He grasped my hand very heartily, and after him each of the gentlemen in his turn, and Mr Martin, with great joy, last of all.
“And now,” said his grace, “I’m well assured that the gentlewomen are believing us lost, or busy hatching a conspiracy, at the very least. If you be of my mind, let us rejoin ’em, and quiet their anxieties.”
So we all to find our wives, and then to the ball-room on the ground-floor of the inn, where was dancing kept up until very late, his grace leading out my wife, and she having such a radiant air by reason of her gladness as that all others, and not I alone, saw her to be the finest woman in the room. And so at last home, thanking God very heartily for His great goodness and mercy towards us.
Now the next day Mr Martin, in talking with my wife and me, did counsel me to write in full a history of my life, setting down in order all that was befallen me, to the intent that should these slanders be revived in later years, our children should find their answer ready to their hand, and so defend not my honour only, but that of Madam Heliodora, so foully assailed by my accuser. And this I have now done, writing all my history for my children’s sake with much time and labour, and designing to lay the book away safely in the cabinet wherein my wife keeps her most precious jewels, that so our sons may not be troubled with fears of evil should no necessity arise, and yet may have help at hand when they shall find the need on’t. And in this book, lest I should in any way obscure the truth, I have striven to extenuate nothing that might appear blameable in my own nature or carriage, but in like manner as I have faithfully set down the perverse humours and youthful passions that did lead me into wrong-doing, so also have I not scrupled to bring forward those things which, in my plainer judgment, may serve in some measure to account for, though by no means to excuse, my evil deeds. Such, then, was my design in the writing this history, and though the composure on’t have cost me infinite pains, yet I don’t consider the price to be too dear, but toil well expended, if, in addition to the good mentioned above, the perusing it may avail to keep any offspring of mine from any of those pitfalls wherein I fell.
E. CARLYON.
Notandum.—That I have read through this book, and do confirm all that is wrote in’t to be true, in so far as the matters therein related came under my cognisance, and for the rest, I am confident in the good faith of my friend, Mr Edward Carlyon.
And to this I set my hand and seal,
(Signed) Robt. Martin,
Of the Bathe, in the county of Somerset, gentleman.
At Ellswether, this 23d day of September 1698.
APPENDICES.
APPENDIX I.
THE NATIVE RACES OF INDIA.
The early European travellers and sojourners in India designated the inhabitants generally by the name of Indians or Indosthans. Of these they recognised two main divisions, Moors and Gentues. The word Gentues, which has survived in certain parts of India to our own day in the form Gentoos, is, as Fryer tells us in his ‘New Account of East India and Persia,’ “the Portugal idiom for Gentiles,” and signifies the whole Hindu and aboriginal (or non-Aryan) population—that is to say, all the peoples of India with the exception of the Mussulmans, Parsees, and Jews. Of the Gentues, the race which came most frequently in contact with the English factories in Western India was that of the Mahrattas, Marathas, or Marhatas, under their great chief Sivaji and his successors. The Christians of St Thomas, incidentally alluded to in the text, belong to the non-Aryan races of Southern India. The other great division, the Moors, comprises all the Mahommedan invaders and their descendants, from the time of the earliest raids in the seventh century, together with the converts gained from among the Hindu and aboriginal races. This name, also, survives to the present day in the “Moormen” of Bengal and Ceylon. Until shortly before the date of our story, the results of these earlier invasions of India were apparent in the existence of the Mahommedan kingdoms of Bijapur, Golconda, Gujerat, and others, which were gradually swept away by the growing Mogul power. The name Moguls was used to distinguish from the general mass of Moors the later Persian and Afghan invaders, often of high rank in their own country, who entered India in the earlier ages as leaders of predatory bands, and at a later date with peaceful intentions, to gain power and honour in the service of the emperors of their own race at Delhi. The Parsees (spelt Parseys or Parsies), and the Black Jews of Malabar, are frequently mentioned by old writers, as also an African colony of Abyssinians not far from Surat.
APPENDIX II.
THE SPELLING OF PROPER NAMES.
