Esau because the biblical figure’s Hebrew name means “hairy.” 91. Waldemar

traveled extensively on the subcontinent ,and the ac-

count of his experiences was published posthumously in a book titled Zur Erinnerung an Die Riese Des Prinzen Waldemar von Preussen Nach Indien in Den Jahren 1844—1846, ed. Heinrich Mahlman (Berlin, 1853).

92. The country estate of the governors-general was located at a military station called Barrackpur about fifteen miles from Calcutta. 93. Harding’s forte was landscape painting in oil and watercolor; his works, done in England and other parts of Europe, include Pollards in Windsor and View of Fribourg. (See letters 24 and 35.) 94. Valle d’ Aosta is located in the Italian Alps close to both the Swiss and French borders. 95. A captain of the commercial steamers sailing between Suez and Calcutta.

96. Peshora Singh was a son of Ranjit Singh by his consort Daya Kaur. There were, however, rumors that Peshora had been fathered by someone other than the maharaja (Gupta, ed., Panjab on the Eve of First Sikh War, 27n.). 97. After Ranjit Singh renounced all claims to the territories east of the Sutlej in the Anglo-Sikh Treaty of Lahore (1809), the British govern-

ment in India issued a proclamation in 1811 extending its protection to all princely states between the Sutlej and Jamuna Rivers. These protected territories began to be called the Cis-Sutlej, or the Phulkian, States. 98. The Praetorian Guard in ancient Rome, originally a well-disciplined elite force, eventually deteriorated into rapacious kingmakers (Tacitus, Historiae 1.27, 36, 46, 80—85).

99. The fledgling Dalip Singh (1837—93) was installed as maharaja after the murder on September 15, 1843, of his predecessor, Sher Singh. Though Dalip Singh was accepted as a son of the great maharaja, Henry Hardinge believed he, too, was illegitimate, writing that “he is no son of Runjeet S. nor is there now any son ofhis alive” (letter to Walter, Feb. 20,

1845 HAZ) 100. The 1809 treaty acknowledged that the “British Government will have no concern with the territories and subjects of the Raja [Ranjit Singh] to the northward of the river Sutlej.” This commitment was reconfirmed by the Anglo-Sikh Indus Navigation Treaty of 1832.

162

Notes

101. The fear of sepoys deserting to the Sikhs proved baseless, but it did cause momentary jitters in Calcutta. (Government of India’s foreign secretary to Broadfoot, Jan. 19, 1845, in Broadfoot, Career, 268-70.) 102. Ellenborough, who had been recalled from India by the Court of Directors for his various controversial policies, had upon his return carried on a vendetta against the court and his other political foes. 103. Ellenborough was known for his grandiloquence. While defending his tenure in India, he declared at Forest Row that “undoubtedly great changes took place in our position in India while I administered the government. I found disaster, and I left victory. I found war, and I left universal peace, from which has already resulted a great extension of our commerce with the East, necessarily bringing with it some improvement in the general condition of the people. But not to me should be ascribed the merit of these happy events... . I trust I shall continue to feel, as I do now, deeply sensible of [Providence’s] goodness in making me the humble instrument of so many benefits, not to this country alone, but to a large portion of mankind” (The Times, Nov. 30, 1844, 6b). 104. Though there was considerable bloodshed among the Sikhs between

1839 and

1845, there is no record of “fathers murdering their

sons. 105. Rani Jindan or Jind Kaur (1817-63), the mother of Dalip Singh, became the regent when her son ascended the Sikh throne. She was married in the 1830s to Ranjit Singh, who was many years her senior. 106. The murder of Hira Singh and his associates on December 21, 1845, was carried out by the khalsa, which had been promised by the rani an increase of £300,000 in its salary budget. Afterwards Jindan had the severed heads of Hira Singh and his associates “publicly exhibited in chains” and their bodies left to be “devoured by dogs and vultures” (Hardinge to Ripon, Jan. 8, 1845, Ripon Papers, Add. MS 40,871; and Broadfoot to foreign secretary, Dec. 30, 1844, in ESLI, no. 148, enc. 9, letter 57). The rani’s two closest confidants were her brother Jowahir

Singh and her lover Lal Singh, who, however, were bitter political rivals. On December 22, Jowahir Singh declared himself the wazir amid “great pomp and show, putting on ornaments and jewellery” (Suri, Umdatut-Tawarikh, 4: 312), but few took his presumptuous announcement sertously. 107. The governor-general believed he could, if necessary, rapidly gather a large army on the Sutlej. He wrote that “we could in 2 months bring up about 30,000 infantry—8 Regiments of which would be European 163

Notes

Infantry—100 pieces of Artillery, 6000 civil suppliers and miners, etc” (Hardinge to Ripon, Jan. 8, 1845, Ripon Papers, Add. MS 40,871). 108. John Shepherd (1792-1859) was then the chairman of the Court of Directors. 109. Frances and Emily were with their mother on the Continent. 110. “With a relish that charms all the ladies.” 111. Hardinge was then unsure of what precisely his ultimate policy would be toward the Sikhs. As he quietly continued to send more troops to the frontier, he wrote to Ripon that “we have omitted no necessary precaution and given no unnecessary alarm” (Hardinge to Ripon, Feb. 7, 1845, Ripon Papers, Add. MS 40,871). Hardinge seemed anxious

not to cross the Sutlej without just cause, and he informed his wife: “Come what may we shall have a case that will bear a H. of Commons scrutiny” (Hardinge to Emily, Feb. 20, 1845, HHL, 54). 112. A close political ally and personal friend, Peel, as the prime minister, had played an important role in the appointment of Hardinge as governor-general. For an excellent account of the Hardinge-Peel connection, see Gash, Peel, especially 477-88, 491-95. 113. Major General Sir Robert Henry Sale (1 782—1845), famous for his defense of Jalalabad, was then the quartermaster general of the army. 114. Florentia Sale (d. 1853) shared her husband’s military life in India

and was dubbed “a soldier’s wife.” She was taken prisoner in 1842 during the war in Afghanistan, and the diary of her ordeal in captivity was published as Lady Sale’s Journal of the Disasters in Afghanistan (London, 1843). The governor-general wrote disapprovingly of her to Emily: “She is a clever woman, shrewd enough to be on her guard in society but from what | hear very coarse” (letter of Jan. 20, 1845, HHL, 44). 115. Alexandrina Sturt, the Sales’s daughter, was also imprisoned in

Afghanistan as was her husband, Lieutenant John L. D. Sturt, who died during the incarceration. Alexandrina remarried but, unfortunate to the

end, she and her second husband, a Major Holmes, were decapitated during the Mutiny in July 1857 at Delhi. (Macrory, Lady Sale, 159.) 116. Lahore had sent its troops to the Sutlej in response to reports that Gough had ordered extensive movements of British troops on the frontier. Hardinge gave a rather lukewarm defense of Gough’s action to Ripon: “I presumed the C.C. had only given orders for inspections in marching orders which he could not probably have avoided to do” (letter of Feb. 7,

1845, Ripon Papers, Add. MS 40,871). However, in a more candid letter to Ellenborough, he expressed his disenchantment with the commander

164

Notes

in chief, saying that if the British crossed the Sutlej in 1845, “the risk incident to all military operations will be greatly increased by his inaptitude to move a large body of men” (letter of Feb. 7, 1845, Ellenborough Papers, 30/12/6/4). 117. The governor-general had expressed sympathy for the young Dalip Singh because he had been challenged by Peshora Singh (see letter 6), who attempted to win over the loyalty of the ravenous khalsa by pledges of higher salaries. Hardinge informed Lahore, through Broadfoot, of his resolve not to recognize Peshora Singh as the ruler because “that power thus obtained, by an army selling its sovereign & his govern[men]t to the highest bidder, was a system . . . utterly repugnant to our feelings & principles” (Hardinge to Ripon, Jan. 23, 1845, Ripon Papers, Add. MS 40,871; and Hardinge’s Minute, Jan. 14, 1845, ESLI, vol. 80, enc. 11). 118. However, the governor-general instructed Broadfoot that such a message was to be restrained in tone so as not to weaken further the already enfeebled Sikh government. (Broadfoot, Career, 272.) 119. The anarchy at Lahore remained unabated, and the recent murders of Hira Singh and his own son (see letter 5) had Gulab Singh deeply concerned about his own future. In January Broadfoot was informed that the Jammu raja would guarantee to pay the British fifty lakhs (one lakh equals 100,000 of rupees) if they would invade Panjab at once. (Broadfoot to foreign secretary, Jan. 25, 1845, PC, vol. 160, no. 60.) During February the political agent learned from an emissary of the raja that he was pre-

pared to send 25,000 ofhis own troops to assist the British in the conquest of Panjab provided that they would, in turn, confirm him in his territories and help him exact vengeance upon the Sikhs. His messenger told Broadfoot that Gulab Singh, “having seen his nearest relatives killed like dogs, could have no faith in the Sikhs, that he also and the few remaining members of his family must die the death of dogs or put down the Sikhs” (Broadfoot to foreign secretary, Feb. 4, 1845, ESLI, vol. 80, no. 29, enc. 12, letter 16). 120. General (afterwards Count de Mandi) Jean Baptiste Ventura (1792-

1858), from Modena, Italy, served as a colonel in Napoleon’s army. After

Bonaparte’s fall, he drifted through several Eastern countries and was finally employed by Ranjit Singh in 1822. He served at Lahore in various

military and civilian positions for over twenty years and is described by Grey, in his European Adventurers, 93, as “the most able of all Ranjit Singh’s European soldiers.” Tired of the deepening chaos in the Sikh kingdom, he left Lahore in 1845 for France, only to return in 1848. The

165

Notes

British objected to his reemployment by the Sikhs, and he went back to Europe permanently. 121. Hardinge considered the raja innocent and wanted him to retain his title along with a generous stipend. However, he desired the administration of Kolahpur to remain entirely under British control, the ruler having no part in it. 122. John Frederick Lewis (1805-76), a friend of the Hardinges, painted animals in his early years. A tour of Spain in the 1830s lured him

to more exotic subjects such as bullfights and Iberian street scenes. His new interest ultimately brought him to Cairo in 1840 where he lived for many years. His numerous oriental watercolors attracted attention, and he was inducted into the Royal Academy in 1865. His best-known paintings, the Harem (1850) and the Door of a Cafe in Cairo (1865), are in the Victoria and Albert Museum and the Royal Academy, respectively. 123. The governor-general found himself in a somewhat uncomfortable situation because the commander in chief was his senior in the military, and he had hoped that Gough, then sixty-six, would retire, making Hardinge the chief civilian and the chief military authority in India. 124. Major General Sir James R. Lumley (d. 1846), was a veteran of various Indian campaigns. He had served in India for nearly half a century and was getting too old for the army. (See letter 26.) 125. The capital of Orissa is known for its fine jewelry made from pre-

cious metals. 126. Dwarkanath Tagore (1794—1846), the grandfather of the Nobel laureate Rabindranath Tagore (1861—1941), had close connections with

the East India Company and made his fortune through business ventures in silk, coal, and indigo. He was a social reformer in the tradition of Raja Ram Mohan Roy (1772-1833), advocating a better educational system and the abolition of sati. Impressed by his philanthropy, Henry Hardinge called him “a prince in liberality” (Hardinge to Walter, April 7, 1845, HHL, 71). See also letters 25 and 26. For a good book on him, see Kling, Dwarkanath Tagore. 127. John Gibson (1790-1866), whose work was influenced by the classical tradition of Greece and Rome. 128. Sir Francis Legatt Chantrey (1781—1844), noted for his statues of

George IV, Wellington, and George Washington. 129. On his first visit Victoria promised to send two royal portraits to Tagore, intending them for public display at Calcutta. In the mistaken belief that the portraits were personal gifts from the queen, he laid claim to

166

Notes

them upon their arrival, but at Hardinge’s request he did not press the issue. (See Kling, Dwarkanath Tagore, 181n.)

130. Early in January 1845, a Sikh soldier’s monthly remuneration was 15 rupees compared to a sepoy’s 7. (Governor-general in council to the Secret Committee, Court of Directors, Jan. 7, 1845, SLBI, vol. 179, no. 1a) 131. Charles mistakenly calls Gulab Singh the uncle of Dalip Singh. He makes the same error in letters 13, 17, 19, and 38.

