CHAPTER III
MADRAS CATHEDRAL AND CONGREGATION
It is prudent to live on good terms with one’s cook, with ballad-mongers, with doctors, with magicians, with the rulers of one’s country, with rich people, and with obstinate folk.–Sloka.
My husband was gazetted to the joint chaplaincy at St. George’s Cathedral in Madras, an appointment he held for eighteen months. His colleague was the archdeacon, with whom he divided the duty. The bishop assisted whenever he was in residence, but he was away on tour for more than half the year.
St. George’s Cathedral is one of the most beautiful buildings in India. It was erected in 1815–16 on Choultry Plain.
This plain in the eighteenth century was an open tract of land lying between the fort and the jungle that extended to St. Thomas’s Mount. The early occupants of Fort St. George, never free from fear of land attacks, were careful to keep the plain open and clear of any undergrowth that might form cover for an enemy. The country must have presented a very different appearance from that which it now has with its beautiful avenues and wooded compounds. It was the French who caused the most uneasiness. They threatened more than once to become a serious rival to the English Company on the Coromandel Coast, and in 1746 were actually in possession of the fort itself. Again, in 1758, they were before the walls, and were with difficulty driven back. It was not until Pondicherry was taken from them (1761) that the fears of the English were allayed; and then, as is so often the case where there is a reaction after a long tension, the swing of the pendulum carried them to the other extreme, and the English became over-confident in their safety.
One of the servants of the Company, a Mr. Mackay, offered to buy or lease a large portion of the Choultry Plain for the purpose of erecting dwellings for himself and his fellow-countrymen. The Company was very unwilling to make the concession. Though the power of the French was believed to be broken with the fall of Pondicherry, it was impossible to tell what the future might hold in store ; they still had a grip upon the land. Mackay succeeded, however, in obtaining his desire, and he set about raising the first of a long succession of noble buildings, which have frequently, and not without reason, been called the palaces of Madras. His house retains its name, and is known as Mackay's Gardens.
The fears of the Company proved to be not without foundation. Urged by the French, Haider Ali made war upon the English, and in 1769 threatened to descend upon Madras itself. The terrified inhabitants of the garden houses at St. Thomas's Mount and upon the Choultry Plain fled to the fort for protection. The scare ended in a treaty, a kind of peace-at-any-price compact, which was not to the credit of the English.
This treaty is said to have been signed at one of the houses built upon the Choultry Plain. It was known later as Blacker's Gardens, probably on account of its having had for some time as its occupant Colonel Valentine Blacker, a distinguished officer in the Company's service (Cavalry) and author of a history of the Mahratta war. Haider Ali was encamped near Madras at the time, and he expressed himself as being in fear of Colonel Joseph Smith, who was nicknamed by the natives 'Assad Jung,' the Lion of War. While dictating terms, the Mysore Prince demanded that the dreaded Assad Jung should be kept out of the way, and he refused to negotiate unless his request was complied with. Smith was ordered to retire to the north, which he did. The Government alarmed for Blacktown, with the Mysoreans so near, recalled the Lion of War, and he returned with alacrity, only to be told to keep his distance once more. The treaty was executed on April 3, 1769; and the dwellers on the plain and at St. Thomas's Mount returned to their palatial residences with restored equanimity.
Blacker's Gardens stands on the west side of the Mount Road, near the village of Teynampet, and close to it on the same side is a smaller house, which, tradition says, was occupied later by the Duke of Wellington ; but it is more probable that he resided with the troops in the fort, where a house near the St. Thome gate is pointed out as having once been his quarters.
In 1782 Cuddalore surrendered to the French, who supported Tippoo; Madras was once again stirred to its very centre by panic. The English Army went into cantonments on the Choultry Plain, and the inhabitants of the garden houses fled to the fort in anticipation of the speedy advent of Tippoo and his allies. In 1784 peace was made, and the disturbed householders returned to their homes on the plain. The troops remained under canvas in close proximity for several years. The Commander-Chief occupied a house (now known as the Elphinstone Hotel) standing near the Mount Koad, and the military orders were dated from " Headquarters, Choultry Plain " for nearly half a century. In 1794-6 there were no fewer than five English regiments encamped there. The fort was crowded with the infantry and artillery belonging to the Company, and there was no room for the King's troops within its walls.