In dealing with foreign names, the English author of the sixteenth, seventeenth, and eighteenth centuries pursued one unfailing method. In the case of European personal names, if he could find an English equivalent, he used that, and if not, he resorted to a Latin form, boldly rendering Emil by Æmilius, for instance. Sometimes he even applied this method to surnames, as the forms Thuanus and Montisquius, found for De Thou and Montesquieu in the ‘Book of Martyrs,’ will testify. As an example of a foreign Christian name replaced by its English equivalent, we need only recall that of the famous Don John of Austria. Mr Carlyon is, therefore, only following the custom of his time when he renders Sebastiaõ, Francisco, and Deodoro as Sebastian, Francis, and Theodorus. In the same way Madam Heliodora’s real name was Françoise Marie Louise Anne Aimée (or Amantine) Héliodore, and her father’s Gaspard Dieudonné. With regard to names of places, the case was different. It was only occasionally that an English form could be used, as with Gascoign for Gascogne (a closer approximation than our own Gascony), and St Thomas for San Thomé. The effort of the writer seems generally to have been to make the names look as English as possible. Hence we have Dhilly for Delhi, and Geminy for Jumna. He had a marked objection to the letters b and k, and a fondness for v, x, and z. J and sh he often replaced by ch or s. Indian personal names come under the same category, for which reason I have left them to the last. Here, as with the place-names, our author’s spelling was strictly phonetic, in so far as he could make it so. Loll Duss, Cogia Bux, and Rum Cunder are recognisable as Lal Das, Khoja Baksh, and Ram Chanda; but Madda Gi is not easy to interpret as Madhoji, and the modern spelling of Vincaly I have not been able to discover. Eusoff is Yusuf. What adds to the difficulty of identifying these Eastern names is that in many cases the chronicler adopted them from a Portuguese or Dutch predecessor, who had left his own mark upon them in the shape of a previous modification of the spelling in accordance with his national taste. I have thought it better in all cases to leave the names in the text in their original form (and so also with a few misspelt English and Indian words), merely explaining in a note those about which there might be some doubt, thus retaining the quaint effect.
APPENDIX III.
PRIVATE TRADING BY THE COMPANY’S SERVANTS.
In the early days of the East India Company, its relations with its employés were of a kind which seems very strange to modern ideas. Those in its service were expected to work at starvation wages, a usage which dated probably from the time when the Company (like others of its kind) was a mere association of adventurers for purposes of trade, each man investing what he could spare in the general fund, and receiving in return board and lodging and a small sum as pocket-money, until, on the termination of the adventure, the profits could be equally divided. Applied to a permanent undertaking, and to men who had no property to invest, but depended for their livelihood on what they could earn, this system was certain to break down, and the natural result was that the Company’s servants made use of the information they gained in their official capacity to engage in trade on their own account. The Company looked askance at this, but it was impossible to prevent private trading so long as a writer was forced to serve for five years for £10 a-year (about £30 of our money), and even a full merchant earned only £40 a-year. This penny-wise-and-pound-foolish policy was, nevertheless, persisted in, with the natural consequence that while the Company’s servants grew rich by means of private ventures, the Company’s own trade barely paid its expenses.
APPENDIX IV.
OLD AND NEW GOA AND MODERN GOA.
The Goa of our days is not that known to the visitors of the seventeenth century. The quarter which they called Old Goa has disappeared from the earth, and the splendid city of New Goa is the Old Goa of to-day. Its greatness began to decay with the decline of the Portuguese power in India, and the removal of the government to Panjim, nearer the mouth of the river, completed its ruin. Dr Claudius Buchanan, who visited it in 1808, describes it as a city of churches, but observes that there were seldom any worshippers besides the officiating priests. Since his day matters have gone steadily from bad to worse, and the population, thinned by pestilence and emigration, is now scarcely that of a small village. Churches and public buildings alike have fallen into decay, and the ruins are fast being overspread by the growth of tropical vegetation. Panjim, the “New Goa” of to-day, is about three miles from the mouth of the river, and enjoys the small remains of the state and commerce which once made Goa the chief city of the Indies.
APPENDIX V.
THE FRENCH AT SAN THOMÉ.
The seizure and occupation of San Thomé by the French after their departure from Trincomalee is a historical fact. The place, which is also called Mailapur or Meliapore (the peacock city), is now a mere suburb of Madras. Its earlier vicissitudes are detailed in the text. The French took possession of it in 1672, and after sustaining a two years’ blockade, enforced both by land and sea, marched out with the honours of war in 1674. Accounts vary somewhat as to the exact dates and other details connected with this siege. I have followed Fryer’s narrative, as being that of a contemporary. The first head of the expedition was Caron, who was drowned in a shipwreck after being summoned back to France to give an account of himself. The next leader whose name has been preserved is François Martin, the founder of Pondichery, but as Fryer speaks of a “viceroy,” to whom the credit of the long and skilful defence was due, I have ventured to introduce the character of the Marquis de Tourvel. In any case, the incidents (including that of the stratagem by which the Dutch fleet was temporarily driven away) are real, the persons only fictitious. The history of this little band of Frenchmen, as also their subsequent adventures at Pondichery, reads like a romance.