132. By the end of 1844 the balance in the Lahore treasury had dwindled to eighty lakhs of rupees, a sum far short of the amount needed to administer the Sikh kingdom and pay its soldiers regularly. Rani Jindan’s government, therefore, devised a strategy whereby the khalsa would march to Jammu, gain control of all of Gulab Singh’s vast lands, and seize his treasury, which supposedly contained crores of rupees. By such bold action, Lahore believed it would have “enough to pay the army for ten years leaving the whole revenue to them” (Broadfoot to foreign secretary, Jan. 4, 1845, PC, vol. 164, no. 30). After much temporization, a Sikh force of over 30,000 men under General Sham Singh and Raja Lal Singh went into the hills in February. However, before marching to Gulab Singh’s stronghold, it plundered the Jasrota fort, located about forty-nine miles from Jammu, and then proceeded to launch a wave of unrestricted looting and wholesale rapine throughout the countryside. (Hardinge to Ellenborough, March 8, 1845, Ellenborough Papers, 30/12/21; Sun, Umdat-utTawarikh, 4:313—14; and Badrah, “Raj-Darshani,” ff. 137/1-138/1.) 133. The Pindaris, an unrestrained band of marauders, originated in

eighteenth-century central India, were ultimately reinforced by deserters from the Maratha irregular cavalry, and in the 1810s menaced various parts of India including those under British jurisdiction. They were crushed only after the marquess of Hastings (governor-general 1813-23) put a combined army of over 100,000 Company and Indian princely troops against them in the autumn of 1817. 134. Peshora Singh was not Gulab Singh’s nephew. 135. Sir George Arthur (1784—1854) was governor of Bombay from

June 1842 to August 1846. 136. Though Hardinge officially agreed to Arthur's request to enter Portuguese Goa if necessary in pursuit of Sawantwari insurgents (letter of March 14, 1845, Pol. Con., no. 246), he was, in principle, opposed to such a course of action. He wrote that “if the Sikhs were to demand the surrender of their refugees coming into our territory for the purpose of putting 167

Notes

them to death, I should refuse to surrender, &, altho’ I have authorized our offs. to pursue our enemies in arms across the frontier into the Goa territory in certain cases, I will not force a Port[ugue]se govr. to break his pledge on my threat contrary to my own practice” (letter to Walter, May 2, 1845, HHL, 81). This led Arthur to exercise caution and, after direct diplomatic consultations between London and Lisbon, the fugitives were returned by the year’s end to the Bombay authorities for trial. 137. Lieutenant General Sir Charles James Napier (1782—1853) was

the governor of Sind from March 1843 to September 1847. 138. Early in March the governor-general delivered lively addresses to enthusiastic student audiences at Western-style Muslim educational institutions, emphasizing the importance of the English language and the benefits of Western science. Among other things, he spoke of “the steam carriages in England which travelled 50 miles an hour . . . [and] the electric telegraph by which questions had been put and answered 400 miles in five minutes.” The Friend of India (March 6, 1845, 145) praised Hardinge’s

success, saying it provided a “gratifying assurance that the Mahomedan students have at length overcome their aversion to the study of the language, and of the European arts and sciences; and were resolved to enter on a competition with the more advanced students of the Hindoo creed.” Alluding pointedly to the sullen resentment that had followed British termination of the long-lived Muslim rule in India, the newspaper added, “The conquest of these prejudices, nurtured as they were by the exclusive feelings of the Mahomedans and heightened by their repugnance to the literature of those who had supplanted them, deserves much credit.” 139. Although Hardinge, like his son, used stereotyped racial epithets common to that period, he repeatedly praised the intelligence of Indian students. “Conceive some 30 Hindoo boys as black as yr. hat,” he wrote to Sarah, “spouting Shakespeare fluently—aye & explaining accurately all the most difficult passages.” And he told Walter, “It is quite clear to me that the minds of these black fellow creatures, when properly cultivated, are capable of the highest intellectual attainment” (letters of Oct. 22, 1844, 39, and Feb. 8, 1845, 48, HHL). 140. Major William Robert Herries (1819—45), of the Third Light

Dragoons, was an aide-de-camp to the governor-general. 141. After encamping south of Jammu, the invading khalsa demanded from Gulab Singh crores of rupees as well as the hill territories of Suchet Singh and Hira Singh. However, the Jammu raja succeeded in deflecting the Sikh army leaders from their goal by putting on an exceptional show of

168

Notes

charm and amiability and dropping broad hints of future gifts of gold jewelry to the Sikh soldiery. Gulab Singh held the Sikh panchayats so spellbound that they agreed to vacate his territories upon the offer of only twenty-five lakhs of rupees. They even urged him to assume the stillunoccupied wazarat at Lahore, which he graciously declined, knowing full well the fate of the recent ministers. However, when the veteran Sikh general Fateh Singh Mann and his men were carrying the money they had ex-

torted to the Sikh camp, they were ambushed and murdered, and the cash was taken back to Jammu. Though Gulab Singh was probably not directly involved in this plot, he found himself in a great predicament. (Latif, His-

tory of the Punjab, 532; Broadfoot to foreign secretary, Feb. 23, 1845, PC, vol. 165, no. 47; and March 18, 1845, in Broadfoot, Career, 300; Cunningham, History of the Sikhs, 283.) For more on this latest turn of events, see Singh, Jammu Fox, 77-79. 142. John Edwardes Lyall (181 1—45) was a gifted, multilingual scholar

who attended Eton and Oxford. He studied law at the University of London and in 1842 was appointed the advocate-general of Bengal. A strong supporter of Indian education, he gave free lectures at the Hindu College. The untimely demise of this promising young man was deeply felt in Calcutta. The Hindu College students even dedicated a stone inscribed in his honor. The Hurkaru (March 22, 1845, 326) noted: “From his first land-

ing in India he took a very lively interest in the improvement ofthe natives, and in him they have lost a warm and judicious friend.” The Calcutta Star (as quoted in the Gentleman’s Magazine, July 1845, 82-83) also paid tribute to Lyall’s altruism: “He was indeed a public benefactor in every sense of the word; one of those beings who honor humanity, and whose ex-

amples are calculated to elevate mankind.” 143. Beja or Bijar Khan, the Dombki chief, was caught in the Traki Gorge early in March.

For details, see Lambrick,

Napier and Sind,

288-94. 144. Given to hyperbole, Napier exaggerated to the governor-general the speed of his movements. (Lambrick, Napier and Sind, 295.)

145. Charles’s anger is directed at scholars who in 1833 had inaugurated the Oxford Movement to restore some of the Roman Catholic beliefs and practices into the Anglican Church. The movement drew bitter opponents, who disparagingly termed it Puseyism after one of its chief exponents, Edward Bouverie Pusey (1800—82), an Anglican clergyman. In 1843 Pusey was forbidden to preach for two years because he had delivered a sermon entitled “The Holy Eucharist, A Comfort to the Penitent.” 169

N otes

While he favored the custom of private confession and the removal of the prerogative of priestly absolution, he was opposed to an unconditional merger with Rome. R. W. Church, in The Oxford Movement (London, 1932), 337, succinctly sums up the Oxford theologian’s standpoint: “Tt Anglicanism] was not Roman in Dr. Pusey, though he was not afraid to acknowledge what was good in Rome.” For more on the subject, see Liddon, Life of Pusey, and Faber, Oxford Apostles. 146. Gladstone resigned as the president of the Board of Trade in January 1845 because of the sectarian controversy surrounding state support of the Catholic seminary at Maynooth in Ireland (see letter 21). He was succeeded by the tenth earl of Dalhousie. 147. Major General (afterwards Field Marshal) George Hay, eighth marquess of Tweedale

(1787—1876), was governor and commander in

chief of Madras from September 1842 to February 1848. The two men disagreed on various issues throughout Hardinge’s tenure in India, and the governor-general believed Tweedale carried a lingering grudge: “He is not very partial to me, | believe, for I have had to pull him up on mill[itarly points of difference, & when Ellenborough was recalled he expected to have been appointed G.G.” (letter to Walter, Dec. 3, 1847, HHL,

239-40). 148. The headquarters of the Court of Directors was located in the East India House on Leadenhall Street, London.

149. The fabulously wealthy sixth-century B.C. king of Lydia. 150. A scornful reference to writing. 151. The governor-general, who in the aftermath of Mann’s murder had expressed his disdain of Gulab Singh and declared that the British government would never have anything to do with him, in a turnabout now admired his courage. (Governor-general in council to Secret Committee, Court of Directors, March 22, 1845, SLBI, vol. 179, no. 25.) “He might have crossed over to us,” he told Ripon, “but he has taken over the bolder line” (letter of April 8, 1845, Ripon Papers, Add. MS 40,872).

152. Sir Edwin Henry Landseer (1802-73), famed for his paintings of animals, especially dogs. 153. “There is universal satisfaction here with your administration— with your views, intentions and acts,” wrote Peel to his friend (letter of March 1, 1845, Peel Papers, Add. MS 40,474.)

154. Henry Whitelock Torrens (1806—52), a political officer, had been

in India since 1828. His father, Major General Sir Henry Torrens (1779-1828), like Henry Hardinge, had fought in the Peninsular Wars.

170

Notes

155. He was made an ensign with the Fifty-third Foot Regiment. 156. Because of recurring challenges from Lal Singh for the ministry, Jowahir Singh was unable to assume the office formally until May. (Hardinge to Ellenborough, June 3, 1845, Ellenborough Papers, 30/12/21/7.) 157. Although no scene in Greek drama extant today seems to parallel this situation exactly, the sentiments expressed about the rulers at Lahore could reflect those of the Chorus in its abuse of Clytemnestra and Aegisthus near the end of the Agamemnon by Aeschylus (Il. 1612—48 passim). 158. According to Suri, Umdat-ut-Tawarikh (4:315), the Jammu chief

actually bribed the Sikh soldiers and officers. 159. So aroused were the people of Lahore on Gulab Singh’s arrival that, as his guards conducted him on an elephant to his quarters, they concealed his face with a handkerchief to protect him from the prying gaze of the inquisitive onlookers. (Broadfoot to Ellenborough, April 21, 1845, in Broadfoot, Career, 315; Suri, Umdat-ut-Tawarikh, 4:317.) 160. Edward A. Dayman, then a fellow of Exeter College, Oxford, was

also a clergyman. 161. William George Ward (1812-82), a holder of B.A. and M.A. degrees from Oxford, became a fellow at Balliol College in 1834. Joining the Oxford Movement in 1838, he became a strong champion of a return to the earliest teachings and rituals of Christianity. His vociferous advocacy of such views in two pamphlets published in 1841 cost him his position at Balliol. Controversy swirled around him again in 1844 when he published his lengthy book The Ideal ofa Christian Church Considered in Comparison with Existing Practice (2nd ed. New York, 1977), which lauded

Catholic customs while condemning those of the Anglicans. Ward was summoned before the vice-chancellor on November 30, 1844, and the con-

vocation, despite the opposition of the High Church party at Oxford, condemned his book on February 13, 1845, and degraded his two degrees. After lengthy appeals and arguments, the penalty became effective in 1854. Subsequently he joined the Catholic Church. For more on the Ward controversy, see Ward, William George, 156-369; and Liddon, Life of Pusey, 2:414—27, 4:256-59. 162. This is probably a reference to William Cantaur’s A Letter Addressed to the Clergy and Laity of His Province by William Archbishop of Canterbury, Jan. 11, 1845, which appealed for restraint and forbearance on the issues of religious ceremonies and advised abstention from any stand, pro or con, on the prevalent controversy. The archbishop, however, made nodirectivecerence to. ward) (ibe limes, Jan. 15, 1845, 5.) ayaa

Notes

163. Lieutenant Colonel (afterwards General) Thomas Ashburnham (d. 1872). 164. Aden, near the southern entrance to the Red Sea, had been seized

by the British in 1839 and was under the Bombay government's jurisdiction. Its strategic position had obliged the British to station troops there. 165. The Articles of War (Government of India, Act XX, 1845) further subordinated the presidencies of Madras and Bombay and other British territories in India vis-a-vis military affairs to the governor-general in council. The articles attracted special attention because they reinstated

flogging among the sepoys, a punishment that had been banned under Lord Bentinck

(governor-general,

1828-35).

The statistics indicated

that, since the abolition of corporal punishment, the crime rate had risen among the sepoys. When the measure to reintroduce flogging was eventually passed, Hardinge seemed to have universal official support in India. An elated Hardinge wrote: “The whole of my council concur. [he governors & their councils at the other presidencies also concur. The three comders. in chief concur, & Charley Napier, a radical who wrote a book against flogging, concurs in my views” (letter to Walter, Sept. 19, 1845, Hilal 166. Emily Eden lived in Calcutta with her brother, Lord Auckland

(governor-general, 1836—42). She published her Indian sketches in Portraits of the People and Princes of India (London, 1844). An account of her Indian travels entitled Up the Country was also published (London, 1866). 167. Nepal had been undergoing sporadic periods of near-Byzantine turmoil since its defeat by the British in 1814—16. King Rajendra was in fact not directly involved in Matabar Singh’s death. The minister fell victim to a conspiracy hatched by his own ambitious nephew, Jung Bahadur Rana, and Queen Rajya, the estranged consort of the king. 168. Ever since his detention at Lahore in early April, several attempts had been made on the Jammu raja’s life by various parties. Nevertheless, through his considerable powers of amiable persuasion mixed with indis-

cernible deceit, he was ultimately able to appease both Rani Jindan and the khalsa while deepening the schism between the two. Both sides were so

beguiled that each offered him the wazarat. Gulab Singh still had no interest in the office but, perhaps to divide the Lahore factions even further, he agreed to support Jowahir Singh’s candidacy for the ministry. (M’Gregor, History of the Sikhs, 2:37; Broadfoot to Ellenborough, April 21, 1845, in

S| NS

Notes

Broadfoot, Career, 311; Hardinge to Ellenborough, June 3, 1845, Ellenborough Papers, 30/12/2 1/7.) 169. An aide-de-camp to the governor-general. 170. Henry Torrens combined his administrative duties with scholarly activities and was active in the proceedings of the Royal Asiatic Society in Calcutta. 171. An entertaining account of this ball held on May 26 is provided by a letter from Arthur Hardinge to his mother (letter of June 1, 1845, Hardinge (Arthur) Letters, 1):

The large ball rooms were lighted up in a most dazzling manner. I might have dispensed with telling you this, as you all know my father’s partiality for a blaze of light and having made an addition of 300 lamps in the hall. After all the company had been kept waiting for His Excellency’s entrance in a due time, he appeared, preceded by his silver sticks, silver chowries [whisks], and other insig-

nia of royalty and followed by his household and personal staff. He was received and saluted on entering the first room by a guard of honour. In the furthest room looking down upon the ballrooms was placed a very gorgeous throne and footstool placed on a beautiful rug embossed with gold and silver. . . Notwithstanding the size of the rooms and pankhas being pulled over our heads you may imagine the heat of the ballroom must have been great when it was 92 in the night air, but still the dancing went on in great spirit, and the ladies who indulged in the polka might have been taken for water nymphs rising from their natural element. After this exhausting system had been carried on for some time, we adjourned to the Marble Hall, where a magnificent supper was laid out, 18 dozen of champagne imbibed by exhausted ladies and gentlemen in a few minutes. These free libations had the usual effect of protracting the ball to a late hour and it was 5 in the morning before I was in bed.

172. 173. 174. 175. lives a

A donation in God’s name. Not found. He was finally installed as minister on May 14. At the height of the epidemic, cholera claimed nearly six hundred day in the Sikh kingdom. The civilian casualties at Lahore alone

numbered seven thousand, and the Sikh army lost five thousand men.

