CHAPTER XVI.OUR FINAL JOURNEY.

INDIAN HOSPITALITY—REMINISCENCES OF HINDOSTAN—MY BEARER—A SPINSTER IN A DILEMMA—DEOLLALEE—OUR FINAL JOURNEY—BOMBAY—VOYAGE IN THE JUMNA—ESCAPE OF A MINAR—LOSS OF A PARROT—RETURN TO ENGLAND—ESCAPADE OF A YOUNG OFFICER—ANECDOTE.

CHAPTER XVI.

On the 6th of November, 1870, the head-quarters of the Connaught Rangers left Agra by train for Bombay. It was our last journey in India. I had passed many pleasant years in the country, and I had received great kindness from friends, many of whom I most probably would never see again. Indian hospitality has not been over-rated. I have been told that now-a-days there are so many railways that hotels take the place of dāk bungalows; but in my time it was different, and at the various halting-places the burra-sahib of the place generally came himself to welcome any wanderer to his own house, and to show him all the attention he possibly could think of. When I look back at the days passed in Hindostan, the names of Lind,the Commissioner, and Judge Spankie, of the High Court, stand out among a crowd of others, and recall to my memory very happy days. So it was with mingled feelings that I bid adieu to the burning plains.

At Allahabad I had to part with my bearer. I am certain it was with mutual regret we went our different ways. I see now his erect figure marching away out of the railway-station, laden, as usual, with his beloved copper cooking-pots. He was a Hindoo, but more attentive to his devotions than many an enlightened Christian. An honest, good man like him, although a heathen, must surely have his reward. We were five nights in the train before we reached Deollalee, from whence the final departure for home is made. The train pulled up during the heat of the day, and was put into a siding, while the men got their meals cooked.

Our first halt was at Allahabad. We spent the day with my friend, Judge Spankie. Our last experience of Indian hospitality was in the house of a friend whose unvarying kindness I shall never forget. Some of the places we stopped at were merely railway-sidings; tents were standingfor the accommodation of the regiments. Our cook, who travelled down country with us, always managed to give us a tolerable dinner, making up a little mud fire-place beside the train, and, as a matter of course, going through all the ordinary dishes.

Jubbulpore is a large station, and there we got into the hotel, which was very full. A large party, newly arrived from home, were going up country, among them half a dozen pretty, fresh, English girls. When we were quartered at a certain station in India, there was only one ‘spin’ in the place, and she, poor thing, received such overwhelming attention that quite inadvertently she was engaged to two men at the same time. Deollalee, where our last few days in India were spent, was an immense erection of wooden barracks and huts. Regiments newly arrived from home were halted here, as well as those about to leave the country, and the respective arrangements were made between the various departments of the in-coming and out-going corps. The servants who had accompanied us down country now left us, taking service with the new-comers.

On the evening of the 16th of November, we got into the train for our final journey. It was daylight when we descended the Ghauts, a most wonderful piece of engineering. The railway goes down a sheer fall of nineteen hundred feet, in a succession of zig-zags. Our train was a long one. The carriage we were in was at the end, and, in looking out of the window, the engine, with its following, seemed another train on quite a different line far below us.

It was the afternoon when we reached Bombay. It has left no very distinct impression on my mind, as we proceeded direct from the station to the tug, which took us off to the hugeJumna, that was lying waiting for us. We were fortunate in every respect in our voyage in her. The weather was perfect, and Captain Richards, the captain ofH.M.S. Jumna, was unvaryingly kind and courteous. On the 17th of November, the shores of India faded away, never to be looked on by me again. The splendid ship we were in, with its luxurious comforts, was a contrast to the vessel in which I had come out to India thirteen years before.

Now, on our return home, we were embarkedin a magnificent troopship. I think there were seventeen hundred souls on board, but everything was in such beautiful order that there was no confusion. My regiment got on capitally, and Captain Richards reported very favourably of the men’s conduct when in his ship.

1870–71 was the last season that regiments were conveyed across the isthmus from Suez to Alexandria by train. We left theJumnawith much regret. The train was drawn up almost immediately alongside. We started in the evening from Suez, and arrived at Alexandria about seven o’clock next morning—one man short. He got out in the desert to get a drink—as we heard long afterwards—and the train went on without him, in consequence of which he lost his home passage, as well as his train. On arrival at Alexandria, we embarked at once on a tug, and proceeded on board theCrocodile. One of the many children that were accompanying their parents home distinguished himself on the short trajet from the wharf to the troopship by carefully untying the fastenings of a cage-door, and letting loose a very valuable minar, which the unconscious owner had brought at great troubleto himself from the far north of India. I do not think he ever knew how his bird escaped. Minars speak most perfectly, much more distinctly and with a better imitation of the human voice than a parrot.