The commencement of the nineteenth century saw the power of Tippoo broken and the "Tiger of Mysore" him-self slain. Tippoo's death put an end to all fear in the hearts of the inhabitants of Madras. They might build their garden houses where they pleased without a thought of fleeing to the fort for protection. Roads were made, avenues of trees were planted, and beautiful gardens were laid out with the lavish expenditure that marked a time when Englishmen looked upon India as their home for the best part of their lives.
In the midst of these luxurious homes a spot was selected for the cathedral, and a park-like enclosure was made and planted with trees. The money was raised partly by private donations; but the greater portion was the result of a lottery, a method which would not meet with the approval of the Government nor of the ecclesiastical authorities in the present day.
Public lotteries, which were then legal, were started by private enterprise in Madras in 1795 as a means of providing money to support charities the Male Asylum and others connected with St. Mary's Church in the fort. Government imposed one condition upon the promoters, but otherwise did not interfere for the first few years. A certain portion of the sum was to be set aside for the repair of the roads and bridges of Madras by which the natives and the Europeans would equally benefit. These ventures were called "the Male Asylum and Road Lotteries," and they speedily sprang into popularity with all classes.
Between 1795 and 1805 fourteen lakhs of rupees were raised, of which thirteen lakhs went in prizes and one lakh in charity. In 1805 the management grew beyond the capabilities of the few private individuals in whose hands it had rested hitherto, and a committee was appointed to inquire into it. By the advice of this committee a directorate was formed of six members, three being servants of the Company and three free merchants ; and an agent, who was not in the service of Government, was to act as secretary and manager on a fixed salary.
From 1805 to 1844 the Madras lotteries continued to flourish. In 1844 the system was suppressed throughout the British Empire and the lotteries came to an end. Up to that date considerable sums were devoted out of the proceeds to the roads of Madras. At the beginning of the century these were in a bad condition, having been cut up by the carriage of heavy artillery, ammunition and commissariat stores, and they required remaking. Under the direction of Major T. F. De Havilland of the Madras Engineers the roads were remade on the plan then quite new invented by M'Adam, who was known to fame later (1821) as the best roadmaker in England. Besides the roads, which still testify to De Havilland's excellent work, several handsome bridges spanning the Cooum were built at various points, facilitating the increasing traffic of the town. Charities in the Mother country also benefited by the Madras lotteries.
Colonel James Lillyman Caldwell, afterwards K.C.B., was Chief of the Madras Engineers at the time of the projection of the scheme for building the cathedral, and he was called upon to furnish the plans. He had already distinguished himself at the taking of Bangalore (1791), where he was wounded, and he was accounted an able and distinguished officer. It seems strange that the man of war should be called upon to design a cathedral; but the Government engineer, even in these days, has to turn his hand to many things which would not be in his province in England. Caldwell proved himself equal to the occasion, and provided the building committee with plans of which any modern architect might reasonably be proud.
The execution of the design was left to his subordinate, the road-making, bridge-building DeHavilland, who carried it out thoroughly and to the entire satisfaction of the promoters.
Colonel T. Fiott De Havilland belonged to a Guernsey family. He joined the Madras Engineers in 1792, and took part in the crushing of Tippoo, the Tiger. His name had been before the public in connexion with what the authorities were pleased to call a mutiny of the officers, a severe term which overstated the case. It was practically a protest on the part of the Company's military officers against certain existing conditions of their service, which they held to be unfair. They had petitioned the Government for redress, but in vain. One grievance which had for years weighed heavily upon all military men in the Company's service was the fact that they were not in the King's service, and were not therefore looked upon as officers at all by the officers of the King. Their anomalous position rendered them liable to supersession by younger men holding the King's commission. Another grievance was the deprivation of the Commander-in-Chief of his seat in council, whereby they considered that they as a body were no longer represented in the Government.
