We went to see the Alipore Jail, where prisoners, who would be hanged in England, are shut up for life. They are (as I suppose all people are, who have nothing left to hope for) a most desperate set, and about two years ago murdered a Mr. Richardson, the magistrate who had the charge of Alipore Jail. They are all fettered, of course, but they threw him down when he was visiting them, and murdered him with the little brass jars which all natives carry about with them to drink out of. His poor wife was sitting in the carriage at the door, and never knew what was going on till the body was found. Mr. Patten, his successor, wished George to see the jail, and so we all went together that we might be all brass-potted at once, if it was to be done—and there was an army of soldiers—Dr. Drummond to bring us to life—and the Chief Justice to try the murderers. At first we had not intended to walk round amongst them, but they looked very peaceable, and we were curious to see them. They were one thousand two hundred in number—all confined for capital crimes, and all sorts of castes and tribes—not at all ferocious-looking, and, in fact, here, where life is little valued, a great proportion of them are shut up for what would be merely manslaughter, or an assault with us. It was melancholy to see the very old men who had been in fetters for so many years, but worse to see some very young ones, with life before them, the whole of it to be passed in this prison-yard. There were six boys—the eldest thirteen, the youngest only nine—who had been sent from up the country only that morning, convicted of murder; in fact, a quarrel with another boy—they were already fettered, and sitting in a group together—and there they are for life! The prisoners presented quantities of petitions, which Mr. Patten says they do every time he goes round the jail. Some of them beg so hard that some term may be named—if it is only one hundred years—that they may think they have a chance of getting out.
You may have read in Miss Roberts about the Thugs, a species of Burkers, but more cool-blooded. They travel for weeks with their victims, and at last contrive to strangle them and bury them: and this has been going on for centuries, and only discovered lately, since which two thousand Thugs have been taken, and either hanged or transported. There were none in the jail to-day, but Mr. Patten says he always keeps them apart from the others, and he had one there a little while ago who was six feet high, and whose hair hung down to his feet, and spread over three feet of ground besides; it was twisted like ropes, and he said that he used to keep the knife and ropes with which he despatched his victims hid in his hair.
We had our usual levee, and George went to see the Asiatic College, where I called for him, and he drove to Mrs. Wilson’s Orphan Asylum. The children have been working a table-cover I gave them, and have done it beautifully, and I paid for it and brought it home.
We went to Mrs. Leache’s benefit at the Town Hall; the acting was really very good. All amateur acting, except the female performers; but the heat! Even the most hardened Indians say they never felt anything like it. There was a great crowd; very small punkahs; and nothing but a hot steam coming in at the windows. ‘This gives you a perfect idea of our September,’ they say with an air of perspiring complacency. ‘So much the greater shame for your August,’ is all I can say in answer. Everybody has been, or is, ill except us. Our English constitution still keeps up.
Was so hot that nobody could go to morning church, and in the evening we went to the Fort Church, which was like a kettle of boiling water; but Mr. simmered out an excellent sermon while we were stewing.
Council day, and consequently I beat poor Mr. Shakespear a game of chess.
Dwarkanauth Tagore, a very rich native, had asked us to go and see his villa. He is a follower of Ram Mohun Roy; speaks excellent English; has built a regular English villa, with billiard-room, &c., and fitted it up with statues and pictures, and Copley Fieldings, and Prouts, and French china, &c.; and he asked us to name a day on which to see it. George was delighted, and named Monday; upon which all Calcutta got greatly excited, because the Governor-General was going to dine with a native. The fact of a native dining with a Governor-General is much more remarkable, and Dwarkanauth is one of the very few that would even sit by while we were eating. However, we only went to see the place, and went in particular state, in order to please the poor, fussy people, with carriages-and-four and guards. and Fanny in his phaeton, and Major in his cab, and Captain in his, and even the Doctor in his, and George and I in the Government coach, and quantities of servants; in short, nothing could look less affable—or be more easy—when we got there. Dwarkanauth talks excellent English, and had got Mr. Parker, one of the cleverest people here, to do the honours; and there were elephants on the lawn, and boats on the tank, and ices in the summer-house, and quantities of beautiful pictures and books, and rather a less burning evening than usual; so it answered very well, and we came home, with all the noise we could make, to dinner. But we hear he gives remarkably good dinners to everybody else.
George says he is sure that the staring, round look which everybody’s eyes have here, is not, as is always supposed, occasioned by the heat and by the shrinking of the eyelids, but by the knack they have of wondering at everything. The least deviation from every day’s routine puts them out.
More astonishment for them! There is a French company of actors just landed from the Mauritius, and, to diversify our Tuesdays, I have sent for them, and saw M. de la Jarriette to-day, and engaged him; and as we cannot make the Town-hall scenery fit our ball-room, we are going to have a theatre fitted up for ourselves.
Saw Captain , who undertakes to have the theatre ready by Tuesday. The newspapers have taken up the theatricals as quite correct, and think it right that there should be amusement at Government House; but there is a party against them, though the odd thing is, that some of the very strict ones, who will not come to our Tuesdays when there is dancing, do not think the plays so bad. It does seem very odd that mothers of families should not see how absolutely right it is that the number of boys who are here (exposed to every possible temptation, and in a country where it is a fashion to seem dissipated and extravagant), should be, if possible, kept in good society, and under the eye of people on whom their promotion depends. And if dancing here from nine to halfpast eleven, without cards, without supper, without even wine, amuses them, and keeps them in the society of respectable people, it surely must be better than shutting up the house, and saying it is wrong to be amused. It is very difficult, at least I think so; but the young cadets and writers do not, and I am sure they do not get too much of it. I enclose from the paper the amusements of the month. It is just the same thing in every day’s paper. We had a large dinner in the evening. I wish that were reckoned immoral, but the very strictest make no objection to dinners.