Notes

(Hardinge to Ripon, Ripon Papers, June 12, 1845, Add. MS 40,872; July 3, Add. MS 40,873; and Hardinge to Walter, July 2, HHL, 94.) 176. India had produced opium ever since the time of the Mughals, who had exported the drug to China. The rise of British power in Bengal during the eighteenth century led to the East India Company’s venture into the opium trade, and the Company assumed its monopoly over the drug under Warren Hastings (governor-general, 1774—85). The most prized opium in India was cultivated for the British in Bihar and parts of the erstwhile North West Province. It was then refined and packed in wooden crates by Company-operated factories near Ghazipur and Benares before being shipped to Calcutta. Opium began to be exported to China in record quantities and, despite occasional criticism in England of this policy on humanitarian grounds, the lucrative trade, which ultimately constituted about half of all British exports to China, continued unhindered. Repeated protests by China were ignored, and its government’s bitterness over this illicit import became the immediate cause of the Opium War (1840—42). The Treaty of Nanking, which ended the war, made no formal reference to China’s chief complaint and the shipments of Indian opium to China actually increased in volume. (Owen, British Opium Policy.) Henry Hardinge hoped these profitable exports would continue, adding without a trace of facetiousness, “unless China has the good sense to grow the poppy weed”

(PPA =95)% 177. While the government imposed a duty on Indian salt of only 4 of a rupee per maund in the Bombay presidency, it charged 3% rupees in Bengal. It was to remedy somewhat this disproportionate scale oflevies that the governor-general had, with the concurrence of Ripon and the court, increased the duty to a full rupee in Bombay and lowered it to three in Bengal. Fearing Hardinge’s policy was protectionist and would thus hurt the sale in India of British-manufactured salt, the Times published several critical news items in the first half of April. One such article claimed that the Bombay Chamber of Commerce and “the mercantile community of India in general” disapproved of his action and declared: “If Sir Henry’s mental telescope cannot show him what effect his measure will have at so great a distance as the mother country, at least we perceive that steps are being

taken on the spot to open his eyes as to the mischief it will do in India” (April 7, 1845, 4b). 178. Richard Wellesley was the governor-general of India from 1798 to 1805. During his tenure, Wellesley’s younger brother Arthur, the future

first duke of Wellington, served in the Indian army.

174

Notes

179. He was a son of Colonel Sir David Cunynghame, fifth baronet of Milnecraig. His mother was an illegitimate daughter of the first Baron Edward Thurlow (1731—1806), the lord chancellor from 1778 to 1792. 180. Though the Jammu chief had acquiesced in Jowahir Singh’s accession to the ministry, he planned to keep any single Sikh leader from becoming too powerful and remained very much a part of the endless cycle of intrigue at Lahore, his support fluctuating continually between the new minister and his principal competitor, Lal Singh. Later in June, Broadfoot reported that the three men “were well engaged in plans to assassinate each other, any two joining for a day against the third” (letter to foreign secretary, June 20, 1845, PNWF). 181. Sir James Weir Hogg (1790-1876) had been a member of the Court of Directors since 1839. 182. Sir James Cosmo Melvill (1792—1861) was the chief secretary of the Court of Directors from 1836 to 1858. 183. Sir James Robert George Graham (1792—1861) was home secretary under Peel from 1841 to 1846.

184. In 1829 Parliament had passed the Catholic Emancipation Bill with the support of Wellington, then prime minister. The controversy that followed within the duke’s own Tory ranks led to his resignation in 1830. 185. In February 1845, Peel had introduced a bill in the Commons giving an annual subsidy of £26,000 to the Maynooth seminary, plus an additional £30,000 for new construction. An angry debate ensued for months,

as right-wing Tories, uncompromising Protestants, and many opponents of Peel’s anti-protectionist measures joined forces against the bill: There was considerable speculation that this anti-Maynooth coalition would take an adamant Peel down to defeat. Graham expressed to Hardinge his fear of the possible consequences of a Peel defeat on Maynooth: “ [I]f they reject the only man who has the wisdom and capacity to lead them thro’ the difficulties of the Age in which we live, they must be content to see power transferred to their political opponents” (letter of April 23, 1845, in Gash, Peel, 478). See also letter 23. 186. Victoria was particularly busy from April to June traveling from one royal residence to another, giving an unusually large number of balls, making numerous public appearances, and announcing plans to visit the Continent. (The Times, April 1, 5d; April 14, 5b; April 26, 5f; April 28, 5d; May 20, 5f; May 26, 5c; May 28, 5b; June 2, 6a; June 3, 7b; June 5, 7c; June 6, 4f, etc.) Charles felt that hereditary insanity might have struck the queen. There had been numerous suggestions that George III, Victoria’s

Notes

grandfather, was deranged because of his notorious excitability, restlessness, and insomnia. Her father, Prince Edward, duke of Kent (1767—

1820), was said to have suffered from the same symptoms. This condition was diagnosed as porphyria in the nineteenth century. However, doubts have been raised by recent medical scholars as to whether porphyria, which afflicted members of various European royal houses for nearly four centuries, was actually a mental malady. (Macalpine et al., “Porphyria,” 7-18.) 187. Thomas Wood (1777—1860), of Littleton and Gwernyfed, was Henry Hardinge’s brother-in-law, having also married a daughter of the

first marquess of Londonderry by his second wife. Wood was colonel of the Royal East Middlesex Militia and a member of Commons for forty years. Bob Wood was his fifth son. 188. Thomas Wood (1708-299), of Littleton Park, Middlesex, was the treasurer of Inner Temple. 189. Shakespeare, King Henry IV: Part One, 1.11.33. 190. A real hater of mankind. 191. He married Emile Marie Louise Wilhelmina, the widow of Captain Mellish, on July 8, 1845. She was the daughter of Baron de Baumbach of Hesse. 192. This not very apt analogy obviously refers to the story of the Pharaoh who dreamed of the fat and lean kine (cows) that came out of the river, etc. (Genesis 41.2.) 193. The Company’s troops to the east of the Sutlej suffered only about a dozen cases of cholera. (Hardinge to Walter, July 2, 1845, HHL, 94.)

194. Shakespeare, Henry VIII, [V.11.37. 195. Gash likens Peel’s revilement by his critics during the Maynooth bill debate to an “inquest.” (See his Peel, 468—81, for an instructive ac-

count of the issues and personalities involved in this controversy.) The protracted debate finally ended late in May, when an ephemeral coalition of moderate Tories, Whigs, and Irish members passed the bill. 196. The simmering quarrel over the Oxford Movement spilled over into the Commons when on April 10, 1845, W. D. Christie, the M.P. from

Weymouth, moved that the queen appoint a commission to investigate the workings of Oxford and Cambridge Universities. After lengthy and acerbic deliberations, the motion was defeated. (Hansard, 3d ser., 79 [1845]: 393-454.) 197. Although British rule extended at that time over vast portions of India, English law was applied only within the three presidencies of Calcutta, Madras, and Bombay, and even there Hindus and Muslims were

176

Notes

largely exempt from it. In the British provinces, Hindu laws were applicable to the Hindus and Muslim laws to the Muslims, but there was no clearly defined law that applied to British citizens and other foreign nationals. To end these legal ambiguities, Hardinge’s Lex Loci, the “Law of the Place,” was approved by the governor-general in council in July 1845. The term “Lex Loci” was. coined by Charles Hay Cameron (17051880), the council’s legal member. By this new statute everyone living in British India was to be covered by English law except the Hindus and the Muslims. However, the law also stipulated that an Indian who converted to another faith could not be denied his inheritance rights, a proviso that was suspect in the eyes of many Hindus. They considered it an incentive, and even a maneuver, to attract Hindus to Christianity. No action was taken on the bill by the Court of Directors and the matter remained in limbo

during Hardinge’s tenure. 198. Hardinge snubbed the Bombay government’s efforts to strengthen the military outpost at Aden, considering it expensive and unnecessary. (See letter 82.) 199. Perhaps the most important social reform of Hardinge’s rule in India was his effort to eradicate the age-old rites of spring involving human sacrifice, called meriah among the Khond tribes who inhabited the secluded hills of Orissa. Hardinge himself provides a harrowing picture of the cruel ritual: “For ages these tribes have purchased victims from the adjacent countries, boys & girls & men & women, who are kept & well treated in their villages. When the annual period arrives for the celebration of these impious rites, the village assembles the poor victims, arms & legs are broken that no show of resistance may be made, & he is alive fixed into

a young tree split into 4 openings. The priest gives the first blow with an axe, & everyone present then rushes upon the victim & strips off the living flesh & carries a piece of it to his field as a propitiation to the earth god to give them a good crop” (letter to Walter, June 2, 1845, HHL, 83). In the early 1840s as many as fifteen hundred victims fell prey yearly to this custom. Hardinge authorized the stationing in Orissa of a half dozen officials led by a Captain Macpherson to halt the practice of meriah. Despite early stubborn opposition, the Khonds virtually abandoned the custom by the 1860s. For more on Anglo-Khond relations, see Edith S. Brandstadter’s

fine chapter in Yang, ed., Crime and Criminality in British India, 89-107. the 200. Charles refers to Sir Archibald Alison’s History of Europe from Commencement of the French Revolution in 1789 (London,

1833-42)

WO

Notes

and Edward Thornton’s History of the British Empire in India (London, 1845). 201. Captain (afterwards Vice Admiral) Robert Fitzroy (1805-65), a cousin of Charles, was a grandson of the first marquess of Londonderry on his mother’s side. 202. He took over as the second governor and commander in chief of New Zealand in December 1845 and inherited from his predecessor the volatile problem of land disputes between the tribal chiefs and the incoming European settlers. The land claimed by the immigrants had been sold to them by E. G. Wakefield, a private entrepreneur who, in turn, had bought it surreptitiously from the tribesmen before London sent Captain Hobson to New Zealand in January 1840 as its first governor. Hobson confirmed aborigine ownership of the disputed land in a treaty. When Wakefield’s settlers tried to seize the land, the Wairu massacre occurred,

in which a number of the newcomers were killed. Fitzroy attempted to treat the tribesmen fairly and even pardoned two of the leaders involved in the Wairu affair. This action won him the immutable opposition of the settlers and caused renewed violence. (Dictionary of National Biography, 7:208; Encyclopedia Britannica,

19:628—29; Gisborne, New Zealand Rulers,

28=32;) 203. The tribesmen went on the rampage near Auckland under Hone Heke, a Maori chieftain, and initially even the British force from Australia failed to check them, sustaining “several defeats through underestimating their foe” (Sinclair, History of New Zealand, 64—65,

175). Fitzroy was

blamed for most of the turmoil, especially in the Commons, and he was relieved of the governorship in November 1845. (Hansard, 3d ser., 78 [1845]: 658-70; Papers relating to New Zealand, 4:213—487.) For more on the aftermath of this festering confrontation, see Belich, “J Shall

Not Die.” 204. The Principles and the Practice of Art (London, 1845).

205. Sir Frederick Thesiger (1794-1878) was solicitor general in 1844—45 and attorney general in 1845—46. Sir William Webb Follett (1798-1845) was solicitor general in 1834—35 and 1841—44 and attorney general in 1844—45. 206. After prolonged discussions, Hardinge’s views prevailed. By the Government of India, Act XXII of 1845, he was to have, in absentia, all

the powers of the governor-general except those he might choose to entrust to the president in council. (Hardinge to Ripon, Aug. 5, 1845, Ripon Papers, Add. MS 40,873; Leg. Con., Sept. 20, 1845, nos. 10212)

Notes

These were, in essence, the same powers enjoyed by his two predecessors when absent from Calcutta. 207. The governor-general was quite irritated by the Sikh incursion, but he believed that various anti-Jowahir Singh factions had orchestrated this move to undermine the wazir. However, Hardinge had little respect for e1ther the wazir or Jindan because of their moral turpitude and wrote to Ripon, “I confess with such characters as the Ranee & Jowahir S. the hope of establishing a strong Sikh Govt. is further off than ever” (letter of Aug. 18, 1845, Ripon Papers, Add. MS 40,873).

208. Cunynghame, who in 1841 had served as an aide to Lieutenant General Lord Saltoun (1 785—1853) in China, wrote ofhis experiences in a book entitled An Aide-de-Camp’s Recollections of Service in China (London, 1844). 209. An apt paraphrase of Shakespeare’s Hamlet, [.11.129. 210. He died in England in January 1846. 211. Frances (Fanny), the younger sister of Emily Eden (see note 166),

was also with her brother in Calcutta. Frances’s letters describing her experiences in India appeared in a meagerly annotated work edited by John Pemble and titled Miss Fane in India (London, 1985). 212. Disabled by paralysis in 1844, he died in June 1845. 213. Count de Salis, a captain in the Scots Fusilier Guards, was killed

on June 26, 1845. 214. Lewis continued to travel and paint in the East until 1852 but did not make it to India. 215. Charles’s criticism of Ellenborough resulted from the latter’s lack of compassion and his meanness of spirit over young John Lyall’s death, evident in remarks he made in the House of Lords on July 8, 1845: “Not only was this gentleman not the best advocate, but he was perhaps the very worst, in the court; and, for [my] own part, [I] had never heard any reason alleged for his appointment but that he was the son of the Chairman of the Board of Directors. Now . . . what would be the opinion of the people of this country, if a Prime Minister thought fit to appoint his son to be Attorney General, merely because he happened to be a lawyer, and was, from standing or practice, in no other way qualified for the office?” (Hansard, had 3d ser., 82 [1845]: 122.) John’s father, George Lyall (1784-1853), as its been a member of the Court of Directors since 1831 and had served chairman in !841—42.

