Our Viceregal Life in India: Selections from My Journal, 1884-1888, Volume 1J. Murray, 1889 - India |
Other editions - View all
Common terms and phrases
afternoon Amir amusing arches arrived ball Barrackpore beautiful Bheestie breakfast Burmah Burmese Calcutta camp carriage carved colours court covered crowds curious Dagshai dancing Delhi delightful dined dinner door Doorga drawing-room dress drive drove Duchess durbar elephants English flowers Frederick Roberts Friday garden girls gold guests hand hills horses howdah India jemadars jewels Jeypore ladies levée light looked Lord lovely lunch magnificent Maharajah mahout Mayo College miles Monday morning mosque native Nelly nice night o'clock ornament Pagoda palace party picturesque pillars play pleasant pretty punkahs rain Rajah ride rode roof round rows Saturday seems Shamiana side sight Sikh silver Simla Sir James Fergusson sort Sunday tell tent thing throne Thursday tiger to-day told tomb trees Tuesday turban Viceroy Viceroy's walked walls weather Wednesday white marble whole women zenana
Popular passages
Page 164 - At home' every Tuesday morning. Dinners and dance or music every Wednesday fortnight. Outdoor Dissipations. — A Monday Pop, and on Saturdays a ' variety entertainment ' when wet, which becomes a gymkhana when fine. Occasional charity concerts. Exercise. — A walk in a deluge, wetting one through in three minutes and penetrating the best umbrella. Riding mule or pony, and driving in a jinrickshaw, jhampan, or carriage. Evening. — The young ones play ninepins, and D. and I read. The morning amusements...
Page 19 - I believe that when carefully unwrapped a small piece of betel-nut is found in each. The Viceroy puts a small spoonful of attar of roses on the Maharajah's hand, and gives him a sticky thing to take away with him, and they sit down again, while the UnderSecretary in the Foreign Department does the same for His Highness's attendants, and then they make a final move. The Viceroy again takes a few steps to conduct the Maharajah to the middle of the room, bows to his followers, and they depart with the...
Page 265 - Eangoon about one year, which seems curious; but whether they have been here one year or fifty, as about three people have, they all feel hot. I will now throw in some little scraps of information for your benefit. The Burmese women are great personages, and play a great part in their households. They choose their own husbands and divorce them when they like, retaining their own property and all that they have earned; they are at liberty to marry again, whether as widows or as divorcees.
Page 34 - Erected as a mark of respect by his wife.' The word ' respect ' seems to come in funnily after the melancholy description of him given above. I gathered one anecdote from Judge Cunningham which is amusing. It is an ' illustration of true native politeness. A judge, who was a very bad shot, had been D 2 out for a day's sport, and on his return the man who went with him was asked — ' Well, how did the judge shoot to-day ? ' ' Oh ! ' he replied, ' the judge shot beautifully, but God was very merciful...
Page 129 - Altogether it is the funniest place ! At the back of the house you have about a yard to spare before you tumble down a precipice, and in front there is just room for one tennis court before you go over another. The ADC's are all slipping off the hill in various little bungalows, and go through most perilous adventures to come to dinner.
Page 207 - We went to church in the morning, and in the afternoon we drove over the Mutiny ground, seeing the ridge, the gates, and various batteries.
Page 23 - ... that I omitted to say that the family has received into its bosom a monkey ! I confess that when Nelly expressed her intention of setting up a monkey I was horrified, but I must say that the pleading eyes and gentle manners of the little creature she was given to-day have quite won my heart. Rachel has a parrot, and I received a little deer. Happily mine is not alive, and is only a beautiful specimen of Delhi enamel, the spots on his precious back being diamonds, his body being blue, and the...
Page 12 - Household,' and he and I see to everything, and make ourselves generally fussy and useful. Captain Harbord has the kitchen and the cook to see after. Captain Balfour is a musician, so he manages the band, and I have asked him to make it play every night from eight till nine while we are at dinner. Captain Burn does the invitations. Lord William has the stables, and all the ADCs are under him, and every detail is brought before him. From the highest military affairs in the land to a mosquito inside...
Page 13 - Excellency's curtain, or a bolt at my door, all is the business of this invaluable person, and he does all equally well. He jots everything down in his book or on his shirt-sleeve, and never rests till the order is carried out. He has the stables very well arranged ; the " turn-outs
Page 14 - my day ' to give you an account of the household. As I said before, I have been attending to our comforts, and my room really is pretty now. The furniture is pink silk, and I have made the room look ' homey ' with little tables, screens, plants, photographs. The girls have a very nice little boudoir next door, and I also have a second small drawing-room, which I open into mine with three big doors when we have any dinner party. These rooms are, to a certain extent, my creation, for there was no...