It is very annoying losing a pet, especially when the conviction must be that it will inevitably come to grief. I recall a curious case of the sort which happened in Scotland at my old home. My sister-in-law had a parrot, which had been the object of her care for many years. In fine summer weather, when the windows were open, it flew out, and enjoyed itself very much among the trees in front of the house, and, when called, returned to its cage. One day a sudden gale of wind came on, and the poor bird was carried away before it. A great search was made; but it never came back. My sister read in the county paper an advertisement, couched in the following term: ‘Found, a parrot. Anyone having lost the same, apply to,’ &c., &c. In hopes that this referred to her lost favourite, she wrote a full description of Lorry, and anxiously waited for the reply. Her disappointment was great when she received the following answer to herapplication: ‘Milady, i am sorry to say that it was afarot’ (ferret), ‘and not aparot, that was found.’

TheCrocodilewas a fac-simile of theJumna, with the exception of not being painted white. In the Mediterranean, we were caught in a gale, and found that theCrocodilewas not distinguished without cause for her powers of rolling. The storm delayed us three days, as we could make no headway against the wind. It was the last rough weather we encountered, but as we neared our own latitudes the cold became intense. Nothing could have looked much more miserable than we poor denizens of a warm climate did that 21st of December, as, with eager eyes and longing expectation, we crowded the sides, and looked at the goal of our hopes for long years—home! Take the Solent on a fine, bright, sunny day in summer, with yachts and pleasure-boats glancing over the surface of the rippling water, and you will say it is a fair sight to see, but what we looked on now was a grey and leaden sky, the whole country under snow, and an occasional flake in the air, proving there was a good deal more to fall. Slowly we came into our berth alongside the quay, and it did seem arealization of our long dreams when friends and relations flocked over the gangway, and warmly welcomed us back to the old country.

The next day we disembarked. The snow that had been threatening was now falling, and it was freezing very hard. One month previous the sun was shining and the thermometer marked 86°. The men of the 88th, with their white-covered helmets on their heads, had, like all of us, red noses and yellow faces. We thought it was positively cruel to bring us suddenly from intense heat to bitter cold, but, in spite of shudders and chattering teeth, we all felt an exhilarating glow on that 22nd of December, 1870, when we disembarked during an eclipse of the sun and in a blinding snowstorm. The 88th regiment proceeded to Fort Grange, and that night thirty men were taken into hospital with bronchitis. The regiment did not remain very long quartered in the forts, but were moved over to Portsmouth, where it occupied the Cambridge Barracks.

What a changed place is Portsmouth now that the old walls have been removed! It has assumed a gay and youthful look. Midshipman Easy would not recognise it, and the old tars of former dayswould feel quite adrift. The last ten years have greatly improved its outward appearance. It was always a favourite quarter, being so near the Isle of Wight, and the young officers of the different regiments stationed in Portsmouth and the neighbourhood kept the ‘tambourin a-roulin,’ as no doubt they do still.

There was a good anecdote told about the subaltern of the main guard at Portsmouth during the time that a noble lord was commanding the district. A ball was to take place at the Southsea Rooms, and, as ill-luck would have it, the hero of my story was in orders for guard the very day of the ball, and could get no one to exchange duties with him. Despair filled his mind, forshewas to be there, and he was engaged to her for several dances. Cupid, they say, laughs at locksmiths, so, I presume, goes into fits when a subaltern’s guard is mentioned as an excuse for being a recreant knight. So our hero decided he would, like Cinderella, go to the ball for only a certain time. As the other officers were in uniform, his costume was not remarkable, but he kept his eyes on the general, and once, when whispering soft words into his fair one’s ears, hesaw his lordship give a start as he looked towards him, and felt sure he saw his lips form themselves into the appearance of a strong expletive.

In a short time the general called his aide-de-camp, and our young warrior looked out for squalls. He followed his lordship to the door, saw him get into his carriage, and heard him give the order, ‘To the main guard!’ Away flew the fiery steeds. On arrival of the general, ‘Guard turn out!’ was shouted. Everything was correct. The officer was at his post, and reported ‘all correct.’ This ought to have been sufficient for the visiting officer, and satisfied him that he had made a mistake, but, if all stories be true, the then commander-in-chief at Portsmouth never made a mistake,in his own opinion. He called the young officer to him, and asked him, ‘Did I not see you, a few moments ago, in the Southsea ball-room?’ And the only reply he got was, ‘How could that be, sir, as I am now here in command of my guard?’

