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21 January 1906 — Calcutta | |
Sunday. 21st [January 1906]. The Haringtons breakfasted with us at 9– They had an invitation for us all to go up to luncheon with the Viceroy & Lady Minto at Barrackpore. We started, the Haringtons, Miss Postal, Nela & I at 11 & drove down to the Ghat on the Hugli where the Viceroy’s steam launch was waiting to take the party of those invited to lunch up the river. Besides our party there were Lady Maud Creighton, Mrs Derek Keppel, Col. & Lady Anne Murray, 2 ADC & one or two others, ladies & men, whose names I did not catch. Chairs were arranged round in rather a formal circle & it was not very lively. It was hot & oppressive. The trip took about 2 hours & as we got near Barrackpore a little rain fell– The landing place was not far from the house & we soon got into shelter. Lady Minto received us very amiably– She is still a pretty woman & had very nice manners—all find her very easy to get on with after Lady Curzon who tho’ amiable was haughty. Lord Minto appeared shortly after our arrival & greeted me cordially saying he remembered the old days at Consple. (He was then a military secy.) Lady Minto led us down into the garden which was gay with immense plants of red bougainvillias—& a hedge of light blue convolverters—but alas the rain came down more & more heavily. Luncheon had been laid out in a tent under the famous large Banyan tree in the grounds—& as we sat in another tent waiting for it, the big drops began to come thro’ upon us till at last H.E. gave orders to the servants to carry the tables into the verandah of the house & we all returned there. There was 3 tables prepared at the large middle one where their Ex., Lady Anne Murray sat on the Viceroy’s right, I on his left. We began to talk of Consple & the Sultan & he lamented the attitude England had taken up with regard to Turkey & that we should have given up our influence there to Germany. He said that after all the United Gt Powers of Europe never really managed to coerce the Sultan who by his clever system of procrastination always managed to get his own way. We were thus talking when we rose from the table & H.E. led me to a sofa in the large inner hall & lighting his cigar continued to talk about India. He said that he thought the Curzon had been unnecessarily harsh in his manner to the high caste native. He told me that he found that Curzon would not allow the Maharajas to buy property in any town out of their own state. That there was a case in point which had come before him—Cooch Behan (I think H.E. said) had wished to buy a fine house somewhere in order to be able to receive our Princes or high officials & Lord Curzon had ordered permission to be refused. It had come to Minto for signature—& he had ordered the case to be dropped—the Property would have been bought only under another man’s name, & he thought it a useless vexation– He thought that the general tendency of Anglo Indians was to treat the natives too roughly. I told him that it had struck me that we were not very pleasant to them & I quoted the words of the Benares Baboo & said how in 2 hotels we had found printed notices stuck up in our rooms requesting visitors not to illtreat the native servants! It is evident that Lord Minto is anxious to improve the feeling between the two races. After this little chat we moved into the next room where the rest of the party were sitting. It was still raining in torrents at 3 when we returned to the launch to start for Calcutta. The Viceroy threw a coat over his shoulders & accompanied us through the shaded bamboo walk to the landing stage talking to me as we went. I told him I had happened to be in Canada 6 years ago while the P. & Pss of Wales were on their tour in that country & had seen the Review on the Plains of Abraham. H.E. said that was just after he had arrived to be Gov. Genl. & that curiously eno’ he had had to entertain the Wales both in Canada & here immediately on his arrival at his post both here & there. That he had found the Prince immensely improved since those days & that when he landed at Canada he had been very troublesome & difficult to manage trying to change plans &c. He believed that the Royal tour in India had been a great success & it was a relief that all had gone off so well. We bid H.E. good bye & embarked on the launch the rain still pouring down– It continued until we reached Calcutta when it held up a bit, but there were heavy dark clouds & the Hooghly looked more like the Thames than one wd have thought possible—with many chimneys giving out smoke & a leaden sky. | |
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