During the Muharrum he called himself a follower of the prophet; he gave forty rupees to assist in building a Taziya, performed all the ceremonies peculiar to the faithful, and was allowed to be considered a Musulmān for the time; at the conclusion, when the Taziya was thrown into the river, he became a Mug again.
22nd.—With a westerly wind, and the thermometer at 65°, we Indians find it very cold, the contrast to the hot winds is so great. I have worn a shawl all the morning, and to-night, for the first time this year, we have begun fires; and have had the horse-shoe table placed in front of the fire-place, that we may enjoy the warmth during dinner-time. The room looks so cheerful, it puts me into good humour and good spirits; I feel so English, without lassitude, so strong and well. My husband has just sallied out in his great coat to take a very long walk; and the little terrier is lying under the table, watching a musk rat, which has taken refuge in a hole under the grate.
26th.—I have just heard of an occurrence at Lucnow, which is in true native style. The Nawāb Hukeem Mehndee Ali Khan, the present minister, poisoned the King of Oude’s ear against one of his people by declaring that the man betrayed some state secrets and intrigues; the king accordingly, without judge or jury, ordered the man’s head to be fixed, and a heavy weight to be fastened on his tongue until the tongue should be so wrenched from the roots that it should ever after hang out of his mouth. This brutal punishment was inflicted some two or three months ago, and the poor creature’s life has been preserved by pouring liquids down his throat, as, of course, he is unable to eat at present. They have now discovered the man is innocent! but what does it avail him? His accuser, the Nawāb Hukeem Mehndee, is rich; money is power. The king is displeased with the minister, I understand, for his misrepresentations; he is also on bad terms with the resident,—they do not speak.
Any lady having a horror of the plagues of Egypt would not admire what is going on at this moment; several lizards are peering about, as they hang on the window frames, with their bright round eyes; a great fat frog or toad, I know not which, is jumping across the floor, under the dinner-table; and a wild cat from the jungles, having come in, has made her exit through the window, breaking a pane of glass; a musk-rat is squeaking in the next room, I must go and prevent the little terrier from catching it: I do not like to see the dog foam at the mouth, which she always does after killing this sort of rat.
Dec. 1st.—A marriage has taken place this day, between the widow of the Mug cook, a low caste Hindoo, old and ugly, and one of our khidmātgars, a Mahommedān. On account of her caste the man cannot eat with her without pollution; therefore, having taken her to a mosque, and the kurān having been read before her, she declares herself a convert. The musulmān servants have dined with her; she is now a follower of the prophet. They are very fond of making converts, but the Hindoos never attempt to convert any one; in fact, they will not admit converts to their faith, nor will they embrace any other religion; here and there a woman becomes a musulmāne, on her marriage with a man of that faith.
5th.—To-day’s news is, that the Governor-general met the 3rd cavalry at Allahabad, on their march from Cawnpore to Benares. His lordship reviewed the regiment, and asked the officers to dinner; an invitation they all refused. This annoyed his lordship very much, being the first display of resentment manifested towards him on his march by the army, and he ordered them to dine with him on pain of forfeiting their rank, pay, and allowances, pending a reference to the Court of Directors. Of course the officers obeyed the order; they were obliged to do so: what an agreeable party the Governor-general must have had, with guests whom he had forced to partake of the feast!
Dec. 11th.—I went to the races at sunrise: the first race was between two beautiful Arabs; Sultan looked so handsome at starting, and shot ahead of the other, keeping him in the rear until he very nearly gained the stand at the end of the three miles; of a sudden his speed relaxed, the other horse came up, and passed the post just before him. Sultan looked wild; the jockey dismounted; the horse fell, regained his feet three times, reared with pain, and, falling again, died in the space of a minute.
The Cawnpore races have been unfortunate; two years ago, a jockey was thrown, and broke his neck on the spot. Last year, the favourite Arab broke his hind leg and was shot: this year, Sultan has been killed, and two other horses have gone lame.
13th.—I accompanied some ladies to the riding-school of the 11th dragoons, and, being much pleased, requested to be allowed to take lessons with them; afterwards, riding there during those hours that the school was unoccupied by the dragoons, formed one of our greatest amusements. As for the corporal, the rough-rider of the 11th dragoons who attends in the riding-school, his affections are quite divided between my horse Trelawny and myself; I heard him say the other day, speaking of the former, “I like that little chap, he looks so innicent.”
My sā’īs cannot accomplish putting me on my horse after the English fashion; therefore, he kneels down on one knee, holding the horse in his left hand, and the stirrup in the right; I step from his knee to the stirrup, and take my seat on the saddle; rather a good method, and one of his own invention.