So the older wise one departed, and the younger retired to his guard-room to smoke and dream. But the affair was not over. Next morning theA.D.C. arrived at our subaltern quarters, requesting his attendance at Lord ——’s house, and our friend went at once. The general, I have always been told, was very kind-hearted. He received the young officer most courteously, and then said,

‘Mr. ——, the guard you were on is a thing of the past. We meet now as friends. I want to know how the mischief you ever managed to get to your guard, for I am positive I saw you in the ball-room.’

On receiving the reply: ‘Behind your lordship’s carriage!’ it may be imagined how the general laughed, and, no doubt, was of opinion that the young officer had shown a great deal of cleverness in getting out of what might have been a serious scrape.

This escapade recalls to my memory a story I heard given by a most amusingraconteurin Scotland. The colonel of a regiment quartered in Edinburgh Castle had been much annoyed at the number of men who not only were brought up to the orderly-room for drunkenness, but also for absence without leave, so he was determined tomake an example of some one on the first opportunity. One morning the regiment was on parade, and a private soldier appeared with his coat all muddy and his cap in a battered condition, quite sober, but evidently having been engaged in a row, and ‘absent all night.’ Here was a ‘horrid example.’ So the colonel ordered a corporal’s guard to make the man a prisoner, and, forming the regiment in line, he marched the culprit in front, so that every soldier might see him. On arriving at the left flank of the line the prisoner saluted, and said, ‘Thank you, colonel; it is one of the finest regiments I ever saw. You may dismiss them,’ which rather altered the colonel’s intentions with regard to this ‘horrid example!’

I would like to command a regiment formed of officers like the Portsmouth subaltern and men like the Edinburgh private, although neither of them, I daresay, knew anything about Spenser’s ‘Faerie Queen,’ a knowledge of which is required at examinations for commissions in the army of the present day.

But I must finish now. At Portsmouth I saidfarewell to my dear old home in which I had passed all the years of my soldiering life, and now again I say God speed to you, old 88th; luckier than most time-honoured corps, you are Connaught Rangers still, but full of by-gone memories are the numbers 88, the sound of which has echoed in peace and war, at home and abroad.

THE END.

LONDON: PRINTED BY DUNCAN MACDONALD, BLENHEIM HOUSE.

MESSRS. HURST & BLACKETT’SLIST OF NEW WORKS.LONDON:13, GREAT MARLBOROUGH STREET, W.

MESSRS. HURST & BLACKETT’S

LIST OF NEW WORKS.

LONDON:

13, GREAT MARLBOROUGH STREET, W.

MESSRS. HURST AND BLACKETT’S

LIST OF NEW WORKS.

THE FRIENDSHIPS OF MARY RUSSELL MITFORD:As Recorded in Letters from her Literary Correspondents. Edited by theRev. A. G. L’Estrange, Editor of “The Life of Mary Russell Mitford,” and Author of “The Life of the Rev. W. Harness,” &c. 2 vols. crown 8vo. 21s.

Among other persons whose letters are recorded in these volumes are:—Lady Dacre, The Duke of Devonshire, Lord St. Germans, Lord Holland, Sir William Elford, Dean Milman, Rev. A. Dyce, Mrs. Trollope, Mrs. Hofland, Mrs. S. C. Hall, Mrs. Jameson, Mrs. Opie, Mrs. Clive, Mrs. Hemans, Miss Edgeworth, Miss Strickland, Miss Martineau, Miss Barrett, Miss de Quincey, Miss Jephson, Miss Porden, Miss Sedgwick, Joanna Baillie, William Cobbett, Macready, Kemble, Douglas Jerrold, Walter Savage Landor, Eliot Warburton, Barry Cornwall, John Ruskin, Tom Taylor, Serjeant Talfourd, Crabbe Robinson, Charles Young, Digby Starkey, Bayard Taylor, George Darley, George Ticknor, N. P. Willis, the Howitts, &c.

“Few collections of miscellaneous letters are so well worth reading as these. The ideas of the writers are so various and the styles so different, that it is impossible to grow weary of them. Entirely apart from their connection with Miss Mitford, there is much to please and much to be learnt from the book. Everyone will find some favourite author or poet among the correspondents, and therefore find it worth their while to read at least some of the letters included in the present volumes. Mr. L’Estrange has performed his task with care, and it has evidently been a labour of love.”—Morning Post.

“To have been a friend of Mary Russell Mitford is, paraphrasing the language of Steele, a liberal education. As a correspondent, Miss Mitford was hardly inferior to Cowper, her faculty being derived from her mother, whose letters are admirable specimens of easy, confidential, sympathetic communication. These letters are all written as to one whom the writers love and revere. Miss Barrett is one of Miss Mitford’s correspondents, all of whom seem to be inspired with a sense of excellence in the mind they are invoking. Their letters are extremely interesting, and they strike out recollections, opinions, criticisms, which will hold the reader’s delighted and serious attention.”—Daily Telegraph.