APPENDIX VI.
THE HISTORICAL BASIS OF THIS STORY.
In writing ‘In Furthest Ind,’ my object has not been so much to trace the course of any definite series of events, as to give a general idea of the fortunes and misfortunes likely to fall to the lot of an Englishman in the East during the earlier stages of what it is correct to call the Expansion of England. Hence I have left it to historians to follow the precise details of the relations which existed between the English at Surat and Bombay, Sivaji, and the government of Aurangzib, and have avoided as far as possible introducing real personages into the story. This naturally involves a fictitious element in the events in which the characters take part, although the incidents are in the main true in their origin, if not in their arrangement. Thus, the account of the dealings between Sivaji and the French is true, but the personal adventures of the Vicomte de Galampré are fictitious, and the two occasions on which Sivaji appears are not historical, although they may be paralleled many times over from his life. The history of the French at San Thomé has been fully dealt with in a preceding note. Although Mr Carlyon’s escape from the Auto da Fé is fictitious, yet many of its details are taken from an actual case. In a word, my effort has been rather to present a picture than to construct a history, selecting from the mass of available material such data as might best contribute to the result in view.
THE END.
ENDNOTES.
[1] servant] Suitor.
[2] Bristow] Bristol.
[3] the post of writer] Afterwards called cadet.
[4] laced waistcoat] Jacket-bodice.
[5] harness] Armour.
[6] escrotore] Escritoire.
[7] the book] Evidently Lord Broghill’s ‘Parthenissa.’
[8] January 1663-64] 1664 by our reckoning.
[9] with the family] Household.
[10] original] Origin.
[11] letters of mart] It is possible that this spelling may give a clue to the generally disputed origin of this word.
[12] fusees] Muskets.
[13] Gamboa] Gambia.
[14] Bon Esperanzo] Properly spelt Boa Esperança, the Cape of Good Hope.
[15] polite] Civilised.
[16] Cangoxima] Kagoshima.
[17] Ceilon] Ceylon.
[18] Swally] Suwali.
[19] See Appendix for the races of India.
[20] customers] Custom-house officers.
[21] go-downs] Sheds or warehouses.
[22] Dhilly] Delhi. See Appendix for spelling of proper names.
[23] Auren Zeeb] Aurangzib.
[24] Morattys] Mahrattas.
[25] Moruchtraw] Maharashtra.
[26] Seva Gi] Sivaji.
[27] Visiapour] Now Bijapur.
[28] Bounceloe] Now spelt Shahji Bonsla.
[29] Caun] Khan.
[30] Duccan and also of Conchon] The Deccan (or Dakhan) and the Konkan.
[31] road] Raid.
[32] Lord Malbery] Marlborough; not the famous duke.
[33] Bombaim] Bombay.
[34] ancient] Ensign.
[35] Brachmines] Brahmins.
[36] Juddah] Jeddah.
[37] plate of China] Porcelain.
[38] banyans] Bunnias or baniyas.
[39] lunch] This name was given to any slight or impromptu meal.
[40] thé] Tea.
[41] particular] Peculiar.
[42] palepuntz] Punch.
[43] acquavitæ] Brandy.
[44] musters] Patterns.
[45] Persian and the Indostan languages] Apparently Urdu.
[46] attempted] Attacked.
[47] Samba Gi] Sambhaji.
[48] succades] Sweetmeats.
[49] See Appendix on private trading by the Company’s servants.
[50] caphalay] Kafila.
[51] punctilio] Etiquette; sometimes used to mean personal dignity.
[52] Loll Duss] In modern spelling, Lal Das.
[53] Agoada] Aqueduct.
[54] garden-houses] Country-houses.
[55] hidolgoos] Hidalgos.
[56] causey] Causeway.
[57] See note on Goa in Appendix.
[58] worth some thousand pagodoes] One thousand pagodas = about £400.
[59] sacristan] Probably sacristy is meant.
[60] Franciscus Xeverius] Better known as Francis Xavier.
[61] Paulistins] Not to be confounded with the Regular Clerks of St Paul, or Barnabites, who are a distinct Order.
[62] governor] Tutor.
[63] state] Cloth of estate, canopy.
[64] ducket] Ducat.
[65] jacolatt] Chocolate.
[66] peunes] Properly spelt peons.
[67] Coffrees] From the Arabic kafir, meaning infidel.