There were other matters which also required reformation; but to all appeals a deaf ear was turned, and when it was no longer possible to ignore their complaints, Government expressed its displeasure and demanded a pledge that no further proceedings would be taken. Needless to say the officers declined almost to a man to sign such a pledge, and their action was regarded as equivalent to a mutiny. Three hundred of the malcontents were arrested, deprived of their swords, and sent to Pondicherry, which was then in the hands of the English. De Havilland was among the number, and a little later he, with many others, was dismissed from the service.
When the Government had had time to cool and had examined more closely into the matter, they recognised that they had acted hastily, and had deprived themselves of the services of their best and most experienced officers. The country had barely settled down after the devastating wars with the Mysoreans and Mahrattas, during which the Company had sustained severe losses in officers and men ; they could ill afford to lose the services of a single individual, more especially if he had already gained experience in the field. The sudden suspension of three hundred left them short-handed on all sides-infantry, artillery, and engineers and they found it expedient to rescind the order of dismissal as soon as they felt it to be compatible with their dignity.
In 1812 De Havilland, with the majority of the culprits, was recommissioned and appointed to Madras. Three years later he was throwing himself heart and soul into the construction of the beautiful cathedral of which Madras is so justly proud.
The polished chunam pillars are among the best specimens known of that peculiar work. The cement is made from a small bivalve of whitey grey colour. The shells are gathered at the mouths of rivers by the Muckwas. They are ground into a fine powder which is made into a kind of cement. This is plastered over brickwork, and when dry takes a fine polish, presenting every appearance of pure white marble.
After the cathedral was built, De Havilland was requested to lay out the cemetery and enclose it. The spot chosen was to the east of the building, and it was planted with ornamental trees. But before he had finished his task a dire misfortune overtook him. His wife died, and was laid to rest in the unfinished cemetery. She was the first person for whom the sod was broken. The concluding words engraved upon her monument are as follows : 'She stands first in the awful book, and gives a date to the register.' She was the daughter of T. de Sausmerez, of Guernsey, Attorney-General in that island, and she was taken at the early age of thirty-five.
The cathedral was consecrated by Bishop Middleton (1816), and the property was vested in the names of four trustees George Stratton, John D. Ogilvie, George Garrow, and Richard Clarke.
George Stratton came of a family that had known Madras for a century past, and was connected with the Lockes (of whom the philosopher was a member), Cherrys, Lights, and other well-known names in the Presidency. At the time of the building of the cathedral he was a member of the commission appointed by Government for revising the internal administration of the country, and third judge of the Sudder Court. Ogilvie was Mint-master, and George Garrow was Accountant-General. He also belonged to a family that had known Madras for half a century. Mr. J. J. Cotton says of the Garrows :
The Garrows are connected in an interesting way with the family of Anthony Trollope. His elder brother, Thomas Adolphus, also an author, married in 1848 Theodosia, only daughter of Joseph Garrow (d. 1853), who was the son of one of these (Madras) Garrows by a high-caste native lady. Mrs. Trollope died at Florence in 1865. Her literary tastes are celebrated by Landor in his lines " To Theodosia Garrow," and it was at the Villino Trollope that George Eliot stayed as a guest in I860.'
In 1877 the lay trustees of the cathedral, who performed the duties of churchwardens as well as fulfilling the trust, were Surgeon-Major King, M.D., Colonel J. W. Rideout, and Mr. (now Sir) Leslie Probyn, the Accountant-General. Dr. King was the anonymous author of a brochure that appeared shortly after this date in the columns of the leading newspaper of Madras, 'The Madras Mail.' It was called ' The Leaky Palace,' and it created a good deal of amusement at the time. Written in an archaic style, it made fun of Government House at Ootacamund, upon which a considerable amount of money had been spent in an endeavour to make the building water-tight.
Archdeacon Drury, with whom my husband was associated at St. George's Cathedral, was the son of George Dominic Drury, of the Company's Civil Service. His mother was Marianne Graham, the daughter of General Graham, who distinguished himself in the wars in South India during the latter part of the eighteenth century. The archdeacon was born at Pondicherry in 1823, and was sent home to be educated at Eton. Report said that the Duke of Buckingham, who was Governor of Madras in 1877, and also an old Etonian, had once been Drury's fag.