“In this singular and probably unique book Miss Mitford is painted, not in letters of her own nor in letters written of her, but in letters addressed to her; and a true idea is thus conveyed of her talent, her disposition, and of the impression she made upon her friends. It seldom happens that anyone, however distinguished, receives such a number of letters well worth reading as were addressed to Miss Mitford; and the letters from her correspondents are not only from interesting persons, but are in themselves interesting.”—St. James’s Gazette.

“One of the first successes of the literary season has been made by ‘Miss Mitford’s Friendships.’ It is a thoroughly literary book, in which literary subjects are dealt with by writers who were called upon by their profession to handle them. It possesses a singular interest from the effective manner in which it transports the reader into the past”—Standard.

“No one has left a happier memory behind her than Miss Mitford. Her books are fresh with all the freshness of country life. The letters addressed to her are extremely miscellaneous; there are some characteristic ones from Cobbett, some really clever ones from Sir William Elford, and some full of pleasant gossip from Mrs. Trollope.”—Athenæum.

“Twelve years have passed since ‘The Life of Mary Russell Mitford’ was published, and it might fairly be thought that the public was quite ready and willing to hear more of one of the most popular women and vivacious writers of the generation preceding our own. The two collections, therefore, fit and complete each other.”—Pall Mall Gazette.

“Some of the most delightful specimens of friendly and literary correspondence which exist in the English language. On the various interesting reminiscences of Miss Mitford’s contemporaries we cannot here enlarge, but they will repay the reader’s search.”—The Queen.

“Mr. L’Estrange gives his readers several letters written by Miss Mitford, and these will be found even more interesting than the others.”—Globe.

“This book is in many parts highly attractive. Not the least pleasant passages in the collection are casual notices of passing acquaintances and strangers.”—Saturday Review.

CONVERSATIONS with M. Thiers, M. Guizot, and other Distinguished Persons, during the Second Empire. By the LateNassau W. Senior. Edited by his Daughter,M. C. M. Simpson. 2 vols. demy 8vo. 30s.

“Mr. Senior had a social position which gave him admission into the best literary and political circles of Paris. He was a cultivated and sensible man, who knew how to take full advantage of such an opening. These conversations he wrote down with a surprising accuracy, and then handed the manuscript to his friends, that they might correct or modify his report of what they had said. This book thus contains the opinions of eminent men given in the freedom of conversation, and afterwards carefully revised. Of their value there cannot be a question. The book is one of permanent historical interest. There is scarcely a page without some memorable statement by some memorable man. Politics and society and literature—the three great interests that make up life—are all discussed in turn, and there is no discussion which is unproductive of weighty thought or striking fact.”—Athenæum.

CONVERSATIONS with Distinguished Personsduring the Second Empire, from 1860 to 1863. By the LateNassau W. Senior. Edited by his Daughter,M. C. M. Simpson. 2 vols. 8vo. 30s.

“A large part of this delightful book is made up of studies by various critics, from divers points of view, of the character of Louis Napoleon, and of more or less vivid and accurate explanations of his tortuous policy. The work contains a few extremely interesting reports of conversations with M. Thiers. There are some valuable reminiscences of Lamartine, and among men of a somewhat later day, of Prince Napoleon, Drouyn de Lhuys, Montalembert, Victor Cousin, Rénan, and the Chevaliers.”—Athenæum.

“It is impossible to do justice to these ‘Conversations’ in a brief notice, so we must be content to refer our readers to volumes which, wherever they are opened, will be found pregnant with interest.”—The Times.

“Many readers may prefer the dramatic or literary merit of Mr. Senior’s ‘Conversations’ to their historical interest, but it is impossible to insert extracts of such length as to represent the spirit, the finish, and the variety of a book which is throughout entertaining and instructive.”—Saturday Review.

CATHARINE OF ARAGON,and the Sources of the English Reformation. Edited, from the French ofAlbert du Bois, with Notes byCharlotte M. Yonge, Author of “The Heir of Redclyffe,” &c. 2 vols. crown 8vo. 21s.

“This book is valuable as an able compendium of documents about Catharine, and also as a statement of the causes which led to the English Reformation. It should be read by all who want to take a comprehensive view of the period. Miss Yonge’s work is thoroughly and conscientiously done.”—Graphic.

A CHRISTIAN WOMAN; Being the Life ofMadame Jules Mallet,néeOberkampf. ByMadame de Witt,néeGuizot. Translated by Mrs.H. N. Goodhart. With a Preface by the Author of “John Halifax.” Foolscap 8vo. 5s.

