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diff --git a/75853-h/75853-h.htm b/75853-h/75853-h.htm new file mode 100644 index 0000000..2ba818f --- /dev/null +++ b/75853-h/75853-h.htm @@ -0,0 +1,13124 @@ +<!DOCTYPE html> +<html lang="en"> +<head> + <meta charset="UTF-8"> + <title> + Memories of an Old Etonian 1860-1912 | Project Gutenberg + </title> + <link rel="icon" href="images/cover.jpg" type="image/x-cover"> + <style> + +a { + text-decoration: none; +} + +body { + margin-left: 10%; + margin-right: 10%; +} + +h1,h2 { + text-align: center; + clear: both; +} + +h2.nobreak { + page-break-before: avoid; +} + +hr { + margin-top: 2em; + margin-bottom: 2em; + clear: both; +} + +hr.tb { + width: 45%; + margin-left: 27.5%; + margin-right: 27.5%; +} + +hr.chap { + width: 65%; + margin-left: 17.5%; + margin-right: 17.5%; +} + +img.w100 { + width: 100%; +} + +div.chapter { + page-break-before: always; +} + +ul { + list-style-type: none; +} + +li.indx { + margin-top: .5em; + padding-left: 2em; + text-indent: -2em; +} + +li.ifrst { + margin-top: 2em; + padding-left: 2em; + text-indent: -2em; +} + +p { + margin-top: 0.5em; + text-align: justify; + margin-bottom: 0.5em; + text-indent: 1em; +} + +table { + margin: 1em auto 1em auto; + max-width: 35em; + border-collapse: collapse; +} + +td { + padding-left: 2.25em; + padding-right: 0.25em; + vertical-align: top; + text-indent: -2em; + text-align: justify; +} + +.contents .tdc { + padding-left: 0.25em; + text-indent: 0; + text-align: center; + padding-top: 0.75em; +} + +.tdc { + vertical-align: bottom; + text-align: center; +} + +.contents .tdpg { + text-align: right; + padding-top: 0.75em; +} + +.tdpg { + vertical-align: bottom; + text-align: right; +} + +.blockquote { + margin: 1.5em 10%; +} + +.caption p { + text-align: center; + font-size: 90%; + text-indent: 0em; +} + +.caption p.caption-r { + text-align: right; + margin-bottom: 1em; + font-size: 80%; + text-indent: 0em; +} + +.center { + text-align: center; + text-indent: 0em; +} + +.figcenter { + margin: auto; + text-align: center; +} + +.footnotes { + margin-top: 1em; + border: dashed 1px; +} + +.footnote { + margin-left: 10%; + margin-right: 10%; + font-size: 0.9em; +} + +.footnote .label { + position: absolute; + right: 84%; + text-align: right; +} + +.fnanchor { + vertical-align: super; + font-size: .8em; + text-decoration: none; +} + +.hanging { + padding-left: 2em; + text-indent: -2em; +} + +.larger { + font-size: 150%; +} + +.pagenum { + position: absolute; + right: 4%; + font-size: smaller; + text-align: right; + font-style: normal; +} + +.poetry-container { + text-align: center; +} + +.poetry { + display: inline-block; + text-align: left; +} + +.poetry .stanza { + margin: 1em 0em 1em 0em; +} + +.poetry .verse { + padding-left: 3em; +} + +.poetry .indent0 { + text-indent: -3em; +} + +.smaller { + font-size: 80%; +} + +.smcap { + font-variant: small-caps; + font-style: normal; +} + +.tb { + margin-top: 2em; +} + +.titlepage { + text-align: center; + margin-top: 3em; + text-indent: 0em; +} + +.x-ebookmaker img { + max-width: 100%; + width: auto; + height: auto; +} + +.x-ebookmaker .poetry { + display: block; + margin-left: 1.5em; +} + +.x-ebookmaker .blockquote { + margin: 1.5em 5%; +} + +/* Illustration classes */ +.illowp100 {width: 100%;} +.illowp45 {width: 45%;} +.x-ebookmaker .illowp45 {width: 100%;} +.illowp48 {width: 48%;} +.x-ebookmaker .illowp48 {width: 100%;} +.illowp50 {width: 50%;} +.x-ebookmaker .illowp50 {width: 100%;} +.illowp53 {width: 53%;} +.x-ebookmaker .illowp53 {width: 100%;} +.illowp56 {width: 56%;} +.x-ebookmaker .illowp56 {width: 100%;} + + </style> + </head> +<body> +<div style='text-align:center'>*** START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK 75853 ***</div> + +<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_i"></a>[i]</span></p> + +<h1><i>Memories of an Old Etonian<br> +1860-1912</i></h1> + +<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_ii"></a>[ii]</span></p> + +<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop"> + +<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_iii"></a>[iii]</span></p> + +<figure class="figcenter illowp53" id="illus01" style="max-width: 31.25em;"> + <img class="w100" src="images/illus01.jpg" alt=""> + <figcaption class="caption"><p>The Rev. D. Hornby, Provost of Eton.</p> + <p class="caption-r">[<i>Frontispiece.</i></p></figcaption> +</figure> + +<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_iv"></a>[iv]</span></p> + +<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop"> + +<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_v"></a>[v]</span></p> + +<div style="border-bottom: double black; margin: auto; width: 25em;"> + +<p class="titlepage larger"><i><span class="smcap">Memories of an Old<br> +Etonian</span> :: 1860-1912</i></p> + +<p class="center"><i>By George Greville <span class="smaller">:: Author of “Society Recollections<br> +in Paris and Vienna” and “More Society Recollections.”</span></i></p> + +</div> + +<figure class="figcenter titlepage illowp50" id="tp-deco" style="max-width: 6.25em;"> + <img class="w100" src="images/tp-deco.jpg" alt=""> +</figure> + +<p class="titlepage"><i>WITH 22 ILLUSTRATIONS<br> +ON ART PAPER</i></p> + +<p class="titlepage"><i>LONDON: HUTCHINSON & CO.</i><br> +<i>:: :: PATERNOSTER ROW :: ::</i></p> + +<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_vi"></a>[vi]</span></p> + +<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop"> + +<div class="chapter"> + +<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_vii"></a>[vii]</span></p> + +<h2 class="nobreak" id="CONTENTS">CONTENTS</h2> + +</div> + +<table class="contents"> + <tr> + <td></td> + <td class="tdpg smaller">PAGE</td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class="tdc">CHAPTER I.</td> + <td class="tdpg"><a href="#CHAPTER_I">1</a></td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td>Early Recollections—Thackeray—The Princess Liegnitz—The + Austrian Bandmaster—Society at Homburg—Frankfurt—Goethe + and Beethoven—A Racing Coincidence</td> + <td class="tdpg"></td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class="tdc">CHAPTER II.</td> + <td class="tdpg"><a href="#CHAPTER_II">18</a></td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td>An Adventure in the Oden Wald—The Coiners of the Black + Forest—Kirchhofer’s School</td> + <td class="tdpg"></td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class="tdc">CHAPTER III.</td> + <td class="tdpg"><a href="#CHAPTER_III">27</a></td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td>Brussels—Ostend—General Sir John Douglas—Spa—“Captain + Arthy”—Boulogne</td> + <td class="tdpg"></td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class="tdc">CHAPTER IV.</td> + <td class="tdpg"><a href="#CHAPTER_IV">40</a></td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td>A Painting by Romney—Hunter’s School at Kineton—Corporal + Punishment—A Sporting Parson—My Schoolfellows at Kineton—The + Warre-Malets—Lord Charleville</td> + <td class="tdpg"></td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class="tdc">CHAPTER V.</td> + <td class="tdpg"><a href="#CHAPTER_V">54</a></td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td>My Mother’s Recollections—The Cercle des Patineurs—Patti—Our + <i>Appartement</i> in the Rue d’Albe</td> + <td class="tdpg"></td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class="tdc">CHAPTER VI.</td> + <td class="tdpg"><a href="#CHAPTER_VI">63</a></td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td>I go to Eton—New Boy Baiting—My House Master—Mr. James’s + “Jokes”—My Room at Eton—Some Eton Masters—A Disorderly + Form—Lacaita’s Silk Hat—“Billy” Portman<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_viii"></a>[viii]</span></td> + <td class="tdpg"></td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class="tdc">CHAPTER VII.</td> + <td class="tdpg"><a href="#CHAPTER_VII">80</a></td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td>An Amusing Incident—Lady Caroline Murray—An Anecdote of + Queen Victoria—Lord Rossmore’s Wager—The Match at the + Wall—Practical Jokes—Some Boys at James’s</td> + <td class="tdpg"></td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class="tdc">CHAPTER VIII.</td> + <td class="tdpg"><a href="#CHAPTER_VIII">94</a></td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td>Athletic Sports at Eton—A “Scrap”—Lord Newlands—An + Old Boy on Eton of To-day</td> + <td class="tdpg"></td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class="tdc">CHAPTER IX.</td> + <td class="tdpg"><a href="#CHAPTER_IX">103</a></td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td>Lady Grace Stopford—Tipperary in 1870—Robbed at Punchestown + Races—I get my own back</td> + <td class="tdpg"></td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class="tdc">CHAPTER X.</td> + <td class="tdpg"><a href="#CHAPTER_X">110</a></td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td>Dieppe under Prussian Rule—A Toilette by Worth—A Confirmed + Gambler</td> + <td class="tdpg"></td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class="tdc">CHAPTER XI.</td> + <td class="tdpg"><a href="#CHAPTER_XI">116</a></td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td>The Princess von Metternich—The Lady of the Luxembourg + Gardens</td> + <td class="tdpg"></td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class="tdc">CHAPTER XII.</td> + <td class="tdpg"><a href="#CHAPTER_XII">123</a></td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td>Bonn—An Anecdote of Beethoven—The King’s Hussars—The + Howard Vyses—A German Professor on England—Domesticated + Habits of German Girls—Professor Delbrück</td> + <td class="tdpg"></td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class="tdc">CHAPTER XIII.</td> + <td class="tdpg"><a href="#CHAPTER_XIII">136</a></td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td>The Countess Czerwinska—The Countess Broel Plater—Mlle. de + Laval—The Duchesse de Grammont—An Absent-Minded + Gentleman—Dusauty, the Fencing Master—The Marquis of + Anglesey—Charming Venezuelans—Miss Fanny Parnell</td> + <td class="tdpg"></td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class="tdc">CHAPTER XIV.</td> + <td class="tdpg"><a href="#CHAPTER_XIV">155</a></td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td>Captain Howard Vyse—An Anecdote of Paganini—New Hats + for Old Ones—Albert Bingham—Baron Alphonse de Rothschild—Madame + Alice Kernave—Gambetta</td> + <td class="tdpg"></td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class="tdc">CHAPTER XV.</td> + <td class="tdpg"><a href="#CHAPTER_XV">168</a></td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td>My First Night at Mess—Life at Shorncliffe—The Charltons<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_ix"></a>[ix]</span></td> + <td class="tdpg"></td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class="tdc">CHAPTER XVI.</td> + <td class="tdpg"><a href="#CHAPTER_XVI">175</a></td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td>An N.C.O. of the Old School—Major Blewett—Captain Byron—Sandhurst</td> + <td class="tdpg"></td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class="tdc">CHAPTER XVII.</td> + <td class="tdpg"><a href="#CHAPTER_XVII">183</a></td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td>I sail for India—Kandy—Dangerous Playmates—I arrive at + Murree</td> + <td class="tdpg"></td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class="tdc">CHAPTER XVIII.</td> + <td class="tdpg"><a href="#CHAPTER_XVIII">190</a></td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td>My Brother-Officers—“The Oyster”—In High Society—Our + Menagerie</td> + <td class="tdpg"></td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class="tdc">CHAPTER XIX.</td> + <td class="tdpg"><a href="#CHAPTER_XIX">198</a></td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td>A Subalterns’ Court-Martial—A Terrible Experience—High + Mess-bills</td> + <td class="tdpg"></td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class="tdc">CHAPTER XX.</td> + <td class="tdpg"><a href="#CHAPTER_XX">205</a></td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td>Sialkote—Amateur Theatricals—An Ingenious Thief—Death + of Albert Phipps—Agra—Voyage to England</td> + <td class="tdpg"></td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class="tdc">CHAPTER XXI.</td> + <td class="tdpg"><a href="#CHAPTER_XXI">217</a></td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td>Baroness James Édouard de Rothschild—At Carlsbad—Transferred + to the 3rd Battalion</td> + <td class="tdpg"></td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class="tdc">CHAPTER XXII.</td> + <td class="tdpg"><a href="#CHAPTER_XXII">222</a></td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td>My Brother-Officers—A <i>Mésalliance</i>—Christy Minstrels and + Tobogganing</td> + <td class="tdpg"></td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class="tdc">CHAPTER XXIII.</td> + <td class="tdpg"><a href="#CHAPTER_XXIII">229</a></td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td>Sarah Bernhardt in <i>Phèdre</i>—Vienna and Buda-Pesth</td> + <td class="tdpg"></td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class="tdc">CHAPTER XXIV.</td> + <td class="tdpg"><a href="#CHAPTER_XXIV">233</a></td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td>Percy Hope-Johnstone—A “Special” to Aldershot—A Costume-Ball + at Folkestone</td> + <td class="tdpg"></td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class="tdc">CHAPTER XXV.</td> + <td class="tdpg"><a href="#CHAPTER_XXV">238</a></td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td>The Oppenheims—St. James’s and Winchester—The Colonel and + Beauclerk</td> + <td class="tdpg"></td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class="tdc">CHAPTER XXVI.</td> + <td class="tdpg"><a href="#CHAPTER_XXVI">244</a></td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td>Paris Again—Eccentricities of Captain “Rabelais”—A Fire in + Barracks—A Trying Inspection<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_x"></a>[x]</span></td> + <td class="tdpg"></td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class="tdc">CHAPTER XXVII.</td> + <td class="tdpg"><a href="#CHAPTER_XXVII">252</a></td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td>Madrid and Cordova—Seville—General von Goeben and the Bull-fight—A + View from the Alhambra—I rejoin my Regiment</td> + <td class="tdpg"></td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class="tdc">CHAPTER XXVIII.</td> + <td class="tdpg"><a href="#CHAPTER_XXVIII">262</a></td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td>I meet Byron Again—I endeavour to Exchange—Basil Montgomery—My + Illness—Why I was not Placed on Half-pay</td> + <td class="tdpg"></td> + </tr> +</table> + +<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop"> + +<div class="chapter"> + +<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_xi"></a>[xi]</span></p> + +<h2 class="nobreak" id="LIST_OF_ILLUSTRATIONS">LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS</h2> + +</div> + +<table> + <tr> + <td></td> + <td class="tdpg smaller" colspan="2">PAGE</td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td>The Rev. D. Hornby, Provost of Eton</td> + <td class="tdpg" colspan="2"><a href="#illus01"><i>Frontispiece</i></a></td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td>Mrs. Ronalds</td> + <td><i>Facing p.</i></td> + <td class="tdpg"><a href="#illus02">2</a></td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td>Mrs. R. C. Kemys-Tynte, of Halswell (now Mrs. Rawlins, mother of Lord Wharton)</td> + <td class="tdc">”</td> + <td class="tdpg"><a href="#illus03">3</a></td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td>The Author’s Father</td> + <td class="tdc">”</td> + <td class="tdpg"><a href="#illus04">6</a></td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td>The Author’s Mother</td> + <td class="tdc">”</td> + <td class="tdpg"><a href="#illus05">12</a></td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td>The Author’s Daughter</td> + <td class="tdc">”</td> + <td class="tdpg"><a href="#illus06">20</a></td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td>The Author’s Mother</td> + <td class="tdc">”</td> + <td class="tdpg"><a href="#illus07">40</a></td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td>C. D. Williamson, at Eton with the Author</td> + <td class="tdc">”</td> + <td class="tdpg"><a href="#illus08">50</a></td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td>Miss Mabel Warre-Malet</td> + <td class="tdc">”</td> + <td class="tdpg"><a href="#illus09">51</a></td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td>The Author</td> + <td class="tdc">”</td> + <td class="tdpg"><a href="#illus10">62</a></td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td>Charles Balfour, at Eton with the Author</td> + <td class="tdc">”</td> + <td class="tdpg"><a href="#illus11">80</a></td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td>Miss Minnie Balfour, sister of Hilda, Lady de Clifford</td> + <td class="tdc">”</td> + <td class="tdpg"><a href="#illus12">81</a></td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td>W. H. Onslow, aged 13, afterwards Lord Onslow</td> + <td class="tdc">”</td> + <td class="tdpg"><a href="#illus13">82</a></td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td>The Hon. Emily Cathcart, Maid of Honour to Queen Victoria</td> + <td class="tdc">”</td> + <td class="tdpg"><a href="#illus14">83</a></td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td>Henry Hooker Walker, at Eton with the Author</td> + <td class="tdc">”</td> + <td class="tdpg"><a href="#illus15">90</a></td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td>The Hon. J. W. Lowther, present Speaker of the House of Commons</td> + <td class="tdc">”</td> + <td class="tdpg"><a href="#illus16">91</a></td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td>The Duke of Rutland</td> + <td class="tdc">”</td> + <td class="tdpg"><a href="#illus17">98</a></td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td>The Author’s Father</td> + <td class="tdc">”</td> + <td class="tdpg"><a href="#illus18">144</a></td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td>Madame Alice Kernave</td> + <td class="tdc">”</td> + <td class="tdpg"><a href="#illus19">164</a></td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td>The late Earl of Berkeley</td> + <td class="tdc">”</td> + <td class="tdpg"><a href="#illus20">165</a></td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td>Miss Augusta Charlton</td> + <td class="tdc">”</td> + <td class="tdpg"><a href="#illus21">172</a></td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td>Miss Ida Charlton</td> + <td class="tdc">”</td> + <td class="tdpg"><a href="#illus22">173</a></td> + </tr> +</table> + +<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop"> + +<div class="chapter"> + +<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_1"></a>[1]</span></p> + +<h1>MEMORIES OF AN OLD ETONIAN,<br> +1860-1912</h1> + +<h2 class="nobreak" id="CHAPTER_I">CHAPTER I</h2> + +<p class="hanging">Early Recollections—Thackeray—The Princess Liegnitz—The Austrian Bandmaster—Society +at Homburg—Frankfurt—Goethe and Beethoven—A +Racing Coincidence</p> + +</div> + +<p>It happened so long ago, and I was so very young at +the time—not more than five or six years old—that +I should be almost tempted to believe that it was all a +dream, were it not for certain incidents which made an +unforgettable impression upon my childish imagination. +The scene was the Hôtel de Russie at Frankfurt-on-the-Main; +the occasion the birthday of King William I. of +Prussia, afterwards Emperor of Germany. The spacious +grand staircase of the hôtel was brilliantly lighted, and +a red velvet carpet was laid down on the steps leading +to the first floor. Up these steps came a succession of +Ministers and generals, some in scarlet and gold lace, with +the attila, heavily embroidered with gold lace and edged +with brown fur, falling loosely over the left shoulder. Whenever +an Austrian general, in his white uniform with scarlet +facings and red trousers with deep gold lace stripe down +the side, appeared, my heart, for some unknown reason, +seemed to beat with delight. How I came to be there I +don’t quite know, but I can remember my surprise when +I saw the big chandelier which hung over the staircase +being lighted in broad daylight, and the red blinds near +the entrance being drawn down, which gave me a curious<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_2"></a>[2]</span> +impression, making me feel almost as though I were present +at a funeral. It was, however, merely done to create a +more imposing effect.</p> + +<p>A great silence pervaded the whole of the Hôtel de +Russie; no one but royal servants stood by the front door; +and the only sound which I can recollect was the clinking +of the sword worn by a general in full uniform as he mounted +the red-carpeted stairs. On approaching a door on the +first floor, the general or Minister gave his name in a +mysterious whisper, when, after a few seconds, the door +was opened, and I heard a kind of buzzing noise, as of +several persons talking at once in low tones. Then I +can remember that, after a long interval, which seemed +hours to me, the mysterious folding-doors were thrown wide +open, and a veritable kaleidoscope of colour presented itself +to my wondering eyes. It was the effect of the various +uniforms worn by the Ministers and generals, as they +emerged <i>en masse</i> from the room and began to descend the +staircase, talking loudly as they passed.</p> + +<p>Soon afterwards, when they had all taken their departure, +the brilliant lights were lowered, and silence again descended +on the hôtel. That is all I can remember, and of what +became of me afterwards I have no recollection. That +afternoon remains in my memory like a fairy-tale, and so +comical did it appear to me, that I have often thought of +it since. There was something so mysterious about the +way each Minister and general entered that door after +whispering his name; and then the buzz of conversation, +which was distinctly audible during the few seconds the +door stood open, to be succeeded by an almost death-like +silence.</p> + +<figure class="figcenter illowp45" id="illus02" style="max-width: 18.75em;"> + <img class="w100" src="images/illus02.jpg" alt=""> + <figcaption class="caption"><p>Mrs. Ronalds.</p> + <p class="caption-r">[<i>To face p. 2.</i></p></figcaption> +</figure> + +<figure class="figcenter illowp56" id="illus03" style="max-width: 23.4375em;"> + <img class="w100" src="images/illus03.jpg" alt=""> + <figcaption class="caption"><p>Mrs. R. C. Kemys-Tynte, of Halswell (now Mrs. +Rawlins, mother of Lord Wharton).</p> + <p class="caption-r">[<i>To face p. 3.</i></p></figcaption> +</figure> + +<p>I can remember, just about this time, being alone in an +immense salon with six windows, all of which overlooked +the Zeil, one of the principal streets in Frankfurt. At either +extremity of this room stood a big stove of white porcelain, +and its walls were decorated with large pictures. One of +these pictures represented the capture of Troy. The town +was in flames, and a huge, grey wooden horse stood in the<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_3"></a>[3]</span> +foreground, with a hole in its side from which soldiers +were emerging and descending a ladder supported against +the horse’s flank. This was one of my favourite pictures +in the room. Another represented the Cyclopes, with their +one eye in the centre of their forehead, engaged in heating +an iron bar in a furnace. I remember that I used frequently +to contemplate this picture and wonder what it all meant, +and if the Cyclopes really existed and where they lived. +At night, it used rather to frighten me, particularly when I +was left alone in the room, which frequently happened at +this time. Another picture represented Venus, with Cupid +aiming one of his arrows at her. This rather pleased me. +I did not know then the mischief wrought by Cupid’s +arrows, and, in my innocence, was simple enough to believe +that Venus was an angel of love; and I pitied her for being +struck by one of Cupid’s arrows, which, in another picture +in the room, had penetrated her bosom, causing a stream +of blood to trickle down the alabaster whiteness of her +body. The room had two large chandeliers, but when I +was alone in it, only one of them was lighted.</p> + +<p>I can remember once, during the daytime, while looking +out of the window, I saw some Prussian Hussars, in their +dark-blue uniforms trimmed with silver lace, riding past. +One of the horses shied at something, and its rider fell +heavily, which caused a great crowd to assemble. I don’t +know what happened afterwards; it was just one of those +things that I saw as though in a dream.</p> + +<p>I recollect on one occasion occupying the bedroom and +sleeping in the bed used by the King of Prussia when he +visited Frankfurt. This room was very gorgeously furnished, +the walls being draped with dark-blue satin, while +the bed had a canopy surrounded by heavy curtains of +blue silk.</p> + +<p>So far as I can remember, it must have been some months +after this that I spent an evening in the room where the +King of Prussia’s birthday-fête had been held. It was then +occupied by the late Mrs. Ronalds, a lovely woman, quite +young, with the most glorious smile one could possibly<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_4"></a>[4]</span> +imagine and most beautiful teeth. Her face was perfectly +divine in its loveliness; her features small and exquisitely +regular. Her hair was of a dark shade of brown—<i>châtain +foncé</i>—and very abundant. I was in Mrs. Ronalds’s care +on this occasion, and I can still see her before me as she was +then, and remember that she spoke with a slight American +accent. The late Captain Frederick Dorrien, of the 1st +Life Guards, an old Etonian and a very handsome man, +whom Queen Victoria called “her handsome lieutenant,” +after inquiring his name when he rode beside her carriage +one day in full uniform, came to pay Mrs. Ronalds a visit +that evening; and I can still remember her singing in a very +beautiful voice, which everyone praised enthusiastically, +and also a tiny watch set in brilliants, and always very +much admired, which she wore on her finger.</p> + +<p>I used to be taken occasionally to the Zoological Gardens +at Frankfurt, where a Prussian military band played on +Sunday afternoons, and I took a fancy to what I thought +was a large dog. I used to stroke it, and it often licked +my hand after I had fed it with biscuits and seemed to +know me. One day, however, to my surprise, I saw it put +into the same cage as the wolves, and learned that it was +a wolf, which had been placed for a time in a cage by itself. +I still felt a great wish to stroke it, but was not allowed to +do so.</p> + +<p>Whether it was some months later or some months earlier +than this I cannot say, for, with a child, such things as +time and space are of no account, which brings a child +nearer to the Divinity than grown-up people. I can only +recall giving my hand, when at Homburg vor der Höhe, to +what seemed to me an elderly gentleman, who often took +me across the garden of the Kurhaus and up the steps of +the Kursaal into the restaurant, where, seated at a buffet, +was a stout, pleasant-looking old lady, who always greeted +me affectionately and gave me, at the gentleman’s request, +my favourite fruit, nectarines and <i>amandes vertes</i>. I can +remember how kind this gentleman always was to me, +taking me constantly for walks in the garden of the Kurhaus,<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_5"></a>[5]</span> +and always holding me by the hand. The name of the +pleasant old lady was Madame Chevet, a Parisienne, to +whom the restaurant at the Kurhaus belonged, and the +gentleman, who was a great friend of my parents, was +Thackeray, the author of “Vanity Fair.” I can remember +nothing else about him, except that he appeared to be very +devoted to me.<a id="FNanchor_1" href="#Footnote_1" class="fnanchor">[1]</a></p> + +<p>I used to wear white frocks with lace and embroidery, +some of which had been given to my mother for me by +H.R.H. the Duchess of Gloucester, when my mother’s +aunt, Lady Caroline Murray, was lady-in-waiting to Her +Royal Highness.<a id="FNanchor_2" href="#Footnote_2" class="fnanchor">[2]</a> I used at that time to be dressed like<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_6"></a>[6]</span> +a girl, with my hair in long, dark-brown ringlets, and on +one occasion my mother took me up to a very plain English +lady in the grounds of the Kursaal, when the latter exclaimed: +“What a pretty boy? He is more like a girl!” +Then, turning to me, she said: “My dear, will you allow +me to kiss you?” “Yes,” I answered, and, holding up +my bare arm, I added: “Kiss my elbow.” My mother +tried to persuade me to allow the lady to kiss me, but +I only cried and said: “Oh! not my face, only my elbow!”</p> + +<p>One day, I remember, I was playing in the grounds of the +Kursaal with a large india-rubber ball with two little girls, +when a lady called them away, saying to the little girls, +who were her daughters: “You must not play with a boy +when you don’t know who he is.” That same evening, the +Countess of Desart, who was lady-in-waiting to Queen +Victoria, was dining at Madame Chevet’s restaurant at the +Kurhaus with my parents, and, happening to hear of what +had occurred to me in the morning, said to my mother: +“I will pay that woman out for her insolence. She is a +nobody, and only the wife of a Law lord.” When Lady +C——, the mother of the two little girls, arrived for dinner +at the Kurhaus, the countess purposely did not rise to +enter the dining-room for a very long time, which annoyed +Lady C—— immensely, as she dared not enter the dining-room +until the countess had risen from her seat to do so. +At dinner the countess said to Lady C: “I can understand +how careful you have to be about whom your girls +play with, as you don’t quite know how to discriminate +between common children and others.” Lady C—— +blushed crimson, but did not venture to make any reply.<a id="FNanchor_3" href="#Footnote_3" class="fnanchor">[3]</a><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_7"></a>[7]</span> +The Countess of Desart maintained quite a princely establishment +at Homburg, having a French chef at her villa +and a number of English servants, with carriages and +horses besides.</p> + +<figure class="figcenter illowp48" id="illus04" style="max-width: 28.125em;"> + <img class="w100" src="images/illus04.jpg" alt=""> + <figcaption class="caption"><p>The Author’s Father.</p> + <p class="caption-r">[<i>To face p. 6.</i></p></figcaption> +</figure> + +<p>Among my father’s friends then at Homburg was Sir +Edward Hutchinson, whom the Prince Consort said was +the handsomest man in England. His brother, General +Coote Hutchinson, was also at Homburg. He had been a +colonel at six-and-twenty, and was for many years the +youngest general in the English Army.</p> + +<p>At Homburg we lived in a villa on the Unter Promenade, +in which the Princess Liegnitz, the morganatic wife of +Frederick III. of Prussia, also resided. I can remember +so well a box of toys representing various animals which +the Princess gave me, and also the Princess and her daughter +driving up to the villa one day when I was walking with +my father, when he made me go and speak to them. My +father afterwards gave me a beautiful bouquet of red roses, +which I took to Princess Liegnitz’s salon, at which she +seemed pleased, and, when she thanked me for them, gave +me a kiss. King William of Prussia often visited his +father’s widow at the villa, where the Princess held a +regular Court, and was treated as though she were Queen +of Prussia, even by the King. When he met me in the +grounds, His Majesty often gave me bonbons, and usually +kissed me. I had at that time a very pretty English nurse, +and King William was well known to be a great admirer +of pretty faces. My pride was somewhat wounded when I +was told that His Majesty’s attentions to me may have been +due in a very great measure to the attractions of my nurse.</p> + +<p>When the Princess Liegnitz left Homburg, great preparations +were made at the villa for the Duc de Morny,<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_8"></a>[8]</span> +who intended to come and stay there. But before he left +Paris for Homburg he was suddenly taken ill and died. +His death caused a great sensation everywhere, and his +servants, who had already arrived at the villa, went away +at once and returned to Paris.</p> + +<p>Once a fortnight, on Sunday, an Austrian military band +used to come from Rastatt to play in the grounds of the +Kursaal. It played both in the afternoon and evening, +and people sat on the lawns, enjoying the very fine music. +Sometimes the Prussian military band came from Frankfurt, +on which occasions I invariably used to cry. I sometimes +sat with my parents on a Sunday on the lawns. Count +Perponcher, Oberst-Hofmeister to the King of Prussia,<a id="FNanchor_4" href="#Footnote_4" class="fnanchor">[4]</a> +the Countess of Desart, Sir Frederick Slade and his family, +or other friends, generally sat with them. Count Perponcher +was a most agreeable and distinguished-looking +man, and a great admirer of the Countess of Desart. The +latter was not only a great beauty, but had a certain +“grand air” about her, which is, as a rule, only to be +found amongst the old nobility.</p> + +<p>One day, when the Austrian military band was playing, +my nurse and I had our early dinner at the Hôtel de +l’Europe. Opposite to us, sitting at the <i>table d’hôte</i>, was +the bandmaster Jeschko, with a very pretty woman seated +on either side of him. I noticed that he was making love +to both of them, and said to my nurse:</p> + +<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_9"></a>[9]</span></p> + +<p>“Look at the Austrian bandmaster: he has two such +pretty wives!”</p> + +<p>“You silly boy, why do you talk such nonsense?” +answered my nurse.</p> + +<p>“But he is making love to both, and so they are to him,” +I persisted.</p> + +<p>“You should not look at people you don’t know; they +may be his sisters.”</p> + +<p>“I am sure they are not, for look at papa and his sisters.”</p> + +<p>“Well, whatever they may be, it is not for a child like +you to ask about them. I’ve no doubt that one is the +gentleman’s wife and the other his sister.”</p> + +<p>“Couldn’t they both be his wives?”</p> + +<p>“No; such a thing would not be allowed.”</p> + +<p>I continued to gaze at this handsome man, with his very +long, fair moustache, highly curled. He seemed so good-looking +in his white uniform with its pink facings, and the +two ladies kept stroking his hands on the table and looking +with admiration into his blue eyes. They both addressed +him as “<i>Du</i>,” and appeared so very fond of him, that I +said to myself that I could quite understand these girls +being in love with him, as he was so handsome. The white +uniform and the fine military appearance of this Austrian +bandmaster at table no doubt greatly impressed my childish +imagination, as I had never seen any one like him before, +while his fair companions were both excessively pretty and +dressed in the most charming confections imaginable. It +was a sight which, when I grew older, never faded from +my memory, while many other events, perhaps of far greater +importance, were entirely obliterated. Stilgebauer, a very +celebrated modern German author, who wrote “Love’s +Inferno,” says: “Only that which we do not wish to, or +may not, remember is over; everything else is ours and +never over or lost to us.”</p> + +<p>At Homburg, when the Austrian military band played, +the grounds at night were illuminated with red, white and +blue lights, and the fireworks were the admiration of the +whole world, as M. Blanc spared no expense whatever.<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_10"></a>[10]</span> +This, indeed, he could well afford to do, in view of the +immense profits he derived from the gaming-tables.</p> + +<p>There was at Homburg in those days a young French girl +of noble family, who was about thirteen years of age and +very lovely, with a beautiful complexion. She was always +exquisitely dressed, usually in white tulle with a great deal +of lace, and was admired by everyone. This youthful beauty +used to play a game of forfeits in a ring with some boys, +who always arranged as a forfeit for the girl that she should +kiss them. One day, when I was about seven years old, +the children invited me to play with them. I did so, and +was kissed by the little girl, at which I was much ashamed, +as, though I rather liked being kissed by her, I was +decidedly bashful when the operation was performed in the +presence of so many people. And so, when I was asked to +play again, I refused. This young lady often got her lovely +white dress torn to shreds by the rough boys who played +with her, but she went on playing every day all the same.</p> + +<p>I remember once travelling by train with my father from +Homburg to Frankfurt, when Goldschmid, a wealthy Jewish +banker with red hair, who was in the same compartment, +went fast to sleep. My father told me he was going to have +some fun with him, and was pretending to take away his +watch and chain, when Goldschmid suddenly woke up and +exclaimed:—</p> + +<p>“<i>Gott, wirklich ich dachte Sie hätten meine Uhr weggenommen!</i>”</p> + +<p>He was evidently under the impression that my father +had evil intentions, and it was not for some time afterwards +that he could understand that it was only a joke. Goldschmid, +many years afterwards, was ruined by his own +brother, and committed suicide by drowning himself in +the Main. They were cent. per cent. Jew moneylenders +and bankers, who helped to ruin many English people in +those days at Homburg.</p> + +<p>I can well recollect seeing my father on one occasion in conversation +with Garcia, a dark, good-looking Italian, who had +several times broken the bank at Homburg by his high play.<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_11"></a>[11]</span> +He had begun his gambling operations when quite a poor +man. I can also recollect Madame Kisilieff, who was a great +gambler in those days, and was a good deal with my parents +at Homburg. She was an immensely wealthy Russian lady +of noble birth, who lived there <i>en grand luxe</i>.</p> + +<p>The English colony at Homburg during the gambling days +was very different from what it is now. There was more +youth and beauty to be seen there and more of the aristocracy; +whereas to-day more old people and wealthy <i>parvenus</i> go to +Homburg during the season. Chevet’s Restaurant, though +dreadfully expensive, was excellent; while the modern +German one, though also dear, is not especially good.</p> + +<p>I cannot recollect what year it was, but I can remember +the Railway King, Hudson, taking another boy named +Jeffreys and myself, whom I afterwards met at Eton, to +dine with him at Chevet’s Restaurant, where he regaled us +with every kind of luxury that the place could provide. My +mother once told me a story about Mrs. Hudson, which she +had heard from her father:—</p> + +<p>Mrs. Hudson one day received a visit from the Duke of +Wellington, whom she saw arrive, accompanied by a well-dressed +and very distinguished-looking man, who remained +outside when the Duke entered the house. Presently it +came on to rain heavily.</p> + +<p>“I will ask your friend up out of the rain,” said Mrs. +Hudson to the Duke.</p> + +<p>The Duke replied that the man was his servant; but +Mrs. Hudson, who could not bring herself to believe that +such an aristocratic-looking person could be the servant +even of the Duke of Wellington, and thought that the latter +was joking, insisted on the man being shown upstairs.</p> + +<p>My grandfather’s brother-in-law, General the Hon. Sir +George Cathcart, was A.D.C. to the Duke of Wellington at +Waterloo, and was second-in-command to Lord Raglan in +the Crimea, where he was killed at Inkermann. He was my +godfather, and I often heard my father say that he always +had a cigar in his mouth, even in action. Once he was asked +by the authorities at the War Office how long he required<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_12"></a>[12]</span> +to get ready for active service. His answer was that he +was ready to go anywhere at twenty-four hours’ notice.</p> + +<p>My parents, one year, lived at the Hôtel de Russie at +Frankfurt, going to Homburg in the evenings. There was +a Baron von Neii, an Austrian major of dragoons, staying +at the “Russie.” He was married to an Englishwoman, but +they had no children, and, taking a great fancy to me, he +wanted to adopt me and give me the right to bear his name +and title, which is frequently done in Austria. He and his +wife lived afterwards at Beaulieu, near Nice, where they +had a charming villa with a beautiful rose-garden, where I +have been to see them in more recent years.</p> + +<p>Baron von Neii told me that there was once an Englishman, +a Major Isaacson, in his regiment, who could not speak +two words of the Hungarian language. Nevertheless, he +contrived to retain his place in the regiment for many years, +being always prompted when he had to give orders by a +sergeant. One day, however, during an inspection by a +general, the sergeant happened to be away, with the consequence +that the poor officer was perfectly helpless, and, +after calling out several wrong words of command, was +detected and placed on half-pay.</p> + +<p>There were at this time at Homburg two Misses Lee +Willing, nieces of the famous General Lee, of the Southerners. +One was a great beauty, who, it was reported, had received +innumerable offers of marriage, from a prince downwards, +but had refused them all. She was called the “Destroying +Angel,” because she had been the cause of so many duels +being fought on her account. She was constantly in the +company of my parents, and, many years later, we met her +again in Paris. So far as I can remember, she could never +decide to take a husband, and died in Paris while still a +great beauty.</p> + +<figure class="figcenter illowp50" id="illus05" style="max-width: 29.6875em;"> + <img class="w100" src="images/illus05.jpg" alt=""> + <figcaption class="caption"><p>The Author’s Mother.</p> + <p class="caption-r">[<i>To face p. 12.</i></p></figcaption> +</figure> + +<p>Her cousin, Willing Lee Magruder, had been with the Emperor +Maximilian of Mexico at the time he was shot by his +revolted subjects, and only escaped a similar fate by the +skin of his teeth. His sister was lady-in-waiting to the +Empress Charlotte of Mexico, and, after the Emperor’s<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_13"></a>[13]</span> +death, the brother and sister occasionally dined with us +in Paris, and we often met them in later years in Paris +society. When leaving Mexico, Magruder and his sister +were shipwrecked, and he told me that they passed several +hours in the sea clinging to a plank. At night they were +rescued by a passing ship, almost exhausted by hunger, +thirst and fatigue. His sister never quite recovered from +the shock to her system, and suffered much from a nervous +complaint ever afterwards.</p> + +<p>I can remember that, while at the Hôtel de Russie, my +mother used constantly to be reading French novels, which, +during her absences at Homburg, my French nurse used +to get hold of. I was particularly interested in <i>la Reine +Margot</i> and <i>le Chevalier de Maison Rouge</i>, by Alexandre +Dumas <i>père</i>, which delighted me more than any other +books. I read “Joseph Andrews,” which my father bought +for me, but he told me that he thought I was not quite old +enough to appreciate or even to understand most of it.</p> + +<p>I used always to be much interested in the Eschenheimer +Thor at Frankfurt, as at the top of it there was a tiny iron +flag, in which nine holes were pierced, representing the figure +nine. The story about this flag is that a certain poacher, +who had been arrested and condemned to death for shooting +deer, was offered a pardon, if he could put nine bullets into +the flag in such a way as to form the figure nine. This he +succeeded in doing, and was set at liberty.</p> + +<p>When you looked at the flag this seemed hardly credible; +it was so tiny, and the nine was so wonderfully pierced. +The Eschenheimer Thor has since disappeared to make room +for the so-called improvements of Frankfurt.</p> + +<p>I can remember being taken to the celebrated Römer at +Frankfurt, where the Emperors of Germany were formerly +crowned. The Kaisersaal, where the coronation used to +take place, was an immense room, containing portraits of the +different Emperors. I was much interested in Karl I., and +still more in Rudolph von Hapsburg, the ancestor of the +present Emperor of Austria, and I also took particular note +of those of Günther von Schwarzburg and Maximilian I.,<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_14"></a>[14]</span> +as I was very fond of German history. The coronation room +was beautifully decorated, the walls and doors being sumptuously +gilded. On the latter were represented several +children, wearing royal crowns and garments of gold, which +pleased me very much.</p> + +<p>Another time, I was taken by my French nurse, so far as +I can remember, to see Dannecker’s celebrated statue of +Ariadne, and was somewhat startled at finding myself in a +perfectly dark room, in which you could only see a red velvet +curtain facing you. Soon, however, the curtain was drawn +back, when a perfectly white statue of a nude woman riding +upon a lion appeared before us. The woman was exquisitely +formed, and was reclining indolently upon the animal’s +back. A rose-coloured light was thrown upon the statue, +which made its hue all the more dazzling, and it revolved +slowly on its axis, so as to display the lovely form of the +woman to better advantage. I was glad that it was dark, +for I fancied that I should have felt more awkward if anyone +had seen me. As it was, I blushed crimson, and was +pleased to get into the street. All the same, I have never +forgotten this lovely statue and the rose-coloured light +employed to show off its beauty.</p> + +<p>I went to the Jewish quarter, where the old tumbledown +house in which the Rothschilds had once lived<a id="FNanchor_5" href="#Footnote_5" class="fnanchor">[5]</a> was pointed +out to me, but it was such a dirty quarter of the town that +I never returned there. I once visited the Synagogue, and +was surprised to see all the men wearing their hats. It +made me think of the time of Christ, and that with certain +Jews very little had altered since those days. I wondered<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_15"></a>[15]</span> +why such men as Goldschmid at Homburg were allowed to +carry on their villainous trade with Christians.</p> + +<p>The new theatre at Frankfurt is a very fine building, in +which there is a statue of Goethe, which is greatly admired. +An amusing anecdote is related of Goethe, who was born +at Frankfurt. One day he and Beethoven were walking +together, and many people who met them raised their hats. +“How tiresome it often is to be recognized by so many +persons!” complained Goethe. To which Beethoven replied +somewhat maliciously: “Perhaps it is me they are +greeting.”</p> + +<p>Speaking of Goethe, the celebrated Austrian poet Grillparzer +says:—</p> + +<p>“<i>Schiller geht nach oben, Goethe kommt von oben.</i> +His characters usually say everything beautiful that can +be said about a subject, and for nothing in the world +would I care to miss any of the beautiful speeches in <i>Tasso</i> +and <i>Iphigenia</i>, but they are not dramatic. That is why +Goethe’s plays are so charming to read and so bad to act. +However much we may think of Goethe, the fact remains +that his <i>Wanderjahre</i> is no work, the second part of <i>Faust</i> +no poem, the maxims of the last period no lyrics. Goethe +may be a greater poet, and no doubt is; but Schiller is a +greater possession for the nation, which requires vivid +impressions in our sickly times. Goethe’s Wilhelm Meister +and Philine Sarto and the Countess have all distinct and +artistically well-formed characters, though they are all in +danger of being condemned as without any character. This +fate they share with Hamlet and Phèdre, with King Lear +and Richard II.; perhaps also with Macbeth and Othello. +The <i>Wahlverwandtschaften</i> is a great masterpiece. In knowledge +of humanity, wisdom, sentiment and poetic strain it +has not its equal in any literature. With the exception of +those produced by Goethe in his youth, his works were not +popular with the nation, and the great respect shown him +was the result of the admiration which his masterpieces of +the past had aroused.”</p> + +<p>Frederick the Great said of Goethe: “His early works<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_16"></a>[16]</span> +are too natural, and his late ones too artificial. Besides, +he is an immoral poet. Fallen girls are his favourite +characters.” A very true saying of Frederick the Great +is: “A court of justice which pronounces an unjust +sentence is worse than a band of murderers.” Frederick +was always a great admirer of Voltaire, and one of his +famous sayings is: “<i>Unsere Unsterblichkeit ist, den +Menschen Wohlthaten zu erweisen</i>.” (“Our immortality +consists in performing good deeds to mankind.”)</p> + +<p>In recent years I went to the celebrated Palmen Garden +in Frankfurt, where the palm-trees are all from the late +Duke of Nassau’s beautiful palace at Biebrich. I went +there with an English lady to an afternoon concert. My +companion remarked how ordinary all the people looked +compared with those one saw at a concert at Vienna, and +drew my attention to a table at which sat four men dressed +in very shabby, old-fashioned clothes. I was anxious to +remain and hear the concert out, but was afraid the lady +might decide to leave early, owing to the little interest she +appeared to find in the audience. So I said at random:—</p> + +<p>“You are quite right, but with regard to the men sitting +at that table, I should not be surprised if they were millionaires.”</p> + +<p>She laughed and seemed to be much amused at the +idea, and a waiter coming up just at that moment with +some coffee and cakes we had ordered, I asked him if +he knew who the four men were. He replied at once:—</p> + +<p>“They are four millionaires.”</p> + +<p>I may mention that I had never seen these men before +in my life, and was only staying at Frankfurt two days.</p> + +<p>At Franzenbad, from which I had just come, I had a +singular experience. On entering the Kursaal one Saturday +afternoon a programme of the music was handed me. The +piece which was being played was a polka, by Edward Strauss, +called <i>Con Amore</i>, and I noticed that each of the eight +pieces on the programme contained a letter of this name. +I took this as a kind of presentiment, and the same day telegraphed +to a bookmaker named Hörner, in the Krugerstrasse<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_17"></a>[17]</span> +at Vienna, to back the horse of this name running in the +principal event in the Baden races the following Sunday. +He duly executed my commission, and the horse won, +though it did not start favourite. I won very little, however, +as the odds were not as long as I had expected. The programme +of the concert at Franzensbad was as follows:—</p> + +<table> + <tr> + <td class="tdc" colspan="3">Saturday, 25th June, 1904. Kurhaus, 4 p.m.</td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td>1.</td> + <td>Wiedermann Marsch</td> + <td>Oelschlegel.</td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td>2.</td> + <td>Ouverture, Oberon</td> + <td>Weber.</td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td>3.</td> + <td>Ballerinen Walzer</td> + <td>Weinberger.</td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td>4.</td> + <td>Potpourri aus Obersteiger</td> + <td>Zeller.</td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td>5.</td> + <td>Con Amore Polka</td> + <td>Ed. Strauss.</td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td>6.</td> + <td>Ouverture, Belagerung von Corinth</td> + <td>Rossini.</td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td>7.</td> + <td>Am Spinnrad</td> + <td>Eilenberg.</td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td>8.</td> + <td>Frisch heran Galop</td> + <td>Johann Strauss.</td> + </tr> +</table> + +<p>The Hôtel de Russie, in those days, occupied the site of +the present Post Office. It was originally a palace, and the +rooms were magnificent, particularly those reserved for the +King of Prussia, which my parents occupied for a time, as +did Mrs. Ronalds. Otherwise, this suite of rooms was +always kept for the King of Prussia when he cared to visit +Frankfurt, which His Majesty often did, staying there +usually some time. The proprietor of the Hôtel de Russie +was a certain Herr Ried, and, on his death, it was purchased +by the Drexel brothers, who are now wine-merchants of +some celebrity in Frankfurt.</p> + +<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop"> + +<div class="chapter"> + +<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_18"></a>[18]</span></p> + +<h2 class="nobreak" id="CHAPTER_II">CHAPTER II</h2> + +<p class="center">An Adventure in the Oden Wald—The Coiners of the Black +Forest—Kirchhofer’s School</p> + +</div> + +<p>When I was seven years old, my parents left me at a +school in Frankfurt, kept by Herr Kirchhofer, a +good-looking, fair-haired man of thirty-five. He was married +and had an only son named August, who in later years +entered the Austrian Army, and got terribly into debt when +a lieutenant. His father paid his debts, but after he married +he got into further trouble, and ended by shooting himself, +while still quite young. During my stay at this school I +spoke nothing but German all day, with the exception of a +little French occasionally, and, in consequence, completely +forgot the English language for the time being.</p> + +<p>One day, Herr Kirchhofer told one of the assistant masters, +Herr Wolf, a young man of five-and-twenty, that he might +take six of the boys, of whom I was one, for a three days’ excursion +in the Oden Wald. We started at five o’clock in the +morning and walked for some hours, when I became so tired +that I could go no farther. So Close, an English boy of +eighteen, who was going into the Austrian Army, and +another boy, a German, carried me on a kind of camp-stool +a long way.</p> + +<p>When we got to the Oden Wald, we wandered about +collecting plants, which Herr Wolf required for his lessons in +botany. Then, after dining at an inn, we started again, +with the intention of reaching a village which the master +knew by name. On the way we passed a small village, +where a man offered to take charge of me, and I was very<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_19"></a>[19]</span> +much afraid our master would leave me with him. I begged +him not to do so, and was greatly relieved when he said:</p> + +<p>“You don’t think I should be so foolish? Why, the +man might run off with you.”</p> + +<p>Some time afterwards, it began to grow quite dark, and +Herr Wolf became much alarmed, as we had completely lost +our way in the forest. However, we saw some lights in the +distance, and walked on until we came to a small village, +where there was a house which purported to be an inn, +though all its windows were broken and mended with pieces +of newspaper.</p> + +<p>Herr Wolf entered this uninviting hostelry and inquired +if we could have one large room to sleep in, as he told Close +and another big boy, a German, that he was afraid that +we might possibly be murdered in the night, if we were +separated. I may here mention that, in those days, some +parts of the Oden Wald were infested by gangs of robbers, +and instances were known of people being given beds which +revolved in the night and precipitated their unfortunate +occupants into pits beneath the floor.</p> + +<p>The inn-keeper, a sinister-looking personage, with his face +almost entirely covered with hair, said that he had not a +room large enough to accommodate our whole party, but +that we could have two rooms. Herr Wolf asked if they +were near each other, to which the man replied that one +was upstairs, but the other on the ground floor. The master, +looking much annoyed, asked to see the rooms, and, after +inspecting them, inquired if Close had a revolver with him. +The latter said he had not, though he had brought a sword-stick. +But another boy, an American, called Sydney +Chapin, exclaimed:—</p> + +<p>“I have a loaded revolver with me.”</p> + +<p>“That’s famous!” replied Herr Wolf. “Then you must +give it me, for I will occupy the room on the ground floor +with George, and you others must sleep upstairs.”</p> + +<p>The master then took the revolver, and told Close that +he must take charge of the other boys in the room +upstairs.</p> + +<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_20"></a>[20]</span></p> + +<p>When this had been arranged, we all entered the so-called +dining-room, a large room, with whitewashed walls. Its +windows, like all the rest in the house, were broken and +patched with newspapers; the ceiling was so low that you +could almost touch it with your hands, and crossed by large +beams. In one part of this room, four rough-looking men +were playing cards and drinking beer out of mugs. They +were in their shirt sleeves, with sleeves tucked up to the +elbow, displaying very muscular arms, while their shirts, +open at the neck, showed their naked chests covered with +hair. Although it was summer and excessively hot, all of +them wore fur caps.</p> + +<p>They were playing by the glimmer of a solitary tallow +candle, which was the only light in the room, and when we +took our seats with our master at another table, we found +ourselves almost in the dark. Presently, our supper was +brought us, consisting of cold meat and mugs of beer, and +Herr Wolf asked for a candle. The inn-keeper muttered +sullenly that he had none.</p> + +<p>“What! Have you no light of any description?” asked +the master.</p> + +<p>“No, I have just told you so,” was the reply.</p> + +<p>Herr Wolf was visibly alarmed, but Close whispered to +him:—</p> + +<p>“I have a box of matches.”</p> + +<p>“<i>Gott sei dank!</i>” exclaimed the other.</p> + +<p>After some whispered instructions to Close, the master +rose from the table, when I observed the card-players casting +surreptitious glances in our direction, although they pretended +to be absorbed in their game. Herr Wolf then +took me through the darkness into the bedroom on the +ground floor, the gloom of which was partially relieved by +a slight glimmer from the moon, which penetrated through +the broken window. He struck a match, and, having shown +me my bed, which stood near the window, told me to undress +and go to bed. I did as he told me, and he then said that +he was going upstairs to see after the other boys.</p> + +<figure class="figcenter illowp50" id="illus06" style="max-width: 29.6875em;"> + <img class="w100" src="images/illus06.jpg" alt=""> + <figcaption class="caption"><p>The Author’s Daughter.</p> + <p class="caption-r">[<i>To face p. 20.</i></p></figcaption> +</figure> + +<p>While I lay in bed, I heard some noisy women passing the<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_21"></a>[21]</span> +window. One of them put her head through one of the +broken panes, and, on seeing me in bed, burst out laughing. +Afterwards there was a dead silence, only interrupted occasionally +by the loud oaths of the men playing cards in the +dining-room, who appeared to be disputing about some +money which had changed hands. The noise they made +was becoming louder and louder, when I heard the door +open, and Herr Wolf entered and inquired if I were asleep. +He then went out again, saying that he would return later. +The noise made by the gamblers then appeared to cease, +and my weariness overcoming my fears, I suddenly dropped +off to sleep.</p> + +<p>Early in the morning I awoke, and saw Herr Wolf dressing +himself. I hardly knew where I was, when, on seeing that +I was awake, he said:—</p> + +<p>“<i>Du bist famos geschlafen, George.</i>”</p> + +<p>After I had dressed, he told me to come with him into the +dining-room, where all the others were gathered, and, after +taking some coffee and black bread, we left the inn. Soon +afterwards, Herr Wolf told the boys that he had never been +so alarmed in his life, and that he was quite positive that +if the men at the inn had not known that some of the boys +were armed, we should most probably have been murdered +for the sake of our clothes and the money we had about us. +He added that he had not slept a wink all night, as he knew +what sort of men he had to deal with, and that they were of +the very lowest type imaginable and capable of committing +any crime to obtain a few groschen.</p> + +<p>At the time of which I am speaking, there were so many +murders perpetrated near Homburg, owing to the gambling +which went on there, that the police never knew whether +they had really to deal with a suicide or a murder. The +Oden Wald had then quite as bad a reputation as the Black +Forest, which was infested by whole gangs of robbers and +murderers. Herr Wolf told us a story of a man who, having +lost his way in the Oden Wald, put up for the night at a +small inn near a village, where they gave him some coffee +before he went to bed. He could not sleep, and in the<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_22"></a>[22]</span> +middle of the night he got up, lighted a candle and began +examining a picture opposite his bed, which represented a +man wearing a Rembrandt hat with a long feather. Gradually, +it seemed to him that the feather was becoming shorter; +soon he could see only a part of the hat, and then merely the +face. The man, thinking that there must be something +wrong with him, jumped out of bed and approached the +picture, which he found was exactly as when he had first +seen it. But, on looking at his bed, he perceived that the +baldachin over the four-poster was suspended by a chain +from above the ceiling, and was gradually working its way +downwards. An examination of the moving baldachin +revealed the fact that it was made of massive iron, beneath +which he would infallibly have been crushed to death. +Dressing in all haste, and holding a pistol which he had +about him ready to fire in case of need, the destined victim +left the room and stealthily descended the stairs. By good +fortune he met no one, and letting himself out of the house, +made his way to Homburg, where he informed the police +of the murderous trap which had been laid for him. It was +evident that the coffee which he had drank overnight had +been drugged; but, most providentially for him, the drug +had had the contrary effect to that intended, and had kept +him awake, instead of sending him to sleep.</p> + +<p>Herr Wolf told us other stories of the Black Forest, in +which there were inns with revolving beds, which upset the +persons who occupied them into pits beneath the floor, +where the heavy fall generally killed them at once; and +Baron Vogelsang, a good-looking Bavarian boy, with blue +eyes and curly brown hair, related the following anecdote:</p> + +<p>During the time of the great Napoleon,<a id="FNanchor_6" href="#Footnote_6" class="fnanchor">[6]</a> the Emperor<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_23"></a>[23]</span> +sent on one of his aides-de-camp to Germany with important +despatches. This A.D.C. had to traverse the Black Forest, +and on arriving as evening was falling at a certain country +house, asked if he could be accommodated for the night. A +room was given him, but, at the same time, he was warned +that the house was haunted, and, sure enough, in the middle +of the night a ghost duly put in an appearance. The Frenchman, +who had no belief in the supernatural, promptly +snatched up a pistol and levelled it at the spectre, who +thereupon vanished. The A.D.C. then hurried to the spot +where the ghost had first appeared, when the floor suddenly +gave way beneath him, and he fell what seemed a great +distance. For the moment he was stunned by the fall, +and, on recovering his senses, found himself surrounded by a +number of men, who were debating whether they should +kill him. He, however, explained who he was, and showed +them the despatches from Napoleon of which he was the +bearer; and the men, fearing the vengeance of the Emperor, +should the crime they were meditating ever be discovered, +agreed to set him at liberty, on condition that he would take +an oath to say nothing of what had happened to him in that +house. They then told him that they were coiners, and that +they killed everyone who slept at the house, but that they +usually frightened so many away by tales that very few +people cared to stop there. The Frenchman took the oath +demanded of him, and was set at liberty so soon as day came. +Years afterwards, he received a magnificent pistol, set with +brilliants and rubies, with the following inscription engraved +upon it: “From those whose secret you have so generously +kept.” The gift was accompanied by a letter, informing +him that the coiners, having now succeeded in amassing an +immense fortune, had retired from business.</p> + +<p>The day after our adventure at the inn was passed by our +party in walking leisurely through the forest homewards, +through a most glorious country and in most lovely weather. +When we reached Frankfurt, Herr Kirchhofer congratulated +Herr Wolf on our escape, and told him that it was very +lucky that we had returned at all.</p> + +<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_24"></a>[24]</span></p> + +<p>Herr Wolf saw me in after days at Frankfurt, when he +kissed me in German fashion, saying: “<i>Kannst Du Dich erinnern +von damals im Oden Walde, George?</i>” I thought it +was our last day upon earth, and that we were going to be +murdered there, like many others have been there before and +even since those days. But I pretended not to be alarmed +at the time, and made the best of it.</p> + +<p>The time—rather more than a year and a half—I spent +at this school at Frankfurt was one of the happiest periods +of my life; indeed, when my parents wanted me to stay at +the Hôtel de Russie, I cried and begged not to be taken away +from the school. Herr Kirchhofer was a very pleasant, +kind and good-hearted man, and a fine orator, one of the best +I have ever heard; and the lectures which he used to give +on ancient Greek history were always extremely interesting. +His lectures were always extempore, as his excellent memory +made it unnecessary for him to refer to a book, and the +way he declaimed was a pleasure to listen to, so well did he +raise or lower his voice to suit the occasion. At times he +became very dramatic, putting you in mind of some celebrated +actor on the stage, as he walked up and down +the room, reciting from the classics and quite carrying +away his audience. The only punishment inflicted on +boys at this school was to shake them and smack their +faces, which Herr Kirchhofer did himself, as well as the +other masters, of whom there were eight or nine, although +the school consisted only of ten boarders and fifty day-boarders.</p> + +<p>German and Austrian boys find more pleasure in taking +long walks in the woods, making excursions, and running +about than they do in games like football and cricket, for +which few, if any, have any taste. In fact, I never knew any +boys in Germany who cared much for any outdoor games at +all. However, I have not the slightest doubt they enjoy +their school-days quite as much as English boys, if not more; +and there is much more friendship between master and boys +in Germany than there ever can be in England. In the +former country, the master devotes more time to ascertaining<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_25"></a>[25]</span> +the tastes of individual boys, and addresses them more like a +friend than a master. When, afterwards, I was sent to an +English school, I noticed the difference almost at once. +At the school at Frankfurt I was most interested in the +history of ancient Greece; I was also fond of German history. +Latin was not taught there, for which I was by no means +sorry. I had no great fancy for botany, though I tried to +like it; but natural science rather piqued my curiosity. +As for arithmetic, I hated it, and never knew the value of +money; in fact, I don’t remember ever having any at that +time, nor ever asking for any, as I had everything I required +bought for me. I had a fancy for collecting stamps, and, +in those days, there was a regular stamp market at Frankfurt, +where they were sold in the street. I went there on +one occasion, but was not very favourably impressed by the +Jew dealers who hawked them about.</p> + +<p>I was passionately fond of tin soldiers, and used to play +with them with a boy named Louis Krebs, who had a fine +collection of both Austrian and Prussian ones. He had a +pretty little sister called Klara, who always wore pink coral +earrings and would often play with us.</p> + +<p>One day, Herr Kirchhofer told me that my parents were +going to England and that they had arranged to take me with +them. At first, I was quite unable to realize it, but when +I learned that the news was true I was greatly distressed, +and nearly cried my eyes out at having to leave Frankfurt +and the school. I tried to prevail upon my parents to leave +me behind, but my father would not hear of it, saying that +I should have to go to a preparatory school for Eton, and that +he had one in view, which my aunt, Lady Caroline Murray, +had recommended. So I was forced, <i>malgré moi</i>, to submit +to my parents’ wishes.</p> + +<p>In recent years I met Krebs, the boy of whom I have just +spoken, at Frankfurt, when he gave me a great deal of +information about those who had been at school with us. +He himself had become a millionaire; but he was the only +one who had made money. Most of the others had been far +from successful in life, and one of the wealthiest, Baron<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_26"></a>[26]</span> +Vogelsang, had lost almost the whole of his immense fortune. +Many had died quite young. Herr Kirchhofer had only +lived a few months after the suicide of his son August, +and Herr Wolf had also died while still quite a young +man.</p> + +<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop"> + +<div class="chapter"> + +<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_27"></a>[27]</span></p> + +<h2 class="nobreak" id="CHAPTER_III">CHAPTER III</h2> + +<p class="center">Brussels—Ostend—General Sir John Douglas—Spa—“Captain +Arthy”—Boulogne</p> + +</div> + +<p>On leaving Frankfurt, we went to Brussels, where we +lived in a large house on the Boulevard de Waterloo, +which looked out on to a very fine avenue of trees. Captain +Dorrien came with us on a visit to my parents and stayed for +some months. Captain Dorrien, in after years, lost his whole +fortune, when the late Earl of Sheffield, who had been at +Eton with him, insisted on his going to live at his fine house +in Portland Place, where he was given full authority over +all the servants, lived free of all cost to himself, and received +a cheque for £500, while the Earl went for a six months’ +cruise in his yacht. This was told me by Captain Dorrien +himself, at a time when he was in far better circumstances.</p> + +<p>Lord Howard de Walden was then the English Minister +at Brussels, and my parents were on very friendly terms with +him and his family. Two of the sons came often to our house; +one was in the Royal Navy, and the other in the 60th Rifles. +The eldest son, who afterwards succeeded to the title, was +then in the 4th Hussars, but I never met him. Many years +afterwards, I met Lady Howard de Walden, then a widow, +in India, at Murree, in the Himalayas, where she dined at +our mess with her daughter, Miss Ellis. The two ladies were +about to start on a journey to Kashmir, on ponies, as Lady +Howard de Walden said that it was her intention to see as +much of the world as she could before she died. She was +then seventy. She added that it was a singular coincidence +that the two regiments in which her sons had served—the +4th Hussars and the 60th Rifles—both of which she visited,<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_28"></a>[28]</span> +should be quartered quite near Kashmir, the Hussars at +Rawal Pindi, and the 2nd Battalion, 60th Rifles, at Murree. +Lady Howard de Walden accomplished the difficult journey +to Kashmir and returned in safety.</p> + +<p>We were on friendly terms with the Baron de Taintegnies, +who was in attendance on Leopold II., King of the Belgians, +and also with his three lovely daughters, who, with their +cousins, the daughters of Baron Danetan, were considered +the most beautiful girls in Brussels society at that time. +One of the former married, in later years, Captain Stewart +Muirhead, of the Blues, a friend of my father and of Captain +Dorrien.</p> + +<p>Frederick Milbanke, of the Blues, an old Etonian, who was +a great friend of my father, was at that time a good deal +in Brussels, and married a Belgian actress there. Milbanke +was heir to some of the Duke of Cleveland’s estates, but +he died before coming into this property. The last time I +saw him was at the Alexandra Hôtel, in London, where he +and his wife had a very fine suite of rooms, when my father +took me there to pay them a visit. Milbanke was a very +handsome, fair man, and his wife a great beauty. I met +the latter in after years at the Grosvenor Hôtel, where +she was staying with her son, a nice-looking boy, who had +come back from Eton for the holidays.</p> + +<p>The winter at Brussels was rather a severe one, and there +was plenty of good skating to be had. I remember learning +to skate in the Bois de la Cambre, to which I went with +my father. One day I was knocked down by some lady +skaters, and had great difficulty in extricating myself from +their petticoats. I fell very softly, but I was well-nigh +smothered. I was glad when my parents left Brussels, as +I had no companions there at all.</p> + +<p>There was then at Ostend a Mrs. Clifton, who had an +exceedingly pretty daughter. Mrs. Clifton was a widow, +and afterwards contracted a second marriage with a brother +of Sir Walter Carew. When I was at school at Kineton, +in Warwickshire, the mother and daughter paid me a visit, +as they had an estate not far from the school.</p> + +<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_29"></a>[29]</span></p> + +<p>One day, on the Digue at Ostend, I suddenly caught +sight of my little friend, Baron Vogelsang, who, leaving his +father and mother, who were with him, ran up to me at +once and kissed me on both cheeks. I saw a good deal of +Vogelsang while I was at Ostend, going often on to the +sands with him, and meeting him in the evening at the +children’s dance at the Casino.</p> + +<p>The Baron de Taintegnies’s daughter used to attend those +dances, to which the Duc de Sequeira, a young boy I knew, +generally went. Marie, the Baron’s eldest daughter, who +was a lovely girl, afterwards became the Baronne Le Clément +de Taintegnies. She lives at Minehead, where she has a +fine estate and hunts with the Devon and Somerset Staghounds. +I heard from her quite recently. Her sister +Isa, who married Captain Stewart Muirhead, is now a widow, +her husband having died in Paris in 1906. She also hunts +with the staghounds in Devonshire, and both sisters are +well-known horsewomen. Aline, the youngest sister, who +was called “Bébé,” and whom I admired very much when +a child at Brussels and Ostend, married, in 1871, Baron +de Hérissem, and, after his death, went to Italy, where she +married again and lived for several years. She died at +Ancona in March, 1906.</p> + +<p>There was a racing man at Ostend, named Captain Riddell, +who won all the principal steeplechases that were run there. +Mrs. Ind, the wife of the well-known brewer, was his sister. +Riddell met with a very serious accident in a steeplechase +at Ostend, injuring his spine. The horse which he was +riding on that occasion was once ridden by my father on +the sands, and he told me that he was a perfect devil to +hold. When a young man, my father once rode a hundred +miles in twelve hours on the same horse for a bet at Taunton, +in Somerset, and won his wager easily, with plenty of time +to spare. He and Charles Kinglake, a brother of the +author of “Eöthen,” were the only persons who were willing +to go up in a balloon at Taunton, when the first one came +there, which was considered rather venturesome at the time. +This reminds me that one of the oldest inhabitants of Bristol<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_30"></a>[30]</span> +told me lately that he remembered when the first iron ship +was launched at that port, and how all the residents declared: +“The idea of iron floating is too absurd to entertain for +one instant; the ship is bound to sink, for iron can never +be made to keep above water.”</p> + +<p>The King and Queen of Würtemberg were both then at +Ostend. Queen Olga, who was a Russian Grand Duchess by +birth, was said to be the handsomest woman in Europe. +She had very regular features, but was at that time excessively +pale and thin. Her niece, the Grand Duchess +Olga, was the first proposed <i>fiancée</i> of Ludwig II., King of +Bavaria. His Majesty, however, refused to marry her. This +is not generally known. The Grand Duchess Olga afterwards +married the late King George of Greece.</p> + +<p>King Leopold II. and Queen Henriette were at Ostend +at that time with their children, who used to drive on the +sands in a small carriage drawn by four cream-coloured +ponies. Baron de Taintegnies was usually on the Digue +of an afternoon with the King, sitting down or walking +about.</p> + +<p>Among my father’s friends at Ostend were Lord Orford +and Lord Brownlow Cecil. The latter was very fond of +music, and married a lady there who was a magnificent +pianist. One day I can remember my father sitting in the +Casino with Henry Labouchere, an old Etonian, who had +formerly been in the Diplomatic Service. Labouchere was +smoking a big cigar, and he and my father had a long conversation. +What it was about, I cannot say, though they +were continually laughing; and my father told me afterwards +that Labouchere was very amusing, and, though sarcastic, +witty, and that he rather liked him.<a id="FNanchor_7" href="#Footnote_7" class="fnanchor">[7]</a></p> + +<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_31"></a>[31]</span></p> + +<p>General Sir John Douglas, K.C.B., Commander of the Forces +in Scotland, and his wife, Lady Elizabeth Douglas, daughter +of Earl Cathcart, were a good deal with my parents at Ostend. +The General used to take long walks with my father, and +he put my name down for his old regiment, the 79th Highlanders, +and for the Scots Guards. Sir John Douglas was +extremely kind to me in after years, and invited me to stay +with him at Edinburgh; but I could not get leave from +my colonel at the time, and consequently was obliged, to +my great regret, to decline his kind invitation.</p> + +<p>My parents used very often to spend the summer months +at Ostend, and one year they occupied the apartments +at the Hôtel de Prusse which the Russian Ambassador, +Prince Orloff, had just vacated. One day, after washing +my hands in my bedroom, I emptied the water out of the +window, for some unaccountable reason. Later in the day, +the Princess de Caraman-Chimay sent up her lady’s maid +to say that a dress which the Princess had intended wearing +the following evening at a Court ball at Brussels had been<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_32"></a>[32]</span> +completely spoiled by the water. I was well scolded by my +mother for being the cause of this misfortune.