AGE)

Notes

216. The son of William Henry Lambton (1793-1866) and Henrietta (1808-83) of Biddick Hall, Durham. Henrietta was an elder sister of Sarah. 217. Broadfoot also suggested this minor incident was an affront to Bnitish honor, requiring a punitive response against Lahore. However, Henry

Hardinge, in a letter on August 14, rebuffed his agent, saying that “an offence to our dignity would not constitute a sufficient casus belli” (Broadfoot, Career, 327).

218. The governor-general worried that the recent acts of Sikh defiance were a result of Lahore’s belief that London would soon send to the Northwest Sir George Russell Clerk (1800—89) who, as the political agent at Lahore during 1842 and 1843, had had extensive official dealings with the Panjab rulers during and after the Afghan War. In London Clerk had, in fact, written a memorandum dated May 22, 1845, to Ripon suggesting that Broadfoot ought to pursue a policy of “distance & reserve” rather than intrusion into Lahore politics. (Ripon Papers, Add. MS 40,872.) Hardinge rejected such a course, saying conditions in Panjab had changed radically since Clerk’s service there. He conveyed to Ripon his resolute opposition to the assignment of any mission to Clerk, saying his “coming out & going to the N.W. frontier would in reality supersede the governor-general in C. in his functions” (letter to Ripon, Aug. 18, 1845, Ripon Papers, Add. MS 40,873). Clerk was not sent to the frontier. 219. Francis Robert Bonham, a founder of the conservative Carlton

Club in 1832, was a close political confidant of Peel and the storekeeper of the ordnance in his government. After he confessed he had once accepted a bribe, he was forced to resign on July 9. (Gash, “F. R. Bonham,” 502-22.) 220. This could refer to Agostino Carracci (1557-1602), the gifted Bolognese engraver and painter. 221. Sir August Wall Callcott (1799-1845) was a noted painter of English and Italian landscapes. 222. Henry Hardinge, too, was becoming concerned about the effect on his daughter of her prolonged absence from England and wrote to Walter, “Foreign manners, notwithstanding the well-concealed insecurity of society, make an impression frequently very detrimental to young English peo-

ple &, with Emily’s peculiar predilection for gaiety & trifling, I do not

think the risk should be unnecessarily run” (letter of Nov.

AAG

180

2o):

19, 1845,

Notes

223. Alluding to the gaiety of the costume ball held on September 11, the Hurkaru reported that the “ballroom was extremely brilliant,” the guests including “some capital Turks, Persians, Arabs, Albanians, Spaniards, Jews, and some superb Highlanders, and a good many courtiers of the Regime” (Sept. 13, 1845, 299).

224. Philip Henry Stanhope Mahon, fourth Earl Stanhope (1781— 1855), became the secretary to the Board of Control in July 1845. 225. Despite Bonham’s humiliation, Peel publicly reiterated his regard for him ina speech to the Commons: “I have long been connected with him by ties of private friendship; and now ata time when he is labouring. . . impossible as it is to defend that act, my feelings towards him remain unaltered” (Hansard, 3d ser., 82 [1845]: 1382-87, 1402-9). Bonham’s friendship with Peel continued, and he was a pallbearer at Peel’s funeral

in 1850. 226. Though Mansur Ali Khan was then only the nominal nawab of Bengal, he embellished his name with the ostentatious titles of his worthier predecessors dating back to the heyday of the Mughals. These included “Mumtazim-ud-Malik, Mohsin-ud-Daula, Farindun Jah, Nawab Sayid Munsur Ali Khan Bahadur. . . the Nawab Nazim, Subahdar of Bengal,

Bihar and Orissa” (C. E. Buckland, Bengal under the Lieutenant Governors (Calcutta, 1901], 2:1055). 227. Charles here draws a parallel with “the partial obscurity & conflict between the light of the large torches & the beautiful moon, the singing of the camel drivers, the shouts of the men,” which he experienced when the Hardinges visited the pyramids at night in June of 1844. (Hardinge to

Emily, June 24, 1844, HHL, 24.) 228. A deliberate misquotation from Thomas Gray’s “Ode ona Favourite Cat, Drowned in a Tub of Gold Fishes” (Oxford Book of English Verse, no. 468). 229. During the pre-Company period, a Bengal ruler could bestow land ona temporary or permanent basis provided the recipients performed specified services or paid certain taxes or both. However, under the permanent settlement of Lord Cornwallis (governor-general, 1786-93), land was given away permanently to the zamindars (landlords or landowners) with unlimited economic jurisdiction over it as long as they paid a fixed annual

tax to the Company. 230. Charles mistakenly calls Muslim art and architecture in India and Moorish (letters 32—34), a term mainly applicable to north Africa Spain. Sa

Notes

231. Benares has over seventy ghats. Though important ghats like Panchaganga and Dashashvamedha have terraced stairs made of rock, many others have clay steps. 232. Peshora Singh was murdered on September 11. To escape the khalsa’s wrath, Jowahir Singh, in a vain attempt to divert its attention, encouraged it to cross the Sutlej. He hoped that by such a maneuver he might save himself from “the death of a dog” (Broadfoot to foreign secretary, Sept. 18, 1845, Sec. Con., no. 207). On September 21, the panicstricken minister again tried to mollify the soldiery at its camp by offering “a quantity of gold and jewels” (Cunningham, History of the Sikhs, 83) but, as Charles describes it, “he was shot down on his elephant, after the infant Maharaja had been torn from his side” (Hardinge, Viscount Hardinge, 73). 233. The governor-general, too, believed that peace was assured, at least temporarily, by Jowahir Singh’s death. He told Tweedale that the Sikh army was “more intent on obtaining increased pay and gold bracelets than measuring their strength with us” (letter of Oct. 7, 1845, IPP, F96/1, vol.

Ls 234. James Thomason (1804—53), West Province, 1843-53.

lieutenant governor of the North

235. Shihab-ud-Din Shah Jahan, Mughal emperor (r. 1628—58). 236. Arjumand Banu Begum, also called Mumtaz Mahal or Taj Mahal, became Shah Jahan’s second queen in 1612 and remained his favorite until her death in 1631. 237. The suggestion that the Taj was designed by an Italian goldsmith named Geronimo Veroneo, who served for a time under the Mughals, was advanced by Sebastian Maurique, an Augustinian monk who traveled to Agra in 1642. This notion seems to have been almost willfully embraced by several later European visitors but is not corroborated by art historians. The idea that Veroneo was the genius behind the concept of the mausoleum is rejected by various analysts, among them Havell (Handbook to

Agra, 74), who states that, although Veroneo submitted a plan for the monument, it was discarded by the emperor. Gascoigne (Great Moghuls, 182) writes that he might, at best, have been consulted on the matter of some trivial decorations. Carroll (Taj Mahal, 57) resolutely refuses to ascribe the T’aj’s creation to a seventeenth-century Italian architect: “Ifa Eu-

ropean architect had designed the building, would he not have left one fingerprint behind, one Greek cross or Doric column, one biblical fresco or pink-cheeked putto>?” Recent research seems to indicate that the Taj was

182

Notes

the result of a joint effort by the architects Isa Khan Effendi from Persia, Ustad Ahmad from Panjab, and one Ismail Khan, who devised the dome. (Pal etal., Romance, 70, 73; Begley and Desai, Taj Mahal, 261—87; and Davies, Monuments ofIndia, 2:193.) 238. The colossal Agra Fort was originally built by Emperor Akbar (r. 1556-1606) and augmented with parapets by Emperor Aurangzeb (r. 1658-1707). Many of the structures inside were added by Shah Jahan. 239. This refers to the Moti Masjid (Pearl Mosque) described by Davies (Monuments of India, 2:188) as a “building of sublime simplicity.”

240. In August Gulab Singh was able to win his way back toe Jammu by spuriously pledging to the Sikhs sixty-eight lakhs of rupees as well as a portion of the hill territories under his control. (Cunningham, History of the Sikhs, 284.) Upon the murder of Jowahir Singh, he dismissed the offers of the wazarat, made by various Lahore parties, contemptuously responding that “he wished to live for more than six months” (Hardinge to Ellenborough, Oct. 23, 1845, Ellenborough Papers, 30/12/21/7). 241. John Russell Colvin (1807-59), Auckland’s private secretary from 1836 to 1842, was rumored to have helped formulate the controversial Afghan policies. (Buckland, Dictionary, 90; and Trotter, Earl of Auckland, 46, 61.) 242. Frances and Arthur were married on September 18.

243. Charles here confuses Mumtaz Mahal with Nur Mahal (or Nur Jahan), Jahangir’s queen and Shah Jahan’s stepmother. She was also the aunt of Mumtaz Mahal. 244. Fatehpur Sikri, built by Akbar, was his capital from 1569 to 1584. Twenty-three miles southwest of Agra, it contains some of the most impressive Mughal buildings within its walls. 245. The Buland Darwaza, or “High Gate,” was built of red sandstone and towers 135 feet above its base, but it actually measures | 76 feet high when the wide flight of steps from the ground level leading to the base 1s

included. It was one of Akbar’s greatest architectural extravaganzas and is India’s tallest historic gateway. 246. This nearly invulnerable fort, protected by its wide embankments and encircled by a broad moat, was constructed under its Jat raja, Suraj Mal, who had menaced the Mughals in Aurangzeb’s time. In 1805 General Gerald Lake (1744-1808), then commander in chief, failed to occupy the fort in spite of a three-month siege. Ultimately the Raja of

Notes

Bharatpur compromised, and the two sides agreed upon a peace settlement. (Fortescue, British Army, 5:95-125; and Buckland, Dictionary,

242.) 247. In 1825, Lord Amherst (governor-general,

1823-28) intervened

in Bharatpur through his commander in chief, General Stapleton Cotton Combermere (1773-1865), to settle a succession dispute following the death of its raja, Baldeo Singh. Combermere helped restore Balwant Singh, the late ruler’s son, to his father’s throne, which had been usurped by his cousin, Durjan Sal. This intercession also resulted in the stationing of a British resident in the state. When the Hardinges visited Bharatpur, Balwant Singh was still the raja. (Fortescue, British Army, 11:353—66; Ritchie and Evans, Lord Amherst, Mammon, 163-69.)

128-47; Peers, Between Mars and

248. This probably is a description of Gopal Bhavan, the best known of the raja’s several palaces at Deeg (Dig). 249. Hardinge had rebuked Reid, a member of the Bombay governor’s council, for his intemperate remarks about Napier in matters involving Bombay troops stationed in Sind. That he favored the quarrelsome Sind governor, a fellow military officer since the Peninsular Wars, is quite obvious in his remark to Ripon: “I see all of Napier’s defects, but I admire his other qualities” (letter of Nov. 4, 1845, Ripon Papers, Add. MS 40,874). 250. Charles Napier loathed the Company’s civil servants, especially the ones in Bombay, and branded them “jackals” in his brother William Napier’s Conquest of Scinde (\st ed., 473). W. Napier himself termed their expressions of sympathy for the ousted Sind amirs “vulgar vehemence (2nd ed., 459). When the civil servants lodged a formal complaint, Henry Hardinge was obliged to ask the general for an explanation. C. Napier, however, denied any culpability even though the book was based mostly on information provided by him to his brother. (Lambrick, Napier and Sind, 259-60.)

251. It became the Mughal capital in 1526 and formally remained so unTleliGD7 252. The Juma Masjid, the largest mosque in India, was built by Shah Jahan.

253. The Khas Mahal, located inside the Lal Qila (Red Fort) complex, was also built by Shah Jahan. 254. Siraj-ud-Din (“Zafar”) Bahadur Shah II (r. 1837-57) was the

last Mughal emperor. His grandfather, Shah Alam II, had accepted British protection in 1803. Thereafter, Delhi was administered by a British 184

Notes

resident and the Mughal rulers had no power, internal or external, their imperiousness becoming “harmless fiction” (John W. Kaye, Life and Correspondence of Lord Metcalfe [London, 1854], 1:223). 255. George Thompson (1804-78), M.P. from 1842 to 1852, was one of the first English politicians to censure the nature of the Company’s rule in India. As early as October 1839, he had said, “I wish to see our dominion secured and perpetrated by the administration of a paternal government . . . upheld by the spontaneous allegiance of millions of hearts, and not by the dazzling array of two hundred thousand bayonets” (see his Lectures on British India, 16). Fearing violent outbreaks in India such as the

ones that had occurred lately among the uprooted American Indians and the Canadians agitating for local autonomy, Thompson also warned: “I would not have the scenes of the Mississippi and St. Lawrence perpetrated again upon the banks of the Burampooter [Brahmaputra] and the Ganges” (47). In another book, he condemned heavy taxes in India and asserted that the Company’s sway, “instead of being a blessing, is a scourge and a curse” (Six Lectures, iv). While visiting India in 1842, Thompson expressed sympathy for the plight of Bahadur Shah, who designated Thompson the “Ambassador of the Emperor of Delhi” (Buckland, Dictionary, 422).