“A work of great interest, and full of noble inspiration.”—Brit. Quarterly Review.

“The story of the life and labour of the good woman here commemorated has much to interest readers on both sides of the Channel.”—John Bull.

PLAIN SPEAKING. By Author of “John Halifax, Gentleman.” 1 vol. crown 8vo. 10s. 6d.

“We recommend ‘Plain Speaking’ to all who like amusing, wholesome, and instructive reading. The contents of Mrs. Craik’s volume are of the most multifarious kind, but all the papers are good and readable, and one at least of them of real importance.”—St. James’s Gazette.

COURT LIFE BELOW STAIRS; or,London under the First Georges, 1714–1760. ByJ. Fitzgerald Molloy.Second Edition.2 vols. crown 8vo. 21s.

“If the two volumes which Mr. Molloy has given to the world have no great claim to originality, it may at least be said of them that they recall scenes and anecdotes which will long continue to amuse those who read only for amusement. Mr. Molloy has a certain power of description which to the taste of many readers will be more telling than either style or wit. We may mention as a specimen the description of the Drawing-Room at St. James’s, which is written in a very graphic and vivacious manner, and contains many good stories about lords and ladies which are neatly and effectively put together.”—St. James’s Gazette.

“In these volumes there is a good deal of that kind of information which is valued by readers of society journals. Mr. Molloy produces some curious anecdotes which have not before appeared in print, and he is always lively.”—Pall Mall.

WITH THE CONNAUGHT RANGERSin Quarters, Camp, and on Leave. ByGeneral E. H. Maxwell, C.B., Author of “Griffin, Ahoy!” 1 vol. demy 8vo. With Illustrations. 15s.

ROYAL WINDSOR. ByW. Hepworth Dixon.Second Edition.Volumes I. and II. Demy 8vo. 30s.

“‘Royal Windsor’ follows in the same lines as ‘Her Majesty’s Tower,’ and aims at weaving a series of popular sketches of striking events which centre round Windsor Castle. Mr. Dixon makes everything vivid and picturesque. Those who liked ‘Her Majesty’s Tower’ will find these volumes equally pleasant.”—Athenæum.

“A truly fine and interesting book. It is a valuable contribution to English history; worthy of Mr. Dixon’s fame, worthy of its grand subject.”—Morning Post.

“Mr. Dixon has supplied us with a highly entertaining book. ‘Royal Windsor’ is eminently a popular work, bristling with anecdotes and amusing sketches of historical characters.”—Examiner.

“These volumes will find favour with the widest circle of readers. From the first days of Norman Windsor to the Plantagenet period Mr. Dixon tells the story of this famous castle in his own picturesque, bright, and vigorous way.”—Daily Telegraph.

“Mr. Hepworth Dixon has found a congenial subject in ‘Royal Windsor.’ Under the sanction of the Queen, he has enjoyed exceptional opportunities of most searching and complete investigation of the Royal House and every other part of Windsor Castle, in and out, above ground and below ground.”—Daily News.

VOLS. III.ANDIV.OFROYAL WINDSOR. ByW. Hepworth Dixon.Second Edition.Demy 8vo. 30s. Completing the Work.

“Readers of all classes will feel a genuine regret to think that these volumes contain the last of Mr. Dixon’s vivid and lively sketches of English history. His hand retained its cunning to the last, and these volumes show an increase in force and dignity.”—Athenæum.

“Mr. Dixon’s is the picturesque way of writing history Scene after scene is brought before us in the most effective way. His book is not only pleasant reading, but full of information.”—Graphic.

GRIFFIN, AHOY! A Yacht Cruise to theLevant, and Wanderings inEgypt, Syria, The Holy Land, Greece, andItalyin 1881. ByGeneral E. H. Maxwell, C.B. One vol. demy 8vo. With Illustrations. 15s.

“The cruise of theGriffinaffords bright and amusing reading from its beginning to its end. General Maxwell writes in a frank and easy style.”—Morning Post.

“General Maxwell writes with a facile and seductive pen, and in his chapter on the Lebanon and anti-Lebanon he touches on comparatively unknown regions, where it is instructive as well as pleasurable to follow him.”—Daily Telegraph.

HISTORY OF TWO QUEENS: CATHARINE OF ARAGON and ANNE BOLEYN. ByW. Hepworth Dixon.Second Edition.Vols. 1 & 2. Demy 8vo. 30s.

