a deep sigh: 'Poor girl! she must go back to her solitude. She hoped she could have gone out a little in Calcutta, to give her something to think of.' And then, if these poor women have children, they must send them away just as they become amusing. It is an abomina-ble place."
This was not realised at once by Mrs. James, whose first season (she tells us) was passed "in the gay and fashionable city of Calcutta." There she became an acknowledged beauty. Not long after the outbreak of the first Afghan War she was torn away from the com-parative brilliance of the capital, and accompanied her husband most reluctantly, to Karnal, a town between Delhi and Simla, on the Jumna Canal. The place is no longer a military station. At this juncture, happily for us, a flood of light is poured upon Lola's character and history by the letters of Miss Eden, dated from Simla and Karnal in the latter part of the year 1839. I include some extracts not directly relating to Lola, as they describe scenes in which she must have taken[Pg 26] part, and which formed the background against which she moved.
"Sunday, 8th September [1839].
"Simla is much moved just now by the arrival of a Mrs. J[ames], who has been talked of as a great beauty of the year, and that drives every other woman, with any pretensions in that line, quite distracted, with the exception of Mrs. N., who, I must say, makes no fuss about her own beauty, nor objects to it in other people. Mrs. J[ames] is the daughter of a Mrs. C[raigie], who is still very handsome herself, and whose husband is Deputy-Adjutant-General, or some military authority of that kind. She sent this only child to be educated at home, and went home herself two years ago to see her. On the same ship was Mr. J., a poor ensign, going home on sick leave. Mrs. C. nursed him and took care of him, and took him to see her daughter, who was a girl of fifteen [sic] at school. He told her he was engaged to be married, consulted her about his prospects, and in the meantime privately married this girl at school. It
was enough to provoke any mother, but as it now cannot be helped, we have all been trying to persuade her for the last year to make it up, as she frets dreadfully about her only child. She has withstood it till now, but at last consented to ask them for a month, and they arrived three days ago. The rush on the road was remarkable, and one or two of the ladies were looking absolutely nervous. But nothing could be more unsatisfactory than the result, for Mrs. James looked lovely, and Mrs. Craigie had set up for her a very grand jonpaun [kind of sedan-chair], with bearers in fine orange and brown liveries, and the same for herself; and James is a sort of smart-looking man, with bright waistcoats and bright teeth, with a showy horse, and he rode along in an attitude of respectful attention to ma belle mere. Altogether it was an imposing sight, and I cannot see any way out of it[Pg 27] but magnanimous admiration. They all called yesterday when I was at the waterfalls, and F[anny] thought her very pretty."
"Tuesday, 10th September.
"We had a dinner yesterday. Mrs. James is undoubtedly very pretty, and such a merry, unaffected girl. She is only seventeen now [twenty-one, in fact], and does not look so old, and when one thinks that she is married to a junior lieutenant in the Indian army fifteen years older than herself, and that they have 160 rupees a month, and are to pass their whole lives in India, I do not wonder at Mrs. Craigie's resentment at her having run away from school.
"There are seventeen more officers come up to Simla on leave for a month, partly in the hope of a little gaiety at the end of the rains; and then the fancy fair has had a great reputation since last year, and as they will all spend money, they are particularly welcome....
"Wednesday, 11th September.
"We had a large party last night, the largest we have had in Simla, and it would have been a pretty ball anywhere, there were so many pretty people. The retired wives, now that their husbands are on the march back from Cabul, ventured out, and got through one evening without any prejudice to their characters."
11
Are regimental ladies in India nowadays expected to keep in seclusion while their husbands are on active service? I think not. "Monday, 16th September.
"We are going to a ball to-night, which the married gentlemen give us; and instead of being at the only public room, which is a bro-
ken, tumble-down place, it is to be at the C.'s [the Craigies'?], who very good-naturedly give up their house for it." [Pg 28]
"Wednesday, 18th September.
"The ball went off with the greatest success: transparencies of the taking of Ghaznee, 'Auckland' in all directions, arches and ve-randahs made up of flowers; a whist table for his lordship, which is always a great relief at these balls; and every individual at Simla was there. There was a supper room for us, made up of velvet and gold hangings belonging to the Durbar, and a standing supper all night for the company in general, at which one very fat lady was detected in eating five suppers.... It was kept up till five, and altogether succeeded."
"Friday, 27th September.
"We had our fancy fair on Wednesday, which went off with great eclat, and was really a very amusing day, and, moreover, produced
6,500 rupees, which, for a very small society, is an immense sum. X. and L. and a Captain C. were disguised as gipsies, and the most villainous-looking set possible; and they came on to the fair, and sang an excellent song about our poor old Colonel and a little hill fort that he has been taking; but after the siege was over, he found no enemy in it, otherwise, it was a gallant action.
"We had provided luncheon at a large booth with the sign of the 'Marquess of Granby.' L. E. was old Weller, and so disguised I could not guess him; X. was Sam Weller; K., Jingle; and Captain C., Mrs. Weller; Captain Z., merely a waiter, with one or two other gentlemen; but they all acted very well up to their characters, and the luncheon was very good fun.... The afternoon ended with rac-es--a regular racing-stand, and a very tolerable course for the hills; all the gentlemen in satin jackets and jockey caps, and a weighing stand--in short, everything got up regularly. Everybody likes these out-of-door amusements at this time of year, and it is a marvel
to me how well X. and K. and L. E. contrive to make all their plots and[Pg 29] disguises go on. I suppose in a very small society it is easier than it would be in England, and they have all the assistance of servants to any amount, who do all they are told, and merely think the 'sahib log' are mad."
"Tuesday, 15th October.
"The Sikhs are here. Our ball for them last night went off very well. The chiefs were in splendid gold dresses, and certainly very gentleman-like men. They sat bolt upright on their chairs, with their feet dangling, and I dare say suffered agonies from cramp. C. said we saw them amazingly divided between the necessity of listening to George [Lord Auckland], and their native feelings of not seeming surprised, and their curiosity at men and women dancing together. I think that they learned at least two figures of the qua-drilles by heart, for I saw Gholab Singh, the commander of the Goorcherras, who has been with Europeans before, expounding the dancing to the others."
Lola's month at Simla had now expired, but she probably postponed her departure to witness the reception of these chiefs. Having been reconciled with her mother--partly, it seems, through the kindly intervention of the Governor-General's sister, and partly, as she afterwards declared, through her stepfather--she returned with her husband to his cantonment. Here she was fortunate again to attract the attention of the viceregal party.
Miss Eden writes from Karnal, under date 13th November 1839:--
"We had the same display of troops on arriving, except that a bright yellow General N. has taken his[Pg 30] liver complaint home, and a pale primrose General D., who has been renovating some years at Bath, has come out to take his place. We were at home in the evening, and it was an immense party, but except that pretty Mrs. James who was at Simla, and who looked like a star