256. The reference obviously is to the structures inside the Lal Qila, which include, in addition to the Khas Mahal, columned halls, mosques,

gardens, and gates. 257. Walter was a painter of landscapes and an etcher. His works were exhibited at the Royal Academy from 1849 to 1853. 258. Hugh William Boulton was with Charles at Christ Church, Oxford. 259. John Ruskin (1819-1900) was indeed instructed by J. D. Harding on the art of depicting various aspects of nature, especially trees, and contemporary artists detected that influence in the first volume of his acclaimed Modern Painters (London, 1843). Ruskin himself praised Harding’s talent in painting trees and described him as, barring J. M. W. Turner, “unquestionably the greatest master of foliage in Europe” (Dictionary of Victorian Painters, 201). 260. Muscat, now Oman, was strategically located on the southeastern coast of Arabia and was threatened in the mid-eighteenth century by a vir-

ulently Islamic fundamentalist movement founded by Muhammad Ibn Abd al-Wahab. As the menace spread, Muscat developed close ties with the British to safeguard itself from the Wahabis. A row between 185

Notes

Aberdeen, Peel’s foreign secretary, and the Board of Control resulted over what policy to pursue when, in the mid-1840s, the Wahabis forced Muscat’s ruler, Sayid Said bin Sultan (1804—56) to flee briefly to Zanzibar. Hardinge, who held the sultan in low esteem because of his trafficking in the slave trade, recommended only limited support: “Naval demonstration and occasionally a few marines, never allowing them to get entangled in any doubtful operations . . . seem to me to be the utmost extent to which we can afford protection to an ally” (letter to Ripon, Nov. 19, 1845, Ripon Papers, Add. MS 40,874). Eventually Hardinge’s counsel against land operations in favor of a modest show of sea power prevailed. For more on Muscat policies of this period, see Wendell Phillips, Oman, A History

(London, 1967), 84-116. 261. The Mughal emperors had received an annual British subsidy offifteen lakhs of rupees since 1833. (J. N. Sarkar, Fall of theMughal Empire [Calcutta, 1950], 4:336.) 262. The so-called slave named Mangla was a woman of fluctuating loyalties. She was supposedly a confidante of Rani Jindan and a mistress of

the late Jowahir Singh. 263. Upon the Jammu raja’s continued refusal to become the wazir, the army had, early in November, lukewarmly accepted Lal Singh’s assumption of that office. At the same time, General Tej Singh, who had served the Sikhs since 1811, was appointed the commander in chief. Unlike Lal Singh, he was not romantically linked with the rani. 264. By the end of 1844, the entire reserve of the Lahore treasury had dwindled to eighty lakhs of rupees. (Broadfoot to foreign secretary, Jan. 5, 1845, PC, vol. 164, no. 30.) This was a far cry from the time of Ranjit Singh, when his government annually collected from 148 to 302 lakhs in

revenue. (H. S. Dhillon, “Taxation System,” in Singh and Singh, eds., Centenary Volume, 139—40.) 265. The personal exhortations of Rai Kishan Chand, the British vakil (emissary) to the Sikh durbar (court or government), urging it to discourage the army's move toward the Sutlej also had no effect. (V. S. Suri, “An Outstanding Family Archives in the Punjab,” in The Indian Archives M9561) 10:2 13) 266. Lahore was having difficulty paying its troops on a regular basis, primarily because it had been forced to raise a soldier’s monthly pay gradually from 7 rupees in 1839 to 121% rupees in 1845, while during the same period the numbers of the khalsa had risen from 46,037 to 89,821. (Sita

186

Notes

Rami Kohli, “The Organization of the Sikh Army,” in Singh and Singh, eds., Centenary Volume, 70-87; Suri, Umdat-ut-Tawarikh, 4:261.)

267. Rumors had circulated in Panjab that Mohan Lal, an employee of the Company’s Northwest Frontier agency, had, ona visit to England earlier in 1845, persuaded London to order the governor-general not to invade the Sikh kingdom. This considerably agitated Broadfoot, but Hardinge calmed his nerves, advising him to ignore the speculation “of Mohun Lall having superseded the Governor-General [and] bear it patiently until the insane fit be over” (letter of Sept. 19, 1845, in Broadfoot, Career, 342—43). 268. Such defections were supposedly abetted by Ram Dayal, Lahore’s vakil stationed east of the Sutlej. Broadfoot feared this development might further encourage the khalsa to attack the British. (Broadfoot, Career, 350-51; Broadfoot’s Memo. to the governor-general, Dec. 1, 1845, ESLI, vol. 183, enc. 21, letter 15.) 269. Near Dehra Dun in present-day Uttar Pradesh.

270. He still felt that the Sikhs “would never be so insane as to rush headlong to destruction by invading [British] territory” (Hardinge to Ripon, Dec. 3, 1845, Ripon Papers, Add. MS 40,874).

271. At that moment a perplexed governor-general, however, was not sure of the Jammu chief’s role in this latest round of Sikh infighting. He informed Peel that Gulab Singh was “at the bottom of the intrigue,” but added: “He may for a time prevent the dissolution of the Punjab Government by placing himself at the head of the affairs. I doubt his nerves to place himself again in the power of the Sikh army with a halter round his neck” (letter of Dec. 4, Peel Papers, Add. MS 40,475). 272. The comparison of Florentia Sale to Moll Flaggon implies that she was a somewhat coarse and bellicose female. Moll Flaggon could refer to a literary character who joined the English army dressed as a man. A number of such cases where women concealed their sex are known. 273. Probably Captain Peter Nicholson, Broadfoot’s assistant at Ferozepore.

274. The fort in the village of Wadni, about twenty-four miles from Mudki, was held by Sikhs sympathetic to Lahore. 275. Major General (afterwards Lieutenant General and Baronet of Aliwal) Sir Harry George Wakelyn Smith (1787-1860) was the commander of the First Infantry Division. 276. Major General (afterwards Lieutenant General) Sir John Hunter Littler (1783-1856) was the commander of the Ferozepore Division.

187

Notes

277. Estimates of the numbers of the invading Sikh force vary considerably. M’Gregor, then a surgeon in the First European Light Infantry, put the total at 75,000. (History of the Sikhs, 2:64.) The governor-general estimated it at 60,000. (Letter to Emily, Dec. 25, 1845, HHL,

ever, Cunningham

133.) How-

(History of the Sikhs, 304—5) calculates the actual

number of Sikh combatants at only 30,000 to 45,000.

278. Captain John Munro of the Tenth Bengal Light Cavalry died two days after Mudki when he was only twenty-four. Adept at various Indian languages, he had served as the governor-general’s interpreter. 279. Major General Sir John McCaskill, who had served in India since 1805, was hit by a flying ball and killed instantly. 280. Sale did not recover from his injuries. 281. The total number of British casualties at Mudki was 215 killed and 657 wounded. (Gough and Innes, Sikhs, 77.) The Sikh losses, though described as enormous, were never tallied. 282. Even on the night of Mudki, the gravity of the situation seemed lost

on the governor-general’s servants at his camp. There Charles “found Baxu, the old Khansamah [cook], arranging the plates and chairs as if he

was preparing for a State dinner at Government House” (Hardinge, Viscount Hardinge, 87).

283. A day after Mudki, the lifestyle of the Hardinge entourage had been transformed from formal to casual. It was while the governor-general was eating a makeshift outdoor lunch under such circumstances on December 21 that Gough appeared, beseeching him unsuccessfully for permission to resume hostilities against the Sikhs. (See letter 39, Dec. 21.) That

encounter led a recent writer to the caustic observation: “Sir Hugh found Sir Henry and his staff sitting under a tree sharing a picnic” (Bruce, Six Battles, 126).

284. Henry Hardinge (letter to Emily, Dec. 25, 1845, HHL, 133) and Cunningham (History of the Sikhs, 303) place the number of guns at 150. 285. Though this section of the letter is dated December 21, it is obvious

from the content that it was not completed until at least a week later. 286. Since December 21 was the shortest day of the year, Gough wanted to attack early to make use of the daylight. (Gough and Innes, Sikhs, 90.) 287. He himself was killed at Ferozeshah on December 21. 288. Waldemar, who participated in the war, was also ordered away from the front by the governor-general. One of his traveling companions, W. Hoffsmeister, was mortally wounded on December 21. The well-nar-

rated account of Hoffsmeister’s experiences in his Travels in Ceylon and 188

Notes

ewes

India, etc. (Edinburgh,

1848), ends abruptly on December

20: 289. The Sikhs repelled Littler’s division by launching an intense fusillade, causing heavy British casualties.

290. Bruce (Six Battles,

150) puts the figure at seventy-five, Cook (Sikh

Wars, 68) at seventy-three. 291. Gough, too, on the night of the 21st, rejected the advice of some of

his officers to fall back by responding, “Better that our bones should bleach honourably on the field of battle than retire” (Gough and Innes, Sikhs, 98). 292. In a lengthy and confidential letter to Ripon dated December 27 and 28, the governor-general complained bitterly of Gough’s lack of leadership and organization, which he believed adversely affected the course of the battles at Mudki and Ferozeshah (Ripon Papers, Add. MS 40,874.) In another frank letter on the subject, he told Walter that Gough was “as brave as his sword & a perfect gentleman but not exactly the sort of general we require in critical times” (letter of Dec. 30, HHL, 134). 293. Captain Lumley, assistant adjutant general and son of the ailing Major General Lumley, succeeded in ordering the Eighth Light Cavalry to withdraw to Ferozepore. Still, not everyone obeyed. For instance, Harry Smith, upon learning that the orders were not from a higher authority, retorted: “Damn the orders, if not the Commander-in-chief’s, I will give my own orders and take none of that retrograde sort from any staff officer on earth” (Bruce, Six Battles, 140—41). Charles states that Lumley acted irrationally, perhaps because of heat prostration. (Hardinge, Viscount Hardinge, 99.) However, Hay was less charitable: “Captain Lumley’s escape from being cashiered is owing entirely to his father’s interest & Sir Hugh’s misplaced good nature” (letter to Tweedale, Feb. 23, 1846, Hay [Arthur] Papers, MS 14,446). Lumley was consequently sent back to England. 294. A village about fifty miles southeast of Mudki. 295. That, in fact, was also the intention of Lal Singh and Te) Singh—

the two top commanders supposedly leading the Sikhs at the Sutlej. (Cunningham, History of the Sikhs, 304-9; M’Gregor, History of the Sikhs, 2:80—82; Latif, History of the Punjab, 541—43; Bruce, Six Battles, 149-50, 172;

Humbley, Journal, 179.)

296. One ofthe major forts near Amritsar built by Ranjit Singh in 1808. 297. In the aftermath of Ferozeshah, Henry Hardinge did not wrest the command from Gough because this could have appeared self-serving.

189

Notes

Nevertheless, in perhaps the best-kept secret of the war, he did recommend to Peel and the Secret Committee that Gough be supplanted by Charles Napier for the duration of the hostilities. (Letter to Peel, Dec. 30, Peel Papers, Add. MS

40,475.)

However,

by the time Napier arrived in

Panjab, the war had ended. 298. Edmund Burke’s comment after Pitt the Younger’s maiden speech before Parliament in 1781: “Not merely a chip of the old ‘block’ but the old block itself” (The Oxford Dictionary of Quotations [London, 1948],

58). 299. Charles apparently means the 21st and 22nd. 300. While the khalsa pressured the raja to assume the wazarat, he was once again busy making covert overtures to the British through the Company’s agents on the frontier, offering to throw in his lot with them. All such proposals, however, were ignored at the time. (Singh, Jammu Fox,

107-110.) 301. A force of about ten thousand men from Meerut commanded by Sir John Grey (2 1780—1856) had arrived at the front earlier in January. 302. While the British were preparing for the next contest, they did not defend the entire frontier, following Hardinge’s counsel that “he who de-

fends everything, defends nothing” (Bruce, Six Battles, 156). Taking advantage of this, a small Sikh contingent burst upon Ludhiana on January 5, burned several British cottages, and made away with some munitions. [he Sikhs, however, did not threaten the Ludhiana fort, where a small English military unit, as well as women and children, were quartered. (Cook, Sikh Wars, 73.) See letter 43. 303. This sketch, entitled “Battle of Ferozeshah,” appears in his Recollections of India (no pagination). According to the accompanying text, it was drawn on December 24, “when the field was still strewn with the dead and the captured cannon.”

304. This was one of Napoleon’s swords given to Hardinge by Wellington in 1816 at Sedan, after the duke reviewed the Prussian troops with whom the governor-general had served during the Peninsular Wars. 305. Since Charles was absent from the front for the entire night of the 21st, this conversation obviously took place either late on the afternoon of that day or after 11:00 in the morning on the 22nd. During both those time periods Charles was with his father and the Sikhs were fiercely attacking the British. (See letter 39.) 306. About nine miles southwest of Ludhiana.

190

Notes

307. The Sikh gunners killed over two hundred of Smith’s men. Among the dead was Captain Arthur Wellington Campbell of the Fourteenth

Foot, an aide to Harry Smith. His father, Lieutenant Colonel (afterwards General) John Campbell (1802-78), was then serving with the Forty-first Madras Native Infantry. 308. Brigadier (afterwards Major General) Sir Hugh Massy Wheeler (1789-1857) was the commander of the Second Infantry Brigade under

Harry Smith. 309. Smith had decided to launch a preemptive strike against the Sikh force of nearly twenty thousand men under General Ranjodh Singh Majithia, which was rumored to be ready to attack either Ludhiana or Baddowal on the morning of the 28th. Majithia was one of the few top Sikh commanders who had not made clandestine contacts with the British. 310. Located about twenty miles northwest of Ludhiana. 311. An Englishman named Potter, a renegade from the Bengal artillery since 1844, became a colonel in the Sikh artillery. He was eventually released for having saved the lives of some British prisoners in Sikh custody. (Cook, Sikh Wars, 82.)

312. The Sikhs reportedly lost 3,000 men at Aliwal, compared to 580 British casualties, which included 158 dead. The English captured at least fifty-four of the Sikh guns. 313. Smith to the adjutant general, Jan. 30, 1846, in FPNWF, 58-63. 314. Henry Hardinge feared that the Tory government would fall because of Peel’s failure to receive the support ofthe protectionists within his party in his bid to repeal the Corn Laws. Ready to be relieved by the Whigs in the event of Peel’s ouster, Hardinge told Emily that “if the Duke & Peel, the greatest, wisest, & best men of the day, are satisfied with me, I shall retire in peace & happiness” (letter of Feb. | and 2, 1845, HHL,

141-42). However, the governor-general did not have to make an immediate decision. Though Peel was obliged to resign on December 6, Lord Russell, the Whig leader, failed to form a new government and Peel returned as prime minister on December 20. He did so, however, without

the backing of Lord Stanley, the leader of the Tory protectionists. In January 1846, Peel finally introduced the controversial repeal bill, and his— and Hardinge’s—political future remained in a state of uncertainty. 315. This letter, though begun on February 14, contains information that indicates it was not completed until the 1 6th. 316. The plan of attack used at the Battle of Sobraon was devised jointly by Hardinge, Gough, and the military engineers. Gough agreed with

1914

Notes

Hardinge that no assault should be launched unless the heavy artillery could be used effectively. (Gough and Innes, Sikhs, 121; Cook, Sikh Wars, 85—87; Bruce, Six Battles, 177-78.) See also letter 46. 317. Ashburnham commanded three battalions of infantry under Littler. 318. Major General Sir Robert Henry Dick (1785-1846) led the Third Infantry Division and was killed at Sobraon. 319. Major General (afterwards Lieutenant General) Sir Walter Raleigh Gilbert (1785-1853) commanded the Second Infantry Division. 320. Arthur Hardinge, too, paints a grim picture of the desperate plight of the defeated Sikhs: “Nothing could have been . . . more disastrous than the fate of the enemy who retreated into the river, which really seemed choked up with bodies, and few escaped the double chance of being killed by our artillery (which continued firing upon them as they crossed the

fords) or being drowned in the Sutlej” (letter to Emily, Feb. 218, 1846, Hardinge [Arthur] Letters, 11).