“In two handsome volumes Mr. Dixon here gives us the first instalment of a new historical work on a most attractive subject. The book is in many respects a favourable specimen of Mr. Dixon’s powers. It is the most painstaking and elaborate that he has yet written.... On the whole, we may say that the book is one which will sustain the reputation of its author as a writer of great power and versatility, that it gives a new aspect to many an old subject, and presents in a very striking light some of the most recent discoveries in English history.”—Athenæum.

“In these volumes the author exhibits in a signal manner his special powers and finest endowments. It is obvious that the historian has been at especial pains to justify his reputation, to strengthen his hold upon the learned, and also to extend his sway over the many who prize an attractive style and interesting narrative more highly than laborious research and philosophic insight.”—Morning Post.

“The thanks of all students of English history are due to Mr. Hepworth Dixon for his clever and original work, ‘History of two Queens.’ The book is a valuable contribution to English history.”—Daily News.

VOLS. III. & IV.OF THEHISTORY OF TWO QUEENS: CATHARINE OF ARAGON and ANNE BOLEYN. ByW. Hepworth Dixon.Second Edition.Demy 8vo. Price 30s. Completing the Work.

“These concluding volumes of Mr. Dixon’s ‘History of two Queens’ will be perused with keen interest by thousands of readers. Whilst no less valuable to the student, they will be far more enthralling to the general reader than the earlier half of the history. Every page of what may be termed Anne Boleyn’s story affords a happy illustration of the author’s vivid and picturesque style. The work should be found in every library.”—Post.

HISTORY OF WILLIAM PENN, Founder of Pennsylvania. ByW. Hepworth Dixon.A New Library Edition.1 vol. demy 8vo. With Portrait. 12s.

“Mr. Dixon’s ‘William Penn’ is, perhaps, the best of his books. He has now revised and issued it with the addition of much fresh matter. It is now offered in a sumptuous volume, matching with Mr. Dixon’s recent books, to a new generation of readers, who will thank Mr. Dixon for his interesting and instructive memoir of one of the worthies of England.”—Examiner.

VOLS. III. & IV.OFHER MAJESTY’S TOWER. By W. HEPWORTH DIXON. DEDICATED BY EXPRESS PERMISSION TO THE QUEEN. Completing the Work.Third Edition.Demy 8vo. 30s.FREE RUSSIA. ByW. Hepworth Dixon.Third Edition.2 vols. 8vo. With Coloured Illustrations. 30s.

VOLS. III. & IV.OFHER MAJESTY’S TOWER. By W. HEPWORTH DIXON. DEDICATED BY EXPRESS PERMISSION TO THE QUEEN. Completing the Work.Third Edition.Demy 8vo. 30s.

FREE RUSSIA. ByW. Hepworth Dixon.Third Edition.2 vols. 8vo. With Coloured Illustrations. 30s.

“Mr. Dixon’s book will be certain not only to interest but to please its readers and it deserves to do so. It contains a great deal that is worthy of attention, and is likely to produce a very useful effect.”—Saturday Review.

THE SWITZERS. ByW. Hepworth Dixon.Third Edition.1 vol. demy 8vo. 15s.

“A lively, interesting, and altogether novel book on Switzerland. It is full of valuable information on social, political, and ecclesiastical questions, and, like all Mr. Dixon’s books, is eminently readable.”—Daily News.

OUR HOLIDAY IN THE EAST. By Mrs.George Sumner. Edited by the Rev.G. H. Sumner, Hon. Canon of Winchester, Rector of Old Alresford, Hants.Second and Cheaper Edition.One vol. crown 8vo. With Illustrations. 6s. bound.

“‘Our Holiday in the East’ may take its place among the earnest and able books recording personal travel and impressions in those lands which are consecrated to us by their identification with Bible history.”—Daily Telegraph.

“A most charming narrative of a tour in the East amongst scenes of the deepest interest to the Christian. No one can rise from the perusal of this fascinating volume without the pleasant conviction of having obtained much valuable aid for the study of the inspired narrative of Our Blessed Lord’s life.”—Record.

LIFE IN WESTERN INDIA. By Mrs.Guthrie, Author of “Through Russia,” “My Year in an Indian Fort,” &c. 2 vols. crown 8vo. With Illustrations. 21s.

“This is a remarkable book, for the variety and brilliance of the pictures which it sets before us. Mrs. Guthrie is no ordinary observer. She notes with a keen interest the life and character of the native population. Altogether this is a charming book, in which we can find no fault, except it be an embarrassing richness of matter which makes us feel that we have given no idea of it to our readers; we can only say, Let them judge for themselves.”—Pall Mall Gazette.