</p> + +<p>The English clergyman at Ostend was a Mr. Jukes. He +had a very good-looking son, a boy about my own age. He +told me that he was in the habit of walking in his sleep, +and showed me his bedroom window, which had a padlock +on it. When I asked him where the key of it was, he said +that they would not tell him, in case he might get up in the +night, unlock it, and walk on the roof of the house, which, +he said, he had done before. His father once met me with +mine in the street, and when told that I was going into the +British Army, said that he entirely disapproved of soldiers, +and thought that the time was near at hand when there +would be no more wars and every dispute would be settled +by arbitration. I fancied at that time that Mr. Jukes’s +prophecy might come true, but, as subsequent events proved, +we were very far indeed from its realisation.</p> + +<p>Both the King and Queen of the Belgians were very +popular with the inhabitants of Ostend. They used to +walk on the Digue quite unattended, and seemed in no +way inconvenienced by the crowd, who always treated +them with the greatest respect. The King wore plain +clothes, usually a dark suit with a tall white hat, and never +appeared there in uniform. A very good story is told of +Leopold II., who, some years ago, during the summer months, +was at Luchon, in the Pyrenees. The day after he arrived +there, the King sent for a hairdresser, and directed him to +trim his silvery beard. When the operation was over, His +Majesty inquired what he had to pay.</p> + +<p>“It will be twenty francs, Your Majesty,” replied the +hairdresser without hesitation.</p> + +<p>The King pulled out a two-franc piece, which he handed +to this too facetious Figaro.</p> + +<p>“I am accustomed,” said he, “to pay very well. Here +is a two-franc piece. It is a new Belgian coin, and you +will see my head on it, as you wished to pay yourself for +it.” (“<i>Vous y verrez ma tête, puisque vous avez voulu vous +la payer.</i>”)</p> + +<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_33"></a>[33]</span></p> + +<p>It is said that the hairdresser left without asking for +the rest of the money, and that, since this adventure, he +placed over his shop a fine board, inscribed: “Furnisher +of H.M. the King of the Belgians.”</p> + +<p>My mother spent a summer at Spa, where she took a +house with a garden attached to it. I liked the place very +much, and often went for rides on a pony in the woods +with the late Captain Lennox Berkeley, who afterwards +became Earl of Berkeley. The country round Spa is +mountainous and very charming. Spa itself is an exceedingly +pretty place, situated in a valley entirely surrounded +by hills and woods, and the Ardennes are not far off. But +in the summer months the heat is intense, and, when the sun +once gets into the valley, there is often not a breath of air. +The promenade, where the band plays morning and evening, +is charming, and it is very pleasant to sit beneath the shady +trees and listen to the excellent orchestra. I often used to +go there with my mother, particularly of a morning, when +all the <i>monde élégant</i> used to forgather to listen to the +music. The gambling-rooms were then open for roulette +and trente-et-quarante, and Captain Berkeley used often +to try his luck at them, but, unfortunately, he was not +successful. I can remember his giving me “Japhet in +Search of a Father,” by Captain Marryat, and recommending +me to read it. I did so, and it amused me very +much.</p> + +<p>Another of my father’s friends, the late Captain Bromley, +an old Etonian, and a son of Sir Thomas Bromley, was at +Spa at the same time. One day, when I happened to tell +him that I was going into the Army, he smiled, and said +that he never could hit off with his colonel. The latter +complained that he was always late for parade, and +asked him if he did not hear the bugles sound. He +answered:—</p> + +<p>“Yes, sir—I hear the bugles, but there must be something +wrong with them, for they don’t sound the right note.” +The Colonel soon found him incorrigible, and he himself +that he was never made for a soldier.</p> + +<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_34"></a>[34]</span></p> + +<p>Bromley told me that, when a boy, he was accustomed +to dine off gold plates and that everything he used at table +was of gold. Suddenly, his father died, and his elder brother +inherited the title and estates, while he was obliged to live +on a few hundreds a year. This, he said, was the fault of +our law of primogeniture, which ought only to take effect +in the case of ducal houses, where the bearer of the title +should be made to pay an “appanage” to the other members +of the family, as is the rule on the Continent.</p> + +<p>It has often been asserted by authors of great authority +that women are much meaner than men; but I have known +some instances to the contrary. Once, during our stay at +Spa, a gentleman called on my mother, and told her that +he had lost all he possessed, and asked her to lend him £50, +as he was anxious to rejoin his wife. My mother, who had +known him for years, said that she would give him all she +had in the house—nearly £40—for which he was very +grateful, both at the time and when we met him and his +wife in later years.</p> + +<p>Once I was staying with my father at Desseins Hôtel, +at Calais,<a id="FNanchor_8" href="#Footnote_8" class="fnanchor">[8]</a> when he told me that he had made the acquaintance +of an Englishman, a certain Captain Arthy, who was +rather a singular character, indeed, highly eccentric. It +appeared that he had just lost his wife, and that he was +so distressed at her death that he wore all the trinkets +which had belonged to her on his watch-chain, to show his +affection for her. He had not, however, gone into mourning, +and always affected a red tie, saying that he wore the +mourning in his heart, upon which he used to lay his hand +as he spoke. I was introduced to Captain Arthy, who was +a bald-headed man, with black side-whiskers and rather a +red face, dressed in a light suit of clothes. The quantity +of charms on his watch-chain would have almost filled the +window of a jeweller’s shop, while numerous rings adorned<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_35"></a>[35]</span> +his fingers. He was perpetually smiling, displaying a set +of very fine teeth when he did so.</p> + +<p>He invited my father and me to see his rooms, which were +full of gold and silver cups, which he told us, had belonged +to his late wife. The late Mrs. Winsloe, whose husband +was a friend of my father, was staying at this hôtel. Mr. +Winsloe was a well-known man in Somersetshire, but he had +recently gone out of his mind. His wife had been a great +beauty, but she was then terribly made up, with fair dyed +hair.</p> + +<p>Mrs. Winsloe, who lived in very luxurious fashion, and +occupied a very fine set of rooms at Desseins Hôtel, said +that Arthy was a cousin of her husband, and showed us a +cutting from the <i>Times</i> about the death of Mrs. Arthy, which +had occurred in rather a tragic manner. One evening, +when my father and I were in her salon, she said to Arthy:—</p> + +<p>“I wish you would give one of your lockets to that little +boy, as a keepsake from me.” Arthy thereupon took off +his watch-chain, and, after hunting amongst his innumerable +lockets, at length chose one, which he unfastened, saying:—</p> + +<p>“Here is a nice gold locket that will do. Will you give +him your photo to put inside it?”</p> + +<p>“I haven’t got one,” replied Mrs. Winsloe. “Give him +one of yours instead.” So he cut round one of his photos +and, inserting it in the locket, handed it to me. “Now +kiss Mrs. Winsloe,” said he, “for it is her present to you.” +I kissed the paint off her face, and she kissed me, and I felt +sure that she left a coloured impression on my face. But +I was so pleased with the locket, which I attached to my chain, +that I did not care in the least.</p> + +<p>Arthy drank champagne with Mrs. Winsloe, and the latter +seemed rather infatuated with him, which was not surprising, +as he was a fine-looking man, though his baldness detracted +from his good looks. However, the lady could not afford +to be very <i>difficile</i>, being only an artificial beauty, whose +youth was but a memory. Formerly, she had had beautiful +hair, and it still reached to her waist. My father +complimented her upon it, observing:—</p> + +<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_36"></a>[36]</span></p> + +<p>“I never saw such lovely hair in my life, or such a +perfect colour.”</p> + +<p>She looked pleased, and replied, smiling:—</p> + +<p>“Yes, I don’t think there are many women who have +such fine hair.”</p> + +<p>“No, I am sure there are not,” remarked Arthy, who +appeared to be thinking of the gold locket which he had +given away, for he looked at his chain as he spoke.</p> + +<p>“He doesn’t half admire you,” said my father, laughing.</p> + +<p>“I am sure I do; I think my cousin the loveliest woman +possible,” replied the other, who appeared annoyed at my +father’s remark.</p> + +<p>Mrs. Winsloe looked at Arthy and smiled, being evidently +under the impression that he was jealous, as he appeared +angry with my father.</p> + +<p>The fact was that Arthy was anxious to ingratiate himself +with Mrs. Winsloe, as she was very wealthy. Accordingly, +he pretended to admire her, though it needed only half a +glance to see that in reality he considered her very far from +beautiful. Mrs. Winsloe not only paid for her own rooms +at the hôtel, but all the expensive dinners which she and +Arthy had together were entered to her account. The latter +had a great partiality for naval officers, and as an American +warship, the <i>Alabama</i>, of the Confederate Navy, happened +to be lying at Calais at this time, he invited some of the +officers to dine with him and Mrs. Winsloe. They accepted, +and were most sumptuously entertained, champagne flowing +like water.</p> + +<p>After staying six weeks with his cousin, Arthy left for +England. Soon afterwards, the officers of a British warship +at Portsmouth received an invitation from the Duke of St. +Albans to dine with him at an hôtel. The captain of the +ship happened to be away, and, on his return, the other +officers told him what a good dinner he had missed and loudly +praised the ducal hospitality.</p> + +<p>“The Duke of St. Albans!” exclaimed the captain, in +astonishment. “How can you possibly have dined with him +that evening? Why, the very same day I was shooting<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_37"></a>[37]</span> +quite near the duke’s property, and I happened to see him! +I will go to the hôtel and find out who it can be.”</p> + +<p>The captain lost no time in instituting inquiries, with the +result that the supposed duke was laid by the heels just as he +was preparing to leave Portsmouth, and turned out to be +none other than the man who had passed as Captain Arthy +at Calais. It was subsequently ascertained that he was a +certain Comte d’Aubigny, a member of a very old and +noble French family, and that he had deceived several +people in the same way. My father, on hearing of this, +remarked:—</p> + +<p>“It is the first time that I have been taken in by a +man, but I am glad I am not the only one he deceived.”</p> + +<p>The enterprising gentleman was afterwards brought to +trial and sentenced to seven years’ penal servitude.</p> + +<p>My parents sometimes spent the summer months at Boulogne, +one year taking a large house at some little distance +from the sea, overlooking a public garden. The late Captain +Elwes, a nephew of the Duchess of Wellington, who was +Vice-Consul at Boulogne, was a friend of my parents. He +was devoted to painting, and, many years later, painted a +miniature of an American lady for his cousin, the Marquis +of Anglesey. It was beautifully painted, but, unfortunately, +when it was finished, the Marquis had fallen in love with +another Transatlantic belle, so he did not appreciate the +miniature quite as much as he might have done, if his affections +had not been diverted from the original. Elwes hoped +to be appointed Consul at Boulogne, but whether he ever +obtained that post, I cannot say. The last time I met him +was in Paris, many years later, at a dinner given by the +Marquis of Anglesey, at the Hôtel d’Albe, in the Champs +Elysées.</p> + +<p>Lord Henry Paget, afterwards Marquis of Anglesey, was +very fond of Boulogne, and lived there with his first wife. +The latter died at Boulogne, quite suddenly, but the Marquis +continued to visit the place, and my father saw a good deal +of him.</p> + +<p>George Lawrence, the author of “Guy Livingstone,” son<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_38"></a>[38]</span> +of Lady Emily Lawrence, was frequently at Boulogne, and +often with my parents. I can remember my father relating +how one day he went with him to see one of the lovely +daughters of the Baron de Taintegnies off to Paris, and how +Lawrence was so infatuated with the young lady, that he +jumped into the train, without any luggage, merely to have +the pleasure of travelling with her all the way to Paris, a +journey of about five hours. On reaching Paris, he saw Mlle. +de Taintegnies safely to her destination, and then took the +train back to Boulogne.</p> + +<p>My parents were particularly fond of Lawrence, who was +good-humoured, clever, and very amusing. I heard that he +had a quarrel with Tom Hohler, who married the Duchess of +Newcastle, on account of having introduced him into one of +his novels, called “Breaking a Butterfly.” Hohler was very +friendly with my father in later years in Paris. We had a +white Pomeranian dog, and Tom Hohler asked my father to +show it to the Duke of Newcastle, who was then a child, +living with his mother in the Avenue d’Antin. The dog +took such a fancy to the young Duke that it forsook us for +him entirely. I heard recently from the Duke of Newcastle, +who was kind enough to be interested in this book, that +he remembered this Pomeranian dog quite well, and told me +its name—“Loulou”—which I had entirely forgotten. +The name recalled many things to my recollection. It is +strange how at times we forget a name, and then, when it is +mentioned, associations and incidents connected with it +are suddenly recalled to our memory and flash before us as in +a dream.</p> + +<p>Tom Hohler sang for a time at Her Majesty’s Theatre. +I never heard him sing in operas, but I have been told that he +had a very pleasing voice, though it was not a very powerful +one. It was said that when he sang in private houses, he +was paid £40 for every song.</p> + +<p>Harry Slade, a son of Sir Frederick Slade, stayed for a time +at Boulogne with his mother, of whom we saw a good deal; +and, after Lady Slade’s death, her son stayed for a long +time at the Hôtel du Nord, where my father and I<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_39"></a>[39]</span> +often went to see him. He was a good talker and always +very entertaining.</p> + +<p>Mrs. Joe Riggs, an American lady, who afterwards became +Princess Ruspoli, was extremely fond of Boulogne, and +generally spent the summer at the Hôtel Impérial; but this +was in later years.</p> + +<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop"> + +<div class="chapter"> + +<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_40"></a>[40]</span></p> + +<h2 class="nobreak" id="CHAPTER_IV">CHAPTER IV</h2> + +<p class="hanging">A Painting by Romney—Hunter’s School at Kineton—Corporal Punishment—A +Sporting Parson—My Schoolfellows at Kineton—The Warre-Malets—Lord +Charleville.</p> + +</div> + +<p>Before going to school in England, I was taken to +Richmond to see my mother’s aunt, Lady Caroline +Murray, who was now an old lady and lived in a house near +the Thames, for, as the Duchess of Gloucester, to whom she +had been lady-in-waiting, had been dead some years, she +was no longer at Court. In her younger days, Lady Caroline +had been a good horsewoman and had ridden very well to +hounds. But, at this time, she was leading a very quiet +life, receiving only her relatives and friends.</p> + +<p>I can remember that in Lady Caroline’s drawing-room at +Richmond there was a most beautiful picture of her mother, +Viscountess Stormont, British Ambassadress to France and +Austria, painted by Romney. It represented the Countess +in her own right, as she afterwards became, sitting beneath a +large tree and wearing a kind of loose <i>peignoir</i> of a pale yellow +colour, like the colour of the sea just before a storm. The +<i>peignoir</i> was fastened at the shoulder by a brooch, in which +was a large yellow stone. Her hair was dressed high above +the head, in the style of Marie Antoinette, in whose days her +husband was Ambassador in France, and over it she had a +Scottish plaid of the clan to which she belonged. One leg +was crossed over the other, and her arms were folded. She +was painted in profile; her <i>peignoir</i>, open at the front, displaying +a perfect bosom and a beautiful, swan-like neck. +Her hair possessed that glorious auburn tint with shades of +gold in it, which made it appear as though the sun were +shedding its full rays upon the gold tresses, one of which had<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_41"></a>[41]</span> +escaped from the rest and hung loose. Her face was of a +tender oval, with expressive eyes of a peculiar shade of +green, like that of the sea when the sun falls upon it, or as it +is in Böcklin’s pictures. Her nose was straight and delicate, +with nostrils like those of a Greek statue. Her mouth was +unusually small, with a tiny upper lip, slightly curved; her +chin short and classical. The expression on the face was of +pride, of audacity, of childish innocence, of sentimentality, +and it possessed a marvellous charm and attraction.</p> + +<figure class="figcenter illowp45" id="illus07" style="max-width: 18.75em;"> + <img class="w100" src="images/illus07.jpg" alt=""> + <figcaption class="caption"><p>The Author’s Mother.</p> + <p class="caption-r">[<i>To face p. 40.</i></p></figcaption> +</figure> + +<p>This beautiful portrait, which Lady Caroline bequeathed to +Earl Cathcart, as he was the head of her mother’s family, +was once seen by a wealthy American, who said to the Earl, +into whose possession it had then come:—</p> + +<p>“Have you ever seen such a lovely woman as this in all +your life?”</p> + +<p>“No, I have not,” the Earl answered.</p> + +<p>“Well, I guess you haven’t,” rejoined the other, “and I +don’t think there ever was such a lovely woman on earth.”</p> + +<p>And he offered Lord Cathcart £20,000 down for the +picture, which the latter, though not a rich man, refused. +The American then promised the Earl’s son, Viscount +Greenock, £500, if he could persuade his father to accept the +offer; but it was all of no avail.</p> + +<p>I showed Mr. Noseda, the well-known print-seller in the +Strand, the engraving of this picture by J. R. Smith, which +had belonged to my grandfather, when Mr. Noseda told me +that he very much preferred the engraving to the painting, +as the latter had been so much touched up, whereas the former +was so beautifully executed in every detail that he considered +it finer than Romney’s portrait. This was after I had told +him about the offer of £20,000 which the American had made +for the original painting.</p> + +<p>Viscountess Stormont had been Ranger of Richmond Park, +and was allotted, as her official residence, the house which is +now the Queen’s Hôtel. An old gentleman whom I met at +Richmond in later years told me that he thought the hôtel +ought to have been named after the Countess of Mansfield, +as Lady Stormont became later, instead of being called the<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_42"></a>[42]</span> +“Queen’s.” He remembered Lady Caroline Murray, and +remarked that she was one of those ladies of the old nobility +who were scarce nowadays.</p> + +<p>Viscount Greenock afterwards became Earl Cathcart, and +died in London in 1911. He was at Eton with me, and +afterwards joined the 23rd Welsh Fusiliers, from which he +was transferred to the Scots Guards. When at Eton, he +often came to my tutor’s house to see his cousin, Charles +Douglas, whose father had placed him there to be with me. +The Hon. Reginald Cathcart, a younger brother of Lord +Cathcart, was in the 60th Rifles, and I recollect giving him a +letter to his colonel, Godfrey Astell, in India,<a id="FNanchor_9" href="#Footnote_9" class="fnanchor">[9]</a> when he first +joined the regiment. Reginald Cathcart, who was a very +nice young man, tall, dark, and handsome, was one of those +unhappily killed in the Boer War.</p> + +<p>The school to which I was sent was at Kineton, near Warwick. +It had been recommended to my father by Lady +Caroline Murray, who had heard of it from the Duke of +Buccleuch, and a cousin of mine, Greville Finch-Hatton, was +being educated there. When my father and I arrived, we +were shown into a sitting-room, looking out on to a garden, +where we were received by Mrs. Hunter, the headmaster’s +wife. Mrs. Hunter was an old lady, whose age, I afterwards +ascertained, was about seventy. To guess it would have been a +difficult task, so terribly made up was she. Everything about +her was false: false teeth, false hair, and a false bust, giving +her somewhat the appearance of a wax figure at Madame +Tussaud’s. She had, however, very pretty white hands, +with pointed fingers. She was dressed in black satin, with a +large gold brooch at her throat, and a long gold chain round +her neck, a costume which she always wore.</p> + +<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_43"></a>[43]</span></p> + +<p>“This, I presume, is your little son, whom you are leaving +with us?” said Mrs. Hunter to my father. “Will you tell +me whether you belong to the High or Low Church, as it is +my province to look after the boys’ religious instruction, and +I am always interested to know.”</p> + +<p>The question was rather a poser for my father, who, I do +not think, had entered a church since he left England. So +he turned to me and said:—</p> + +<p>“Tell the lady to what church you go with your mother.”</p> + +<p>I said that at Ostend I always went to the English Protestant +Church. Upon which Mrs. Hunter observed:—</p> + +<p>“I see, you have been living on the Continent, and foreigners +have very little religion. However, I will take care that your +son has the proper religious instruction.”</p> + +<p>Suddenly, the door opened, and an immensely stout man, +of about sixty-five, with mutton-chop whiskers and spectacles, +entered the room, and introduced himself as Mr. Hunter, +the headmaster.</p> + +<p>In his youth Mr. Hunter had probably been an exceedingly +handsome man, and was still, apart from his corpulence, +decidedly good-looking, with a fine forehead, a small mouth +with thin lips and very good teeth, and regular features.</p> + +<p>After showing us over the school, Mr. Hunter sent for +Greville Finch-Hatton, telling my father that I should +occupy a dormitory with my cousin and two other boys. +At eight o’clock, supper was served in a large dining-room, +where the presence of a new boy provoked a good deal of +talking amongst the other boys. Mrs. Hunter sat at one end +of the table, her husband at the other; and the meal was +a cold one, carved on the table, and consisting of cold meat, +followed by bread and cheese, washed down by draught beer.</p> + +<p>As soon as supper was over, we were sent to our dormitories, +where I had not been long in bed when my cousin leant over +from his and asked if I were asleep. On finding that I was +awake, he told me that we must talk in a very low voice, +as talking was forbidden, and Mrs. Hunter occasionally paid +us a visit to see whether this regulation was being observed. +The two other boys in the room also began talking in low<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_44"></a>[44]</span> +tones. Later on, when they considered themselves pretty +safe from detection, they talked louder and carried on a +long conversation about cricket, discussing who were the +best bowlers in the school and whether fast bowling was +more effective than slow.</p> + +<p>I could not sleep, and, for some unaccountable reason, +felt very miserable. At last I began to cry, at first quietly, +but soon I was unable to restrain my sobs. My cousin, +hearing me, tried to console me, saying that he, too, had +found it hard to leave his parents at first. I felt inclined +to tell him that it was not that which made me cry, but I +thought better of it. Soon afterwards I fell asleep, and +dreamed that I was at Kirchhofer’s school at Frankfurt, +and that Vogelsang was talking to me. I even fancied that +he kissed me, when I awoke suddenly, in despair at finding +where I was.</p> + +<p>Mr. Hunter was a very pleasant man, when he cared to +be, which was by no means always the case. He was most +severe with everyone, and had no particular favourites. +Some boys he disliked, particularly those who did not learn +quickly, and those who were inclined to be noisy. He was +full of fun when he played football with us; making jokes +and chaffing different boys in turn. He was, however, +quite a different kind of man in school from what he was +in the playground.</p> + +<p>On Sundays, we, of course, attended church. The clergyman +who preached, a Mr. Miller, had two voices: a very +squeaky voice and a very gruff one. When he preached +in his squeaky voice, most of us would fall asleep in the +high pews, which screened us from the observation of the +headmaster; but when Mr. Miller altered his tone, and his +deep, gruff voice was suddenly heard, coming, as it were, +out of a vault, we would be disagreeably startled from our +slumbers. The sermons, I am inclined to believe, were +bought ones, for Mr. Miller used sometimes to lose his place +in the midst of his discourse and come to a stop, and when +he continued, it was on quite a different subject. But +it mattered little, so far as we were concerned, for most<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_45"></a>[45]</span> +of the boys were usually asleep, and those who tried to +listen could not follow the squeaky voice of the preacher—which +had all the disagreeable sounds of a clarionet played +badly—even by straining their ears, which few of them +were disposed to do.</p> + +<p>Our French master, who was obliged to accompany us, +used sometimes to unfold the Paris <i>Figaro</i> at full length +and read it during the sermon. Mr. Hunter, owing to the +height of the pews, could not, of course, see him, or he would +most certainly have taken very strong exception to such +an irregular proceeding. One Sunday, when Monsieur +happened to have forgotten his <i>Figaro</i>, he passed the +time of the sermon in an animated conversation with Rush, +the captain of the Eleven. Unfortunately for the latter, +Mr. Hunter happened to detect them; and, after church, +he sent for Rush, and, refusing to listen to his appeals, took +him to the schoolroom and, making him bend down, gave +him a severe caning.</p> + +<p>When I first came to the school, I was chaffed about +my pronunciation, and Rush said:—</p> + +<p>“If you pronounce Themistocles like you do, I wouldn’t +be in your shoes.” Then he used to ask me questions about +my German school, which at first he laughed at. Soon, +however, he took a great interest in it, making me tell him +about the boys there, what they were like and what they did.</p> + +<p>“It must be very much jollier than here,” said he, “and +none of that beastly caning and flogging, as there is at +Kineton.”</p> + +<p>Mr. Hunter was certainly a devout believer in the precept: +“Spare the rod, and spoil the child;” indeed, he seemed +to have a perfect passion for caning the boys, and at times +performed this operation with astonishing zest. Sometimes, +of an evening, in my dormitory, we would play at +being Mr. Hunter, each of us taking it in turns to personate +the master and beat the other boys with a hairbrush, in place +of a cane. One night, one of us happened to remark:—</p> + +<p>“I think it is a pleasure that would grow upon one, as it +evidently does upon old Hunter.”</p> + +<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_46"></a>[46]</span></p> + +<p>Scarcely had he said this, when, to our consternation, +the door suddenly opened, and the master appeared. The +boys bolted into bed as fast as they could, but it was too +late, and we were told to come to Mr. Hunter’s study after +prayers the following morning. There, after we had been +duly admonished, we were all severely caned.</p> + +<p>Rush and other boys used to put hairs in the canes to +split them; but Mr. Hunter found this out, for one day, he +broke six canes one after another. He then rang for his +whalebone whip, and we received a fearful thrashing, with +no time to prepare for it by padding our clothes with books.</p> + +<p>One day, the Duchess of Marlborough, who was a friend +of Lady Caroline Murray, called, and asked to see my cousin +and myself. She was accompanied by her son, Lord Randolph +Churchill, and her visit to the school was due to the +fact that she thought of placing him there. But Lord +Randolph became too ill to go to school just then, and had +a private tutor at home instead, until he was old enough to +be sent to Eton.<a id="FNanchor_10" href="#Footnote_10" class="fnanchor">[10]</a></p> + +<p>We often went for picnics to the charming woods of +Compton Verney, belonging to Lady Willoughby de Broke. +That lady, who was always very pleasant and full of fun, +would sometimes come and talk to us and to Mr. Hunter. +The latter had formerly been private tutor to her eldest +son, and the school was on Lord Willoughby de Broke’s property.<a id="FNanchor_11" href="#Footnote_11" class="fnanchor">[11]</a> +The late Hon. Rainald Verney, Lord Willoughby’s +younger brother, was at school at Hunter’s, before going to +Eton, and often came to the school when I was there, before +he joined the 52nd Light Infantry.</p> + +<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_47"></a>[47]</span></p> + +<p>Mr. Hunter had a young and rather pretty niece, a girl +of eighteen, with black hair, who stayed for a time with him. +She used to go into the boys’ dormitories at night, when +she would give them bonbons and generally kiss them. +But her stay at Kineton was so short that her presence there +was more like an angel’s visit than anything else.</p> + +<p>One day, the Rev. William and Mrs. Finch-Hatton called +to see their son and also asked to see me. Mrs. Finch-Hatton, +who was at that time known as the “Rose of Kent,” was a +lovely woman, with very black hair and regular features. +She was a sister of Sir Percy Oxenden. She told me that +both she and her husband were struck by my great resemblance +to their son Greville; and Mr. Finch-Hatton very +kindly gave me half a sovereign, which I never forgot, as +I rarely received any money from anyone. Mr. Newenham, +who had married a daughter of the Earl of Mount +Cashell, and was a clergyman in Ireland, also came to see +his son. He played football with us, and afterwards told +us the following story:—</p> + +<p>“I was once asked to see an old woman in Cork who +was dying. She asked me to read the Bible to her, but as +I was unprepared to find her so ill, I had not brought one +with me, nor had she one in the house. So I pulled out a +copy of <i>Bell’s Life</i> which I happened to have in my +pocket, and read her an article from it, which, as she happened +to be deaf, had precisely the same effect upon her +as the Bible would have had.”</p> + +<p>Mr. Newenham was a regular sporting parson, with, however, +a good deal more of the sportsman than the parson +about him, but full of fun and very agreeable.</p> + +<p>There was a boy named Charles Taylor at the school, +who afterwards went to Eton. His father, who had himself +been at Eton, was a famous cricketer and had played +in the All-England Eleven. He was, however, somewhat +eccentric, having the most intense dislike of being asked +his age; in fact, when one put this question to him, he +invariably answered that he neither knew it nor wished to +know it. He had also a strong objection to anything of<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_48"></a>[48]</span> +a violet colour, and if a person called to see him wearing a +tie or a dress of that colour, he always picked a quarrel with +his unfortunate visitor.</p> + +<p>Another boy at Kineton, whom I shall call L——, had +the misfortune to be afflicted with kleptomania, and would +take everything he could lay his hands on. Mr. Hunter +used to break so many canes upon his back that he said +to him one day:—</p> + +<p>“I shall send the bill for all the canes I have broken in +trying to correct you to your mother, for you get worse +and worse every day.”</p> + +<p>The school colours were scarlet and white, but they were +only worn by the cricket Eleven. As I was in the Eleven, +I had this coveted privilege. My cousin did not much care +for cricket, and was fonder of riding and shooting, at both +of which he excelled. Mr. Hunter kept a pony for the boys +to ride. When he drove to Warwick, Leamington or Banbury, +he would take two of us with him, one boy riding the pony, +while the other sat in the pony-trap with the master. I can +remember once riding to Warwick and then to Stratford-on-Avon +on the pony, which Finch-Hatton rode back to Kineton. +Most of the boys could ride well, and those who could not +were never taken by Mr. Hunter, save on one occasion, when +I recollect that the boy he took with him reminded me of +certain Frenchmen whom one sees riding in the Bois de +Boulogne, who are afraid to let their horses go beyond a walk. +As my father used to say in Paris:—</p> + +<p>“They praise the Lord on their knees every time they +come home safely and are out of the saddle.”</p> + +<p>Greville Finch-Hatton was rather delicate, and, after +making a voyage to Australia, died quite young.</p> + +<p>Aubrey Birch Reynardson, who also slept in my dormitory, +had a gift for story-telling. One night he related to us the +story of “Eric, or Little by Little,” with which, I can remember, +we were delighted.</p> + +<p>Mr. Hunter always wore spectacles. At times, by gaslight, +when the gas fell upon them, it looked as if his eyes +were two flames, and that he was an ogre ready to devour<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_49"></a>[49]</span> +one of us, particularly when he took up his cane, and glared +at the culprit, through his spectacles, with fiery eyes. But, +taken on the whole, Mr. Hunter was a very good fellow, +who would never have done anyone an injury, apart from +perhaps giving him a dose of the cane.</p> + +<p>Among the boys who were at Hunter’s with me was Charles +Home-Purves, who was the head of the school. He afterwards +went to Eton and took Lower School instead of +Fourth Form, at which Mr. Hunter was much disappointed. +His father, Colonel Home-Purves, was in attendance on the +Duchess of Cambridge, and was accidentally killed by the +overturning of a carriage in which he was driving with Her +Royal Highness. He was so terribly cut about the face +by the glass of the carriage-window that he died almost +immediately. His son was offered a commission in the +Guards, but preferred entering the Rifle Brigade. However, +he left the regiment shortly afterwards, and died when +very young.</p> + +<p>The late Earl of Lonsdale, before he succeeded his uncle +in the title, was also at Kineton with me. On one occasion, +he ordered a lot of toys from Cremer’s toy-shop, but when +they arrived, Mr. Hunter was so startled at the bill, which +amounted to a considerable sum, that he had them at once +sent back to where they came from, telling Lowther, as he +was then, that he must make a better use of his money. He +found life at Hunter’s too restricted and not lively enough +for him, so he only remained one half, and then asked to +leave the school. I met him at Eton with his brother, the +present Earl of Lonsdale. The latter was attached to the +Rifle Brigade, and was a very keen sportsman, I remember, +when we were both stationed at Winchester.</p> + +<p>One day, at Kineton, I was playing with Newenham, who +happened to have a pocket-knife open in his hand, and, by +accident, I got a very ugly stab in the back. Indeed, the +doctor declared that, if the wound had been one-eighth of an +inch deeper, it would have been fatal. Newenham was once +mistaken for me by an uncle of mine at the Great Western +Hotel, Paddington, which amused both of them very much,<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_50"></a>[50]</span> +particularly as I was then at the same school as Newenham. +He retired from the Army with the rank of Major, and lives +in County Kerry, for which he is a magistrate.</p> + +<p>Once, on the anniversary of Shakespeare’s birth,<a id="FNanchor_12" href="#Footnote_12" class="fnanchor">[12]</a> Mr. +Hunter took us to Stratford-on-Avon, to show us the house +where the poet was born and to visit the theatre. Mr. +Hunter was a good amateur actor, and would sometimes +get up plays for us to act. On one occasion, we played +“A Midsummer Night’s Dream.” Lady Willoughby de Broke, +Lord and Lady North, Sir Charles Mordaunt, and all the +neighbouring county families were invited to the performance, +which went off fairly well. “Making up” afforded us great +amusement. One of the boys had learned this art from his +sister, and proved himself quite an adept at darkening the +others’ eyebrows and rouging their cheeks and lips.</p> + +<p>I happened to meet recently the Rev. Henry Knightley, +brother of Sir Charles Knightley. He had been at Kineton +with me, but it was forty years since we had met. From +him I learned that Mr. Hunter had died at Leamington +after giving up his school, and that Rush had died quite early +in life, as well as several others who were there with us. It +was quite a pleasure for me, and, I think, also for him, +to recall our school-days, and even the canings I looked back +upon with some regret, feeling that I would willingly submit +to them again, could I but return to those times. We both +agreed that we had not learned much at Kineton, but that, +on the whole, our life there with our schoolfellows had been<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_51"></a>[51]</span> +a pleasant one. I found that Knightley was under the +impression that Greville Finch-Hatton had inherited the +title of Winchilsea, but I told him that my cousin was dead, +and that the present Earl of Winchilsea and Nottingham +had been at Eton with me, and was kind enough to interest +himself in my book about our school life.</p> + +<figure class="figcenter illowp45" id="illus08" style="max-width: 18.75em;"> + <img class="w100" src="images/illus08.jpg" alt=""> + <figcaption class="caption"><p>C. D. Williamson, at Eton with the Author.</p> + <p class="caption-r">[<i>To face p. 50.</i></p></figcaption> +</figure> + +<figure class="figcenter illowp45" id="illus09" style="max-width: 18.75em;"> + <img class="w100" src="images/illus09.jpg" alt=""> + <figcaption class="caption"><p>Miss Mabel Warre-Malet.</p> + <p class="caption-r">[<i>To face p. 51.</i></p></figcaption> +</figure> + +<p>The chief prize I got at this school was a copy of Longfellow’s +poems, beautifully bound and illustrated. I was +very pleased at receiving it, as Longfellow was at that time +my favourite lyrical poet in the English language.</p> + +<p>Most of the boys remained at Kineton until they were +fourteen, when they left for Harrow, Eton, Winchester, or +some other public school. Greville Finch-Hatton went to +Wellington, Rush to Cheltenham, and Knightley to Marlborough.</p> + +<p>During my holidays, I sometimes went to Taunton, to +stay with an aunt of mine, whose husband, a very kind man, +was extremely fond of me. His daughter’s chief friends +were some children of the name of Warre-Malet, nieces of +the Ambassador, Sir Alexander Warre-Malet. The eldest +girl, Mabel, who was about thirteen, the same age as myself, +was very pretty, with brown hair, a lovely complexion and +eyes of a deep blue. One Christmas Eve, Mrs. Warre-Malet +had a large Christmas tree, with numerous presents attached +to its branches, and we were invited to her house. Every +one of the children received a beautiful present from the +tree, which was illuminated by a great number of candles. +Afterwards we played at forfeits, and I was told to kiss Mabel +Warre-Malet as a forfeit, an act which I felt very shy about +performing. “<i>Si jeunesse savait, si vieillesse pouvait.</i>” +Another friend of ours was a girl whose name was Amy; +who was also about thirteen. She, too, was a very attractive +little lady, with long brown hair, hazel eyes with black lashes, +an oval face, and a small mouth with pearly white teeth. +She had a cousin, the Earl of Charleville, some years older +than herself, who was staying at that time with her people. +One day she came with him to see my cousins, and said to +me:</p> + +<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_52"></a>[52]</span></p> + +<p>“Charleville can tell you all about Eton, if you want +to know anything, as he went to school there.”</p> + +<p>Lord Charleville had to go away before his companion, +who remained to tea. Afterwards, one of my cousins and I +accompanied her part of the way home, and, while we were +crossing some fields, she suddenly exclaimed:—</p> + +<p>“Good gracious! my petticoat is coming down!”</p> + +<p>And she burst out laughing.</p> + +<p>My cousin Florence, a girl of thirteen, told me to walk on, +while she pinned up Amy’s petticoat. But this proved a +more difficult task than she had bargained for, as a string +fastening had been broken, and it ended in Amy being +obliged to take her petticoat off and carry it as a parcel. +The two girls laughed consumedly at this mishap and its +victim said to me:—</p> + +<p>“Don’t you tell anyone that you saw me take my petticoat +off, or I will never forgive you.”</p> + +<p>I assured her that on no consideration would I breathe +so much as a syllable, and, on leaving us, she said:—</p> + +<p>“As you are going away, you may give me a kiss, if you +like.”</p> + +<p>Which I did right gladly, as you may suppose.</p> + +<p>A few days later, I met Charleville at an evening party +in Taunton, at which he paid marked attention to the daughter +of the house, a very pretty girl. I recollect meeting at this +party two of the daughters of the vicar of Taunton, Elsie +and Audrey Clark, the elder of whom was thirteen, while her +sister was three years younger, and was much struck by +their beauty, which was quite out of the common. One of +them had the most lovely hair, of the same exquisite colour +as that which one sees in Titian’s paintings; the other’s hair +was also very beautiful, but of a more auburn shade; and +both sisters had the most charming complexion. I danced +repeatedly with one of them; <i>mais mon cœur balançait entre +les deux</i>, so far as their attractions were concerned. The +girl with the Titian hair afterwards married the fourteenth +Lord Petre, while her sister married his uncle.</p> + +<p>Lord Charleville was a tall, good-looking youth, with<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_53"></a>[53]</span> +wavy brown hair and regular features, but he was very +delicate, being consumptive. After serving for a year in the +Rifle Brigade, his health obliged him to resign his commission. +He then went for a voyage in his yacht, but derived +little benefit from it, and died before reaching his majority.</p> + +<p>The late Mrs. O. Warre-Malet told me that, when she was +quite a young girl, she and her sister went to Ascot races +on foot and disguised as boys for a joke, and that they +got a good deal of money from people who were driving to the +course. Her sister married the Hon. Humble Dudley-Ward, +and after her husband’s death, the late Duke of Richmond +made her an offer of marriage. This she refused, but accepted +Mr. Gerard Leigh, who was an immensely wealthy man. +After his death she became the wife of Monsieur de Falbe, +and died some years ago.</p> + +<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop"> + +<div class="chapter"> + +<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_54"></a>[54]</span></p> + +<h2 class="nobreak" id="CHAPTER_V">CHAPTER V</h2> + +<p class="center">My Mother’s Recollections—The Cercle des Patineurs—Patti—Our +<i>Appartement</i> in the Rue d’Albe</p> + +</div> + +<p>My parents were at this time living in Paris, in a +small hôtel in the Avenue d’Antin, which was +so shut in by the houses that surrounded it, that the rooms +were very dark, and, as it was winter, this made the house +seem more gloomy than it would have done at another +season of the year.</p> + +<p>I was quite enchanted with Paris; everything about it +delighted me, so different was it from any city I had ever +seen. The only thing that displeased me was the hôtel +in which we lived. Not only was it gloomy, but nothing +could be seen from the windows, except a kind of courtyard, +resembling a <i>patio</i> in Spain. This courtyard was filled +with flowers, very prettily arranged; nevertheless, it was +depressing to be unable to see anything else when you looked +out of the window.</p> + +<p>I remember being taken to a box at the Théâtre +des Italiens to hear Adelina Patti, in <i>La Gazza ladra</i>, by +Rossini. It was the first time that I had heard her sing, +and I was, of course, delighted with her voice; but my +mother was disappointed, and I recall what she said at the +time:—</p> + +<p>“After having heard Grisi, Malibran, and even Jenny +Lind, I do not think Patti is to be compared with them, +neither so far as her voice is concerned, nor as an actress. +She reminds me at times of Jenny Lind, yet I prefer the +latter infinitely.”</p> + +<p>My mother always had her own box at Her Majesty’s in<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_55"></a>[55]</span> +the days when Grisi, Lablache, Malibran, and the dancers +Taglioni, Fanny Elssler and Cerrito were enchanting the +audience. One evening, during the visit of the Tsar +Nicholas I. of Russia to England, my mother was invited +by the Duke of Sussex and Mlle. d’Este to a box at the +Opera facing that which the Tsar and Queen Victoria +occupied. The Duke of Sussex paid £500 for this box.</p> + +<p>My mother told me that the two finest sights she ever +beheld in her life were the Coronation of Queen Victoria, +when the peeresses all put on their coronets, sparkling with +diamonds, emeralds and rubies, at the moment Her Majesty +was crowned in Westminster Abbey; and at the Queen’s +accession, when hundreds of schoolchildren, dressed in white +and light blue, knelt down and recited the Lord’s Prayer +by St. Paul’s, after which the Benediction was pronounced +by the Archbishop of Canterbury.</p> + +<p>My mother often met Disraeli in London society; and +she told me that, in his youth, he always wore several +diamond rings over his white kid gloves, and that she thought +him a most affected and conceited young man. The two +Greek countesses described in “Lothair” were the Countesses +Zancarol. One married Colonel Lemesurier, of the Royal +Horse Artillery; the other Major Geary, R.A. The latter +married couple often dined with us in Paris, where Mrs. +Geary was considered a great beauty. Major Geary and his +brother, Sir Henry Le Quay Geary, K.C.B., were lifelong +friends of my parents.</p> + +<p>My maternal grandfather, Lieut.-General the Hon. George +Murray, to whom George III. and his Queen were godfather +and godmother, commanded the 2nd Life Guards. +For ten years he refused to accept his pay, on account of +a quarrel which he had with the Duke of York. So far as +I can recollect, the cause of the quarrel was as follows:—</p> + +<p>During the Peninsular War, an outward-bound troopship, +having some troops on board commanded by my grandfather, +and a great quantity of heavy luggage belonging +to the Duke of York, encountered very bad weather, and +was in danger of foundering. In order to lighten the vessel,<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_56"></a>[56]</span> +the captain wanted to throw all the horses overboard. But +this my grandfather would not allow, and proposed that the +Duke’s luggage should be sacrificed instead, which was +accordingly done, to the intense indignation of His Royal +Highness, when he heard of it afterwards.</p> + +<p>The statue to the Duke of York, erected in London, was +reported to have been built so high in order to place him +beyond the reach of his creditors, whose name was legion.</p> + +<p>My grandfather used to say that he never could understand +how the Duchess of Sutherland, with her £365,000 +a year, could bring herself to stand the whole evening at +the Opera behind the Prince Consort, who was only an +insignificant German prince, with a tiny principality. His +opinion of George IV. was that it would puzzle anyone who +knew him to discover a good quality that he possessed.</p> + +<p>It was about this time, when my parents were living in +the Avenue d’Antin, that I first saw Hortense Schneider +in <i>les Voyages de Gulliver</i>, at the Châtelet Théâtre, which +all Paris rushed to see. The play was a charming one, +and the children were particularly delighted when the Liliputians, +represented by tiny little wooden figures, moved +about the stage. Hortense Schneider, of course, represented +Gulliver, and sang some very pretty songs in the course of +the play.</p> + +<p>The late Arthur Post, a young American living with his +family in Paris, fell desperately in love at this time with +Hortense Schneider, though she was very much older than +himself. He drove about the Bois with her, accompanied +her to theatres, and, in fact, was always with her. His +infatuation greatly distressed his parents, and was the +subject of universal comment. However, he did not marry +her, though that was not his fault, as Hortense Schneider +had several royal and other princes ready to lay their fortunes +at her feet; and it was not until several years afterwards +that she chose a very wealthy banker for her husband.</p> + +<p>Fioretti was then the <i>première danseuse</i> at the Grand +Opéra. Her dancing always gave me greater pleasure +than anything else there. She was, besides, very beautiful,<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_57"></a>[57]</span> +and King Ludwig II. of Bavaria was so captivated by her +graceful dancing and personal attraction, that he induced +her to leave Paris for Munich, to dance there instead.</p> + +<p>I went also to the Palais-Royal, and saw <i>le Train de +Minuit</i>, a play in which a railway-carriage is by accident +left behind in the middle of the night at a station, and the +people awake and find themselves at some miserable little +village, instead of in Paris, as they had expected. They, +of course, cannot obtain what they require in the way of +refreshments, and are nearly perishing with cold, as it is +the depth of winter, and the carriage is no longer heated; +and the complications that ensue are very amusing.</p> + +<p>One day, I went with my parents to Saint-Germain, to +visit Captain and Mrs. Lennox Berkeley, who were living +there. Their son, Hastings, a good-looking boy, told us +that his father was learning to play the zither, which Captain +Berkeley showed us, though he could not be persuaded to +let us hear him play it. Saint-Germain, with its charming +woods and pretty walks, is delightful in summer, the country +all around being lovely. When we returned to Paris, I did +not give my father any peace until he had bought a zither +for me. It was not easy to obtain one, and I remember +that we wandered about half Paris, until at length we discovered +what we wanted in the Rue de Rivoli. I had also +great difficulty in finding a master, until finally I discovered +a German who played the instrument very well.</p> + +<p>In the winter months, I went several times with my +father to the Cercle des Patineurs. This was a very exclusive +and very expensive resort, where, to secure +admittance for yourself and family, you had to be a member +of the Jockey Club, while each person had to pay twenty +francs in the afternoon and forty francs in the morning and +evening. There were some Americans who skated marvellously, +amongst them being Mrs. Ronalds, who was a +very fine skater. I was told that Napoleon III. and the +Empress Eugénie admired her graceful skating so much +that they complimented her on several occasions at the +Cercle des Patineurs, and she became a frequent guest at<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_58"></a>[58]</span> +the Tuileries. The Princess Metternich, the Austrian +Ambassadress, was also an <i>habituée</i>; in fact, the place was +patronized by all the <i>beau monde</i> of those days.</p> + +<p>I frequently went at that time to Musards’ concerts, +which on fine summer evenings were given out of doors, in a +garden, and always enjoyed them immensely. Sometimes +I went with my mother to meet friends there; but when +I went alone, I usually sat with the Piétris, near relatives of +the Préfet de Police, who was so much attached to the +Emperor and Empress. Their daughter, Julie, was a lovely +girl of thirteen, and when I had learned to play the zither +better, we often performed duets together, as she was a +most accomplished pianist. I can remember we often +played Schubert’s <i>Ständchen</i>, which sounded very well, as +it is rather melancholy. Sad airs, in my opinion, are best +suited to the zither, particularly when it is accompanied +by the piano. When the German who was teaching me the +zither left Paris, I took lessons from a Mlle. Reichemberg, +who, at that time, was also teaching Adelina Patti, and +learned a Polish romance which the latter was very fond +of playing. Patti became extremely fond of the zither, +which she played a good deal in her leisure hours, though +she never sang to it, I was told.</p> + +<p>Hofrath Hanslick, the late celebrated critic of the Austrian +<i>Neue Freie Presse</i>, said of Patti:—</p> + +<p>“She appears to me to be most perfect in rôles like +Zerlina, in <i>Don Juan</i>, Norina, in <i>Don Pasquale</i>, Rosina, +in the <i>Barbiere di Seviglia</i>. What a fresh, youthful voice, +which in its range from the tenor C to F in alt, moves about +with such wonderful ease! The most perfect and delightful, +though, were the lively rôles of Patti, principally the one of +Zerlina, in <i>Don Juan</i>. She gave us the true ideal of Zerlina. +With these advantages, and especially, too, in the development +of dazzling virtuosity, Patti shines as Rosina in Rossini’s +<i>Barbiere</i>, and as Norina in Donizetti’s graceful opera, <i>Don +Pasquale</i>. In the <i>Barbiere</i> one can judge best, perhaps, of +her marvellous art in singing. Of her later rôles, in Leonora, +in Verdi’s <i>Trovatore</i>, she attained almost the highest pitch.<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_59"></a>[59]</span> +The <i>Traviata</i>, which is decidedly a far better opera, shows +Patti to more advantage dramatically. I always disliked +<i>Dinorah</i>, almost as much as I did formerly the <i>Traviata</i>, +which I saw the first time badly performed. Two rôles of +Patti which I cannot praise as much as the two before-mentioned +are Valentine, in the <i>Huguenots</i>, and Gretchen, +in the <i>Faust</i> of Gounod. In the valse of Venzano, she +sings a roulade of seventeen bars in one breath, smiling, as +if it were child’s play. There is no doubt that the Valentine +of Pauline Lucca and the Marguerite of Christine Nilsson +surpass the performance of Patti in these rôles. A clever +writer once called Italy the conservatoire of God. In this +conservatoire Adelina Patti has without doubt taken away +the first prize.”</p> + +<p>One Sunday evening, I went with Captain Berkeley to see +some fine illuminations in the Champs-Elysées. I recollect +telling him how much I disliked a crowd, to which he +replied:—</p> + +<p>“It is the only day on which the poor people can enjoy +themselves, and they have as much right to do so as the +rich. I am always so delighted to see the poor creatures +happy.” One day, a beggar came up to him and asked +for some coppers, upon which he said to him:—</p> + +<p>“<i>Mon cher ami, c’est défendu de mendier, mais voici un +franc; ne le faites plus.</i>”</p> + +<p>I called one day with my father at an hôtel in the Champs-Elysées. +As the lady we had come to see happened to be +out, we were asked to wait in a salon, where an English lady +sat, reading. My father made some casual remark about +its being fine weather to be out of doors, to which the lady +answered that she had only just arrived in Paris and intended +to have a rest. My father then said that he supposed she +would go out the next day.</p> + +<p>“No,” was the answer. “I told you, I have come here +for a rest.”</p> + +<p>He asked how long she intended resting, when she replied:</p> + +<p>“Six months.”</p> + +<p>My father was so astonished at this reply that he was quite<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_60"></a>[60]</span> +unable to refrain from laughing, which rather annoyed the +lady. On our leaving the hôtel soon afterwards, he said to +me:</p> + +<p>“That old woman is mad with her rest, and to come to +Paris, of all places, to have it. She must be out of her +mind.”</p> + +<p>I frequently went to the galleries of the Louvre and the +Luxembourg, and always had a great liking for Greuze’s +paintings, particularly the <i>Cruche Cassée</i> and <i>l’Accordée +du Village</i>. The former I have often seen in engravings +by Masard and other engravers, but no reproduction has +ever come up to the beautiful face of the original. There +is always <i>quelque chose à désirer</i> in the copies, and even +in the photographs from the picture itself; it is something +in the expression, and not alone in the colouring.</p> + +<p>At the time of which I am speaking, there was a Spaniard +in Paris, a friend of some acquaintances of ours, who built a +large hôtel and a theatre for himself attached to it. The +former was heated to a certain temperature, and his doctor +called upon him every day, receiving a napoleon for each +visit, and on certain fête days a hundred francs. The +doctor used merely to feel his patient’s pulse, when he was +not ill. This Spaniard had two lady friends, a brunette and +a blonde, each of whom was in the habit of spending certain +fixed days in the week with him. Notwithstanding the very +regular life he led, he did not attain the age of forty, but died +of fever almost suddenly. He was an immensely wealthy +man, but of a very nervous temperament. During the winter +he never went out of doors, from fear of taking cold.</p> + +<p>Lord Lyons, who was then British Ambassador in Paris, +was celebrated for two things particularly, apart from his +diplomatic capabilities: his horses and the excellent dinners +he gave. An old Englishman, of over seventy, with whom we +were well acquainted, used to look forward to dining at the +British Embassy for weeks in advance. But his wife said +she positively dreaded his going there, as he was invariably +laid up for a fortnight after partaking of one of these too-appetizing +banquets.</p> + +<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_61"></a>[61]</span></p> + +<p>In the following summer, my parents left the Avenue +d’Antin and lived for a time in the Avenue Joséphine, until +an <i>appartement</i> which my mother had taken unfurnished in +the Rue d’Albe, in the Champs-Elysées, had been got ready +for us. I recollect she ordered the furniture from the celebrated +Maison Krieger, in the Faubourg Saint-Antoine. +The salon was furnished in Louis Quinze style, with some +tiny chairs with gilt backs and the seats in satin with designs +of various birds of gorgeous plumage in different colours, +all worked in silk by hand. The sides of the fauteuils were of +gilt, while the backs and the seats were all in Aubusson +tapestry, representing roses on a white foundation. The +sofa was in Aubusson to match the fauteuils, the curtains as +well. The carpet, which covered the middle of the room +only, as the floor was a parquet, was a lovely design with a +white foundation, the edges of which and the centre represented +clusters of red and pink roses. The carpet was in +Aubusson tapestry, and rather a small one, though my +mother had paid 7,500 francs for it. Dr. Bishop, brother-in-law +of the late Lord Iddesleigh, declared that the carpet was +so lovely that he was really afraid to walk on it. He was a +very tall, stout man, and he always sat on the delicate chairs +in preference to the others. This made my mother feel +very uneasy, less because she feared that the chair might get +broken than because she was afraid that he might have a +severe fall. The tables in the salon were Louis Quinze style, +in marqueterie, all inlaid with tortoiseshell and mother-of-pearl +in Boule style, and on the chimney-piece stood a clock +and various figures and lamps in old Sèvres porcelain. The +walls were white, with gold decorations, and were adorned +with numerous mirrors. I asked my mother to have my bedroom +furnished in yellow and black satin, which she had done. +I was extremely fond of the Austrian national colours, and, +besides, they were the same as those of a room which I had +occupied some little time before when on a visit to Mrs. +Reynolds, formerly Miss Lethbridge, at Poundsford Park, +near Taunton.</p> + +<p>As I was about to go to Eton, my mother was anxious that<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_62"></a>[62]</span> +I should have the correct Eton collar. No one in Paris +knew what it was like, so Lady Caroline Murray sent her the +pattern of a collar worn by one of the twin brothers Lambton, +who were both then at Eton. The elder is now Earl of +Durham. The Eton jacket was also a bit of a puzzle, and, +though I had it made as near the correct thing as possible, +I found, when I got to Eton, that, to be quite in the mode, I +must get my jackets made by Manley, of Windsor. This I +did all the time I was at Eton, as well as other clothes I wore +there.</p> + +<figure class="figcenter illowp100" id="illus10" style="max-width: 62.5em;"> + <img class="w100" src="images/illus10.jpg" alt=""> + <figcaption class="caption"><p>The Author.</p> + <p>Aged 9. Aged 14. Aged 16.</p> + <p class="caption-r">[<i>To face p. 62.</i></p></figcaption> +</figure> + +<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop"> + +<div class="chapter"> + +<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_63"></a>[63]</span></p> + +<h2 class="nobreak" id="CHAPTER_VI">CHAPTER VI</h2> + +<p class="hanging">I go to Eton—New Boy Baiting—My House Master—Mr. James’s “Jokes”—My +Room at Eton—Some Eton Masters—A Disorderly Form—Lacaita’s +Silk Hat—“Billy” Portman</p> + +</div> + +<p>There was a certain <i>cachet</i> attached to an Etonian in +those days which I have not found with boys of any +other school, assuredly not in England. I may almost say +not in Europe, except, perhaps, with those of the Theresianum, +in Vienna. I might almost repeat what the well-known +German Socialist, Ferdinand Lassalle, wrote to a +Russian lady, in comparing the German women of the +middle class with those of the aristocracy, which latter +class might stand for Etonians of those days in comparison +with boys of other schools: “The women have not that +aroma of amiability, that <i>cachet</i> of good manners, which is +indispensable for every woman who has lived in aristocratic +circles. There are certainly exceptions, but they are very +rare.”</p> + +<p>In the autumn of 1866 my father took me to Windsor, +where we put up at the White Hart Hotel. Then we walked +to Eton and entered the first master’s house we came to, that +of the Rev. C. C. James. It stood near the wall of a cemetery, +which some of the rooms overlooked. My father informed the +master that he had come to place me at the school, but really +did not know one house from another, and that, if Mr. James +would care to take me into his house, he would be very glad +to leave me in his charge. Mr. James replied that it was unusual +for him to take a boy of whom he knew nothing, without +having his name entered beforehand, or without some +recommendation. But whether it was that my father contrived +to talk him over, or that he thought he would run the +risk of my turning out a bad bargain, after Mr. James had<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_64"></a>[64]</span> +asked my age and where I had been to school, it was decided +that I should stay at his house. My father, I think, was the +most pleased, for, from what Mr. James had said, he had +been anticipating some difficulty in finding a house for me at +all, as at certain masters’ houses a boy’s name had to be +entered years beforehand. But my father generally trusted +to chance in everything, and what seemed impossible to most +people was for him often an easy matter.</p> + +<p>Mr. James showed us over the boys’ rooms, and, though I +should have much preferred having one looking out on Windsor, +with a fine view of the Castle, I had to be content with +the end room in the front of the house, which had a view of +the college chapel, and was quite close to the cemetery. My +father told him that he did not think I was afraid of ghosts, +when Mr. James told him that the cemetery was of very +ancient date, and no longer used for burial purposes. He +then showed us the beds, which were closed up in the daytime, +in such a way as to present the appearance of cupboards, +and said that he would get me a bureau similar to +that which every boy had there.</p> + +<p>My father soon took his departure and went back to the +“White Hart,” upon which I was handed over to the housekeeper, +who invited me to sit in her room, and gave me some +tea. I remained there until the evening, when some of the +boys began to arrive. As might be expected, I was far from +being at ease, and felt like someone entering on a new existence, +in a completely different world from the one in which +he had lived. The housekeeper inquired whether I did not +know some of the boys at James’s, and told me their names. +To which I replied that I did not know even one of them, +though I knew some boys at other houses. At what houses +they were, however, I could not say. She said that the boys +I mentioned were higher in the school than I was likely to be +placed, and that they would not condescend to speak to so +humble a person as myself, and that I must make acquaintances +of my own age, which I would soon do.</p> + +<p>I had not long to wait before some of the boys arrived, and +presently came into the housekeeper’s room. But I do not<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_65"></a>[65]</span> +recollect one of them speaking to me then, and shortly afterwards +I set out for Windsor, as my father had got permission +for me to dine with him at the “White Hart,” before he left +for London, on his way back to Paris.</p> + +<p>When I returned to James’s alone, I went into the housekeeper’s +room, in which I found several boys, who regarded me +with a curiosity which I found decidedly embarrassing. +The first who spoke to me was a very nice-looking boy of +sixteen, named Gaskell, who was in the Remove. He asked +me my name, and whether I thought I should pass into the +Fourth Form. I replied that I did not feel at all sure of doing +so. At that moment another new boy, named Temple, +with fair hair and a very plain face, entered the room, to whom +Gaskell put the same questions as he had to me. Temple +did not appear over-burdened by modesty, and had no doubt +whatever about passing into the Fourth Form.</p> + +<p>“Of course I shall,” he declared confidently, putting his +hands in his trousers pockets and looking very important.</p> + +<p>Suddenly some other boys came in.</p> + +<p>“Here are some new fellows,” said Gaskell.</p> + +<p>“What are they like?” asked the others. “Let’s have a +look at them.”</p> + +<p>“This chap here—Temple his name is—seems devilish +confident about himself; expects to get into the Fourth +Form at once.”</p> + +<p>“I say,” exclaimed a fair, good-looking boy, who was +bigger than Gaskell and taller, and whose name was John H. +Locke, “so you expect to pass easily? Where do you come +from?”</p> + +<p>“From London,” replied Temple, colouring slightly.</p> + +<p>“From what school?”</p> + +<p>“I was educated at home by a tutor.”</p> + +<p>“Indeed! Well, you give yourself airs of importance that +won’t do here, I can tell you. We’ll soon knock them out of +you.”</p> + +<p>Temple put his hands in his trousers pockets and shrugged +his shoulders, while his not very prepossessing countenance +assumed an expression that was almost diabolical.</p> + +<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_66"></a>[66]</span></p> + +<p>“You look like the devil,” said Locke, laughing.</p> + +<p>“So he does,” exclaimed some of the others; and one boy +added:—</p> + +<p>“I say, Satan, what an ugly mug you have!”</p> + +<p>Temple darted a glance of withering scorn at the speaker, +but could not trust himself to reply.</p> + +<p>“That’s a good name for him,” remarked Locke. “Mug, +I say, Mug, mind you pass your exam. well, and don’t look so +fiendish when one speaks to you, for it won’t pay.”</p> + +<p>Saying which he took his departure, leaving Temple to +digest the advice he had given.</p> + +<p>The exam. came off in due course, when Temple failed to +qualify for the Fourth Form, and was put into the Lower +School; while I passed into the Lower Fourth, which was +more than I expected to do. All the boys at James’s were +pleased, for they had taken a great dislike to Temple. The +latter, however, was not in the least disheartened at not +taking the Fourth Form, but put his hands in his pockets, +shrugged his shoulders, and looked at the other boys as +contemptuously as before. He was at once given to Alexander, +the Captain of the Oppidans, as a fag, while I was +allotted to Locke. Alexander never spoke to Lower boys, +except to fag them, so Temple had merely to do what he was +told. I had a very easy time of it with Locke, who had +other fags besides. Sometimes Locke would ask me to sit +down in his room and talk to him, when he would often give +me fruit and bonbons. He was about eighteen, in the Sixth +Form, and rowed in the <i>Monarch</i>; but C. R. Alexander was +Captain of the House and Head of the School, or what is +termed Captain of the Oppidans, to distinguish him from +the Captain of the Collegers, nicknamed Tugs, who are boys +on the foundation and obliged always to wear a gown.</p> + +<p>A boy named James Doyne, who became a great friend +of mine, messed with me, that is to say, we took our breakfast +and tea together in his room, as it was larger than mine. +I often did his French lessons for him out of school, and +helped him with others, as he was in the Lower School. +Sometimes, he bought beefsteaks for breakfast, and I would<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_67"></a>[67]</span> +cook them downstairs while he was in school, as he was often +kept behind by his master. So occasionally, when I happened +to be very hungry, I would not only eat my own steak, but +a part of his as well, which used to make him very angry.</p> + +<p>Doyne told me once that his father knew a gentleman who, +on being introduced to another, said:—</p> + +<p>“You are the son of a tailor, I believe, are you not?”</p> + +<p>“Yes,” was the reply, “and I will take your measure.”</p> + +<p>The tailor’s son never rested until he had ruined the other.</p> + +<p>It seems a great pity that duelling is not allowed in England, +as it would oblige some men in this country to mend their +manners, even if the duel were restricted to the use of the +<i>épée</i> alone, and were to cease at the first sign of blood. Anyway, +it would be better than the senseless actions for libel, +which cost a great deal of money, and are quite unknown in +other civilized countries.</p> + +<p>I had very little to do with my tutor, Mr. James, being up +to another master in school. He was a Mr. Luxmoore, a +young, rather good-looking and very pleasant man. My +tutor only took the Fifth Form pupils of his own division, but +at times he would see how the boys in his house were progressing +in their studies. Mr. James was a rather tall and +thin man, about thirty-seven, with a long, fair, almost reddish +beard and no moustache. His eyes were blue, and he had a +habit of looking away from people while he talked, and when +he became nervous he used to stammer, but not very perceptibly. +Although he could not be called handsome, +he was by no means bad-looking, having a very pleasant +expression and beautiful teeth.</p> + +<p>We had to be in school at 7 a.m. in the summer, and +7.30 a.m. in the winter, and the lesson lasted an hour. Then +we went back to our rooms for breakfast, or, rather, had to +go to our fagmaster and cook his breakfast first. But +Locke hardly ever required this service of me, as he generally +made another of his fags do it for him. At 9.15 we all +had to attend Chapel, which lasted half an hour. Then +school again till 10.30, and from 11.15 till 12. The two +hours after this were called, “after twelve,” which one<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_68"></a>[68]</span> +usually spent in one’s tutor’s pupil-room. Dinner was at +2 p.m., then school again from 2.45 till 3.30, and then from +5 to 6. After this the boys were free till the time for “lock-up,” +which changes with the time of year. In the summer +it was at 8.45. A half-holiday was just the same until +dinner, but in the afternoon “absence” was called at 3 +p.m. in the winter and at 6 p.m. in the summer. “Absence” +is a call-over of the names, which takes place in the school +yard. Its object was to prevent boys from going too far +away, and ensuring that they should be back in time for +“lock-up.” When a master did not come for “absence,” +it was termed a “call”; and the boys only waited five or +six minutes for him.</p> + +<p>In addition to the work done in school and pupil-room, +we had work to do in our own rooms, especially on a Sunday, +when we had Sunday Questions to write out. The half-holidays +were on Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays, +and on Sundays, besides attending Chapel, we had the +Sunday Questions to answer. This usually occupied us +several hours.</p> + +<p>There was a boy at James’s who was then in the Remove, +called Craven, a tall, dark, good-looking fellow, who dressed +well and had an umbrella with a death’s-head handle carved +in ivory, which he never opened, even when it poured with +rain, from fear that he would not be able to fold it again +so neatly as it was then done up. He always wore the +most expensive silk hats he could buy, and habitually scented +himself with patchouli. One rainy day, when all James’s +Lower boys were in his pupil-room, in the house, Mr. James +called up Craven, and said to him:—</p> + +<p>“Craven, why don’t you sign your name in full: Fulwar +John Colquilt Craven?”</p> + +<p>“I do, sir,” answered Craven.</p> + +<p>“But you don’t—merely Fulwar Craven. Don’t you +own the John Colquilt?”</p> + +<p>All the boys began to titter, and Craven laughed and +said:—</p> + +<p>“I suppose I don’t, sir.”</p> + +<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_69"></a>[69]</span></p> + +<p>“Why do you stupid boys giggle?” exclaimed Mr. James. +“There is nothing to laugh at because Craven won’t own +his name, John Colquilt, which is a very nice one.”</p> + +<p>The boys went on laughing all the more, at which the +master was furious, and cried:</p> + +<p>“I will make you all write out a book of the <i>Iliad</i> if +you don’t stop giggling at once.”</p> + +<p>This threat had the desired effect, and gravity was +restored; but it did not last very long. A good-looking +boy named Ady, who was at Miss Evans’s Dame’s house, +but was a pupil of my tutor, and who wore a lot of gold +charms on his watch-chain, came up to Mr. James to ask +some questions, when the latter said:—</p> + +<p>“Ady, I wonder you don’t wear bracelets with all those +jingling things; you are more like a girl.”</p> + +<p>Thereupon all the boys began to titter again, while Ady +blushed, but did not make any reply. On returning to his +seat, however, he put out his tongue at Mr. James, who +happened to be looking in another direction, and then +smiled, when the boys began to laugh with a vengeance.</p> + +<p>“Stop that laughter,” screamed the exasperated master, +his eyes sparkling with wrath, “or I’ll have all of you swished +in turn. I won’t stand this nonsense any longer. First +of all with Craven, who is scented like a fast lady, and then +with Ady, who is covered with jewellery like another; I +might just as well keep a girls’ school.”</p> + +<p>The giggling now became downright laughter, which the +boys were quite unable to restrain. At last, Mr. James +began to see that he had made a joke, which flattered his +vanity, so he smiled, and said:—</p> + +<p>“Yes, even the boys are laughing at you both.”</p> + +<p>This was too much for his audience, who roared with +laughter, until, after a while, the master said:—</p> + +<p>“Now, I think, we have laughed enough; I hope it will +be a lesson to them both.”</p> + +<p>Craven and Ady nearly split their sides with laughing, +as well as the others.</p> + +<p>“I see I can do nothing with you to-day,” remarked<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_70"></a>[70]</span> +Mr. James, “these laughing moods are very distressing; +it upsets the whole of the lessons. I must be more serious +with you, and not permit myself even a joke. I see it plainly +more and more every time.”</p> + +<p>At last the merriment subsided, but presently some of +the boys began laughing again.</p> + +<p>“What is the joke now?” exclaimed the master. “Tell +me, for I should like to know. I can see nothing whatever +to laugh at now.”</p> + +<p>“Please, sir,” answered Craven, “you make a joke, and +you won’t even allow us to laugh at it.”</p> + +<p>“Oh, well! if it is that that you are laughing at, I suppose +it is all right,” said Mr. James, who was gradually regaining +his good-humour, and presently the boys were dismissed. +Afterwards there was great fun made at his expense, Craven +and Ady being highly amused.</p> + +<p>Mr. James was nicknamed “Stiggins” by the boys who +had been with him at Eton, and, although unpopular out of +his house, he was not so in it. There were much more +disagreeable tutors at Eton at the time of which I am speaking, +some of them perfect horrors. Mr. James was a good-hearted +man, and was very kind at times, though he was +very brusque in his manner, and in the habit of speaking +his mind without the least reservation. He had no particular +favourites, but, on the other hand, he did not take +any violent dislikes, and was just enough, apart from occasional +sallies against certain boys. These he indulged in +under the impression that he was being witty, and not infrequently +the jokes he made were at his own expense. +He had a good memory and could recite innumerable +verses from Greek and Latin poets, but he was a poor orator. +He was a good chess-player, and often played with the +boys, giving them a queen and sometimes a rook as well, +and generally beating them. Sometimes he played with +another master, Mr. Wayte, a middle-aged man, with a grey +beard, who could play twenty-five games of chess at the +same time blindfolded, and win most of them. Mr. James +once beat Mr. Wayte, after which he would never play<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_71"></a>[71]</span> +with him again, wishing to be able to say that the last time +he played with him he had succeeded in gaining the victory. +I often played chess with my tutor, on which occasions he +usually gave me a queen. Sometimes I managed to beat +him, and once when I had been successful, he said to me:—</p> + +<p>“You have beaten me, and I have beaten Wayte, who is +one of the finest players in Europe. So, in winning the +game to-day, you have something to be proud of.”