321. No official estimates of the Sikh fatalities at Sobraon are available from the Lahore side. Most Indian manuscripts, such as the “ Tarikhi-Sikhan” (2:393—95), vaguely put the figure of the Sikhs killed and drowned at “thousands.” However, Cunningham (History of the Sikhs, 328n) reckoned the Sikh dead and wounded to be between 5,000 and 8,000. Arthur quoted the number of dead alone at 9,000. (Letter to Em-

ily, Feb. 218, 1846, Hardinge [Arthur] Letters, 11.) Humbley (Journal, 180) put the casualties between 12,000 and 15,000.

322. The adjutant general’s report, issued on February 13, calculated the British casualties at 320 killed and 2,063 wounded. (FPNWF, 85.) 323. Thirty-four miles south of Lahore. 324. Fearing that his interests might be sacrificed in the postwar arrangements, he had finally come down to Lahore at the end of January.

Threatened by the khalsa, which wanted the raja to take charge of the war against the British, a reluctant Rani Jindan installed Gulab Singh as the wazir on January 31. One of the first actions of the new minister was a secret offer to the British, promising to undermine the Sikh effort in the ap-

proaching final showdown in return for a British commitment to protect his interests. [his time Hardinge, who had previously dismissed all such moves, welcomed this proposal. Gulab Singh in turn played a major part in the Sikh defeat at Sobraon by promoting further political turmoil at Lahore and hindering the flow of military reinforcements to the Sutlej. Imme-

diately after Sobraon the Sikhs, ignorant of the raja’s treachery, gave him unrestricted powers to sue for peace. For more on this extraordinary affair,

‘O ho

Notes

see Bawa Satinder Singh, “Raja Gulab Singh’s Role in the First Anglo-Sikh War,” Modern Asian Studies 5 (1971): 35-59. 325. Sir Henry Montgomery Lawrence (1806-57) succeeded Broadfoot as the governor-general’s agent on the Sikh frontier in January. 326. Sir Frederick Currie (1799-1875) was the foreign secretary to the

government of India. 327. The full text, dated February 14, 1846, can be found in FPNWFE,

87-88. 328. The Sikh negotiators, led by Gulab Singh, received a cold reception at Kasur; the governor-general declared that Lahore should expect severe punishment for its belligerency, “which would mark to the whole world that insult could not be offered to the British Government” (Hardinge to Secret Committee, Feb. 19, 1846, FPNWF, 68). However, Hardinge lauded the Jammu raja for his recent conduct and pronounced him “a welcome ambassador” (letter to Emily, Feb. 17, HHL, 149). In an agreement privately negotiated between Gulab Singh and Currie, the Sikh delegation agreed to all British demands. These included a cession of territory, war compensation, and the disbandment ofthe Sikh army. (See letter 48.) 329. Victoria and Albert expressed concern to Peel after his resignation on December 6 that the country might be left without an effective government. Peel himself was so worried about the consequences of the protectionists gaining power that he assured the queen he would, however reluctantly, attempt to keep a Russell government in power. (Gash, Peel,

D242=6 15) 330. Hardinge’s suggestion of launching a sneak attack on the Sikhs in the dark of night by ferrying thousands of British troops and numerous guns across the Sutlej was also rejected in favor of a direct heavy artillery assault in daylight prior to the advance of the army. (Bruce, Six Battles, 7/30) 331. Claude Auguste Court (1793-1861), a lieutenant in the French

Sixty-eighth Infantry and a veteran of the Napoleonic wars, entered Ranjit Singh’s service in the 1820s. He cast some of the maharaja’s best artillery guns and in 1836 was made a general in the Sikh army. He had returned to France in 1844. (Grey, European Adventurers,

148—60.)

332. A week before Sobraon, Hardinge had already in effect decided to make Gulab Singh independent in the hills. (Hardinge to Peel, Feb. 3, FPNWFE, 54.) Moreover, before entering Lahore on February 20, the governor-general had reached a secret understanding with Gulab Singh that Kashmir would be sold to the Jammu raja because of the anticipated

193

Notes

failure of the nearly bankrupt Lahore government to pay the required indemnity. 333. It was finally signed on the 9th. 334. His sketch of the tomb of Jahangir, the fourth Mughal emperor (1606-27), appeared in his Recollections. Situated on the left bank of the Ravi River, it was another majestic edifice built by Shah Jahan, Jahangir’s son. Upon Jahangir’s death, Nur Jahan lost out in a power struggle with her stepson, Shah Jahan, who banished her to Lahore. When she died, it was said he deliberately buried her in an unimposing, rather stark structure. Charles found it in poor condition, dilapidated from long neglect, but the mausoleum has recently been restored. 335. Kashmiri women are considered some of the handsomest in south Asia. 336. Amritsar was the key trading center for the fabled Kashmiri shawls woven from pashmina, the wool of the Tibetan sheep. 337. “The cold of Amanus.” A name given during the classical period to a range of mountains in Asia Minor (now Alma Dagh). 338. This accident took place on November 5, 1840, while Naunihal Singh, Ranjit Singh’s grandson, and a multitude of mourners were returning from the funeral of his father, Maharaja Kharak Singh (r. 1839-40). It was suspected in some quarters that Gulab Singh and the other Jammu rajas had conspired to kill the free-spirited Naunihal. (Cunningham, History of the Sikhs, 244; Steinbach, The Punjab, 24; Edwardes, Memorials, 1:69.) However, the circumstances of his death appear to absolve the Jammu clique, for the falling timber that caused it also killed one of the Jammu chief's own sons, Udham Singh, and injured his brother, Dhian Singh, then the wazir. Furthermore, it is difficult to imagine that such clever operators as the Jammu rajas would have willfully invited the vengeance of an emotionally charged capital by so openly murdering a popular prince. Since no retribution followed, it is clear that most people presumed the disaster to be an accident and nothing more. 339. A lion denotes a Singh or a Sikh. Here it could also suggest a chief or a noble. 340. Laura Jane, another of Sarah’s older sisters. 341. By the terms of the Treaty of Amritsar, signed between the British and Gulab Singh on March 16, 1846, the latter was to receive various mountain regions, including Kashmir, for seventy-five lakhs of rupees (articles | and 3). However, the new maharaja of Kashmir was excused from

paying an additional twenty-five lakhs in return for the surrender to the 194

Notes

Bnitish of some former Sikh hill territories. The governor-general was delighted with the acquisition of Nurpur, Kulu, and Mandi, which gave the British control over the entire trans-Beas region, and especially by the transfer of the strategic “Fort Kangra—the Key of the Himalayas” (letter to Secret Committee, March 4, 1846, FPNWF, 89).

342. Soon after Gulab Singh’s duplicitous role became known, the rani dismissed him and reappointed Lal Singh to the wazarat. 343. The Koh-i-Nur, or “Mountain of Light.” The legendary diamond, which had been acquired by Ranjit Singh in 1813, became, after Panjab’s annexation in 1849, a part of the English crown jewels. 344. Though the “Tarikh-i-Sikhan” (2:593) implies that Lal Singh concocted the tale of his injury and hid in the Govindgarh fort, it is obvious from Charles’s testimony that he was wounded at Ferozeshah. 345. This arrangement was made in a separate eight-article treaty with Lahore on March

11, 1846. According to its terms, the British were to

help maintain law and order at Lahore, reorganize the Sikh army, and assist in the collection of taxes from delinquents. 346. A British army of nearly 16,000 made a forced march from Kabul in January 1841. Only 120 made it to Jalalabad. 347. Baron John Elphinstone (1807—60), governor of Madras from 1837 to 1842, was on a private visit to India. 348. See references to these letters in HHL, 166, 168, 171. 349. Hogarth of Haymarket in 1847 published a two-part work entitled Picturesque Illustrations ofAncient Architecture in Hindostan. (The Times, Sept. 9, 1847, 5c.) 350. “Oh, my bulwark and my sweet glory” (Horace, Carmina I.1.2). In this ode the Roman poet Horace (65-8 B.C.) dedicates his work to his

patron Maecenas. 351. During the second year of the Peloponnesian War (431-404 B.C.), a plague spread from Libya all the way to Persia. The epidemic also manifested itself in Athens, and none suffered more than those war refugees seeking safety within the confines of the city. Thucydides, an eyewitness who himself caught the plague but recovered from it, describes their wretched fate: “There were no houses for them, and, living as they did dur-

ing the hot season in badly ventilated huts, they died like flies. The bodies of the dying were heaped one on top of the other, and half-dead creatures could be seen staggering about in the streets or flocking around the fountains in their desire for water” (Thucydides, History of the Peloponnesian War, trans. Rex Warner [Baltimore, 1964], 126).

Notes

352. Hay, too, had expressed similar dissatisfaction: “Lord Elphinstone is not the sort of companion I like & thinks too much of his comfort & valet” (letter to Tweedale, March 25, 1846, Hay [Arthur] Papers, MS 14,445, ff. 101-3). 353. John Ernest Bode was a fellow student at Christ Church, Oxford. 354. Exceptionally bitter clashes became the hallmark of the Corn Laws debate between January and June 1846. (Gash, Peel, 562-615.) On June 25 Parliament finally repealed the Corn Laws, but the same day saw Peel’s government defeated on a different piece of legislation. As Russell took office, the Hardinges wondered what the new prime minister's policies would be. Russell appointed John Cam Hobhouse (1786-1869), afterwards Lord Broughton, as president of the Board of Control. 355. In the summer of 1846, Lal Singh demanded that Dewan Mul Raj (d. 1851), the governor of Multan, not only pay additional revenues but

also submit his accounts of previous years to an audit. A force was sent to press these demands, and there was suspicion that the minister’s actions were a pretext for removing Mul Raj and replacing him with his own brother. Henry Lawrence arbitrated the dispute, and an agreement was reached in December by which Mul Raj cleared his arrears and agreed to an increase in his annual taxes. Lahore also appropriated about one-third of the Multan territories. 356. The Hardinges were incensed at an article entitled “The War of the Punjab” by Rev. George Robert Gleig in the Quarterly Review that seemed to them to laud Gough’s conduct in the recent war at the expense of the governor-general. Gleig, then the chaplain general of the British army, was the author of several books. (See letters 55, 57, 68, and

Tis) 357. By “strange doctrines,” Charles is probably referring to Gleig’s stunning condemnation of the nature of the British presence in the East: “[T]he whole of our proceedings in Asia, have been from the very first, and still are, grounded upon moral wrong. We are usurpers there of other men’s rights and hold our empire by the tenure of the sword” (Memoirs of the Life of the Right Hon. Warren Hastings [London, 1841], | :ix—x). 358. Lal Singh’s signature in Urdu and Gulab Singh’s in Dogri appear on their portraits by Charles in the Recollections.

359. John Laird Mair Lawrence (181 1—79), afterwards viceroy of India (1864-69), was then commissioner of the recently annexed Jullundur Doab.

196

Notes

360. A Kashmiri Hindu who had served as the Lahore government’s treasurer since 1838. 361 . The highest-ranking Muslim official at Lahore since Ranjit Singh’s time.

362. He had served Lahore since 1802 and had acquired the image of an elder statesman. His advice was often sought by the crumbling Sikh government—but not always followed. 363. Imam-ud-Din had just inherited the Kashmir governorship from his late father, Mohi-ud-Din, early in April. He was not popular with his contemporaries. An acquaintance of Imam characterized him as a man of “ambition, pride, cruelty, and intrigue, strangely mixed with indolence, effemi-

nacy, voluptuousness, and timidity” (R. Bosworth Smith, Life of Lord Lawrence

[London,

1883], 1:225). Smith also quotes John Lawrence’s

scathing, odious analogy: “If Gulab Singh flayed a chief alive, Imamud-Din boiled a Pundit to death: they are certainly a pair of amiables” Ch225); 364. Gulab Singh had attempted to take control of Kashmir through his surrogate, Lakhpat Rai, who had arrived at the head of a Jammu force in late April, but all his efforts were frustrated by the sheikh. 365. Not identified. 366. In this communication, Henry Hardinge explained and defended his entire northwestern policy. He firmly rejected the notion of pushing the British frontier to the Indus, arguing that “annexation will extend our frontier at the greatest distance from all our resources and . . . would be a blister, bringing us into contact with wild tribes, unable to appreciate the benefits of British laws and government, and separated from India by five formidable rivers in the rear” (letter of Sept. 2, Broughton Papers, 8533/2-93); 367. In a twelve-page letter dated September 3, Robert Wood refuted Gleig’s inference that the governor-general had left the Sikh frontier vulnerable. He provided official figures showing that, at the three frontier towns of Ferozepore, Ludhiana, and Ambala, the governor-general had increased the number of troops between July 1844 and December 1845 from 11,738 to 30,679 and the number of guns from forty-two to sixtyeight. Wood argued that Gleig’s article was based on erroneous statistics and complained that the writer had not done “justice to the man [Henry Hardinge] who really saved India and marched the army ofthe Sutlege to Lahore” (Hardinge [Henry, First Viscount of Lahore] Papers).