“Mrs. Guthrie’s ‘Life in Western India’ is worthy the graphic pen of this accomplished writer. Her familiarity with Indian life enables her to portray in faithful and vivid hues the character of Hindoo and Mohammedan tribes, noting the peculiarities of their social and religious traditions, and representing their personal habits and manners with picturesque fidelity.”—Daily Telegraph.

MY JOURNEY ROUND THE WORLD, viaCeylon,New Zealand,Australia,Torres Straits,China,Japan,and the United States. ByCaptain S. H. Jones-Parry, late 102nd Royal Madras Fusileers. 2 vols. crown 8vo. 21s.

“A very pleasant book of travel, well worth reading.”—Spectator.

“It is pleasant to follow Captain Jones-Parry on his journey round the world. He is full of life, sparkle, sunlight, and anecdote.”—Graphic.

“A readable book, light, pleasant, and chatty.”—Globe.

A VISIT TO ABYSSINIA; anAccount of Travel in Modern Ethiopia. ByW. Winstanley, late 4th (Queen’s Own) Hussars. 2 vols. crown 8vo. 21s.

“A capital record of travels, cast in a popular mould. The narrative is written in a lively and entertaining style.”—Athenæum.

MY OLD PLAYGROUND REVISITED;A Tour in Italy in the Spring of 1881. ByBenjamin E. Kennedy. 1 vol. crown 8vo. With Illustrations, by the Author. 6s.

“‘My Old Playground Revisited’ will repay perusal. It is written with the ease that comes of long experience.”—Graphic.

PRINCE CHARLES AND THE SPANISHMarriage: A Chapter of English History, 1617 to 1623; from Unpublished Documents in the Archives of Simancas, Venice, and Brussels. BySamuel Rawson Gardiner. 2 vols. 8vo. 30s.

“We doubt not that the reception of Mr. Gardiner’s valuable and interesting volumes will be such as is due to their high merit. For the first time in our literature the real history of the Spanish match, and what took place when Charles and Buckingham were at Madrid, is here revealed. Mr. Gardiner has brought to bear upon his subject an amount of historical reading and consultation of authorities which we believe to be almost without a parallel.”—Notes and Queries.

“These valuable volumes are profoundly and vividly interesting.”—Telegraph.

“Mr. Gardiner has given us a more complete and perfect account of this interesting period of our history than any which has yet appeared.”—Observer.

MONSIEUR GUIZOTin Private Life(1787–1874). By His Daughter, Madamede Witt. Translated by Mrs.Simpson. 1 vol. demy 8vo. 15s.

“Madame de Witt has done justice to her father’s memory in an admirable record of his life. Mrs. Simpson’s translation of this singularly interesting book is in accuracy and grace worthy of the original and of the subject.”—Saturday Review.

“This book was well worth translating. Mrs. Simpson has written excellent English, while preserving the spirit of the French.”—The Times.

“We cannot but feel grateful for the picture that Mme. de Witt has given us of her father in his home. It is a work for which no one can be better qualified than a daughter who thoroughly understood and sympathised with him.”—Guardian.

“M. Guizot stands out in the pages of his daughter’s excellent biography a distinct and life-like figure. He is made to speak to us in his own person. The best part of the book consists of a number of his letters, in which he freely unfolds his feelings and opinions, and draws with unconscious boldness the outlines of his forcible and striking character.”—Pall Mall Gazette.

WORDS OF HOPE AND COMFORT TO THOSE IN SORROW. Dedicated by Permission toThe Queen.Fourth Edition.1 vol. small 4to. 5s. bound.

“These letters, the work of a pure and devout spirit, deserve to find many readers. They are greatly superior to the average of what is called religious literature.”—Athenæum.

“The writer of the tenderly-conceived letters in this volume was Mrs. Julius Hare, a sister of Mr. Maurice. They are instinct with the devout submissiveness and fine sympathy which we associate with the name of Maurice; but in her there is added a winningness of tact, and sometimes, too, a directness of language, which we hardly find even in the brother. The letters were privately printed and circulated, and were found to be the source of much comfort, which they cannot fail to afford now to a wide circle. A sweetly-conceived memorial poem, bearing the well-known initials, ‘E. H. P.’, gives a very faithful outline of the life.”—British Quarterly Review.

“This touching and most comforting work is dedicated toThe Queen, who took a gracious interest in its first appearance, when printed for private circulation, and found comfort in its pages, and has now commanded its publication, that the world in general may profit by it. A more practical and heart-stirring appeal to the afflicted we have never examined.”—Standard.

“These letters are exceptionally graceful and touching, and may be read with profit.”—Graphic.

LIFE OF MOSCHELES;with Selections from his diaries and correspondence. ByHis Wife. 2 vols. large post 8vo. With Portrait. 24s.