</p> + +<p>We always tried to make our rooms at James’s as comfortable +as possible. I had a fancy at that time for pictures +of horses, and bought a set of steeplechase ones, by Alken, +printed in colours and published by Ackermann. I had +also a picture of Hermit, the Derby winner of 1865, by +Harry Hall, which was also printed in colours. In the +summer, like the other boys, I had geraniums and other +flowers in a large green wooden box, which was made to +cover the length of my window-sill. I spent, however, +more of my time in Doyne’s room, which was nearer the +road, and farther away from the cemetery. It was a more +cheerful room, containing several arm-chairs. Besides, we +always messed together and took our meals there, and so +I looked on the room almost as being my own. Alexander +and Locke had two rooms each. The latter had quite a +collection of silver cups, which he had won at Eton, and +his sitting-room was decorated with numerous trophies +of the Boats, arranged against the wall, from the light blue +of the <i>Victory</i> and the dark blue of the <i>Monarch</i> to the +cerise of the <i>Prince of Wales</i> and the blue of the <i>Britannia</i>. +I can only remember entering Alexander’s room once. It +was also adorned with the colours of the Eleven and silver +cups won at cricket and racquets, as he was Captain of +the Eleven and President of “Pop.” “Pop” is the name +given to the Eton Society, to which only boys in the Sixth +Form and the Upper Fifth can belong.</p> + +<p>The occasion on which I entered Alexander’s room was +on a Sunday. He opened his door, and called: “Lower +boy!” and, as I happened to be on the landing, he said +that he must send me to make a copy of his Sunday Questions,<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_72"></a>[72]</span> +which were always written up outside St. George’s +Chapel at Windsor. It was a dreary walk, for, as it was +Sunday afternoon, all the shops were, of course, closed. +I made a copy of the Questions in pencil, and, on my return, +left them in Alexander’s room. At eleven o’clock that +night, he came and woke me up, to ask if I could read some +word I had copied, which I had to confess I could not. He +went away, but returned to my room an hour later, and, +waking me up again, said he thought he could make a guess +at the word we had been unable to make out, and asked +me if it were not correct. I then suddenly remembered +that it was the right word, when he laughed and went out. +This was the only time I was ever sent to copy out Sunday +Questions, as Alexander always, as a rule, sent his own +fags to do this, and Locke, whose fag I was, hardly ever +gave me anything to do. I was, in consequence, very +sorry when he left Eton, which he did very shortly afterwards +for Trinity College, Cambridge. Alexander went up +to King’s.</p> + +<p>One half I was up to a master called Austin Leigh, who +was in the habit of speaking so softly that we could scarcely +hear a word he said in school. So when he spoke, I always +had to guess what he said. One day he asked me to construe +a passage, which I did, when he corrected me, saying:—</p> + +<p>“I told you what to say.”</p> + +<p>“Please, sir, I could not hear exactly.”</p> + +<p>“Are you deaf?”</p> + +<p>“No, sir, but I did not hear exactly.”</p> + +<p>“Then, for not listening, you will please write out the +lesson as a punishment. Do you hear now?”</p> + +<p>“Yes, sir.”</p> + +<p>I hated being up to Austin Leigh, for I never could hear, +as he always spoke in a whisper somewhat like the hissing +of a serpent.</p> + +<p>There was another master, who thought himself rather +good-looking, as he had regular features; but he had yellowish +hair, was inclined to baldness, and his figure was lanky +and awkward. This master was fond of making very tame<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_73"></a>[73]</span> +jokes in school. If we laughed at them, it was all right, +but the boys who ignored his jokes he punished. He insisted +on calling Lord Edward Somerset by the name +of Samson, but once when he called upon “Samson” to +stand up, no one rose. He then turned to Lord Edward +Somerset, and said:—</p> + +<p>“Why did you not stand up when I told you to do so?”</p> + +<p>“Because you never told me, sir.”</p> + +<p>“I did; your name is Samson, isn’t it?”</p> + +<p>“No, sir; it’s Somerset.”</p> + +<p>“Well, anyhow, you knew that I meant you.”</p> + +<p>Somerset made no reply, and the master said:—</p> + +<p>“For disobedience you will write me out this chapter of +‘Xenophon!’”</p> + +<p>“Very well, sir.”</p> + +<p>Among the numerous masters at Eton with whom I had +little or nothing to do, those whom I remember best are: +Mr. Stephen Hawtrey, who was a very agreeable man; +Mr. Hale, a mathematical master, nicknamed, on account of +his whitish hair, “the Badger,” who was also very pleasant; +the Rev. W. Dalton, another mathematical master, who had +very full lips and a reddish face, and went by the <i>sobriquet</i> +of “Piggy”; the Rev. Joynes, who had somewhat the +appearance of a weasel, and had great difficulty in keeping +his division in order; Mr. Cornish, a fair-haired man, who +was rather disagreeable at times; and Mr. Cockshot, also a +mathematical master, who was bright and pleasant. The +Rev. Durnford, nicknamed “Judy,” I only knew by sight, +and the same was the case with Mr. Arthur James, my +tutor’s brother, who was an exceptionally pleasant man.</p> + +<p>All the masters had some peculiarity, and it took some time +to get used to their ways, as they were all so different from +one another. Just, however, as a boy was beginning to +understand a master the half came to an end, and, after the +holidays, he would probably be sent up to quite a different +kind of man. For each master took a separate division, +and was promoted like the boys from one division to another.</p> + +<p>The most popular master was the Rev. Edmund Warre,<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_74"></a>[74]</span> +afterwards Head Master and Provost of Eton. He was a +good-looking, fair man, who wore spectacles, and, besides +being one of the cleverest of the masters, was a very fine oar, +and always superintended the coaching of the Eight. He +used to try to interest the boys up to him in school in a subject, +as Herr Kirchhofer did at Frankfurt. I remember +once, during a lesson in geography, he said that Austria-Hungary +was a nation which would one day break up, since +it consisted of too many nationalities, the link between which +was not sufficiently strong to be permanent. Upon another +occasion, he recommended us to read “The Last of the +Barons,” by Lord Lytton, which he said was one of the best +historical novels ever written, and I remember that some of +us followed his advice.</p> + +<p>There was a good deal of jealousy amongst certain +masters, who did not pull together. Mr. Oscar Browning +was unpopular with some of his colleagues, though he +was very much liked by the boys at his house and those +up to him in school. There can be little doubt that the +dislike entertained by certain masters for Mr. Browning +was due to jealousy, as he was cleverer than the majority of +them, and he was certainly very witty, and at times rather +sarcastic. I was up to him in school one half, and I think, +on the whole, he was the pleasantest master I was ever up to, +since he used to enliven the tedium of school hours by his +witty remarks, occasionally making fun of some of us, but +in such a nice, pleasant way, that we all enjoyed the joke, +even those who were the cause of the merriment. It was +almost impossible to be late for school with Mr. Browning, +as he generally arrived late on the scene himself. Now and +again, however, he reversed the usual order of things, and +then those who had counted on his late arrival were caught +and punished.</p> + +<p>Mr. R. A. H. Mitchell, the famous cricketer, was a master +of the Lower School. My friend Jim Doyne was up to him, +and said that he was very popular with the boys.</p> + +<p>There was another master, Mr. St. John Thackeray, who +had no authority whatever over the boys up to him in school,<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_75"></a>[75]</span> +who invariably made fun of him, and jeered at him all the +time. I was up to him one half, when I found it quite +impossible to learn anything, owing to the constant disturbance, +which was quite overpowering. I used to come in late +continually when up to Mr. Thackeray, as I knew it did not +much matter. One day, however, he said to me:—</p> + +<p>“You are half an hour late this morning!”</p> + +<p>“Please, sir, I overslept myself.”</p> + +<p>“But you always oversleep yourself.”</p> + +<p>“Please, sir, I couldn’t help it; I was so tired.”</p> + +<p>“What made you so tired...?”</p> + +<p>Here the other boys began to laugh, and someone said +aloud:—</p> + +<p>“He’s always so slack.”</p> + +<p>“Which boy spoke?” asked Mr. Thackeray angrily. A +dead silence ensued.</p> + +<p>“I <i>will</i> know which boy spoke just now. If the boy +doesn’t come forward at once, I shall punish all the division.” +Upon this two or three boys said:—</p> + +<p>“It was I, sir.”</p> + +<p>“Which of you was it?” asked Mr. Thackeray.</p> + +<p>“I, sir,” sounded from different parts of the room.</p> + +<p>“It’s really too bad; the whole division shall be punished +then,” said the master.</p> + +<p>While he was occupied in making a note of this, a book was +hurled across the room, at which there was great laughter. +Mr. Thackeray was furious.</p> + +<p>“I shall have to report the whole division for bad conduct +if I don’t know at once who threw that book,” he cried.</p> + +<p>“It was I,” said one boy.</p> + +<p>Then, a moment afterwards, another voice said:—</p> + +<p>“It was I, sir.”</p> + +<p>“But it could not have been both of you. Which of you +was it?”</p> + +<p>“Me, sir,” said the first boy who had spoken.</p> + +<p>“Then you will please write out the chapter we are +reading”—then, correcting himself—“or, rather, which we +ought to be reading.”</p> + +<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_76"></a>[76]</span></p> + +<p>For a few minutes the lesson proceeded quietly, though +on the least pretext there would be shouts of laughter. Mr. +Thackeray entirely forgot to punish the other boy and myself; +only the one who had hurled the book was punished. Every +day with Mr. Thackeray was similar to this one, sometimes +more amusing, sometimes less so, but always very noisy +indeed. He spoilt the boys for other masters, as, being +accustomed to do as they liked with him, they would come +late into school when they were up to others, who would +send them up to be swished on a repetition of the offence. +I was never swished at Eton during all the four years I was +there.</p> + +<p>The late Earl Grosvenor, who, when Viscount Belgrave, +was at Eton with me, was a very good-looking boy, with fair +hair, but he wore jackets that were sometimes too short for +him, and it was the same with his trousers, as he had grown +out of them. One day, when he sat in school on a form in +front of me, during a lesson by Mr. Henry Tarver, the French +master, a boy sitting next me, seeing Belgrave’s shirt, which +was plainly visible between his jacket and trousers, pulled +it right out altogether. Belgrave turned round angrily, +thinking at first that it was I who had taken this liberty with +his shirt, when he saw that the culprit was a boy whom he +knew well. Nevertheless, he was very confused and had +great trouble in adjusting his protruding garment, as it was +necessary to do it in such a way as not to attract the attention +of Mr. Tarver, who would certainly have inquired +into the matter and meted out condign punishment to the +offender.</p> + +<p>There is a French saying that small events often interest +great minds. I hope that this may be so, in which event +there will be some excuse for my mentioning this incident, +which struck me at the time as being rather ludicrous, though +I cannot say whether others may be of the same opinion. +Lord Grosvenor, after he left Eton, was fond of driving an +engine, and I am told that he often drove the train between +London and Holyhead for pleasure.</p> + +<p>His name reminds me of a good story that I once heard at<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_77"></a>[77]</span> +Eton about his grandfather, the Duke of Westminster. +The latter, one day, was told by his groom of the chamber +that the dress-coat that he wore was getting very shabby. +The Duke asked to see it, and then told the man that he +might order a new one for himself. “But,” added the +thrifty nobleman, “you may let me have this old coat; +it will do quite well for me to wear.” The Duke of Atholl, +who was a first cousin of my grandfather, had also rather a +contempt for dress, and my mother was told by the latter +that, when an old man, he was often mistaken in the street +for a beggar, and had pence offered him.</p> + +<p>There was a boy named Lacaita at Eton, who, when he +first came, wore a most extraordinary hat. The lower part +was much broader than the upper, so that the hat was not +unlike a loaf of sugar. I think he must have imported it +from Italy. However, if I remember rightly, it was very +speedily battered out of any shape at all, for it was an innovation +which pleased none of the boys, who were only too +ready to make a football of it, as they generally did of anything +they happened to take a dislike to, and particularly +a silk hat.</p> + +<p>Doyne used frequently to invite boys from other houses +to tea with us in his room. They were mostly those whom +he knew “at home,” that is to say, away from Eton, and who +were friends of his people. The Hon. John FitzWilliam, +who was in the same division as myself, often came, as he was +a relative of his, as well as Lord Trafalgar, who was in the +Lower School, and Lord Mandeville, who afterwards became +Duke of Manchester. The last-named was a very good-looking +boy, with very dark, curly hair; he was full of fun, +and I liked him very much, though I only met him when he +came to tea with us, as he was lower down in the school and +at a different tutor’s house from myself.</p> + +<p>A boy named Charles Rice Hodgson, in the same division +as I was, was my greatest friend at first. He was at Vidal’s, +a Dame’s house. He was a very handsome boy, with rather +fair hair and blue eyes, nearly perfect features, and a beautiful +complexion. He used to dress very well and always<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_78"></a>[78]</span> +wore a button-hole—a rose or a carnation in summer—and +usually scented himself. He was very clever and had a good +deal of swagger, and was a favourite with the bigger boys at +Vidal’s, who often used to walk with him, which was strongly +disapproved of by some of the masters. I often helped him +out of a difficulty; and sometimes, when he had not learned +his lesson over night, I would prompt him in a low voice to +construe it, as I always sat next to him in school. He left +Eton very suddenly, at which I was quite distressed, as he +had always been so much with me, and I liked him more +than any other boy, and had been in his company the day +before he left. A more charming boy than Hodgson I have +never known; but he was conceited about his looks, for he +was one of the best-looking boys, if not the best-looking, at +Eton in those days.</p> + +<p>Another boy at the same Dame’s house as Hodgson was +Charles D. Robertson Williamson, who was considered to be +the best-looking boy then at Eton. He was higher up in +the school than I was, and, though his tutor, Mr. Johnson +(Cory, the author of “Ionica”), liked him very much, some +of the other masters did not approve of his putting on so much +side and being so often with bigger boys. At Lord’s, during +the Eton and Harrow match, I happened quite accidentally +to make the acquaintance of Williamson’s aunt. She was +only eighteen, and bore a most extraordinary resemblance +to her nephew, with the same beautiful face, the same short +upper lip, the same large, round, hazel eyes, the same beautifully +shaped mouth, the same delicate nose, slightly, in +fact almost imperceptibly, tilted, and the same brown hair; +and she was of the same height as he was. She spoke to me +without knowing me at all, saying:—</p> + +<p>“I want to keep my nephew with me a day or two longer. +Do you think I can do so?”</p> + +<p>“You must ask his tutor; no doubt he will allow you to +do so,” I answered, thinking that he could not possibly refuse +her.</p> + +<p>“Well, I will try.”</p> + +<p>With which, Williamson’s aunt went off in search of Mr.<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_79"></a>[79]</span> +Johnson, and presently returned, looking very pleased, and +said:—</p> + +<p>“Mr. Johnson has given the permission I wanted. I am +so happy!” And she clapped her hands together with +delight.</p> + +<p>I did not know Williamson to speak to before then, not +being so high in the school as he was, and I met him for the +first time when he came later in the day to meet his aunt +in the Grand Stand at Lord’s.</p> + +<p>Once, when Doyne and I were driving in a hansom from +Lord’s after the Eton and Harrow match, he caught sight of +the Hon. E. W. B. Portman, and said to me:—</p> + +<p>“Do you mind giving Billy Portman a lift?”</p> + +<p>We made room for him between us, which was an easy +enough matter in those days, though in years to come it +would have been quite impossible, for he grew so stout that +he weighed seventeen stone, and I rather fancy Jim Doyne +was even heavier.</p> + +<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop"> + +<div class="chapter"> + +<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_80"></a>[80]</span></p> + +<h2 class="nobreak" id="CHAPTER_VII">CHAPTER VII</h2> + +<p class="hanging">An Amusing Incident—Lady Caroline Murray—An Anecdote of Queen +Victoria—Lord Rossmore’s Wager—The Match at the Wall—Practical +Jokes—Some Boys at James’s</p> + +</div> + +<p>Boys at Eton rarely made friends outside their +respective houses. Therefore, when Hodgson left, +I spent most of my spare time with Doyne, who even then was +very stout, and, though older than I, below me in the school. +When he left Eton, my chief companion was a boy named +Harry Gridley, with whom I messed for a short time, and +with whom I often went for walks on a Sunday along the +playing-fields by the river.</p> + +<p>Gridley, who was in the Fifth Form, was a dark-haired +boy, very kind and good-natured. He was in the Boats, +and a capital oar, and rowed later in the <i>Monarch</i>, the ten-oared +Upper boat. Sometimes I would go to Windsor with +him to play billiards, notwithstanding that this was against +the rules. One day, whilst we were playing, I, by way of a +joke, began ordering him about and calling him “Peter,” +and then, to tease him, told him that some man who was in +the room thought he was my fag. He flew into a rage, and, +when the man had left the room, rushed at me and caught me +by the throat, as though he would strangle me. However, +we soon made friends again, but, strange to say, this nickname +of “Peter,” which I had given him for the first time in +the billiard-room at Windsor, always stuck to him, even in +the 5th Lancers, which he joined later. He was very fond of +reading, and one day took up “Adam Bede,” by George +Eliot; but he told me that he could not finish it, as the +hero was a very ugly, red-haired man, and he disliked reading +about ugly people. He quite set me against the book, for +I never read it after he said this.</p> + +<figure class="figcenter illowp45" id="illus11" style="max-width: 18.75em;"> + <img class="w100" src="images/illus11.jpg" alt=""> + <figcaption class="caption"><p>Charles Balfour, at Eton with the Author.</p> + <p class="caption-r">[<i>To face p. 80.</i></p></figcaption> +</figure> + +<figure class="figcenter illowp45" id="illus12" style="max-width: 18.75em;"> + <img class="w100" src="images/illus12.jpg" alt=""> + <figcaption class="caption"><p>Miss Minnie Balfour, sister of Hilda, Lady de Clifford.</p> + <p class="caption-r">[<i>To face p. 81.</i></p></figcaption> +</figure> + +<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_81"></a>[81]</span></p> + +<p>Alexander, the Captain of the Oppidans, was a very +good-looking boy of eighteen; dark, with black, curly hair. +His memory was quite extraordinary, and he could repeat +the whole of the <i>Odyssey</i>, in the original Greek. Once +he had read a book and mastered its contents, he never +forgot it. Even Mr. James was astounded at Alexander’s +marvellous gift for remembering things. Locke was also +clever, but in a different way from Alexander.</p> + +<p>Some time after I went to Eton, my tutor got his cousin, +Mrs. Bower, to look after the boys instead of the housekeeper, +which was a pleasant change for us. She was about thirty-five +and a very nice woman, and, having taken rather a fancy +to me, used often to invite me to her room at five o’clock +and give me tea and cake.</p> + +<p>One day some friends of Doyne—a baronet and his three +daughters—came from London to see him. As it was a +Sunday, I did not get up until late, when I ran into Doyne’s +room, clad only in my night-shirt, and with my water-jug +in my hand, to get some water to wash with. To my horror, +I suddenly found myself confronted by three ladies, who, +on catching sight of me, uttered a scream, and then, as I +turned round and incontinently fled, burst into fits of laughter. +Doyne told me afterwards that his friends were highly +amused at this incident, and declared that they should +never forget their visit to Eton.</p> + +<p>A boy named Charles Balfour was my fag when I was +in the Fifth Form. Doyne, who was still in the Lower School, +found my having a fag very convenient, as the latter had +to cook the steaks and chops for our breakfast. Balfour +was a good-looking boy, and I liked him very much; but +he could not bear doing anything for Doyne, as the latter +was lower down in the school than he was. I met the late +Charles Balfour, with his father and family, at Wiesbaden +in after years. His sister Hilda, a very pretty girl, subsequently +married Lord de Clifford.</p> + +<p>With Balfour I met another old schoolfellow, Baldock, who +was with his sister at Wiesbaden. He was twelfth man +for the Eton Eleven one year, when I was there and Keeper<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_82"></a>[82]</span> +of “Sixpenny,” and was a general favourite with the lower +boys. Later on, in town, I recollect going to a ball at his +house in Grosvenor Place. He was made a C.B. by King +Edward VII., having served thirty-six years in the Yeomanry +and reached the rank of colonel.</p> + +<p>The present Lord Harris, G.C.S.I., the well-known cricketer, +was in the Eton Eleven in my time and afterwards Captain +of it. I can recollect him perfectly—a tall, fair-haired and +remarkably handsome boy, with merry blue eyes, who always +looked the picture of health. Amongst those who made +their mark at cricket and football, and, at the same time, +distinguished themselves in school, were the late Earl of +Pembroke and Montgomery, then the Hon. Sidney Herbert, +who was a good-looking boy, with blue eyes and black hair, +and the late Earl of Onslow. The latter was at one time +in the same division as myself.</p> + +<p>Sir Hubert Parry, so famous as a composer, was at Eton +with me, but much higher up in the school than I was. He +was at Vidal’s, and a boy in his house told me that he played +the violin beautifully. I can remember that he was a good +football player, and that I thought him a very fine-looking +fellow, but I only knew him by sight.</p> + +<p>Craven, when in the Fifth Form, kept his fags dancing +attendance on him all their spare time, and used to send +them on long errands to Windsor. “Mug” was his fag for +one half, and had a very lively time of it at first; but afterwards +Craven treated him very much better. I was John +Lister-Kaye’s fag at one time, and found him more exacting +than Locke, with whom I had had a very easy time; but he +became a friend of mine when I was higher up in the school. +“Mug” was his fag at the same time, and liked fagging for +him very much, as he treated him very kindly. His younger +brother, Cecil Lister-Kaye, was a friend of mine from the +very first. Both brothers were very good-looking boys, +with fair hair. The elder, afterwards Sir John Lister-Kaye, +who rowed in the <i>Victory</i> at Eton, subsequently entered +the “Blues.” On one occasion, the Lister-Kayes and myself +were invited to dine at Upton Park, with Mrs. Adair, a very<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_83"></a>[83]</span> +lovely woman, who, I recollect, was dressed in black velvet, +which set off her superb figure and dazzling skin to great +advantage. She was a grand-daughter of the Duchess of +Roxburghe and a great friend of my cousin, the Hon. Emily +Cathcart, maid-of-honour to Queen Victoria.</p> + +<figure class="figcenter illowp45" id="illus13" style="max-width: 18.75em;"> + <img class="w100" src="images/illus13.jpg" alt=""> + <figcaption class="caption"><p>W. H. Onslow, aged 13, afterwards Lord Onslow.</p> + <p class="caption-r">[<i>To face p. 82.</i></p></figcaption> +</figure> + +<figure class="figcenter illowp45" id="illus14" style="max-width: 18.75em;"> + <img class="w100" src="images/illus14.jpg" alt=""> + <figcaption class="caption"><p>The Hon. Emily Cathcart, Maid of Honour to Queen Victoria.</p> + <p class="caption-r">[<i>To face p. 83.</i></p></figcaption> +</figure> + +<p>One day, the Hon. Charles Finch, afterwards Earl of Aylesford, +who was in the same division as myself, told me that +he had stopped my cousin while she was walking with a +lady in Eton, and that a few days later, when he happened +to meet her again, she said to him:—</p> + +<p>“I have a bone to pick with you. Do you know whom +you kept waiting when you spoke to me the other day? +It was the Princess Louise (afterwards Duchess of Argyll)!” +The Earl of Aylesford, like myself, was a cousin of Emily +Cathcart.</p> + +<p>While at Eton, I used occasionally to spend the day with +my great-aunt, Lady Georgiana Cathcart. She lived near +Ascot, and once when I was driving with her and her daughter +we called on the Ladies Murray, who had a fine house in +the neighbourhood, and Lady Caroline told us that if we +had come some minutes earlier, we should have met Queen +Victoria, who had lunched with them in quite an informal +way, saying:—</p> + +<p>“Give me what you have ready, nothing else.”</p> + +<p>Lady Caroline told me that, owing to bearing the same +name, she had frequently been mistaken for my mother’s +aunt at Richmond, who had recently died. She showed me +an oak-tree which her brother, the Earl of Mansfield, had +planted in his garden the last time he had come to see her. +In her younger days, she had been lady-in-waiting to the +Duchess of Kent, at which time she was considered a great +beauty.</p> + +<p>One day, when I was dining at Ascot, I met my cousin +Emily, who was wearing a lovely dress of violet velvet, +trimmed with white lace, and said:—</p> + +<p>“Her Majesty said I was not to wear this dress at Court, +and I have only worn it once before, although it cost me a +good deal of money.”</p> + +<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_84"></a>[84]</span></p> + +<p>Queen Victoria, it seems, would often take a dislike to +some dress worn by one of her maids-of-honour.</p> + +<p>I frequently went to Windsor Castle to see my cousin. +On one occasion, I mistook the room, and had to wait for +some time in a drawing-room. Presently, a lady came in, +who was very charming in her manner towards me, and +had some tea and muffins brought to me by a man-servant +in the scarlet livery of the Palace. This lady I afterwards +learned was the Countess of Erroll. Once, when I called +at the Castle I was received by the Hon. Harriet Phipps, +who told me that my cousin had left Windsor and that she +had taken her place in waiting. She invited me to have some +tea, which was brought in in a solid silver teapot, and served +in very fine porcelain cups, on both of which was the Royal +crown, and was very kind and amiable.</p> + +<p>One day, my cousin Emily asked me to bring the late Lord +Alexander Kennedy, son of the Marquis of Ailsa, who was +in my division at Eton, to the Castle to tea, which I did. +He and I smoked cigarettes in her room, and, when we heard +her coming, threw them out of the window. However, she +smelt the smoke and said:—</p> + +<p>“I hope you have not thrown the cigarettes out of the +window, for ‘H.M.’ is coming this way, and I shall get +into trouble if she sees them.”</p> + +<p>We tried to calm her, but she appeared to be rather annoyed +at the time.</p> + +<p>Emily Cathcart was very good-looking, with dark eyes and +black hair and a fine figure. In her general appearance, +she always reminded me very much of the late Empress of +Austria. Her manner was charming, and she was always +very amiable, and had so pleasant a smile that it seemed +as though it would be impossible for her to be angry with +anyone. I remember her telling me once that at Windsor +she rarely ever spoke English, having to receive so many +foreign guests for Her Majesty. On the occasion that Kennedy +and I went there, we saw the Duc d’Aumale walking away +from the Castle as we arrived.</p> + +<p>Queen Victoria liked to be read to by her maids-of-honour,<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_85"></a>[85]</span> +which was sometimes a very trying experience for them, +particularly by night. A boy at Eton was one of her pages-of-honour, +and, as he was late in coming out of school one day +that his services were required, he did not stop to wash his +hands, but hurried off to the Castle, in order to be in time +for some ceremony. Afterwards, the train which he had to +hold was found to have dirty spots on it, so he was immediately +dismissed from his office by Her Majesty. This story was +told me by Mr. James.</p> + +<p>My mother told me that Queen Victoria was once lunching +at the house of the Duke of Sussex, and, on being asked if +the mutton cutlets were to her liking, replied carelessly:—</p> + +<p>“Oh! the chops are not bad.” She also related that once, +in her younger days, the Queen was visiting the country-seat +of a certain nobleman, where everything imaginable +in and out of season had been procured for Her Majesty’s +delectation, no matter at what cost. However, on the Queen +being asked what she would be pleased to take, to the horror +and amazement of her host, she named the only thing which +was not in the house, and which there was no possibility +of procuring. It was whispered that the Queen had asked +for this particular <i>plat</i>, which was one of a simple but +unusual kind, purposely, as she appeared to be amused at +the consternation her request had aroused.</p> + +<p>Just after I left Eton, Emily invited me to the Haymarket +Theatre, telling me to inquire for the Queen’s box. I arrived, +and was duly ushered into the Royal box, which, however, +was untenanted. So I sat there in solitary state, to the no +small curiosity of the audience, who perhaps imagined +that I must be some quite important person, until presently +my cousin arrived, accompanied by a very handsome and +exquisitely dressed woman, who, I learned, was Lady +Churchill. The latter, who was lady-in-waiting to the Queen, +was most fascinating, and had all the distinction of a <i>très +grande dame</i>. She was most kind and gracious to me, even +going out of her way to draw me out, so that I was soon +quite at my ease in her company.</p> + +<p>In winter, if we happened to have a frost hard enough to<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_86"></a>[86]</span> +make Virginia Water safe for skaters, we used to be taken +there by Mr. James to skate and play hockey on the ice, a +game in which my tutor always took part himself. Windsor +Steeplechases were an event always looked forward to by +the boys, for, though we were forbidden to go to them, we +went all the same. Sometimes we would be attacked by +roughs, who tried to prevent us crossing certain ditches to +get to the race-course, and on one occasion a man tried to +stop me. But I pushed him aside, managed to jump a +ditch, and got safely to the course. Windsor Fair was at +one time forbidden to the boys, but this did not prevent +them all going there. I went once with Craven and saw a +circus without paying anything, the man at the entrance +having overlooked us as we rushed in. Afterwards, Mr. +James happened to mention the Fair, when we all laughed +and began to talk about the different shows we had seen. +The master took it in good part, merely remarking:—</p> + +<p>“It’s lucky for you I did not catch you there.”</p> + +<p>The Christopher Inn at Eton was also out of bounds, +but at times some of the big boys would invite the smaller +ones there. If, however, one of the masters happened to +catch sight of them coming out, there would be the devil +to pay. I don’t remember ever going to the “Christopher,” +though I did most things that were forbidden.</p> + +<p>The elder son of General Sir John Douglas, Captain Niel +Douglas, who was an Old Etonian and an officer in the Scots +Guards, then stationed at Windsor, invited me to lunch at +the barracks, where I was introduced to Lord Mark Innes-Ker, +who used to ride his own horses in the Windsor Steeplechases. +I enjoyed my lunch very much, as it was quite a +novelty for me. Eton boys were often invited to the +barracks to lunch with officers of the Household Brigade +whom they knew, as so many Old Etonians went into the +Guards. I remember Blane, who was a pupil of my tutor, +once coming down to Eton just after he had left the school, +and telling me that he was about to join the Scots Guards, +who were then stationed at Windsor. Lord Rossmore, +whom I knew very well at Eton, entered the 1st Life Guards,<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_87"></a>[87]</span> +and was killed riding in a steeplechase over the Windsor +course in 1874. By a singular coincidence he had fallen +at the same jump, while riding the same horse, the previous +year. Rossmore, who was in the same division with me, +was very popular at Eton. He was perpetually playing +practical jokes, and I can recollect that on one occasion he +made a bet that he would drive a trap through Eton. He +won it, too, by driving through the town on a cart, disguised +as a waterman, so that the masters did not recognize him. If +one of them had happened to penetrate his disguise, he would +perhaps have been expelled.</p> + +<p>Gridley and I once went for a bicycle ride in the country, +and, happening to be seen, were sent up to the Head Master, +Dr. Hornby, who said:—</p> + +<p>“It is too grave an offence for me to swish you, so each +of you must write out a book of the <i>Iliad</i>, with accents, +stops and breathings.”</p> + +<p>Fortunately for us, Mrs. Bower made Mr. James persuade +the Head Master to let us off when we had done a quarter +of the work.</p> + +<p>When I first went to Eton, the Head Master was Dr. +Balston, a very handsome, stately and severe-looking man, +whom the masters and boys liked—at a distance. When +Dr. Hornby succeeded him, it was feared that he would +introduce a great many reforms, which the masters dreaded +as much as the boys; but these apprehensions proved to +be groundless. While I was at Eton, Dr. Hornby was very +much liked by the boys; but I cannot say that his popularity +extended to his colleagues, some of whom, I know, +regarded him with far from friendly feelings.</p> + +<p>There was a “sock”-shop, called Brown’s, near James’s +house in those days, where excellent buttered buns were +sold. An Old Etonian, Theobald, Viscount Dillon, told me +that, on his return to Eton when past sixty, he tried the buns +again, and exclaimed:—</p> + +<p>“Goodness! how these buns have altered; they aren’t +half as good as they used to be!” Then, looking round at +the boys, who seemed to be enjoying them just as much as<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_88"></a>[88]</span> +he and his contemporaries had done in days of yore, he +added regretfully:—</p> + +<p>“After all, it isn’t the buns that have altered. It is +simply that I have lost my taste for them.”</p> + +<p>I used often to go to Brown’s, generally of a morning, to +eat a buttered bun, which I enjoyed immensely. There was +another “sock”-shop, called Webber’s, where in summer +we used to indulge in strawberry messes. Marmalade was +in favour with most of us for breakfast, and I recollect how +Craven used always to send for eighteenpenny pots at a time, +saying that the others were too small for his appetite.</p> + +<p>One Fourth of June my father came down to Eton, and +asked at my tutor’s for Charles Douglas, the younger son +of General Sir John Douglas, and William Kinglake, who +was in a different house and whom I did not then know. +We all walked down to the river to see the boats. It was +a very pretty sight, and prettier still in the evening, when +the fireworks began. I saw several lovely young girls, +beautifully dressed, drinking champagne with their brothers, +and envied the latter having such pretty sisters. William +Kinglake was a nephew of the author of “Eöthen,” who was +a first cousin of my father. He was in the Boats the following +year, but died soon after he left Eton. Charles Douglas, +after leaving Eton, joined his father’s old regiment, the +79th Highlanders, but soon retired from the Service, while +still a lieutenant.</p> + +<p>I passed my “exam.” in swimming before Mr. Warre at +my first try, and often went on the river. But I was a +“dry bob,” and generally preferred playing cricket in +“Sixpenny,” some of the fields by the river, which in winter +were used for football matches. Doyne never went on +the river, since, as he was not allowed to bathe, he could +not pass the necessary “exam.,” and so was forcibly a “dry +bob.” At James’s, only Alexander and one or two others +were “dry bobs,” and, as the house was a small one, we had +no cricket eleven, like other houses. James’s football colours +were a combination of reds of different shades with violet +and black, which were not by any means pretty colours.<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_89"></a>[89]</span> +Yonge’s were red and black; Day’s, black and white; +Evans’s, scarlet with a black skull and cross-bones; Warre’s, +a combination of red, yellow and other colours; and Vidal’s, +yellow and black. The well-known cricketer, C. I. Thornton, +was at Vidal’s, and was a great friend of Williamson, while +the latter was there. Thornton was a tremendously hard +hitter at cricket, and I can remember many of his wonderful +hits beyond the ropes when he was playing for Eton against +Harrow at Lord’s. The colours of the Second Eleven or +Twenty-two at cricket were blue and black; the Eton Eleven, +of course, wore light blue, as did the Eton Eight.</p> + +<p>On St. Andrew’s Day a football match—the game at the +Wall—was played between Oppidans and Collegers, in +which the latter were generally successful, so far as I can +recollect. This match always drew a large crowd, but, for +a spectator, I cannot imagine anything more tedious to +watch, unless he be interested in the final result, and even +then he must be gifted with an uncommon stock of patience +to be able to watch it from start to finish. For those engaged +in it it is, of course, different, as some players prefer the wall +to the field game, and I have heard that it affords them more +excitement, besides being a far greater strain on the nerves +and muscles. A lady who would enjoy watching the game +at the Wall would in all probability find pleasure in a Spanish +bull-fight, though both would be distasteful to a really nervous, +sensitive girl. A young Spanish lady once told me at +Seville that to look at a girl performing on the trapeze made +her feel faint, whereas she never failed to attend a bull-fight +on a Sunday, in which she took a keener pleasure than in any +other form of amusement. This shows how strangely one’s +nerves are constituted, and that this kind of thing is, after +all, merely a matter of habit.</p> + +<p>In the summer, Mr. James would often take us with +Mrs. Bower on the river, when we would bring our dinner +with us, and would often go as far as Monkey Island, or +even to Maidenhead, returning at night by moonlight. We +all rowed in turn and had dinner in the beautiful woods of +Cliveden, which was at that time the property of the Duke<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_90"></a>[90]</span> +of Sutherland, but now belongs to Lord Astor, whose father +subsequently bought the estate. The late Duke of Sutherland, +who was then the Marquis of Stafford, was with me at +Eton, but higher up in the school, and I can remember him +very well. He was a good-looking boy with fair hair.</p> + +<p>Lord Astor (formerly Mr. Waldorf Astor), the present +owner of Cliveden, was at Eton also, though very many years +after my time, where he was Captain of the Boats, and +gained the Prince Consort’s Prize for French one year. His +father belonged to one of the best families in the United +States, and the son became a naturalized Englishman.</p> + +<p>These river excursions were most enjoyable, and, when +coming home, we sang songs in chorus, which sounded well +in the stillness of the summer night. I was nearly always +taken by Mr. James, as I was one of Mrs. Bower’s favourites, +and she insisted on my being invited. A boy named H. B. +Walker, who was then high up in the school, was also generally +one of the party. Walker was very amusing, and used +to chaff me to annoy Mrs. Bower, but all in jest, as we were +very good friends. Mr. James was very pleasant during +these outings, and would sometimes indulge his propensity +for making jokes, which at times the boys would appreciate, +though at others they found the wit a trifle strained. One +day, Walker said:—</p> + +<p>“That joke you made I think I could improve upon, sir.”</p> + +<p>“I did not mean it for one; you always see a joke where +I cannot see anything,” replied Mr. James.</p> + +<p>“Charles, you know you meant it for a joke,” exclaimed +Mrs. Bower.</p> + +<p>“Well, if I did, I apologize,” said her cousin, laughing; +“but you boys always appreciate my jokes better in school +hours.”</p> + +<p>“Because there is generally more point in them, sir,” +remarked Walker.</p> + +<p>“But the best of it is I never can see any joke in some +of the things I say which provoke fits of laughter, and that +always annoys me considerably.”</p> + +<p>“It’s quite a habit of yours, Charles, to make these<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_91"></a>[91]</span> +jokes,” said Mrs. Bower; “I confess I don’t care for them +at any time.”</p> + +<p>“Ladies never do,” retorted Mr. James.</p> + +<p>And he laughed and looked very pleased at his remark, to +which Mrs. Bower vouchsafed no reply.</p> + +<figure class="figcenter illowp45" id="illus15" style="max-width: 18.75em;"> + <img class="w100" src="images/illus15.jpg" alt=""> + <figcaption class="caption"><p>Henry Hooker Walker, at Eton with +the Author.</p> + <p class="caption-r">[<i>To face p. 90.</i></p></figcaption> +</figure> + +<figure class="figcenter illowp45" id="illus16" style="max-width: 18.75em;"> + <img class="w100" src="images/illus16.jpg" alt=""> + <figcaption class="caption"><p>The Hon. J. W. Lowther, present +Speaker of the House of Commons.</p> + <p class="caption-r">[<i>To face p. 91.</i></p></figcaption> +</figure> + +<p>Another boy who often went on these river excursions was +a nephew of Mrs. Bower, named Holdsworth. He was a +fine-looking fellow, older than I was and much higher up in +the school. He was a very good oar, rowing in the <i>Victory</i> +and also in the Eight; but he over-exerted himself in the +latter and died shortly after leaving Eton. His father was +a wealthy man, and his mother was called at one time the +“Pocket Venus.” He had a sister, a pretty, fair-haired +girl, who in after years married the late Sir James Dimsdale, +Lord Mayor of London, who was also an Etonian.</p> + +<p>Walker also died shortly after leaving school, when he +was barely eighteen. He died of a brain disease at his +mother’s house in Palmeira Square, Brighton. I happened +to be at Brighton a few weeks before, and he came to see me.</p> + +<p>One First of April, at Eton, I delivered a message to +Walker, which was supposed to have come from Lord Rossmore, +asking him to lunch at the “Christopher” at one +o’clock. Rossmore, who had been very friendly with Walker +at school, had lately joined the 1st Life Guards, who were +stationed at Windsor Barracks, and often invited Walker +there. And so the latter, suspecting nothing, went to the +“Christopher,” and waited there for some time for Rossmore, +with the result that he was not only disappointed of +his expected lunch, but missed his dinner at James’s. He +was very angry with me at the time, but he often laughed +afterwards at this practical joke.</p> + +<p>I also wrote a note to a boy named Lewin C. Cholmeley, +purporting to come from a person living in a street at the +farther end of Windsor, where I had never been, to say that +if he called there he would hear of something to his advantage. +He, too, fell into the trap, went to the street mentioned, +and hunted a long time for the house, but was unable +to find it, as there was no such number there. When he<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_92"></a>[92]</span> +got back to James’s he found that dinner was over, and I +don’t think he ever quite forgave me for the joke I had played +upon him; certainly he never forgot it. Cholmeley was +lower in school than I was at that time. When in the Fifth +Form, he was in the Boats. I heard that, after I left Eton, +he fell out with my tutor one Fourth of June, and was one +of those who nearly drowned him in Chalvey. This affair +might have entailed serious consequences for Cholmeley, +had not Mr. James forgiven him and interceded in his +favour with the Head Master. Cholmeley is now a wealthy +solicitor in London.</p> + +<p>When I had nothing better to do of an evening, I often +used to go to Leyton’s, at Windsor, which was famous for +its pastry, and where a good many Eton boys were always +to be found. My companion on these occasions was usually +Lord Edward Somerset, who was in my division. On leaving +Eton, Lord Edward Somerset entered the 23rd Welsh Fusiliers, +from which he subsequently exchanged into the “Blues.” +He died soon after his marriage, while still quite young.</p> + +<p>The German master at Eton was Herr Griebel, from +whom I took private lessons at the same time as Count +Bentinck. We read together Goethe’s <i>Die Leiden des jungen +Werthers</i> and Auerbach’s <i>Das Landhaus am Rhein</i>. Herr +Griebel told me that after he had been in England some +time he forgot German entirely. Then he went back to +Germany, and entirely forgot English. “But now,” he +added, “I shall never forget either language, as I am far +too old.” I was in the select one year for the Prince Consort’s +German Prize, and the year following next in marks to the +boy who won it. For the French Prize I was also rather +high up in marks. Mr. Frank Tarver and his brother were +the French masters at Eton then. One half the former got +up a performance of Molière’s <i>le Bourgeois Gentilhomme</i>, +which was acted by the boys and himself. Molière is said +to have portrayed himself in <i>le Misanthrope</i>. It is well +known that he used to read his comedies, first of all, to his +old housekeeper, and when she smiled at certain passages, +he felt sure that they would amuse the public also.</p> + +<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_93"></a>[93]</span></p> + +<p>Gridley’s younger brother, Reginald Gridley, after I had +left Eton, rowed in the <i>Victory</i> and the Eight, and was a +well-known oar at Cambridge, where he rowed for the +University Eight against Oxford. Gridley himself, after +holding a commission in the 5th Lancers and subsequently +in the 78th Highlanders, was called to the Bar, but died soon +afterwards. George Baird, who rowed in the Eight in 1873, +was also at James’s, and was my fag for a short time. When +he was in the Fifth Form, Arthur Cavendish-Bentinck, now +Duke of Portland, fagged for him. George Baird, after +leaving Eton, joined the 16th Lancers, and is now a +colonel. I saw a good deal of him at my tutor’s, but +all I remember about him is that he was a very nice +fellow and that he messed with Blagrove. He had a +cousin, Douglas Baird, who was also at James’s. Craven, +on leaving Eton, entered the Grenadier Guards, from which +he retired as captain. He married soon afterwards, and died +at twenty-two. Holdsworth messed with Thomas Wood, +who was also in the Boats (the <i>Thetis</i>), and distinguished +himself in school. I met him in after years at Aldershot, +where he was in the Grenadier Guards, and I remember that +he behaved very generously to Temple—“Mug,” as we +used to call him at Eton—when he was in bad health and +poor circumstances, assisting him and seeing that he had +the best medical advice in his illness, of which, however, +he died when he was barely twenty years old.</p> + +<p>Two other boys who were with me at James’s were Percy +Aylmer and Augustus Ralli. Aylmer, who was a very good-looking +and exceedingly nice fellow, travelled with Colvin +in after years, and now resides on his property in Durham. +Ralli was a bright-looking boy, with very dark eyes, and +was very popular in the house. Unhappily, he died of +rheumatic fever at Eton in March 1872. There were, of +course, many other boys at James’s besides those whom I +have mentioned, but I cannot now recall anything about +them worth recording here. Doyne left Eton long before +I did, and died of influenza some years ago in Ireland.</p> + +<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop"> + +<div class="chapter"> + +<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_94"></a>[94]</span></p> + +<h2 class="nobreak" id="CHAPTER_VIII">CHAPTER VIII</h2> + +<p class="center">Athletic Sports at Eton—A “Scrap”—Lord Newlands—An +Old Boy on Eton of To-day</p> + +</div> + +<p>Henley Regatta was an event which was always +eagerly looked forward to by us boys. I used to go +there with Mr. James and Mrs. Bower and some of the boys +in our house. Sometimes we went by river all the way; +at others by rail. One year, while sitting in the Grand +Stand, I overheard a conversation between a boy named +Kirklinton-Saul and his mother. Said the latter:—</p> + +<p>“I don’t always expect to hear from you, my dear, +but when you want money, be sure and write, won’t +you?”</p> + +<p>To which request the young gentleman gave the answer +which might be expected.</p> + +<p>I could not help thinking at the time: “What a nice +mamma! I wonder if there are many such mammas +about?” The dinner at Henley used to consist of duck +and green peas with beer, which the boys used to enjoy +greatly; but there was such a crowd at the regatta, that +there was always a tremendous scramble to get to the +tables. Mr. James did not take dinner with him when we +went to Henley, as it was so far from Eton. The toilettes +of the ladies were very elaborate, though hardly equal to +those one saw at the Eton and Harrow match at Lord’s. +Nevertheless, there were some very pretty dresses, and—what +was still more important—some very pretty faces. +For many young girls came with their mothers to see their +friends and relatives compete for the Ladies’ Plate, which<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_95"></a>[95]</span> +in those days Eton used to win year after year in succession.<a id="FNanchor_13" href="#Footnote_13" class="fnanchor">[13]</a> +The light blue of Eton was worn by the boys and by the +pretty girls who accompanied them.</p> + +<p>The Athletic Sports at Eton were always interesting to +watch. The steeplechase course was a most severe one, +some very big natural jumps having to be negotiated, ending +with the brook, which was the biggest jump of all. H. M. +Ridley was the fastest runner at Eton in my time.</p> + +<p>I recollect one day having a try at the brook in the +“field,” which I succeeded in jumping. The late Lord +Lonsdale and his brother, the present Earl, were standing +some way off, and must have thought I could not do it, for +the former shouted out when I landed safely on the further +bank:—</p> + +<p>“Well done, Black-eyed Susan!” <i>Black-eyed Susan</i>, I +may mention, was the name of a popular burlesque, by +Douglas Jerrold, which had a great run at that time at +the Strand Theatre. One morning, before breakfast, I ran +John Lister-Kaye one hundred yards for a bet of five shillings, +he giving me five yards start, and managed to win, though +he had felt very confident about beating me. I ran one year +in the Hundred Yards for boys under sixteen at the Sports, +and Holdsworth, who was acting as umpire, told me afterwards +that I might have won it, had I not stopped a yard +short, through mistaking the boundary line. He often<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_96"></a>[96]</span> +asked me why I had done so, but the only reason I could give +was that I was so short-sighted.</p> + +<p>We had a play-room at James’s, where we used to practise +the high jump, and there were some boys who could clear +a jump higher than themselves. In this room stood a large +blackboard, upon which all the names of the boys who had +been at James’s were carved, with the year they came and +the year they left.</p> + +<p>The cricket match between Eton and Winchester was +played in alternate years at either school. When the match +took place at Eton, the band of the Life Guards or the +“Blues” would play on the ground, where there was always +a large attendance of visitors, including a great number of +ladies. But it was never so fine a sight as the Eton and +Harrow match at Lord’s. At one Winchester match I remember +seeing Miss Evans (George Eliot), who had come as the +guest of one of the masters, and whose presence created quite +a sensation.</p> + +<p>Once at Lord’s, during the Eton and Harrow match, I +was invited on to the drag of a friend of mine named C. N. +Ridley, who was in my own division, where I had an excellent +lunch, washed down by champagne. Ridley was a good-looking +boy, with fair, curly hair and blue eyes, and his +two sisters, who were exquisitely dressed on this occasion +in light blue satin dresses with white lace, were considered +remarkable beauties in London. They were quite young +and very fair, like their brother, with the most lovely blue +eyes of the shade of the myosotis. They might often be +seen in the season riding in the Park, and were greatly admired +by the Prince of Wales, afterwards King Edward VII., +who invited them to Marlborough House. Unhappily, both +these beautiful girls and their brother were consumptive, +and I heard that they all three died of consumption not very +long afterwards.</p> + +<p>In those days, the Eton and Harrow match at Lord’s was +a far more pleasant function than it has since become. +Only people interested in Eton or Harrow were there, and +a good view of the game could easily be obtained. Nowadays<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_97"></a>[97]</span> +people go who do not know one school from the other, +and the whole space is reserved for the M.C.C., so that if you +do not happen to be a member, you cannot see the game at +all. One constantly hears people say at Lord’s now:—</p> + +<p>“I don’t know anything about cricket and care less, but +I have come to see the ladies’ toilettes.”</p> + +<p>In the old days this was not so. Lord’s has certainly not +improved since.<a id="FNanchor_14" href="#Footnote_14" class="fnanchor">[14]</a></p> + +<p>The boys at James’s used often to go into the pantry, +where William, the butler, would give them a glass of claret, +and water Mr. James’s wine well for him afterwards. Often +the butler would exclaim: “Ha! spider up there!” and +while we were looking for it, he watered the claret. It was +in the butler’s pantry that I had the only fight I ever had +at Eton, the day before I left for good. My opponent was +the Hon., afterwards Lord, Henry Vane-Tempest, a son of +the Marquis of Londonderry, who was a little lower down +in the school than I was. I don’t think either of us really +wanted to fight, but we were egged on by others whose +respective parts we had taken in a quarrel, and after a very +short “scrap,” which I got the best of, we shook hands and +made friends. When I went down to Eton again, I met +Vane-Tempest at my tutor’s, and he told me that he was +then leaving to enter the “Blues.” He has since joined the +majority, quite young in life.</p> + +<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_98"></a>[98]</span></p> + +<p>Of the boys at James’s, I may mention that Sir John +Lister-Kaye married Miss Yznaga, an American lady, one +of two sisters celebrated for their beauty and toilettes in +Paris, where I often met them in society. Sir John was a +gentleman in attendance on the late King Edward VII. +Lord Mandeville, who was in the Grenadier Guards, and +afterwards became Duke of Manchester, married the other +sister. Cecil Lister-Kaye married the sister of the Duke of +Newcastle, who was himself at Eton. Cecil Lister-Kaye +told me recently that his son was at Eton, and that he often +went down to see him. He, no doubt, on these occasions, +thinks with some regret of the happy days of his youth at +James’s. I have come across some of those who were with +me at Eton in quite unexpected places. For instance, I met +the present Earl of Northbrook in Bombay. He was on his +way to visit his uncle, then Viceroy of India, and had come +to Bombay, he told me, to buy Arab horses. He was in the +same division with me at Eton, and afterwards served in +the Rifle Brigade and Grenadier Guards. Although I may +have forgotten many of my schoolfellows at Eton, I can +never forget those who were in my division. Among them was +Henry de Vere Vane, then a very clever, fair-haired boy, whom +I remember envying because he learned everything so quickly. +He was the late Lord Barnard, and inherited the Cleveland +estates on succeeding to this title. I had been told that in +the hall of Raby Castle, his country-seat, a fire had been +lighted two hundred years ago and had never been extinguished +since. But Lord Barnard informed me that this is +a legend, and sent me an account of a similar one:—</p> + +<div class="blockquote"> + +<p class="center">“<i>Fire kept in for two hundred years.</i></p> + +<p>“One of the loneliest spots in England, where there are +only four cottages in an area of thirty thousand acres, was +described at Brampton (Cumberland) Revision Court. The +Conservative agent, Mr. Mawson, said he had visited the +farm, which was situated on a remote fell between Bewcastle +and Haltwhistle, on the border of Northumberland. Members<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_99"></a>[99]</span> +of the farmer’s family had lived in this particular cottage for +six hundred years, and there was a tradition that the kitchen +fire had never been out for two hundred years. The claimant +slept in a bedroom eight feet square. There was a child +there that had not seen another child for two years.”</p> + +</div> + +<figure class="figcenter illowp53" id="illus17" style="max-width: 31.25em;"> + <img class="w100" src="images/illus17.jpg" alt=""> + <figcaption class="caption"><p>The Duke of Rutland</p> + <p class="caption-r">[<i>To face p. 98.</i></p></figcaption> +</figure> + +<p>Another who was in my division was the Hon. V. A. +Parnell, a good-looking boy, with black hair with a blueish +reflection in it, and fine eyes. He was a good cricketer and +clever in school. At times, when we were up to Mr. Thackeray, +Parnell, as he reminded me recently, would, <i>faute de +mieux à faire</i>, be engaged in shinning matches with a boy +who sat next to him called Dobson. The latter was a very +good-humoured fellow, who retaliated without losing his +temper, though at times he could with difficulty refrain from +betraying the pain which he endured so stoically with a +smiling face.</p> + +<p>The present Duke of Rutland, then Henry F. B. Manners, +was at Eton with me, but higher up in the school, and if +my memory does not deceive me, was in the Boats when in +the Fifth Form.</p> + +<p>The present Lord Newlands, then known as J. H. C. Hozier, +was very high up in the school, and I can remember when +he was in my tutor’s division, as the latter used to say +how clever he was, and he frequently came to the pupil-room +at James’s. Mr. James would often tell us about those +who were up to him, but it was rarely that he bestowed +praise on any boy.</p> + +<p>When Doyne left Eton, I had his room, which commanded +a view of the fine lime-trees, which in the summer looked +very charming. On the wall hard by the boys used to stand +or sit to criticize all the people who passed along the road +running through Eton. This must have been a rather +trying ordeal for some of the latter, for I remember that I +used to find it a very trying experience when I happened +to be late for chapel, particularly when I first came to Eton, +to be obliged to run the gauntlet of a double row of boys, +who never failed to pass remarks on everyone. The choir<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_100"></a>[100]</span> +at Eton, which was the same as that of St. George’s Chapel +at Windsor, was a very good one, and one of the boys who +sang in it, named Hancock, was paid, I was told, one hundred +and fifty pounds a year. Hancock sang occasionally the +solo part in Mendelssohn’s anthem, “O, for the wings of a +dove,” in a marvellous manner, his high notes being wonderfully +clear; but his voice lacked expression, and, as boys +and girls generally regard certain things purely from an +æsthetic point of view, the impression it made upon us +was one rather of surprise than of admiration. Some of us +used to go on Sundays to St. George’s, Windsor, and sit in +the organ loft, where Dr. Elvey, who was a remarkably +fine organist, played most beautifully.</p> + +<p>After Dr. Hornby became Head Master, the custom of +giving leaving books was abolished. Personally, I regretted +this innovation, not because I did not receive any, but +because I liked to make presents to my friends who were +leaving Eton; and the expense was a small one, to which, +I am sure, none of our parents objected.</p> + +<p>Most of us look back upon our school days as the happiest +part of our lives, for, to the schoolboy, the cares and anxieties +which weigh upon us as we grow older are unknown, and, +given good health, an Eton boy’s life ought to be <i>par excellence</i> +the very sum of earthly happiness. Lord Rathdonnell, +late of the Scots Greys, who, when at Eton, as McClintock-Bunbury, +stroked the Eight at Henley, and excelled at +football and at most games, besides being very high up in +the school and very popular, wrote to me some years ago, +saying that the years he spent at Eton were by far the happiest +of his life, and that he always looked back to them +with intense pleasure. The Captain of the Boats at that +time was Edwards-Moss, now a baronet. Horace Ricardo +(now Colonel Ricardo, C.V.O.), whom I remember quite +well, was then in the <i>Monarch</i>, and his brother Cecil rowed +in the <i>Victory</i> and was Captain of the Boats in 1871. After +leaving Eton, both brothers entered the Grenadier Guards, +and each of them commanded a battalion before retiring from +the Service. I remember that Doyne, who was never high<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_101"></a>[101]</span> +up in the school and for whom Latin and Greek were somewhat +of a torture, telling me years afterwards that he looked +back with regret to the happy days he had spent at Eton, +which, all things considered, were perhaps the happiest of +his life. Yet Doyne was not one of those who had any +trouble in after life; on the contrary, he had everything +which a man could possibly desire, besides enjoying good +health. But the joyous, irresponsible days of school life +were gone for ever, and, as he confessed to me, he would only +too gladly have returned to them and lived them over again.</p> + +<p>In regard to Eton at the present day, I heard not long +ago from an old schoolfellow, the late Colonel Sir Josceline +Bagot, a distinguished officer of the Guards and author, who +had had a boy there, and who wrote as follows:—</p> + +<div class="blockquote"> + +<p>“It all seems much the same, though, to my mind, +not improved in some ways. They have got more +room certainly, but, for such a big place as it has become, +I think the traditional freedom of the boys is overdone +altogether. Much too much importance is given to +boys in ‘Pop,’ and allowing them and Captains of +Houses to smack boys with canes for certain offences +more or less officially is, to my mind, a great mistake, +and starts the rotten system of many public schools +of ‘monitors,’ ‘prefects,’ etc. No boys should have +that power, and it is much worse for them to have it +than for the boys who get smacked. It all comes from +the masters thinking themselves too grand to swish +boys as in the old days; and the Head Master smacks +them on rare occasions with a stick, whereupon they +put on two pairs of trousers, etc., and merely laugh at +it and him, and they barely touch their hats at all to +the masters. They all smoke now to a great extent, +far more than we ever did, and, though the Head Master +is wild about it, he is powerless to do anything sensible +to stop it; and some of these rich Jew boys and foreigners +have far too much money and spoil things. If I were +Head Master, I wouldn’t have them at the school at<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_102"></a>[102]</span> +all. I was next to Lyttelton in school for a year or so, +and like him, but he has no respect and control at all +for such a position. Still, if drawbacks have crept in, +it is still the best school in the world.”</p> + +</div> + +<p>As time goes on, one hears everywhere, and always in a +louder whisper, the serious, dangerous word, “decadence.” +But let us allow the evil question whether our culture is +really going to ground to rest, and rather attempt a very naïve +example: Suppose a true son of classical Greece—Socrates, +for instance—were conducted in a dream into the midst of +our modern culture. He would look with amazement at +the marvellous means of locomotion, the production of the +factories, the luxurious comfort of private houses, the magnificence +of our theatres and so forth; but the question whether +we ought to be proud and happy he would answer in his +usual way:—</p> + +<p>“In my country I knew Pericles and heard the dramas of +Sophocles. I knew Alcibiades and saw Phidias at work, and +my pupil was Plato. Now show me your living masters.”</p> + +<p>The next day Socrates would relate:—</p> + +<p>“I dreamt this night I was in Persia. Everything is +greater there than you can imagine. Immensely great are the +treasures, the armies and navies, the towns and houses, the +machinery employed. In short, everything is inconceivably +great; only the people are very small....”</p> + +<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop"> + +<div class="chapter"> + +<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_103"></a>[103]</span></p> + +<h2 class="nobreak" id="CHAPTER_IX">CHAPTER IX</h2> + +<p class="center">Lady Grace Stopford—Tipperary in 1870—Robbed at Punchestown +Races—I get my own back</p> + +</div> + +<p>Just after I left Eton, in 1870, I went over to Ireland +to stay with my friend Doyne, who lived in County +Wexford, and had a fine estate near the sea, about +half an hour’s walk from the beach. His mother and sister +lived with him, and he and I rode about his property and +amused ourselves very well, though he had no near neighbours, +except the Earl of Courtown and his family. The +eldest son, Viscount Stopford, who had been with us at Eton, +was away at the time, though his sister, Lady Grace Stopford, +was there. One day we called, and were received by +Lady Grace, who was the only one of the family at home. +After shaking hands with her, Doyne said:—</p> + +<p>“I wanted to show my friend the fairest young lady in +the county.”</p> + +<p>At which compliment she blushed and replied:—</p> + +<p>“I am afraid he will be much disappointed.”</p> + +<p>“On the contrary,” I observed, “I am agreeably surprised.”</p> + +<p>She then inquired if I knew her brother, and I told her +that we were at Eton together. Lady Grace was a girl of +about sixteen, with a lovely complexion, blue eyes and +regular features. Her hair was of a reddish tint, similar to +that which one sees in certain pictures by Correggio, and +particularly in one in the Liechtenstein Gallery in Vienna, +the face of which also bore a resemblance to hers. In her +manner she appeared somewhat stiff, and more like the<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_104"></a>[104]</span> +English than the Irish, who are generally so free and easy. +But then Lady Grace always spent the season in London, +and lived most of her time in England. Her brother, Lord +Stopford, now Earl of Courtown, was in the Grenadier +Guards, and had lately joined his regiment.</p> + +<p>Mrs. Doyne was a charming old lady, and her daughters +had delightful manners and were exceedingly pleasant in +every way. While I was with them, Mrs. Doyne told me +that she and her family had received an invitation to Killarney, +and asked me to go with them, which I did with +great pleasure. The house we stayed at was a fine one, very +prettily situated near the Lake of Killarney, and the weather +being beautiful and very hot, it was very pleasant to go +on the lake and visit the different sights in the neighbourhood. +I was delighted with the scenery of the lake and +the various waterfalls in the woods, some of the views being +exquisitely lovely. One day, when Doyne and I were riding +on donkeys on the rugged hills near the lake, a bare-footed +Irish girl came up and spoke to us in Irish, showing her +beautiful teeth. She had very black eyes and black hair +falling loosely over her shoulders, and her legs, like her feet, +were bare. She could not speak a word of English, but +Doyne made her understand him somehow by means of +gestures.</p> + +<p>Killarney gave me the impression that I was in Italy. +There were so many bare-legged boys and girls walking +about, and the scenery was more like that of the south of +Europe than the British Isles; while the almost tropical +heat we were experiencing just then completed the illusion. +One day it rained very heavily, so Doyne and I went to the +Hôtel Victoria, where an American, who was playing billiards, +said to us:—</p> + +<p>“I guess I shall have to say that I have seen the Lake +of Killarney from this billiard-room window, as I am leaving +early to-morrow morning.”</p> + +<p>The tutor of a young fellow staying at the hôtel told me +that I must have Scottish blood in my veins, because I +walked so carefully, as if calculating every step I took, while<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_105"></a>[105]</span> +an Irishman walked without the least hesitation. I noticed +that the good looks of the Irish people were found more in +the lower classes than in those above them. Some of the +bare-legged girls whom I saw were quite pretty, with something +of the Spanish type of beauty about them. Their +hands and feet were usually small, whereas those of some of +the women of the upper classes were of very generous proportions. +Everywhere I went I met with a “<i>gemüthlichkeit</i>,” +which is not to be found in England, go where one may; +the Irish are so friendly and jolly, even if one does not know +them.</p> + +<p>On leaving Killarney, we went to Tipperary, and stayed +at Cashel, with the Dean, Dr. MacDonnell, who told me +that there were sixteen roads leading to the town, on each +of which a murder had recently been committed. These +crimes had, however, been committed for political reasons, +for if a man did not meddle with politics, he might travel +along these same roads at night with his pockets bulging +with gold in perfect safety. The Dean, who afterwards +became a Canon of Peterborough,<a id="FNanchor_15" href="#Footnote_15" class="fnanchor">[15]</a> had a pretty daughter, +a very amiable and clever girl, who is now the wife of Sir +Shirley Salt.</p> + +<p>I also stayed at Wells, an estate belonging to Mr. Mervyn +Doyne, my friend’s elder brother, who had married Lady +Frances Fitzwilliam, the eldest daughter of Earl Fitzwilliam. +The house was a very imposing one, built in the Elizabethan +style and standing in the midst of extensive grounds. Lady +Francis Doyne was a nice-looking and extremely pleasant<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_106"></a>[106]</span> +woman. At dinner one evening she told me the following +rather interesting story:—</p> + +<p>“I happened to dream one night in town, just before we +were leaving for Ireland, that I had lost my dressing-case. +Therefore, before starting, I told my maid to take particular +care of it during the journey. However, when we arrived +in Dublin, I left her in charge of the dressing-case for two or +three minutes at the station, and somehow she must have +put it down for an instant, since, on my returning to her, +she exclaimed: ‘Oh, my lady, the dressing-case is gone!’ +My husband had all the cars which were leaving the station +stopped, but my dressing-case was nowhere to be found. +He telegraphed to Scotland Yard, in London, but with no +success whatever, and I have never recovered it to this day. +I had at the time eight thousand pounds’ worth of jewellery +in it, besides valuable stones belonging to my ancestors, +which can never be replaced.”</p> + +<p>Speaking of London, Lady Fanny said:—</p> + +<p>“We had a house in Mount Street for the season, and one +evening, when we were giving a dinner-party, a band began +playing outside our house. It played rather well, so I sent +my footman out to the conductor to ask him to continue +playing all the time we were at dinner, and to give him a +sovereign if he would do so. But the footman brought back +the sovereign, and told me that the conductor refused to +play under five pounds.”</p> + +<p>Lady Fanny also said:—</p> + +<p>“People soon forget one in London. As a young girl, I +lived with my father in Grosvenor Square, but after my +marriage I was not in London for two years. When I +returned to town, I found that everyone had forgotten me +entirely.”</p> + +<p>Earl Fitzwilliam, Lady Fanny’s father, used to give two +big dinners in town to his tenants, to each of which fifty +guests were invited. At one of these dinners the service +was entirely of silver; at the other entirely of gold.</p> + +<p>I was invited with Jim Doyne to stay at the Shelbourne +Hotel, as the guest of Earl Fitzwilliam, for the Punchestown<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_107"></a>[107]</span> +Races. The first day of the races it poured with rain, and +Jim and I went to the course on an Irish car. On the way +he chaffed a man and a girl on our car whom he had never +seen before, who were engaged in a flirtation, and said to the +girl aloud:—</p> + +<p>“Don’t listen to the tales he is telling you; they are all +lies.”</p> + +<p>The girl blushed, and the man, looking very much annoyed, +answered:—</p> + +<p>“She knows I am telling her the truth.”</p> + +<p>There was a great rush to get into the stand, and Jim and +I got separated. I tendered an English five-pound note for +admission, but the man issuing the tickets said:—</p> + +<p>“I don’t take English notes, only Irish ones.”</p> + +<p>I told him I had a ticket for the Marquis of Drogheda’s +private stand, but he said that I must first pay the sovereign +entrance to the other. Suddenly, a man came forward and +said:—</p> + +<p>“I will change your note, if you will give it me or come +with me.”</p> + +<p>I followed him through the pouring rain to a tent, where +he showed me three cards, which he threw on a table, saying:—</p> + +<p>“I’ll bet you a fiver you don’t name the court card.”</p> + +<p>“But I don’t wish to bet,” I replied.</p> + +<p>“You must play,” rejoined he, “or I’ll keep your money.”</p> + +<p>I looked round for a policeman, but there was not one +anywhere near, and, while my eyes were off him, the man +disappeared. I tried to find him all day, but without success.</p> + +<p>In the evening, when I returned to the Shelbourne Hotel, +Lord Fitzwilliam’s sons, Thomas<a id="FNanchor_16" href="#Footnote_16" class="fnanchor">[16]</a> and Charles Fitzwilliam, +Lord Aberdour, Jim and myself dined together in a private<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_108"></a>[108]</span> +room. Lord Aberdour, who is now Earl of Morton, said:—“I +was making a bet with a man when someone nearly +knocked me down and took away my watch and chain, and +in the confusion of the moment I could not discover who it +was.”</p> + +<p>“I did not come off any better,” remarked Charles +Fitzwilliam, who had been at Eton and was now in the +“Blues,” “for I was paid a bet with half a five-pound and +half a ten-pound note pinned together.”</p> + +<p>The next day, when it rained again, I went to the races, +and walked about, keeping a sharp look-out for the man who +had stolen my “fiver.” Presently I caught sight of him, and +going up to a constable, inquired if he could arrest a man +on suspicion, which he said he could. The fellow was +performing the three-card trick at the time, and was promptly +arrested. He, of course, loudly protested his innocence, +saying:—</p> + +<p>“It was not me, but the Scotsman who did it, and he +ain’t here to-day. I don’t know the young gentleman at +all.”</p> + +<p>The constable asked me if I were quite sure that this was +the man, to which I replied in the affirmative. He was then +marched off, and a head constable came and took down my +affirmation, which I signed. The three-card gentleman +called out to me:—</p> + +<p>“I’ll give you twenty pounds if you’ll let me off,” and +the constable, overhearing this, said:—</p> + +<p>“Now he has confessed to taking the note; I see it’s all +right.”</p> + +<p>During dinner at the “Shelbourne” that night I told my +friends of my adventure, when they all said:—</p> + +<p>“You must prosecute the man for the good of the public.”</p> + +<p>I decided to follow their advice, and, about a month later, +I went with Jim to Naas, where the fellow was to be tried, +and where, as Jim happened to know the county court +judge, Baron de Robeck, we were given seats on the Bench. +When the prisoner was brought in, he at once pleaded guilty, +upon which the judge sentenced him to repay the five<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_109"></a>[109]</span> +pounds, which he did, and to three months’ hard labour. +He was also ordered to pay the costs of the prosecution, +which came to as much as five pounds, but these I refused +to accept.