We had rather a smaller set of visitors, and more amusing. Sir H. Fane is gone to the Sandheads, to recover from his fever. George wrote to ask if any honours of salutes, &c., could be paid to his embarkation. We think so much of these things, and are by no means easy in our minds upon the subject of a salute that our Fort did not return to our ship ‘Wolf,’ because ‘Wolf’ had gone and disguised herself in order to take some pirates, so that we did not know her to be our own particular frigate. The papers are full of it, but I do not see what can be done, for, being both English, it is diffcult for the fort and the frigate to go to war, and yet that is the only sensible, easy way out of it. However, we can be in no such difficulty between the Commander-in-chief and the Governor-General. The aide-de-camp in waiting begged to intimate that he and the Commander-in-chief were going on board ‘strictly incog.’—quite strict, you understand.
We closed our box for England to-day, and just as it was nailed down we received a large packet of letters by the ‘Isabella Cooper,’ chiefly of March, and some up to the 12th of April—a nice long one from you, one of Mr. ’s to me and one to Fanny, and two or three others. We went in the evening to Barrackpore—George and I in the carriage; and besides having studied my Ietters all the afternoon, I read them with him then. It is very shocking, but there were two long letters from Lady Glengall, and we have known for three weeks of her death by the overland packet. I wish that overland packet did not come in its unfinished slammacking way, interfering with the regular course of things. We have also received our box of books, which are very satisfactory as far as they go, but not half enough. However, you will have received, long ago, letters by which you will perceive that we want books—more and oftener. It is of vital importance that we should feed our poor yellow Indian minds with constant amusement, so I wish, dear, you would take upon yourself to send off a box of the newest publications once in two months, and do not let people scratch anything out of your list. The more trash the better. We are essentially trashy by nature, write a good deal of trashiness superinduced by India; so only be liberal of any books—but those that concern India—and we shall not complain.
We had a sort of a puppet-show, called a Cutpootley, in the evening, more like the Fantoccini, I believe, but I never saw them. It was very pretty; at least fifty little puppets on the stage at once, dancing nautches, riding elephants, &c.; and between the acts the showmen mimicked old women and English sailors, greatly to the amusement of our servants.
Mr. Blunt arrived from China, where he went about three months ago, and took some commissions from us to the C. Elliots, which they have not yet had time to execute; but Mrs. Elliot has sent us two very pretty filagree card-cases of silver, and a delicious piece of satin for George, much too good to be the dressing-gown she calls it. Mr. Blunt, too, has brought two Siamese partridges for our menagerie, the only entirely new birds I have seen. They are very small, something like the breast of a peacock on the back, with rich brown crests and scarlet legs, and all other colours speckled here and there, somehow, or another.
George is going to build a school, at his own private expense, for native children, and we went to look for a corner of the Park to put it in.
We were in Calcutta by half-past seven.
The theatre is almost finished, and is as pretty a little article as I ever saw, with orchestra, dressing-room, &c. A very hard-working morning. The lamps would not do, and the French people are very troublesome; and our band chose to give themselves airs, and could not play vaudevilles; and I found the benevolent driven into a frenzy of a quiet description by them, so I took upon myself, for the first time, and scolded everybody all round, particularly the band-master, who has wanted it some time; and I found myself saying, quite seriously, ‘I have not an idea what you mean, Mr. , by the etiquette of the first violin and second violin. The Governor-General must have whatever music he chooses to order, and it is your fault if the band can’t play it. It is a great disgrace for you if, when Lord Auckland wishes for some vaudevilles, you cannot play them.’ It was so like one of T. Hook's speeches, but it had immediate effect, and I fancy he is perfect master of ‘Faut l'oublier’ and ‘Ça m'est égal’ by this time.
I crept into the ball-room to overhear the actors rehearse, and it was rather refreshing to hear the little jolly songs of their farces. The jeune première is not to say pretty; but she carries off her ugliness very well, and seems to be a really good actress.
A shocking catastrophe! The jeune premiére has got one of the fevers all new arrivals have, by rehearsing in the heat yesterday; and as M. de la Jarriette, the manager, says, with a strong ‘Comment doubler nos emplois dans un pays comme celui-ci, et comment jouer sans jeune première?’ it is put off till her fever leaves her, and Captain and Captain have passed the morning in preparing our guests to-night to dance, instead of listening to a play they cannot understand. I suppose everybody had made up their mind to come, for it was the largest party we have had yet, and the hottest night. I thought the crowd might render the house untenable, so I went out on the verandah, and there was not the slightest difference between the heat of a ball-room and the natural atmosphere.
I was done up with pains in my head and bones, and thought I was going to have the fever that everybody else has, but I believe it was only the extraordinary damp heat of the weather.
Still hot; but there was a great storm in the afternoon, and when George and I went out driving the evening was quite cool, with plenty of air, and I felt suddenly quite well again and very hungry. l always have detested heat, and now I see why.
It poured so violently, that after the carriage came round we could not go to church; but we had a nice cool drive in the evening, and ended at the Fort Church, and came home to a late dinner.