“This life of Moscheles will be a valuable book of reference for the musical historian, for the contents extend over a period of threescore years, commencing with 1794, and ending at 1870. We need scarcely state that all the portions of Moscheles’ diary which refer to his intercourse with Beethoven, Hummel, Weber, Czerny, Spontini, Rossini, Auber, Halévy, Schumann, Cherubini, Spohr, Mendelssohn, F. David, Chopin, J. B. Cramer, Clementi, John Field, Habeneck, Hauptmann, Kalkbrenner, Kiesewetter, C. Klingemann, Lablache, Dragonetti, Sontag, Persiani, Malibran, Paganini, Rachel, Ronzi de Begnis, De Beriot, Ernst, Donzelli, Cinti-Damoreau, Chelard, Bochsa, Laporte, Charles Kemble, Schröder-Devrient, Mrs. Siddons, Sir H. Bishop, Sir G. Smart, Staudigl, Thalberg, Berlioz, Velluti, C. Young, Balfe, Braham, and many other artists of note in their time, will recall a flood of recollections. Moscheles writes fairly of what is called the ‘Music of the Future,’ and his judgments on Herr Wagner, Dr. Liszt, Rubenstein, Dr. von Bülow, Litolff, &c., whether as composers or executants, are in a liberal spirit. He recognizes cheerfully the talents of our native artists: Sir S. Bennett, Mr. Macfarren, Madame Goddard, Mr. J. Barnett, Mr. Hullah, Mr. A. Sullivan, &c. The volumes are full of amusing anecdotes.”—Athenæum.

A YOUNG SQUIRE OF THE SEVENTEENTH CENTURY, from the Papers ofChristopher Jeaffreson, of Dullingham House, Cambridgeshire. Edited byJohn Cordy Jeaffreson, Author of “A Book about Doctors,” &c. 2 vols, crown 8vo. 21s.

“Two volumes of very attractive matter:—letters which illustrate agriculture, commerce, war, love, and social manners, accounts of passing public events, and details which are not to be found in the Gazettes, and which come with singular freshness from private letters.”—Athenæum.

“Two agreeable and important volumes. They deserve to be placed on library shelves with Pepys, Evelyn, and Reresby. The Jeaffreson letters add very much to our knowledge of other people, and of other acts than those recorded by Pepys, Evelyn, and Reresby, and are pleasantly supplementary in sketches of contemporaneous men and manners.”—Notes and Queries.

MY YOUTH, BY SEA AND LAND,FROM 1809 TO 1816. ByCharles Loftus, formerly of the Royal Navy, late of the Coldstream Guards. 2 vols. crown 8vo. 21s.

“Major Loftus played the part allotted to him with honour and ability, and he relates the story of his life with spirit and vigour. Some of his sea stories are as laughable as anything in ‘Peter Simple,’ while his adventures on shore remind us of Charles Lever in his freshest days. A more genial, pleasant, wholesome book we have not often read.”—Standard.

MY LIFE,FROM 1815 TO 1819. ByCharles Loftus, Author of “My Youth by Sea and Land.” 2 vols. crown 8vo. 21s.

“The praise which theAthenæumgave to the first portion of Major Loftus’s work, may be fairly awarded to the second. These reminiscences are pleasantly told. There is a cheeriness about them which communicates itself to the reader.”—Athenæum.

“A thoroughly interesting and readable book, which we heartily recommend as one of the most characteristic autobiographies we ever read.”—Standard.

A LEGACY: Being the Life and Remains ofJohn Martin, Schoolmaster and Poet. Written and Edited by the Author of “John Halifax.” 2 vols. crown 8vo. With Portrait. 21s.

“A remarkable book. It records the life, work, aspirations, and death of a schoolmaster and poet, of lowly birth but ambitious soul. His writings brim with vivid thought, touches of poetic sentiment, and trenchant criticism of men and books, expressed in scholarly language.”—Guardian.

THE VILLAGE OF PALACES; or, Chronicles of Chelsea. By the Rev.A. G. L’Estrange. 2 vols. crown 8vo. 21s.

“Mr. L’Estrange has much to tell of the various public institutions associated with Chelsea. Altogether his volumes show some out-of-the-way research, and are written in a lively and gossipping style.”—The Times.

“Mr. L’Estrange tells us much that is interesting about Chelsea. We take leave of this most charming book with a hearty recommendation of it to our readers.”—Spectator.

COSITAS ESPANOLAS; or,Every-day Life in Spain. By Mrs.Harvey, of Ickwell-Bury.2nd Edition.8vo. 15s.

“A charming book; fresh, lively, and amusing.”—Morning Post.

Back to Index Next