“I can imagine no greater honour than to find myself at the close of one’s sojourn in India invited by 180 of one’s fellow-countrymen in Calcutta to a social meeting like that of to-night—(cheers). The invitation came to me as a most complete, unexpected and most gratifying surprise, and will, I assure you all, add to the brightest and happiest recollections of my last weeks in India—(hear, hear, and cheers)—which must, alas! of necessity contain far more of pain than pleasure in them, for no one can cut himself off finally from a country in which he has been employed for eighteen years, and those the best of his life, in which he has made most of his best friends, and mixed as I have tried to do in all its sport and pastimes, without feeling a shock in doing so—(cheers).
“Gentlemen, Mr. Moore says he does not quite know what brought me out to India, and as I, to use his own expression, have appeared before you in four various phases, first of which he puts as soldier, I think this is a good opportunity of telling you that it was in the capacity of a subaltern in the 9th Lancers that I came out to this country, and he is quite right in saying that it was in that uniform I first appeared in Calcutta, as extra A.D.C. on Lord Northbrook’s staff, leading the cortège of His Royal Highness the Prince of Wales from Prinseps Ghât to Government House.
“I regret that the abundance of brown locks to which he refers no longer remain, but is replaced by a scanty silver fringe—(laughter and cheers).
“With regard to the allusion he made to the straightness of the nose—(laughter)—that he recollects on that occasion, he is not quite correct, and there is a gentleman (Mr. J. J. Allan) among my hosts here to-night that can testify to the fact that, owing to a slight disagreement he and I had many years ago, not actually in the playing fields of Eton, but close by, he made a little arrangement that prevented the particular nose referred to being worn straight by its wearer for the rest of his life—(laughter and cheers)—this particular battle was not won by either, as it was acknowledged to be a draw, and I am glad to tell you the two combatants have been the very best of friends ever since—(hear, hear, and cheers).
“When I came out with the 9th, the greatest aim and object of my life was, some day in the future, to get command of that regiment, but force of circumstances prevented these wishes being gratified, and I elected, whether for better or worse I cannot say, to remain as Military Secretary with the Viceroy of India, in preference to going back as second in command of my old regiment, and thus closing promotion which I was bound to get by remaining on in my post out here. I am sorry to say, therefore, that it is years since I have done any soldiering, and it is a great regret to me on leaving this country that I cannot return to the dear old regiment in which I began my service.
“The next section into which Mr. Moore has placed me is the official one, and with regard to it I may say how fortunate I have been in having served under five such masters. It is not for me to make comparisons, or to refer to their respective policies, but I may be permitted to say, which I do from the bottom of my heart, that from one and all I invariably received the greatest kindness, and if I have succeeded in pleasing them, I am fully recompensed for any trouble I may have taken in the performance of my various duties; but, Gentlemen, I am afraid that at times the Military Secretary’s duty necessitates his doing things which may be displeasing to those who are affected. In such cases I can only say that I have endeavoured to do my duty to the best of my lights, and if I have at any time hurt anyone’s feelings in such matters, I have done so most unwillingly and to my great regret, and I should like to take this opportunity of stating how much indebted I am to all the different departments that I have had to deal with for the help, advice, and support that I have always received on all sides, and thanks to which my official work has been made comparatively easy—(cheers)—and when in a few weeks now I hand over the reins of my office to my successor, the best and kindest wish I can desire for his welfare is that he may be as ably supported and leniently dealt with as I have been—(hear, hear, and cheers). I think he starts his career under very favourable circumstances, having formerly served his apprenticeship on the Viceroy’s staff, and has thus become thoroughly conversant with all the details of that staff. He (Colonel Durand) is a real good soldier; most popular with everybody who knows him—(cheers)—and I only hope when the time comes for him to have finished his turn of office as Military Secretary he will be able to look back to as many happy days and warm friendships made as I can—(cheers).
“The third section to which the Chairman referred was the sportsman section, and believe me, I am very proud indeed to have such a title attached to my name, but I am afraid I can no longer claim to be the sportsman I used to be owing to a variety of accidents between the flags, on the polo ground, and in pursuit of pig and paper, but still I cling to sports of all sorts as much as circumstances will permit me to do. I have tried all that are offered to us in India, and I think that many of my hosts to-night will support me in saying that pig-sticking takes first place—(hear, hear, and cheers). I certainly must own I have derived more pleasure from this than either tiger shooting, racing, or anything else I tried. Certainly I was extremely fortunate when I first came to India and tried my hand at the spear to have the advice and guidance of that acknowledged prince of pig-stickers, who I am proud to see has honoured me to-night with his presence, Archie Hills, of Patkahari—(loud and continued cheers). It was he who led the dance of our party the first time I ever rode after pig; he told me how to hold my spear and use it, and the best day’s pig-sticking I ever saw in my life was afforded by him at his own place, when we accounted before tiffin for seventeen boars, three cut horses, and a collar-bone broken—(cheers and laughter).
“With regard to racing, I have indeed had my full share of the plums, and it is a pleasant thing to look back on the record of my stable, which amongst other things can count six Viceroy’s Cups—(cheers)—three of which are credited to old Myall King—(cheers)—who, alas! died on the course little over a month ago—besides two Kooch Behar Cups, two Durbangah Cups, three Civil Service Cups, and five Grand Military Steeplechases, of which I was fortunate enough to pilot the winner myself—(loud cheers)—and at one time or another most of the biggest races in India.
“In this my last year I was indeed pleased to be connected with the severe tussle for the Viceroy’s Cup, inasmuch as Tostig, who made such a good fight for it, was imported by me, and was till quite recently my property—(cheers)—and as His Highness the Maharajah of Patiala was not fortunate enough to win on this occasion, he and I—believe me I am quoting his feelings as well as my own—were compensated to a great extent by the fact that the much-coveted prize was won by one of my greatest supporters of the Indian turf—(loud and continued cheers)—who struggled for many years with crushing bad luck, but stayed the course, and eventually has been rewarded for his pluck by having won the Viceroy’s Cups two years in succession, and all the other big races this season—(continued cheers). I may add that I hope he may live for many years and carry off in the future several more prizes of the Indian turf, and though His Highness the Maharajah of Patiala has not yet won this most coveted prize, which, by the way, is no fault of his own, he has spared no expense in trying to get together the best horses money can buy—(hear, hear)—and has done all that a sportsman could do to become a recipient of the Viceroy’s Cup, but though Dame Fortune seems up to the present to frown upon his endeavours in this particular direction, I prophesy that his time will come when his wishes will be gratified, and nobody wishes him this success more than myself—(cheers). He, at any rate, can congratulate himself at this moment on possessing the best horse in India, of which there can be no doubt, as our best authority out here has declared officially that Sprig o’ Myrtle is at weight for age and class, 8 lbs. in front of the invincible Highborn at a mile and three quarters, and I only hope that authority is correct in his estimation of this son of Trenton—(much laughter and cheers).