In the absence of the bishop on tour, the archdeacon played the part of guide, philosopher, and friend to the newly arrived chaplain. By his invitation we occupied half his house. He was living by himself; his wife, the second Mrs. Drury, being in England. His first wife was Martha Mary, the daughter of the Kev. Robert Salkeld, Rector of Fontmell, in Dorsetshire. Her brother, Lieutenant Salkeld, was one of the devoted band that blew in the Cashmere gate at Delhi (1857).
The archdeacon was a popular man, kind and genial to all. His name will live in Madras in connexion with the building of Emmanuel Church in South Georgetown and of the Parcherry School for poor Eurasians now known by his name. As archdeacon he was the right man in the right place. He liked the work, and thoroughly enjoyed the warm climate of the town in which he was obliged to live. As a rule his health was excellent; but it happened while we were with him that he was indisposed. His medical attendant thought that it would be advisable if he took three months* privilege leave to the hills. He looked dubious over the suggestion, and remarked: 'The doctor says I've got gastric catarrh. I don't know what it is ; it sounds like a musical instrument. I suppose I had better take his advice and go away.'
He went, but at the end of a month he cancelled the rest of his leave and returned to Madras. Never was holiday-maker more glad to be back than he was. According to his account, he shivered the day in and shivered it out on the hills. He left Ootacamund without any regret, rejoicing more than a little when he found himself back again in the warm, humid atmosphere of Mettapollium at the foot of the Nilgiris. At the end of his service he went home and took the living of West Hampnett, in England, where he died in 1891.
Among the residents of Madras then were D. F. Carmichael (Chief Secretary), Sir William Robinson (Member of Council), L. C. Innes (Judge of the High Court), H. E. Sullivan (Member of Council), Sir Leslie Probyn (Accountant-General, brother of Sir Dighton Probyn who raised Probyn's Horse), and Sir Henry Bliss, who was appointed by Government to reorganise the Salt Department. Colonel S. H. E. Chamier was a Mutiny veteran, having gone up with the Madras Artillery to take part in its suppression. Colonel Thomas Tennant was head of the Gaol Department. Major Conway Gordon stands out a clear, distinct figure in the past a tall, spare, soldierly man, afterwards head of the railway department at Simla. He was a keen fisherman, and learned to manage the Muckwa's log-boat, sitting astride with his feet in the water like a native. Report said that he wore black stockings on these expeditions to escape the notice of the sharks. A native is seldom molested by a shark, but the white skin of the European is as attractive as the bit of white cloth with which the fishermen bait their hooks when fishing for sharks. For this reason sea-bathing is not safe for Englishmen beyond the breakers.
Louis Forbes and E. Kindersley were Judges of the High Court. Sportsmen of that time will remember the pleasant breakfasts given to the Meet by Mr. Forbes. Among others were C. G. Master, Colonel Tom Weldon, Colonel Moberly, and Colonel Gutherie (head of the Police). Sir Frederick Price (of the Civil Service) lived at Saidapett, between Madras and St. Thomas's Mount. Colonel Kenney Herbert, afterwards well known by the nom-de-guerre of Wyvern, was a great authority on the art of cooking, and earned the grateful thanks of all Anglo-Indian housewives by his works on that subject. Captain Evans Gordon, M.P., whose name of recent years has been connected with legislation on the alien question, was one of the duke's aides. Major Bertie Hobart was the Military Secretary, a man whose old-fashioned court-liness and perfect dress, at a period when the 'Saturday Review' was fulminating its criticisms on the young people of the day, reminded us of Talleyrand.