NO

Notes

368. John William Ponsonby (1781-1847), fourth earl of Bessborough, became lord lieutenant of Ireland in July 1846. 369. Sarah had given birth to a son named Walter Henry James (afterwards second Baron Northbourne) on March 25, 1846.

370. According to Henry Hardinge, Lakhpat Rai and about one hundred of his troops died. (Letter to Walter, Sept. 18, 1846, HHL, 192.) 371. It was widely rumored that Imam and his father had appropriated large sums of money in Kashmir. The governor-general recorded that they had, on the eve of the Sikh War, smuggled out of Kashmir purloined wares worth a crore of rupees. (Letter to Secret Committee, Sept. 19, 1846, Papers relating to the Articles of Agreement, 8-9.) 372. Charles Alexander Wood

(1810—80)

was

Bob Wood's

older

brother.

373. Gleig’s best-known work, A Subaltern in America, etc. (Edinburgh, 1825), deals with the War of 1812, in which he participated. 374. The commander in chief’s son, George Stephens Gough (1815-— 95), the future second Viscount Gough, was a captain in the Grenadier Guards. 375. Outram had opposed the policy of annexing Sind as pursued by Ellenborough and Napier. He responded with considerable vehemence to William Napier’s partisan book, The Conquest of Scinde, with his own The Conquest of Scinde, a Commentary (Edinburgh, 1846). This enraged the fiery Napiers, and along, venomous, and public dispute ensued. 376. For Maecenas, see note 384. A discussion of the “highest good” is the basis of Aristotle’s Nicomachean Ethics. 377. The strong brick fort, situated on a hilltop in Srinagar and reportedly built by Akbar in 1597, was surrounded by Imam’s troops for over forty days. (Kaul, Guldasta-e-Kashmir, 194.) 378. Captain (afterwards Major General) Arthur Broome (1810-71) was the first assistant secretary to the British military board at Lahore. 379. Lieutenant John Nicholson (1821-57), of the Forty-first Bengal Infantry, was an assistant to Henry Lawrence. 380. Broome and Nicholson had accompanied Gulab Singh to Kashmir but, finding the conditions dangerously volatile, hastily withdrew. The new maharaja followed suit after an attempt was made on his life, but his troops took shelter in Hari Parbat. (Trotter, Life of John Nicholson, 60: and Pearson, Hero of Delhi, 85.)

381. Gulab Singh was in fact worried that the Company’s military assis-

tance

US:

at that juncture

might set an unwelcome

precedent

for future

Notes

interference. He dispatched his wazir, Dewan Jawala Sahai, to Simla to inform the governor-general respectfully that he “did not expect or desire

that a British force should be actually employed

against Cashmere”

(Hardinge to Secret Committee, Oct. 4, 1846, PRLDS, 189). 382. Here Charles is quoting from a verse by Horace (Carmina

Ilf.3.1—4). The full verse translates as follows: “Neither the frenzy of citizens ordering what is morally wrong nor the face of a threatening tyrant nor the South Wind shakes from his firm resolve a man who is just and tenacious of purpose.” Charles is adapting it to fit the present circumstances. 383. A Scottish Highland cottage. 384. Gaius Maecenas (d. 8 B.C.) was a trusted counselor of the emperor

Augustus (27 B.C.—A.D. 14) and a patron of literature whose protégés included Horace. 385. Claude Lorrain (1600-82), the French landscape painter. 386. George Fennel Robson (1788—1833) of Durham, the watercolor painter of British and Irish landscapes. 387. Unidentified. 388. Cox and Co. (London) handled the Hardinges’ finances in England. 389. The sheikh had been joined in his defiance by the chiefs of the adjoining territories of Rampur and Rajauri. (Hardinge to Secret Committee, Oct. 4, 1846, PRLDS, 190; Edwardes, Memorials, |:63—64.) 390. About fifty-one miles northwest of Jammu. 391. Probably a reference to the artistic style of Salvator Rosa (1615-— 73), the Italian landscape painter. 392. Kamlagarh, a rugged hilltop fort located in Mandi on the banks of the Beas, dates back to 1625. (See letter 62.) 393. Sher Singh Attariwala was the commander of the Sikh garrison near the Khyber. 394. A joint show of force by Sikh and Dogra troops totaling nearly thirty thousand men, combined with the arrival of Henry Lawrence in Srinagar as the governor-general’s representative, induced Imam to quit Kashmir. (Hardinge to Peel, Dec. 21, 1846, Peel Papers, Add. MS 40, 475; John L. Morison, Lawrence of Lucknow [London, 1934], 167.) Gulab Singh finally took over his new capital on November 9, and Lawrence noted that the new ruler’s entry was “by no means displeasing to the inhabitants of the province, who were loud in their complaints of the tyr-

anny and oppression of Sheikh Imamooddeen” (Hardinge to Secret Committee, Nov. 21, 1846, PRLDS, 193).

AGS

Notes

395. Messalina, the third wife of the Roman emperor Claudius (A.D. 41-54), was known for her lascivious excesses. Her involvement in a conspiracy to assassinate Claudius led to her execution in A.D. 48. On the other hand, Lucretia, a Roman noblewoman, committed suicide after

being raped by Sextus, son of the last king (Tarquinius Superbus, 534-10 B.c.). Her name thus became synonymous with feminine virtue. 396. Literally, “the best booty.” This Latin term refers to the spoils dedicated in the temple of Jupiter Feretrius by Roman generals who had killed an enemy commander in single combat. 397. Godfrey Thomas Vigne (1801-63) was an English traveler who trekked through India and Afghanistan from 1833 to 1841. His experiences were published in A Personal Narrative ofa Visit to Ghuzni, Kabul, and Afghanistan (London, 1840) and Travels in Kashmir, Ladak, Iskardo, etc. (London, 1842). 398. He became a lieutenant colonel in the Grenadier Guards on December |, 1846.

399. Ultimately, both the court and the governor-general concluded that W. Napier’s The Conquest of Scinde was a collaborative effort with his brother Charles and that Outram was the aggrieved person in the dispute. However, they forbade both C. Napier and Outram to indulge in any further public expression of their quarrel. (Lambrick, Napier and Sind, 269.) 400. English jargon meaning twice the number given. 401. Henry Godfrey Astell (1816—1903) was the son of William Astell (1774—1847), who served on the Court of Directors from 1807 to 1846. 402. Sir Robert’s wife. 403. Lieutenant Colonel Andrew Goldie (1793-1857) was the military auditor general. 404. These two letters were written on July 15 and 26, 1846. In the second letter, Lal Singh urged Imam to “inflict such injury and chastisement upon [Gulab Singh] that he shall have reason to remember it” (PRLDS,

30). 405. In this letter, dated July 28, 1846, Lal Singh told the Lahore troops at Srinagar: “Have no fear [and] remain with the person in question. This is an imperative order” (PRLDS, 29). 406. The Court of Inquiry deliberated on December 3 and 4 in the presence of sixty-five Sikh chiefs. Hardinge approved the decision on December 7. For an account of the hearings and related correspondence, see

PRLDS, 27-42.

200

Notes

407. Currie served as the intermediary for formal communications on the subject between Henry Hardinge and the maharaja. (Currie to Dalip Singh, Dec. 9, and Dalip Singh to Currie, n.d., PREDS#42—46,) lal Singh was promptly expelled and, as Charles later recorded, “despite the ravings of the Lahore Messalina, deported to British territory, leaving a name remarkable only for intrigues and excesses of every shade of iniquity” (Hardinge, Viscount Hardinge, 148). 408. Henry Hardinge also contemplated ejecting her from Lahore, arguing that “the notoriety of her profligacy by itself would form a strong case of justification.” However, he exercised restraint after considering the effects of banishing “Runjeet’s wife and the mother ofthe Prince ofall the Sikhs!” (letter to Currie, Dec. 16, in Singh, ed., Private Correspondence, 20).

409. The articles of agreement between the British officials and the Sikh chiefs were approved on December 16 and were ratified as a treaty on December 26 during Dalip Singh’s visit to Henry Hardinge at Bhairowal. The Sikh government was now to be run by a council of regency consisting of eight chiefs, but it was to be under the over-riding control of Henry Lawrence, the newly appointed British resident at Lahore. 410. Palmerston, then British foreign secretary under Russell, feared a

Russian threat to India via Afghanistan and wanted the British frontier extended to the Khyber. 411. Gaius Plinius Caecilius Secundus (Pliny the Younger; A.D. 61— c.113). The quotation was used as a closing: “Farewell and hold me dear” (literally, “Live and love me”). 412. The first modern amphitheater, named after its creator, Philip Astley

(1742-1814).

Built in London

during

1770,

it became

well

known for its presentation of circus entertainment, including equestrian acts, acrobats, rope dancers, and clowns.

413. “The young son of Lord Sahib is a high-spirited fellow.” 414. On the same day, Henry Hardinge vouched a somewhat similar view about the entire Sikh kingdom: “The country is perfectly quiet, and the people of all classes appear satisfied and happy at the late arrangements” (letter to Secret Committee, Jan. 2, PRLDS, 51). 415. Recalling the warm welcome at Bhairowal for Dalip Singh and his party, the new resident recorded that they were “received with even more state 6 ceremony than was even shown to Runjeet Sing in the height of his power” (letter to Currie, Jan. 16, 1847, Letters from Henry Lawrence,

Eur. MS, F85/30/2a).

201

Notes

416. To say that Henry Hardinge was agitated by the Gleig article is no exaggeration. See his letters to Walter dated Aug. 13, 1846 (186); Sept.

18, 1846 (191); Jan. 19, 1847 (203); and March 21 (214), in HAL. 417. The present location of these works is unknown. “Despite a very thorough search,” the Royal Archives “failed to trace any of the sketches” (letter from Sir Robin Mackworth-Young of the RA at Windsor, to this editor, Nov. 5, 1980). 418. At Lahore, as at Bhairowal, the governor-general showered Dalip Singh with affection and kindness. One such symbolic gesture was recorded on January |1, 1847, in the “Umdat-ut-Tawarikh” 5:28 (translated by V. S. Suri from an unpublished Persian manuscript in the Goyernment Record Office, Lahore): “The lord sahib [Hardinge] held the hand of the maharaja with his own hand and put it in the hand of the big sahib [Henry Lawrence], who placed his hand upon the maharaja’s head.” 419. “Blue cow.” In fact, it is an oxlike blackbuck antelope. 420. Sketches of all three appear in the Recollections. 421. Trouble erupted as Gulab Singh tried to seize the jagirs of various chiefs in Hazara, which had been ceded to him by the Amritsar treaty. Henry Lawrence sympathized with thejagirdars (landholders) and insisted the maharaja confirm them in the lands previously granted them by Lahore. (Lawrence to Jawala Sahai, Feb. 2 and 17, 1847, “Marasalajats,” 4382, 22-7.) See also letter 77. 422. Probably Henry Warren (1794—1879), a watercolor painter. 423. The critical British newspapers in India were invariably the same ones that advocated further expansion of British frontiers in India. 424. Devout Muslims participate in such worship five times daily. 425. Though sati had, under the pressure of the Hardinge administration, been abolished by the Lahore government, its practice was not yet fully eradicated. 426. The hero of the satirical Don Quixote de la Mancha by Miguel de Cervantes Saavedra (1514-1616) is depicted as an outmoded knight who, among other things, was a gallant romantic. 427. Sir Charles D’Oyly (1781-1845), noted artist of Calcutta scenes.

His many sketches were published in Tom Raw the Griffin (London, 1828) and Views of Calcutta Environs (London, 1848). 428. “Like that of a savage.” 429. The construction of the canal meant to irrigate vast areas between the Ganges and Jamuna Rivers had been held up by administrative indecision. Ihe governor-general ordered the digging restarted, and the project

202

Notes

was completed by 1856. By the early 1890s six hundred thousand acres of the doab were being irrigated by the Ganges Canal. (Hardinge, Viscount Hardinge, 193-94.) 430. Frances Maria Gough (d. 1863).

431. A solicitous Hobhouse wrote: “That agreeable assemblage of nobles and gentry, called the Imperial Parliament, meets in less than a fortnight, and I would thank you to send me the best news you can by every mail. It will be very acceptable I assure you” (letter to Hardinge, Jan. 7, 1847, Broughton Papers, 853:193). On the same day he advised Russell to remain quiet on India, but if he could not, then simply to “congratulate

Parliament on the state of affairs in that part of the world” (Broughton Papers, 845:497).