</p> + +<p>At Naas we lunched with the Duke of Leinster, who +had been at Eton with us, and was then with his militia +regiment. He was much interested in my adventure, and +glad to hear of the result. At the station a man came up to +me, and telling me he was the prisoner’s solicitor, asked me +to give him some money for persuading his client to plead +guilty. But when I spoke to Jim about it, he answered:—“Tell +him to go to the devil.”</p> + +<p>And the man of law, overhearing the remark, took +himself off without more ado.</p> + +<p>I stayed some weeks longer with Jim Doyne,<a id="FNanchor_17" href="#Footnote_17" class="fnanchor">[17]</a> when I +went to London for my “exam.” for the Army.</p> + +<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop"> + +<div class="chapter"> + +<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_110"></a>[110]</span></p> + +<h2 class="nobreak" id="CHAPTER_X">CHAPTER X</h2> + +<p class="center">Dieppe under Prussian Rule—A Toilette by Worth—A Confirmed +Gambler</p> + +</div> + +<p>During the Franco-German War, while I was at Eton, +my parents remained in Paris, and though my father +left the city during the Commune, my mother stayed until +the very last, when she was persuaded to follow him. Towards +the end of the war I joined my parents at Dieppe, and +saw the Prussians enter the town, when eighteen soldiers +were billeted on the owner of the house we lived in. Madame +Gaillard, an American lady, the young wife of General +Gaillard, who was afterwards appointed to look after Maréchal +Bazaine when a prisoner, was with us at Dieppe. She was +a very pretty woman, and she and the Baronne van Havre +usually went with my mother to the afternoon concerts. I +took lessons on the violin from the chief violinist, whose +name was Lamoury. His brother was one of the first violoncello +players in France, and played in the orchestra at the +Conservatoire in Paris. Lamoury told me that he had +begun to learn the violin too late in life to be a virtuoso on +that instrument, as he had not begun to play it until he was +fourteen, whereas you ought to start playing at the age of +seven in order to be anything remarkable as a violinist.</p> + +<p>The English Consul at Dieppe was a Mr. Chapman, and +there were several English residents. Among them were +Edward Blount, a friend of my father, who had been at +school with Gambetta and spoke French almost better +than he did English, and a Major Boland, from Bath, who +had married a French lady, the sister of Jules Simon, one of +the Ministers then in power in Paris. Boland was in the<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_111"></a>[111]</span> +habit of depreciating the French Army and praising the +Prussians in every way. Owing to his having lived in the +same house as his brother-in-law for many years before the +war, he had had, although an Englishman, opportunities +for ascertaining the real condition of the French +Army.</p> + +<p>“I knew from the first,” he would observe, “that the +French would be defeated, and that Bazaine was a traitor, +who was playing into the hands of the Prussians all +along.”</p> + +<p>Jules Simon seemed to share his opinion of the state to +which the Empire had reduced France by embarking in this +disastrous war, for which she was unprepared, whereas +Prussia had been preparing for it for many years.</p> + +<p>Dieppe is a very charming seaside resort in the summer +months, and it was very pleasant to go to the Casino, where +the band played of an afternoon, and listen to the orchestra, +which in those days was excellent, as most of the performers +came from Paris. The Casino was near the sea, and to sit +there and watch the sea sparkling under the rays of the sun +and the snow-white sails in the distance, bathed, as evening +approached, in a rosy light, was to me a never-failing source +of pleasure. At such an hour as this Time and Space seem +to be eliminated. The incoming tide approaches with a +gentle murmur. It encircles first one spot on the sands, +then another; rests for a moment, and then continues its +advance. The sea is a symbol for us of Eternity and of our +passing away.</p> + +<p>When the Uhlans entered Dieppe, followed by the Prussian +infantry, the town was in a ferment, since no one knew +what was going to follow. All kinds of rumours were afloat, +and some people believed that a warship would bombard +the town, if the invaders met with any resistance. The +Germans requisitioned many things, with which the inhabitants +were very reluctant to supply them, and ordered +that all lights should be extinguished at 8 p.m., and that +after 10 p.m. no one should leave his house. This condition +of affairs naturally did not suit my father, and he determined<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_112"></a>[112]</span> +to leave Dieppe at once. But this was a difficult +matter, as to go by rail was nearly impossible, and by sea +altogether out of the question. Finally we decided to +hire a carriage and to start before daybreak, although we +were very much afraid lest we should be stopped by the +Prussians. We succeeded, however, in escaping detection +and reached Dunkerque, where we took the train for Calais, +and thence made our way to Boulogne. Here we stayed +for some days at the Hôtel des Bains, and then embarked +for Folkestone, from which we proceeded to Brighton.</p> + +<p>At Brighton, where my parents took a house facing the +sea, and not far from the Old Pier, we found Captain and +Mrs. Berkeley, who had taken a house for the season in +Regency Square; Mrs. Charles Woodforde, an aunt of my +father, who was staying there with her daughter, and Sophia +Kinglake, a sister of the author of “Eöthen,” whom +Thackeray once described as the cleverest woman he had +ever met in his life. One day, I remember calling with my +mother upon her, when she told us that she was knitting a +scarf for John Ardagh, who afterwards became General Sir +John Ardagh, and died some years ago. Shortly after we +arrived, a very pretty, graceful and beautifully-dressed girl +entered the room. She was a Miss Gordon, daughter of a +General Gordon, and, in the course of conversation, said to +me:—</p> + +<p>“I always get my dresses from Worth, and sometimes +I go and stay with his family at their country-place in France. +I generally stop with them from three weeks to a month, +and return to England with a fine lot of dresses. Worth +would be horrified were he to see me to-day, because I am +wearing gloves which do not match my dress. Once I put +on grey gloves with a costume of an unusual colour, upon +which he told me that if I ever did so again, he would make +for me no more. So, you see, I have to study his taste +in the matter of toilettes most carefully.”</p> + +<p>I inquired whether Worth charged very high prices for +his confections.</p> + +<p>“It is according to what you consider high,” she replied.<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_113"></a>[113]</span> +“He charges from forty pounds for a dress, and will not +make one under that price; but it is always perfectly finished +and lined with silk. For ball-dresses he charges more. I +get both my morning-gowns and ball-toilettes from him, +for I consider that he is the only man who can make dresses +which are worth wearing.”</p> + +<p>I asked if Laferrière were not very good, as I had heard +so much about him in Paris.</p> + +<p>“Yes, he is,” she said, “but Worth I consider still +better.”</p> + +<p>Miss Gordon was a girl of about eighteen, with a wonderfully +clear complexion, brown hair, blue eyes, and rather +good features. She had also a beautiful figure, for which +reason it must have been quite a pleasure for a dressmaker +to make for her. She was wearing on this occasion a blue +costume, with a good deal of <i>passementerie</i> on it, and very +pretty buttons in enamel, a white petticoat with flounces +of lace, stockings <i>à jour</i>, and shoes with Louis Quinze +heels. Her hat matched her dress, and the <i>ensemble</i> would +have been a dream, had not her gloves, which were brown, +spoiled—as she herself admitted—an otherwise perfect +toilette.</p> + +<p>While at Brighton, I used frequently to go on the Pier +with my mother to listen to the band, which, however, +played very badly. Captain and Mrs. Berkeley often came +there too, and would sit with us until my father came +to fetch us to lunch. Captain Dorrien was also at Brighton +at this time, and occasionally some of the old society of +Homburg would meet on the Pier, and talk over their +experiences at roulette and trente-et-quarante.</p> + +<p>“I say, Fred,” inquired Dorrien one day of my father, +“how about your infallible system? What was it? Let +me see: one louis <i>à cheval</i> between zero and two, one +between twelve and fifteen, one between twenty-six and +twenty-nine, and one between thirty-two and thirty-five. +Isn’t that it?”</p> + +<p>“Yes, my dear fellow,” answered my father, “and you +double the amount if you lose.”</p> + +<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_114"></a>[114]</span></p> + +<p>“Oh!” exclaimed Berkeley, “that game is a martingale, +and it nearly broke me.”</p> + +<p>“Then, old fellow,” said my father, “you didn’t play it +the right way.”</p> + +<p>“Oh, yes, I did, and in very much the right way, for I +lost all I had....”</p> + +<p>“I wish I were at Homburg to try it again,” continued +my father.</p> + +<p>“You would only lose again,” said Berkeley.</p> + +<p>“I am sorry that I ever played there at all,” said +Dorrien.</p> + +<p>“So am I,” exclaimed Berkeley, “but there is an attraction +there that somehow one cannot resist.”</p> + +<p>“I feel I should win if I played at Monte Carlo,” said my +father.</p> + +<p>“You always felt like that at Homburg,” remarked +Dorrien. “You said, if you remember, one evening, that +you felt like winning, and you lost heavily.”</p> + +<p>“But I won afterwards—three hundred louis.”</p> + +<p>“My dear fellow, you forget how much you lost. You +can talk like that to people who know nothing about the +game, but as for me, who have lost thirty thousand +pounds at it, you cannot make me believe that white is +black.”</p> + +<p>“Can’t I?” said my father, laughing.</p> + +<p>“No, you can’t, and you are foolish to try to make yourself +believe that you can ever win at that game.”</p> + +<p>“I agree with you entirely,” observed Berkeley.</p> + +<p>“I always hope to win back what I have lost,” said my +father.</p> + +<p>“That you will never do at roulette and trente-et-quarante,” +said Dorrien.</p> + +<p>“Don’t you play at all now then?” asked my father.</p> + +<p>“Yes, at baccarat and the Stock Exchange.”</p> + +<p>“That is as bad,” remarked my father.</p> + +<p>“I am not sure it isn’t worse,” said Dorrien, laughing.</p> + +<p>“Quite as bad,” exclaimed Berkeley, “but I do the +same thing.”</p> + +<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_115"></a>[115]</span></p> + +<p>“I shall have a try this winter at Monte Carlo,” said my +father.</p> + +<p>“You have had one lesson; why do you want to burn +your fingers again?” asked Dorrien.</p> + +<p>“If you do,” remarked Berkeley, “<i>vous y perdrez vos pas, +mon cher ami</i>.”</p> + +<p>And then they talked about other things.</p> + +<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop"> + +<div class="chapter"> + +<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_116"></a>[116]</span></p> + +<h2 class="nobreak" id="CHAPTER_XI">CHAPTER XI</h2> + +<p class="center">The Princess von Metternich—The Lady of the Luxembourg +Gardens</p> + +</div> + +<p>Paris was very dull in the way of entertainments and +parties after the Commune, and people spoke of +hardly anything but the siege. Mrs. Healy, an aunt of +Viscount Dillon, who lived in the same house as my parents +in the Rue d’Albe, her <i>appartement</i> being on the <i>entresol</i>, +had remained there throughout the siege and the Commune, +and told us that she had always contrived to get everything +she wanted in the way of eatables, though she had had to +pay an enormously high price for them; twenty francs +a pound, for instance, for butter, which she obtained as +well as eggs and meat, and consequently was never obliged +to dine off a mouse or any delicacy of that description, like +most of the people in Paris. Theobald, Lord Dillon, often +came to see his aunt, and one day he related to us how he +had become acquainted with Sims Reeves, and how he had +been the means of the latter continuing his studies at Milan +as a singer. It was entirely through Lord Dillon’s generosity +that Sims Reeves became so well known, as he had advanced +him a large sum of money. Albani was also first brought +into notice in England by Lord Dillon, who was so enchanted +with her beautiful voice that he soon made known to everybody +the “star” he had discovered. Albani was a frequent +guest at his beautiful country-seat, Ditchley Park, for he +and Lady Dillon not only admired her most exquisite voice, +but her very charming personality as well.</p> + +<p>The last time I met Lord Dillon was on the pier at +Brighton, when I happened to be on leave from Aldershot,<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_117"></a>[117]</span> +where my regiment was then stationed; and, I remember, +I introduced Lord Headley to him, at the former’s request. +The two noblemen discussed politics, upon which subject +they did not agree. Later the same day, I introduced two +young officers to Lord Dillon, as he told me he was very +fond of young men, he himself being then an old man. The +officers in question were both Old Etonians and attached +to my regiment. One was Richard Sutton, a son of Sir +Richard Sutton, who died before his father; the other, +the present Sir Charles E. C. Hartopp, a nephew of the Duke +of Norfolk, who had just been staying at Arundel with his +uncle.</p> + +<p>I happened to meet Whitehead, a correspondent of the +<i>Daily Telegraph</i>, who had remained in Paris during the +siege. I asked him whether he was not at all alarmed at +the time, to which he replied that he did not know what fear +meant, and had never been afraid of anything in his life.</p> + +<p>I was still at Eton, but came to Paris for my holidays, +and one evening went to a ball, at which I recollect the +Princess von Metternich, wife of the Austrian Ambassador, +was present, and that she left after remaining only half +an hour. Sir Edward Malet, who was then First Secretary +at the British Embassy, led the cotillion. It was a terribly +dull affair, and I was quite glad to get away. Evidently, +the Princess von Metternich saw at a glance what it was +like, and only waited until her carriage returned, or no +doubt she would have left even sooner. The Princess +spoke English just like an Englishwoman, and when she +spoke in German interlarded every sentence with French +words, as all the Austrian nobility do. She had plenty of +<i>esprit</i>, and when I saw her in recent years in Vienna, she +always used to make use of the late Baron Nathan de Rothschild +to assist her in collecting money for the poor of the +city, and—some people were malicious enough to say—for +herself as well. She had such a way of asking for charitable +contributions that she scarcely ever met with a refusal, and +never indeed from “her little Jew,” as she was accustomed +to call Baron Nathan.</p> + +<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_118"></a>[118]</span></p> + +<p>After I left Eton, I returned to Paris, and, as it was +summer, I often walked in the Luxembourg Gardens, where +it was very pleasant to sit beneath the trees and read a +book. One day, I happened to be sitting near a fountain +which contained some gold fish. On the same seat sat a +young girl with fair hair, who appeared entirely absorbed +in a book which she was reading, and from which she did +not raise her eyes for a moment. I asked her what was +the name of the novel in which she was so interested. She +answered that it was not a novel at all, but a serious modern +French work on philosophy. And she handed it to me. +I was not a little curious to know why she read such books, +and questioned her on the matter, when she replied that +they were the only ones capable of distracting her thoughts, +and that, as her own life had been like a novel, she avoided +such stories, for they usually reminded her of her own +experiences, and made her sadder than ever. I inquired if +she would mind letting me know her own history, and, at the +same time, studied her more attentively than before. She +was a fair girl, with blue eyes with long black eyelashes, a +very clear complexion and long wavy hair. Her features +were small and rather regular, and she had very fine teeth +and a beautiful figure. She was dressed in deep mourning, +and her petticoat was trimmed with Valenciennes lace, of +which I could just catch a glimpse when she raised her +tiny foot occasionally. She acceded to my request, and +related to me the following story:—</p> + +<p>“I was living with my parents in the country, when an +aunt of mine asked me to come to Paris, saying that she +would have me taught dressmaking. On my arrival in +Paris, I went to live with my aunt and became an apprentice +at a dressmaker’s shop, which had a number of customers +among the ladies of the Faubourg Saint-Germain. One +morning, when I was on my way to business, I noticed +that a gentleman was following me, but it was not until +some days later that I made his acquaintance, when he told +me that he had fallen in love with me, and offered to furnish +an <i>appartement</i> for me, and to give me three louis a day<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_119"></a>[119]</span> +to spend as I pleased. Soon afterwards I left my aunt, +and not only did this gentleman carry out his promise, but +gave me my own servants and carriage and horses. As +I had not received very much education, I had various +masters, one to teach me to speak and write French correctly, +another for the piano, a third for singing. As for reading, +I never had any taste for the rubbish which most girls affect, +but studied the works of Racine, Corneille, Rousseau and +Voltaire.<a id="FNanchor_18" href="#Footnote_18" class="fnanchor">[18]</a> I gradually developed a passion for philosophy, +and can say that I have read most of the works of the great +philosophers, both ancient and modern, in French. I +enjoyed my life thoroughly, and, as I was only sixteen and +quite without experience of the world, I was foolish enough +to believe that my good fortune would continue; and it is +needless to say that I took no thought for the future, but +lived only for the present. My friend was a very wealthy +Mexican and quite young; perhaps a little older than you +are, but not very much. He seemed perfectly devoted to +me, satisfying all my caprices and spending a great deal of +money on me, quite apart from what he gave me for myself. +I was very fond of going to the Théâtre-Français, where he +would always take a box and accompany me. We also +went very often to the Grand Opéra, and occasionally to the<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_120"></a>[120]</span> +smaller theatres, for the latter of which, however, I had but +little taste. On Sundays, generally after I had been to Mass—for, +notwithstanding my predilection for philosophy, I +still retained a remnant of faith in the Catholic religion—I +drove in the Bois de Boulogne, sometimes alone, at others +accompanied by my friend. In every respect, my life was +most enjoyable, and I had no cares of any kind. This state +of affairs lasted for a year, during which my friend was most +devoted to me, and we never had an angry word with each +other. He was kindness itself in every conceivable way, +while I was perfectly devoted to him. Suddenly, one day, +when I had been out alone shopping, I saw on my return +home a note addressed to me lying on the table in the salon. +Recognizing my friend’s handwriting, I tore it open immediately. +It contained only a few lines, which, however, I +shall never forget so long as I live. Indeed, so engraven on +my mind are they, that, were I to forget everything else, I +should never forget them!”</p> + +<p>On saying this, she suddenly burst into tears, and sobbed +so violently that it was not for some little time that she was +able to continue. Then she said:—</p> + +<p>“You will forgive me, for my grief is almost too great for +me to endure. Imagine my astonishment and dismay when +I read this note, which had been hurriedly written:—</p> + +<div class="blockquote"> + +<p>“‘<i>Ma chérie,—Je suis forcé de partir immédiatement pour +la Mexique; je n’ai pas même le temps de venir te dire àdieu.</i>’<a id="FNanchor_19" href="#Footnote_19" class="fnanchor">[19]</a></p> + +</div> + +<p>“I could scarcely believe my own eyes, and read those +lines again and again, sobbing all the while, and incapable +of realizing what had happened. I had only a few hundred +francs left, all the rest having been spent; and, to make a +long story short, I had very soon to leave my <i>appartement</i> +and return to my aunt. I have been with her now a week, +and I need not tell you how very hard I find it to return to +work, for which I feel I am no longer fit. Besides, my aunt<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_121"></a>[121]</span> +is continually reproaching me, and treats me much worse +than she did before. I cannot stand it any longer....”</p> + +<p>At this point, she stopped and was silent for a while. Then +she suddenly asked me if I could assist her as her friend had +done, adding that she was not one of those girls who could +love several men. I told her how I was situated, and she +said she would come to a restaurant in the Quartier Latin +with me and take some refreshment. We went, I remember, +to some restaurant near the Luxembourg Gardens, and, when +we were alone, she told me that it was a pity that I could not +afford to make her my <i>maîtresse attitrée</i>, as she thought I +might perhaps succeed in making her forget her Mexican. +Although I did not aspire to have such warm blood in my +veins, yet perhaps she liked the contrast. She wept bitterly, +and when she left me, said:—</p> + +<p>“<i>Vous avez beaucoup de cœur</i>; and, if I meet you again, +it will be in three days’ time in the Luxembourg Gardens. +If I do not come, you will know that I have done as I told you +before I should do—put an end to my existence. There is +nothing else for me to do, and <i>le bon Dieu me le pardonnera</i>.”</p> + +<p>I went to the Luxembourg Gardens three days later, and +sat on the same seat, but, though I waited until it grew dark, +there was no sign of her. I returned to the Gardens every +day for weeks and weeks afterwards, more out of habit than +for any other reason, and thought of her and wondered what +had become of her all the time I was there. I did not even +know her Christian name, but I rather fancied it was Mariette. +The consequence was that I was seized with a sudden fit of +melancholy, which I was imprudent enough to give way to, +and was continually reading Goethe’s <i>Die Leiden des jungen +Werthers</i>, until I felt convinced that I should end my life +in the same way as she had done. For, though I never heard +anything more about her, I made quite sure that she had +acted as she had threatened she would.</p> + +<p>Shortly after this, I decided to go to Bonn on the Rhine, +to study at the University; and Miss Kathleen O’Meara, the +author of “The Salon of Madame Mohl,” who was a young +girl at that time, gave me a letter to the wife of Professor<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_122"></a>[122]</span> +Dr. Binz, a sister of General Salis-Schwabe. I was then very +anxious to enter the Austrian Army, and tried very hard to +do so. Through the kindness of Mr. Somerset Beaumont, of +the Foreign Office, my request was put before Prince Richard +von Metternich and Baron von Hübner; and the latter, who +was at that time Ambassador in Paris, informed me, when I +saw him at the Embassy, that I should have to become an +Austrian subject. This was easy enough; but the examination +was not, as since the War of 1866 it had been made much +more severe. It was in pursuance of this intention to enter +the Austrian Army that I made up my mind to study at the +University at Bonn. My father was very much against my +doing so, but I eventually prevailed upon him to let me go, +though he warned me that I must put up with any evil consequences +that might result from this <i>coup de tête</i> of mine.</p> + +<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop"> + +<div class="chapter"> + +<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_123"></a>[123]</span></p> + +<h2 class="nobreak" id="CHAPTER_XII">CHAPTER XII</h2> + +<p class="hanging">Bonn—An Anecdote of Beethoven—The King’s Hussars—The Howard +Vyses—A German Professor on England—Domesticated Habits of German +Girls—Professor Delbrück</p> + +</div> + +<p>On my arrival at Bonn, I stayed at the Hôtel Rheineck, +which commanded a splendid view of the distant +mountains. Here I made the acquaintance of the late Mr. +Ranyard, the celebrated astronomer, who told me that the +well-known author “A. L. O. E.” was his aunt. Mr. Ranyard +was also stopping at the “Rheineck,” and at the midday +<i>table d’hôte</i> sat next to a Frau Phillip, a German lady from +Frankfurt, who was rather stout, but good-looking. He +made love to her, and, though he spoke German very badly, +she appeared to understand him. At four o’clock we used +to sit out on the verandah of the hôtel, which overlooked the +Rhine, and take our coffee there, with an excellent <i>Kuchen</i>, +for which Germany is famous. Some days after my arrival +at Bonn, Ranyard, who was flirting with Frau Phillip, quite +forgot that he had to catch the boat to Cologne, and missed +it. He was quite in despair at this, as he had not enough +money with him to stay any longer at Bonn. However, the +proprietor of the hotel said he would lend him some, which +he could repay him when he arrived in England. Ranyard +accordingly arranged to stay on a day or two longer at Bonn, +as the hotel-keeper was confiding enough to advance him +£5. I mention this incident to show how kind Germans are +at times, though, of course, there are exceptions everywhere.</p> + +<p>I called on Professor Dr. Binz and his wife, who lived in a +pretty villa with a delightful garden attached to it. The +latter’s sister, Miss Salis-Schwabe, and her brother, who was +an officer in the 7th Dragoon Guards, were staying with her<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_124"></a>[124]</span> +on a visit, and I went for several rides with them. Miss +Salis-Schwabe was a nice-looking girl, with a considerable +fortune of her own, and lived chiefly in England. She +afterwards married the late Sir Frank Lockwood, the well-known +Q.C.; and I was told by the Hon. Mrs. Henry +Orde-Powlett, who knew her, that she was always very +disappointed if her husband did not come home every day +with fifty guineas as “refreshers” in his pocket.</p> + +<p>Frau Professor Binz told me that she knew of a Professor +Dr. Andrä, who had a pretty daughter, so that his house +would be just the very one for me to live at; and I +accordingly made arrangements to take rooms there, with +board.</p> + +<p>Fräulein Margarethe Andrä was a rather pretty girl, a +blonde, with blue eyes, but she was, I thought, somewhat +insipid, and very strait-laced. She was well read and a free-thinker, +like her father, who never went to any church. +Professor Dr. Andrä was very clever, and, indeed, some +people said he was the cleverest of the professors at Bonn +University. I remember him telling me about his wife, +whom he had recently lost. She knew, according to him, +exactly what he was going to say before he opened his mouth, +and had also foretold many events before there was a chance +of their happening, in a marvellous manner. I asked Andrä +if he would not like to see his wife again.</p> + +<p>“No,” he replied. “I loved her very much, but I have +no desire to live again, and, what is more, I am sure that +after this existence there is no other. And it is much better +so.”</p> + +<p>He lectured on Anthropology and Mineralogy, two sciences +in which I took no interest. I attended the lectures of +Geheimrath von Sybel, the famous historian, who, Dr. +Andrä said, was a Republican at heart, but pretended not +to be, in order to keep in with Bismarck, who since 1870 had +been all powerful in Germany. Von Sybel was one of the +finest lecturers I ever heard. He contrived to make his +subject most interesting, however dry it might otherwise +have appeared; and his lectures were always crowded with<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_125"></a>[125]</span> +students, whereas those of some of the other professors +were attended by very few, as it was entirely optional which +lectures the students at the University attended.</p> + +<p>Bonn is the birthplace of Beethoven, a fine statue of whom +was erected in 1845 on the Poppelsdorfer Allee. Grillparzer +writes in his diary for 1843:—</p> + +<p>“The windows of my grandmother’s house faced the +courtyard of the dwelling of a peasant called Flehberger, who +bore a bad name. This Flehberger had a very pretty +daughter, called Lisa, whose reputation was also not of the +best. Beethoven appeared to be much interested in the +girl, and I can see him as he came up the little street, dragging +his white handkerchief after him, until he came to a stop at +Flehberger’s house, where the frivolous beauty was standing +on a wagon filled with hay, working with a pitchfork, and +laughing the while. Beethoven stood silent and looked at +her, until the girl, whose taste lay more in the direction of +peasant boys, made him angry by rude words or by obstinately +ignoring his presence. Then he walked away, but +did not fail, the next time he passed that way, to stop and +look into the courtyard. Indeed, his interest in the girl +went so far that, when her father was arrested and put in +prison for being concerned in a drunken brawl in the village, +Beethoven endeavoured to rescue him, and narrowly escaped +having to share the captivity of the man whom he had so +unwisely protected.”</p> + +<p>It is said that Beethoven wept when his “Overture to +Leonora” was first played at Vienna, where it met with no +success. He only passed his youth at Bonn, and then went +to Vienna, where the Archduke Rudolf, Prince Kinsky and +Prince Lobkowitz gave him an annuity of 4,000 florins +(nearly £350) for life, in order that he might devote his time +entirely to music, free from all financial cares. The fact that +the same provision was never made for Mozart, who was an +Austrian by birth, makes one think of the proverb: “<i>Nemo +propheta in patria</i>.” Grillparzer, Austria’s greatest poet, +wrote the funeral speech read at Beethoven’s tomb in Vienna +on March 27th, 1827, and on May 1st, 1880, a statue to his<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_126"></a>[126]</span> +memory was erected there, near the garden of the Hof Burg, +on the Ringstrasse.</p> + +<p>Captain Horrocks, whom my father knew very well, was +then living at Bonn with his family. His brother held an +appointment at the Court of the Grand Duke of Hesse. +Captain Horrocks once wrote a three-volume novel, which +my mother tried to read, but said that she never could get +beyond the first volume. She lent the first volume of the +book to several of her friends, but not one of them ever asked +for the second and third. When I mentioned Captain +Horrocks’s name to my mother, she said:—</p> + +<p>“When I think of him, I cannot imagine how he could have +written such a dull book. I have never yet come across any +one who has had the courage to read the whole of his novel.”</p> + +<p>Horrocks was, nevertheless, an amusing man, who had +a great deal of dry wit. He had several very pretty daughters, +the eldest one being considered the belle of Bonn at that +time. I remember his remarking to me once that a poor +man could never dress well, as he always bought cheap +clothes, and they never lasted any time. “Depend upon it, +whatever is cheap is bad,” he always used to say.</p> + +<p>The regiment stationed at Bonn was the King’s Hussars. +It was commanded by Prince Reuss, and there were seven +princes amongst its officers. I knew the two Princes Bentheim, +and Counts von der Goltz, Metternich, Moltke and +Bernstorff. The last-named was a gay young officer, who +spoke English like an Englishman. I saw a good deal of +him. His father had been Prussian Ambassador in England, +and he had a brother serving in the Garde Kürassier Regiment +in Berlin. Prince Reuss was very severe with his officers, +and insisted that, when they attended a ball, they should +wear their swords the whole time, except when actually +dancing. On one occasion, an officer, who had omitted to +replace his sword after a dance, was put under arrest for a +week and confined to his quarters. Bernstorff, so he told +me, once entered a tavern of bad reputation in Cologne in +plain clothes, as he did not like to go to such a place in +uniform, and on his return to Bonn was placed under arrest<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_127"></a>[127]</span> +for a week. Notwithstanding the severity of the punishment +meted out for minor offences against discipline, very +little, if any, notice was taken when officers in uniform +became intoxicated at balls. I can remember attending a +ball at the Royal Hôtel at Bonn, at which several officers +of the King’s Hussars were present wearing their dark blue +uniform with gold lace, as they were never allowed to attend +dances in plain clothes. One of them insisted on dancing, +though he was so intoxicated that he could scarcely stand, +and the others were highly amused at his efforts to dance +with a lady, who must have been in entire ignorance of the +state her partner was in.</p> + +<p>When the King’s Hussars gave a ball at Bonn, which they +did once every winter, they only invited the officers of the +7th Kürassiers from Cologne, and not a single infantry officer +from the Line regiments at either place. Some of the English +at Bonn were invited to this ball, but I cannot say that it +came up to one’s expectations. In the first place, it was a +terribly stiff affair. The officers stood in one part of the ball-room; +the ladies, mostly seated, occupied the other part, +and at the end of a dance, an officer generally conducted his +partner back to her seat and left her with her lady friends. +The supper was not at all a bad one, and there was plenty +of champagne, but the guests had to pay for what they +ate and drank. However, it was considered so great an +honour to be invited to this ball that no one grumbled; in +fact, they appeared to think it quite natural that they should +have to pay for their refreshments.</p> + +<p>The King’s Hussars was regarded as one of the crack +Prussian regiments, and undoubtedly some of its officers +were of very high social standing. But by no means all +of these officers were wealthy, and I was told that the Princes +Bentheim had only £150 a year each, besides their pay. +The officers generally rode in the Poppelsdorfer Allee of a +morning, making their horses perform <i>la haute école</i>, as +though they were at a circus. Only one corps of students +mixed at all with the officers. This was the well-known +Borussia Corps, the members of which—the <i>Borussen</i>—wore<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_128"></a>[128]</span> +a white cap somewhat similar in shape to that worn +by French officers. This corps was composed entirely of +members of the Prussian nobility, most of them being counts +and barons, and they did not associate at all with any of the +other student corps. They fought duels with the <i>Schläger</i>, +and got cut about the face, but the more they were disfigured, +the more pleased they appeared to be. Some of the <i>Borussen</i> +joined the King’s Hussars afterwards, but what became +of their scars I do not know, for, strange to say, I have never +seen any officers with these ugly marks on their faces. Perhaps, +after a time, the scars disappear; I can think of no +other explanation, for all the corps students are forced to +fight duels.</p> + +<p>I can remember Dr. Andrä once showing me a tiny shop +at Bonn, above which the royal arms of a certain country +were displayed, and when I inquired the reason of this, he +told me the following story, which I give in his own +words:—</p> + +<p>“When the heir to a certain principality was a student +at Bonn, he happened to enter this shop, in which there was +a very pretty girl serving. The latter, who pretended +ignorance of his identity, invited the Prince to come and see +her one evening. The Prince went, and a violent flirtation +was in progress, when the door opened, and the owner of +the shop entered. This person affected the utmost astonishment +and indignation, and, informing the Prince that the +girl was his wife, threatened that, unless the would-be destroyer +of his domestic happiness were prepared to write him +out there and then a cheque for several thousand thalers, +he would make the affair public. The Prince, anxious to +avoid a scandal, complied with his demand, and, moreover, +gave him permission to display the arms of his country over +his shop-front as supplying His Highness with goods. After +the Prince had left Bonn, the cunning rascal sent the girl, +who was not his wife at all, back to Cologne, from which she +had come, it was said, for the express purpose of assisting +the shopkeeper to entrap the Prince.”</p> + +<p>I used to go to the “Kneipe,” where the corps students<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_129"></a>[129]</span> +assembled, with a young American named Howard Vyse and +his younger brother.<a id="FNanchor_20" href="#Footnote_20" class="fnanchor">[20]</a> We always went of an evening, +when songs, principally “Studenten Lieder,” were sung, +and there was heavy drinking. On one occasion, the younger +Vyse, on coming out into the night air, after attending one +of these entertainments, told me that he felt so queer that +he could not find his way home, and asked if I could put +him up for the night. I took him to Dr. Andrä’s house, and +he slept in my sitting-room. Next morning, the professor +inquired why I had brought Vyse home with me, and I told +him the reason, quoting, at the same time, the words of +Nietzsche:—</p> + +<p>“<i>Alles ist erlaubt, nichts ist verboten.</i>”</p> + +<p>To which he replied that such were not his views; that he +considered that everyone ought to lead a very moral life; +that it was wrong to get intoxicated, and that, although he +never entered a church, he lived as moral a life as many +religious people, who often professed to be better than they +really were.</p> + +<p>Professor Andrä was an intimate friend of the famous +author, Berthold Auerbach, and once, when he was staying +with Auerbach, the latter was engaged in writing his celebrated +novel, <i>Das Landhaus am Rhein</i>. One day, Andrä<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_130"></a>[130]</span> +asked him to walk to Poppelsdorf, where the professor was +going to lecture. But he declined, saying that to do so would +put some of his ideas for his novel out of his head, as it was +essential for him to keep constantly in mind what he intended +to write about. Andrä showed me the house on the +Rhine which Auerbach had described in his novel, and one +day took me there to visit a retired merchant, who, after making +a fortune in America, had bought this beautiful villa in the +Koblentzer Strasse, which had a very fine garden leading +down to the Rhine. Andrä told me that he detested novels; +nevertheless, one day, when I happened to be reading <i>Auf +der Höhe</i>, by Auerbach, he asked me to lend it him, and, +after reading it, said</p> + +<p>“After all, it is very well written, and I am pleased with +it; some of the ideas are uncommonly good, and the plot +is ingenious.”</p> + +<p>Excellenz von Dechen, Minister of the Rhine Provinces, +told me that Andrä might have occupied Bismarck’s position,<a id="FNanchor_21" href="#Footnote_21" class="fnanchor">[21]</a> +but that he was too honest a man to change his opinions. +Andrä told me that Germany was far more fitted than France +for a republican form of government, and that, if the War +of 1870 had had a different issue, Germany would have been +a republic, as France is now. He entertained a poor opinion +of England and the English, whom he considered the most +selfish and self-opinionated nation in Europe, and years +behind Germany in intelligence. He held that Darwin, +whose works he had read, had merely been the first to publish +the ideas of a well-known German professor; and he himself<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_131"></a>[131]</span> +had lectured upon Darwin’s theory,<a id="FNanchor_22" href="#Footnote_22" class="fnanchor">[22]</a> in which he was a firm +believer, long before he had ever heard of him.</p> + +<p>Andrä told me that at all the dinners which he attended, +as a professor of the University, he took precedence of all +the officers of the King’s Hussars and of any titled person +who had not some higher State appointment than he held. +When I told him that this would not have been the case in +England, he smiled and said:—</p> + +<p>“In your country, with your antiquated laws, how can +you expect so much civilization as in Germany? The +English have a great deal to learn, and it will be a very long +while before their barbarous customs are knocked on the head. +So far as civilization is concerned, England is in a worse +condition than France, and, Heaven knows, France has +yet a good deal to learn.”</p> + +<p>In his opinion, Bismarck was a man of great intellect, +but without any conscience whatever. Moltke, he told +me, was quite positive that Germany would defeat France +before the war had begun, and he was a man “<i>welcher +schweigt in sieben Sprachen</i>,” as he rarely ever spoke. +Moltke’s son, afterwards Field-Marshal Count von Moltke, +was then in the King’s Hussars at Bonn, and I knew him +very well, but, save for indulging in some amorous +escapades and getting very much into debt, he did not distinguish +himself, though I have no doubt he deserved the +Iron Cross which he obtained in the War of 1870, with<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_132"></a>[132]</span> +most of the officers of the King’s Hussars. Of Field-Marshal +Freiherr von der Goltz it was said:—</p> + +<div class="poetry-container"> +<div class="poetry"> + <div class="stanza"> + <div class="verse indent0">“Freiherr von der Goltz,</div> + <div class="verse indent0">Von seiner Dummheit ist er stoltz.”<a id="FNanchor_23" href="#Footnote_23" class="fnanchor">[23]</a></div> + </div> +</div> +</div> + +<p>I often would ask Andrä what books I ought to read, and +one of the first he recommended was Hauff’s <i>Lichtenstein</i>, +a charming romance in the style of Sir Walter Scott. Heine +was a great favourite with Andrä, and he could repeat his +<i>Lieder</i> off by heart.<a id="FNanchor_24" href="#Footnote_24" class="fnanchor">[24]</a> Goethe he ranked far above Schiller, +and considered the first part of <i>Faust</i> vastly superior to the +second. He had a very high opinion of Lessing’s works in +general. Of modern authors, he recommended Karl von +Holtei’s <i>Die Vagabunden</i>, which was, he told me, quite +a classic, and I have read it again and again with pleasure. +It is somewhat in the style of <i>la Vie de Bohème</i>, by Mürger, +but I prefer it to the French work. In comparing Lesage +with Scott, Victor Hugo seems to think more highly of +the latter; but Andrä considered that <i>Gil Blas</i> would +outlive all Scott’s novels, which was also the opinion of +Grillparzer. It was through Andrä that I became a supporting +member of the “Verein zur Verbreitung naturwissenschaftlicher +Kenntnisse in Wien,” which I have been for +many years. The ill-fated Crown Prince Rudolf was formerly +the Protector of this society, a position which was held +recently by the late Archduke Franz Ferdinand, the heir +to the Austrian throne.</p> + +<p>Andrä had held a post in Siebenbürgen, in Hungary, under +the Archduke Johann, for some years before his appointment +to be a professor at Bonn. He was very fond of the Hungarians +and told me that he and some friends were one evening +at a restaurant in a village in Hungary, where three or four +musicians played so delightfully that his party kept giving +them money to continue, and that he was sure that they<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_133"></a>[133]</span> +went on playing until about five o’clock the following morning. +He was passionately fond of music, and I would often +ask him to play me some Austrian marches and waltzes on +the piano, which he did with the true Austrian spirit. His +daughter never played the piano, telling me that unless you +can play exceptionally well, it is better to leave it alone. +I wish all English girls were of her opinion.</p> + +<p>German girls are as a rule very clever, and have a good +deal to say for themselves. They are highly sentimental, +far more so than English girls, and can generally read French +and English books easily enough, though I found that they +could speak very little of these languages, as they had very +little practice and few occasions to do so. Every girl in +Germany can do the most difficult needlework, embroidery +and knitting wonderfully well, in addition to which she +thoroughly understands how to cook a good dinner. Fräulein +Andrä generally cooked the dinner herself, though she had +servants, one of whom was a sort of cook. I remember that, +in more recent years, at the Hôtel Neckar at Heidelberg, +I caught sight of a pretty, graceful young girl wearing an +apron going into the hôtel kitchen, and, on my asking who she +was, I was told that she was the daughter of a count, and +engaged to be married to a young count of high family, but +before her marriage she was required to learn cooking for +six months at this hôtel.</p> + +<p>There were at this time several English families whom +I knew residing at Bonn, among them being Captain and +Mrs. Bean, who were living there to educate their children, +and to whose house I was often invited to tea. I recollect +once Mrs. Bean telling me and some other friends of hers +that she intended going to a masked ball dressed as a gipsy +fortune-teller, with packs of cards and bells sewn over her +costume. On my arrival at the ball, I had no difficulty in +recognizing this dress, but the voice of the wearer seemed +very different from that of Mrs. Bean, and it transpired that +the fortune-teller was Captain Bean, who, as his wife found +herself unable to go to the ball, owing to a severe cold, had +assumed her costume and come instead. He intrigued a<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_134"></a>[134]</span> +great many people who were there, telling them their fortunes +and more about themselves than they cared to know, +and got a good deal of amusement out of his impersonation, +no one but myself having the least idea who he was the +whole time.</p> + +<p>There were also two sons of Peabody, the millionaire, at +Bonn. The name they were known by was George, and one +of them was married and had two very pretty daughters. +The Georges were quite unaware who their father was until +after Peabody’s death, when they were angry at only being +left two thousand pounds a year each, the bulk of Peabody’s +enormous fortune having been bequeathed to charities.</p> + +<p>The Carnival was very amusing for young people, as +everyone had to be disguised and masked during the three +days it lasted, and this custom afforded a good deal of fun. +Besides, every house was thrown open, and we entered the +houses of different people whom we knew with our masks on, +and partook of tea and cakes without being recognized. The +students, and, indeed, most young men, wore a blue blouse +and white kid gloves, and a mask, over which a blue cap with +a red tassel was worn. Some of the English girls at Bonn +asked me to get up a ball, but only the bachelors would +have anything to do with it. I arranged with the proprietor +of the Rheineck Hotel that the ball should be given there, +and he prepared his large dining-room for the dancing and +a room adjoining it for the supper. The supper was to be +provided at so much a head, wine being extra, as is the +general custom in Germany. The members of the committee +wore red, white and blue rosettes in their buttonholes. +About sixty or seventy people came to this ball, including +the officers of the King’s Hussars, who, of course, were +present in uniform, and it went off very well, as it was +conducted on English lines, and was a much more free and +easy affair than the average German ball. The supper +was a very passable one, and a great deal of wine was consumed, +particularly sparkling Moselle and champagne, so +the company was pretty merry. Miss Edith Horrocks was +the belle of the ball. She danced chiefly with a young Baron<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_135"></a>[135]</span> +von Plessen, an officer in the King’s Hussars, whom she +afterwards married, though, as there was not much money +on either side, the young officer’s father, who was a general +of cavalry, at first made some difficulties. It was five +o’clock in the morning before the last guests had taken their +departure.</p> + +<p>During the winter several small dances were given by +different English families, and these I generally attended. +I also went to some German balls, but, as there were no +English present except myself, and they were conducted +in a very stiff and formal manner, I cannot say that I derived +much pleasure from them, apart from the dancing itself, of +which I was then very fond.</p> + +<p>At Von Sybel’s lectures I made the acquaintance of a +young man named Hans Delbrück, whom I liked very +much indeed. He afterwards became a university professor, +and was imprisoned some years ago for having expressed +certain political views which were not in accordance with +those of the “All Highest.” He is now Professor of History +at the University of Berlin. Some little time before the +War he was interviewed by the correspondent of the <i>Daily +Mail</i>, when he gave his opinion about the possibility of a +war between Great Britain and Germany.</p> + +<p>During the spring and summer there was very little going +on at Bonn, with the exception of steam-boat excursions up +and down the Rhine. For the residents, the winter is the +season, but the climate at that time of year is no better +than in England; indeed, it is perhaps even worse than in +some English towns, as in the morning there are often thick +fogs rising from the river. Living at Bonn is cheap—cheaper +than at Wiesbaden or Frankfurt, to say nothing +of Homburg, which is far more expensive and much more +pleasant in summer. But there are many worse places +than Bonn in the winter, so far as amusements are concerned.</p> + +<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop"> + +<div class="chapter"> + +<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_136"></a>[136]</span></p> + +<h2 class="nobreak" id="CHAPTER_XIII">CHAPTER XIII</h2> + +<p class="hanging">The Countess Czerwinska—The Countess Broel Plater—Mlle. de Laval—The +Duchesse de Grammont—An Absent-Minded Gentleman—Dusauty, the +Fencing Master—The Marquis of Anglesey—Charming Venezuelans—Miss +Fanny Parnell</p> + +</div> + +<p>After finishing my studies at Bonn, I returned to +Paris and rejoined my parents. I was very happy +in Paris, of which I have always been very fond; but what +I missed there chiefly at that time was the companionship of +young fellows of my own age. This reminds me of what +Jim Doyne once said to me when he came to visit me +there:—</p> + +<p>“I should like Paris better than London, if I could only +fill the place with my English friends, and send some of these +Frenchmen to London instead.”</p> + +<p>I often experienced this very same feeling in Paris. It +was very rarely that I met a Frenchman of my own age that +I cared for, as I did for some English and Americans. Once +at the Opéra Comique I happened to sit in the stalls next +a young Frenchman, who was very pleasant, and whom I +got to know well afterwards. This was the Vicomte Frédéric +de Kilmaine, who, though of Irish extraction, could not +speak a single word of English. A few days after I had +made the Vicomte’s acquaintance I went for a drive with +him in his pretty victoria to the Bois de Boulogne, where +we had some refreshments at one of the cafés there before +returning to Paris. He often afterwards came to take me for +a drive, and we became very good friends. The Vicomte +de Kilmaine, however, was an exception so far as young +Frenchmen were concerned, for I never became very intimate +with any of them. M. de Lesquier d’Attainville, +grandson of the Prince de Rivoli, Duc de Masséna, was a<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_137"></a>[137]</span> +very nice fellow, and I liked him exceedingly; but he was +older than myself, and I did not see him very often except +at the different houses which I visited of an afternoon or +evening. I also liked Prince Jean Radziwill, who was a +Pole, but I saw even less of him than I did of M. de Lesquier +d’Attainville, and, besides, he was much older than I was, +and a few years make a world of difference when one is very +young.</p> + +<p>In after years, at Franzensbad, in Bohemia, I made +the acquaintance of the Countess Broel Plater and her +son and daughter-in-law. The Countess, by her first marriage, +was the Princess Lubomirska, and Prince Jean Radziwill +was her son-in-law. The Countess was delighted to +hear that I had known Prince Jean so well in former years, +and told me many things about him. I often used to meet +the Prince at Baroness Adelsdorfer’s hôtel in Paris, and +also at the Countess Czerwinska’s, <i>née</i> Countess Czajkowska, +and I remember him telling me that he was best man at the +last-named lady’s marriage. It was a marriage of affection, +and a son was born a year or so later; but subsequently the +pair had a quarrel and refused to live together any more. +The husband was afterwards quite willing to make it up, +but the Countess absolutely declined to do so, though +Prince Radziwill said he did everything he could to persuade +her to be reconciled. The Countess had the right to keep +her little son Stanislaus, who was a boy seven years old. +At the time I knew her in Paris, according to Russian law, +in the event of a separation or a divorce, the mother has +always the custody of the sons, and the father that of the +daughters. This ought to be the rule in England, but, as +we are an eccentric nation, our laws quite naturally differ +from those of all others.</p> + +<p>The Countess Czerwinska was a very good-looking, fair +young woman, of about four-and-twenty. She was extremely +well read and very intellectual, and appeared perfectly to +idolize her son. She was very fond of the poet Mickiewicz, +whose poems she often recited to me in Polish, afterwards +giving me her own translation of them in French. It was<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_138"></a>[138]</span> +said that she was employed by the Russian Government +to find out political secrets, and the salon at her hôtel in the +Rue Chaillot was always filled with men from the Ministère +des Affaires Etrangères, like M. de Lesquier d’Attainville, +and also with representatives of the various embassies.<a id="FNanchor_25" href="#Footnote_25" class="fnanchor">[25]</a> +She asked me once to procure her an invitation to a private +masked ball given by the millionaire Ménier, who had made +his fortune with the famous chocolate of that name, which +I did, and escorted her also to the Concours Hippique at +the Palais de l’Industrie.</p> + +<p>The Countess Broel Plater was an old lady, who in her +younger days had been, she told me, lady-in-waiting to the +Empress of Russia, consort of Nicholas I. She also informed +me that she had been brought up in the Palace at St. Petersburg, +and that she was really a daughter of the Tsar, as +everyone at the Court knew. One day, when we were taking +coffee and listening to the band in the Kur Park at Franzensbad, +she piqued my curiosity not a little by telling me that +there were so many secrets at the Russian Court, that to +reveal them would make one’s blood run cold, and that, +to her knowledge, three cold-blooded murders had been perpetrated +at the Palace at Petersburg during the time she<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_139"></a>[139]</span> +was living there. She mentioned all the details of these +crimes, which had been committed at the instigation of those +in power at that time, and even the names of the victims, +observing that at the time of their occurrence she was +pledged to secrecy, failing which, she would have been +poisoned herself. “No one,” she concluded, “can possibly +realize, unless they have lived, as I have, at the Russian +Court, what fearful things have happened there, simply +in order to satisfy the caprice of a sovereign. Whether it +was the destruction of a girl, man or woman, it mattered +not, so long as the removal of the person served to conceal +something which the Tsar desired should not be made +public.”</p> + +<p>While relating these events, the Countess became quite +excited, and her recital of them was so dramatic that one +could almost imagine that she had actually taken part in them. +She gave me, in fact, quite a creepy feeling, so that I was +really relieved when she came to an end of her accounts of +these tragic episodes. She afterwards told me that she was +going to Nice with her son, whom I frequently met at Franzensbad +with his lovely young wife, and I used to sit in the +Kur and talk to them. The Countess Broel Plater had a +charming villa, in which she had an aviary containing all +kinds of rare birds, and it was her delight to sit near this +aviary, admiring the gorgeous plumage of her beautiful +birds and listening to them sing, while she thought how +fortunate she was to have finished with the Russian Court +and its dark tragedies. She told me that she knew the +family of Count Branicki at Nice, and also the Countess +Zamoyska, a very lovely woman, who had only very recently +married, and was at that time the greatest heiress in Poland. +Liszt says of Polish women: “<i>Ce qu’elles veulent, c’est +l’attachement; ce qu’elles espèrent, c’est le dévouement; ce +qu’elles exigent, c’est l’honneur, le regret et l’amour de la patrie, +ce qui faisait dire à l’Empereur Nicholas I.: ‘Je pourrais +en finir des Polonais, si je venais à bout des Polonaises.’</i>”</p> + +<p>The Countess invited me to stay with her at Nice in the +winter, if I were able to go there, but, for some reason, I was<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_140"></a>[140]</span> +prevented from doing so. She took a great fancy to my little +girl, Xenia, who was with me at the time and was then +seven years old, saying that she reminded her of a near +relative of her own, who also bore the Russian name of +Xenia, which increased not a little the Countess’s interest +in my daughter.</p> + +<p>In Paris I always attended the “<i>jours</i>” of the Countess +Dzialyńska, sister of Prince Czartoryski. Her daughter, +Countess Hélène Dzialyńska, spoke English fluently, and +told me she could learn any language in a fortnight. She +wrote a book in French against capital punishment, called +<i>Sur la peine de mort</i>, which had a large circulation. +The Princess Czartoryska was a royal princess, a Bourbon, +and lived at the Maison Lambert. Among their friends was +a Swedish officer attached to the Embassy, who was a frequent +guest at their soirées. He was no longer young, but +always wore a corset and lavender kid gloves, and never +took his gloves off even to eat his supper. In his younger +days he had been dubbed, “<i>la fille du régiment</i>,” and this +nickname still clung to him. I met him there frequently, +and he still considered himself quite irresistible <i>auprès des +dames</i>.</p> + +<p>I used to go about a good deal in Paris at this time with +Cecil Slade, a boy of fourteen, the son of a friend of my +father, General Sir William Slade. He usually called for +me of an afternoon, and we took long walks on the Boulevards. +A girl friend whom I made was Mlle. Julie Piétri, who was +about fourteen. I often called at her father’s house in the +Champs-Elysées, and one day I said to Madame Piétri, +before her daughter, that I wondered why French girls were +not allowed the same liberty with boys which English girls +enjoyed. Madame Piétri answered that it might be all right +with English girls, but if French ones were allowed to be +alone with gentlemen, the consequences might be disastrous, +as French girls could not control their feelings. I thought +this a strange thing to say before her daughter, and I +observed that Mlle. Julie looked rather confused at her +mother’s remark and blushed, but she did not say anything<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_141"></a>[141]</span> +in reply. About this time, I made the acquaintance of a +young girl called Isabelle, about whom I have already +written in “Society Recollections in Paris and Vienna.” +Isabelle was allowed more freedom than Mlle. Piétri, and +was not always with her mother, and I found out that +Madame Piétri may have been right in her conjectures. +Nevertheless, I cannot help thinking that French girls are +treated rather too severely in this respect, and that if they +were permitted a little more liberty, they would not suffer +so much as their mothers suppose.</p> + +<p>In Paris, at this time, I had many friends among girls, +but few among young fellows of my own age. I cannot say +that I was in love with any of the former; indeed, I felt +quite indifferent towards them. I certainly admired Isabelle +very much at first, but only for a time, and was almost glad +when our flirtation came to an end. Such, however, is the +perversity of human nature, that no sooner had I lost her +than I began to regret her. After some weeks had passed +I saw her again, when I believed that she had deceived me +with an American, and was not worthy of my regret. She +informed me that this American had made her certain +proposals, which she had refused; but I had a strong suspicion +that this was not the case, and that her admirer had +afterwards left Paris. I never met her again. She suddenly +disappeared, and, though I was very curious to learn +what had become of her, I was never able to find out. She +vanished like some fantastic apparition, leaving no trace +whatever behind, or like a pebble cast into the water, which +leaves only a momentary impression on the surface to indicate +the spot where it has disappeared.</p> + +<p>Some time afterwards I made the acquaintance of a Mlle. +de Laval, who was poor, but of a very noble family. Her +ancestors had been Ducs de Laval, and she was related to +some of the old noblesse of the time of Louis XVI. They +had almost all been guillotined, and but few members of her +family remained. She frequently told me stories about her +ancestors, some of whom had been reduced to poverty. +Mlle. de Laval was an intimate friend of a Mlle. Gabrielle<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_142"></a>[142]</span> +de Tercin, a very pretty actress, who played at the Porte +Saint-Martin Theatre. I was a good deal in the company +of these girls, and used often to sup with them after the +theatre. Mlle. de Tercin had a friend who was very wealthy, +and had furnished a fine <i>appartement</i> for her, to which I +sometimes went with Mlle. de Laval.</p> + +<p>Another acquaintance of mine was a certain baroness, +the widow of an attaché in Paris. She was at one time +considered a very lovely woman, and certainly possessed +very fine auburn hair and a very good complexion. She had +a pretty hôtel in the Rue Lord Byron, where she received a +great many visitors in the evening, chiefly of the sterner sex. +She told me once that the old Duc de Persigny had called +upon her when she was alone and handed her an envelope.</p> + +<p>“<i>Qu’est-ce que c’est que cela?</i>” she asked.</p> + +<p>To which he replied in trembling tones:—</p> + +<p>“<i>Oh, Madame, ce n’est qu’une petite fleur, rien qu’une petite +fleur ... que je viens vous offrir.</i>”</p> + +<p>She opened the envelope and found that it contained +fourteen thousand francs in banknotes. She at once threw +the notes in the ducal donor’s face, saying:—</p> + +<p>“<i>Sortez, Monsieur, à l’instant de chez moi; je ne veux +ni de vous ni de votre petite fleur non plus.</i>”</p> + +<p>The Duke entreated her to listen to him, but she only +added:—</p> + +<p>“<i>Entendez-vous, je veux que vous sortiez d’ici.</i>”</p> + +<p>Whereupon he withdrew, and she never set eyes on him +again, so she told me. I met her years afterwards in Vienna, +when she was not so rich, and, though nearly sixty, was +dressed more like sixteen and painted up to her eyes. She +told me that Austrians were not so generous as Frenchmen, +but that she preferred Englishmen to all others. She was +now inclined to regret her treatment of the Duc de Persigny, +though she laughed at the recollection of it still. Prince +Rudolf von Liechtenstein called upon her in Vienna and +sent her some beautiful flowers, when she remarked to me:—</p> + +<p>“To think that I have to content myself in Vienna with +flowers! But the Austrians are all so terribly mean.”</p> + +<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_143"></a>[143]</span></p> + +<p>Amongst my mother’s friends in Paris society at this time +was Madame Leleu, whom she saw very frequently. Madame +Leleu was a widow, and lived in a large <i>appartement</i> close +to the Madeleine. When her husband was alive, she was +very fond of dining with him at different restaurants, but +since his death she had lived very quietly, and merely +invited a few friends like ourselves to tea with her at five +o’clock. Before her marriage she had been a Miss Beauclerk, +and the Duke of St. Albans was her grandfather. She had +at one time been engaged to Lord Cantelupe, but on her +wedding day, while she was actually waiting in her bridal +dress at the altar, she was informed that Lord Cantelupe had +died quite suddenly. She told me about this sad event +herself one day when she was visiting her aunt, Mrs. Healey, +in the Rue d’Albe, but I don’t remember what was the cause +of Lord Cantelupe’s death.</p> + +<p>My mother also saw a good deal of the Duchesse de Grammont, +who was a daughter of The MacKinnon of MacKinnon. +She was very clever, though somewhat stiff in her manner, +and while her husband was living gave some very smart +dinner-parties. The Duchess had a fine house at Folkestone, +a place of which she was very fond; but after her husband’s +death she would sometimes let this house for the season +at forty guineas a week. Her son, the present Duc de +Grammont, married a daughter of Baron James de Rothschild, +one of the Paris family of that name. The Hon. Mrs. +Graves, a first cousin of the Duchess, who always stayed with +her when in Paris, was a very great friend of my mother, +and often dined with us in the Rue d’Albe.</p> + +<p>The Duchesse de Caracciolo, an American by birth, who +was remarkably good-looking and very “<i>spirituelle</i>,” was +a great deal in Paris at this time, and frequently came to +see my mother, who was very fond of her. My mother +always told me that the Duchess was just the kind of lady +I should have admired; but, as Fate would have it, I was +not fortunate enough to meet her in Paris.</p> + +<p>Mrs. Goldsmid, a Roman Catholic and the daughter of +a baronet, who lived with her son in the Avenue des Champs-Elysées,<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_144"></a>[144]</span> +was also a friend of my parents, and she was very +intimate with the Duchesse de Grammont, whom, with +her sons, the Duc de Guiche and the Comte de Grammont, +I met sometimes of an evening at her house. I met them +more frequently after Mrs. Goldsmid’s son married a very +beautiful English girl, when the Duchess frequently dined +there. After dinner we used to play cards, of which Goldsmid +was very fond. He was at one time a great friend of my +father, and they used to attend races together near Paris. +He and his mother knew all the best people in the Faubourg +Saint-Germain, as well as in the American colony. The son, +before his marriage, which ended most disastrously for the +wife, chiefly frequented the society of Americans, while his +mother, who was a most intelligent woman, was fonder of +the French. The conversation at their house, when guests +happened to be present, was always carried on in French, as +both mother and son spoke the language perfectly.</p> + +<p>One day, when we were walking in the Champs-Elysées, +my father pointed a man out to me whom, he said, he +would not care to know at any price. He was a tall, well-built, +fine-looking man, with a long fair beard. His name +was Baron de Malortie, and he was a first cousin of Bismarck. +I asked my father why he would not care to know him, +to which he replied:—</p> + +<p>“Because he is always fighting duels; he has fought about +thirty in Paris, and has always killed or wounded his +adversary.”</p> + +<p>Some months later, I happened to be again in the Champs-Elysées, +when I saw my father in the distance, walking arm-in-arm +with a man whom I thought resembled Malortie. +In the evening I asked him with whom he was walking in so +friendly a fashion in the Champs-Elysées that afternoon.</p> + +<p>“It was Malortie,” he answered. “He is such a nice +fellow; I don’t know anyone I like better!”</p> + +<p>On one occasion my father was walking with two friends +of his in Paris, when he turned to one of them, a Mr. Segrave, +and said:—</p> + +<p>“I don’t think you know my friend....”</p> + +<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_145"></a>[145]</span></p> + +<p>When the gentleman addressed promptly replied in a loud +voice:—</p> + +<p>“No, and I have no wish to know him either.”</p> + +<p>My father told me that ever since then he had avoided +introducing men to each other, as one never knew whether +they had not had some quarrel, as was the case in this +instance.</p> + +<figure class="figcenter illowp45" id="illus18" style="max-width: 26.5625em;"> + <img class="w100" src="images/illus18.jpg" alt=""> + <figcaption class="caption"><p>The Author’s Father.</p> + <p class="caption-r">[<i>To face p. 144.</i></p></figcaption> +</figure> + +<p>My father was subject to frequent fits of absent-mindedness, +and I recollect once in Paris telling him a long story, +and asking his opinion from time to time. He answered +merely in monosyllables, and when I came to the end, and +inquired what conclusion he had arrived at about the whole +affair, he observed:—</p> + +<p>“I was not listening to what you said, and have not the +faintest idea what you were telling me about.”</p> + +<p>Once, in Paris, he invited some people to dine at our +house, but forgot to tell my mother about it, so that when the +guests arrived, there was no dinner prepared for them, and +everything had to be sent for from a restaurant, which, of +course, entailed great delay. On another occasion, there were +seven or eight people dining with us, amongst whom was +General Sir John Douglas, Lady Elizabeth Douglas, Captain +and Mrs. Berkeley, the Marquise Brian de Bois-Guilbert +and Mrs. Joe Riggs. When the soup, which my father +was supposed to serve, was put on the table, he was so +engaged in conversation with Lady Elizabeth Douglas, +that he unconsciously helped himself to it, and began calmly +to eat, talking all the while. My mother, having drawn +Captain Berkeley’s attention to what the host was doing, +the latter said, laughing:—</p> + +<p>“I say, old fellow, I hope you are enjoying the soup, but +all this time you are keeping us waiting, and we should +like to enjoy it as well.”</p> + +<p>My father then realized what he had done, apologized and +said:—</p> + +<p>“Upon my word, I am so absent-minded that I did not +know what I was doing.”</p> + +<p>In later years, while in India, I made the acquaintance<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_146"></a>[146]</span> +of the Vicomte Arthur d’Assailly, and, meeting him afterwards +in Paris, was invited to call upon him at his hôtel in +the Rue Las Cases. I happened to mention this to my +father, when he told me that I should be careful about +the people whom I called on, as there were so many adventurers +in Paris. Some months later, I went with my father +to a club, where someone slapped him on the back, and, to +my great surprise, it was none other than d’Assailly. My +father then told me that he had known him for years, and +that he was an excellent fellow, but that he must have been +thinking of something else when I asked whether I should +call on him, and so did not catch the name I had mentioned, +and thought I had come across some adventurer or other.</p> + +<p>The Baroness Adelsdorfer gave my father one day, when +he happened to call upon her, a very important letter to +post, which he promised to put into the letter-box as he +was going out. She told him that she wanted an immediate +answer to this letter, so that he was to post it at once. He +carried this letter about with him for a whole week, when, in +my presence, he suddenly discovered it in his pocket. On +his returning to the Baroness, she asked him about this letter, +to which she was still awaiting a reply.</p> + +<p>“Oh! I posted it all right, depend upon it,” he replied, +laughing. “There has been some delay somewhere.”</p> + +<p>The Baroness, however, knew him of old, and exclaimed:—</p> + +<p>“I know you must have forgotten to post it; I should +not be surprised if you still have it in your pocket.”</p> + +<p>I met the Baroness Adelsdorfer once at Longchamps, near +the entrance to the Grand Stand, just before the races began, +when, stepping out of her carriage—a very fine turn-out—she +came up to me very excitedly, and exclaimed:—</p> + +<p>“It is really too bad of your father. I have been waiting +here for him for half an hour, as he promised to get me a +ticket for the Jockey Club Stand, and I don’t see the least +sign of him.”</p> + +<p>My father, as a matter of fact, had forgotten all about the +poor Baroness, and did not put in an appearance at Longchamps +that day. However, the lady fortunately managed<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_147"></a>[147]</span> +to get the ticket she wanted from some other member of the +club.</p> + +<p>At this time, my father used to be always with Captain +Lennox Berkeley (afterwards Earl of Berkeley), and I +recollect his saying to me on several occasions:—</p> + +<p>“Whenever I have a difficult business letter to write, I +always ask Berkeley’s advice. I never met anyone who +could write such a good business letter as he can.”</p> + +<p>Once, when Berkeley was away from Paris, he said to me:</p> + +<p>“I wish Berkeley were here; I have such a bothering +letter to write and he could do it so well for me.”</p> + +<p>I offered to try my hand at this letter, and composed one +which he said would answer the purpose. But I discovered +afterwards that he had torn it up, and, later, he admitted +having done so, saying:—</p> + +<p>“You cannot write like Berkeley; I don’t know anybody +else who can.”</p> + +<p>While on the subject of letter-writing, I may mention that +my mother frequently expressed regret that she had not +kept the letters written to her by her aunt, Lady Caroline +Murray, observing that they were so well written and so +beautifully expressed that they were quite equal in every +respect to those of Madame de Sévigné.</p> + +<p>I took lessons in fencing at this time from Dusauty, who +had been in the “Cent Gardes” during the Empire, though +Sir Edward Cunninghame, a well-known duellist in Paris, +had advised my learning from Pons, who had been his +instructor. I liked the way Dusauty taught me very much. +He was one of the finest fencers whom I had ever seen, and +taught some of the most redoubtable duellists, who often +came to fence with him just before a duel. I fenced with +some of them when Dusauty happened to be engaged in +giving another lesson, which was a great pleasure to me. +Dusauty was quite young, only seven-and-twenty, a very +fine-looking, dark man, six feet, two inches in height. Unhappily, +he died not long afterwards. His death, it was +said, was attributable to the constant shouting and the +amount of dust which he was obliged to inhale while engaged<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_148"></a>[148]</span> +in giving his fencing lessons, which caused him to contract +the lung disease which proved fatal. I learned to fence with +both hands, and preferred fencing with my left hand to my +right. In after years, I lost the use of my right arm, and +Colonel Crawley, an Old Etonian, who was then in my +regiment, though he afterwards exchanged into the Coldstream +Guards, and with whom I often used to fence, remarked +that it seemed as though I had foreseen that I should +one day lose the use of that arm.</p> + +<p>When Captain Berkeley went to live at Fontainebleau +with his wife and family, my father was mostly with Lord +Henry Paget, who afterwards became Marquis of Anglesey. +Lord Henry’s only son, who, when his father succeeded to +the marquisate, became Earl of Uxbridge, was a charming +little boy, with very pleasing manners, who was generally +dressed as a British sailor. He lived at this time almost +entirely with the Boyds, and his aunt, Mrs. Yorke, had +charge of him until he went to Eton. My father and I used +frequently to meet him in the Champs-Elysées with his +governess, when he would always run up to us to have a +chat. His father, the Marquis of Anglesey, was very fond +of horses, as was my father, and their tastes were pretty +much the same. They were both greatly attached to Paris, +though neither of them could really speak French, their +knowledge of which was confined to a few words. Lord +Anglesey, indeed, never even tried to speak the language, +and avoided French people who could not talk English. +My father, on the other hand, rather liked to meet them, +and contrived somehow to make himself understood. The +racing in the neighbourhood of Paris was a great attraction +to both Lord Anglesey and my father, but I do not think the +former ever made a bet. I cannot say the same for the +latter, who sometimes betted rather heavily. Lord Anglesey +was particularly fond of dining at restaurants, where he and +my father in later years often dined together, sometimes inviting +other friends. After dinner, as they both detested +theatres, they played billiards, of which they were very fond, +as they both played a very good game. Neither of them<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_149"></a>[149]</span> +cared for balls and parties, and they both, as a rule, hated all +kinds of ceremony. After dinner they liked to smoke a pipe, +though they were at times fond of a good Havana cigar. +This was somewhat difficult to procure in Paris, but M. de +Francisco-Martin, of the Guatemala Legation, would often +make my father a present of a box of cigars, which he received +direct from Havana free of any duty, as he belonged to the +Corps Diplomatique. The society which they preferred +was that which attached little importance to matters of +etiquette and ceremonial, except on certain occasions, as, +for instance, when Lord Lyons, the British Ambassador, +dined with Lord Anglesey. Then everything was carried +to the other extreme, the Marquis priding himself on making +a very great display in the way of silver plate and beautiful +flowers, while the very best dinner which Madame Chevet, +of the Palais-Royal, could supply, together with the choicest +wines and liqueurs, was provided. An American lady, +whom the Marquis admired very much, was usually invited +to preside and entertain the Ambassador.