Among the medical men were Surgeon-Major M. C. Furnell, M.D., the co-discoverer of the use of chloroform; Surgeon-General Cornish, M.D., upon whom was conferred a C.I.E. for services rendered during the famine; Surgeon-Major Cockerill, one of the very few men who had seen service in the Crimea as well as in China and the Mutiny. William Donald was Deputy- Account ant-General, one of the best-known, best-liked men in the Presidency. Kind-hearted and generous he was ever ready to help in any case of need, and was much given to hospitality. He and his wife kept open house to all their sick friends up-country, who were obliged to pay visits to Madras for medical advice. For a time he was one of the lay trustees of the cathedral, and was most helpful to the cathedral chaplains while filling that position. H. A. Tarrant was a barrister. His wife took a deep interest in the cathedral. The beautiful embroidery which still adorns the altar was the work of her clever fingers. Sir Charles A. Lawson stood at the helm of the 'Madras Mail,' with Henry Cornish as his colleague, editors and part proprietors of the daily paper which Sir Charles built up on a firm foundation until it ranked foremost of all the journals of the Presidency, a place it still maintains. H. E. P. Carter was Chief Engineer of the Madras Railway. Beddy Branson, a barrister, was a remarkable personality among the leading natives of Madras. Born of English parents in the country, he was a perfect master of the Tamil language. The native gentlemen gave him their confidence and trusted him with their most intimate concerns. His knowledge of them and of their innermost thoughts was unique. John Shaw was an expert gardener, and threw himself heart and soul into the development of the Botanical Gardens and the annual flower-shows held in the grounds. He lived in the house near the gardens, which was afterwards occupied by the Bishops of Madras in turn. He laid out the garden, which is the most artistic in Madras. He was succeeded as secretary of the Botanical Gardens by J. Steavenson, who was equally enthusiastic over horticulture, and ever ready with advice and encouragement for the amateur gardener struggling under tropical difficulties. A lady once wrote to him to say that a tree in her compound, which she had recently obtained from the Botanical Gardens, was showing signs of decay and had the appearance of being blasted. Steavenson replied promptly that he would come at once and examine her blasted tree.
The Commander-in-Chief, Sir Neville Chamberlain, had his headquarters at Ootacamund and only visited the Presidency town as occasion required. Sir Neville was the beau ideal of a soldier, with handsome features, of a fine figure well set up, and gracious of manner. The general officer who commanded the district at that time was small in stature. He possessed a charger that was over sixteen hands, a perfect animal with but one draw-back as far as his owner was concerned. It was impossible for the general to mount him without assistance. This was obtained from the syce, who leaned forward on all-fours until his back presented a suitable 'jossing-block.' The general stepped up and the man gently elevated him until the stirrup was reached.
The Commander-in-Chief had heard of the general's method of mounting, but had never witnessed it. One day on parade in Madras a spirit of mischief seized him and he dismounted. It is etiquette for the rest of the staff to dismount if the chief sets the example, and the general had no alternative but to follow suit. When the chief remounted, the staff had to regain their saddles also with as little delay as possible. The general was perplexed for the moment ; but his syce solved the difficulty without the least hesitation. Going down on all fours as usual, he presented the helpful human 'jossing-block,' which his master made use of, regardless of the smiles of his fellow officers.
Sir Neville Chamberlain distinguished himself in the Mutiny and was present at the taking of Delhi. Lord Roberts served under him and mentions his name frequently in his memoirs. He says there that Sir Neville was a great supporter of Colonel Richard Baird- Smith, who engineered the attack. Colonel Baird-Smith as a young man entered the Madras Engineers and arrived at Fort St. George in 1838. A year later he was sent to Bengal to assist Sir Proby Cautley in making the Doab Canal. But Baird- Smith was not destined to spend his life making ditches. He saw service at Aliwal and Sobraon (1846), and at Chilianwalla and Gujerat (1848). In 1855 he returned to Madras to visit the chief irrigation works of the Presidency.