432. The great Irish famine resulting from the potato blight of 1845 lasted until 1849, but after a good potato crop in 1847 hunger began to abate slowly by March 1848. 433. Hobhouse was relieved by the “termination of a very threatening and embarrassing affair” and assured the governor-general of the Russell government’s full support on Kashmir. (Letter of Jan. 7, 1847, Broughton Papers, 853:189.) 434. A sketch of the Juma Masjid at Agra did appear in the Recollections but none of the Taj Mahal. 435. Colonel (afterwards Major General) William Henry Sleeman (1788-1856) was then resident at Gwalior. His book, Rambles and Recollections of an Indian Official (London, 1844), contains descriptions of

various Indian monuments. 436. Lord William George Frederick Cavendish Bentinck (1802—48)

and Disraeli, both protectionists, had helped topple Peel and were continuing to oppose both Peelite Tories and Russell’s free trade and Irish policies. 437. Lieutenant (afterwards Major General) Herbert Benjamin Edwardes (1819—68) was accompanied by a Sikh force under the command of Sardar Shamsher Singh Sandhanwalia and General Henry Charles Van Cortland, an Anglo-Indian in Lahore’s service. The force destroyed nearly forty forts in the Bannu region and obliged numerous delinquent frontier chiefs to pay their taxes to Lahore. An account of the campaign appears in the Diary of an Expedition to Bunnoo 1847-1 848,

Eur Mi B21 1/1: 438. Lieutenant Patrick Alexander Vans Agnew (1822-48), another Lawrence assistant, was sent to mediate the continuing bloody dispute be-

tween Gulab Singh and the jagirdars in Hazara. Agnew’s proposal to give 203

Notes

some Sikh districts adjoining Jammu to Gulab Singh in exchange for Hazara was accepted by both the governor-general and the Kashmir maharaja. (Currie to Henry Lawrence, Feb. 12, 1847, ESLI, vol. 190,

no. 65, enc. no. I 1, letter 17.) The agreement was finally signed in May 1847, by which Hazara reverted to the Sikhs “and the Jhelum [River] became the western boundary of the state of Kashmir” (C. U. Aitchison, A

Collection of Treaties, Engagements, and Sanads relating to India and Neighbouring Countries [Calcutta, 1909], 11: 266-67). 439. Solon (d. 561 B.C.) was an Athenian lawgiver celebrated for his honesty and wisdom. 440. Both Henry Hardinge and Henry Lawrence desired Gulab Singh to reduce taxes as well as to reform the basic Kashmir industries of rice and wool. (Hardinge to Secret Committee, Dec. 4, 1846, PRLDS, 194-95; Lawrence to Jawala Sahai, June 4, 1847, “Marasalajats,” 4382, 89; Henry Lawrence to Henry Elliott, Currie’s successor, Aug. 2, 1847, Papers relating to the Punjab, 30.) In June 1847, Lawrence put direct pressure on Gulab Singh by dispatching an assistant, Lieutenant Reynell Taylor, to Srinagar, but the chameleonlike maharaja, while pledging change, was able to fend him off. As he wound up his mission at summer’s end, Taylor conceded: “I have a heartbreaking feeling that there is much left to be done” (Parry, Reynell Taylor, 87). 441. These rumors in India were probably a direct result of Gleig’s article, which Hardinge suspected was based on falsified information provided by Gough or men close to him. (Letter to Walter, March 21, HHL, 214.) A passage from the Quarterly Review (203—4), which the governorgeneral obviously found both insulting and patronizing, reads: Let us not therefore wonder . . . concerning the whispers that passed from fire to fire about retreating. Let us rather be thankful that there were such men present to repress and deride them, as Sir Hugh Gough and Sir Henry Hardinge. “The Governor-General is of the opinion that it will be best to cut our way at once to Ferozepore,” said an officer of rank to the Commander-in-Chief. “The thing is impossible,” replied Sir Hugh; “I know Sir Henry better.” .. . “The commander-in-chief thinks,” said another officer of rank to Sir Henry Hardinge, “that it will be fatal to risk a renewal of the fight tomorrow.” “Don’t you believe a word of it,” replied Sir Henry.

204

N otes

442. Lieutenant Colonel (afterwards Major General) Richard Benson

(1785-1858) was then a deputy secretary in the military department. Captain (afterwards Lieutenant Colonel) Thomas Forsyth Tait (1805—

59) then commanded the Third Irregular Cavalry Regiment. 443. About four miles from Ferozeshah. 444. Though there is evidence that some officers had advised a withdrawal to Gough on the night of the 2 Ist, there is no hint that the governor-general himself suggested such a move. If anything, Hardinge concurred with Gough’s rejection of such counsel. (Gough and Innes, Sikhs, 98; Cook, Sikh Wars, 64; Bruce, Six Battles, 142.) Moreover, there is no verifiable proof that Hardinge, through Benson and Tait, or even those two officers on their own, recommended a retreat.

445. Colonel (afterwards General) John Bloomfield Gough (1804-91) was the commander in chief's nephew and served on his staff. 446. According to Lady Helen Hardinge, these disputatious letters were indeed later burned. 447. The governor-general’s ire at Gough is conspicuous in his letters. While still on their trip, he wrote to Walter on March 21: “The whole proceeding has impressed me with the deepest conviction of his being a very shabby fellow” (HHL, 214). Even after Gough capitulated, Hardinge was not soon reconciled and told Walter on April 20 that he remained “courteous & cold” toward the commander in chief. (HHL, 216.) 448. See Ellenborough’s speech to the Lords, Feb. 9, 1847, in Hansard,

3d ser., 90 (1847): 206-8. 449. Cunynghame was present at the signing of the Treaty of Nanking in 1842. 450. These pheasants did indeed reach Victoria. Calling them “beautiful Indian pheasants,” she recorded on April 5, 1848: “There are 12 of them, ofdifferent sorts, some with a crest, like peacocks, & the same beau-

tiful blue on their backs. They are larger & heavier than ordinary pheasants” (Queen Victoria’s Journal, 134). 451. Adolphus Vane (1825-64), a cousin of Charles, was the son of the third marquess of Londonderry (1778-1854). See letters 85 and 88. 452. Though Hobhouse endorsed the Bhairowal arrangements, he, unlike Hardinge, did not expect the Sikh state to last. He told the governor-general that before word of the new scheme reached him, he had feared that “you might be over-scrupulous, and might, for the sake of good faith, evacuate a country . . . where, one day or the other, it is inevitable that you should exercise complete dominion”

(Hobhouse

to Hardinge,

Feb. 8,

Notes

1847, Broughton Papers, 853:243). “Hobhouse’s approval is to me cold,” Hardinge complained to Walter, “& I evidently perceive that he & probably Palmerston wd. have preferred annexation” (letter of April 20, 1847, HHL, 215). 453. These proceedings at Kathmandu led to the removal and imprisonment of King Rajendra on May 12 by Prime Minister Jung Bahadur Rana, who replaced him with the heir apparent, Surendra. (C. Thoresby, resident in Nepal, to Elliot, ESLI, vol. 191, no. 35, enc. 14, letter 36.) Though not apparent at the time, this event would make the new king and his successors mere figureheads and Jung the founder of a hereditary line of prime ministers called ranas, who effectively ruled Nepal until 1951.

454. Henry Hardinge considered Wood’s condition critical. Describing him as “as noble a fellow as ever stepped,” he wrote to Hobhouse, “He is

very seriously ill, and I am very uneasy about him” (letter of May 25, 1847, Broughton Papers, 853:34). 455. An article entitled “Tea in India” in the Times (Nov. 6, 1847, 3e)

confirmed the optimism that Indian tea would break the monopoly of Chinese tea in India. Quoting statistics that showed that the number of tea plants on the lower Himalayan slopes had risen from a few thousand in 1842 to almost a million in 1847, it predicted that if such a rapid rate of growth continued, this tea could ultimately be sold in India at one-half the price ofits Chinese competitor. It argued that such a goal was possible because labor was cheap in India, and no import costs would be involved. 456. Hardinge’s reduction of the salt tax in Bengal (see letter 20) had angered the salt manufacturers and other interested parties who, sensing a threat to their exports to India, held protest meetings in Liverpool and Manchester and made appeals to Parliament. A large delegation of English merchants, manufacturers, and shippers, led by Sir Denis Le Merchant, M.P. from Worcester, met Hobhouse in December 1846 and urged his intervention. D. C. Aylwin (of Aylwin and Co., Calcutta), a lobbyist for English salt interests and a member of the delegation, complained that the East India Company’s “virtual possession of the monopoly” adversely affected English commerce. He added, hypocritically, that it also impeded “the health, comfort, and advancement in civilization ofthe

people of India.” While promising to bring the matter to the cabinet’s attention, Hobhouse told the delegation that because the Board of Control

was © a concurrent rather than a directly controlling power, he would not issue peremptory instructions” (The Times, Dec. 19, 1846, 6d). Such maneuvering had little influence on Hardinge, who in April 1847 proceeded

206

Notes

to lower the salt tax even further to 2°/4 rupees in Bengal. (Hardinge, Viscount Hardinge, 64—65.) 457. This plot to kill not only Henry Lawrence but also high Sikh officials was supposedly hatched in February. However, on June 4, after an extensive inquiry, the resident wrote to the governor-general that “the plot is of so vague and weak a nature that to this day the object, and even the existence, of the conspiracy remains doubtful” (governor-general’s Memo., June 8, 1847, ESLI, vol. 191, enc. 25, letter 39). Hardinge relayed this

information to Hobhouse, adding that “the whole affair is of no importance, with the exception of the suspicion which, in Lawrence’s opinion, still rests on the Ranee” (letter of June 9, Broughton Papers, 853:39). 458. James Stuart Fraser (1783—1869), the British resident, had, in

November 1846, persuaded the reluctant nizam to appoint Siraj-ul-Mulk, a reformer, as his finance minister. Siraj trimmed the size of Deccan’s payroll by abolishing a large number of unnecessary jobs, angering not only those who thus became unemployed but also the nizam, who exhibited jealousy over the power his new minister had assumed. When some recently discharged soldiers rebelled, Fraser, without the nizam’s consent, used British troops stationed in Deccan to suppress them. Hardinge strongly disapproved of the resident’s action. (Governor-general to the Court of Directors, June 8, 1847, Sec. Con., no. 13; and Aug. 14, 1847, Political Letters from India, vol. 15, no. 23.)

459. Charles James Apperley (1779-1843), an author of books on horses and hounds. 460. The bandit Dungar Singh, a fugitive from the Agra jail, descended on the paymaster’s residence with three hundred horsemen and escaped with £2,700. (Hardinge to Hobhouse, July 7, Broughton Papers, 854:61.) 461. The governor-general finally succeeded in frustrating the Bombay government’s plans to transform Aden’s “volcanic rock into a Gibraltar.” Bombay accepted Hardinge’s solution that Aden should have “1200 [soldiers] in peace & 1700 in war” instead of the 4,000 it wanted on a perma-

nent basis. [he new policy was to result in a saving of £50,000. (Hardinge to Hobhouse, July 7, Broughton Papers, 854:60; and to Walter, July 6, lebeblp JAI) 462. Betteshanger in Kent became Walter’s country home and his descendants still live there. 463. The British authorities, who had long considered Rani Jindan a bad influence on the young maharaja, finally found a pretext to separate was the son from the mother. Another intensive probe revealed that she 207

Notes

probably aware of an unsuccessful conspiracy hatched by half a dozen men, including Buta Singh, her private secretary, to murder the resident as well as Tej Singh, now a member of the regency council. An indignant rani was removed to Sheikhupura, a town twenty-five miles northwest of Lahore, at a pension of four thousand rupees per month. (Resident to governor-general, Aug. 9, 1847, with enclosures, PRP, 37-54; governor-general to Secret Committee, Oct. 30, 1847, Sec. Con., no. 62.) Arguing

that Jindan’s intrigues and immoral character justified her banishment, Henry Hardinge told Hobhouse that “as guardians of the boy, we have the right to separate him at eight years of age from the contagion of her evil influence” (letters of Aug. 14 and Sept. 5, Broughton Papers, 854:108— 10, 133-34). 464. Walter, who had been in the Commons since 1837, did not seek reelection in 1847. 465. Conveyance of passengers or mail by relays of horses or men. 466. Oudh (Awadh) had for all practical purposes become independent after the power of the Mughals crumbled early in the eighteenth century. From then on, it was ruled by a long line of imperious nawabs. Calcutta had repeatedly expressed disenchantment with their misrule, especially after the kingdom entered the subsidiary alliance in Wellesley’s time. Since February 1847, Oudh had been ruled by Nawab Wajid Ali Shah (1822-87). The Bombay Times perhaps best described the low esteem in which Wajid Ali’s regime was generally held by the British in India: His “palace and cabinet are filled with mimics and jesters, jockeys, dancing girls, and buffoons . . . the king must be taught to rule right” (Nov. 17, 1847, 906). Wajid was the subject of Satyajit Ray’s acclaimed film The Chessplayer (1977).

467. George Henry Robert Charles William Vane (1821-84), then Viscount Seaham and later the fifth marquess of Londonderry, was

Adolphus’s elder brother. 468. Frances Anne Emily (1800-65), second wife of the third marquess of Londonderry and mother of Adolphus and Seaham. 469. Cockerell, Larpent, and Co., a savings institution headquartered in London, had a branch in Calcutta.

470. An associate of the Cockerell House. 471. Exaggerated rumors of the governor-general’s own loss were afoot. The Delhi Gazette reported that “it is confidently stated that Lord Hardinge loses at least a lakh of rupees by the failures,” and quipped:

208

Notes

“Could he have anticipated this, he would not have been in such a hurry to leave India” (Nov. 27, 1847, 767). 472. Many of the spectacles at Lucknow involved gory duels between a variety of animals such as tigers, donkeys, nilgais, and hyenas. Surely some of these encounters would not have been shown at Astley’s, like the one in which a tiger “tore a [calf] to pieces” and later grasped a “bear in his mouth, pressed his skull, and bit off the latest part of the lower jaw.” The Hurkaru, while reporting this bloody story, chided the British visitors “who patronize the barbarities of the Court of Lucknow” (Dec. 1, 1847,

614). 473. Other mercantile houses that collapsed included Reed, Irving and Co.; Lyall, Matheson and Co.; Church, Lake and Co.; and Spearman, Mullens and Co. 474. Dalhousie succeeded Hardinge as the governor-general. 475. At a conference with Wajid Ali in Lucknow on November 22, 1847, Hardinge warned of British intervention within two years unless the chronic state of disorder and repression in Oudh was ended. In a letter of thirty-two pages to the Court of Directors on December 2, Hardinge was skeptical that Wajid had “the energy and ability to reform abuses.” However, he seemed opposed to immediate action against a loyal ally because “our motives will be misunderstood, and we shall be accused of usurpation by all native states” (Sec. Con., no. 33). 476. Frank Fane (1825-91), afterwards the twelfth earl of Westmorland, was an aide to Dalhousie from 1848 to 1851. 477. The tiger caught the attention of Dalhousie, who told a friend that it had “eaten in his day six men, and seven women and children,” and quipped, “I breathe a fervent and loyal prayer” for the queen’s safety. Baird, Private Letters of the Marquess of Dalhousie, 20. 478. Hardinge, Viscount Hardinge, 177.

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