</p> + +<p>There was an Englishman in Paris whose name was Field, +and at one time Lord Anglesey was on rather friendly terms +with him; but one day the Marquis told my father that he +gave himself airs, so that he intended to drop his acquaintance. +Field was a very short, dark, clean-shaven man, more +like an American than an Englishman. He used to receive +every afternoon, when he was with the Marquis, my father +and myself, various lavender-coloured notes, highly perfumed, +on receiving which he would exclaim:</p> + +<p>“Another letter from —— ——!” mentioning the name +of a celebrated actress.</p> + +<p>I asked him once, when he had given me the note to read, +if she often wrote to him in that style, to which he replied +that sometimes he received such notes from her every hour +in the day. After Lord Anglesey had quarrelled with him +I never met him again in Paris. I think he must have gone +away, or perhaps he used to avoid the spot in the Champs +Elysées where the Marquis and my father generally sat from +five to six in the afternoon, to watch the carriages go by.</p> + +<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_150"></a>[150]</span></p> + +<p>Lord Anglesey occupied a very fine <i>appartement</i> in the +Avenue Kléber, which he rented when he was still Lord +Henry Paget. I recollect my father and I meeting him in +the Champs-Elysées just after his half-brother’s death, when +the former congratulated him on having succeeded to the +title, and the new Marquis said:—</p> + +<p>“I shall only have about £80,000 a year at present, I +think, but perhaps more later, as my brother was heavily +insured.”</p> + +<p>Some days afterwards, my father asked him whether he +intended to put his servants into powder, when he +replied:—</p> + +<p>“I am afraid I can’t afford that yet, as I should have to +keep at least twelve footmen, six in powder, and the other +six to relieve them; but later on I may be able to manage it; +at least, I hope so.”</p> + +<p>The windows of Lord Anglesey’s <i>appartement</i> facing the +street were furnished with very conspicuous pink-coloured +blinds, adorned on the outside with very large coronets, +which caused a good deal of comment. I remember asking +Lord Conyers, who was a friend of the Marquis, why the +latter was so fond of displaying these large coronets on almost +everything he used, and that Lord Conyers answered that +Lord Anglesey had inherited this taste, which was a purely +French one, from the French Kings, Louis XIV. and +Louis XV., to whom his ancestors were related, but that in +other respects his habits and ways were entirely English.</p> + +<p>Folliot Duff and his wife and daughters were then living +in Paris. He was a brother of Billy Duff, whose widow also +resided there. Folliot Duff was a good boxer, and in Paris +he conceived a great passion for fencing. I often called on +the Duffs, when he invariably used to turn the conversation +to his favourite hobby. He was a very agreeable man, but +I never remember seeing him without his giving me a lecture +on fencing, or occasionally, by way of a change, on boxing. +Mrs. Folliot Duff was a very great friend of my mother, +and, after her husband’s death, she used often to come and +dine with us.</p> + +<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_151"></a>[151]</span></p> + +<p>M. de Francisco-Martin, son of the Minister for Guatemala, +and brother-in-law of the Marquis de San Carlos, formerly +Spanish Ambassador in Paris, was also a great friend of the +Duffs. He lived in a very fine hôtel in the Rue Fortin, which +he sold to the Marquis of Anglesey for £40,000. The latter, +however, only lived there a month with his last wife. +Francisco-Martin often used to pay us a visit of an evening, +when his conversation ran mainly on horses and racing, for +which he shared my father’s partiality.</p> + +<p>I used occasionally to visit the daughters of the Minister +for Venezuela, who lived in a very fine <i>appartement</i> on the +Avenue d’Iéna. One of them, who was then about sixteen, +was an exceedingly pretty girl, with blue eyes, jet black hair, +small but beautiful features, and very white teeth, and the +way in which she spoke Spanish was charming to listen to, +so soft did it sound. I often went to her <i>appartement</i>, when +she would invite me to take tea, and sometimes I found her +alone, as her sister, who was engaged to be married, was +generally with her <i>fiancé</i>. The younger sister, whose name +was Mercèdes, made me speak Spanish to her at times; +at others we spoke French, and the time I spent with her +seemed to pass very quickly—too quickly, indeed, to please +me.</p> + +<p>I recollect calling one day on Madame de Passy and meeting +there the Marchioness de Peñafiel, whose husband afterwards +succeeded the Count de San Miguel as Portuguese Minister +in Paris. The Marchioness was wearing that day a very +pretty hat covered with white flowers, for which, she told +Madame de Passy, she had just given 300 francs. As she +was on the point of leaving, it began to rain, and although +the Marchioness’s gorgeous equipage was waiting at the door +for her, she was so fearful lest her mew hat should be spoiled, +that, with Madame de Passy’s help, she covered it entirely +over with a lace handkerchief, and then advanced bravely +to her carriage, escorted by a footman, holding an umbrella +over her head. The Marchioness de Peñafiel was a great +friend of the Minister for Venezuela and his lovely daughters, +of whom I have just spoken.</p> + +<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_152"></a>[152]</span></p> + +<p>One day, when I happened to be visiting the Shards, who +lived in the same house as Madame de Passy, I was telling +the second daughter, Sophie Shard, a good-looking young +girl, what trouble I had to get a good valet, when she said:—</p> + +<p>“Why don’t you take a pretty girl and dress her in a page’s +costume? I am sure she would suit you much better than a +boy. I should do this if I were you, and I know you will +be grateful to me for the advice I have given you, if you only +follow it.”</p> + +<p>I thought her idea, which reminded me of Goethe’s +Wilhelm Meister, excellent, but, as I was not my own +master, I could not quite see my way to carry it out.</p> + +<p>About this time, I made the acquaintance of Madame +Saba, who lived in the same <i>appartement</i> as Mlle. Daram, +of the Grand Opéra. The latter was a very pretty girl, +with an exquisite figure, who possessed a fine contralto voice. +She made it a rule to get up at seven o’clock every morning +to practice her singing, and never broke it. She always played +page’s parts, for which she was paid 18,000 francs a year, and, +though she had a friend, a French marquis, who had about +£16,000 a year, and wanted her to give up the stage, she +refused to do so, saying that she wished to be quite independent. +The <i>appartement</i> in which these two ladies lived +was furnished with every comfort and convenience one could +possibly wish for, including a good library; and one day +when they happened to be out when I called, I was given +Labiche’s plays to read to amuse me until their return.</p> + +<p>There was an Irish lady residing in Paris, who used to give +a dance once a fortnight during the winter. I recollect +that amongst her guests on one occasion was a French +countess, who wore a gown which was very <i>décolletée</i> +indeed, so much so that several English ladies commented +upon it. The lady of the house mentioned this to a young +French count, who observed:—</p> + +<p>“<i>On aime à voir ces choses, mais on n’aime pas qu’on +vous les fasse voir.</i>” Saying which, he borrowed a shawl +from his hostess, and, stepping up to the countess, put +it over her shoulders, telling her that all the ladies were<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_153"></a>[153]</span> +so much afraid lest she should take cold. The countess, +who was watching a game of whist at the time, thanked him +for the attention without taking her eyes off the cards, +and then pulled the shawl tighter round her shoulders.</p> + +<p>Miss Fanny Parnell, who was half Irish and half American, +was then one of the loveliest girls in Paris. She was also +one of the best dressed and most attractive in every way. +She was a severe critic of her own sex, and her opinion of +English girls was not a high one. On one occasion she wrote +to me:—</p> + +<p>“<i>I think, as you do, that English girls are, many of them, +very fast. They seem to be so anxious to get rid of their +reputation for being dull and stiff that they set no bounds to +their liveliness.</i>”</p> + +<p>On another occasion, when I told her that I was going to +Folkestone, she observed:</p> + +<p>“The girls in Kent, what I saw of them, were each one +uglier than the other. So your fate is, I fear, not to be +envied, knowing as I do your strong <i>penchant</i> for pretty +faces.”</p> + +<p>Miss Fanny Parnell died very young, quite in the flower +of her youth, in the United States; but the report I read in +a newspaper to the effect that Mrs. Parnell died there afterwards +in poverty was, I am pleased to say, incorrect, for her +daughter, Mrs. Paget, informed me some years ago that +when Mrs. Parnell died she was with her in Ireland, and +that she was surrounded by every possible luxury.</p> + +<p>Miss Minnie Warren, an American from Boston, who +afterwards married a Vanderbilt, was one of the loveliest +young girls I ever met. She was then living with her parents +in an hôtel on the Boulevard Haussmann, and I used frequently +to meet her at parties and balls given by wealthy +Americans. One afternoon I went to tea at her house, as I +always did by invitation two or three times a week, and found +her father sitting down reading <i>The Times</i>. He never so +much as looked at me, but went on reading, while I sat +silent and feeling far from comfortable, until Mrs. Warren +came in and said:—</p> + +<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_154"></a>[154]</span></p> + +<p>“I suppose you have come to see my daughters; they +will be home soon.”</p> + +<p>I felt very much relieved when, a few minutes after, I +was shown into the charming daughters’ salon, where I felt, +as I always did, “<i>au septième ciel</i>.”</p> + +<p>Another remarkably pretty girl whom I knew was Mlle. +Waterlot, whose acquaintance I made through the Marquise +Brian de Bois Guilbert. I introduced her to Miss Parnell, +as she wanted to go to some American balls. She found, +however, her inability to speak English a great drawback +at these functions, as American young men did not care to +talk French, which entailed too much mental exertion to please +them. Mlle. Waterlot married some time afterwards the +Comte de Lesseps, a son of the famous engineer of the Suez +Canal.</p> + +<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop"> + +<div class="chapter"> + +<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_155"></a>[155]</span></p> + +<h2 class="nobreak" id="CHAPTER_XIV">CHAPTER XIV</h2> + +<p class="hanging">Captain Howard Vyse—An Anecdote of Paganini—New Hats for Old Ones—Albert +Bingham—Baron Alphonse de Rothschild—Madame Alice +Kernave—Gambetta</p> + +</div> + +<p>During the winter months, I was very fond of going +on Sundays to Pasdeloup’s concerts, which were +held in the Cirque d’Hiver. One Sunday, I met the Vicomte +d’Assailly there, who told me that he preferred these concerts +to those at the Conservatoire, as at the latter people did not +cease to talk the whole time, which was very trying for those +who, like himself, really cared for music. He was passionately +fond of it. On one occasion, I went to Pasdeloup’s +concert with Captain Howard Vyse, formerly of the “Blues,” +an Old Etonian, and a friend of my father, who was nicknamed +“Punch.” He was placed in a seat near the kettledrums, +while I sat some little distance away, as there were very few +vacant seats. After the concert I asked Vyse how he had +enjoyed it, when he told me that he had never slept better +in his life, and had not once heard the kettledrums. He +could speak very little French, but he thoroughly enjoyed +going to the Palais-Royal Theatre, and would often tell me +of a play there which was worth seeing, such as <i>le Réveillon</i>, +by Meilhac and Halévy, of which he related to me the plot. +He was always very lively, and sometimes rather amusing, +and at times he would invite himself to dine with us, where +he was always very welcome. Once, for some reason or +other, my mother did not want him to stay to dinner, and +told him that she was afraid she had nothing to give him. +However, he asked her what there was, and, on being told, +said:—</p> + +<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_156"></a>[156]</span></p> + +<p>“If I had ordered the dinner myself, I could not have +anything I like better.”</p> + +<p>So he remained and dined with us, notwithstanding the +excuses my mother had made for the dinner. My father +introduced him to the late Lady Louisa Meux, sister of the +Marquis of Ailesbury, who lived in quite a palace in the Bois +de Boulogne, and had very smart “turn-outs.” She used +to give very good dinners and once invited Howard Vyse +to dine with her. Whenever afterwards my father wanted +to annoy him, he would say that he was sure that Lady +Louisa Meux would be pleased to see him at dinner. To +which Vyse would answer angrily:—</p> + +<p>“However badly I might want a dinner, I would not go +there for anything.”</p> + +<p>The explanation of this was a secret between my father and +Howard Vyse, and evidently an amusing one, since they +always laughed heartily over it.</p> + +<p>Lady Louisa Meux was very rich and highly eccentric. +Her husband was in a lunatic asylum, and she herself was very +queer at times. I never knew her myself, but my father +said she occasionally reminded him of a sister of his, whom +he also considered rather eccentric.</p> + +<p>Signor Campobello, whose real name was Campbell, used +to sing at a house to which I was sometimes invited of an +afternoon. One day, when he had just sung a song, the lady +of the house went up to him and asked him, in my hearing, +to sing again. He replied:</p> + +<p>“You are aware of my charges—five hundred francs +each song.” To which she rejoined:—</p> + +<p>“I am perfectly well aware of it.”</p> + +<p>Campobello’s wife was Madame Sinico, who was also an +operatic singer and often sang at Covent Garden.</p> + +<p>The Marquise Brian de Bois-Guilbert, a very pretty and +distinguished-looking woman, when dining with us one +evening, happened to remark how badly professional singers +were treated by some people, and related a story of a man and +his wife who were invited to dinner by some rich people in +Paris on purpose to avoid paying them for singing afterwards.<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_157"></a>[157]</span> +However, after these two singers had had their +dinner, they put a louis each on their plates in payment for +it, and immediately afterwards left the house, much to the +disgust and disappointment of their host and hostess, who +had invited them expressly to sing to the other guests. The +Marquise herself sang most beautifully and quite like a professional, +having learned of the celebrated Professor Duprez +(formerly of the Grand Opéra), one of whose very best pupils +she was; and when she did so, always insisted that there +should be no talking in the room, otherwise she would leave +off singing at once. This was no idle threat, as I once saw +her carry it out myself.</p> + +<p>Captain Berkeley, who was very fond of hearing her sing, +would often remark that English people, as a rule, always +begin to talk when anyone sings or plays, and he once told a +story, which, though I have no doubt it is a very old one, I +may as well repeat, for the benefit of those unacquainted +with it:</p> + +<p>On one occasion, when Paganini was playing a violin solo, +and had reached the most pathetic part, he was suddenly +interrupted by a certain English peer, who touched his arm +and said:—</p> + +<p>“<i>Pardon, Monsieur, mais j’ai besoin de causer avec une +dame.</i>”</p> + +<p>It appeared that, in order to reach the lady in question, +the Englishman had to pass Paganini, and the bow of the +violin happened to be in his way.</p> + +<p>“<i>Si ce ri est pas vrai, c’est très bien trouvé</i>,” as Captain +Berkeley observed at the time he told me the story. Let +us hope that the lady was worthy of the interruption. +Possibly she was a Venus, in which case there may have been +some excuse for this infatuated peer, whoever he may have +been.</p> + +<p>The Marquise de Brian de Bois-Guilbert used to pay frequent +visits to the Duchesse d’Abrantès at her fine Château +de Bailleul, where the latter’s sister-in-law, the Comtesse de +Faverney, painted a portrait of the Marquise, which she +showed me. It was a very fine one, and, unlike most amateur<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_158"></a>[158]</span> +productions, really resembled the original. The Duchesse +d’Abrantès was then a lovely young blonde, and one of the +best portraits that I ever saw of her was one which she gave +to the Marquise. She was taken in her garden, standing +by a favourite horse, with her arm round the animal’s neck.</p> + +<p>In reference to the Duchesse d’Abrantès, the Marquise +once observed, in the course of a letter to me:—</p> + +<div class="blockquote"> + +<p>“<i>Her whole family is greatly respected at Versailles, +not only because it is illustrious, but because it is very pious +and very charitable. What kindness of heart, perfect +courtesy, and exquisite and truly Christian benevolence +do we find in these illustrious families! I repeat: nothing +is comparable to the courtesy and perfect breeding of the +French nobility, which is doubly kind when one happens +to have fallen into misfortune. Its soul is as lofty as its +rank is elevated; its heart is excellent. The greatest +nobility resides at Versailles, for it is in greater security +there than anywhere else.</i>”</p> + +</div> + +<p>And she added:</p> + +<div class="blockquote"> + +<p>“<i>On m’a surnommée ici la rose blanche, puis la blanche +apparition, et j’ai de grand succès de beauté, distinction, +chose rare parmi les femmes; pour mon talent, on est +en extase.</i>”</p> + +</div> + +<p>I went, in later years, to a very smart ball given by the +Marquise de Blocqueville, at which I met the Comtesse de la +Taille des Essarts and her daughter Gabrielle. The latter, +with whom I danced, was a fair girl, who afterwards married +the Marquis de Gabriac. I took the Comtesse, who was an +English lady and a friend of my mother’s, in to supper. +When I left the ball, I looked for my opera-hat, which was +quite new, and found a very old one in its place. They told +me at the <i>vestiaire</i> that they thought the Marquis de Rey +had taken mine. I accordingly sent him the hat with a note, +asking the return of mine, and received an answer, saying<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_159"></a>[159]</span> +that he was not the person who had left this old hat, as his +was quite new, and he would have no particular desire to +exchange it.</p> + +<div class="blockquote"> + +<p>“<i>Je regrette</i>,” he wrote, “<i>d’avoir à vous annoncer que le +chapeau que vous m’avez fait remettre hier n’est pas à moi; +l’échange que vous supposez n’est pas de mon fait; <span class="smcap">mon</span> +chapeau étant entre mes mains.... Ayez donc la bonté de le +faire reprendre chez mon concierge, numéro 11, rue des Saints-Pères, +etc., etc.</i>”</p> + +</div> + +<p>At the same time, the Marquis expressed the hope that +I should find my own hat, but this I never did.</p> + +<p>The above incident reminds me of a story I heard about +General Ronald Lane, of the Rifle Brigade, who was at one +time Equerry to the Duke of Connaught. The gallant +officer in question went, many years ago, to a ball in London, +wearing a perfectly new hat, and, on leaving, found, as I +had done, an old one in its place. He must evidently have +determined to pay someone out for the loss of his hat, for +the next time he went to a ball, which he did soon afterwards, +he took this old hat with him, and, leaving the +house early, had time to select the newest of the hats in the +cloak-room and one that fitted him perfectly.</p> + +<p>“You can see for yourself,” said he to the attendant, +“that this old hat can’t possibly belong to me. I must +look for it, and I shall soon find it.”</p> + +<p>In this way, he secured an almost better hat than the one +he had lost, and, of course, he left the old hat in its place.</p> + +<p>At a ball given by an American in Paris, the celebrated +composer Waldteufel was conducting one of his own very +delightful waltzes, which he used at times to play in rather +slow time, putting always a great deal of expression into them, +when the master of the house came up to him and asked if +he would mind playing the waltz a trifle faster, since it would +suit the dancers better. Waldteufel, whose <i>amour-propre</i> +was wounded by this request, immediately afterwards +struck up the “Dead March in Saul,” and since then no<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_160"></a>[160]</span> +one dared to interfere with him when he was conducting +his orchestra, which he did at all the principal balls, +though his fee was £150 for the night. It was very interesting +to watch him conduct his orchestra, which was +excellent, though by no means numerous. At times, he +played the violin and led the orchestra somewhat in the +manner of Edward Strauss, though he went through more +peculiar movements with his arms and legs than even the +latter does. Edward Strauss always seems to dance himself +when he conducts his orchestra and plays waltzes and polkas, +and looks pleasant; but Waldteufel always looked furious. +I remember at balls, when I was dancing a cotillion or a +waltz, I used to be rather afraid of him, as one never knew +at any time what eccentricity he might not be prompted +to indulge in. Sometimes, he would stop his orchestra in +the middle of a dance; at others, he would play an overture +when you were expecting a waltz. In fact, with him one +had to be prepared for anything. But the Americans in +Paris were such beautiful dancers that these eccentricities +rather pleased them, and, besides, they could dance to almost +any <i>tempo.</i></p> + +<p>The Marquis de Grandmaison used often to dine with us +in the Rue d’Albe. He was a very strongly-built, clean-shaven +man, and wore his hair very short; so much so, +indeed, that one day, when he had given a photograph of +himself to my father, the latter said:—</p> + +<p>“You look, my dear fellow, as if you had undergone ten +years’ penal servitude!”</p> + +<p>Grandmaison laughed, as he always enjoyed a joke, even +when it was at his own expense. Generally, he would +retaliate, and my father and he used to make fun of one +another. The Marquis, who belonged to one of the noblest +families in France, and was a very wealthy man, owned a +beautiful hôtel in Paris. He had lived in the United States +and spoke English like an American. He was very fond of +practical jokes, and would make us all laugh at the tricks +he had played on various people. My mother rather liked +him, but at times he was almost too noisy; in fact, very like<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_161"></a>[161]</span> +a schoolboy, as he was up to all kinds of fun. He belonged +to the Jockey Club, and generally drove a fine +four-in-hand to the races at Longchamps, and he was very +fond of racing.</p> + +<p>The Marquis de Bois-Hébert, the husband of the well-known +author, used also to drive a very fine four-in-hand +in Paris at this time. I knew him very well and have mentioned +him in my book, “Society Recollections in Paris +and Vienna.”</p> + +<p>The late Hon. Albert Bingham, brother of Lord Clanmorris, +who drew the pictures in Lady Brassey’s well-known +book, used often to dine with us in the Rue d’Albe, and +sometimes brought with him a little pug-dog called Félice, +who was a great favourite, particularly with the ladies. +Bingham was a very pleasant man, with plenty of conversation, +and was most popular in Paris. He was very nice-looking +and a good draughtsman, besides being clever in +other ways. I remember him getting me an invitation to +dine with the Naylor-Leylands, who had a fine hôtel in the +Avenue d’Antin, in which the kitchen was at the top of the +house. The Naylor-Leylands had as their secretary a man +who had formerly been a captain in the Rifle Brigade. I +was at Eton with Albert Bingham’s nephew, Lord Clanmorris, +who entered the Rifle Brigade. I met him afterwards +in town and also in Paris. He married soon after the +last time I saw him. He has recently died.</p> + +<p>The Piétris sometimes came to see us in the Rue d’Albe, +and, on the marriage of the eldest daughter, Marie, I was +invited to the wedding, at which the two younger sisters +acted as bridesmaids, and also to the ball given just before +the married couple started on their honeymoon. About +two hundred people were present at this ball, and the supper +was an excellent one, with champagne. I danced with +Mlle. Julie Piétri, who was a beautiful dancer, and looked +very pretty that evening in a dress of pink tulle, with pearls +as ornaments.</p> + +<p>When Captain Hubert de Burgh, formerly of the 11th +Hussars, who was an Old Etonian and a nephew of the<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_162"></a>[162]</span> +Earl of Cardigan, dined with us, as he often did, my mother +always said that she felt sure that he would break a wine-glass; +and he invariably did so. This was previous to his +being attacked by the sad spinal complaint from which he +died. One day, in the Champs-Elysées, he fell in love at +sight with a German lady whom my father knew, and she +told him that she had also fallen in love with de Burgh. +My father introduced them to each other, and de Burgh +afterwards left the lady his entire fortune. At one time +my father always went with him to the different race-meetings +round Paris.</p> + +<p>In later years, Mr. Tugwell, a banker from Bath, who +was on a visit to Paris, was very anxious to see Ferrières, +the magnificent country-seat of the late Baron Alphonse de +Rothschild. Accordingly, having obtained permission from +the Baron himself, who happened to be in Paris at the time, +we went there by train.</p> + +<p>Ferrières is one of the most beautiful properties in the +world, and enjoys quite a European reputation for its +magnificence. We went all over the château itself, entering +nearly every room. On our arrival at the top of the house, +I recollect seeing some very elaborate coffins, covered with +gold, standing up against the outside walls of certain rooms. +The servant who showed us over the house explained to us +about these coffins, and said whose they were; but I was +only too pleased to go down the staircase again and see +them no more. The servant showed us some of the beautiful +<i>objets d’art</i> and paintings which adorned the walls, and +told us that the house contained <i>objets d’art</i> to the value of +nearly one hundred million francs. Baron Alphonse was +the wealthiest of all the Rothschilds, and all the most +remarkable <i>objets d’art</i> which had been amassed by the +family in years gone by had been collected and placed in the +Château de Ferrières. We were told that Rothschild rarely +ever gave permission for visitors to see the inside of the +château, as he did not wish journalists and others to describe +the interior of this splendid house and the wealth it contained, +which, we were assured, exceeded that of any other<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_163"></a>[163]</span> +in Europe. Tugwell, who could not speak French, was +delighted to find that one of the gardeners had lived as +head gardener on his estate near Bath, and had also been +a gardener in the service of the Prince of Wales, afterwards +King Edward VII. This man showed us over the greenhouses, +and told us that he was one of twenty-seven gardeners +employed at Ferrières, and that the collection of orchids +was the finest in Europe; and Tugwell, who had a very fine +collection himself, admitted, after seeing them, that such +must be the case.</p> + +<p>Baron Alphonse de Rothschild was a fair man with a long +beard. He used, at one time, to ride a very fine chestnut +horse, and to go every morning, accompanied by his daughter, +also on horseback, to the Bois de Boulogne, returning to his +hôtel in time for <i>déjeuner</i> at twelve o’clock. Mlle. de Rothschild +died quite young, and the Baron, who never seemed to +get over her death, died himself not long afterwards.</p> + +<p>On one occasion, I went to the Chantilly and to le Vésinet +races, and was shown over the splendid estate of the Duc +d’Aumale. Colonel McCall, a friend of my father, was +Equerry to the Duke, and his son, who was an Old Etonian, +served in my regiment, which he commanded in later years. +The Duc d’Aumale bequeathed this splendid property to +the French nation. Le Vésinet races were not of much +account, and were only kept going by the support of the +royal owner of Chantilly.</p> + +<p>I went, of course, to Versailles to see the magnificent +château and the beautiful gardens, which are laid out in the +most charming manner imaginable, and, though often +imitated, have never been equalled. Le Petit Trianon, with +its splendid collection of roses of every possible <i>nuance</i>—the +“Souvenir à la Malmaison,” “Prince Noir,” “La +France,” “Niphetos,” “Boule de Neige,” and so forth—greatly +enhance the charm of that part of the gardens; +and when the great fountains are playing, the view from the +terrace is quite fairy-like in its wonderful beauty, and the +château looks like one of those magic palaces described in +the “Arabian Nights.” When there is a display of fireworks<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_164"></a>[164]</span> +and the fountains are lit up by various coloured lights, you +may almost imagine yourself in fairyland or living in the +days of the Caliph Haroun Alrashid, particularly if one +happens to be in the company of a fair lady, as I was in that +of Mlle. Renée Leclerc.</p> + +<p>I went once to Enghien with my mother and the Marquise +Brian de Bois-Guilbert, where we listened to a fine Prussian +military band, which played, as the Marquise observed, +better than most French military bands. It was, however, +depressing to reflect that the Prussians were then in occupation +and so near Paris. Enghien is a nice little place, with +an artificial lake and some fine houses, and the public garden, +where the band plays of an afternoon, is a very pretty one. +The Marquise de Bois-Guilbert stayed there during the War, +and for some time afterwards, before returning to Paris, +where she usually lived.</p> + +<p>I once visited the Fair of Saint-Germain with some +friends. In one of the shows a woman conjuror singled me +out, and asked me to hold a gold coin in my hand. Then, +telling me to keep my hand tightly closed, she went away +to a considerable distance, counted up to three and fired off +a pistol. Afterwards, she asked me to open my hand and +to count aloud in French the pieces it contained, which I +found numbered over thirty. How the trick was performed +I have never had the slightest idea to this day.</p> + +<p>I was once at the Cirque d’Hiver, in Paris, when a woman +was blindfolded on the stage; after which her husband came +up to me and asked if I had a foreign bank-note about me. +I gave him an Austrian one, which he held in his hand, and +the woman immediately cried out:</p> + +<p>“Austrian ten-florin note, Number 178150.”</p> + +<p>I never was able to discover how this was done.</p> + +<p>I went once with Madame Saint-Hilaire, who wrote some +interesting novels, published by Dentu, of the Palais Royal, +and her pretty daughter, Madame Alice Kernave, who had +been an actress in St. Petersburg, to a <i>séance</i> of spirit-rapping +and table-turning, in which they both firmly believed. +But, to tell the truth, I did not think much of it, though<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_165"></a>[165]</span> +the <i>séances</i> were always very well attended. I did not mind +being kept in the dark when I sat near Madame Alice Kernave, +but when I went there alone with her mother on one +occasion I felt rather nervous. I never went again, but +frequently visited the daughter, whom I admired at that +time. She had received, while in St. Petersburg, very handsome +presents from a Russian gentleman, who, she told me, +had recently died. She was looking for a good engagement +in <i>la haute comédie</i>, in which she was very clever. I met +her some years afterwards at Nice, where she was acting at +the theatre, when she told me that she had lived in great +luxury while her Russian friend was alive, but since then +had been obliged to live more economically in Paris.</p> + +<figure class="figcenter illowp56" id="illus19" style="max-width: 23.4375em;"> + <img class="w100" src="images/illus19.jpg" alt=""> + <figcaption class="caption"><p>Madame Alice Kernave.</p> + <p class="caption-r">[<i>To face p. 164.</i></p></figcaption> +</figure> + +<figure class="figcenter illowp45" id="illus20" style="max-width: 18.75em;"> + <img class="w100" src="images/illus20.jpg" alt=""> + <figcaption class="caption"><p>The late Earl of Berkeley.</p> + <p class="caption-r">[<i>To face p. 165.</i></p></figcaption> +</figure> + +<p>I remember that once the Baron de Vay, a Russian, who +lived during the summer at a villa he owned at Vévey, in +Switzerland, called on my mother, in the Rue d’Albe, with +his daughter, a pretty little girl of fourteen. In the course +of conversation, the Baron mentioned that he made a rule of +never knowing certain people for more than a fortnight, after +which he always dropped their acquaintance, if he possibly +could, for, as he explained, in that space of time he learned +all their good qualities and none of their faults. I could not +help thinking at the time, and I am still of the same opinion, +that he was a most fortunate man to be able to do so. The +Baron only spoke French and Russian, and did not know a +word of English.</p> + +<p>In later years, when the Earl of Berkeley was living with +his wife and his sister-in-law, the Baronne van Havre, in +the Rue de Saint-Pétersbourg, he took a fancy to the streich +melodion (or viola zither), which is somewhat like the +streich zither, and Sighicelli, the famous violinist of the +Grand Opéra, came every evening to give us lessons, when +we all three played together. The streich melodion is a +favourite instrument in Vienna, where thirty or forty of them +are at times played together by young girls in society at +the Musik Vereins Saal, and the effect is quite charming. +Some evenings, Taffanel, the flute-player of the Grand +Opéra, brought his silver flute, and really enchanted all<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_166"></a>[166]</span> +whom Berkeley invited to his house. I remember that, one +evening, Captain Francis Lowther, the father of Miss +Toupie Lowther, the well-known lawn-tennis player, came +there. He was a son of the Earl of Lonsdale and a friend +of my father. He told Berkeley how well he spoke foreign +languages, particularly French, when the latter replied that +there was very little merit in his being able to do so, as +he had spoken them all his life.</p> + +<p>At the house of some American friends of ours I had the +privilege of meeting the same evening two of the greatest +men of their time: General Grant and Gambetta. General +Grant appeared to me to be a short, stoutly-built and rather +stern-looking man. On being presented to him, I happened +to remark that the day had been a fine one, to which he +replied:—</p> + +<p>“I beg to differ from you, sir; the wind was a bitterly +cold one from the North.”</p> + +<p>I afterwards spoke in praise of Paris, and said how much +I preferred it to London, so far as its theatres and other +amusements were concerned. The General replied that he +was much pleased with what he had seen of Paris, but that +London and the English interested him far more. He then +asked me several questions about England and the British +Army, which I answered to the best of my ability. My +answers seemed to please him, since he asked me to give +him my address, and called on me with his son the very next +day; but I happened most unfortunately to be out. My +impression of Grant was that he was a very kind-hearted +man, but that he did not carry his heart on his +sleeve.</p> + +<p>Gambetta shook hands with me like the General, but, +instead of letting go of my hand, kept it in his, the while +he made a very long speech in French, which was so florid +that I was quite carried away by his eloquence, and forgot +almost where I was. He did not seem to expect a reply; +anyway, he contented himself with one or two monosyllables +from me, and praised England, the English, and the English +Army in the most high-flown language. My impression of<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_167"></a>[167]</span> +Gambetta was that he was a passionate, warm-hearted son +of the Midi, who certainly wore his heart on his sleeve. His +appearance was not in his favour, as he was excessively +stout and had a bad figure, but his attractive, captivating +manner more than atoned for his physical defects.</p> + +<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop"> + +<div class="chapter"> + +<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_168"></a>[168]</span></p> + +<h2 class="nobreak" id="CHAPTER_XV">CHAPTER XV</h2> + +<p class="center">My First Night at Mess—Life at Shorncliffe—The Charltons</p> + +</div> + +<p>It was not until two years after I had passed my examination +for the Army, in 1872, that I obtained my commission, +when I was gazetted as a sub-lieutenant to the 2nd +Battalion of the 10th (Lincolnshire) Regiment. My regiment +was at that time serving in India, but, since it was +under orders to return home, I was posted to the regimental +depôt at Shorncliffe, which was attached temporarily to +the 2nd Battalion of the 9th (Norfolk) Regiment.</p> + +<p>On my arrival at Shorncliffe, I reported to Lieutenant +Richard Southey, the officer temporarily commanding the +depôt, the senior officer, Captain Byron, being then on +leave. He was a tall, good-looking man, with very pleasant +manners, and I felt at once at my ease with him. He showed +me the hut which was to serve as my quarters, and offered +to do anything for me that he could, even placing his soldier +servant at my disposal, until I had time to choose one from +the depôt. My hut, which was similar to those occupied +by other officers, contained two small rooms leading into +one another; while the furniture, which I had had sent +down from London, was of the kind usually found in barracks, +consisting of a bed which could be easily taken to pieces, +a chest of drawers separated into two parts, but which could +be put together for use, a green and black Brussels carpet, +and curtains to match. I also had an oak bureau, forming +a chest of drawers and writing-table, which I had had all +the time I was at Eton. The furniture supplied to officers +by the War Office consisted merely of a table and two or<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_169"></a>[169]</span> +three ordinary chairs; but, with my own arm-chair, tablecloth, +various knick-knacks and a number of pictures which +I had had at Eton, I managed to make the rooms look +habitable, if nothing else.</p> + +<p>At half-past six a bugle sounded for the officers to dress +for mess, which was at seven o’clock. I confess that I felt +not a little nervous on entering the ante-room in my new +uniform, which was scarlet with yellow facings; but Southey +was already there and introduced me to most of the officers, +who greeted me very cordially.</p> + +<p>The president at dinner was a captain named Dunn, who +sat at the head of the table; the vice-president was a +lieutenant. The president and vice-president hold office +for a week, and are then replaced by other officers of the +same rank. The conversation at table was very animated, +mainly on general topics; indeed, military matters seemed +to be more or less tabooed. The string band of the regiment +played during dinner, and, I thought, tolerably well, though, +as I had just come from Paris, where I was accustomed to +hear some of the best military bands, I was perhaps rather +difficult to please. After the band had played “God save +the Queen,” and Her Majesty’s health had been proposed +by the president, all the officers standing to drink it, we left +the table, the president and the vice-president being the +last to leave. Most of the officers then adjourned to the ante-room, +where I got into conversation with a lieutenant named +Bethell, who had just joined the 9th (Norfolk) Regiment, +and whom I had known as a boy in Somersetshire. Bethell +was a very clever fellow, and in his examination for the +Army had passed first out of three hundred. He was an +excellent rifle-shot and a good all-round sportsman. Some +years later he succeeded to the title of Lord Westbury, when +he was transferred to the Guards.</p> + +<p>In the course of the evening the adjutant, Lieutenant +Maltby, came up to me and told me that I must put in an +appearance next morning at early drill. Maltby was an +exceedingly nice fellow, and a thorough soldier. He was +very particular about his dress, and even in mufti was<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_170"></a>[170]</span> +always <i>tiré à quatre épingles</i>. The following morning I +found him on the parade ground, when he handed me over +to a corporal for instruction in the goose step. After I +had been practising this engaging exercise for about an hour, +the adjutant came up, watch in hand, and told the corporal +that that would do for the day, and asked me to accompany +him to the mess-room, where we ordered breakfast. With the +exception of the orderly officer, who was obliged to attend +early parade with the adjutant and who came in shortly +afterwards, we had the room to ourselves, as the other +officers did not as a rule breakfast until nine o’clock or later.</p> + +<p>After breakfast, Maltby took me to the orderly room, +to introduce me to the colonel, telling me that I must always +address him and the majors as “Sir,” but that this was only +customary with other superior officers when on parade. +The colonel, Lieut.-Colonel Knox, who came in shortly +afterwards, was a tall, well-built man of about sixty, with +grey hair and moustache and whiskers almost white, which +gave him the appearance of being older than he was. He +was very pleasant to me, and said:—</p> + +<p>“I am very pleased to have you in my regiment, and am +only sorry that you do not belong to it, as you are an +Etonian, and I am very fond of Eton boys.”</p> + +<p>He then said I must come to his house, when he would +present me to his wife and daughter.</p> + +<p>At lunch, which was at half-past one, I was introduced +to a lieutenant named Lovell, a good-looking fellow about +five-and-twenty, with fair hair and moustache, whom I +had not seen the previous evening, and with whom I became +very friendly. He asked me to come with him for a walk +to Folkestone, which was quite near, to which I readily +consented. We had a pleasant walk along the cliffs, and +I was quite charmed with Folkestone, with its green lawns +facing the sea and its fine houses, standing for the most part +in the midst of trim, little gardens, gay with summer flowers. +During our walk Lovell explained to me many things about +the Service, and told me many curious incidents which had +happened while the regiment was at Yokohama, where it<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_171"></a>[171]</span> +had been stationed for several years, before being sent to +Shorncliffe. He said that the regiment was very sorry to +leave Japan, and that it was never likely to have such a +charming station again. After a short time in England, it +would probably be ordered to India, and that, in that case, +he should exchange into a cavalry regiment, which he subsequently +did. He was, however, very devoted to his +present regiment, and said that the chief was an excellent +man, and everything that one could wish for in a colonel, +and that it was a rare thing to find all the officers pull so +well together as they did. Unfortunately, the colonel would +have to retire soon, though Daunt, the senior major, who +would probably succeed to the command, would not make +a bad chief.</p> + +<p>A day or two later, I called at the colonel’s house, where +I was introduced to his wife and daughter. The latter +was a tall, dark girl, in the early twenties, with very charming +manners. The colonel asked me a number of questions +about Eton and also about Paris, of which city he was very +fond, though he had not been there for some years; and +when I left, walked part of the way back to camp with me.</p> + +<p>I found my life very easy with the 9th Regiment. I had +to attend parade from seven till eight, and again from +eleven till half-past twelve; but of an afternoon I was +generally free to do as I pleased, as it was only occasionally +that I had to attend afternoon parade, which, however, was +over by four o’clock. After my duties for the day were over +and I had changed my clothes, I usually went into Folkestone, +returning in time for mess. At first the only people I knew +in Folkestone were a retired colonel and his wife, who were +friends of my parents; but Lovell introduced me to several +of his friends. Among them was a certain Miss Burnett, +who was very much in love with a lieutenant of the 9th +Regiment, named Seaton, and at no pains to conceal the +fact, which occasioned me no little amusement. Unfortunately, +Seaton did not reciprocate the attachment with +which he had inspired her. More to my taste than this +lovelorn damsel was a lively young lady of some fifteen<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_172"></a>[172]</span> +summers, who was known to her intimates as “Vic.” She +was a general favourite with the subalterns of the regiment, +as she was very fond of horses and dogs, and rather amusing +in her conversation, in which she used slang expressions with +considerable freedom. Miss “Vic” used to drive a very +smart turn-out about Folkestone, and was quite an accomplished +whip.</p> + +<p>The 9th Regiment used to give “Penny Readings” once +a fortnight, at which a good many people from Folkestone +and Sandgate were generally present. At the first of these +entertainments which I attended Lovell read some of +“Artemus Ward,” and in such an amusing manner that +everyone was delighted. As I had the reputation of being +a good performer on the zither, I was asked to play something +on that instrument, which was quite a novelty. It +was very well received, and next day I received a note from +a lady unknown to me, who, I was told, was the mother of +an officer in the “Blues,” inviting me to dinner and asking +me to bring my zither with me. I showed the letter to +Maltby, who advised me not to accept it, as it would, in +his opinion, be making myself too cheap. So I declined, +with many thanks.</p> + +<p>A subaltern of the 10th Regiment, named Richard Southey, +went on leave about this time and left me his black servant. +I found the fellow very attentive, but I soon began to miss +things. Among them was a pearl stud, for finding which +I promised him a shilling. As, however, it was not forthcoming, +I offered him half-a-crown, and the next day he +produced it, to my great satisfaction. But, as I soon found +that this system of offering rewards for “lost” articles was +a trifle too expensive, and I could not get rid of him till +Southey returned, I was forced to protect myself by putting +everything of value under lock and key. Nevertheless, he +generally succeeded in discovering some means of relieving +me of anything to which he happened to take a fancy.</p> + +<figure class="figcenter illowp45" id="illus21" style="max-width: 18.75em;"> + <img class="w100" src="images/illus21.jpg" alt=""> + <figcaption class="caption"><p>Miss Augusta Charlton.</p> + <p class="caption-r">[<i>To face p. 172.</i></p></figcaption> +</figure> + +<figure class="figcenter illowp45" id="illus22" style="max-width: 18.75em;"> + <img class="w100" src="images/illus22.jpg" alt=""> + <figcaption class="caption"><p>Miss Ida Charlton.</p> + <p class="caption-r">[<i>To face p. 173.</i></p></figcaption> +</figure> + +<p>Captain John Byron, a grandson of Lord Byron, who +commanded the depôt of my regiment, returned about +this time from leave. He was a rather handsome and very<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_173"></a>[173]</span> +distinguished-looking man of forty, but inclined to be very +arrogant in his manner towards those whom he did not +like. Fortunately, he condescended to take a great fancy +to me from the first, and made quite a friend of me, notwithstanding +that I was so much younger than he was.</p> + +<p>Soon after this, another sub-lieutenant, named Arthur +Dillon, joined my regiment, so that I now had a companion +at morning drill. Dillon was the son of an Irish baronet, +who was also a Count of the Holy Roman Empire, though +no one would have imagined that he hailed from the Emerald +Isle, as he spoke without the faintest trace of an Irish accent, +and was a very nice young fellow indeed.</p> + +<p>One day I took Dillon over to Dover to call upon some +people named Charlton, whose acquaintance I had made +when a boy at Ostend, and who were now living in Victoria +Park. Mr. Charlton had formerly served in the Queen’s +Bays, though he had sold out of the Service while still a +cornet; his wife was a very handsome woman, and they had +six children, five girls and a boy, the two elder girls, Augusta +and Ida, being remarkably pretty. Mrs. Charlton invited +us to stay to supper, an invitation which we readily accepted, +the more so that we were both at a susceptible age and the +charms of our hostess’s daughters had not been without +their effect upon us. During supper Mrs. Charlton told us +that a very smart ball was to be given shortly at Dover, +to which they were going, and suggested that we should join +them and bring two or three other young officers, saying +that she could manage to put us all up for the night. Needless +to say, we gladly accepted her kind offer, and on the day of +the ball went over to Dover, with Bethell and another subaltern +of the 9th named Townsend. As the ball was a military +one, we all had to appear in uniform, and at the entrance +to the ball-room were asked our names and regiments. +Townsend gave his own and my name, and when they asked +my rank, coolly replied: “Colonel, 10th Regiment.” Next +day, in the local newspaper, in the list of those present at +the ball, I duly appeared as such.</p> + +<p>After the ball, which was a great success, and at which<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_174"></a>[174]</span> +the Misses Charlton, who had recently returned from a visit +to the Continent and wore dresses of the very latest Paris +fashion, were immensely admired, we drove back to Victoria +Park, where we spent what little remained of the night, and +after an early breakfast returned to Shorncliffe.</p> + +<p>Dillon and I found our life at Shorncliffe very monotonous +when winter came on, for Folkestone was almost empty, +and had it not been for the kindness of our friends at Dover, +at whose house we were always assured of a warm welcome, +we should have had a precious dull time of it. The only +event of interest was the arrival from India of the 3rd Battalion +of the 60th Rifles, all the officers of which were made +honorary members of the 9th Regiment’s mess, until their +own mess was in order. I made the acquaintance of several +of the new-comers, who seemed very nice fellows indeed. +One of them, Captain Bingham, told me, <i>à propos</i> of the ball +to which I had been at Dover, that once the 1st Rifle Brigade, +when stationed there, had been invited to a ball given by +the Buffs, but that when the “Green Jackets,” in their +turn, gave a ball, they did not condescend to invite any of +the officers of the Buffs, nor any of the Dover ladies, all the +guests coming down from London, which greatly disgusted +everybody at Dover, and created a very bad feeling between +the two regiments.</p> + +<p>Not long after this, Captain Byron received news that our +regiment was shortly expected from India, and would be +stationed at Chatham. This, of course, necessitated the +immediate removal of the depôt to Chatham, to the great +regret of both Dillon and myself, for, on the whole, we had +been very happy at Shorncliffe, and feared that we might +not enjoy nearly so much liberty as we had had with the +9th Regiment.</p> + +<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop"> + +<div class="chapter"> + +<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_175"></a>[175]</span></p> + +<h2 class="nobreak" id="CHAPTER_XVI">CHAPTER XVI</h2> + +<p class="center">An N.C.O. of the Old School—Major Blewett—Captain Byron—Sandhurst</p> + +</div> + +<p>On our arrival at Chatham Barracks, I was allotted a +single room in the officers’ quarters, which was +much smaller and less comfortable than either of the two +rooms which I had occupied at Shorncliffe. Dillon was +given a similar one, but Byron, being a captain, had better +accommodation.</p> + +<p>Dillon and I found our life at Chatham very different from +that at Shorncliffe, and not nearly so pleasant. We had to +attend early drill with the recruits under a sergeant, who +was very severe, and made us drill exactly the same as the +men. Some mornings it was so cold that our hands became +quite numbed, and we could scarcely hold our rifles. But +this martinet of a sergeant had no pity, and made us “carry +on” until we were ready to drop with fatigue and cold. +The recruits he bullied most unmercifully. One morning, a +recruit arrived late for parade, whereupon the sergeant gave +him several kicks on his shins, and pulled him by the ears, +until the poor fellow almost yelled with the pain. His +tormentor, however, soon silenced him.</p> + +<p>“I won’t have any of your blubbering,” cried he. “If +you don’t stop at once, I’ll give you three days’ extra drill.” +This sort of thing he could do with impunity, as the +adjutant was rarely on the parade-ground during early morning +drill. He appeared at afternoon parade, but paid very +little attention to the recruits, occupying himself mainly +with company drill. So matters continued until our regiment +arrived, and even then there was not much improvement, +for, so long as we remained in Chatham Barracks, the luckless<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_176"></a>[176]</span> +recruits were always drilled by the same sergeant, none of +them daring to complain, from fear lest worse things should +befall them.</p> + +<p>The 2nd Battalion of the 10th Regiment was at that time +commanded by Lieut.-Colonel Annesley, an amiable old gentleman, +with a wife and family, who appeared to engross a good +deal more of his attention than did his regiment. For of +much that was going on he seemed quite ignorant, and it +was purposely kept from him. In fact, the battalion was +really commanded by the senior major, Major Blewitt, the +colonel seldom putting in an appearance except on field +days. Major Blewitt was a very smart officer, and though at +times inclined to severity, exceedingly just. He was very +particular about etiquette, and scarcely ever spoke to a +subaltern, except to give him advice or to reprimand him, +even in the ante-room. I recollect about the only occasion +on which he condescended to address me.</p> + +<p>There was a sub-lieutenant of a West India Regiment, +whom I will call H——, attached at that time to the 10th. +This young gentleman was very fond of écarté, and often +induced me to play with him after mess. We played for +half-a-crown a game, and I found that I generally lost, as +H—— had a perfectly wonderful way of turning up the +king almost every time he dealt. One evening, we were +playing in the ante-room, where Major Blewitt was sitting, +reading a newspaper. Presently, the major looked over the +top of his paper, and observed that it was a pity that we +could not find some better way of passing the time than +playing cards; adding that, if he thought we were playing +for money, he would stop us at once. Soon afterwards, we +finished our rubber, and H—— left the room, upon which +Major Blewitt called me to him and told me that he did not +like to see me playing cards. On one occasion, he said, +he was present when two young officers were playing écarté. +One of them lost persistently the whole evening, but since +they both assured him that they were playing for love, he +did not interfere, though the way the luck continued to run +in one direction was extremely suspicious. Subsequently, he<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_177"></a>[177]</span> +discovered that they had actually been playing for five +hundred pounds a game, and that the loser had been completely +ruined. The major added that, from what he had +seen of H——’s play, he should be very sorry to sit down to +cards with him, and to play with him for anything like high +stakes would be simply madness. The warning he gave me +on this occasion was certainly well justified, for a lieutenant +of the Lincoln’s, named Glass, afterwards lost considerable +sums to H—— at écarté.</p> + +<p>The captains of the regiment did not like Major Blewitt, +who treated them off parade with a certain haughtiness, +as though he were showing them condescension in speaking +to them at all; while the N.C.O.’s, and particularly the +sergeants, were all afraid of him, as he seemed to be aware of +everything that was going on, and was very severe upon +them if they did not treat the men properly.</p> + +<p>One day on parade, when Major Blewitt was in command, +he gave some extraordinary orders, which it was quite impossible +for the regiment to carry out, and later, in the +ante-room, he behaved in a very strange manner. It was +then ascertained that his mind was affected, the result of a +sunstroke which he had had in India. He went away on +sick leave, but six months later had to retire from the Service, +as it was found that he was never likely to recover.</p> + +<p>The next officer in seniority was Major Hudson, who told +me that he had served under my uncle and godfather, +General the Hon. Sir George Cathcart, when the latter was +Governor of the Cape. The major was a very pleasant +man, but he had certain eccentricities, one of which was a +partiality for white kid gloves and patent-leather boots, +which he wore on parade, even in winter. He had little +control over the captains, who did very much as they liked. +One of them was almost perpetually drunk, and led his wife, +a rather pretty woman and very well off, a miserable life, +even going so far as to beat her, it was said. Some of the +subalterns also drank a great deal more than was good for +them, and there was one who was drunk on parade on at +least one occasion.</p> + +<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_178"></a>[178]</span></p> + +<p>Little, the senior lieutenant and adjutant, was, however, +a very nice fellow, as well as a good soldier, and the same +could be said for two other subalterns, Archibald Glen and +De Houghton. The former was six feet seven in height, +and reputed to be the tallest man in the Army. I liked him +exceedingly, but, unfortunately, he soon left the regiment +for the Staff College. De Houghton, who afterwards became +a baronet, had received the Gold Medal of the Royal Humane +Society for saving life at sea.</p> + +<p>There was a subaltern in the 10th who prided himself +on his knowledge of French. Once, when the regiment was +stationed at Malta, a French warship happened to call there, +and the officers were invited by the 10th to dinner. This +lieutenant, being the best French scholar, was placed between +the captain of the warship and another French officer. Presently, +the captain asked him in French how long he had been +at Malta, to which he replied, without hesitation, while +everybody pricked up their ears to listen:—</p> + +<p>“<i>Je suis un âne ici.</i>” (“I am an ass here.”)</p> + +<p>The French captain tried to look serious, but the other +French officers burst into fits of laughter. One of them +spoke a little English and explained to the company what +the joke was, when they all joined in the merriment. +Needless to say, this misadventure remained ever afterwards +a standing joke against the unfortunate lieutenant.</p> + +<p>Life at Chatham was very monotonous. Of society there +was practically none, and, as the married ladies of the regiment +were not on good terms with one another, there was +little or no entertaining among the 10th. There was no +theatre and only a couple of low-class music-halls. I went +once to one of them, where there was a box reserved for the +officers of the garrison, but did not feel inclined to repeat +the visit.</p> + +<p>While I was at Chatham, a big ball was given in the officers’ +mess-room at the barracks by the regiments forming the +garrison. A good many people came down from London, +and were conveyed back by a special train after the ball was<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_179"></a>[179]</span> +over. I invited my friends from Dover, and the two elder +girls, Augusta and Ida, were, as usual, much admired. The +affair was a great success, and the supper was on the most +lavish scale, with plovers’ eggs and every imaginable delicacy +and champagne flowing like water.</p> + +<p>In due course, Dillon and I were put to company drill. +On one occasion I got my company into a hopeless position, +up against a wall, and not knowing what to do, told them +calmly “to stand at ease,” to the great amusement of everyone, +including the adjutant, who told the story against me +at mess that night, observing that I must evidently be a +person of resource, as anyone else would have been at a loss +how to act.</p> + +<p>A good many field-days took place at Chatham, of which +the escalading of some high walls was a feature. I had +sometimes to carry the colours in escalading these walls, a +task which I did not much relish, as it was by no means an +easy one.</p> + +<p>I was growing so tired of Chatham that I was quite glad +when I was sent with the rest of my company to Gravesend, +to go through a six weeks’ musketry course. I was constantly +with Captain Byron, whom I very much liked, +indeed, I preferred him to anyone else in the regiment, even +to Dillon. Byron used to tell me that I was very foolish to +leave the regiment, for one day he would, he thought, be in +command, and then I should have a very good time of it. +But my relatives were anxious for me to serve in one of the +regiments for which my name had been put down on the +Prince of Wales’s private list, so I thought I was bound to +accept the transfer when the offer came, which I was sure +would be very soon.</p> + +<p>While at Gravesend, I went up to town to see Aimée +Desclée act in <i>Diane de Lys</i>, by Alexandre Dumas <i>fils</i>. I +thought her the finest actress I had ever seen, with the exception, +perhaps, of Sarah Bernhardt. She played the part with +so much delicacy and refinement, her voice was so pleasing +and her attitudes so graceful, that I was altogether charmed +with her. Poor woman! She died very soon afterwards<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_180"></a>[180]</span> +from a chest complaint, while quite young. I was much +pleased with an American actor, J. K. Emmett, at the St. +James’s Theatre, who played with a little child, singing a +song in which the refrain was: “Schneider, how you vas.” +I also paid more than one visit to the Opera at Covent Garden, +where Adelina Patti and Scalchi and the tenor Gayarré were +delighting the audience.</p> + +<p>On my return to Chatham I found the work very hard. +The most trying part of it was being on guard at the barracks, +where I was obliged to be on duty once a week for the whole +twenty-four hours. The guard used to be turned out +two or three times during the day, and also in the middle of +the night, by the field-officer of the week, who sometimes +made his round at one or two o’clock in the morning, when +the subaltern on duty had to turn out the guard, besides +having to go his round of the sentries. The officer on guard +was not allowed to go to bed or take his clothes off, even after +the field-officer had made his round of inspection, or he might +get into the most serious trouble. There were other guards +at some distance from Chatham, to look after the convicts, +but this was during the day, and not nearly so trying as to be +on guard at the barracks.</p> + +<p>Not long after my return to Chatham, Dillon and I were +sent to Sandhurst, for a six months’ course of instruction. +But before going, at my relatives’ suggestion, I went up to +town to see the Military Secretary of the War Office, who was +then General Cartwright, to inquire what chance I had of +being transferred to the Rifle Brigade. He asked me what +influence I had, when I mentioned the Adjutant-General, +Lord Airey, who had already presented me at a levée to the +Prince of Wales, while I was stationed at Shorncliffe. General +Cartwright then inquired if I had not any other interest, +remarking that the Scots Guards were more easy to enter +than either the Rifle Brigade or the 60th Rifles, and that, +unless I had someone else behind me, he feared my chance +would be but a poor one. I then told him that my cousin, +the Hon. Emily Cathcart, maid of honour to Queen Victoria, +had had my name put down for both the Rifle regiments,<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_181"></a>[181]</span> +by General Ponsonby, on the Prince of Wales’s private list, +upon which he smiled and said:—</p> + +<p>“She could get you into either of these; in fact, she +could get you into anything she pleased. If you had +mentioned her name before, I could have told you so +at once.”</p> + +<p>I found life at Sandhurst very much like being at school +again, with more restrictions than there were at Eton. There +was a great deal of “ragging” going on, and some fellows +had their furniture and everything in their rooms broken. +I was fortunate in being, for some unaccountable reason, +rather popular with the ringleaders—not that I assisted them +in any way, for this sort of horse-play did not appeal to me—and +so escaped being one of their victims. Dillon was not +so lucky, as at first he showed fight, but he soon recognized +that the wisest course was to assume indifference. There +were several sub-lieutenants of the Guards and cavalry regiments +at Sandhurst, one or two of whom had been at Eton +with me, and I made many friendships, one with a young +fellow in the 78th Highlanders, with whom I often took long +walks into the pretty country around Sandhurst. Apart +from the instruction, I rather enjoyed my time at the college, +as I got on well with nearly everyone. I had to go through +the riding-school and ride horses over jumps without +stirrups, which rather amused me, although there were +some officers who disliked this part of the curriculum +very much.</p> + +<p>After I had been about a month at Sandhurst, the Military +Governor of the College, General Sir A. Alison, sent for me +and told me that I had been transferred to the 2nd Battalion +of the 60th Rifles, stationed in India. I must confess that +I was at first rather disappointed, as it was not the regiment +I had asked for, and I did not much like the idea of going to +India. I asked General Alison what I had better do, when +he said that he would telegraph to the War Office, and that +I ought to finish my course of instruction at Sandhurst. +I anxiously awaited the reply; and the following day he sent +for me again, and told me that I must leave at once and get<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_182"></a>[182]</span> +ready to sail for India, but that he thought the War Office +would allow me a month to procure my outfit.</p> + +<p>Next day I left Sandhurst for London, and, having obtained +a month’s leave, proceeded to Paris to visit my +parents in the Rue d’Albe, Champs-Elysées. They, and my +father in particular, told me that I had better accept the +transfer, as I might have to wait a long time for the Rifle +Brigade, and the Military Secretary had told me that I was +appointed to the first vacancy that had occurred, as there +was no vacancy in the Rifle Brigade then.</p> + +<p>During my stay in Paris, I often rode in the Bois with my +father on a fiery thoroughbred chestnut, whom I found a very +different kind of mount from the horses at Sandhurst, as he +started at the least touch of my heel, whereas the others had +required both whip and spur. I made the most of my time, +going often to the Théâtre-Français, where I saw Delaunay +in plays by Alfred de Musset and Alexandre Dumas <i>fils</i>, +and was delighted with his acting. He was the best <i>jeune +premier</i> whom I ever saw, and always excellent in the art +of stage love-making. I went to several balls and indulged +in some flirtations with both French and American damsels, +and was sorry when the day arrived that I had to take my +departure for London to purchase my outfit for India. My +mother was distressed at my having to go to India, particularly +as the battalion had to stay out there for some years, +and she was in very delicate health at that time.</p> + +<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop"> + +<div class="chapter"> + +<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_183"></a>[183]</span></p> + +<h2 class="nobreak" id="CHAPTER_XVII">CHAPTER XVII</h2> + +<p class="center">I sail for India—Kandy—Dangerous Playmates—I arrive at +Murree</p> + +</div> + +<p>My father accompanied me to Portsmouth in the +winter of 1873, where the troopship in which I +was to sail for India was lying. We had first to touch at +Queenstown, to embark a line regiment which had been +ordered to Ceylon, and had a very unpleasant crossing, nearly +everyone on board being ill. I had to share a cabin with two +other sub-lieutenants, who joined the ship at Queenstown. +One of them, named Basil Montgomery, was in my own +regiment, having recently been transferred from the Highland +Light Infantry. He was very tall, for which reason he +was nicknamed “Longfellow” on board. The name of +the other sub-lieutenant, who belonged to the 16th Lancers, +was Babington, which, owing to his somewhat youthful +appearance, was promptly abbreviated to “Baby.” I +myself duly received the sobriquet of “Julie,” as Montgomery +declared I was in the habit of murmuring this name in my +dreams. It was that of a young lady whom I have mentioned +in my book, “Society Recollections in Paris and Vienna,” +and whom I had lately met frequently in society in Paris.</p> + +<p>The cabin we occupied was very small, and contained only +one wash-basin, so we had to dress and wash one at a time; +but we soon got used to this inconvenience.</p> + +<p>Montgomery and Babington were both excellent fellows, +and I was soon on very friendly terms with them, as I was +also with another sub-lieutenant of the 16th Lancers, named +Taaffe. Taaffe was very musical, having a good voice and +playing the concertina capitally. The daughter of the<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_184"></a>[184]</span> +colonel of the line regiment we had on board, an extremely +pretty and very impressionable damsel of seventeen, fell +very much in love with him, and they used to sing duets +together, to the accompaniment of Taaffe’s concertina.</p> + +<p>We had fine weather in the Bay of Biscay, where it is usually +so rough, for which we were thankful. At Gibraltar we +merely stopped for an hour to coal, but at Malta we stayed +long enough for everyone to go on shore. Many of us dined +at the Club and went to the Opera afterwards, which I thought +very fair. The climate of Malta seemed delightful, but the +town did not strike me as pretty.</p> + +<p>Not long after leaving Malta, bad weather and a dense fog +came on, and something went wrong with the machinery, +so that the captain did not know where we were. He was +so alarmed that he ordered the chaplain to read the prayers +for those in peril at sea, as at any moment he thought the +ship might run on a rock. Happily, the machinery was repaired, +and at the end of three days the weather improved, +and the danger was over.</p> + +<p>At Port Said most of the officers went ashore, and some of +them visited a gambling-house which bore a very evil reputation, +an officer belonging to the 16th Lancers having been +stabbed there the year before. Taaffe and I were among +those who went, though Taaffe confessed to me that he felt +rather nervous, fearing that some of the natives might recognize +his uniform as that of the unfortunate officer’s regiment.</p> + +<p>At Ismailia we caught sight of M. de Lesseps, who sent an +invitation to the ship, inviting six of us to visit him. Many +of the officers thought that I ought to go, as I was the only +one who could speak French; but this suggestion was overruled, +and it was decided that the six must be chosen by +seniority. As not one of them could speak French, and +M. de Lesseps did not understand English, the interview must +have proved a somewhat comic affair; at any rate, the six +maintained a suspicious silence about it on their return.</p> + +<p>Soon after we had passed through the Red Sea, which did +not prove nearly so hot as we had expected, I fell ill with +scurvy, and the doctor who attended me advised me to sleep<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_185"></a>[185]</span> +in the passage near the ladies’ saloon, as the air was purer. +However, an old dame objected to my sleeping so near the +ladies, so the doctor got me a cabin to myself. On our +arrival at Colombo, where the line regiment was disembarked, +he obtained leave for me to go to Kandy and remain there +until the ship sailed for Bombay.</p> + +<p>While at Kandy, I went with Taaffe, who had joined me +there, and two ladies to see the beautiful garden of Paradhenia, +which is said to be the original garden of Paradise. We +were all amazed at its beauty; the tropical plants and the +vegetation being indescribably lovely. While walking in +the high grass, one of the ladies was bitten by leeches, which +crawled up her legs and frightened her terribly. She was +fortunate, however, not to have been bitten by something +much more objectionable, as we afterwards learned that it +was very dangerous to walk in the high grass, as it was infested +by snakes, some of which were most venomous.</p> + +<p>The grandeur of the scenery at Kandy and the wonderful +vegetation enchanted us, as we had never seen anything to +compare with it; it was indeed quite a paradise upon earth. +The climate was also delicious, and even in the middle of +the day the heat could not be called oppressive, while the +mornings and evenings were truly delightful. The residents, +however, told us that it was very trying to the health, as it +never varied in the least, summer or winter. The scenery +between Colombo and Kandy was in parts most exquisite, +and the brilliant colouring of the flowers, which were of every +imaginable hue, made one almost believe oneself in fairyland.</p> + +<p>Having embarked the infantry battalion which had been +relieved by the one we had brought from England, we sailed +from Colombo, but after proceeding some little way along +the coast, the troopship stopped for half an hour, to enable +an officer who had to join his regiment to embark in a launch +which came out to fetch him. This officer took with him +by mistake a lady’s trunk containing her dresses and underclothing, +instead of his own, packed with his kit, which he +left for the lady. The latter was in despair, particularly<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_186"></a>[186]</span> +when informed that she was unlikely to receive any news +of her property for six weeks at least.</p> + +<p>After a voyage of six weeks, we reached Bombay, and, +after a little trouble at the Custom House over some Turkish +cigarettes which I had brought with me, and upon which, to +my surprise, I was obliged to pay duty, proceeded, with some +other officers, to Watson’s Hotel. At “Watson’s,” which +I found very expensive indeed, I met Viscount Baring, +of the Rifle Brigade, who had been at Eton with me. He +told me that he was now on the Viceroy’s Staff, and had +come to Bombay to purchase some Arab horses for Lord +Northbrook. Although it was winter, the heat was very +great in Bombay, which I found very uninteresting, and, +after a stay of two or three days, I set out for Murree, in the +hills in the North-West Provinces, where my regiment was +stationed.</p> + +<p>I had as a travelling companion for the first part of the +journey a Staff-officer named Parker, who, on our arrival +at Mean Meer, invited me to accompany him to the house +of his brother-in-law, a judge, where I was most hospitably +entertained, and tasted for the first time a real Indian curry, +which I thought delicious. From Mean Meer I took the +train to Rawal Pindi, in the Punjab. On my arrival, I went +to the dâk bungalow, where soon afterwards I received +a visit from a lieutenant in my regiment named Beauclerk, +a son of Lord Amelius Beauclerk. He was an exceedingly +good-looking young man, with fair hair and moustache and +a very pleasant manner, and was most kind, offering me a +room which he had at his disposal and inviting me to dine +with him in the evening. After dinner I was rather astonished +at seeing his syce walking in front of his master’s pony with +a long stick, having at the end of it several bells, which he +moved about in the grass. I asked the reason of this, when +I was told that it was to frighten away the snakes, of which +there were a great many poisonous ones hereabouts. Beauclerk +told me that, a few nights earlier, he was dining with a +Mrs. Kinloch, the wife of a captain in our regiment, when +he saw a cobra quite close to her. She was playing the<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_187"></a>[187]</span> +piano at the time, and the snake was evidently quite fascinated +by the music. Fearing lest, if she moved, the snake +might bite her, he told her to continue playing, and then, +picking up a stick which happened to be near him, hit the +cobra on the head and killed it. He said that there was +another very dangerous snake called a kerite, which, though +very small, was most venomous, and that Mrs. Kinloch +had found one quite recently in her bed. Happily, she +discovered it before it had a chance to bite her.</p> + +<p>Beauclerk told me that I ought to call upon Captain +Kinloch, who, having passed through the Staff College, +was at that time Acting Deputy Assistant Adjutant-General +at Rawal Pindi. I did so, and was informed +that Mrs. Kinloch only was at home. On being shown into +the drawing-room, I was somewhat astonished to find a +little girl there, playing with two panther-cubs, who snarled +and showed their teeth at me. I asked the child whether +she were not afraid of them, to which she answered:—</p> + +<p>“Oh, no, not at all!” and, opening the mouth of one of +the cubs, thrust her hand into it.