[68] Inquisidors] The Spanish spelling used at the time.
[69] crotchet] Crosslet, little cross.
[70] Portingale] Portugal.
[71] chirurgion] Surgeon.
[72] fetiscero] From the Portuguese feitiço = magic; hence our word fetich.
[73] antics] Fools,—as we should say, clowns.
[74] Aucto de Fie] Generally spelt Auto da Fé.
[75] cavalieros] This word probably owes its origin to a confusion between the Italian cavaliere and the Spanish caballero.
[76] Vexilla Regis prodeunt] Known to our hymn-books as “The royal banners forward go.”
[77] White or Austin Friars] Augustinians. This is an error on Mr Carlyon’s part. The White Friars are the Carmelites.
[78] slops] Very wide breeches, sometimes called petticoats.
[79] Hoor! Hoor! Mohawdio!] The famous Mahratta war-cry, “Hur! Hur! Mahadeo!”
[80] Stewart] The contemporary spelling.
[81] walk and conversation] Conduct.
[82] St Thomas] Really called San Thomé.
[83] ancient] Ensign or standard.
[84] state] Cloth of estate, canopy.
[85] nightgown] Dressing-gown.
[86] See Appendix for the French at San Thomé.
[87] Gulconda] The Mohammedan kingdom of Golconda.
[88] Mechlapatan] Masulipatam.
[89] pharmaund] Firman.
[90] Indosthans] Hindus.
[91] Maderas] Madras.
[92] constitution] Character or temperament.
[93] a sealed letter] Lettre de cachet.
[94] theorba] Or theorbo, a kind of large lute.
[95] offices] Services.
[96] the old cardinal] Richelieu.
[97] lace-bands] Apparently cravats.
[98] sorbet] Sherbet.
[99] painted calicut] Printed calico.
[100] Amidavat] Ahmedabad.
[101] Phoolcherry] Now Pondichery.
[102] servant] Suitor.
[103] Geminy] Jumna.
[104] well enough seen] Skilled.
[105] Brodra] Baroda.
[106] Rashpoots] Rajputs.
[107] Oudyepour] Udaipur.
[108] caravan-serawes] Caravanserais.
[109] Brachmine] Brahmin.
[110] druggerman] Dragoman.
[111] metchids or mosqueys] Masjids or mosques.
[112] wonder of the world and delight of all beholders] The Taj Mahal.
[113] Shaw Jehaun] Shah Jehan.
[114] cistery] Query, cutchery?
[115] shash] Sash.
[116] ombrahs] Nobles.
[117] Swisse] Switzerland.
[118] hucca] Hookah or huqa.
[119] Ferringhee] The evolution of this word is curious: Frank, Frangi, Farangi, Ferringhee. The last form is the incorrect spelling of that preceding it.
[120] stop-watch] Repeater.
[121] resentiments] Not resentments, but sentiments. Compare the French ressentiments.
[122] Gualleyor and Zauncy] Gwalior and Jhansi.
[123] Eusoff] Yusuf.
[124] picked] Peaked.
[125] mosch] Mosque.
[126] consented] Agreed.
[127] Row] Rao.
[128] Cogia Bux] In modern spelling, Khoja Baksh.
[129] Madda Gi] Madhoji.
[130] Seta Bye] Sita Bai.
[131] hollowed] The spelling hollow for halloo is still preserved in the colloquial pronunciation.
[132] commerce] Communication.
[133] Gascoign] Gascony.
[134] toys] This word was then equivalent to curiosities.
[135] portraits in little] Miniatures.
[136] fellow] Companion.
[137] megrims] Headache.
[138] right of propriety] Proprietorship.
[139] Lady Barbary] Barbara.
[140] felon for the faith’s sake] Forçat pour la foi.
[141] Roan] Rouen.
TRANSCRIBER’S NOTES.
Sydney C. Grier was the pseudonym of Hilda Caroline Gregg.
This book is part of the author’s “Indian Historical Series.” The full series being: In Furthest Ind, Like Another Helen, and The Great Proconsul.
A letter in Chapter XII contains two words (Condicons and Consolacon) which have a tilde on the second c. As this character isn’t available in the current UTF-8 specification, c is substituted.
Alterations to the text:
Convert footnotes to endnotes.
Fix a few quotation mark pairings.
[Chapter II]
Change “Now tha his majesty was happily returned” to that.
[Chapter VI]
“how should it signifiy to us on whose side we fought?” to signify.
[Chapter XX]
“so great was the contrast beween his reverend aspect” to between.
[End of text]