In 1857 Baird-Smith was at Roorkee, where, by his prompt action and quick foresight, he saved that station from an outbreak. In the last week of June he was directed to proceed to Delhi, which at that time had fallen into the hands of the mutineers. Barnard, who was in command, decided to make an attack upon the town. Lord Roberts writes thus of Baird-Smith: 'On the morning of the day on which it had been arranged that the assault should be made, the staff at Delhi received a most valuable addition in the person of Lieutenant-Colonel Baird-Smith of the Bengal Engineers. Summoned from Roorkee to take the place of the chief engineer, whose health had broken down, Baird-Smith was within sixty miles of Delhi on July 2, when the news of the intended movement reached him. He started at once and arrived in camp early on the 3rd, but only to find that the assault had been postponed.' The post-ponement was a wise decision. The engineers and artillery were weak and unequal to the task. Baird-Smith set about strengthening them at once. Soon after his arrival Barnard died of cholera, and the command eventually devolved upon Sir Archdale Wilson. Wilson had very little hope of taking the town, but, as Lord Roberts says : 'Fortunately for the continuance of our rule in India, Wilson had about him men who understood, as he was unable to do, the impossibility of our remaining any longer as we were. They knew that either Delhi must be taken or the army before it be withdrawn. The man to whom the commander looked for counsel under these conditions Baird-Smith of the Bengal Engineers proved himself worthy of the high and responsible position in which he was placed. He, too, was ill. Naturally of a delicate constitution, the climate and exposure had told upon him severely, and the diseases from which he was suffering were aggravated by a wound he had received soon after his arrival in camp. He fully appreciated the tremendous risks which the assault involved, but, in his opinion, they were less than those of delay. Whether convinced or not by his chief engineer's arguments, Wilson accepted his advice and directed him to prepare a plan of attack.'
These preparations were completed by September 7, and Baird- Smith was allowed to open his batteries upon the walls of the town. On the night of the 13th, two breaches having been made, he urged Wilson to attack without further delay. Even after the English troops had successfully entered the town, Wilson's heart sank within him over the completion of the task at the cost of life it must involve. Prudence prompted him to retire lest his whole force should be well-nigh annihilated in the supreme moment of victory. But with Baird-Smith at his elbow no such fatal mistake was made. When Wilson appealed to him for advice as to whether he should hold on to the position his reply was : 'We must hold on.' One of Baird- Smith's supporters was Sir Neville Chamberlain. He, knowing the bent of Wilson's mind, sounded Nicholson on the subject. 'The dying Nicholson advocated the same course with almost his latest breath. So angry and excited was he when he was told of the general's suggestion to retire that he exclaimed : "Thank God! I have strength yet to shoot him, if necessary."
On September 23 Baird-Smith gave up the command of the Engineers at Delhi. He returned to Roorkee by easy marches to lie up and nurse his wound, which by this time was aggravated by neglect and exposure. The wound healed, but his health was never properly restored. In 1861 there was a great famine in Bengal, and Baird- Smith was sent to inquire into its cause and to report on the best method of preventing such calamities in the future. Again the self-devoted servant of Government threw himself into the task allotted to him, giving no thought or care to his health, with the result that he broke down completely. He was ordered home, but the step was taken too late. He reached the Madras Roads and died there on board the Candia. His body was landed, and he was buried with full military honours in St. Mary's cemetery on the island. Mr. H. G. Keene, C.I.E., who knew him, says : ' He was a man of singular intelligence and versatility a welcome guest wherever he went.' His grave is marked by a modest slab of grey granite. A floral cross is engraved on the recumbent stone with the name and the date of his death. There is not a word about the deeds he did nor of the honours he won.
He married (1856) at the cathedral, Calcutta, Florence Elizabeth de Quincey, the second daughter of the author. Of this same lady Mr. Hogg, writing on family resemblances in 'Harper's Magazine' for February 1890, says : 'On one of my visits to the Houses of Parliament, while passing through one of the corridors, I was startled by the features of a sculptured figure quite unknown to me. The thought flashed, how strikingly that face resembles Miss Florence de Quincey. She was always remarkable for her pale statuesque beauty. On reading the inscription I found that the figure was actually that of her ancestor, Saher de Quincey, Earl of Winchester. When I returned to Edinburgh I reported to de Quincey this singular resemblance of the effigy of the old earl to his daughter over a gap of some five centuries.' The Opium-Eater was much taken with the resemblance, but he was unable to find any historical proof of the relationship. He clung, however, to the belief that he was descended from the great earl, although the earldom came to an end and the property was divided between heiresses in the thirteenth century, making a gap between Thomas de Quincey's earliest known ancestor and the last earl of nearly four hundred years. The features of the statue must have been evolved from the brain of the sculptor, and the work could not have been a likeness. Mrs. Baird-Srnith survived her husband for more than forty years and died at the beginning of the twentieth century.