</p> + +<p>I began to feel quite alarmed for her safety, and was not +a little relieved when her mother made her appearance upon +the scene.</p> + +<p>Mrs. Kinloch was a very pretty young woman, with auburn +hair and eyes of a greyish-blue colour. She told me that the +panther-cubs had been captured by her husband a few days +before, after he had shot the mother.</p> + +<p>“Are they not lovely?” she exclaimed enthusiastically. +“So beautifully marked in reddish-yellow and black, with +such fascinating yellow and brown eyes. It is delightful to +watch them.”</p> + +<p>I replied that they were certainly very handsome and +graceful animals, but that, nevertheless, I could not understand +her allowing her daughter to have such dangerous +playmates.</p> + +<p>To this she rejoined that she did not consider there was +the slightest danger, so long as you were not afraid of them, +adding:—</p> + +<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_188"></a>[188]</span></p> + +<p>“My little girl is not the least afraid.”</p> + +<p>The little girl was caressing the cubs at the time, while +the animals were snarling and showing their long, pointed +teeth, though whether in play or not I could not say, as I +was not sufficiently acquainted with their ways.</p> + +<p>Captain Alexander Kinloch, who was a nephew of Sir +Alexander Kinloch, was, I may here remark, the most famous +sportsman in India at that time, and had written a celebrated +book on big game shooting in India and Tibet, which was considered +to be the standard work on the subject. When I met +him afterwards, he told me many interesting things about +Tibet, from which he had brought a fine collection of sporting +trophies. Amongst them were several specimens of the +ibex, which is found on the summits of the highest mountains, +and to “bag” one of which is considered the greatest feat +a sportsman can accomplish in India, since to approach +within rifle-shot of it often entails the greatest risk to life.</p> + +<p>During the few days I remained at Rawal Pindi, I made +the acquaintance of Colonel Montgomery-Moore, then commanding +the 4th Hussars, and his wife, the Hon. Mrs. Montgomery-Moore, +a daughter of Lord Seaton, to whom I had +brought an introduction from my cousin, Emily Cathcart. +They invited me to dinner, when they were most anxious to +hear all the latest news from England, as they had been in +India for some time. They were most kind and agreeable, +and the colonel gave me some valuable information about +Murree.</p> + +<p>There was no railway to Murree, and travellers generally +made the first part of the journey from Rawal Pindi by +carriage, and the rest in a <i>jampan</i> (a kind of sedan-chair) +as the road through the mountains was far too narrow and +precipitate to admit of wheel traffic. I accordingly hired a +carriage, and set off, but at a dâk bungalow, where I stopped +to dine, I met a man, who, on hearing that I was on my way +to Murree, offered to lend me a grey Arab which he was riding, +observing that it would be a more pleasant way of making +the journey than by <i>jampan</i>, and promising to send my +luggage after me. I thanked him and accepted his offer,<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_189"></a>[189]</span> +though, as he was a complete stranger to me, I could not +help feeling some misgivings as to his intentions, for, if he +had a mind to make off with my luggage, there was nothing +to prevent him.</p> + +<p>The road which I had to traverse was very steep and +in places almost impassable, but the Arab appeared well +accustomed to the country and as sure-footed as a goat. +I had, however, a few decidedly unpleasant moments, when, +at a very narrow part of the road, where there was a precipice +on one side, we met some buffaloes, as I thought they might +take into their heads to charge us. But they happened to +be quite peaceably disposed, and we got safely past them. +It was late in the evening when I reached Murree, which I +found covered with snow, as it stands 7,500 feet above sea +level, and no greater contrast with the plains and Rawal +Pindi, where the weather had been quite like summer, could +be conceived. I made my way to the officers’ quarters, +where I was given a room, and my horse well looked after. I +had received instructions from the Arab’s owner to send him +back to the dâk bungalow. This I did the following day, +in the course of which my luggage arrived quite safely, not +a little, I must frankly admit, to my relief.</p> + +<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop"> + +<div class="chapter"> + +<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_190"></a>[190]</span></p> + +<h2 class="nobreak" id="CHAPTER_XVIII">CHAPTER XVIII</h2> + +<p class="center">My Brother-Officers—“The Oyster”—In High Society—Our +Menagerie</p> + +</div> + +<p>Murree is a very charming town. The houses, which +bear some resemblance to those of Switzerland, +but are mostly constructed of wood and have rarely more +than two storeys, are built on the summit and sides of a ridge, +and command magnificent views over forests, cultivated +fields, hills and deep valleys, with the snow-capped peaks +of the Himalayas in the distance. There was a fairly good +club at Murree, containing a number of bedrooms for the +convenience of the members when they happened to require +them.</p> + +<p>In the summer months my battalion was not actually +stationed at Murree, but two miles off in the country, at +Kooldunah. The officers lived in houses and villas very +like Swiss cottages, and the men’s quarters were at the top +of a very steep hill, about ten minutes’ walk from the mess. +The battalion was at this time commanded by Lieut.-Colonel +H. P. Montgomery, who had a brother in the Rifle Brigade. +Colonel Montgomery, who was a fine-looking man of about +fifty-five and wore a pointed beard which was beginning +to turn grey, was universally popular, as he was a thorough +soldier and devoted to his profession. He did everything +possible to make his battalion as efficient as any in the +Service, and prided himself upon its smart appearance and +perfect discipline. He had the eye of a hawk for mistakes +on parade, but would correct those responsible for them +in a good-humoured, kindly manner, very different from +some less experienced C.O.’s, who would often lose their +tempers and swear when anything happened to go wrong.</p> + +<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_191"></a>[191]</span></p> + +<p>The senior major, Major Ashburnham, the son of a baronet, +was of somewhat striking appearance, having red hair and a +red beard. Like his chief, he was a first-rate soldier and a +thorough gentleman both on and off parade, and held in +high esteem by the officers and men under him. He was +known to his intimates by the nickname of “Brittles,” +about which he used to relate an amusing story:—</p> + +<p>Once, when returning to India after being on leave in +England, he happened to meet on board the P. and O., +a man whose acquaintance he had made on the voyage +home, when he had been accompanied by some brother-officers, +who had, of course, always addressed him as +“Brittles.” This man, who was bringing his wife out with +him, asked permission to present Ashburnham to the lady, +and gravely introduced him as “Major Brittles,” under +the impression that such was really his name.</p> + +<p>The junior major, whose name was Algar, was a very +plain man, rather badly marked with the small-pox, and was +by no means so popular as Ashburnham. He was a very keen +sportsman, and when off duty was seldom to be seen without +a rifle in his hand. One day I met him near Murree, when +he told me that he had just seen a tiger, but that it had +made off, adding that a tiger would nearly always run away +from a man, unless he first attacked it.</p> + +<p>The captains were nearly all very nice fellows. Captain +Pauli, into whose company I was put, was a tall and very +muscular man, with a pointed beard, which gave him a +somewhat foreign appearance. He was a great sportsman, +but kept very much to himself, and, except at mess, the other +officers saw little of him.</p> + +<p>The adjutant, Sydenham-Clarke, was a very good-looking +fellow and always so beautifully turned out, whether in uniform +or plain clothes, that he looked as if he had just come +out of a band-box. He was very kind to the young officers +at their drill and took the greatest pains with them. He +was also much liked by the men, and did not bully them or +allow the sergeants to do so, as was unfortunately the case +in so many regiments at that time. In a word, he was the<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_192"></a>[192]</span> +right man in the right place, and how rarely this happens +in the Service few people would imagine.</p> + +<p>When I first came to Murree, I occupied a room in the +officers’ quarters. There was a large room on the ground +floor which was unoccupied, and, as it was so intensely +cold, the subalterns amused themselves by playing a game +of battledore and shuttle-cock across a net. Hubert Lovett, +a sub-lieutenant who joined the battalion a week after I +did, and myself were the first to think of this game, which +somewhat resembled lawn-tennis in the way we served. It +was taken up afterwards by many officers who dined at our +mess, and is said to have given the idea of lawn-tennis to +the inventor.</p> + +<p>Soon after my arrival at Murree, I fell ill with dysentery, +owing, the doctor who attended me told me, to the sudden +change of climate. I was laid up for some time, but when +it began to grow warmer I gradually recovered.</p> + +<p>The winter was a very severe one at Murree, and those who +were fond of skating had excellent opportunities for indulging +in this pastime. Fiennes-Dickenson, a lieutenant who had +been transferred from the first battalion of the regiment, +which was then stationed in Canada, was a most accomplished +performer on the ice, cutting figures and the letters +of the alphabet as well, and MacCall, a captain, who had also +come from the first battalion, was but little inferior to him. +Dickenson told me that life at Quebec and Montreal was uncommonly +pleasant, and that they scarcely felt the intense +cold there at all, as the climate was so dry, and there was +so little wind. He said that it was the custom there for every +officer to have a girl “chum,” who went tobogganing and +skating with him and shared all his amusements. But he +never married this young lady, who always ended by marrying +someone else. This “chum” was a girl usually belonging +to society, and was invited to all the balls and parties given +by the regiment and considered quite <i>comme il faut</i>. Dickenson +added that he much preferred the life out in Canada +to the life in India, though Murree was the very best station, +which was generally only given to a crack regiment. Dickenson<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_193"></a>[193]</span> +was a lieutenant of some years’ standing and very well +off, having succeeded to a fine property of his uncle, Lord +Saye and Sele, called Syston Court, near Bristol, although +his father, with whom he was not on the best of terms, had +the right of residing there during his lifetime. He was a +great talker and his conversation was often very amusing.</p> + +<p>When summer came, the battalion moved to Kooldunah, +where I occupied rooms in a small villa with a garden attached, +in which Lovett and another sub-lieutenant named Sanford +also had their quarters. Later on, we were joined by a young +officer named Wilson, who had been transferred from a line +regiment. We got on pretty well together, particularly +Lovett and myself, who soon became great friends, and were +constantly together. Lovett was a strongly-built young +fellow, with black, curly hair, very white teeth, and a good-humoured +expression. He was clean-shaven, which was rare +at that time for a soldier. He had a very loud voice, and when +he laughed he did it so heartily that everyone in the room +used to turn round. He was quite colour-blind and never +could distinguish one colour from another. Once he had to +paint a river for a plan which he was required to draw, and +would have painted it red instead of blue, if I had not been +helping him.</p> + +<p>Sanford was quite a boy, without any hair on his face, +tall and fair, with rather a large mouth, for which reason +he was called “The Oyster.” One day, when he happened +to be on duty, a rifleman was overheard by Lovett to say +to another:</p> + +<p>“Who is on duty to-day: Lovett or Wilson?”</p> + +<p>“Neither,” was the answer, “it’s ‘The Oyster.’”</p> + +<p>Much to Sanford’s annoyance, Lovett, roaring, as usual, +with laughter, told the story at mess that night, and +remarked:—</p> + +<p>“Why, even all the riflemen call him ‘The Oyster’ now!”</p> + +<p>Sanford did not like me at all, because he suspected that +it was I who had been the first to bestow this nickname +upon him, and it is quite possible that his suspicions may +have been correct, though I cannot be certain.</p> + +<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_194"></a>[194]</span></p> + +<p>Wilson, the remaining occupant of our villa, was a rather +good-looking and very smart young fellow, who spoke +Hindustani very fluently. But he was very conceited, and +imagined himself a much greater sportsman than he was. +Once, when he had been on leave to Kashmir, he returned +with such a wonderful collection of big game trophies that +none of us could bring himself to believe that they had all +fallen to his own rifle, and MacCall said to him at mess:—“Wilson, +I tell you what it is—you have bought all that +big game from some <i>shikarri</i> in Kashmir!” At this +remark Wilson became furious, and next morning, in the +orderly-room, reported the incident to the Colonel, when MacCall +was put under arrest until he had apologized to his aggrieved +brother-officer. This, however, did not cause him +to change his opinion on the subject.</p> + +<p>MacCall, whose father was Equerry to the Duc d’Aumale, +spoke French perfectly, wore an imperial with his moustache, +and might easily have been mistaken for a Frenchman. He +shared a villa with a sub-lieutenant named Arthur Powys +Vaughan, an exceedingly nice fellow, who had been at Harrow +and had taken his degree at Oxford before entering the +Service.</p> + +<p>With the exception of our medico, Surgeon-Major Macnamara, +the quartermaster, Fitzherbert, and the junior +major, whose wife was in England, all the officers were +bachelors. Consequently, we were very badly off in the +matter of ladies’ society, so far as the battalion was concerned. +Mrs. Macnamara, who was a sister of Sir Howard +Elphinstone, Equerry to the Duke of Edinburgh, was a +very charming elderly lady, and I often used to go and take +tea with her and her husband. She was partly Russian +by birth and extremely musical, and took a great interest in +the regimental band, in regard to which she was frequently +consulted. I was put on the band committee and often +attended the rehearsals of a morning.</p> + +<p>Lovett and I used to pay visits to ladies whom we thought +we would care to know, as is the custom in India. One +day, we called on two ladies who had a charming villa, beautifully<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_195"></a>[195]</span> +furnished, and whom we rather admired, though +we knew nothing whatever about them. They received us +very coldly, at which we were surprised, until Mrs. Macnamara +told us that they were two very fast ladies, who +were protected by some well-known officers in Murree, +holding very high positions on the Staff.</p> + +<p>When I was alone one day, I noticed a very pretty woman, +upon whom I left my card. A few days later, I received a +very friendly note from her, asking me to dine with her on +a certain evening. However, in the meantime, I sprained +my ankle, and was put on the sick list, and therefore not +allowed to go out. But, I thought that, as it would probably +be a <i>tête-à-tête</i> dinner, which I should not like to miss, I +would go in a <i>jampan</i>, carried by two men, and no one +would be any the wiser. I hesitated whether to go in plain +clothes or in mess uniform, but finally decided for the latter. +I had not made any special effort to be punctual, and, in +point of fact, arrived half an hour late. On entering the +drawing-room, I found quite a number of people impatiently +awaiting the advent of the belated guest, amongst whom +I recognized, to my consternation, the General commanding +the troops in the Punjab; and I was still more taken aback +when I learned that I was dining with the Secretary of +State for India, and that my hostess was his wife! However, +these great people were very nice to me, and the General, +who did not seem at all to resent my having kept him +waiting for his dinner, asked me several questions about my +colonel and regiment, as, though there were several other +officers present, I was the only “Greenjacket.” For this +I was duly thankful, since if one of the senior officers of my +battalion had happened to be there, I should have got into +trouble for going out to dine when I was on the sick list.</p> + +<p>It was the custom to take your <i>khitmagar</i> with you when +you dined out, and I did so on this occasion. The next +evening at mess, I noticed my <i>khitmagar</i> opening a bottle of +Château-Laffitte for me, and asked him where he got it +from.</p> + +<p>“I saw last night that <i>Sahib</i> liked this wine the best,”<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_196"></a>[196]</span> +he replied, “so I brought half a dozen bottles of it away +from the dinner-party for <i>Sahib</i>!”</p> + +<p>I burst out laughing, thinking to myself that I could not +well scold my servant for looking after me so attentively.</p> + +<p><i>À propos</i> of native servants, when I first joined the +battalion, I had a Christian “bearer,” whom I had brought +from Bombay, and who spoke English. But at the end of +my first month at Murree, when I saw my mess-bill, I discovered +that a quantity of brandies and sodas were charged +for which I had never had. When I called my “bearer’s” +attention to this, he incontinently bolted from Murree, +taking some of my property with him. However, he was +eventually laid by the heels, and I had to ask for leave +off parade to go down to the Law Courts at Murree to prosecute +him. This taught me that it is better not to engage +“bearers” who talk English and call themselves Christians.</p> + +<p>Among the senior lieutenants in the battalion was Albert +Phipps, a brother of the Hon. Harriet Phipps, maid of +honour to Queen Victoria, with whom, as I have mentioned +elsewhere, I once took tea at Windsor Castle in my Eton +days. Phipps, who was fair and rather stout and always +wore an eyeglass, was a godson of the Prince Consort, the +only one who was still alive. He once told me that Queen +Victoria had written a letter in her own hand, recommending +him for an appointment with the Viceroy, but that the +officer who was specially charged with its delivery had the +misfortune to lose it. Rather than permit this officer to be +punished for his negligence, as he undoubtedly would have +been, Phipps refused to allow his sister to mention the matter +to Her Majesty, and suffered in silence the loss of an appointment +which was not only a very agreeable one, but would +have meant a great increase of pay. How many men would +have acted as nobly as he did? Very few, I am afraid.</p> + +<p>One night, while riding home after mess, along a very +dark road, Phipps’s horse fell with him. He was not hurt, +but his eyeglass was broken in two, and as he could not +get another one in India, he wore half an eyeglass for about +three months, until a fresh supply was sent from England.</p> + +<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_197"></a>[197]</span></p> + +<p>At the villa where I lived in the summer months we kept +several animals, including a wild cat, which was very savage +and nearly as big as a wolf, a bear, which we tried to tame, +a hyena and a monkey. These animals belonged to Wilson, +who one day let the bear loose, and we had considerable +trouble in recapturing it.</p> + +<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop"> + +<div class="chapter"> + +<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_198"></a>[198]</span></p> + +<h2 class="nobreak" id="CHAPTER_XIX">CHAPTER XIX</h2> + +<p class="center">A Subalterns’ Court-Martial—A Terrible Experience—High Mess-bills</p> + +</div> + +<p>Amongst our amusements at Murree were balls, +which were given periodically at the Club by the +officers of the battalion. Although the majority of the +fair guests were married women, there was always a sprinkling +of unmarried ones amongst them, most of whom had come +out to India in the hope of finding husbands. The band +of the regiment furnished the music, and there was always +a very good supper, with an abundance of champagne and +other wines, so that they were very enjoyable affairs indeed. +After one of these balls a most unpleasant incident occurred.</p> + +<p>It happened that I had danced with a Miss W——, a +very pretty and attractive girl, whom, later in the evening, +I saw dancing with a young officer whom I will call Eugene, +and who, I noticed, appeared very much <i>épris</i> with the damsel. +Next day, to my profound astonishment, I was placed +under arrest, and told that I must appear before the Colonel. +When I did so, he informed me that Eugene had told him +that this Miss W—— had complained to him that I had +insulted her. I indignantly protested my innocence, but +the Colonel told me that, though he did not doubt my word, +I must, nevertheless, write a letter to the young lady, asking +her pardon, if I had unintentionally given offence. I wrote +the letter and sent it to Miss W——, but received no +reply.</p> + +<p>At a garden-party given by the battalion a few days later, +I saw the lady whom I was supposed to have insulted. I +hesitated whether to speak to her or not, but finally decided<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_199"></a>[199]</span> +that it was best to do so and inquire why she had not +answered my letter.</p> + +<p>“I don’t know why you wrote to me,” said she, “and, +to tell you the truth, I don’t in the least understand what +you meant in your letter.”</p> + +<p>I then explained everything to her, when she exclaimed:—</p> + +<p>“I am extremely angry with Eugene. He must have +invented what he told your Colonel, and so soon as I go +home, I shall write to Colonel Montgomery, and tell him that +the whole matter is a mere fabrication of Eugene. I am +sorry that you should have suffered through the abominable +untruths of a silly boy.”</p> + +<p>Miss W—— was as good as her word, and the Colonel +read her letter to Eugene and myself, in the presence of all +the other officers. He said that Eugene had acted in a +most ungentlemanly manner, and deserved to be severely +punished for spreading about false reports calculated to +injure a brother-officer. He concluded by hinting that the +subalterns would best know how to deal with him.</p> + +<p>The hint, needless to say, was not lost upon these young +gentlemen, and after mess Eugene was informed that he +must appear before a court-martial that evening, in the +villa where I lived. The president of the court-martial was +a sub-lieutenant named Basil Montgomery, who was no +relation of the Colonel, but the son of a Scottish baronet. +Wilson acted as prosecutor, while Lovett defended the +prisoner.</p> + +<p>Eugene was brought in between two subalterns, and the +charges against him were read to the Court. The principal +charge was: “Conduct not befitting an officer and a gentleman, +in having accused a brother-officer wrongfully, thus +subjecting him to arrest and further possible inconvenience”; +but there were several others. The Court found the prisoner +“Guilty,” with no extenuating circumstances, and sentenced +him to receive ten strokes with a cane on his bare back +from each sub-lieutenant, to be sent to Coventry for one +month, and not to be allowed to attend any balls or garden-parties +during that period. Eugene took his punishment<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_200"></a>[200]</span> +very well. The corporal part of it was probably less hard +to endure than the deprivation of all social amusements +and the ostracism to which he was subjected. It had, +however, a very beneficial effect upon him, and he showed +afterwards a very noticeable improvement in every respect. +Eugene, I may mention, was a very good horseman, and +rode in steeplechases, both in England and in India.</p> + +<p>Montgomery, who was the president of the court-martial +upon Eugene, had come out to India by the same troopship +as myself, but he did not join the battalion until much +later, as he was taken ill at Bombay, where he had to remain +for some weeks. He suffered a good deal, as I had done, +from the change of climate when he first came to Murree. +He was a very fine young fellow, about 6 feet 2 inches in +height, and a most perfect gentleman, though perhaps he +put on a little too much “side” at times. A good many +years later, he succeeded to the baronetcy, his brother, who +was in the Guards, having met with an accident which +proved fatal.</p> + +<p>After a ball at the Murree Club one night, just as I was +preparing to ride back to my quarters, a tremendous thunderstorm +came on. I waited for some little time, but, as there +seemed no immediate prospect of the storm abating, I +decided to face it, but told my syce, who was waiting for +me with my pony, that I would take a short cut home, +instead of going by the usual road. The syce walked in +front of me, carrying a lantern to light up the way, as it +was a very dangerous path, with a most fearsome abyss on +one side, and in places so narrow that there was only just +room for a pony to walk along it. Suddenly, the lantern +which the syce carried went out, and, as neither of us had +any matches with which to relight it, we were plunged into +total darkness, only relieved from time to time by flashes +of lightning. The pony all of a sudden stood stock still +and refused to go on, and, on dismounting, I saw through +a flash of lightning a tree lying right across the path. I +therefore thought it safer to proceed on foot, leading the +pony, while my syce went in front; and we continued thus<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_201"></a>[201]</span> +for nearly a mile, not knowing whether the next step would +not plunge us into Eternity. But providentially at intervals +came flashes of lightning, which made it easier for us to +advance. At last we reached the end of the path, and made +our way to the villa, drenched to the skin, but heartily +thankful to find ourselves in safety. We had, indeed, had +a terrible experience, and when I told Lovett that I had +come home by the short cut, he would hardly believe it +possible, as the night was so dark and the path so narrow.</p> + +<p>During the rainy season Murree was anything but a pleasant +spot, for it rained without intermission for days and nights +together, until the place resembled a wide river. All parades +were suspended during the rains, but the officers had to +go out to perform their duties and to mess and back; +and, though we were protected by india-rubber coats and +goloshes, it was very disagreeable. The men’s quarters +were, as I have mentioned, situated at the top of a very +steep hill, and although, since Colonel H. P. Montgomery +had been in command of our battalion, he had a zigzag +road constructed, so that the ascent might be made gradually, +it was always rather an undertaking for the orderly officer +to ascend the hill after mess to turn out the guard, and in +wet weather it was simply detestable. The descent, too, +was very dangerous, as the road was terribly slippery, and +several accidents happened to both men and officers.</p> + +<p>The officers’ mess was at the foot of this hill, and on a +clear day the view from it was one of the grandest one can +possibly imagine, for the air is so rarefied that it enables +one to see further than one could otherwise. The towering +peaks of the Himalayas, plainly visible, despite the immense +distance, the dazzling whiteness of the snow, and the deep +blue of the heavens, made a wonderful picture. But grand +as the view is, I almost prefer that from the Kurhaus, at +Ischl, though it is on a much smaller scale. It is almost +like comparing the beauty of an orchid to a rose, which, +though less sublime in its appearance, captivates the senses +far more. There is something foreign in this Oriental +scenery, which appeals less to an Englishman than the<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_202"></a>[202]</span> +exquisite beauty of Switzerland or the Salzkammergut, in +Austria.</p> + +<p>The General at that time commanding the troops in the +Punjab was an extremely popular general and a friend of +Royalty, but he had made a <i>mésalliance</i>, having married the +divorced wife of a doctor. It was for this reason that he had +been given a command in India, instead of in England. Lieut.-Colonel +Montgomery-Moore, who commanded the 4th Hussars +at Rawal Pindi, and who spent the summer months with +his wife at Murree, did not call on the General’s wife, nor +did most of the officers of that regiment, and, as I had been +introduced by my cousin to the Montgomery-Moores, I felt +that I could not well visit the General’s wife. Several of +the officers of my battalion also did not call, though others +were frequent visitors at her house.</p> + +<p>When the General inspected us, our Colonel ordered the +band to play <i>Die Wacht am Rhein</i>, which they played the +whole time out of deference to the Colonel, who was a great +admirer of all things German. Not that he cared for the +air, for as he himself once said, he could only distinguish +two tunes. One was “God save the Queen,” and the other +was any other air, as he had no ear for music at all.</p> + +<p>At this inspection all the officers were called upon singly +to show their ability in taking command, some of the entire +battalion, others of a company. They nearly all acquitted +themselves well, and the General, who was himself an old +Rifleman, complimented the Colonel on the efficiency and +smartness of his battalion, and praised all the officers, N.C.O.’s +and men.</p> + +<p>Our Colonel, as I have said, was a most excellent commanding +officer. At times he would take command of half +of the battalion, while the senior major commanded the +other, and imitate the tactics employed in war, in order to +teach the officers and men how they should conduct themselves +in actual warfare. On several of these occasions, I +acted as his A.D.C., and, mounted on my pony, carried +his orders to the junior major and captains, which I much +enjoyed.</p> + +<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_203"></a>[203]</span></p> + +<p>The mess-bills of the officers of the battalion were so high +during the year that the War Office complained that they +were higher than any cavalry regiment, averaging £20 to +£30 a month. The Colonel therefore requested the officers +to see that they were reduced in future, as it was not pleasant +for him to be accused of encouraging extravagance. The +officers afterwards paid for what they required, and asked +that no champagne should be put down on their mess-bills. +A great deal of champagne was usually drunk at dinner, +particularly by the subalterns, and it cost from fifteen shillings +to a sovereign a bottle. Spirits were very little drunk, and, +taken on the whole, the officers were very temperate, rarely +taking more than was good for them. Among the men there +was very little drunkenness compared with other regiments, +and not a single case of desertion; in fact, there were scarcely +any prisoners at all.</p> + +<p>Lovett and I, who were both anxious to see something +of Kashmir, obtained three days’ leave and set off on horseback. +The country through which we rode was very pretty, +the fields being beautifully green and besprinkled with scarlet +poppies, while the hedges were covered with white roses. +We passed the first night at a dâk bungalow, and starting +at four o’clock the following morning, in order to avoid +the heat of the sun, rode until midday, and then rested at +another dâk bungalow until evening. Resuming our journey, +we presently entered a lovely valley, with a river flowing +through it. This river, the Jhelum, separated British India +from Kashmir, and the view from the dâk bungalow at +Kohala, on the Indian side, to which we made our way, +after refreshing ourselves by a swim in the cool water, was +very beautiful. The heat in the bungalow was intense, +though they employed <i>punkahs</i> to relieve the discomfort we +suffered, and towards midnight a terrific storm burst, the +crashes of thunder being the loudest I had ever heard, while +the lightning was so vivid that it lit up the whole of the +surrounding country.</p> + +<p>We spent the next day in bathing and fishing in +the river Jhelum, and, after dining at the bungalow at<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_204"></a>[204]</span> +Kohala, walked across the bridge which spanned the river. +On the Kashmir side we found two sentries posted, who +had been placed there by the Maharajah of Kashmir to +prevent anyone unprovided with a pass entering his dominions. +These sentries raised all sorts of difficulties to +our entering Kashmir, but we crossed over all the same, +and took a long walk in the country, which was very +hilly and rugged, with very narrow paths. When night +came on, we returned to the bungalow, but, having observed +that the two sentries had their beds placed on +the bridge, we determined to get even with them for the +trouble they had given us. Accordingly, we returned to the +bridge, carrying two big buckets full of water, and, finding +both the sentries wrapped in peaceful slumber, dashed the +water over them, and then, having thrown the buckets into +the river, ran for our lives. The luckless sentries, startled +out of their sleep, snatched up their rifles and pursued us. +But they failed to overtake us, and we reached the bungalow +in safety. We were somewhat uneasy lest inquiries should +be made about us at the bungalow, but nothing happened +during the rest of the night, and in the early morning we +set off on our journey back to Murree.</p> + +<p>On our return to Murree, we decided to say nothing of our +escapade in Kashmir, as if the Colonel got to know of it he +would have us placed under arrest. Phipps, whom I told +about it sometime afterwards, remarked that it might possibly +end in officers’ leave to Kashmir being stopped, but, fortunately, +as no one knew who had played the trick upon the +sentries, his fears were not realized.</p> + +<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop"> + +<div class="chapter"> + +<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_205"></a>[205]</span></p> + +<h2 class="nobreak" id="CHAPTER_XX">CHAPTER XX</h2> + +<p class="center">Sialkote—Amateur Theatricals—An Ingenious Thief—Death +of Albert Phipps—Agra—Voyage to England</p> + +</div> + +<p>In the autumn of 1874 the other sub-lieutenants and +myself had to go through a course of instruction at +Sialkote, in order to qualify as lieutenants. At Rawal Pindi +I called on Mrs. Kinloch, my acquaintance with whom +had been renewed at Murree, where she had been staying. +Not long afterwards, I was shocked to hear that she had +gone out of her mind. She died without recovering her +reason.</p> + +<p>Sialkote is by no means a pretty place, being very flat, +with few trees to temper the rays of the sun. Its ugliness +was, however, relieved to some extent by a view of the +distant mountains. Although it was autumn, the heat was +intense, and in the daytime almost intolerable.</p> + +<p>Lovett, Montgomery and myself occupied a house, which, +though it had one storey, was very large. We were attached +during our stay to the Royal Horse Artillery (“A” Battery, +“A” Brigade) and messed with them. Our instruction +took place in the mornings under Lieutenant Hart, of the +R.E., who put us through a course of surveying, fortification +and tactics. Most of the instruction took place out +of doors. Of an afternoon we generally prepared our work +for the following day, and in the evening we dined at the +R.H.A. mess, which was about ten minutes’ walk from our +house. The officers of “A” Battery were very nice fellows, +particularly Captain Hobart, who commanded it, Lieutenant +Armytage, and Veterinary-Surgeon Batchelor, and did all +they could to make things pleasant for us. The evenings<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_206"></a>[206]</span> +at mess, however, were rather dull, as so few members dined +there, though at times they were enlivened by the presence +of guests, generally officers from the 5th Lancers, who, with +two infantry battalions and a regiment of Bengal cavalry, +were also stationed at Sialkote.</p> + +<p>The 5th Lancers were a very lively lot, and their mess +was very amusing. On one occasion, after mess, they dragged +a lieutenant over the billiard table, with the result that the +cloth was cut all to pieces by his spurs, and, not content +with this, smashed all the crockery and glass in the mess-room. +One morning, on parade, another lieutenant, who +rode very badly, fell off his horse, whereupon his brother +subalterns “ragged” his room and broke everything they +could lay their hands on. The unfortunate owner, who +had not the sweetest of tempers, took their behaviour in +very ill part, and shortly afterwards exchanged into a Highland +regiment stationed at Gibraltar.</p> + +<p>Some of the 5th Lancers were, however, very nice fellows, +particularly two sub-lieutenants named Russell and Beaumont, +who were very friendly with Montgomery and myself, +and we often dined all together.</p> + +<p>One evening the sub-lieutenants of my battalion invited +Beaumont and Russell to dine at the R.H.A. mess, and afterwards +we all proceeded to our house, where we had prepared +a <i>nautch</i> for them, having sent to the bazaar for a number +of dancing women. These women danced most fantastic +dances, and wound up the entertainment by dancing with +some of the subalterns, who were wearing their white Indian +mess uniforms. The officers of my battalion, I may mention, +had adopted a pink silk sash round the waist, which we wore +instead of a waistcoat, owing to the intense heat.</p> + +<p>The colonel of the 5th Lancers, Lieut.-Colonel Massey, +was popular with all ranks, and one of the captains, Benyon +by name, was a most charming man. C——, another captain, +a very ugly, red-haired man, was most clever and amusing, +but much disliked both by his brother-officers and the men of +the regiment. He often dined at the R.H.A. mess, where +he entertained everyone with his stories after dinner. One<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_207"></a>[207]</span> +story which he told was of a young fellow who was staying +at a nobleman’s country house, where a lady, with whom +he was in love, gave him an assignation, and agreed to put +a flower in the keyhole of her door when she retired for the +night. Someone, with a predilection for practical jokes, +catching sight of the flower, removed it and placed it in the +keyhole of another door, with the result that the luckless +young fellow invaded the privacy of a judge and his wife. +There was a terrible scandal the next day, and the victim +of this misadventure had to leave the house at once.</p> + +<p>C—— was very fond of botany, and I remember that once, +when I happened to meet him, he showed me a mimosa, which +was so sensitive to the touch that the moment one handled +it it drew in its leaves. He came to a tragic end in South +Africa, where he was shot by one of the men of his troop, +not, it was generally believed, accidentally.</p> + +<p>Armytage, the lieutenant in the R.H.A. whom I have +already mentioned, was the son of a baronet and a very +pleasant fellow. He had a pet dog which he used always +to bring into the mess-room, and which would perform +tricks. He related how once, when he had been ordered on +foreign service, the captain of the troopship, hearing that he +had a dog, objected to his bringing it on board, as he had +made a rule against it. When, however, Armytage showed +him the little dog and made it perform its tricks, the captain +was so amused by them that he said he would make an +exception in this case. Armytage was a good actor, and +used to organize amateur theatricals. One evening, he got +up a play, in which he took the leading part, and acted +very well in the comic style. The other parts were taken by +men of “A” Battery, and the performance, to which a +good many people came, was a distinct success. Afterwards, +a dance was given in the mess-room, but, as there were +about twenty officers to each lady, it was more pleasant for +the ladies than for us. The sub-lieutenants, indeed, went +away as soon as they could, not being at all attracted by +our fair guests, who were mostly past their first youth, +while the few girls present were very plain.</p> + +<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_208"></a>[208]</span></p> + +<p>There was an excellent polo-ground at Sialkote, and many +of the officers played of an afternoon. There was also a +croquet and lawn-tennis ground, and these games were +played a good deal by ladies in very old-fashioned dresses, +as ladies in India, as a rule, dress very badly and quite out +of date.</p> + +<p>The officers rode home from mess of an evening; and I +used sometimes to make my pony “Chang” mount the steps +of our house, and enter my room, after which he would +go off alone to the stables. Once at Murree, for a bet, I rode +“Chang” up a long flight of steps to a church and down again, +and he never put a foot wrong. Batchelor, the “vet” of +the R.H.A., had a horse which sometimes, on his reaching +the mess-room, he would tell to go home, when the horse +would find its way back to the stables, which were some +distance away.</p> + +<p>Two new sub-lieutenants came to Sialkote to go through +the course. One, named Marsham, an Old Etonian and a +very nice fellow, was in my regiment; the other, whose +name was Wood, belonged to the 4th Hussars. He was +nicknamed “Lakri” (“wood”), as he was of rather swarthy +complexion. Wood had a very nice chestnut pony, which +he often lent me, and one day Lovett remarked that I never +looked so well as on this pony, which seemed to be made for +me. He had another pony, a smaller one, and this he sold +to me. But it had a very nasty temper, and would sometimes +turn its head and try and bite my feet; while it was +continually rearing and kicking, and, in short, was a regular +devil. One evening, when I went to dine at the mess of a +Line regiment, I tied it up to a tree, but it managed to get +rid of its bridle and bolted. It was only with difficulty +caught, when I rode it home again.</p> + +<p>“Eugene,” who had behaved so badly to me over the affair +of Miss W——, was not at Sialkote, having been sent to +another station for his course. While at Murree, he had +fallen desperately in love with a Miss B——, and had proposed +to, and been accepted by, her. But, as he was so +very young, and the lady was not considered a desirable<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_209"></a>[209]</span> +match, the Colonel took the matter up, and the affair was +broken off. At the station he went to he fell in love with +another lady, but this did not come to anything either; and +he nearly broke, not his heart, but his neck, there in riding +a steeplechase. However, eventually he recovered from his +“smash” and rejoined the battalion.</p> + +<p>I became very unwell at Sialkote, from what the doctor +said was a liver complaint. However, it did not much +interfere with my studies, though I was confined to the +house for some time. During this period a curious incident +occurred.</p> + +<p>One morning, I noticed that a candle, which I had placed +by my bedside and blown out just before I fell asleep, was +much shorter than when I had extinguished it. The following +night I carefully noted the length of the candle before +I blew it out, and next morning it was again much shorter. +I could find no explanation of this, as I had locked my +bedroom door before going to bed, until I remembered that +there was a small opening at the bottom of the door, just +large enough to permit a person to wriggle through. But +this did not account for the thief having been able to pass +through my sitting-room, which led to the bedroom, and +the door of which I had also locked. I talked the matter +over with Lovett, who offered to lend me his dog, which +he said was a very good watch-dog and could sleep on my +bed. I accepted his offer, but the animal had so many +fleas that I was kept awake all night, and decided to dispense +with its company in future. The following night I determined +to watch myself, and presently heard someone crawling +through the opening of the door. I at once struck +a light, upon which the intruder promptly crawled back +again. Then everything appeared clear to me. The thief +was none other than my bearer, who had a key to my sitting-room, +which he opened, and then, crawling through the +opening in the bedroom-door, made for my candle, which +he abstracted and replaced by a much smaller piece. The +natives are great pilferers, who will not stop at robbing one +even of a piece of candle.</p> + +<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_210"></a>[210]</span></p> + +<p>One day, as I was sitting in my room, reading a book by +Jean Paul, it seemed to me that suddenly the room began +to swing to and fro. It proved to be an earthquake, which, +however, did no damage to the town, though it gave everyone +a bad fright.</p> + +<p>Soon after I was able to get about again there was an +interval of three weeks in our course at Sialkote, and all +the sub-lieutenants went away on leave. Montgomery +went to Murree, while Lovett and Marsham started off on +a shooting-expedition. The battalion, which was taking +part in the autumn manœuvres, was under canvas near +Rawal Pindi, and I accepted an invitation to stay with +Surgeon-Major Macnamara and his wife in their tent. The +first evening I dined with them I noticed that I was served +with precisely the dishes I liked, whilst those I did not care +for were not handed to me at all. I inquired of Mrs. Macnamara +the reason of this, when she replied:—</p> + +<p>“I asked your <i>khitmagar</i> when you arrived what you +liked for dinner, and what you did not like. Therefore, +you see, I know now exactly what your taste is.”</p> + +<p>Indeed, nothing could exceed the Macnamaras’ kindness +to me during the whole time I was with them.</p> + +<p>A couple of days later, Phipps invited me to go for a drive +with him, during which he told me that he was returning +to England on leave, when he would get his promotion, and +he doubted whether he would ever come out to India again. +That evening, after dining at mess, I was taken ill, when +Surgeon-Major Macnamara, who attended me, said that I +was suffering from jaundice, and should have to stay in bed +some time. During my illness I received visits from one +of the senior lieutenants named Hope, a grandson of Lord +Hopetoun, who brought me several books to read, amongst +them being “Cranford,” by Mrs. Gaskell, which he particularly +recommended to me, and with which I was delighted. +Lloyd, another senior lieutenant, with the local rank of +captain, often came to see me. He was a very dark, wiry +fellow, of about thirty, and was a great sportsman. He +was going into the Indian Staff Corps, as he spoke several<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_211"></a>[211]</span> +native languages fluently. Lloyd was a particular friend +of mine, and corresponded with me regularly for years +afterwards.</p> + +<p>One morning, I had a visit from Macnamara, who told me +that Phipps had been taken seriously ill with congestion of +the lungs, the result apparently of a chill which he had +caught on the day I went for a drive with him. A few days +later, I learned from Lloyd that Phipps had died during +the night. When I next saw Macnamara, he remarked:—</p> + +<p>“Phipps was so stout; I knew I could not save him. He +died from suffocation, as he had such a short neck.”</p> + +<p>When I was well enough to dine at mess again, I heard +from the Colonel that, shortly before Phipps was taken ill, +he had been told by the chief that his tunic was looking +rather shabby, to which he had replied:—</p> + +<p>“Oh, sir, it’s good enough to bury me in!”</p> + +<p>He had laughed as he said this, which was a habit of his +when he made any remark which was at all strange.</p> + +<p>A cable was sent to Queen Victoria, as well as to Phipps’s +sister, announcing his death. Her Majesty cabled at once +to the Colonel, asking for all particulars about the sad +event, at which she appears to have been genuinely +grieved.</p> + +<p>I was much cut up by Phipps’s death, and I felt it all the +more keenly, as I had been with him so recently. I remember +how on that occasion he had kept talking of his approaching +return to England, and had observed:—</p> + +<p>“I should have liked it very much in years gone by, but +now I do not look forward to it with half the pleasure I did +then; it may be because I have all my friends out here. +I am so used to living out here with all the fellows, and +they are all so nice, that I don’t think I should go home +now if I had not to do so.”</p> + +<p>Poor Phipps was buried in his old tunic, as he had foretold +in a jesting way to the Colonel. He was barely thirty years +of age.</p> + +<p>After I had quite recovered from jaundice, I returned to +Sialkote, which I did with regret, as I would have much<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_212"></a>[212]</span> +preferred remaining with my regiment. At Sialkote things +went on very much as before, the only incident worth +recording being an accident to my pony “Chang.”</p> + +<p>This pony, which I had bought soon after coming to +Murree from Sydenham Clarke, the adjutant of our battalion, +had the reputation of being the best polo-pony in India, +and one day Lovett begged me to lend him to him for a +match in which he was to play. I replied that “Chang” +was not up to his weight, and that he would probably lame +him; but, eventually, on his promising most solemnly +to ride him carefully, I consented, though with many misgivings. +Some hours later Lovett came into my room, +looking very crestfallen. I knew at once what had happened, +and exclaimed:—</p> + +<p>“You have lamed “Chang!”</p> + +<p>“Yes,” he answered; “I am frightfully sorry; I could +not help it.”</p> + +<p>I ran out of the room to see the pony, who was so lame +that there was no chance of his being of much service afterwards. +However, it was no use blaming Lovett, since it +was my own fault for being so weak as to allow a valuable +animal to be ridden by a man too heavy for him.</p> + +<p>After this mishap, I was obliged to ride my little devil of +a pony when I required a mount at Sialkote, though at +times Lovett lent me his horse, while at others Wood lent +me his good-looking chestnut pony. I made Wood an +offer for this pony, but he declined to part with it at any +price.</p> + +<p>I continued to suffer from liver complaint, and was +attended by Surgeon-Major Clarke, of the R.H.A., who +advised me to try and get sent to England. I subsequently +saw the senior medical officer at Sialkote, who said that I +ought to obtain leave either to the hills or to England. +I appeared before a medical board, who certified in writing +that my illness was caused in and by the Service.</p> + +<p>The Chief Resident at Sialkote offered me the Maharajah +of Kashmir’s shooting, which was usually reserved for royal +personages, and which the Prince of Wales had when in<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_213"></a>[213]</span> +India; but Montgomery urged me strongly to go to England, +and I followed his advice. I had afterwards, as the ensuing +pages will show, good cause to regret my decision.</p> + +<p>Before leaving Sialkote, I made arrangements to sell the +things I did not want; but, on showing the list I had made +out to Batchelor, of the R.H.A., he told me that I ought +to have described them far more elaborately, so as to enhance +their apparent value. I asked if he would describe them +for me, which he did, and, greatly to my amusement, made +everything appear infinitely better than it really was. +However, he said that they would make much better prices +that way, which I found to be the case when the sale took +place. My pony “Chang” I sold to Montgomery, as he +had partially recovered from his lameness.</p> + +<p>On leaving Sialkote, I went by rail to Delhi, where I +visited the Palace, which I thought very beautiful. At +Delhi I called on the officers of a Line regiment stationed +there, and was invited to make use of their mess during +my stay in the city, where great preparations were being +made for an approaching Durbar. I left a few days later +for Cawnpore, and visited the places by the river where +the British were massacred during the Mutiny. On my way +from Cawnpore to Agra, I made the acquaintance of a +French cavalry officer, the Vicomte Arthur d’Assailly, of +the Chasseurs à Cheval, a very smart-looking fellow, more +like an Englishman than a Frenchman, who spoke English +perfectly. The Vicomte told me that at Cawnpore he had +paid several hundred rupees for a <i>nautch</i> in his room, which +he had strewn with rose-leaves. On reaching Agra, we +drove to our hotel through the Bazaar, and in the evening +went to visit the Taj, with which we were quite enchanted. +It was the most magnificent building I had ever seen. +The marble of which it was constructed was of the purest +white, and seen by moonlight, which enhanced the whiteness +of the marble, it was indescribably beautiful; while the +deep blue of the starlit heavens formed a delightful contrast. +It was, in fact, just like a palace of “The Arabian Nights”; +and while strolling about the charming gardens we could<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_214"></a>[214]</span> +almost imagine ourselves living in the days of the Khalif +Haroun Alraschid.</p> + +<p>In the train going to Bombay I met an officer of the +Rifle Brigade, named Captain Crompton, a man of about +thirty-five, with grey hair, who was going home on sick +leave. But as, he told me, he was rather doubtful about +being able to pass the medical board at Bombay, he intended +to appear before them just as he was, without going to his +hôtel to change and wash, considering that he would look +more like an invalid in that travel-stained condition.</p> + +<p>He was as good as his word, and obtained six months’ +sick leave without any trouble. As for myself, I went to +Watson’s Hotel, where I was glad to have a bath and change +my clothes, as the journey had been a most unpleasant +one, and I was begrimed with dirt. On appearing before +the board, the senior medical officer asked me various questions, +to which I must have answered too laconically to +please him, for presently he inquired sarcastically:—</p> + +<p>“And what may your rank be; I suppose general or +colonel at the least?”</p> + +<p>“No,” I replied; “I am only a sub-lieutenant.”</p> + +<p>“Oh, indeed! I thought from your manner that you +were at least in command of a regiment.”</p> + +<p>However, after a brief examination, I was informed that +I could go, and that I had been granted six months’ leave +to England, as my illness was caused in and by the Service.</p> + +<p>At Watson’s Hotel I met d’Assailly again, who told me +a good deal about himself. It appeared that he was a rich +man, having an income of some £6,000 a year, and was +amusing himself by travelling round the world. He had +already visited Japan, Ceylon and Java, the last of which +he considered by far the most beautiful of the three countries, +and, as regards vegetation, truly marvellous. He +admitted that Ceylon was lovely, but, in his opinion, it +could not compare with Java, the natives of which he also +preferred to the Cingalese.</p> + +<p>I was very glad to leave Bombay in 1875, though, as I +disliked the sea very much, I was not looking forward to<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_215"></a>[215]</span> +the voyage to England with any pleasurable anticipations. +Among the passengers on board the troopship were Captain +Crompton, a Lieutenant Howard, who belonged to the +Rifle Brigade, and Viscount Campden, of the 10th Hussars, +whose younger brother, the Hon. H. Noel, was in the same +battalion of the Rifle Brigade as Crompton and Howard. +Lord Campden, who was an amiable young man, with a +slight figure and reddish hair, occupied himself during the +voyage by reading Darwin’s “Natural Selection,” which +was seldom out of his hand, and did not talk much with +anyone, with the exception of Crompton.</p> + +<p>There was a battalion of infantry on board, under the +command of a Lieutenant-Colonel Rose, who had his wife +and daughter with him. The latter, who was a charming +little girl of thirteen, with golden hair and blue eyes, took +such a violent fancy to Howard that the other officers used +to chaff him and inquire whether he intended to wait until +she grew up to marry her. Howard was a tall, good-looking +fellow, with a fair moustache, and he seemed rather pleased +than otherwise by the little lady’s infatuation.</p> + +<p>The captain of the ship complained of Crompton dining +in evening clothes, and requested him to appear in uniform +in future. Crompton answered that he had no uniform +on board, as he had come out to India to work as a civil +engineer. But the captain would take no excuse, and insisted +on his wearing uniform at dinner and also on deck. +Crompton thereupon asked me if I could lend him part of my +uniform, as it only differed in the facings, the facings of one +regiment’s mess-jacket being black velvet, and those of the +other scarlet, braided with black lace, like the Hussars. +The uniform of both regiments was the same, supposed to +be a dark green, but really black. I therefore lent him +part of my uniform, as I had more than I required on board; +but when he appeared in it at mess and on deck, the captain +at first believed that it was his own, and that he had purposely +avoided wearing it, and he had to explain that he +had been obliged to borrow from me.</p> + +<p>During the voyage I was a good deal with Crompton, and<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_216"></a>[216]</span> +had many interesting talks with him on all kinds of topics. +He told me that his mother, who was dead, had published a +translation of the poems of Heinrich Heine, which was +considered to be the best that had appeared up to that time. +She had held that this life was but a preparation for the one +to come, and that whatever we cultivated in this existence, +we should excel in in the next, and said that he was firmly +convinced of the truth of this. He was a very clever man +and had invented an automobile for the conveyance of +troops, which he had sold to the Russian Government for +£4,000, as the War Office would not pay him the price he +asked. His knowledge, too, was astonishingly varied. Thus, +when we touched at Malta, some of the ladies on board +showed him the lace they had bought and told him the price +they had paid for it, upon which he said that they had been +imposed upon. For it appeared that he knew more about +lace and how to make it than any lady on the ship, and I +saw him showing them stitches which were quite new to +them.</p> + +<p>There were, of course, a number of invalids on board, +some of whom were very ill indeed. I occupied a cabin with +a lieutenant of the 11th Hussars named Reid, who was in +rapid consumption. He was a good-looking young fellow, +with, dark-brown curly hair, and very much liked by everyone. +He survived the voyage, as did a sergeant-major of +the R.H.A., whom no one had expected to live until we +reached England; but several other persons died, and were +buried at sea.</p> + +<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop"> + +<div class="chapter"> + +<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_217"></a>[217]</span></p> + +<h2 class="nobreak" id="CHAPTER_XXI">CHAPTER XXI</h2> + +<p class="center">Baroness James Édouard de Rothschild—At Carlsbad—Transferred +to the 3rd Battalion</p> + +</div> + +<p>At Portsmouth, I was met by my father and Ernest +Berkeley, a son of Lord Berkeley, who some time +afterwards obtained a commission in my regiment, and +with them I travelled to Paris and stayed for a few days +with my parents in the Champs-Elysées. I then started +for Carlsbad, where I had been recommended to take the +waters for my complaint. On leaving Paris, I found myself +in the same carriage with an elderly English lady, a Mrs. +Michell, and her daughter, whose acquaintance I made. +They were on their way to Marienbad, as the mother was +abnormally stout and anxious to reduce her weight, life, +she told me, being a torment to her. At Nüremberg, a rather +nice-looking woman entered our carriage, with a very smart +footman in attendance, who carried an immense bouquet +of flowers, which he deposited beside his mistress. This +lady, it transpired, was the Baroness James Édouard de +Rothschild, who had been spending the night at Nüremberg, +and was also <i>en route</i> for Marienbad. The Baroness entered +into conversation with us, and was very pleasant. She +spoke English almost perfectly, having spent nearly half +her life in England, though she was now living with her +family in Paris. She had, she told us, been ordered to take +the waters at Marienbad, as she was inclined to be very +stout, and had sent on fourteen servants from Paris to get +everything ready for her.</p> + +<p>I got out at Carlsbad and drove to the Hôtel Goldenes<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_218"></a>[218]</span> +Schild, which was in those days the principal hôtel. Next +morning I consulted Dr. Ritter von Hochberg, the doctor +of the German Emperor, who was a very nice old man, +and who told me to drink two full glasses of the Schloss +Brunn waters and then walk for half an hour in the country +every morning before breakfast. I followed his instructions +and, after drinking the waters, walked out to the Posthof, +where I breakfasted in the open air at a very good restaurant, +being served by a pretty young Austrian girl, who was very +tastefully dressed, with her hair arranged in quite the latest +fashion. The walk back to my hôtel, along the banks of +a river, which flowed through a delightfully picturesque +valley, I enjoyed immensely.</p> + +<p>While dining one evening at the Hôtel König von Hannover, +I made the acquaintance of a Mrs. Andrews, an +elderly American lady, who was very rich and lived in an +apartment in the English quarter of Carlsbad. She asked +me to come and see her at her rooms, which were very comfortable, +and where she gave me a cup of English tea. +Mrs. Andrews was very fond of taking drives into the +country, and often invited me to accompany her. One day +she introduced me to Freiherr von Klenck, the son of Baron +von Klenck, who had been a great favourite of the late +King of Hanover and always with him. Klenck, who was +in a Hanoverian cavalry regiment, was a man of about +thirty, with a fair moustache. He detested Prussians, and +once, when I asked him if he would care to meet an +officer in a Prussian Line regiment whose acquaintance I +had made, he replied:—</p> + +<p>“It is all very well for you to know him, as you are not a +German. But I could not be seen with him. First of all, +he is a Prussian, and then he is in a Line regiment, so that +I could not go about with him, since I am in a cavalry +regiment, as you know.”</p> + +<p>I usually met Mrs. Andrews and Klenck at the Hôtel +König von Hannover, where we would engage a small table +and dine together, going after to Sans-Souci or the Posthof +to hear the military concert, which was very fine indeed.<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_219"></a>[219]</span> +The band which played there was that of the 35th Regiment +König von Hannover, an Austrian military band, which had +won the first prize at Brussels in the competition for military +bands of all nations. It was composed of fifty men, and +played the most difficult music of Wagner in the most +brilliant manner, besides playing lighter music in a way +which quite delighted me. In fact, it put all the military +bands, English, French and German, that I had ever heard +completely in the shade. A principal feature was that +there were two men who played the cymbals, and that the +big drum was an insignificant item, the side-drum being far +more used. Sometimes, the band would play at Pupp’s +Café of an afternoon, while the people were taking their +coffee at little tables. On these occasions, a fee of fifty +kreuzers was charged for admission, and there was always +great difficulty in securing seats.</p> + +<p>The Kurkapelle, or string band, which played on most +days of the week, under the direction of the famous bandmaster, +Auguste Labitzky, was one of the finest string bands +in Europe. Every Friday afternoon Labitzky organized +a classical concert at Posthof, for which an admission fee +of fifty kreuzers was charged. One day was consecrated +to Wagner, another to Mozart, a third to Beethoven, and +on a fourth a programme of mixed classical music was +performed.</p> + +<p>The places where afternoon coffee was taken were all in +the country, people sitting at little tables under the trees. +At Pupp’s Café the waitresses had their Christian names, +Mizzi, Fanni, Resi, and so forth, pinned on to their dresses. +These girls were for the most part very pretty and pleasant-mannered. +One gentleman, after having finished his cure +at Carlsbad, received about twenty bouquets of beautiful +flowers, which were all placed on his breakfast-table at +Pupp’s by the girls serving there. People said that it +must have cost him at least a hundred florins in <i>douceurs</i> +to the waitresses.</p> + +<p>When I asked my doctor how much I was in his debt, he +told me that he left the matter entirely to me. So I put forty<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_220"></a>[220]</span> +florins in an envelope, which the doctor declined even to +open in my presence, saying that he felt sure that I had +remunerated his services sufficiently.</p> + +<p>After a cure of three weeks, I left Carlsbad for Franzensbad, +for the after-cure, which my doctor had advised my taking. +Here I secured very comfortable rooms in a villa with a +beautiful garden behind it, agreeing to pay a fixed price +per week for board and lodging. Shortly afterwards, the +proprietress informed me that, had she but known that +I was an Englishman, she would have asked me very +much more than she had. She appeared very much +annoyed, and, I am afraid, never forgave me for not +having acquainted her with my nationality at our first +interview.</p> + +<p>I thought Franzensbad a very charming place, with its +pretty villas with gardens attached to them; but the walks +could not compare with those around Carlsbad. I was so +tired after taking the waters at Carlsbad that I rested the +whole time I was at Franzensbad, merely taking iron baths, +which I found perfectly delightful. It was like bathing in +champagne, as the water sparkled and gave one a tickling +kind of sensation. The visitors at Franzensbad were chiefly +ladies, but I made the acquaintance of a young Bavarian +officer, Freiherr von Rüdt, who was very musical and played +the violin beautifully, and used to meet him nearly every +day at the concert in the Kurpark. The Kurkapelle used +to play at one or other of the hôtels during supper, and +I often went to these concerts. The bandmaster, Tomaschek, +was a very good conductor and a great favourite with the +ladies, who often sent him presents.</p> + +<p>During my stay at Franzensbad I paid a visit to Marienbad, +where I renewed my acquaintance with Mrs. Michell and her +daughter. I thought Marienbad even more beautiful than +Carlsbad, surrounded as it was by woods and hills. The +walks around it were really exquisite, and nothing could be +more pleasant than to take a walk in the woods on a summer’s +day and have coffee and listen to the band at one of the +cafés.</p> + +<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_221"></a>[221]</span></p> + +<p>On my return to Franzensbad I took a few more baths, +and then left for Paris, where I received a letter from the +War Office, informing me that I had been transferred to the +3rd Battalion of my regiment, which was stationed at +Chatham.</p> + +<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop"> + +<div class="chapter"> + +<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_222"></a>[222]</span></p> + +<h2 class="nobreak" id="CHAPTER_XXII">CHAPTER XXII</h2> + +<p class="center">My Brother-Officers—A <i>Mésalliance</i>—Christy Minstrels and Tobogganing</p> + +</div> + +<p>It was through the influence of the Adjutant-General, +Lord Airey, that I had been transferred to the 3rd +Battalion of the 60th Rifles, in June, 1875. On joining, I +went into the officers’ ante-room, where a short, stout officer, +wearing an eyeglass, addressed me, and inquired how I had +managed to get transferred. I told him that it was through +the A.-G., when he remarked:</p> + +<p>“How is it that I was not consulted?”</p> + +<p>“I really cannot tell you,” I answered.</p> + +<p>“H’m!” said he, transfixing me with his monocle.</p> + +<p>A few minutes afterwards, when he had left the room, +another officer came up to me, and said:—</p> + +<p>“Do you know who that is?”</p> + +<p>“No.”</p> + +<p>“That is our chief, Lieutenant-Colonel W. Leigh-Pemberton.”</p> + +<p>“Is it really?” said I. “I should never have thought +it, for he looks too young for a colonel.”</p> + +<p>“You have put your foot into it, evidently,” replied the +officer, who appeared highly amused at what had happened. +His name, he told me, was Corbet Stapleton-Cotton, and he +was a lieutenant of some years’ service.</p> + +<p>I had a room in barracks close to Cotton’s, and, after my +things had been unpacked, I dressed for mess. During +mess I again exchanged a few words with the Colonel, who +evidently looked upon me as an intruder, since he addressed +me in a very distant manner. I was introduced to the acting<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_223"></a>[223]</span> +adjutant, E. O. H. Wilkinson (the adjutant, Lieutenant +Bagot, had been suspended from that post by the Colonel), +whom I had known at Eton, but had never cared for much. +Wilkinson, who was a tall, dark man, with a slight squint, +a long body and very short legs, imparted to me the pleasing +information that I should have to begin my drill all over +again from the commencement, at seven o’clock the following +morning, so that I was likely to be kept well employed +for some little time to come. I also made the acquaintance +of my captain, Cramer, who was a middle-aged man with +grey hair. He had little to say for himself, and was not +remarkable for his amiability, but was very musical, and +played the piano wonderfully well, though entirely by ear. +Amongst other officers with whom I spoke that evening +were a sub-lieutenant named Robert Gunning and a +lieutenant called Allfrey. Gunning, who, like Cramer, in +whose company he was, had been at Eton with me, though +I had only known him very slightly there, was a rather good-looking +little fellow, and a great favourite of the Colonel, +who called him “Cupid,” and often invited him to his +quarters. Allfrey was a tall, burly man, with dark curly +hair, who was very loud in both his dress and conversation, +which was usually about horses. He was a great admirer +of Thackeray’s works, and declared that “Vanity Fair” +was the best novel in the English language, and that he had +read it over and over again without growing tired of it.</p> + +<p>Allfrey was a particular friend of Cotton, and I soon discovered +that these two officers were the <i>bêtes-noires</i> of the +Colonel, who, it was said, could not even endure the sound +of their voices, and would give anything in the world to +get rid of them both. Our chief’s dislike, however, was by +no means confined to Cotton and Allfrey. Two senior +lieutenants, named Holled-Smith and Allen, and a captain +called Robinson, had also the misfortune to be objects of +his antipathy, a fact which he was never at any pains to +disguise.</p> + +<p>Holled-Smith was a fine-looking man, clever and entertaining, +but with a somewhat brusque manner. He had<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_224"></a>[224]</span> +a very good baritone voice, which he cultivated by taking +singing lessons, and he sang some songs very well. Allen +and Robinson were both singular characters. The former, +who was expecting his company, was a queer-looking fellow, +with a partially-bald head and a peculiarly vacant expression. +He was always highly perfumed, so that you knew when +he happened to be near you, before you saw him. His dress +was very eccentric, and his manner too. He was perpetually +muttering to himself, and would gesticulate in the most +weird fashion when no one was talking to him. Robinson, +who was nicknamed “Rabelais,” as he was always reading +that author’s works, was a kind of Hercules, and was the +eldest son of a baronet and the grandson of an Irish earl. +He was very eccentric, and would suddenly—for no apparent +reason—throw himself into the most violent passions, and +indulge in language at which even a private soldier would be +horrified. Strangely enough, he appeared to have little or +no idea of the effect of these outbursts upon those who had +the misfortune to be present: probably, he hardly knew +what he was saying. It was related that, upon one occasion, +he used this terrible language before a lady, who incontinently +took to flight. “Rabelais” inquired afterwards why +the lady had left so abruptly, and, on being told, remarked +that she must have been uncommonly prudish.</p> + +<p>These two strange creatures disliked each other even +more than the Colonel did them. One evening at mess, +soon after I joined the battalion, I noticed that, though they +were sitting next each other, they never exchanged a word +the whole evening. I remarked upon this to one of the +other officers, when I was told that they had not spoken +to one another for years.</p> + +<p>The senior major, Northey, was a very tall, dark man, +who was an excellent soldier and understood his work +thoroughly; but, unfortunately, his hands were tied by +the Colonel, who seldom condescended to approve of anything +he did. He was married to the daughter of a Polish +nobleman, a refugee, whom he had met when the battalion +was stationed in Canada. Major Northey was popular<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_225"></a>[225]</span> +with the men, and liked by the officers, but he had no +influence at all.</p> + +<p>The junior major, Collins, who was stout and wore an eyeglass, +was also a married man. His wife was a sister of a +bishop, and it was she who held the ribbons. Collins would +have made a much better bishop than he did a field-officer, +for he was a bad rider, who always felt uncomfortable on +horseback, and, what is more, looked so. He seldom ventured +on any observation concerning military matters +before the Colonel, as when he did so, he generally got +snubbed. The major took a great fancy to me, and often +invited me to his house, where I sometimes met the bishop, +who was delighted with my zither and paid me many +compliments on my playing.</p> + +<p>Tufnell, the senior captain, was a gentleman who entertained +a superlatively high opinion of himself. He must +have been very handsome when young, but was now somewhat +“<i>fané</i>.” He was very much in love with a girl named +Miss Finis, the daughter of a butcher in Chatham, who, +some years before, had been in love with my friend, Arthur +Dillon. Poor Dillon, alas! was no more, having been +thrown out of a Ralli car and killed while stationed at +Colchester. “He was such a good fellow, and a very +promising officer,” said Captain Byron, in the letter he wrote +to me in India, to inform me of the sad event.</p> + +<p>Tufnell was so infatuated with Miss Finis that it was +generally believed that he would end by marrying her. Nor +was he the only officer in the battalion who was contemplating +a <i>mésalliance</i>. There was another captain, called Carpenter, +who was desperately in love with a pretty little shop-girl, +who was only about sixteen. At first, the Colonel +objected to Carpenter going about with this damsel, but +when he learned that he was determined to marry her, he +said nothing more, as Carpenter was a great friend of his. +Carpenter retired some months afterwards, and married +his little girl, who, I was told, made him a very good wife. +His retirement was much regretted, as he was very popular +with both officers and men.</p> + +<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_226"></a>[226]</span></p> + +<p>The nicest captain in the battalion was de Robeck, who +had been on the Staff of the Earl of Mayo, when Viceroy of +India. He was a brother of Baron de Robeck, whom I +already knew. De Robeck was a rather shy man, and +dreadfully afraid of offending the Colonel. As time seemed +only to accentuate the bad impression which I had been so +unfortunate as to make upon our chief at our first meeting, +partly owing to the fact that I was obliged to be a good +deal in the company of Cotton and Holled-Smith, whose +quarters adjoined my own, I told de Robeck that I thought +it would be best for me to exchange into another battalion. +He, however, advised me not to do so, observing:—</p> + +<p>“The Colonel cannot stay with us very much longer, and +in the 1st Battalion, into which you wish to exchange, +they have a Colonel, Colonel Gordon, who, I am told, is +much worse than ours. I hear that he has been the cause +of no less than ten officers leaving the battalion, and the +cases of desertion among the riflemen can hardly be counted.”</p> + +<p>I told him that the Colonel of the 1st was soon retiring, +while our chief would remain with us for another three +years, which had to be taken into consideration.</p> + +<p>“No,” he replied, “he has only two years more, thank +God!”</p> + +<p>I was always much influenced by what de Robeck told me, +and generally followed his advice. I did so in this instance, +but had I acted otherwise, it would have been much better +for me.</p> + +<p>Among the senior lieutenants was one named Wylie, +an absurdly pompous individual, who was disliked by both +officers and men. One day, when I happened to be orderly +officer, I had just come off parade and was standing by the +officers’ mess, when Wylie passed by. I wished him good-morning, +but, because I did not salute him at the same time, +though it was off the parade-ground, he reported me to the +Colonel, who reprimanded me. Wylie was married to the +sister of a recently-created peer, who, on the strength of +this relationship, gave herself ridiculous airs, and was almost +as pompous as her husband.</p> + +<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_227"></a>[227]</span></p> + +<p>Arthur Greville Bagot, an old Etonian, who was adjutant +of the battalion by appointment, though, as I mentioned, +suspended, was a very different kind of officer from Wylie. +He was highly connected, being the cousin of a duke and +the nephew of a peer, and was a thorough gentleman in +every way. He was a very good-looking man, and when +not in uniform, always dressed very smartly in the latest +fashion. An excellent soldier, he kept the men in first-rate +order, which Wilkinson never could do, and, as he was rather +a friend of mine, he invariably took my part with the Colonel, +with whom he was on pretty good terms.</p> + +<p>As there was very little going on at Chatham at any time +in the way of amusement, Bagot organized from the battalion +a troupe of Christy Minstrels, he himself taking the part +of “Bones.” I was asked to do my share, to which I willingly +consented. We gave a performance in Chatham, which +turned out a great success, a number of people having to be +refused admission. The officers and men blackened their +faces, and when I wished to re-enter Chatham Barracks, +the sentry refused to let me pass, until I told him who I +was. We gave a second performance at Chatham, which +was so well attended that we agreed to engage the theatre +at Gravesend and give an entertainment there. The result +exceeded our most sanguine expectations, the theatre being +crammed, while over four hundred people were turned +away from the doors. Bagot made most amusing jokes, +and sang several very good comic songs; Carpenter gave a +solo on the concertina, besides singing in the chorus, and +my performance on the zither was warmly applauded, and +I got an encore. The <i>ensemble</i> was excellent for that style +of entertainment; quite as good as any professional troupe, +and the singing was above the average.</p> + +<p>During the winter we had a heavy fall of snow, and, as +most of the officers of the battalion had served in Canada, +and had done a great deal of tobogganing there, this amusement +was indulged in down the hill close to the mess. The +toboggans were made to contain two persons, one sitting +behind, and the other between his legs in front; and many<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_228"></a>[228]</span> +of the officers would place a lady in front of them on their +toboggans, and come down the hill at a terrific pace, the +ladies sometimes giving vent to piercing shrieks, from fear +of getting a spill. Now and again a toboggan would upset, +and send its occupants flying; but, as they usually fell into +the snow banked up on either side of the track, it was very +rarely that they were in the least hurt.</p> + +<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop"> + +<div class="chapter"> + +<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_229"></a>[229]</span></p> + +<h2 class="nobreak" id="CHAPTER_XXIII">CHAPTER XXIII</h2> + +<p class="center">Sarah Bernhardt in <i>Phèdre</i>—Vienna and Buda-Pesth</p> + +</div> + +<p>When I got my winter’s leave, I started for Paris, +to see my parents; intending afterwards to visit +Vienna and Buda-Pesth. On the last evening of my stay +in Paris, I went to the Théâtre-Français, to see Sarah Bernhardt +and Mounet Sully in <i>Phèdre</i>. The latter’s acting was +very fine, but Sarah Bernhardt was simply magnificent. +The way in which she recited Racine’s lines in her charming, +musical voice, with its pretty timbre, was a real pleasure to +listen to; while in the last scene she rose to the supreme +heights of tragedy. I do not think I was ever more delighted +in my life with a theatrical performance than I was with +the splendid acting that night at the Théâtre-Français, as +it surpassed all my expectations.</p> + +<p>On my journey to Vienna next day, I had as a travelling +companion an Austrian gentleman called Herr Neuss, who, +on my happening to mention my visit to the Théâtre-Français +the previous evening, observed that, in his opinion, +the Burg Theatre, in Vienna, was the first theatre in Europe, +and invited me to accompany him one evening to see a play +of Shakespeare acted there. Herr Neuss told me that, +from the way I spoke German, he had at first taken me for +a German student, and that he was surprised to learn that I +was an officer of the British Army.</p> + +<p>On my arrival in Vienna, which was enveloped in a white +mantle of snow, I went to the Hôtel Matschakerhof, which +had been recommended to me, and which I found very +comfortable. I lost no time in calling on Herr Neuss, who<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_230"></a>[230]</span> +presented me to his wife and their three young and pretty +daughters, who were quite charming. I was invited to +return to supper, and afterwards two of the girls played on +two grand pianos which stood in the drawing-room. They +both played beautifully, and had evidently been most +admirably taught. An evening or two later, I went with +Herr Neuss to the Burg Theatre, to witness a performance of +<i>Romeo and Juliet</i>, which was wonderfully well staged. The +part of Juliet was played by Fräulein Frank, a very good-looking +brunette, who acted well, though in the very tragic +scenes she occasionally showed too much emotion. Another +evening I saw Fräulein Frank in the <i>Jungfrau von Orléans</i>, +a part which suited her infinitely better than that of Juliet; +and in which she was truly marvellous. I also saw the celebrated +Charlotte Wolter in <i>Richard III.</i>, in which play +Lewinsky took the part of the King. I was very much +impressed by the latter’s acting, but I was decidedly disappointed +with Charlotte Wolter, whom I considered inferior +to Fräulein Frank, though the public thought otherwise. +Wolter, indeed, in the opinion of the Viennese, was an ideal +actress, and, in certain plays, they even preferred her to +Sarah Bernhardt.</p> + +<p>I was charmed with the military concerts at Vienna. Of +an afternoon I several times went to the Volksgarten, where +the people sat at little tables sipping coffee and smoking +cigarettes. The military band, the Hoch and Deutschmeister, +which played, was a string band, and the solo +players were all very good. I was quite delighted with the +way the band played a march, so differently from the sleepy +fashion in which our English military bands played one. +As is always the practice with an Austrian military band, +when playing marches, a great deal of use was made of the +cymbals in forte parts. They also played waltzes delightfully, +and polkas with the proper rhythm, which so seldom +happens. The Hoch and Deutschmeister played the most +difficult music from the <i>Nibelungen Ring</i>, of Wagner, equally +well, but their chief success was with light music, in which +they were unrivalled.</p> + +<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_231"></a>[231]</span></p> + +<p>On Sundays Johann Strauss’s band played in the Musikverein’s +Saal, under its accomplished conductor, who +always charmed the audience with its beautiful waltzes +and inspiriting polkas. Yet everyone said that his band +was very inferior to the string bands of the regiments stationed +in Vienna. I heard Johann Strauss’s band play more +than once, and though I was pleased with it, the military +band had far more attraction for me.</p> + +<p>I paid a visit one evening to Schwender’s, a dancing-hall, +where, to the strains of a military band, people danced till +the small hours of the morning, and was struck with the +orderly manner in which those present conducted themselves. +It was a great contrast to the scenes witnessed +at similar resorts in England in those days, where drunkenness +amongst both sexes was a common feature.</p> + +<p>The Opera House, whose orchestra was quite the finest +in Europe, had, of course, a great fascination for me. +Wagner was then directing his operas, <i>Tannhäuser</i> and +<i>Lohengrin</i>, and they were admirably rendered. Fräulein +Ehnn and Frau Materna created the chief women’s rôles, +and Winkelmann and Ritter were the leading tenors. A +great feature at the Opera was the ballet, in which the +<i>première danseuse</i>, Bertha Linda, delighted everyone with +her graceful dancing, while the <i>corps de ballet</i> was excellent. +Bertha Linda married the celebrated artist Makart, at +that time the greatest painter in Austria.</p> + +<p>From Vienna I went to Buda-Pesth, where I stayed at +the Hôtel Königin von England. On the evening of my +arrival, a gipsy band began playing during dinner, and +continued until long past midnight. They played in a +really wonderful manner, and collected a great deal of money. +I visited the “Nepsinház” and other theatres in Pesth, and +one evening went to a dancing-hall, where I saw the Csárdas +danced most beautifully, and made the acquaintance of +a young girl of fourteen or fifteen, named Tournay Wilma, +a pupil at the theatre, who had a lovely contralto voice. +She accompanied me back to my hôtel, and sang to me until +the small hours of the morning.</p> + +<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_232"></a>[232]</span></p> + +<p>I thought Buda-Pesth beautifully situated, with the +Emperor’s castle at Buda, and the Danube flowing between +the two towns, but I would have infinitely preferred to live +in Vienna, which is a far finer city. On my return there, I +went several times to the Opera to hear <i>Manfred</i>, <i>Don Juan</i> +and <i>Figaro’s Hochzeit</i>, and then, after calling on Herr Neuss +and his family, bade farewell to this most charming of capitals.</p> + +<p>I may mention that, during my stay in Vienna, I took +lessons on the zither from the celebrated Paschinger, who +was quite a brilliant performer on that instrument, besides +being a good violinist, and played the violin and occasionally +the zither at one of the principal theatres, where he was +first violinist. I also invested in a zither-table, which I +purchased at Kiendl’s, who made the best zithers in Europe.</p> + +<p>While in Vienna and Buda-Pesth, I was much impressed +by the appearance of the troops I saw. Among the cavalry, +which was then considered the finest in Europe, the Hussars +struck me as being remarkably well mounted, while the +officers’ uniform was very smart. The Dragoons, whose +officers were mostly of the nobility, as were those of the +Lancers, were also well mounted; while the Arciren Guards, +who corresponded to our Life Guards, were a fine body of +men, in green uniforms with red facings. There were at +this time, in the Austrian Army, sixteen regiments of Hussars, +the same number of Lancer regiments, and twelve regiments +of Dragoons. The Hussars were all Hungarians, the +Dragoons Austrians, and the Lancers Bohemians and +Poles. The infantry was also very fine, and the uniform of +the officers, though they wore no gold lace at all, very smart.</p> + +<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop"> + +<div class="chapter"> + +<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_233"></a>[233]</span></p> + +<h2 class="nobreak" id="CHAPTER_XXIV">CHAPTER XXIV</h2> + +<p class="center">Percy Hope-Johnstone—A “Special” to Aldershot—A Costume-Ball +at Folkestone</p> + +</div> + +<p>Soon after my return to Chatham, my company had +to go to Gravesend for a course of musketry. The +officers who went were Cramer, Gunning and myself. We +had to superintend the shooting of the men, though the +musketry instructor, a lieutenant named Hope-Johnstone, was +also present. Percy Hope-Johnstone, who was very popular +with everyone, was a fine, powerfully-built man, and a very +good shot, both with gun and rifle. He took great interest +in the men’s shooting, and was a most capable instructor. +He was the heir to a baronetcy, and in later years laid claim +to the peerage of Annandale, but his claim was not successful.</p> + +<p>One day, Hope-Johnstone lent me his horse on the range, +and the animal, not being accustomed to so light a weight, +bolted with me, and set off at a furious gallop through the +town. Fortunately, however, he soon ran himself out, and +stopped of his own accord.</p> + +<p>Hope-Johnstone often went with Gunning and myself +for walks in the country around Gravesend. On one occasion, +when we were sitting by the Thames, he said to us:—</p> + +<p>“Supposing neither of you had any money at all. What +would you do to learn a living?”</p> + +<p>Gunning replied that he should become an actor; and +they both said that they were sure that I could play the +zither at concerts, and make a good deal of money by this. +Then Hope-Johnstone remarked:—</p> + +<p>“I know what I should do. I am a very fine fellow, well-built, +rather imposing in appearance. Therefore, I should<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_234"></a>[234]</span> +be a footman, which is a devilish easy life, nothing to do +and plenty to eat and drink.”</p> + +<p>Hope-Johnstone told me that he had a younger brother +in the Guards, who had told him that he was not allowed +to recognize in London officers of other regiments whom he +had met in the country, unless he were introduced to them +in town, and the same rule applied to civilians whom an +officer of the Guards had met in the country. Hope-Johnstone +said he much preferred life in a Rifle regiment, as he +was far more free to do as he liked, and could obtain more +leave than a subaltern in the Guards. He intended retiring +from the Service so soon as he got his company, as he was +very well off.</p> + +<p>Allen, whose eccentricities I have mentioned elsewhere, +came to Gravesend with his company, and used to walk +about the town with his pockets full of sweets, which he +would give to any pretty children whom he happened to +meet. He brought with him a rather smart dog-cart and +some fine horses, and sometimes took me for a drive, during +which he used to entertain me with an account of the charms +of a young flower-girl at Folkestone, whom he had known +since she was quite a child, and whom he intended to marry, +although she was only sixteen and he was forty. He did +marry her, in fact, not long afterwards, when the Colonel +insisted on his exchanging into another battalion, stationed +in India. The officers’ wives called upon her, out of compassion, +it would seem, for the miserable life which she led. +For Allen was so fearfully jealous that he even went to the +length of locking the poor girl up in the house whenever he +went out. He was subsequently transferred to another +regiment, but his jealousy of his wife continued down to +the time of his death, which occurred soon after he had +been promoted major.</p> + +<p>When the musketry-course was over, I returned with my +company to Chatham. One day, I went with Cotton to +Southend, and we missed the last train back. Cotton said +that he must get back that night, as he was on duty next +morning, and asked the station-master if he could have a<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_235"></a>[235]</span> +special train, when that official said that, if we would keep +quiet, he would put us in a luggage-train, which was just +on the point of starting. We were put into a van, which +was half-filled with coal, and had anything but a pleasant +journey, as there was nothing but the floor—and the coal—to +sit upon. However, we reached our destination in the +early morning, in time for Cotton to assume his duties as +orderly officer.</p> + +<p>Cotton told me that once, when stationed at Aldershot, +he went up to town for the day, and missed the last train +back. A lieutenant in the Rifle Brigade, named Crofton, +who was in a like predicament, asked Cotton if he would +come with him in a “special,” which he had just ordered, +and the latter, of course, gladly consented. When they +were nearing Aldershot, Crofton said:—</p> + +<p>“I will send you your half of the bill for the ‘special’ +as soon as I get it. It will be a matter of forty pounds.”</p> + +<p>Cotton, however, did not see the force of this, as he had +quite understood that Crofton, who was a very rich man, +had invited him to come with him. Consequently, he +refused to pay any part of the bill.</p> + +<p>It was no wonder that Cotton occasionally missed trains, +for he was constantly late for parade, for mess, and, indeed, +for everything. One day, the Colonel, between whom and +Cotton there was little love lost, remarked:—</p> + +<p>“Cotton, you are always late; I am sure you will be late +for your own funeral!”</p> + +<p>Cotton, who was a grandson of Viscount Combermere, +and whose father, the Hon. Sir C. Stapleton-Cotton, was +a general of cavalry, died after the Zulu War of fever.</p> + +<p>Cotton and I often dined together at a small hôtel at +Rochester, which, if I am not mistaken, was the one where +Mr. Pickwick stayed on the night of the ball at Rochester, +described by Dickens. Occasionally we would converse in +French, which Cotton spoke well, though, singularly enough, +he had never been in France. At this hôtel, we occasionally +met two officers of the Rifle Brigade, Viscount Bennet, son +of the Earl of Tankerville, and Lord Torphichen, the last-named<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_236"></a>[236]</span> +officer an old Etonian, who would join us at dinner. +Lord Bennet’s mother was a French lady, and he used to +make very clever jokes in French, which, however, lost by +being repeated in English, on account of the <i>jeu de mots</i>.</p> + +<p>Not long after my return from Gravesend, I was sent +with Gunning to Dover, to go through a final course of +instruction there, before sitting for my lieutenant’s examination, +and attached to the 104th Regiment at the Shaft +Barracks. I was allotted a very comfortable room in the +barracks, and Colonel Græme, who was then commanding +the 104th, was very pleasant to me, as was a captain named +Hunter, with whom I soon became very friendly. Our +instruction, which was conducted by a Captain Savile, of +the Staff College, occupied most of the morning and part +of the afternoon, but by four o’clock we were generally +free. My friends, the Charltons, were still living in Victoria +Park, and naturally I lost no time in calling upon them. +They were very pleased to see me again, and talked a great +deal about poor Dillon, to whom, it appeared, Augusta, the +eldest daughter, had become engaged to be married just +before he met with his fatal accident. Ida, the second girl, +who seemed even prettier than when I had last seen her, +told me that she was engaged to a lieutenant in the 12th +Lancers named Beck, a very nice young fellow, who had +been with me at Sandhurst, and whom I had liked very +much there.</p> + +<p>Mrs. Charlton, as hospitable as ever, told me that I must +come to supper the following Sunday, and bring a friend with +me, as I used to do when poor Dillon was alive. I gladly +accepted her invitation, and asked Gunning to come with +me. But he excused himself, explaining that he was related +to the Charltons, but that, owing to some family quarrel, +his parents were not on good terms with them. I then asked +a lieutenant of the 7th Fusiliers, named Foley, who was +only too pleased to go. He fell in love with Augusta at +first sight, and he and I used to go every Sunday evening +to supper in Victoria Park.</p> + +<p>Foley, who was a nephew of Lord Foley, was a very nice<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_237"></a>[237]</span> +fellow indeed and a great friend of mine. He was very witty +and amusing, and not infrequently exercised his wit at the +expense of Gunning, who, though he rather fancied himself +at repartee, and could more than hold his own against most +people, invariably got the worst of it when he crossed swords +with Foley.</p> + +<p>While I was at Dover, a big fancy-dress ball took place at +Folkestone, to which Robartes, of the 11th Hussars, and I +went with the Charltons. It was a very smart affair indeed, +a number of people coming down from London for it, and +some of the costumes were very fine. One lady, the Hon. +Mrs. Yorke, whose husband was an officer in the Guards, +wore a Greek peasant girl’s costume, which was much admired. +Mrs. Yorke had, I think, the smallest feet for an Englishwoman +that I have ever seen, which the white trousers she +wore enabled her to display to advantage. Mrs. Charlton +wore some magnificent lace, which a lady with whom I +danced told me must be worth at least two or three hundred +pounds. When I happened later in the evening to mention +this to Mrs. Charlton, she exclaimed:—</p> + +<p>“Two or three hundred! The lace on my dress is worth +nearer three thousand. It is of Charles II.’s time.”</p> + +<p>It was nearly four o’clock in the morning before we left +the ball-room, having all enjoyed ourselves thoroughly. +Robartes and I were photographed with the girls a few days +later at Dover, they in the fancy dresses they had worn +at the ball, and we in our uniform.</p> + +<p>When our examination for the rank of lieutenant took place, +Foley and myself passed very well in the first class and had +our commissions ante-dated two years; Robartes, of the 11th +Hussars, and Gunning only succeeded in getting a “second.” +The examination was a very stiff one, and a major of the +104th remarked that it ought almost to have qualified us +for generals instead of lieutenants.</p> + +<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop"> + +<div class="chapter"> + +<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_238"></a>[238]</span></p> + +<h2 class="nobreak" id="CHAPTER_XXV">CHAPTER XXV</h2> + +<p class="center">The Oppenheims—St. James’s and Winchester—The Colonel and +Beauclerk</p> + +</div> + +<p>Shortly after I had passed my lieutenant’s examination, +I was sent to Woolwich, where a detachment +of my battalion was to do duty for the Horse Artillery. The +room I was given, which belonged to an officer of the R.H.A., +was a much better one than I had had in other barracks, +and was furnished with some attempt at luxury. In the +evening, I dined at the Royal Artillery mess, where their +very fine string band played an excellent selection of music, +under the direction of its Austrian bandmaster, Ritter von +Zauerthal. I was often on guard at Woolwich, which I +found very tiresome, as the guard was turned out at night +as well as by day, and, as my turn to be on guard came round +three times a week, it was pretty stiff work.</p> + +<p>While I was at Woolwich, a very smart ball was given at +the barracks, which was highly successful, the great variety +of uniforms and the toilettes of the ladies combining to make +an unusually pretty scene, and an excellent supper being +provided. To this ball I invited my old Eton friend, Jim +Doyne, who, seeing all the men in uniform, mistook an +officer who had come in evening dress for a waiter, and asked +him to fetch an ice for a lady. The officer, however, took the +mistake in very good part, and did as he was asked, remarking +as he handed the ice to the lady, whom he happened to +know:—</p> + +<p>“I am very pleased to make myself useful, and, as I have +come in evening clothes instead of in uniform, I can quite +understand your partner taking me for a waiter.”</p> + +<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_239"></a>[239]</span></p> + +<p>During my visit to Vienna, Herr Neuss had given me a +letter of introduction to Frau Oppenheim, the wife of a +wealthy wine-merchant in London, who, before her marriage, +when she was known as Louise Epstein, had been an actress +at the Burg Theatre, and had been considered the most +beautiful woman in the Austrian capital. I called upon +her and found her very charming, though few traces of the +beauty which had captivated so many hearts, including, +it was said, that of a British Ambassador, now remained. +Her husband, an immensely stout man, invited me to dinner +and gave me a most excellent one, <i>arrosé</i> with his choicest +wines. In return, I invited the Oppenheims to lunch +with me at Woolwich, and asked a lieutenant of my battalion +named Featherstone to meet them. Featherstone, I am +afraid, was somewhat disappointed with Madame’s looks, +as he had been expecting to see a much younger woman.</p> + +<p>After lunch, which was served in a private room at the +mess, Herr Oppenheim expressed a wish to see the 80-ton +gun fired for the first time, but I told him that it was impossible, +as he was a foreigner. However, he protested that +he had lived so many years in England that he had almost +come to look upon himself as an Englishman, and at length +he persuaded me to take him. When the great gun was +fired, the worthy wine-merchant was so alarmed that he +staggered backwards, exclaiming: “<i>Ach, du lieber Gott!</i>” +And had it not been for a man standing by, who supported +him in his arms, and whom his weight nearly upset, he would +have fallen down.</p> + +<p>When I invited a friend to dine with me at the Artillery +mess, as I frequently did, I was obliged to be there to receive +him; otherwise, he would not be admitted. On my inquiring +the reason for this rule, I was told that one evening a man +presented himself at the mess, saying that he had been +asked to dine by a certain officer, whose name he gave. The +officer in question did not put in an appearance, and when +dinner was announced, his supposed friend was invited to +sit down to table, which he did. Presently, the attention +of one of the mess-waiters was attracted by the singular<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_240"></a>[240]</span> +behaviour of this individual, who was calmly pocketing as +many spoons and forks as he could lay his hands on, whenever +he fancied that he was unobserved. The mess-waiter +reported these proceedings to the mess-president, and the +man was at once given in charge, when it was discovered +that he was a well-known thief. The Artillery mess was +a very large one, from two hundred to three hundred officers +sitting down to table, many of whom brought guests with +them. Consequently, they had to be very careful, as there +was always so much silver lying about.</p> + +<p>As it was summer, I frequently went up to London by +steam-boat, which was a very pleasant way of making the +journey. My companion on these river-trips was a lieutenant +of my battalion, named Ernest Hovell Thurlow, an +exceedingly nice fellow, who wore an eyeglass and appeared +to take life in a very philosophical manner, as he never +allowed himself to be put out by anything. He was a grandson +of Lord Thurlow, and his mother had been a Miss Lethbridge. +He was married, but his wife, a very pretty woman +with wavy, golden hair, was staying in town for the +season.</p> + +<p>After we had been some months at Woolwich, our detachment +received orders to relieve the Grenadier Guards at St. +James’s Palace. We detrained at Waterloo Station and +marched to the Palace, in front of which the band of the +Grenadiers was playing while the guard was being mounted. +Our Colonel, who had come up to town expressly for this +ceremony, and was in plain clothes, sent me to tell the Grenadiers’ +band to stop playing, at which the bandmaster, Dan +Godfrey, appeared to be rather surprised. However, he +obeyed the order, when the band of our battalion played +in its turn, after which the guard was relieved.</p> + +<p>I had a very comfortable room in St. James’s Palace, +where I slept while I was on guard there, and, with the other +officers, was made an honorary member of the Guards’ Club. +I found the duties rather fatiguing, as the sentries to be +visited were so far apart. The officers of the Guards always +visited them in hansom-cabs, but Captain Tufton, who was<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_241"></a>[241]</span> +in command of our detachment, would not allow me this +luxury, and I had to go on foot.</p> + +<p>I invited Jim Doyne to dine with me one evening at the +Palace. The dinner was excellent, and was provided free +of cost to the officers, though they had to pay 15s. for each +guest. The champagne was very good and the liqueurs +as well, and a bottle of brandy was opened which was of the +year of the Battle of Waterloo. Amongst the guests was a +Lieutenant Childe-Pemberton, who was formerly in our +regiment, but was then in the “Blues.”</p> + +<p>After I had been a short time at St. James’s Palace, my +battalion was ordered to the Tower. But the Colonel, who +had a good deal of influence at the War Office, persuaded +them to countermand this order and send it to Winchester +instead, where the detachment from St. James’s joined it.</p> + +<p>I had very comfortable quarters at Winchester, and life +there was very pleasant, as the country round was very +pretty, and we were invited to all the best houses in the +neighbourhood. One of the most pleasant houses to which +I went was that of Lady Frederick. It was a charming old +residence, standing in the midst of beautiful grounds, +and Lady Frederick and her son were most kind and +hospitable.</p> + +<p>The depôt of the Rifle Brigade was also at Winchester, +and the officers, some of whom were very nice fellows indeed, +frequently dined at our mess. Amongst them was a Lieutenant +F. Howard, whose acquaintance I had made on the +troopship returning from India, and whom I was very pleased +to meet again. He told me that he was now married and +invited me to dine with him and his wife. I did so, and had +a most pleasant evening, as both the Howards were very +musical, Mrs. Howard having a very good voice, while her +husband was quite an accomplished pianist.</p> + +<p>Sir George Nares, the Arctic explorer, was living at Winchester +at the time with his wife and daughters. I made their +acquaintance at a dance, and was often invited to tea at their +house, after which I used to play tennis or croquet with the two +girls, both of whom were very good-looking, or go with them<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_242"></a>[242]</span> +for a country-walk. Sometimes when I called Sir George +Nares would ask me to have a glass of madeira, from one +of the remaining bottles of a case of that wine which had +made the voyage with him. He did not show any traces +of the privations which he had endured in the Arctic; but +he was a very quiet man, who did not talk much and kept +a good deal to himself. Not long after I came to Winchester, +the family removed to a house near Surbiton, where they +invited me to visit them. While I was there, the elder +daughter met with a very sad accident. She was running +downstairs, when the heel of her shoe caught in a stair-rod +and she fell on her back, injuring her spine so badly that she +died six months later. She was only eighteen. Her younger +sister married a missionary some years later, and went out +to South Africa.</p> + +<p>Several officers from the 2nd Battalion, with which I +had served in India, were at the depôt, including Surgeon-Major +Macnamara, Beauclerk, Lovett, and a captain named +Brownrigg. Brownrigg was a fine-looking man, though with +a tendency to <i>embonpoint</i>, and a very nice fellow as well, but +he had an unfortunate weakness for liqueurs. He used to +mix two or three together, and whenever anyone came to +see him would invite them to have “a two-bottle trick” +or “a three-bottle trick” with him. Brownrigg married not +long afterwards and left the Service, but died suddenly, +six months later. Probably, the two and three bottle +tricks in which he was so fond of indulging had undermined +his health.</p> + +<p>It was rarely that the officers went up to town from Winchester, +as the journey was rather too long, and there was +plenty of amusement to be found in and around Winchester. +The music at the cathedral had a great attraction for me, +and I was never tired of listening to the magnificent playing +of the organist, Dr. Arnold. I took lessons in composition +from Dr. Arnold, which interested me very much, although +Howard declared that he could not understand anyone +wishing to be initiated into the mysteries of harmony and +counterpoint; which, he said, was a kind of higher mathematics<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_243"></a>[243]</span> +and destroyed the illusion which music produces +on the senses.</p> + +<p>The Colonel was his own absolute master at Winchester, +as there was no general there to look after him, and gave +himself and his battalion a rest, the parades being few and +far between and the guards easy. Except for pottering about +the mess-room and his work at the orderly-room of a morning +our chief had little to do, and, from want of some better +occupation, made himself more than usually objectionable +to such of the officers as he did not happen to like. Beauclerk, +who had been at the depôt for some time, was transferred +to our battalion, at which I was very pleased, as he +was a very nice fellow and a perfect gentleman, though a +little inclined to be conceited. Unfortunately, the Colonel +at once took a dislike to Beauclerk, owing to some jesting +remark which the latter let fall while playing billiards with +him, which he considered was wanting in respect, though +any ordinary person would have seen nothing offensive +in it. Next day, the chief appointed him to Robinson’s +company, well knowing that Beauclerk would never tolerate +the manner in which that eccentric personage was in the habit +of treating his subalterns, whom he seldom condescended to +address except to find fault with them, which he did in not +the politest of language. Sure enough, one fine day, Beauclerk +complained to the Colonel of the language which “Rabelais” +had used towards him, and when the Colonel refused +to listen to him, sent in his papers, which was, of course, +just what our amiable chief wanted him to do. He was a +great loss to the regiment, and his retirement was much +regretted.</p> + +<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop"> + +<div class="chapter"> + +<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_244"></a>[244]</span></p> + +<h2 class="nobreak" id="CHAPTER_XXVI">CHAPTER XXVI</h2> + +<p class="center">Paris Again—Eccentricities of Captain “Rabelais”—A Fire in +Barracks—A Trying Inspection</p> + +</div> + +<p>My next winter leave I spent in Paris with my parents, +who now occupied an <i>appartement</i> at No. 65, Rue +de Morny, Champs-Elysées, and, as the winter season in the +French capital was in full swing, had a very gay time of it. +Among the balls to which I went was one given by Mrs. +Hungerford, the mother of the well-known Mrs. Mackay, +which was a very grand affair indeed, and at which dancing +was kept up until nearly five in the morning. I met Mrs. +Mackay shortly afterwards, when calling on Mrs. Hungerford. +She spoke Spanish quite fluently, and was at this time very +intimate with Isabella, the ex-Queen of Spain, to whose house +she was often invited. She was, as usual, beautifully dressed, +and in the most perfect taste. Another ball I attended was +given by Mrs. Keogh, an Irish lady, where I danced the +cotillon with a very lovely young Russian girl, a cousin of +the Empress of Russia, who, together with her sister, was made +a great deal of at that time in Paris society. I also went to +a <i>bal-masqué</i> at the Opéra with an American friend named +Willing. There was a great crowd there, all the women +being, of course, masked and in fancy costumes. I went +into Baron Alphonse de Rothschild’s box to pay my respects +to Madame Adelsdorfer, a great friend of Lady Holland, +with whom she stayed when in London, and she invited me +to accompany her on the following evening to the “Italiens,” +where we heard Albani sing in <i>La Sonnambula</i>. I was +delighted with Albani’s voice and also with her acting.</p> + +<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_245"></a>[245]</span></p> + +<p>Another evening, I went to see Salvini in <i>La Morte civile</i>, +by Giacometti. Mlle. Masini, a young girl, played the part +of the daughter, whom Salvini tries to kiss when he dies. +She offers up a prayer for him on her knees, which so affected +the audience that nearly the whole house was in tears. I +saw Salvini on two other occasions: in <i>Il Gladiatore</i>, when +I sat next to a very pretty girl, who pointed out to me a +middle-aged man with a grey beard, whom she told me was +Alphonse Daudet, the celebrated novelist, and again in +<i>Othello</i>, when Mlle. Checchi Bozzo played Desdemona. She +and Salvini acted magnificently and delighted everyone. +Mlle. Checchi Bozzo died suddenly two days after I had seen +her in <i>Othello</i>; she was only twenty-two, and her death +caused a great sensation in Paris.</p> + +<p>Amongst other plays which I saw were Madame de Girardin’s +<i>la Joie fait Peur</i>, Alfred de Musset’s <i>Il ne faut jurer +de rien</i>, and Augier’s <i>Philiberte</i>, at the Théâtre-Français, +in all of which the acting was admirable, and a very amusing +piece called <i>la Boule</i>, by Meilhac and Halévy, at the Théâtre-du +Palais-Royal.</p> + +<p>One Sunday afternoon I went to Pasdeloup’s concert, +where they played the <i>Septuor</i> of Beethoven beautifully. +The greatest attraction there was Sivori, who performed a +violin solo in the most wonderful manner. Sivori was +Paganini’s best pupil, and Lord Berkeley used to say that +he preferred Sivori to any violinist he had ever heard, as he +always played with so much feeling, and eschewed those +complicated pieces which resemble gymnastic exercises +for the fingers, and serve no better purpose than to enable +the violinist to display his execution.</p> + +<p>At the Grand Opéra I heard <i>l’Africaine</i>, of Meyerbeer, +which was marvellously well-staged. Madame Krauss sang +the title-part. She was an Austrian, from Vienna, but sang +at the Paris Opéra for years, and was quite famous there. +I also heard <i>Robert le Diable</i>—or rather part of it, for my +father, who was with me, could not sit it out. So we adjourned +to Thorpe’s, where we met Tom Hohler, whom I have mentioned +earlier in this volume, and remained talking to him<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_246"></a>[246]</span> +for some time. Tom Hohler was now married to Henrietta, +Duchess of Newcastle, and they lived in the Avenue d’Antin.</p> + +<p>While in Paris, I visited a great many old friends, including +Eugénie de Lavaile and Gabrielle Tercin, with whom I went +one evening to the Scala and supped with them afterwards +at a neighbouring restaurant. Another evening, I went +with the former to the Folies Dramatiques to see <i>les Cloches +de Cornéville</i>, in which Juliette Girard acted and sang remarkably +well and was very graceful. I also renewed my +acquaintance with Mrs. Michell and her daughter, whom I +had not seen since I was at Marienbad, and whom I came +across one day while walking on the Boulevards, and with +the Vicomte Arthur d’Assailly, whom I had met in India. +The Vicomte lived in the Rue Las Cases, and was a member +of the Jockey Club, but he preferred les Mirlitons, he told +me, as they gave many evening entertainments, and he was +passionately fond of music.</p> + +<p class="tb">When my leave was up, I rejoined my battalion at Aldershot, +to which it had been transferred from Winchester. +It had originally been ordered to the Tower of London, +but the Colonel, as on a previous occasion, had used his influence +at the War Office to get this order countermanded, +to the great disgust of most of the officers. However, our +chief rarely condescended to consult the wishes of anyone +but himself in such matters.</p> + +<p>On my arrival at Aldershot, I was summoned to the +orderly-room by the Colonel, who told me that I had somewhat +exceeded my leave, to which I merely replied:—</p> + +<p>“Indeed, sir!”</p> + +<p>The other officers present, amused at this laconic answer, +burst out laughing, at which the Colonel looked very black +indeed. His temper, I soon learned, had not improved +since the battalion had removed to Aldershot, as he found +things there very far from what he had expected. He was +not nearly so much his own master as he had been at Winchester; +the constant parades irritated him, and he lived +in perfect dread of the field-days, as he was constantly being<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_247"></a>[247]</span> +reprimanded by the Brigadier-General in command, for not +knowing his work. These reprimands he endeavoured to +pass off on to the majors and captains, telling them that +they did not attend sufficiently to their duties; but everyone +knew with whom the fault lay.</p> + +<p>Much to the Colonel’s annoyance, both Allen and Smith +had now got their companies. Thanks to the former’s +fidelity to his Folkestone beauty, he succeeded in getting +rid of him, telling him that it would be simply impossible +for him to remain in the battalion after making such a +<i>mésalliance</i>. But he had no excuse for getting rid of Smith, +and so was obliged to put up with him, though he lost no +opportunity of showing his dislike; and it was remarked +that when offenders from Smith’s company were brought +before him, they were always more severely punished than +those from other companies. Smith, however, took it all +very philosophically, observing that, as the Colonel could +not remain in command for ever, he did not intend to gratify +him by leaving the battalion.</p> + +<p>Neither could our chief succeed in ridding himself of Robinson, +whose eccentricities caused him great annoyance. +Since the arrival of the battalion at Aldershot, “Rabelais” +had taken to sitting out of doors on warm days, arrayed in +a flaming red dressing-gown, with feet and legs quite bare +save for a pair of slippers, much to the disgust of some ladies, +who had frequently to pass by his quarters. The matter +was reported to the Colonel, who exclaimed angrily:—</p> + +<p>“Confound that Robinson! What can I do with such +a creature? He is a disgrace to my battalion!”</p> + +<p>Nevertheless, he did not dare to interfere with him personally, +but deputed the adjutant to remonstrate with him. +“Rabelais,” however, received that officer with such a +volley of oaths that he beat a precipitate retreat.</p> + +<p>Whenever Robinson wrote to me or anyone, he did so on +note-paper in the corner of which was a picture of the devil +in bright red, with black wings, seated upon a swing, and the +same device adorned the envelope. Like Ludwig of Bavaria, +he would only speak to some people from behind a screen in<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_248"></a>[248]</span> +his sitting-room. His sergeants, his subalterns and even +the adjutant, he would receive in this way, unless one of them +happened to come on some important business, when he +would occasionally condescend to reveal himself. His unfortunate +subalterns, if they were not to his liking, positively +trembled before him, and generally ended, like Beauclerk, +by sending in their papers.</p> + +<p>One of his subalterns, whom I recollect “Rabelais” treated +particularly badly, was a very nice fellow named Crawley, +who had lately joined. Crawley, however, put up with it, +though when the battalion was ordered to South Africa +on active service, he exchanged into the Coldstream Guards +with an officer who was killed in the first engagement. In +after years, Crawley commanded a battalion of the Coldstreams, +and died of wounds received in the Boer +War.</p> + +<p>There was a good deal of society in and around Aldershot, +and the officers of my battalion were invited out a great +deal, but our duties soon grew so heavy that we were obliged +to decline nearly all the invitations we received. Colonel +Wellesley, the governor of the military prison, and his wife +used to give very pleasant garden-parties, at which, as we +had not far to go, we were generally able to be present. +The Colonel, who was then an old man, was an uncle of the +Duke of Wellington, and Mrs. Wellesley was a most charming +woman. They had several daughters, who were very good-looking +girls, and an only son, Cecil Wellesley, a little boy +about eleven years old.</p> + +<p>A General Smythe, a retired officer of the Artillery, who +lived with his wife and daughter in a large house at Aldershot, +with extensive grounds attached to it, also used to give +garden-parties, which were always well attended. The +Smythes were very hospitable people, and everything was +admirably arranged, including the refreshment department, +of which the champagne-cup was a feature. Their daughter +was a remarkably fine tennis-player, and could, as a rule, +beat any officer who opposed her. She played in a short +skirt reaching just below the knee, and wore a collar and<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_249"></a>[249]</span> +tie and a man’s cap—a costume which suited her very well, +as she had a good figure and beautifully-shaped legs, but +was, in those days, considered a rather bold one for a woman +to adopt. Miss Smythe was not only a fine tennis-player, +but a most accomplished musician. When quite a young +girl, she had studied singing and composition at Dresden, +under the direction of Madame Schumann, who declared +that she had never had a pupil with so wonderful an ear +for music, as she could sing the scales without a piano in every +possible key, without the slightest fault. She was also an +excellent horsewoman and a very bold one, and Holled-Smith, +who used often to go for rides with her, told me that +she would put her horse at jumps that made him even think +twice before he ventured upon them, although he followed +the hounds regularly when his duties permitted. Some +people thought that he and Miss Smythe would make a match +of it, as they were so much together, but they remained merely +friends, and Holled-Smith eventually married another lady.</p> + +<p class="tb">One night, I was awakened by Cotton, who told me that +the fire-bugle had sounded. Pulling our great-coats over +our night-shirts, we ran towards the place where the fire had +broken out, and found that it was in the stables, which were +soon almost gutted. Two of Allfrey’s hunters were burned +to death, for though we endeavoured to save the unfortunate +animals, it was quite impossible. Indeed, we had all our +work cut out to prevent the fire from spreading to the +adjacent buildings, but, with the aid of some men with the +fire-hose, we succeeded in doing this.</p> + +<p>During Ascot week Bagot drove our coach from Aldershot +to Ascot and back, while I sat on the box-seat and occasionally +took a turn with the ribbons. Bagot was a first-rate +whip and the best in the battalion, though Allfrey and Cotton +were by no means to be despised. We lunched at the Greenjackets’ +tent, which was for the members of both Rifle +regiments, where I entertained my father and Sir George +Wombwell and his party. Among the party was the Hon. +Mrs. Crichton, whom I had met at Dover, and I was pleased<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_250"></a>[250]</span> +at seeing again Savile Lumley, afterwards Lord Savile, who +had been at Eton with me.</p> + +<p>Among the Line regiments stationed at Aldershot was one +commanded by Lieut.-Colonel Deane, brother-in-law of Lord +Falmouth, who frequently used to dine at our mess, as a +guest of our chief. Lord Falmouth owned some of the best +racehorses in England, and had won both the Derby and +St. Leger. But he disliked betting, and Colonel Deane told +us that the only bet he had ever had in his life was one of +sixpence with his housekeeper. He lost, and, in payment +of the bet, gave her the sixpence set in brilliants for a brooch.</p> + +<p>There were several cavalry regiments at Aldershot, including +the 8th Hussars and the 16th and 17th Lancers. +The 16th Lancers had a circus, composed of officers and men, +which used to give performances which were highly successful; +in fact, it was almost as good as a professional circus. +Taaffe, whom I had met on my way out to India, was with +the 16th at Aldershot, and we used frequently to dine at one +another’s messes.</p> + +<p>When in town, I constantly met old Eton friends and +acquaintances, chiefly officers in the Guards. The Hon. +Alfred Egerton, who was at that time a lieutenant in the +Grenadier Guards, was a particular friend of mine and I saw +a good deal of him. Egerton told me that his colonel, Prince +Edward of Saxe-Weimar, had refused to allow his battalion +to comply with a senseless order during the manœuvres at +Aldershot on a day of almost tropical heat. Other commanding +officers, however, had not the courage to follow +his example, with the result that a great number of men +got sunstroke. In those days, the Aldershot manœuvres +took place in the height of summer, instead of, as now, in +the autumn. Several battalions of the Guards and the +“Blues” were sent to Aldershot for the manœuvres, and +amongst the Eton friends whom I met was Lord Edward +Somerset, who had exchanged from the 23rd Royal Welsh +Fusiliers into the “Blues,” where he was very popular.</p> + +<p>The day the troops were inspected by the Duke of Cambridge +rain fell in torrents. The troops had to assemble<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_251"></a>[251]</span> +on parade in the early morning in full uniform without overcoats, +and to wait, standing at ease, for fully two hours in +the midst of the most drenching rain until the Duke arrived. +Many men suffered afterwards from the effects of that deluge. +I was one of them, as shortly afterwards, I was laid up with +a severe attack of rheumatic fever, which has affected my +heart ever since.</p> + +<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop"> + +<div class="chapter"> + +<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_252"></a>[252]</span></p> + +<h2 class="nobreak" id="CHAPTER_XXVII">CHAPTER XXVII</h2> + +<p class="hanging">Madrid and Cordova—Seville—General von Goeben and the Bull-fight—A +View from the Alhambra—I rejoin my Regiment</p> + +</div> + +<p>I spent my winter leave in Paris, where I suffered +more or less all the time from rheumatism of the heart, +for which I took a good many Turkish baths, without, however, +obtaining much relief. My doctor told me that it +would be unwise to return to Aldershot when my leave +was up, and advised me to spend the rest of the winter in +Spain. Accordingly, I went before a medical board in +London, one of the members of which was Surgeon-Major +Clarke, of the Royal Horse Artillery, whom I had known +in India, and was granted three months’ sick leave. I returned +to Paris with my father, who had accompanied me +to London, and Lord Henry Paget (afterwards Marquis of +Anglesey), and on the following evening left the Gare +d’Orléans for Madrid.</p> + +<p>After two nights and a day in the train, I reached Madrid, +which, as it was carnival time, was very gay. I took a room +at the Hôtel de Paris, and after breakfast called on Doña +Queñones de Léon, who lived in a huge house like a palace, +and who received me in a drawing-room, in the centre of +which a small fountain was playing. In the evening, I +visited the Opera, but was not very favourably impressed +by, the performance. The following day, through the good +offices of the Marquis de San Carlos, I was able to visit the +Royal Stables and the Armeria, with which I was quite +delighted. Afterwards I walked in the Prado, which was +crowded with carriages, all the occupants of which were +masked. Some of the carriages were drawn by mules, and<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_253"></a>[253]</span> +a few by donkeys. In the evening, I dined with the Marquis +de San Carlos, when I met Doña Queñones de Léon and two +daughters of Queen Christina and a daughter of the Marquis. +The next day I visited the Museum, and then went again +to the Prado, where I saw the King and princesses in an open +carriage. The crush was so great that one could hardly +move. After dinner, I visited Señora Queñones de Léon, +with whom I found the Marquis de San Carlos and his sons, +and, at their request, played some airs on the zither.</p> + +<p>From Madrid I went to Cordova, where I stayed at the +Hôtel Suiza. Cordova is an interesting town, containing, +as it does, so much Moorish architecture. Some of the streets +are so narrow that there is barely room for two people to +walk abreast, and it is infested by hordes of beggars, mostly +children in an almost nude condition. The smallness of +their hands and feet betray their Moorish origin.</p> + +<p>After spending a couple of days at Cordova and visiting the +Cathedral, with its pillars of porphyry, I took the train for +Seville, where I put up at the Hôtel des Quatre Nations. At +dinner that evening I sat next to a young man who, I afterwards +learned, was a son of the President of Brazil. As I +intended to remain for some time at Seville, I looked out +for a <i>casa de huespedes</i> (boarding-house), which I found in the +Plaza Nueva. The Plaza Nueva is the finest square in +Seville, and contains a great number of orange-trees, which +at night and early morning throw out the most delicious +fragrance imaginable. My rooms overlooked the Plaza, and +at times the perfume of the orange-blossoms, which the +Spaniards call “<i>azahár</i>,” was so overpowering that one felt +almost intoxicated.</p> + +<p>The <i>casa de huespedes</i> was kept by three young girls—sisters—of +the name of De Larriva, who told me that they +would teach me Spanish. The youngest, who was called +Manuela, was a very pretty brunette of seventeen, with +jet-black hair, beautiful white teeth, and those peculiar black +eyes which are rarely seen except in the South. She it was +who gave me the most instruction, for, though her two +sisters spoke French fairly well, while Manuela spoke no<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_254"></a>[254]</span> +language but her own, she was by far the prettiest of the +trio, and I not unnaturally preferred being taught by her. +She began by telling me the names of the parts of the face, +and gradually taught me to pay all kinds of compliments. +By her advice, I took some lessons, besides, from a professional +teacher of the language.</p> + +<p>Life at this <i>casa de huespedes</i> was very pleasant, apart +from the food, which, to an English palate, was detestable, +for every dish was prepared with olive-oil, and even the +poached eggs tasted of it. The butter was imported from +Holland and the milk condensed. I lived chiefly on oranges, +for I found nearly everything else unpleasant to the taste. +We used to sit down twenty-five to dinner, as a number +of Artillery officers from the garrison were in the habit +of dining there.</p> + +<p>Among my fellow-guests was an Englishman of seventy, +a Mr. Heaviside, who had come to Seville on purpose to +learn to read “Don Quixote” in the original old Spanish. +Manuela used to tease him, by encouraging him to speak +Spanish, of which he knew very little. I often went with +him to a café of an evening to hear the <i>bandhurria</i> played +with the piano, and occasionally I went for a walk with the +sisters De Larriva in the fine gardens of the Paseo, where +there were many tropical plants growing out in the open +air, and lemon and orange trees perfumed the atmosphere +deliciously.</p> + +<p>An officer whom I knew, Surgeon-Major Orton, happened +to be spending his leave at Seville, and with him I went to +visit the Museum, with its lovely pictures by Murillo, and the +Alcazar, with which we were delighted, the walls being +covered with beautiful designs in the style of the Alhambra. +I also visited the Giralda, the view from which is very fine, +the Carridad, where there were many pictures by Murillo +and exquisite wood-carvings by Rollas, and the cathedral, +which is one of the largest in the world.</p> + +<p>During the winter the <i>patio</i>, or courtyard, of the houses +in Seville is but little used, but when spring comes, people +spend a great part of their time there. When Spaniards<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_255"></a>[255]</span> +get together they invariably dance with castanet accompaniments. +Sometimes they dance the Seguidillas, the +Sevillana, or the Fandango, which is very pretty to watch, +as both men and women dance with so much <i>élan</i>. This +is very much the custom, even in aristocratic houses, the +looker-on applauding and exclaiming: “<i>Ollé, graziosa, muy +bien, ollé, ollé!</i>” when one of the girls attempts some +unusual feat.</p> + +<p>One evening I went with some of the people at the boarding-house +to the Calle Trajano to see the dancing there. An +exceedingly pretty little girl, of ten or eleven, though she +appeared much older, with black hair, dressed like a Spanish +woman, with a number of curls round the face, danced with +a man dancer the “<i>torrero y la Malagueña</i>.” In which dance +she displayed all the marvellous art of a <i>première danseuse</i>, +dancing on her points and executing the most difficult <i>entrechats</i>, +<i>battements</i> and <i>pas de chat</i>, which would have done +credit to a dancer double her age. Then, suddenly, she +darted across the room, with her handkerchief in her hand, +and before I had time to realize what had happened she had +thrown the handkerchief into my lap and rushed away +again. Somewhat embarrassed, I inquired of those sitting +near me what I was supposed to do, and was told that I was +expected to put some money into it, and that the little <i>danseuse</i> +would come and fetch it. After the performance, I spoke +to the little girl, who told me that her name was Salud, and +asked me to come and see her. I went the following day, +when she danced for me and gave me her photograph. Afterwards, +I often went to the Calle Trajano of an evening, where +I sometimes danced with the Spanish girls, and on one occasion +danced a polka-mazurka with Salud.</p> + +<p>During Holy Week and the “Feria,” which followed +it, Seville was crowded with visitors, and the prices at +the hôtels and <i>casas de huespedes</i> were all increased. +Among the visitors who came to my boarding-house was +General von Goeben, who commanded a division of the +German Army in the Franco-German War of 1870, and +after whom the notorious battleship of Dardanelles fame<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_256"></a>[256]</span> +was named, and the Marquis de Rampa, an immensely wealthy +Spanish nobleman, and his daughter. I sat next to the +daughter, who was quite a young girl, at table, and was +obliged to make what play I could with my Spanish, as she +spoke no other language.</p> + +<p>The processions which took place day and night during +Holy Week were very imposing. Images of the Virgin Mary +figured in all of them. The trains of the dresses, which +were of immense length and generally of blue or violet velvet, +must have cost thousands of pounds, as they were most +exquisitely embroidered with gold and silver lace, diamonds, +rubies, emeralds and pearls. They were carried by young +girls. On Palm Sunday, the people who took part in the +procession were dressed in black, with their faces covered, and +palm-branches in their hands. On Holy Thursday, I went +to the Cathedral to see the Archbishop of Seville wash the +feet of the poor. There was a tremendous crush, and Baron +von Münchhausen, a Bavarian nobleman, who was with me, +had his gold watch stolen.</p> + +<p>The “Feria” was a very pretty sight. All the principal +families in Seville took part in it, each having a separate +tent, in which they entertained their friends and sold various +objects, somewhat after the fashion of our charity bazaars. +In some of these tents the saleswomen were young girls, gorgeously +dressed in red and yellow satin embroidered with +white lace and wearing white lace mantillas. To most +of the tents you had to receive an invitation before you were +allowed to enter, when you were offered chocolate or coffee, +and, in those belonging to rich families, champagne and other +wines, the buffets being laid out with a great display of +silver plate and flowers. In the evening, the different families +visited each other’s tents, and the dancing of Fandangos, +Boleros and Seguidillas was kept up until past midnight.</p> + +<p>The Carrerras de Caballos (Horse Show) was held in +another part of the grounds. Here I met Lord Torphichen, +of the Rifle Brigade, who had come from Gibraltar, where +his battalion was stationed. He was very surprised to +see me, as few British officers ever visited Seville.</p> + +<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_257"></a>[257]</span></p> + +<p>One of the chief attractions of the “Feria” was the bull-fight, +to which all the ladies of Seville went, wearing white +mantillas and their choicest jewels. I went with Baron +von Münchhausen and General von Goeben. But the latter +took his departure very early, observing that, though he had +seen a great deal of bloodshed during the Franco-German War, +he felt quite faint and could not possibly stand any more +of such a disgusting spectacle. On my return to the boarding-house, +Manuela inquired if I had not been delighted with +the bull-fight, saying that it was the grandest sight in Spain +and that nothing gave her so much pleasure. I told her +that I thought it very cruel to the unfortunate horses, when +she rejoined that, “they were old screws and no longer of +any use.” I remarked that that did not prevent them +suffering, upon which she said that hunting was equally +cruel, and that it was a matter of prejudice and nothing +else.</p> + +<p>“Besides,” added she, “racing is cruel on the horses, +some people say.”</p> + +<p>After that I saw that it was useless to pursue the argument +further.</p> + +<p>During the “Feria,” the ladies of Seville dressed in colours, +but at other times most women and girls wore black. There +were some very pretty women in Seville, but the beauties +were generally to be found among the lower classes, most of +whom have Moorish blood in their veins, which gives them +a darker complexion, but also smaller features and very +tiny hands and feet. Théophile Gautier observes that there +is nothing more charming than the foot of an Andalusian +woman, which makes even that of a Frenchwoman appear +large.</p> + +<p>During my stay at Seville, I paid a visit to Cadiz. The +approach to Cadiz is perfectly lovely and has often been +compared to the approach to Constantinople. Seen from a +distance, the town appears to be built of the most exquisitely +white marble; while the sea, which seems to surround it, is +of a beautiful sapphire, which rivals in loveliness the heavens +above, though, as it was early morning, the colour of the sky<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_258"></a>[258]</span> +was more like that of the turquoise. This illusion is destroyed, +however, when one enters Cadiz, as many of the houses are +very far from being of the snowy whiteness which distance +had lent to them.</p> + +<p>At Cadiz, where I put up at the Hôtel des Quatre Nations, +I came across a Mr. Rueff, whom I had met at Cordova, +and in his company explored the town and visited several +of the churches, where Mr. Rueff was much interested in the +wood-carving, some of which was of exquisite workmanship. +The day before returning to Seville, I went with Mr. Rueff +by rail to Jerez, where we visited the wine cellars of Señor +Misa, who supplied my own and most of the best regiments +in England with wine. Señor Misa invited us to taste some +of his best wines, including one which was bottled in the +year of the Battle of Waterloo. He told us that it was +sold at £3 the bottle, but it never left the country.</p> + +<p>Mr. Rueff accompanied me back to Seville, and together +we visited the Fondacion, where the cannons are made, +and the Casa de Pilatus, the supposed house of Pontius Pilate. +A few days later, I paid a visit to Granada, where the red +hills and grey rocks and the elm trees with their massive +foliage formed an agreeable contrast to the flat and barren +country around Seville. On entering the Alhambra, I was +fortunate enough to make the acquaintance of two English +ladies, one of whom was married to a Portuguese nobleman +and lived in the Alhambra. These ladies very kindly +volunteered to show me all over the Alhambra and explain +everything to me, an offer which I gladly accepted. The +Alhambra reminded me to some extent of the Alcazar at +Seville, as it is built in the same style of Moorish architecture, +though on a much larger and grander scale. The Court of +Lions and the adjacent rooms are exquisitely constructed, and +the marvellous decoration of the walls, with their blending +of colours and intricate designs, impart a magnificence to +the “<i>tout ensemble</i>” almost impossible to describe.</p> + +<p>One of the most exquisite views I can remember, I had +when the sun was setting from one of the windows of the +Alhambra, from which I could see the mountains of the<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_259"></a>[259]</span> +Sierra Nevada, with their summits covered in snow. The +colours which the sun’s declining rays imparted to the clouds +were of all the various shades of the opal, making some +of the tiny clouds appear like roses in the heavens, and the +heavens themselves as though on fire. Then gradually the +colours became more subdued, and every shade melted away, +from the deepest red to the most delicate violet, leaving here +and there a bunch of roses, which resembled in their pale +<i>nuance</i> the Souvenir à la Malmaison or Blanche Laffitte. +This was the effect of the after-glow.</p> + +<p>The next day, the two ladies took me to see the Cartuja +and the Cathedral, and on the following afternoon I went +with them for a drive into the country, during which I had +a splendid view of the Sierra Nevada. After dinner, I went +again to the Alhambra to take leave of my kind friends, and +heard the nightingales sing as I had never heard before or +since in my life.</p> + +<p>Early next morning I left Granada for Seville. At a +lonely spot beyond Antequeria the train came to a stop, owing +to the line being blocked by a broken-down engine, and we +were told that it might be some time before we should be +able to proceed. Many of the passengers appeared greatly +alarmed, and, on inquiring the reason, I was informed that +this part of the country was infested by brigands, who might +at any moment come down upon us. However, we saw nothing +of these gentry, and at the end of a couple of hours the +engine which barred our way was got off the rails, and we +continued our journey.</p> + +<p>Towards the end of April, the weather became intolerably +hot at Seville, and I reluctantly decided to bring my stay +there to a close. I accordingly bade farewell to Manuela +and my other friends at the <i>casa de huespedes</i> and took the +train for Madrid, where I again put up at the Hôtel de Paris. +I stayed for some days at Madrid, visited two or three of the +principal theatres and dined with Doña Queñones de Léon, +the Marquis de San Carlos, and other people whom I knew. +I also went several times to the Museum, where I made the +acquaintance of a Señorita Hélène de España, a wonderfully<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_260"></a>[260]</span> +pretty girl of seventeen, who was engaged in copying a +painting by Van Dyck. This Señorita Hélène de España +was a blonde with blue eyes and fair hair, a type of beauty +not often met with in Spain, but it appeared that she was of +English descent on her mother’s side, though she could not +speak English. She seemed to be a young lady of a rather +romantic temperament, for, after a very short acquaintance, +she told me that I might serenade her by night beneath her +window. But I did not avail myself of this permission, +which I often regretted since not having done.</p> + +<p>Before leaving Madrid, I spent a day at Toledo, where, +under the wing of a guide, I visited the Cathedral of San Juan +de los Reyes, the Jewish synagogue, and the royal manufactory +of steel weapons. This manufactory is one of the +best in Europe, and the way in which the upper part of the +blades of the swords and daggers made here is inlaid in gold +and silver gives them a very costly as well as a very charming +appearance. Some of the weapons were for sale, and I +purchased a very fine dagger, beautifully inlaid with gold +arabesque designs. These daggers are of so fine a steel +that they will easily pierce a silver coin without breaking. +Toledo is one of the oldest towns in Spain, and the last place +in which the Jews were allowed to reside before they were +banished from Spain. This accounts for its inhabitants +having a Jewish cast of countenance.</p> + +<p>I arrived in Paris on my birthday, May 5th. The Exhibition +had now begun, and I visited it on several occasions with +my father and other friends. I was much interested in the +prize zithers sent by Anton Kiendl of Vienna, which were +truly beautiful instruments, and very delighted with the +playing of a Hungarian gipsy band in the Austro-Hungarian +section of the Exhibition. At the Grand Opéra I heard +<i>l’Africaine</i> for the second time, and also went to the Théâtre +de la Renaissance to see <i>le Petit Duc</i>, in which Mlle. Granier +and Emil Meyer sang, and to the “Français,” where I saw +Got, Coquelin and Mlles. Reichemberg, Agar and Croizette +in <i>les Fourchambault</i>. I attended a race-meeting at Longchamps +with my father, where we met the Hon. Albert Bingham<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_261"></a>[261]</span> +and Howard Vyse, who returned with us to Paris, and in +the evening we went to Musard’s Concert, at which the Prince +of Wales was present. Altogether, I had a very pleasant +time, but my three months’ sick leave was now on the point +of expiring, and I was obliged to return to England to rejoin +my regiment.</p> + +<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop"> + +<div class="chapter"> + +<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_262"></a>[262]</span></p> + +<h2 class="nobreak" id="CHAPTER_XXVIII">CHAPTER XXVIII</h2> + +<p class="hanging">I meet Byron Again—I endeavour to Exchange—Basil Montgomery—My +Illness—Why I was not Placed on Half-pay</p> + +</div> + +<p>My Colonel appeared anything but pleased at my return. +He had, it seems, been hopeful that my application +for sick leave was but a preliminary step to my resigning my +commission, when he had intended to replace me by a friend +of his from the 4th Battalion; and was, therefore, naturally +disappointed at my reappearance upon the scene.</p> + +<p><i>À propos</i> of colonels and the way in which they treated +officers to whom they happened to have taken a dislike, +there was, just about this time, a great scandal in another +battalion of my regiment.</p> + +<p>Among the subalterns of this battalion was a certain +Lieutenant Gilbert, who was very popular with his brother-officers; +but his Colonel, who was a terrible martinet, +persecuted him to a shameful degree and lost no opportunity +of making his life a burden to him. One day, during a parade +in which this officer was right guide of his company, the +Colonel bullied him in a way which disgusted everyone. +Suddenly, after being sworn at in the most disgraceful manner, +the poor young fellow, his powers of self-control exhausted, +threw down his sword. The Colonel at once ordered the +Adjutant to place him under arrest, and he was subsequently +tried by court-martial, found guilty of insubordination on +parade and cashiered. At the same time, the Colonel was +told that he must retire from the Service at once. It was +said that, had Gilbert not thrown down his sword, matters +would have turned out very differently, for the Colonel +had behaved so outrageously that he would have been<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_263"></a>[263]</span> +cashiered himself, that is to say, if anyone had had the courage +to bring his conduct to the notice of his superiors; and, as +the battalion was on the point of mutiny, this would probably +have been done.</p> + +<p>The 2nd Battalion, 10th Regiment, to the command of +which my friend Byron had recently succeeded, had just +arrived at Aldershot, and I was naturally delighted to see +him again. He invited me to dine at the 10th’s mess, where +I spent a most pleasant evening. During dinner, Byron +said:—</p> + +<p>“You were very foolish to leave us. If you had stayed, +as you may remember I advised you to do, you would have +had me for your C.O., and would have had a very easy time of +it, and have been able to do as you pleased.”</p> + +<p>He added that, in his opinion, there was no comparison +between the two Rifle regiments, so far as the social position +of officers serving in them was concerned, and that, from +what he had heard, as his brother was a major in my regiment, +but in a different battalion (He later commanded the +2nd Battalion), I was not only in the inferior regiment, but in +its worst battalion, commanded by a chief about whom +few people seemed to have a good word to say.</p> + +<p>All this was only too true, and I could only reply that, +had I been able to see a little into the future, I would certainly +have remained with the 10th Regiment. It was unfortunate, +too, my not being able to remain with the 2nd Battalion of +the Rifles in India, as I liked them all very much.</p> + +<p>In May, the German Crown Prince, who was on a visit +to England, came down to Aldershot to inspect the troops. +We could well have dispensed with the honour he did us, +as it was a pouring wet day and bitterly cold, and by the +time we got back to camp we were drenched to the skin. +This experience, as may be supposed, did not do me any good, +although I felt no ill effects at the time.</p> + +<p>I was in town a good deal during the season, and went +several times to the Opera, where I heard Patti in <i>Il Barbiere +de Seviglia</i>, <i>Don Giovanni</i>, <i>Aïda</i> and <i>Semiramide</i>, Albani +in <i>Atala</i>, the Spanish tenor Gayarré in <i>Lucrezia Borgia</i> and<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_264"></a>[264]</span> +Jean de Reszke in <i>les Huguenots</i>. Early in July, my father +came over to England, and I went with him to the Eton +and Harrow match at Lord’s, where we lunched on Tom +Hohler’s drag. Jim Doyne was in town, and I saw a good +deal of him, and we often lunched and dined together. In +fact, on my visits to London I generally contrived to have a +very good time; but at Aldershot things were not so pleasant, +and matters came to a head on the day my battalion was +inspected by Brigadier-General Anderson.</p> + +<p>The inspection passed off pretty satisfactorily. Each +officer in succession was called up by the Brigadier and told +to put his men through certain movements. The Brigadier +found fault with two of the officers, and complained about +them to the Colonel, who, however, assured him that on +ordinary occasions their work was quite satisfactory. I +was now in command of Allen’s company, and when my +turn came, I had no difficulty in performing all the requisite +movements, and was complimented by the Brigadier, who +then turned to the Colonel and remarked:—</p> + +<p>“I can find no fault with this officer; he knows his work +better than some of the others.”</p> + +<p>“I don’t know how it is, Sir,” replied the Chief, with +difficulty concealing his annoyance, “but to-day he seems +smarter than usual.”</p> + +<p>The Colonel, it appeared, had made a very bad report on +me to the General, which would have been sent to the War +Office if the latter had confirmed it; but this the Brigadier +told him he was quite unable to do. The Colonel then said +that it was in looking after my company that I was deficient, +to which his superior replied that he would see into the matter +and send for us both in a day or two.</p> + +<p>I had written to General Sir John Douglas, K.C.B., who +commanded the Forces in Scotland, and had married a +daughter of Earl Cathcart, complaining of my Chief’s treatment +of me; and Sir John had written to Brigadier-General +Anderson about me. It was owing to this that the latter +watched me so carefully, in order to see if I were really so +ignorant of my work as my Chief had represented, and,<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_265"></a>[265]</span> +having satisfied himself to the contrary, he had decided to +investigate my case further.</p> + +<p>However, the Colonel, having got rid of Beauclerk and +Allen, had now made up his mind to get rid of me also. +Accordingly, he sent Major Northey to advise me to exchange +into another battalion, as he was determined that I should +not remain in his. The Major said that it was no good my +trying to resist so obstinate a man as the Chief, and named +an officer whom the Colonel was anxious to have in his +battalion, who would probably be willing to exchange with +me.</p> + +<p>“You know what he is when he has once taken a dislike +to anyone,” he added. “Remember Beauclerk’s case. +If you will take my advice, you will communicate with the +officer I have mentioned at once.”</p> + +<p>I said that I would do as Major Northey advised, and +wrote to the officer in question, who replied that, as he was +short of money, he would only exchange in consideration of +my paying him the sum of £300. He pointed out that his +battalion was remaining in England, while mine would +shortly be going on foreign service, and perhaps even on +active service.</p> + +<p>I may mention that some time before this I had been told +by my cousin, Emily Cathcart, that I had a very good chance +of being chosen as private secretary to the Duke of Argyll, +who was then Governor of Canada; but eventually a relative +of his was offered the post.</p> + +<p>The Colonel, in the belief that I was about to exchange, +now became quite amiable towards me. At times he would +send Wilkinson, the Adjutant, to ascertain how matters were +progressing, and I was not a little amused by the way in +which Wilkinson, who did not wish me to suspect the object +of his visit, would lead up to the subject.</p> + +<p>The eccentricities of our Chief at this time caused the whole +battalion great annoyance. It was an unusually hot summer, +and he used to inspect us of a morning wearing mufti and +holding a huge white umbrella over his head, a precaution +which he explained by saying that he had had a touch of<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_266"></a>[266]</span> +sun whilst serving in India. If this were really the case, it +probably accounted for his constant outbursts of temper. +At these inspections, he was accustomed to display the most +exasperating solicitude about the men’s uniform, inspecting +each man separately, and fingering every button to ascertain +whether it were loose or not. This sort of thing, which +could, of course, have been very well undertaken by the +company commanders in barracks, instead of by the C.O. +on parade, under a broiling sun, used sometimes to occupy +hours, and was naturally very trying indeed to everyone.</p> + +<p>One morning, towards the end of July, I was playing at +single-stick with Holled-Smith, when I received rather a +severe hit on the side, which made me feel so ill that I went +to bed and sent for our surgeon, who told me that my liver, +from which I had suffered so much in India, was affected. He +made me remain in bed for several days, at the end of which I +was well enough to return to duty.</p> + +<p>A day or two later, I was told by the Adjutant that I had +to go with him to Brigadier-General Anderson, and that the +Colonel would be there. The General asked me several +questions on military matters, all of which I answered +correctly, and then requested the Colonel to tell him in what +he found fault with me.</p> + +<p>“I find that he does not pay sufficient attention to his +duty,” answered my Chief.</p> + +<p>“But,” observed the General, “you said first of all that he +does not know his work, which I find not to be the case. Now +you say that he does not pay sufficient attention to his duty; +but I have inspected his company, and I do not find it in +any way less well looked after than the other companies +in your battalion. I really cannot agree with you in your +opinion, and must make notes upon the report you have +forwarded to me.”</p> + +<p>The General then dismissed us, and I returned to my +quarters, very relieved at the result of the interview.</p> + +<p>The other officers were naturally very anxious to know +what had happened, and, when I told them, all advised +me to remain in the battalion, and not to exchange,<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_267"></a>[267]</span> +saying that the Chief had shown himself to be in the wrong, +and that the General, who was a first-rate officer, must have +seen at once that it was nothing but spite on his part, for +which he would no doubt severely reprimand him. Captain +de Robeck, whose advice was nearly always worth following, +said to me:—</p> + +<p>“If you exchange, it will cost you £300, and I don’t +think it is worth it. I should brave it out, were I in your +place.”</p> + +<p>The other officers told me the same, and declared that it +would show great weakness on my part if I left the battalion.</p> + +<p>As events turned out, I had no option in the matter, since +my father, to whom I had written asking for the £300 I +required to purchase my exchange, could not see his way +just then to let me have the money, as he had been so robbed +by a lawyer, a trustee. And so I had to “brave it out,” +<i>bon gré, mal gré</i>, and to derive what consolation I might from +the reflection that, after what had happened, I should probably +have an easier time of it, and should no longer have to endure +all the extra parades which the Chief had been in the habit +of inflicting upon me.</p> + +<p>Vain illusion! So far from being allowed a rest, I found +that I had, if possible, more to do than ever, the Adjutant +having apparently received orders from the Chief to give me +all the extra work he could possibly find for me to do. And, +even without these extra parades, the work in the hottest +weeks of an exceptionally hot summer would have been quite +heavy enough. Thorne, an old Etonian, an excellent young +man, one of the nicest lieutenants in the regiment, advised +me to ask for a Court of Inquiry, which he felt sure the +General would approve of, and would very likely ask for +himself, without my applying for one.</p> + +<p>One night, Basil Montgomery, who had been in the 2nd +Battalion with me in India, dined at our mess. He told me +that he was on the point of going out to India again, as private +secretary to his brother-in-law, the Duke of Buckingham, +who was Governor of Madras. He added that he disliked +India, and would prefer to be a crossing-sweeper in England<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_268"></a>[268]</span> +than a prince out there, but that he was obliged to accept the +post that had been offered him. However, he only remained +about six months in India, as he did not hit it off with the +Duke, who was a very difficult person indeed to get on with.</p> + +<p>Towards the end of the season (through my cousin, Miss +Anne Cathcart), I was asked by Herr Schultz, from whom the +Princess of Wales was then taking lessons on the zither, to +play at a concert which was to be given shortly at Marlborough +House. I willingly consented and went up to +town several times to practise for the concert, which, unhappily, +I was to be prevented from taking part in.</p> + +<p>For some time I had again been suffering from rheumatism, +which affected my heart. I consulted Sir William Jenner, +who warned me not to exert myself too much. But this +advice I was unable to follow, as though the regimental +surgeon made an application to the Chief for me to be excused +some of the parades, it was at once refused.</p> + +<p>One intensely hot day, we were kept on parade for a long +while with nothing but our forage-caps to protect us from the +scorching sun. Suddenly, I experienced the most excruciating +pains in the head, and felt as if everything about me was turning +round. This giddiness soon passed, but on coming off +parade I felt very unwell. However, as I was orderly officer +of the day, I performed everything that was required of me.</p> + +<p>That evening at mess, where I was acting as vice-president, +I suddenly turned to the officer on my left, one of the senior +lieutenants, Thorne, and said:—</p> + +<p>“I have lost the use of my right hand and foot!”</p> + +<p>Thorne poured me out some brandy and told me to drink +it off, but on trying afterwards to rise from my seat, I fell +down. Thorne and another officer assisted me to my quarters, +where, remembering that I had to turn out the guard, I +tried to buckle on my sword, only to fall again. They then +put me to bed, and sent for Surgeon Comerford, who at once +declared that I was suffering from sunstroke. My father was +telegraphed for, and, on his arrival, asked Surgeon-Major +McCormack to visit me. The latter took so serious a view of +the case, saying that I had but a few hours to live, that my<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_269"></a>[269]</span> +father lost no time in calling in a London specialist, who said +that my heart was in a bad way and that I must have had a +sunstroke on parade. When I grew a little better, my father +wished to take me to Paris, but the London doctor advised +my not being moved for several weeks.</p> + +<p>The Colonel, who was perhaps experiencing some twinges +of remorse for the manner in which he had treated me, came +to visit me and was very kind, sending me fruit and game. +He had, however, previously dispatched Gunning to ascertain +if I intended to resign my commission, as, in the event of my +being placed on half-pay, the Colonel said the battalion might +have a year or two to wait for my place to be filled up, and +we were very short of officers. Besides this, Gunning was +anxious himself to obtain my step in promotion, though he +did not say so on this occasion.</p> + +<p>I had several visitors while I was confined to my quarters, +apart from my brother-officers. One day, Mrs. William Adair +and her daughter came to see me, and were very surprised +at finding me so ill, as only a few days before I had walked +over from Aldershot to spend the day at their house at Whiteways +End, a distance of six miles. Mrs. Adair, who was a +grand-daughter of the Duke of Roxburghe, was considered +one of the most beautiful women in England. Her daughter, +who was then sixteen, was also extremely pretty, though of +a very different type of beauty from her mother, being very +fair. Mrs. Wellesley sent her little son “Cissy” to cheer me +up several times, in which task he was very successful, as he +was always most pleasant company.</p> + +<p>It was some weeks before I was able to leave Aldershot, +as I had almost entirely lost the use of my right arm and leg. +The Colonel wanted me to be examined there by a Medical +Board, consisting of Surgeon-Major McCormack and Surgeon +Comerford, and, though several officers in my regiment +advised me to have the Board held in London, he got his way +in the matter. No one was supposed to know the result of +the Board until it had been approved of by the War Office.</p> + +<p>So soon as I was well enough to stand the journey, I went +up to London, accompanied by my father and my soldier-servant,<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_270"></a>[270]</span> +Spearing. On the advice of Dr. Russell-Reynolds, +my father took me to Paris to consult Professor Charcot and +Dr. Brown-Séquard, who at first held out some hopes of +my recovery. The War Office had granted me three months’ +leave, and, when it expired, as I had not recovered the use of +my limbs, they refused to place me on half-pay, and on +the 1st of January 1879, I was obliged to resign my commission. +The reason they gave was that the Medical Board at +Aldershot had stated that my illness was not caused in and by +the Service.</p> + +<p>The Earl of Berkeley, who wrote my letter of resignation +from Paris for me, as I was unable to do so myself, said in +this:—</p> + +<div class="blockquote"> + +<p>“<i>In conformity with the instructions I received from the +War Office, I have forwarded my resignation to the officer in +command of my battalion. I had ventured to hope that a +certificate I forwarded to the Colonel of the regiment from one +of the most eminent consulting physicians in Paris, stating +that my illness was the result of sunstroke, might have pleaded +my cause with H.R.H. the Commander-in-Chief. I have +another certificate which I have not under the circumstances +taken the liberty of forwarding to you, but I would gladly do +so, if I thought my case might be pleaded with H.R.H.</i>”</p> + +</div> + +<p>A further letter, also written for me by Lord Berkeley, +was sent to my Colonel:—</p> + +<div class="blockquote"> + +<p>“<i>Although I have the opinion of the most eminent physicians +that my unfortunate illness was the result of sunstroke sustained +when on duty, I yield to the decision of the Field-Marshal +Commander-in-Chief, and hereby tender my resignation of +H.M. Service.</i>”</p> + +</div> + +<p>General Sir John Douglas, then commanding the Forces +in Scotland, wrote to me:</p> + +<div class="blockquote"> + +<p>“<i>I have found out, through General Taylor (79th Highlanders), +at the War Office, that it is through your Colonel’s +influence that they have refused to place you on half-pay, and +it is quite impossible to overcome this influence.</i>”</p> + +</div> + +<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_271"></a>[271]</span></p> + +<p>A year or two afterwards, I happened to meet Surgeon +Comerford in London, when I reproached him for not mentioning +my sunstroke at the Medical Board at Aldershot. +He assured me that he was prepared to swear on the Bible +that he had done so, adding that my Colonel could not have +forwarded his report correctly to the War Office, or else I +should have been placed on half-pay. He had fully expected +that I should have been, and was surprised that such was not +the case.</p> + +<p>I may here mention that there were only two medical +officers on the Board: Surgeon-Major McCormack and +Surgeon Comerford. The former had only seen me once +before in his life, so I presume the report must have been +written by Surgeon Comerford; but, as I have never seen the +report, I cannot be quite certain.</p> + +<p>Captain Howard Vyse, late of the “Blues,” said to me in +Paris, when I showed him a letter which I had received from +the War Office:—</p> + +<p>“Thank God! such a thing could not happen with the +Household troops. The officers would not allow it either. +To lose one’s health in the Service, and then to receive no +compensation whatever! I never heard of such a case; +it is simply disgraceful!”</p> + +<p>In recent years—in 1909—several officers who had served +with me, including my Colonel, the late General Sir W. +Leigh-Pemberton, forwarded letters to the War Office, stating +that they remembered my sunstroke at Aldershot as being +the cause of my paralysis,<a id="FNanchor_26" href="#Footnote_26" class="fnanchor">[26]</a> and I forwarded medical certificates +to prove that my paralysis was the result of sunstroke +while on duty there. The reply received by General Sir H. +Geary, K.C.B., was that the Army Council had made an +inquiry, and that “no evidence can be traced to show that +he sustained a sunstroke while on duty at Aldershot in +August, 1878. In any case, it would seem practically impossible<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_272"></a>[272]</span> +to prove that his present disability was the outcome +of illness contracted in and by the Service more than thirty +years ago. Not only the absence of confirmatory records, +but the whole procedure at the time is out of keeping with +the theory that his resignation was due to illness caused +by military duty.”</p> + +<p>Sir William Gull, under whose treatment I was for some +years, in the early eighties, told me that my paralysis was +caused by embolism, owing to the sunstroke at Aldershot in +1878, adding that he had a very bad opinion of Army doctors +in general, who were constantly making dreadful mistakes, +and indeed, were no better than the doctors mentioned by +Lesage in <i>Gil Blas</i>.</p> + +<p>In 1918, Field-Marshal Lord Grenfell, who was formerly +in the 1st Battalion of my old regiment, had great hopes of +obtaining a pension or retired pay for me from the War +Office, but so far his most kind efforts on my behalf have +been fruitless. It would appear that philosophy is not at +all studied at the War Office, for they persist in maintaining +that it is possible for the same thing to be and not to be, +which is contrary to the ideas of the most abstruse philosophers. +With regard to the Ministry of Pensions (whose +Secretary is Sir Matthew Nathan), above its portals ought +to be written “Lasciate ogni Speranza.” It is to be hoped +that with Mr. Winston Churchill, the author of “Savrola,” +as Secretary of State for War, some ideas of justice may be +imparted to both of them. I hope so, not only for my own +sake, but for that of the whole Army.</p> + +<p class="titlepage">THE END</p> + +<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop"> + +<div class="footnotes"> + +<div class="chapter"> + +<h2 class="nobreak" id="FOOTNOTES">FOOTNOTES</h2> + +</div> + +<div class="footnote"> + +<p><a id="Footnote_1" href="#FNanchor_1" class="label">[1]</a> I heard from the late Lady Ritchie, Thackeray’s daughter, some little +time before her death. She was kind enough to be interested in this book, +but told me that she was a young girl when her father was at Homburg and +had scarcely any recollection of those days. My father used often to observe +that Thackeray was one of the most charming and amusing men he ever +knew, and seemed surprised when I told him that I remembered so little +of him at Homburg, saying that he was nearly always with us at the Kursaal +or in the grounds of the Kurhaus and was exceedingly fond of me.</p> + +</div> + +<div class="footnote"> + +<p><a id="Footnote_2" href="#FNanchor_2" class="label">[2]</a> Henry Greville writes in his diary, under date October 12th, 1846: “Came +to Worsley with Slade, found here party assembled to meet the Duchess of +Gloucester. Lady Caroline Murray was in attendance on the Duchess, +who is the most amiable and least troublesome Princess it is possible to see.”</p> + +<p>One day a very nervous lady called on the Duchess of Gloucester, a daughter +of George III., and remained a long time, being under the impression that +Her Royal Highness would give the signal when she wished her to withdraw, +and fearing to commit a breach of etiquette if she rose before the duchess. +However, after a very long time, Her Royal Highness rose and left the room, +upon which the lady retired. The latter was in great distress when she +was subsequently told of the mistake she had made. This incident was related +to me by my mother, who was acquainted with the lady at the time.</p> + +<p>I may perhaps mention here an incident about Queen Adelaide, wife of +William IV., who had a very slight acquaintance with the English language. +One of the first sentences she learned by heart was: “How are you off for +soap?” Her Majesty was so pleased at being able to speak a little English +that she asked this question of every lady whom she happened to address, +smiling amiably the while. Some of them were rather astounded, but there +was a certain fascination in this phrase which took Her Majesty’s fancy, +and it may be that the look of surprise on the faces of some of the old dowagers +added to her delight and made her repeat it all the more. This anecdote +was told me by a lady who had known Queen Adelaide personally and was +often with her.</p> + +</div> + +<div class="footnote"> + +<p><a id="Footnote_3" href="#FNanchor_3" class="label">[3]</a> In after years, at Aldershot, I knew the late General Lord C——, son +of the above mentioned Lady C——, very well. Once, at a concert, I played +a piece of music on the zither, for which I received an encore, but a string of +the instrument having broken, had to be replaced before I could take it. +Lord C—— was kind enough to make a short speech for me and explain to +the large audience what had happened, as I did not feel equal to doing so +myself. He was a most kind and affable man and a good general, though the +War Office, with their usual <i>manque de tact</i>, blamed him in the Zulu War +for the faults of others as well, whose errors they wished to conceal. But, +as General von Goeben, the celebrated Prussian general of division in the +Franco-German War of 1870, said to me at Seville, where I lived in the same +<i>casa de huespedes</i> with him for some weeks, <i>à propos</i> of an affair of another +kind: “What can you expect from a Secretary of State for War, who is a +civilian. You might just as well have an old washerwoman (<i>Wäscherin</i>) at the +head of your War Office. She might perhaps even be more useful.”</p> + +</div> + +<div class="footnote"> + +<p><a id="Footnote_4" href="#FNanchor_4" class="label">[4]</a> Count Perponcher always selected the ballet dancers for the Opera in +Berlin. Many years ago I made the acquaintance at Milan of a lovely, +fair Polish girl, Marie Urbanska by name, who was studying dancing there, +and danced occasionally in the ballet at La Scala. She was then sixteen, +and during her stay at Milan, all her expenses were paid by Count Perponcher. +The Emperor William always called her “the little Countess” (<i>die Kleine +Gräfin</i>), as her father was a Polish count, and she was still second <i>danseuse</i> +at the Berlin Opera twelve years ago. One night, as she was ascending the +stairs at the Villa Manzoni, where I too was staying, she was seized and gagged +and conveyed to the house of a gentleman, who told her that he was in love +with her. But she insisted on leaving the house, which he allowed her to +do. The man in question, who was a German, was obliged to leave Milan, +in consequence of this affair, which, however, was hushed up, as he came of +a well-known family in Germany.</p> + +</div> + +<div class="footnote"> + +<p><a id="Footnote_5" href="#FNanchor_5" class="label">[5]</a> The late Baron Ferdinand de Rothschild told a young English girl of +sixteen whom I knew that, if he could by some means regain his youth, +like Faust in Goethe’s play, and be the same age as she was, he would willingly +give up his entire fortune. He was then about fifty-four years of age. When +the young lady in question repeated this to a late member of the Turf Club +in my presence, the latter observed: “Ferdy must have set a high value +on his youth, for I asked him to let me have £200 lately for a common friend +who was at school with us and is now ruined, which he refused to do. Consequently, +I have quarrelled with him for ever.”</p> + +</div> + +<div class="footnote"> + +<p><a id="Footnote_6" href="#FNanchor_6" class="label">[6]</a> <i>À propos</i> of Napoleon, it is strange how great was his fondness for music. +A person whose voice flattered his ear rarely displeased him. But, if a name +had a harsh sound, he muttered it between his teeth, and never uttered it +aloud. Grillparzer says of Napoleon: “Er war zu gross, weil seine Zeit +zu klein.” (“He was too great, because the age in which he lived was too +little.”) Napoleon imagined that he would have made Corneille a prince +if he had lived in his time, but it is more likely that he would have imprisoned +him for life.</p> + +</div> + +<div class="footnote"> + +<p><a id="Footnote_7" href="#FNanchor_7" class="label">[7]</a> The late Henry Labouchere’s grandfather was, as a young man, a clerk +in a bank in Somersetshire, and in receipt of a salary of about £80 a year, +when he fell in love with Sir Francis Baring’s daughter. As, in ordinary +circumstances, he had not the smallest chance of obtaining the consent +of the lady’s father, he conceived the following ingenious plan of overcoming +the difficulty.</p> + +<p>Presenting himself before the senior partner of the bank in which +he was employed, he inquired whether it would be possible for him to +become a partner forthwith. The banker burst out laughing. “What, +you!” he exclaimed. “Why, you are only a junior clerk. How can you +ever think of such a thing? The idea is simply ridiculous.” “But supposing,” +rejoined Labouchere, with perfect aplomb, “that I had already +received the consent of Sir Francis Baring to marry his daughter?” “Oh, +that alters the case entirely. If what you say is true, then you could, of +course, easily become a partner.” Labouchere then approached Sir Francis +Baring and asked him for his daughter’s hand. That important personage +was even more indignant at the young man’s presumption than the banker +had been, and told him what he thought of it very plainly. “But supposing,” +said Labouchere, not a whit disconcerted, “that I am not what you think I +am, but a partner of the bank.” The baronet’s manner changed. “If,” he +answered, “you are a partner of the bank, as you tell me, I will talk the +matter over with my daughter.” In the result, Labouchere married Sir +Francis Baring’s daughter and became, at the same time, a partner in the +Somersetshire bank. His son was created Lord Taunton, and Henry +Labouchere would have been heir to the title, but, as it was only a life peerage, +it did not descend to him. This anecdote was related to me by an uncle of +mine by marriage, who was Clerk of the Peace for the county of Somerset. +I have heard it also related by others.</p> + +</div> + +<div class="footnote"> + +<p><a id="Footnote_8" href="#FNanchor_8" class="label">[8]</a> Desseins Hôtel has been demolished in recent years. It was a most +luxurious hôtel, and is mentioned in the works of Sterne, Thackeray and +Dickens.</p> + +</div> + +<div class="footnote"> + +<p><a id="Footnote_9" href="#FNanchor_9" class="label">[9]</a> Godfrey Astell told me a rather amusing story about himself when I +was in the regiment with him. He had been invited to shoot over a large +estate in Scotland, and one of the gamekeepers looked particularly well after +him all day, pointing out where the best beats and coverts were, and exclaiming +every time a pheasant rose: “Godfrey, now’s your chance!” It subsequently +transpired that the man, on hearing Astell called Godfrey by his +friends, was under the impression that this was some high title he possessed, +having no idea that it was only his Christian name.</p> + +</div> + +<div class="footnote"> + +<p><a id="Footnote_10" href="#FNanchor_10" class="label">[10]</a> I had a letter before the war from Mr. Winston Churchill, Lord Randolph’s +son, in answer to one in which I had told him that, in certain respects, he +reminded me of Mirabeau, and that I was convinced that he would become +Prime Minister before very long.</p> + +</div> + +<div class="footnote"> + +<p><a id="Footnote_11" href="#FNanchor_11" class="label">[11]</a> I heard from Lord Willoughby de Broke, the son of the one mentioned +here, some years ago. He was then <i>en route</i> for the Caucasus, and he +told me that he had read my book on Paris and Vienna with pleasure and +interest, though he was not aware at the time by whom it was written. He +is one of the most energetic members of the House of Lords, and it is to be +hoped that he will do everything in his power to recover for it its lost prestige.</p> + +</div> + +<div class="footnote"> + +<p><a id="Footnote_12" href="#FNanchor_12" class="label">[12]</a> Grillparzer says that it has often struck him that Shakespeare took some +of his ideas from Lope de Vega’s plays. Shakespeare’s Miranda, he says, +could be compared with the character it resembles in <i>Los tres diamantes</i>, +and the love-scenes in the latter are quite on a par with those in “Romeo and +Juliet.” The plot of “The Merry Wives of Windsor” is similar to that of +<i>Los ferias de Madrid</i>. As for <i>Los pleitos de Inglaterra</i>, he regards this play +as incomparable, and the love-scenes in “Romeo and Juliet” appear almost +to pale in comparison. “I wish,” he continues, “Lessing had known +Calderon and Lope de Vega. He would perhaps have found that there was +more connection with the German <i>esprit</i> than in the far too gigantic Shakespeare. +Perhaps “Macbeth” is Shakespeare’s greatest work; it is without +doubt the most realistic.”</p> + +</div> + +<div class="footnote"> + +<p><a id="Footnote_13" href="#FNanchor_13" class="label">[13]</a> During the four years I was at Eton, we won the “Ladies’” at Henley +every time. The winning crews were composed as follows:—</p> + +<p>1867: W. D. Benson (captain), A. G. P. Lewis (stroke), T. McClintock-Bunbury, +W. G. Calvert, J. H. Ridley, R. W. Morehouse, G. H. Woodhouse, +J. E. Edwards-Moss, F. H. Elliot (cox).</p> + +<p>1868: T. McClintock-Bunbury (captain and stroke), W. C. Calvert, J. E. +Edwards-Moss, F. A. Currey, J. Goldie (K.S.), F. Johnstone, J. W. +McClintock-Bunbury, W. Farrer, F. E. Elliot (cox).</p> + +<p>1869: J. E. Edwards-Moss (captain), F. A. Currey, F. Johnstone, J. W. +McClintock-Bunbury (stroke), F. C. Ricardo, J. S. Follett, F. E. H. Elliot, +M. G. Farrer, W. C. Cartwright (cox).</p> + +<p>1870: F. A. Currey (captain), J. W. McClintock-Bunbury (stroke), F. C +Ricardo, J. S. Follett, A. W. Mulholland, C. W. Benson, R. E. Naylor, A. +C. Yarborough, W. C. Cartwright (cox).</p> + +</div> + +<div class="footnote"> + +<p><a id="Footnote_14" href="#FNanchor_14" class="label">[14]</a> The Eton Eleven, during the four years I was there, was composed as +follows:</p> + +<p>1867: C. R. Alexander (captain), C. I. Thornton, W. H. Walrond, H. M. +Walter, W. C. Higgins, C. J. Ottaway, W. F. Tritton, M. Horner, W. H. +Hay, E. Wormald, P. Currey. Match drawn.</p> + +<p>1868: C. I. Thornton (captain), H. M. Walter, W. C. Higgins, C. J. Ottaway, +W. F. Tritton, W. H. Hay, P. Currey, Hon. G. Harris, J. Maude, S. E. Butler, +G. H. Longman. Harrow beat Eton by seven wickets.</p> + +<p>1869: W. C. Higgins (captain), G. H. Longman, A. S. Tabor, F. W. Rhodes, +F. Pickering, J. P. Rodger, Lord Clifton, C. J. Ottaway, M. Maude, Hon. +G. Harris, E. Butler. Eton won by an innings and nineteen runs.</p> + +<p>1870: Hon. G. Harris (captain), G. H. Longman, A. S. Tabor, F. W. Rhodes, +F. Pickering, J. P. Rodger, Lord Clifton, G. H. Cammell, M. A. Tollemache, +A. F. Ridley, Hon. A. Lyttelton. Eton won by twenty-one runs.</p> + +</div> + +<div class="footnote"> + +<p><a id="Footnote_15" href="#FNanchor_15" class="label">[15]</a> <i>À propos</i> of Peterborough, I once heard a good story about a Bishop of +Peterborough—Dr. Magee, I think—which was told me by my tutor +at Eton. Some people, who had never seen him, were very anxious to hear +him preach and therefore went early in the morning to the cathedral to +secure good seats. A man showed them over the cathedral, where they +retained the best seats they could find, and, on leaving, one of the party gave +their cicerone, whom they took for the verger, five shillings. The latter +put the money in his pocket, and then to their astonishment said: “I am +not the verger, but the Bishop of Peterborough himself. However, I shall +keep the five shillings all the same, for I have found you a good pew, and what +I have received I shall give to the poor.”</p> + +</div> + +<div class="footnote"> + +<p><a id="Footnote_16" href="#FNanchor_16" class="label">[16]</a> The Hon. Thomas Fitzwilliam, who was then in the 10th Hussars, married +Elgiva Kinglake, whose brother was at Eton with me. She was very pretty +and a remarkably good rider, but she died quite early in life, and her husband +did not long survive her. She was a great friend of Mary, Duchess of Hamilton, +and I remember once, at a meet of the Devon and Somerset Staghounds +on the Exmoor hills, being much struck by the beauty of the Duchess, who +was present with Elgiva Fitzwilliam, for they always hunted with these +hounds in those days.</p> + +</div> + +<div class="footnote"> + +<p><a id="Footnote_17" href="#FNanchor_17" class="label">[17]</a> Jim Doyne, in later years, bore some resemblance to the late King +Edward VII., then Prince of Wales, and at Pratt’s, one evening, the late Duke +of Beaufort walked up to him, and, holding out his hand, said: “I wish +you good evening, sir.” Doyne felt very flattered at the mistake, which, +however, the Duke at once discovered. Nevertheless, when meeting my +friend afterwards, he would always address him as “Sir” for amusement, +and Doyne, who had a gift for repartee, would give an appropriate reply.</p> + +</div> + +<div class="footnote"> + +<p><a id="Footnote_18" href="#FNanchor_18" class="label">[18]</a> Voltaire believed sincerely in God, but no one nowadays even thinks +of reading his correspondence, which shows us all his faults, his kindheartedness, +his charity, and his other good qualities. One of the strongest features +in Voltaire’s character was his sense of friendship. Génonville, who took +away his mistress, Mlle. Livy, from him, remained his friend, and Voltaire +laments his death in a poem of marvellous beauty, with all the warmth of +truth. This poem and the one which follows it, <i>les Vous et le Tu</i>, in which +also Mlle. Livy is referred to, are two of his most beautiful poems. Of +Rousseau, Grillparzer says: “I read <i>les Confessions</i> and am terrified +to recognize myself in them.” How Rousseau would have been surprised +if someone had called him the most perfect egoist. He lived with the woman +who was so devoted to him and never married her, although it would have +been a great happiness to her to bear his name. Corneille, according to +Grillparzer, was an excellent poet, and his first works were admirable, but +his later ones show a steady decline from his early standard, which is difficult +to explain, except perhaps after reading his tragedy, <i>Feodora</i>. In Grillparzer’s +opinion, Racine was as great a poet as ever lived.</p> + +</div> + +<div class="footnote"> + +<p><a id="Footnote_19" href="#FNanchor_19" class="label">[19]</a> “My darling,—I am obliged to start immediately for Mexico; I have +not even time to come to bid thee good-bye.”</p> + +</div> + +<div class="footnote"> + +<p><a id="Footnote_20" href="#FNanchor_20" class="label">[20]</a> Mr. Howard Vyse, the father of these young men, came to see me in +Paris after I had left Bonn. He dined with us, I recollect, and we afterwards +went to a theatre, and from there to various places of amusement, so that it +was nearly daybreak before we reached the Hôtel Bristol, in the Place Vendôme, +where he was staying, and where he insisted on my passing what +remained of the night. As he offered me an exceedingly comfortable bedroom, +I did not refuse. I dined a few days later with him and his wife at +the “Bristol,” where they had a suite of apartments usually reserved for +royal personages, which the late King Edward VII. had occupied just previously. +While we were at dinner a courier came into the room to inquire +if everything were satisfactory. This man’s services, it appeared, had been +exclusively engaged by Mr. Howard Vyse, and he was accustomed to order +dinner and settle the accounts. Mr. Howard Vyse told me that he was obliged +to remain three months at the Hôtel Bristol owing to his wife’s state of +health, as the doctor would not allow her to travel to Nice, where he intended +spending the winter. He was a very wealthy banker from New +York, and the two sons who were at Bonn with me were his only children.</p> + +</div> + +<div class="footnote"> + +<p><a id="Footnote_21" href="#FNanchor_21" class="label">[21]</a> The sister of Sir Howard Elphinstone, at one time Equerry to the late +Duke of Edinburgh, related to me that, when she was in Germany with her +brother, they went one day to secure places for some ceremony in which +a good many royal persons were interested. When they entered the room, +a man showed Sir Howard Elphinstone the places reserved for him and his +family, and as this person wore a kind of dress coat with gold lace, Sir Howard +took him for a man-servant, and, on going away, slipped a thaler into his +hand, which he accepted without making any remark. Later in the evening, +Sir Howard and his sister discovered that the man whom they had tipped +was Bismarck, who at that time, of course, was not so celebrated as he subsequently +became.</p> + +</div> + +<div class="footnote"> + +<p><a id="Footnote_22" href="#FNanchor_22" class="label">[22]</a> Darwin’s theory has of recent years been disproved by men of science, +such as Professor Dr. von Wettstein, Warning, Henslow, and others. Only +in certain instances can Darwin’s theory be accepted; but it has been discovered +recently that the new formation of species among plants and animals +is possible in different ways, and not only in the manner Darwin implies. +His theory of descent, which was firmly believed in by men of science in the +sixties and seventies of the last century, is now pronounced to be a theory +altogether out of date, and has been superseded by those of Moriz Wagner, +Karl von Nägeli, Henslow, A. von Kerner and Professor A. Weissmann. +“The Origin of Plant Structures by Self-Adaptation to the Environment,” +by Henslow, published in 1895, and Warning’s “Geography of Plants,” +published in the following year, are well-known English books on this subject +which may be recommended to those interested in it.</p> + +</div> + +<div class="footnote"> + +<p><a id="Footnote_23" href="#FNanchor_23" class="label">[23]</a> Baron von der Goltz is proud of his stupidity.</p> + +</div> + +<div class="footnote"> + +<p><a id="Footnote_24" href="#FNanchor_24" class="label">[24]</a> Grillparzer says of Heine that his first verses in the <i>Reise Bilder</i> and +some of his last poems are of great merit, while those of the intermediate +period must be considered decidedly bad.</p> + +</div> + +<div class="footnote"> + +<p><a id="Footnote_25" href="#FNanchor_25" class="label">[25]</a> Another lady employed by the Russian Government to worm out State +secrets was the Countess Stadnicka, whose acquaintance I made in recent +years in Vienna, and she would often ask me the most difficult questions, +which I never attempted to answer. She told me that for information of +a certain nature she was often paid very large sums. The Countess Stadnicka +had very lovely blue eyes, which were universally admired, and a fine figure, +but she was no longer in her first youth. She was the mother of Graf von +Metternich, who was the owner of vast estates and a minor, and the Countess +had a lawsuit in Vienna to obtain control over her son’s property during his +minority. She was a wonderful linguist, speaking English, French, German, +Italian and Russian fluently, and could tell one more about the Austrian +nobility than anyone else I ever met in Vienna, as she was a Viennese by +birth, and her father, who was one of the old nobility himself, had occupied +a high position. She seemed to know everyone, but though a woman of +wonderful intelligence, she had a rather spiteful tongue, and was therefore +feared by some people. She always spoke to me in French and often said: +“<i>Vous êtes drôle, vous, car vous n’aimez que le fruit pas mûr, ce qui est d’abord +très fade et n’a point de goût</i>.”</p> + +</div> + +<div class="footnote"> + +<p><a id="Footnote_26" href="#FNanchor_26" class="label">[26]</a> The names of these officers were: The late Lieut.-General Sir W. Leigh-Pemberton, +K.C.B.; Major-General Sir Charles Holled-Smith, K.C.M.G.; +Colonel Ernest Hovell Thurlow; Major C. H. B. Thorne, J.P.; Lieut. +Horace Neville; Colonel Alfred Clarke, M.D., and Major C. de Robeck.</p> + +</div> + +</div> + +<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop"> + +<div class="chapter"> + +<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_273"></a>[273]</span></p> + +<h2 class="nobreak" id="INDEX">INDEX</h2> + +</div> + +<ul> + +<li class="ifrst">Aberdour, Lord, <a href="#Page_108">108</a>.</li> + +<li class="indx">Adair, Mrs. William, <a href="#Page_269">269</a>.</li> + +<li class="indx">Adelaide, Queen, <a href="#Footnote_2">5 (<i>note</i>)</a>.</li> + +<li class="indx">Adelsdorfer, Baroness, <a href="#Page_146">146</a>.</li> + +<li class="indx">Adelsdorfer, Madame, <a href="#Page_244">244</a>.</li> + +<li class="indx">Airey, Lord, <a href="#Page_222">222</a>.</li> + +<li class="indx">Albani, <a href="#Page_116">116</a>, <a href="#Page_244">244</a>, <a href="#Page_263">263</a>.</li> + +<li class="indx">Aldershot, <a href="#Page_246">246</a>.</li> + +<li class="indx">Allfrey, Lieutenant, <a href="#Page_223">223</a>.</li> + +<li class="indx">Algar, Major, <a href="#Page_191">191</a>.</li> + +<li class="indx">Alhambra, The, Granada, <a href="#Page_258">258</a>.</li> + +<li class="indx">Alexander, C. R., <a href="#Page_66">66</a>, <a href="#Page_81">81</a>.</li> + +<li class="indx">Alison, General Sir A., <a href="#Page_181">181</a>.</li> + +<li class="indx">Allen, Lieutenant, <a href="#Page_223">223</a>, <a href="#Page_234">234</a>, <a href="#Page_247">247</a>.</li> + +<li class="indx">Anderson, Brigadier-General, <a href="#Page_264">264</a>, <a href="#Page_266">266</a>.</li> + +<li class="indx">Andrä, Professor Dr., <a href="#Page_124">124</a>, <a href="#Page_128">128</a>.</li> + +<li class="indx">Andrews, Mrs., <a href="#Page_218">218</a>.</li> + +<li class="indx">Anglesey, Marquis of, <a href="#Page_148">148</a>.</li> + +<li class="indx">Annesley, Lieutenant-Colonel, <a href="#Page_176">176</a>.</li> + +<li class="indx">Armytage, Lieutenant, <a href="#Page_205">205</a>, <a href="#Page_207">207</a>.</li> + +<li class="indx">Arnold, Dr., <a href="#Page_242">242</a>.</li> + +<li class="indx">Arthy, Captain, <a href="#Page_34">34</a>.</li> + +<li class="indx">Ashburnham, Major, <a href="#Page_191">191</a>.</li> + +<li class="indx">Astor, Lord, <a href="#Page_90">90</a>.</li> + +<li class="indx">Auerbach, Berthold, <a href="#Page_129">129</a>.</li> + +<li class="indx">Aylmer, Percy, <a href="#Page_93">93</a>.</li> + +<li class="ifrst">Babington, Sub-Lieutenant, <a href="#Page_183">183</a>.</li> + +<li class="indx">Bagot, Colonel Sir Josceline, <a href="#Page_101">101</a>.</li> + +<li class="indx">Bagot, Adjutant A. G., <a href="#Page_227">227</a>, <a href="#Page_247">247</a>.</li> + +<li class="indx">Baird, George, <a href="#Page_93">93</a>.</li> + +<li class="indx">Baldock, Colonel, <a href="#Page_82">82</a>.</li> + +<li class="indx">Balfour, Charles, <a href="#Page_81">81</a>.</li> + +<li class="indx">Balfour, Miss Hilda, <a href="#Page_81">81</a>.</li> + +<li class="indx">Baring, Viscount, <a href="#Page_182">182</a>, <a href="#Page_242">242</a>.</li> + +<li class="indx">Barnard, Lord, <a href="#Page_98">98</a>.</li> + +<li class="indx">Batchelor, Veterinary-Surgeon, <a href="#Page_205">205</a>, <a href="#Page_208">208</a>, <a href="#Page_213">213</a>.</li> + +<li class="indx">Bean, Capt. and Mrs., <a href="#Page_133">133</a>.</li> + +<li class="indx">Beauclerk, Lieutenant, <a href="#Page_186">186</a>.</li> + +<li class="indx">Beauclerk, Miss, <a href="#Page_143">143</a>.</li> + +<li class="indx">Beaumont, Sub-Lieutenant, <a href="#Page_206">206</a>.</li> + +<li class="indx">Beck, Lieutenant, <a href="#Page_236">236</a>.</li> + +<li class="indx">Belgrave, Viscount, <a href="#Page_76">76</a>.</li> + +<li class="indx"><i>Bell’s Life</i> substitute for Bible, <a href="#Page_47">47</a>.</li> + +<li class="indx">Bennett, Viscount, <a href="#Page_235">235</a>.</li> + +<li class="indx">Bentheim, The Princes, <a href="#Page_127">127</a>.</li> + +<li class="indx">Benyon, Captain, <a href="#Page_206">206</a>.</li> + +<li class="indx">Berkeley, Earl of, <a href="#Page_165">165</a>.</li> + +<li class="indx">Berkeley, Lord, <a href="#Page_245">245</a>.</li> + +<li class="indx">Berkeley, Captain Lennox, <a href="#Page_57">57</a>, <a href="#Page_59">59</a>, <a href="#Page_112">112</a>, <a href="#Page_113">113</a>, <a href="#Page_147">147</a>, + <a href="#Page_157">157</a>.</li> + +<li class="indx">Bernhardt, Sarah, <a href="#Page_229">229</a>.</li> + +<li class="indx">Bernstorff, Count, <a href="#Page_126">126</a>.</li> + +<li class="indx">Bethell, Lieutenant, <a href="#Page_169">169</a>.</li> + +<li class="indx">Bingham, Hon. Albert, <a href="#Page_161">161</a>, <a href="#Page_260">260</a>.</li> + +<li class="indx">Binz, Professor Dr., <a href="#Page_123">123</a>.</li> + +<li class="indx">Black Forest Adventures, <a href="#Page_22">22</a>.</li> + +<li class="indx">Blane, M., <a href="#Page_9">9</a>.</li> + +<li class="indx">Blewitt, Major, <a href="#Page_176">176</a>.</li> + +<li class="indx">Blocqueville, Marquise de, <a href="#Page_158">158</a>.</li> + +<li class="indx">Blount, Edward, <a href="#Page_110">110</a>.</li> + +<li class="indx"><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_274"></a>[274]</span>Bois-Hébert, Marquis de, <a href="#Page_161">161</a>, <a href="#Page_164">164</a>.</li> + +<li class="indx">Boland, Major, <a href="#Page_110">110</a>.</li> + +<li class="indx">Bonn, <a href="#Page_123">123</a>.</li> + +<li class="indx">Boulogne, <a href="#Page_37">37</a>.</li> + +<li class="indx">Bozzo, Mademoiselle Checchi, <a href="#Page_245">245</a>.</li> + +<li class="indx">Bromley, Capt., <a href="#Page_33">33</a>.</li> + +<li class="indx">Brown-Séquard, Dr., <a href="#Page_270">270</a>.</li> + +<li class="indx">Browning, Oscar, <a href="#Page_74">74</a>.</li> + +<li class="indx">Brownrigg, Capt., <a href="#Page_242">242</a>.</li> + +<li class="indx">Burgh, Capt. Hubert de, <a href="#Page_161">161</a>.</li> + +<li class="indx">Byron, Capt. John, <a href="#Page_172">172</a>, <a href="#Page_179">179</a>, <a href="#Page_263">263</a>.</li> + +<li class="ifrst">Cambridge, Duke of, <a href="#Page_250">250</a>.</li> + +<li class="indx">Campden, Viscount, <a href="#Page_215">215</a>.</li> + +<li class="indx">Campobello, Signor, <a href="#Page_156">156</a>.</li> + +<li class="indx">Candle, The diminishing, <a href="#Page_209">209</a>.</li> + +<li class="indx">Cantelupe, Lord, <a href="#Page_143">143</a>.</li> + +<li class="indx">Caracciolo, Duchesse de, <a href="#Page_143">143</a>.</li> + +<li class="indx">Card playing, <a href="#Page_176">176</a>.</li> + +<li class="indx">Carpenter, Captain, <a href="#Page_225">225</a>.</li> + +<li class="indx">Cartwright, General, <a href="#Page_180">180</a>.</li> + +<li class="indx">Cathcart, Lady Georgina, <a href="#Page_83">83</a>.</li> + +<li class="indx">Cathcart, Hon. Emily, <a href="#Page_83">83</a>, <a href="#Page_84">84</a>, <a href="#Page_265">265</a>.</li> + +<li class="indx">Cavendish-Bentinck, Arthur, <a href="#Page_93">93</a>.</li> + +<li class="indx">Cercle des Patineurs, <a href="#Page_57">57</a>.</li> + +<li class="indx">Chantilly, <a href="#Page_163">163</a>.</li> + +<li class="indx">Charcot, Professor, <a href="#Page_270">270</a>.</li> + +<li class="indx">Charleville, Lord, <a href="#Page_51">51</a>.</li> + +<li class="indx">Charltons, The, <a href="#Page_173">173</a>, <a href="#Page_179">179</a>, <a href="#Page_236">236</a>.</li> + +<li class="indx">Chatham Barracks, <a href="#Page_175">175</a>.</li> + +<li class="indx">Childe-Pemberton, Lieutenant, <a href="#Page_241">241</a>.</li> + +<li class="indx">“Christopher Inn,” <a href="#Page_86">86</a>.</li> + +<li class="indx">Christy Minstrels at Chatham, <a href="#Page_227">227</a>.</li> + +<li class="indx">Churchill, Lady, <a href="#Page_85">85</a>.</li> + +<li class="indx">Churchill, Lord Randolph, <a href="#Page_46">46</a>.</li> + +<li class="indx">Clanmorris, Lord, <a href="#Page_161">161</a>.</li> + +<li class="indx">Clarke, Sydenham, <a href="#Page_191">191</a>, <a href="#Page_212">212</a>.</li> + +<li class="indx">Clarke, Surgeon-Major, <a href="#Page_250">250</a>.</li> + +<li class="indx">Cockshot, Mr., <a href="#Page_73">73</a>.</li> + +<li class="indx">Collins, Major, <a href="#Page_225">225</a>.</li> + +<li class="indx">Combermere, Viscount, <a href="#Page_235">235</a>.</li> + +<li class="indx">Comerford, Surgeon, <a href="#Page_268">268</a>.</li> + +<li class="indx">Cotton, Lieutenant C. S., <a href="#Page_222">222</a>, <a href="#Page_234">234</a>, <a href="#Page_249">249</a>.</li> + +<li class="indx">Cramer, Captain, <a href="#Page_223">223</a>.</li> + +<li class="indx">Craven, Fulwar J. C., <a href="#Page_68">68</a>, <a href="#Page_82">82</a>, <a href="#Page_93">93</a>.</li> + +<li class="indx">Crawford, Colonel, <a href="#Page_148">148</a>.</li> + +<li class="indx">Crichton, Hon. Mrs., <a href="#Page_249">249</a>.</li> + +<li class="indx">Crofton, Lieutenant, <a href="#Page_235">235</a>.</li> + +<li class="indx">Crompton, Captain, <a href="#Page_214">214</a>, <a href="#Page_215">215</a>.</li> + +<li class="indx">Czartoryski, Princess, <a href="#Page_140">140</a>.</li> + +<li class="indx">Czerwinska, Countess, <a href="#Page_137">137</a>.</li> + +<li class="ifrst">d’Abrantès, Duchesse, <a href="#Page_157">157</a>.</li> + +<li class="indx">Dalton, Rev. W., <a href="#Page_73">73</a>.</li> + +<li class="indx">Dannecker’s statue, <a href="#Page_14">14</a>.</li> + +<li class="indx">Daram, Mademoiselle, <a href="#Page_152">152</a>.</li> + +<li class="indx">Darwin’s theory disproved, <a href="#Page_131">131</a>.</li> + +<li class="indx">d’Assailly, Vicomte Arthur, <a href="#Page_146">146</a>, <a href="#Page_213">213</a>, <a href="#Page_246">246</a>.</li> + +<li class="indx">d’Attainville, M. de Lesquier, <a href="#Page_137">137</a>.</li> + +<li class="indx">D’Aubigny, Comte, <a href="#Page_37">37</a>.</li> + +<li class="indx">Daudet, Alphonse, <a href="#Page_245">245</a>.</li> + +<li class="indx">d’Aumale, Duc, <a href="#Page_163">163</a>.</li> + +<li class="indx">Deane, Lieutenant-Colonel, <a href="#Page_250">250</a>.</li> + +<li class="indx">de Houghton, <a href="#Page_178">178</a>.</li> + +<li class="indx">Delaunay, <a href="#Page_182">182</a>.</li> + +<li class="indx">Delbrück, Hans, <a href="#Page_135">135</a>.</li> + +<li class="indx">Desart, Countess of, <a href="#Page_6">6</a>.</li> + +<li class="indx">Desclée, Aimée, <a href="#Page_179">179</a>.</li> + +<li class="indx">Dickenson, Lieutenant Fiennes, <a href="#Page_192">192</a>.</li> + +<li class="indx">Dillon, Lord, <a href="#Page_116">116</a>.</li> + +<li class="indx">Dillon, Sub-Lieutenant A., <a href="#Page_173">173</a>, <a href="#Page_179">179</a>, <a href="#Page_181">181</a>, <a href="#Page_225">225</a>.</li> + +<li class="indx">Disraeli, <a href="#Page_55">55</a>.</li> + +<li class="indx">Dorrien, Captain Frederick, <a href="#Page_4">4</a>, <a href="#Page_27">27</a>, <a href="#Page_113">113</a>.</li> + +<li class="indx">Douglas, General Sir John, <a href="#Page_31">31</a>, <a href="#Page_264">264</a>.</li> + +<li class="indx">Douglas, Captain Niel, <a href="#Page_86">86</a>, <a href="#Page_264">264</a>.</li> + +<li class="indx">Douglas, Charles, <a href="#Page_88">88</a>.</li> + +<li class="indx">Doyne, Lady Frances, <a href="#Page_105">105</a>.</li> + +<li class="indx">Doyne, James, <a href="#Page_66">66</a>, <a href="#Page_74">74</a>, <a href="#Page_77">77</a>, <a href="#Page_79">79</a>, <a href="#Page_80">80</a>, <a href="#Page_81">81</a>, + <a href="#Page_88">88</a>, <a href="#Page_93">93</a>, <a href="#Page_101">101</a>, <a href="#Page_103">103</a>, <a href="#Page_109">109</a>, <a href="#Page_136">136</a>, <a href="#Page_238">238</a>, + <a href="#Page_241">241</a>.</li> + +<li class="indx">Doyne, Mrs., <a href="#Page_104">104</a>.</li> + +<li class="indx">Doyne, Mr. Mervyn, <a href="#Page_105">105</a>.</li> + +<li class="indx">Drexel Brothers, <a href="#Page_17">17</a>.</li> + +<li class="indx">“Dry bobs,” <a href="#Page_88">88</a>.</li> + +<li class="indx">Duff, Folliot, <a href="#Page_150">150</a>.</li> + +<li class="indx">Dunn, Captain, <a href="#Page_169">169</a>.</li> + +<li class="indx">Durnford, Rev., <a href="#Page_73">73</a>.</li> + +<li class="indx"><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_275"></a>[275]</span>Dusauty, <a href="#Page_147">147</a>.</li> + +<li class="ifrst">Earning a living, <a href="#Page_233">233</a>.</li> + +<li class="indx">Edwards-Moss, <a href="#Page_100">100</a>.</li> + +<li class="indx">Egerton, Hon. Alfred, <a href="#Page_250">250</a>.</li> + +<li class="indx">Ehnn, Fräulein, <a href="#Page_231">231</a>.</li> + +<li class="indx">Elwes, Captain, <a href="#Page_37">37</a>.</li> + +<li class="indx">Erroll, Countess of, <a href="#Page_84">84</a>.</li> + +<li class="indx">Eschenheimer Thor, The, <a href="#Page_13">13</a>.</li> + +<li class="indx">Eton, Happy days at, <a href="#Page_65">65 <i>et seq.</i></a></li> + +<li class="indx">Etonian <i>cachet</i>, <a href="#Page_63">63</a>.</li> + +<li class="indx">Eugene, <a href="#Page_199">199</a>, <a href="#Page_208">208</a>.</li> + +<li class="ifrst">Falmouth, Lord, <a href="#Page_250">250</a>.</li> + +<li class="indx">Faverney, Comtesse de, <a href="#Page_157">157</a>.</li> + +<li class="indx">Featherstone, Lieutenant, <a href="#Page_239">239</a>.</li> + +<li class="indx">Ferrières, Château de, <a href="#Page_162">162</a>.</li> + +<li class="indx">Finch, Hon. Charles, <a href="#Page_83">83</a>.</li> + +<li class="indx">Finch-Hatton, Rev. William, <a href="#Page_47">47</a>.</li> + +<li class="indx">Finch-Hatton, Greville, <a href="#Page_42">42</a>, <a href="#Page_48">48</a>.</li> + +<li class="indx">Finis, Miss, <a href="#Page_225">225</a>.</li> + +<li class="indx">Fire burning for two hundred years, <a href="#Page_98">98</a>.</li> + +<li class="indx">Firing the eighty-ton gun, <a href="#Page_239">239</a>.</li> + +<li class="indx">FitzWilliam, Earl, <a href="#Page_106">106</a>.</li> + +<li class="indx">FitzWilliam, Charles, <a href="#Page_107">107</a>.</li> + +<li class="indx">FitzWilliam, Hon. John, <a href="#Page_77">77</a>.</li> + +<li class="indx">FitzWilliam, Hon. Thomas, <a href="#Page_107">107</a>.</li> + +<li class="indx">Foley, Lieutenant, <a href="#Page_236">236</a>.</li> + +<li class="indx">Football “colours,” <a href="#Page_88">88</a>.</li> + +<li class="indx">Four millionaires, <a href="#Page_16">16</a>.</li> + +<li class="indx">Francisco-Martin, M. de, <a href="#Page_151">151</a>.</li> + +<li class="indx">Franco-German War, <a href="#Page_110">110</a>.</li> + +<li class="indx">Frankfurt-on-the-Main, <a href="#Page_1">1</a>, <a href="#Page_12">12</a>.</li> + +<li class="indx">Frederick, Lady, <a href="#Page_241">241</a>.</li> + +<li class="indx">French girls and English girls, <a href="#Page_140">140</a>.</li> + +<li class="ifrst">Gambetta, <a href="#Page_166">166</a>.</li> + +<li class="indx">Gayarré, <a href="#Page_263">263</a>.</li> + +<li class="indx">Geary, General Sir H., <a href="#Page_271">271</a></li> + +<li class="indx">German Crown Prince, <a href="#Page_263">263</a>.</li> + +<li class="indx">German girls, <a href="#Page_133">133</a>.</li> + +<li class="indx">Gilbert, Lieutenant, <a href="#Page_262">262</a>.</li> + +<li class="indx">Girard, Juliette, <a href="#Page_246">246</a>.</li> + +<li class="indx">Glen, Archibald, <a href="#Page_178">178</a>.</li> + +<li class="indx">Godfrey, Dan, <a href="#Page_240">240</a>.</li> + +<li class="indx">Goeben, General von, <a href="#Page_255">255</a>.</li> + +<li class="indx">Goethe, <a href="#Page_15">15</a>.</li> + +<li class="indx">Goldschmid, <a href="#Page_10">10</a>, <a href="#Page_15">15</a>.</li> + +<li class="indx">Goldsmid, Mrs., <a href="#Page_143">143</a>.</li> + +<li class="indx">Goltz, von der, <a href="#Page_132">132</a>.</li> + +<li class="indx">Gordon, Miss, <a href="#Page_112">112</a>.</li> + +<li class="indx">Græme, Colonel, <a href="#Page_236">236</a>.</li> + +<li class="indx">Grammont, Duchesse de, <a href="#Page_143">143</a>.</li> + +<li class="indx">Grandmaison, Marquis de, <a href="#Page_160">160</a>.</li> + +<li class="indx">Grant, General, <a href="#Page_166">166</a>.</li> + +<li class="indx">Graves, Hon. Mrs., <a href="#Page_143">143</a>.</li> + +<li class="indx">Greenock, Viscount, <a href="#Page_42">42</a>.</li> + +<li class="indx">Grenfell, Lord, <a href="#Page_272">272</a>.</li> + +<li class="indx">Greuze’s paintings, <a href="#Page_60">60</a>.</li> + +<li class="indx">Gridley, Harry, <a href="#Page_80">80</a>, <a href="#Page_87">87</a>.</li> + +<li class="indx">Gridley, Reginald, <a href="#Page_93">93</a>.</li> + +<li class="indx">Griebel, Herr, <a href="#Page_92">92</a>.</li> + +<li class="indx">Grosvenor, Earl, <a href="#Page_76">76</a>.</li> + +<li class="indx">Guilbert, Marquise Brian de Bois, <a href="#Page_156">156</a>, <a href="#Page_157">157</a>.</li> + +<li class="indx">Gull, Sir William, <a href="#Page_272">272</a>.</li> + +<li class="indx">Gunning, Sub-Lieutenant Robert, <a href="#Page_223">223</a>, <a href="#Page_237">237</a>.</li> + +<li class="ifrst">Hale, Mr., <a href="#Page_73">73</a>.</li> + +<li class="indx">Harris, Lord, <a href="#Page_82">82</a>.</li> + +<li class="indx">Hart, Lieutenant, <a href="#Page_205">205</a>.</li> + +<li class="indx">Hartopp, Sir Charles E. C., <a href="#Page_117">117</a>.</li> + +<li class="indx">Havre, Baron van, <a href="#Page_165">165</a>.</li> + +<li class="indx">Hawtrey, Mr. Stephen, <a href="#Page_73">73</a>.</li> + +<li class="indx">Headley, Lord, <a href="#Page_117">117</a>.</li> + +<li class="indx">Healy, Mrs., <a href="#Page_116">116</a>.</li> + +<li class="indx">Heaviside, Mr., <a href="#Page_254">254</a>.</li> + +<li class="indx">Hélène de España, Señorita, <a href="#Page_259">259</a>.</li> + +<li class="indx">Henley Regatta, <a href="#Page_94">94</a>.</li> + +<li class="indx">Herbert, Hon. Sidney, <a href="#Page_82">82</a>.</li> + +<li class="indx">Hobart, Captain, <a href="#Page_205">205</a>.</li> + +<li class="indx">Hochberg, Dr. Ritter von, <a href="#Page_218">218</a>.</li> + +<li class="indx">Hodgson, Charles Rice, <a href="#Page_77">77</a>.</li> + +<li class="indx">Hohler, Tom, <a href="#Page_38">38</a>, <a href="#Page_245">245</a>.</li> + +<li class="indx">Holled-Smith, Lieutenant, <a href="#Page_223">223</a>.</li> + +<li class="indx">Homburg, <a href="#Page_4">4</a>.</li> + +<li class="indx">Home-Purves, Colonel, <a href="#Page_49">49</a>.</li> + +<li class="indx">Hope, Lieutenant, <a href="#Page_210">210</a>.</li> + +<li class="indx">Hope-Johnstone, Lieutenant P., <a href="#Page_233">233</a>.</li> + +<li class="indx">Hornby, Dr., <a href="#Page_87">87</a>, <a href="#Page_100">100</a>.</li> + +<li class="indx"><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_276"></a>[276]</span>Horrocks, Capt., <a href="#Page_126">126</a>.</li> + +<li class="indx">Horrocks, Miss Edith, <a href="#Page_134">134</a>.</li> + +<li class="indx">Houghton, de, <a href="#Page_178">178</a>.</li> + +<li class="indx">Howard, Lieut. F., <a href="#Page_241">241</a>.</li> + +<li class="indx">Hozier, J. H. C., <a href="#Page_99">99</a>.</li> + +<li class="indx">Hudson, Major, <a href="#Page_177">177</a>.</li> + +<li class="indx">Hudson, Mrs., <a href="#Page_11">11</a>.</li> + +<li class="indx">Hungerford, Mrs., <a href="#Page_244">244</a>.</li> + +<li class="indx">Hunter, Captain, <a href="#Page_236">236</a>.</li> + +<li class="indx">Hunter’s, Mr., school, <a href="#Page_42">42 <i>et seq.</i></a></li> + +<li class="indx">Hutchinson, Sir Edward, <a href="#Page_7">7</a>.</li> + +<li class="indx">Hutchinson, General Coote, <a href="#Page_7">7</a>.</li> + +<li class="ifrst">Ind, Mrs., <a href="#Page_29">29</a>.</li> + +<li class="indx">Innes-Ker, Lord Mark, <a href="#Page_86">86</a>.</li> + +<li class="indx">Isabella, ex-Queen of Spain, <a href="#Page_244">244</a>.</li> + +<li class="indx">Isabelle, <a href="#Page_141">141</a>.</li> + +<li class="ifrst">James, Rev. C. C., <a href="#Page_63">63</a>.</li> + +<li class="indx">Jenner, Sir William, <a href="#Page_269">269</a>.</li> + +<li class="indx">Joynes, Rev., <a href="#Page_73">73</a>.</li> + +<li class="ifrst">Kennedy, Lord Alexander, <a href="#Page_84">84</a>.</li> + +<li class="indx">Keogh, Mrs., <a href="#Page_244">244</a>.</li> + +<li class="indx">Kernave, Madame Alice, <a href="#Page_164">164</a>.</li> + +<li class="indx">Killarney, <a href="#Page_104">104</a>.</li> + +<li class="indx">Kilmaine, Vicomte Frédéric de, <a href="#Page_136">136</a>.</li> + +<li class="indx">Kineton School, <a href="#Page_28">28</a>, <a href="#Page_42">42</a>.</li> + +<li class="indx">King (Leopold) of Belgians, <a href="#Page_32">32</a>.</li> + +<li class="indx">King William I. of Prussia, <a href="#Page_1">1</a>, <a href="#Page_3">3</a>, <a href="#Page_7">7</a>.</li> + +<li class="indx">Kinglake, William, <a href="#Page_88">88</a>.</li> + +<li class="indx">Kinglake, Sophia, <a href="#Page_112">112</a>.</li> + +<li class="indx">Kinloch, Captain A., <a href="#Page_187">187-8</a>.</li> + +<li class="indx">Kinloch, Mrs., <a href="#Page_187">187</a>, <a href="#Page_205">205</a>.</li> + +<li class="indx">Kirchhofer’s, Herr, School, <a href="#Page_18">18</a>.</li> + +<li class="indx">Kisilieff, Madame, <a href="#Page_11">11</a>.</li> + +<li class="indx">Klenck, Freiherr von, <a href="#Page_218">218</a>.</li> + +<li class="indx">Knightley, Rev. Henry, <a href="#Page_50">50</a>.</li> + +<li class="indx">Knox, Lieutenant-Colonel, <a href="#Page_170">170</a>.</li> + +<li class="indx">Krauss, Madame, <a href="#Page_245">245</a>.</li> + +<li class="ifrst">Labitzky, Auguste, <a href="#Page_219">219</a>.</li> + +<li class="indx">Labouchere, Henry, <a href="#Page_30">30</a>.</li> + +<li class="indx">Lamoury (violinist), <a href="#Page_110">110</a>.</li> + +<li class="indx">Lane, General Ronald, <a href="#Page_159">159</a>.</li> + +<li class="indx">Lassalle, Ferdinand, and German women, <a href="#Page_63">63</a>.</li> + +<li class="indx">Laval, Mademoiselle de, <a href="#Page_141">141</a>.</li> + +<li class="indx">Lavaile, Eugénie de, <a href="#Page_246">246</a>.</li> + +<li class="indx">Lawn tennis, Origin of, <a href="#Page_192">192</a>.</li> + +<li class="indx">Lawrence, George, <a href="#Page_37">37</a>.</li> + +<li class="indx">Leigh, Austin, <a href="#Page_72">72</a>.</li> + +<li class="indx">Leigh-Pemberton, Lieutenant-Colonel W., <a href="#Page_222">222</a>, <a href="#Page_271">271</a>.</li> + +<li class="indx">Leinster, Duke of, <a href="#Page_109">109</a>.</li> + +<li class="indx">Leleu, Madame, <a href="#Page_143">143</a>.</li> + +<li class="indx">Leopold II. and his hairdresser, <a href="#Page_32">32</a>.</li> + +<li class="indx">Lesseps, M. de, <a href="#Page_184">184</a>.</li> + +<li class="indx">Lewinsky, <a href="#Page_230">230</a>.</li> + +<li class="indx">Leyton’s at Windsor, <a href="#Page_92">92</a>.</li> + +<li class="indx">Liegnitz, Princess, <a href="#Page_7">7</a>.</li> + +<li class="indx">Linda, Bertha, <a href="#Page_231">231</a>.</li> + +<li class="indx">Lister-Kaye, Cecil, <a href="#Page_82">82</a>, <a href="#Page_98">98</a>.</li> + +<li class="indx">Lister-Kaye, John, <a href="#Page_82">82</a>, <a href="#Page_95">95</a>, <a href="#Page_98">98</a>.</li> + +<li class="indx">Little, Lieutenant, <a href="#Page_210">210</a>.</li> + +<li class="indx">Lloyd, Lieutenant, <a href="#Page_178">178</a>.</li> + +<li class="indx">Lockwood, Sir Frank, <a href="#Page_124">124</a>.</li> + +<li class="indx">Lonsdale, Earl of, <a href="#Page_49">49</a>.</li> + +<li class="indx">“Lord’s,” <a href="#Page_96">96</a>.</li> + +<li class="indx">Lovell, Lieutenant, <a href="#Page_170">170-172</a>.</li> + +<li class="indx">Lovett, Hubert, <a href="#Page_192">192</a>, <a href="#Page_194">194</a>, <a href="#Page_199">199</a>, <a href="#Page_203">203</a>, <a href="#Page_210">210</a>, + <a href="#Page_212">212</a>, <a href="#Page_242">242</a>.</li> + +<li class="indx">Lowther, Captain Francis, <a href="#Page_166">166</a>.</li> + +<li class="indx">Lumley, Savile, <a href="#Page_250">250</a>.</li> + +<li class="indx">Luxmoore, Mr., <a href="#Page_67">67</a>.</li> + +<li class="indx">Lyons, Lord, <a href="#Page_60">60</a>.</li> + +<li class="ifrst">McCall, Colonel, <a href="#Page_163">163</a>.</li> + +<li class="indx">McClintock-Bunbury, <a href="#Page_100">100</a>.</li> + +<li class="indx">McCormack, Surgeon-Major, <a href="#Page_268">268</a>.</li> + +<li class="indx">MacDonnell, Dr., <a href="#Page_105">105</a>.</li> + +<li class="indx">Macnamara, Surgeon-Major, <a href="#Page_194">194</a>, <a href="#Page_210">210</a>, <a href="#Page_242">242</a>.</li> + +<li class="indx">Magruder, Willing Lee, <a href="#Page_12">12</a>.</li> + +<li class="indx">Makart, <a href="#Page_231">231</a>.</li> + +<li class="indx">Malet, Sir Edward, <a href="#Page_117">117</a>.</li> + +<li class="indx">Malortie, Baron de, <a href="#Page_144">144</a>.</li> + +<li class="indx">Maltby, Lieutenant, <a href="#Page_169">169</a>.</li> + +<li class="indx">Mandeville, Lord, <a href="#Page_77">77</a>, <a href="#Page_98">98</a>.</li> + +<li class="indx">Manners, Henry F. B., <a href="#Page_99">99</a>.</li> + +<li class="indx"><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_277"></a>[277]</span>Marsham, Sub-Lieutenant, <a href="#Page_208">208</a>.</li> + +<li class="indx">Masini, Mademoiselle, <a href="#Page_245">245</a>.</li> + +<li class="indx">Massey, Lieutenant-Colonel, <a href="#Page_206">206</a>.</li> + +<li class="indx">Materna, Frau, <a href="#Page_231">231</a>.</li> + +<li class="indx">Ménier, <a href="#Page_138">138</a>.</li> + +<li class="indx">Metternich, Princess von, <a href="#Page_117">117</a>.</li> + +<li class="indx">Meux, Lady Louisa, <a href="#Page_156">156</a>.</li> + +<li class="indx">Milbanke, Frederick, <a href="#Page_28">28</a>.</li> + +<li class="indx">Misa, Señor, <a href="#Page_258">258</a>.</li> + +<li class="indx">Mitchell, R. A. H., <a href="#Page_74">74</a>.</li> + +<li class="indx">Moltke, Count von, <a href="#Page_131">131</a>.</li> + +<li class="indx">Montgomery, Colonel H. P., <a href="#Page_190">190</a>.</li> + +<li class="indx">Montgomery, Basil, <a href="#Page_183">183</a>, <a href="#Page_267">267</a>.</li> + +<li class="indx">Moore, Colonel Montgomery, <a href="#Page_188">188</a>, <a href="#Page_202">202</a>.</li> + +<li class="indx">Morny, Duc de, <a href="#Page_7">7</a>.</li> + +<li class="indx">Münchhausen, Baron von, <a href="#Page_256">256</a>.</li> + +<li class="indx">Murray, Lady Caroline, <a href="#Page_5">5</a>, <a href="#Page_40">40</a>.</li> + +<li class="indx">Murray, Lieutenant-General Hon. George, <a href="#Page_55">55</a>.</li> + +<li class="indx">Murree and Ischl compared, <a href="#Page_201">201</a>.</li> + +<li class="indx">Musard’s concerts, <a href="#Page_58">58</a>.</li> + +<li class="ifrst">Nares, Sir George, <a href="#Page_241">241</a>.</li> + +<li class="indx">Naylor-Leylands, <a href="#Page_161">161</a>.</li> + +<li class="indx">Neii, Baron von, <a href="#Page_12">12</a>.</li> + +<li class="indx">Neuss, Herr, <a href="#Page_229">229</a>, <a href="#Page_230">230</a>.</li> + +<li class="indx">New hats for old, <a href="#Page_158">158</a>.</li> + +<li class="indx">Newcastle, Duke of, <a href="#Page_38">38</a>.</li> + +<li class="indx">Newcastle, Duchess of, <a href="#Page_246">246</a>.</li> + +<li class="indx">Newenham, Mr. (“Sporting Parson”), <a href="#Page_47">47</a>, <a href="#Page_49">49</a>.</li> + +<li class="indx">Newlands, Lord, <a href="#Page_99">99</a>.</li> + +<li class="indx">Northey, Major, <a href="#Page_224">224</a>, <a href="#Page_265">265</a>.</li> + +<li class="ifrst">Oden Wald, The, <a href="#Page_18">18</a>.</li> + +<li class="indx">Olga, Grand Duchess, and Ludwig II., <a href="#Page_30">30</a>.</li> + +<li class="indx">Onslow, Earl of, <a href="#Page_82">82</a>.</li> + +<li class="indx">Oppenheim, Frau, <a href="#Page_239">239</a>.</li> + +<li class="indx">Orloff, Princess, <a href="#Page_31">31</a>.</li> + +<li class="indx">Orton, Surgeon-Major, <a href="#Page_254">254</a>.</li> + +<li class="indx">Ostend, <a href="#Page_28">28</a>, <a href="#Page_31">31</a>.</li> + +<li class="indx">Oyster, The, <a href="#Page_193">193</a>.</li> + +<li class="ifrst">Paganini, <a href="#Page_157">157</a>.</li> + +<li class="indx">Paget, Lord Henry, <a href="#Page_37">37</a>, <a href="#Page_148">148</a>, <a href="#Page_252">252</a>.</li> + +<li class="indx">Paradhenia, Garden of, <a href="#Page_185">185</a>.</li> + +<li class="indx">Paris, <a href="#Page_116">116</a>.</li> + +<li class="indx">Parnell, Hon. V. A., <a href="#Page_99">99</a>.</li> + +<li class="indx">Parnell, Miss Fanny, <a href="#Page_153">153</a>.</li> + +<li class="indx">Parry, Sir Hubert, <a href="#Page_82">82</a>.</li> + +<li class="indx">Paschinger, <a href="#Page_232">232</a>.</li> + +<li class="indx">Patti, Adelina, <a href="#Page_54">54</a>, <a href="#Page_58">58</a>, <a href="#Page_263">263</a>.</li> + +<li class="indx">Pauli, Captain, <a href="#Page_191">191</a>.</li> + +<li class="indx">Peabody Georges, <a href="#Page_134">134</a>.</li> + +<li class="indx">Pembroke and Montgomery, Earl of, <a href="#Page_82">82</a>.</li> + +<li class="indx">Peñafiel, Marchioness de, <a href="#Page_151">151</a>.</li> + +<li class="indx">“Penny Readings,” <a href="#Page_172">172</a>.</li> + +<li class="indx">Perponcher, Count, <a href="#Page_8">8</a>.</li> + +<li class="indx">Peterborough’s, Bishop of, “tip,” <a href="#Page_107">107</a>.</li> + +<li class="indx">Phipps, Hon. Harriet, <a href="#Page_84">84</a>.</li> + +<li class="indx">Phipps, Lieutenant Albert, <a href="#Page_196">196</a>, <a href="#Page_210">210</a>, <a href="#Page_211">211</a>.</li> + +<li class="indx">Piétri, Madame, <a href="#Page_140">140</a>.</li> + +<li class="indx">Piétris, The, <a href="#Page_161">161</a>.</li> + +<li class="indx">Plater, Countess Broel, <a href="#Page_138">138</a>.</li> + +<li class="indx">Plessen, Baron von, <a href="#Page_135">135</a>.</li> + +<li class="indx">Portman, Hon. E. W. B., <a href="#Page_79">79</a>.</li> + +<li class="indx">Prince Consort and Duchess of Sutherland, <a href="#Page_56">56</a>.</li> + +<li class="indx">Prussia, King of, <a href="#Page_1">1</a>, <a href="#Page_3">3</a>, <a href="#Page_7">7</a>, <a href="#Page_17">17</a>.</li> + +<li class="ifrst">Queñones de Léon, Doña, <a href="#Page_250">250</a>.</li> + +<li class="ifrst">Radziwill, Prince Jean, <a href="#Page_137">137</a>.</li> + +<li class="indx">Ralli, Augustus, <a href="#Page_93">93</a>.</li> + +<li class="indx">Rampa, Marquis de, <a href="#Page_256">256</a>.</li> + +<li class="indx">Rathdonnell, Lord, <a href="#Page_100">100</a>.</li> + +<li class="indx">Ranyard, Mr. (astronomer), <a href="#Page_123">123</a></li> + +<li class="indx">Reeves, Sims, <a href="#Page_116">116</a>.</li> + +<li class="indx">Reid, Lieutenant, <a href="#Page_216">216</a>.</li> + +<li class="indx">Reszke, Jean de, <a href="#Page_264">264</a>.</li> + +<li class="indx">Reuss, Prince, <a href="#Page_126">126</a>.</li> + +<li class="indx">Rey, Marquis de, <a href="#Page_158">158</a>.</li> + +<li class="indx">Reynardson, Aubrey Birch, <a href="#Page_48">48</a></li> + +<li class="indx">Ricardo, Horace, <a href="#Page_100">100</a>.</li> + +<li class="indx">Riddell, Captain, <a href="#Page_29">29</a>.</li> + +<li class="indx">Ridley, C. N., <a href="#Page_96">96</a>.</li> + +<li class="indx">Ridley, H. M., <a href="#Page_95">95</a>.</li> + +<li class="indx"><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_278"></a>[278]</span>Riggs, Mrs. Joe, <a href="#Page_39">39</a>.</li> + +<li class="indx">Ritter, <a href="#Page_231">231</a>.</li> + +<li class="indx">Robartes (11th Hussars), <a href="#Page_237">237</a>.</li> + +<li class="indx">Robeck, Captain de, <a href="#Page_226">226</a>.</li> + +<li class="indx">Robinson, Captain, <a href="#Page_223">223</a>, <a href="#Page_243">243</a>, <a href="#Page_247">247</a>.</li> + +<li class="indx">Ronalds, Mrs., <a href="#Page_3">3</a>, <a href="#Page_17">17</a>.</li> + +<li class="indx">Rossmore, Lord, <a href="#Page_86">86</a>.</li> + +<li class="indx">Rothschild, Baron F. de, <a href="#Page_14">14</a>.</li> + +<li class="indx">Rothschild, Baroness I. E. de, <a href="#Page_217">217</a>.</li> + +<li class="indx">Rothschild, Alphonse de, <a href="#Page_162">162</a>.</li> + +<li class="indx">Rueff, Mr., <a href="#Page_258">258</a>.</li> + +<li class="indx">Ruspoli, Princess, <a href="#Page_39">39</a>.</li> + +<li class="indx">Russell, Sub-Lieutenant, <a href="#Page_206">206</a>.</li> + +<li class="indx">Russell-Reynolds, Dr., <a href="#Page_270">270</a>.</li> + +<li class="indx">Russian Court secrets, <a href="#Page_138">138</a>.</li> + +<li class="indx">Rutland, Duke of, <a href="#Page_99">99</a>.</li> + +<li class="ifrst">Saba, Madame, <a href="#Page_152">152</a>.</li> + +<li class="indx">St. James’s Palace, <a href="#Page_240">240</a>.</li> + +<li class="indx">Saint Hilaire, Madame, <a href="#Page_164">164</a>.</li> + +<li class="indx">Salis Schwabe, Miss, <a href="#Page_123">123</a>.</li> + +<li class="indx">Salud, <a href="#Page_255">255</a>.</li> + +<li class="indx">Salvini, <a href="#Page_244">244</a>.</li> + +<li class="indx">San Carlos, Marquis de, <a href="#Page_252">252</a>.</li> + +<li class="indx">Sanford, Sub-Lieutenant, <a href="#Page_193">193</a>.</li> + +<li class="indx">Savile, Captain, <a href="#Page_236">236</a>.</li> + +<li class="indx">Seville, Archbishop of, <a href="#Page_256">256</a>.</li> + +<li class="indx">Saxe-Weimar, Prince Edward of, <a href="#Page_250">250</a>.</li> + +<li class="indx">Schiller, <a href="#Page_14">14</a>.</li> + +<li class="indx">Schneider, Hortense, <a href="#Page_56">56</a>.</li> + +<li class="indx">Schultz, Herr, <a href="#Page_268">268</a>.</li> + +<li class="indx">Schwender’s Dancing Hall, <a href="#Page_231">231</a>.</li> + +<li class="indx">Shorncliffe, Quarters at, <a href="#Page_168">168</a>.</li> + +<li class="indx">Sighicelli, <a href="#Page_165">165</a>.</li> + +<li class="indx">Simon, Jules, <a href="#Page_111">111</a>.</li> + +<li class="indx">Sivori, <a href="#Page_245">245</a>.</li> + +<li class="indx">Slade, Cecil, <a href="#Page_140">140</a>.</li> + +<li class="indx">Slade, Harry, <a href="#Page_38">38</a>.</li> + +<li class="indx">Smythe, General, <a href="#Page_248">248</a>.</li> + +<li class="indx">“Sock”-shops, <a href="#Page_87">87</a>, <a href="#Page_88">88</a>.</li> + +<li class="indx">Somerset, Lord Edward, <a href="#Page_73">73</a>, <a href="#Page_92">92</a>, <a href="#Page_250">250</a>.</li> + +<li class="indx">Southey, Lieutenant Richard, <a href="#Page_168">168</a>.</li> + +<li class="indx">Spa, <a href="#Page_33">33</a>.</li> + +<li class="indx">Stafford, Lady Grace, <a href="#Page_103">103</a>.</li> + +<li class="indx">Stafford, Marquis of, <a href="#Page_90">90</a>.</li> + +<li class="indx">Stormont, Viscountess, <a href="#Page_40">40</a>.</li> + +<li class="indx">Strauss, Johann, <a href="#Page_231">231</a>.</li> + +<li class="indx">Sully, Mounet, <a href="#Page_229">229</a>.</li> + +<li class="indx">Sunstroke, <a href="#Page_268">268</a>.</li> + +<li class="ifrst">Taaffe, Sub-Lieutenant, <a href="#Page_183">183</a>, <a href="#Page_250">250</a>.</li> + +<li class="indx">Taffanel, <a href="#Page_165">165</a>.</li> + +<li class="indx">Taille des Essarts, Comtesse de la, <a href="#Page_158">158</a>.</li> + +<li class="indx">Taintegnies, Baron de, <a href="#Page_28">28</a>, <a href="#Page_30">30</a>.</li> + +<li class="indx">Tarver, Mr. Henry, <a href="#Page_76">76</a>.</li> + +<li class="indx">Taylor, Charles, <a href="#Page_47">47</a>.</li> + +<li class="indx">Temple (“Mug”), <a href="#Page_66">66</a>.</li> + +<li class="indx">Tercin, Gabrielle, <a href="#Page_246">246</a>.</li> + +<li class="indx">Thackeray, <a href="#Page_5">5</a>.</li> + +<li class="indx">Thackeray, St. John, <a href="#Page_74">74</a>.</li> + +<li class="indx">The Alhambra, Granada, <a href="#Page_258">258</a>.</li> + +<li class="indx">The diminishing candle, <a href="#Page_209">209</a>.</li> + +<li class="indx">“The Oyster,” <a href="#Page_193">193</a>.</li> + +<li class="indx">Thorne, Lieutenant, <a href="#Page_267">267</a>.</li> + +<li class="indx">Thornton, C. I., <a href="#Page_89">89</a>.</li> + +<li class="indx">Thurlow, Lieutenant E. Hovell, <a href="#Page_240">240</a>.</li> + +<li class="indx">Torphichen, Lord, <a href="#Page_256">256</a>.</li> + +<li class="indx">Trafalgar, Lord, <a href="#Page_77">77</a>.</li> + +<li class="indx">Trianon, le Petit, <a href="#Page_163">163</a>.</li> + +<li class="indx">Tufnell, Captain, <a href="#Page_225">225</a>.</li> + +<li class="indx">Tufton, Captain, <a href="#Page_240">240</a>.</li> + +<li class="indx">Tugwell, Mr., <a href="#Page_162">162</a>.</li> + +<li class="ifrst">Vane, Henry de Vere, <a href="#Page_98">98</a>.</li> + +<li class="indx">Vane-Tempest, Hon. Henry, <a href="#Page_97">97</a>.</li> + +<li class="indx">Vaughan, Arthur Powys, <a href="#Page_194">194</a>.</li> + +<li class="indx">Vay, Baron de, <a href="#Page_165">165</a>.</li> + +<li class="indx">Versailles, <a href="#Page_163">163</a>.</li> + +<li class="indx">Victoria, Queen, <a href="#Page_83">83</a>, <a href="#Page_85">85</a>.</li> + +<li class="indx">Vyse, Howard, <a href="#Page_129">129</a>, <a href="#Page_155">155</a>, <a href="#Page_261">261</a>, <a href="#Page_271">271</a>.</li> + +<li class="ifrst">Wagner, <a href="#Page_231">231</a>.</li> + +<li class="indx">Walden, Lord Howard de, <a href="#Page_27">27</a>.</li> + +<li class="indx">Walden, Lady Howard de, <a href="#Page_27">27</a>.</li> + +<li class="indx">Waldteufel (composer), <a href="#Page_159">159</a>.</li> + +<li class="indx">Walker, H. B., <a href="#Page_90">90</a>.</li> + +<li class="indx">Warre, Rev. Edmund, <a href="#Page_73">73</a>.</li> + +<li class="indx">Warre-Malet, Sir A., <a href="#Page_51">51</a>.</li> + +<li class="indx"><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_279"></a>[279]</span>Warre-Malet, Miss Mabel, <a href="#Page_51">51</a>.</li> + +<li class="indx">Warre-Malet, Mrs., <a href="#Page_51">51</a>, <a href="#Page_53">53</a>.</li> + +<li class="indx">Warren, Miss Minnie, <a href="#Page_153">153</a>.</li> + +<li class="indx">Waterlot, Mademoiselle, <a href="#Page_154">154</a>.</li> + +<li class="indx">Wayte, Mr., <a href="#Page_70">70</a>, <a href="#Page_71">71</a>.</li> + +<li class="indx">Wellesley, Colonel, <a href="#Page_248">248</a>.</li> + +<li class="indx">Westminster, Duke of, <a href="#Page_77">77</a>.</li> + +<li class="indx">Wilkinson, Lieutenant E. O. H., <a href="#Page_223">223</a>.</li> + +<li class="indx">Williamson, C. D. Robertson, <a href="#Page_78">78</a>.</li> + +<li class="indx">Willing, Misses Lee, <a href="#Page_12">12</a>.</li> + +<li class="indx">Wilma, Tournay, <a href="#Page_231">231</a>.</li> + +<li class="indx">Winchester, <a href="#Page_241">241</a>.</li> + +<li class="indx">Windsor Fair, <a href="#Page_86">86</a>.</li> + +<li class="indx">Winkelmann, <a href="#Page_231">231</a>.</li> + +<li class="indx">Winsloe, Mrs., <a href="#Page_35">35</a>.</li> + +<li class="indx">Wolter, Charlotte, <a href="#Page_230">230</a>.</li> + +<li class="indx">Wombwell, Sir George, <a href="#Page_249">249</a>.</li> + +<li class="indx">Wood, Sub-Lieutenant, <a href="#Page_208">208</a>.</li> + +<li class="indx">Woodforde, Mrs. Charles, <a href="#Page_112">112</a>.</li> + +<li class="indx">Würtemberg, King and Queen of, <a href="#Page_30">30</a>.</li> + +<li class="indx">Wylie, Lieutenant, <a href="#Page_226">226</a>.</li> + +<li class="ifrst">York, Duke of, <a href="#Page_56">56</a>.</li> + +<li class="indx">Yorke, Hon. Mrs., <a href="#Page_237">237</a>.</li> + +<li class="ifrst">Zauerthal, Ritter von, <a href="#Page_238">238</a>.</li> + +<li class="indx">Zither, The, Lessons on, <a href="#Page_165">165</a>.</li> + +<li class="indx">Zither performances, <a href="#Page_172">172</a>, <a href="#Page_227">227</a>.</li> + +</ul> + +<p class="titlepage">PRINTED AT<br> +THE CHAPEL RIVER PRESS,<br> +KINGSTON, SURREY.</p> + +<div style='text-align:center'>*** END OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK 75853 ***</div> +</body> +</html> + diff --git a/75853-h/images/cover.jpg b/75853-h/images/cover.jpg Binary files differnew file mode 100644 index 0000000..17d5003 --- /dev/null +++ b/75853-h/images/cover.jpg diff --git a/75853-h/images/illus01.jpg b/75853-h/images/illus01.jpg Binary files differnew file mode 100644 index 0000000..9817cec --- /dev/null +++ b/75853-h/images/illus01.jpg diff --git a/75853-h/images/illus02.jpg b/75853-h/images/illus02.jpg Binary files differnew file mode 100644 index 0000000..1a7f380 --- /dev/null +++ b/75853-h/images/illus02.jpg diff --git a/75853-h/images/illus03.jpg b/75853-h/images/illus03.jpg Binary files differnew file mode 100644 index 0000000..b143b13 --- /dev/null +++ b/75853-h/images/illus03.jpg diff --git a/75853-h/images/illus04.jpg b/75853-h/images/illus04.jpg Binary files differnew file mode 100644 index 0000000..5e815e5 --- /dev/null +++ b/75853-h/images/illus04.jpg diff --git a/75853-h/images/illus05.jpg b/75853-h/images/illus05.jpg Binary files differnew file mode 100644 index 0000000..4e91810 --- /dev/null +++ b/75853-h/images/illus05.jpg diff --git a/75853-h/images/illus06.jpg b/75853-h/images/illus06.jpg Binary files differnew file mode 100644 index 0000000..8a769aa --- /dev/null +++ b/75853-h/images/illus06.jpg diff --git a/75853-h/images/illus07.jpg b/75853-h/images/illus07.jpg Binary files differnew file mode 100644 index 0000000..2e71cce --- /dev/null +++ b/75853-h/images/illus07.jpg diff --git a/75853-h/images/illus08.jpg b/75853-h/images/illus08.jpg Binary files differnew file mode 100644 index 0000000..5d0385a --- /dev/null +++ b/75853-h/images/illus08.jpg diff --git a/75853-h/images/illus09.jpg b/75853-h/images/illus09.jpg Binary files differnew file mode 100644 index 0000000..eed7f57 --- /dev/null +++ b/75853-h/images/illus09.jpg diff --git a/75853-h/images/illus10.jpg b/75853-h/images/illus10.jpg Binary files differnew file mode 100644 index 0000000..e8baf79 --- /dev/null +++ b/75853-h/images/illus10.jpg diff --git a/75853-h/images/illus11.jpg b/75853-h/images/illus11.jpg Binary files differnew file mode 100644 index 0000000..7d27b82 --- /dev/null +++ b/75853-h/images/illus11.jpg diff --git a/75853-h/images/illus12.jpg b/75853-h/images/illus12.jpg Binary files differnew file mode 100644 index 0000000..baf1d0d --- /dev/null +++ b/75853-h/images/illus12.jpg diff --git a/75853-h/images/illus13.jpg b/75853-h/images/illus13.jpg Binary files differnew file mode 100644 index 0000000..276e01d --- /dev/null +++ b/75853-h/images/illus13.jpg diff --git a/75853-h/images/illus14.jpg b/75853-h/images/illus14.jpg Binary files differnew file mode 100644 index 0000000..5f8976b --- /dev/null +++ b/75853-h/images/illus14.jpg diff --git a/75853-h/images/illus15.jpg b/75853-h/images/illus15.jpg Binary files differnew file mode 100644 index 0000000..1ce7e36 --- /dev/null +++ b/75853-h/images/illus15.jpg diff --git a/75853-h/images/illus16.jpg b/75853-h/images/illus16.jpg Binary files differnew file mode 100644 index 0000000..a84a5a3 --- /dev/null +++ b/75853-h/images/illus16.jpg diff --git a/75853-h/images/illus17.jpg b/75853-h/images/illus17.jpg Binary files differnew file mode 100644 index 0000000..9f8037b --- /dev/null +++ b/75853-h/images/illus17.jpg diff --git a/75853-h/images/illus18.jpg b/75853-h/images/illus18.jpg Binary files differnew file mode 100644 index 0000000..6e61300 --- /dev/null +++ b/75853-h/images/illus18.jpg diff --git a/75853-h/images/illus19.jpg b/75853-h/images/illus19.jpg Binary files differnew file mode 100644 index 0000000..da30fea --- /dev/null +++ b/75853-h/images/illus19.jpg diff --git a/75853-h/images/illus20.jpg b/75853-h/images/illus20.jpg Binary files differnew file mode 100644 index 0000000..bad265c --- /dev/null +++ b/75853-h/images/illus20.jpg diff --git a/75853-h/images/illus21.jpg b/75853-h/images/illus21.jpg Binary files differnew file mode 100644 index 0000000..dbabc28 --- /dev/null +++ b/75853-h/images/illus21.jpg diff --git a/75853-h/images/illus22.jpg b/75853-h/images/illus22.jpg Binary files differnew file mode 100644 index 0000000..013d897 --- /dev/null +++ b/75853-h/images/illus22.jpg diff --git a/75853-h/images/tp-deco.jpg b/75853-h/images/tp-deco.jpg Binary files differnew file mode 100644 index 0000000..077736d --- /dev/null +++ b/75853-h/images/tp-deco.jpg |
