| RefNo | HSF/2/1/27 |
| Previous numbers | 32.8.12, 32.8.12A, and 32.8.12B |
| Level | Item |
| Title | Letter from J [John] Herschel, Roorkee, to 'Dearest Mama' [Margaret Brodie Herschel] |
| Creator | Herschel; John (1837-1921); British army officer and astronomer |
| Date | 16 March 1859 |
| Description | He is now at the much-anticipated Roorkee and has received letters. He intends to send his next via Bombay [Mumbai] and asks that he is informed of the date of its arrival. He gives a continuation of his last Calcutta [Kolkata] letter, detailing his and Willy's [William James Herschel's] journey by horse dak. John notes the travel arrangement with other passengers and the vehicle and slow pace of horse stages, in which they thought one hundred miles per day a good average, travelling twenty or twenty one hours each day. There was nothing to see at Benares [Varanasi] and only the fort at Allahabad [Prayagraj], the latter far stronger than the Dehli one. He was disappointed at Cawnpore [Kanpur], much of which had been swept away. He determined to go to Lucknow with Willy and found so much of interest that they stayed longer than their intended day. He had been led to expect that Lucknow was India's biggest city , which it is not, but after Cawnpore he was expecting a city that had been 'floored' in the same way. He was pleased to see 'domes and minarets in every direction' from the top of the house where they stayed. He contrasts the view from the top of a minaret, very different from the view of a town at home, and far more pleasing. They drove out and found a brother of Waterfield's, in cantonments with the 4th Bengal European Cavalry. They visited the Residency and other places, but their explorations were stopped by rain and a thunderstorm. Next day they saw the Dilkushna and La Martiniere, the former ugly, the latter 'gorgeously decorated' but defaced. He has little to say of the Secundra Bagh, 'the scene of a wholesale massacre of some 2,000 rebels', and a road now runs through it 'to dishonour it I suppose'. He describes the Kaiserbeigh [Qaisir Bagh] and Imambarah, the latter the final place they visited. He will leave their visit to Dehli and what they saw there until the next letter. His current station at Roorkee consists of a dozen officers and a few civilians with families, making up European society. There are seven or eight companies of sappers, one European and the others Sikh. He knows little of the Thomason college and his own duties are nearly nil; once settled he must fill his time, perhaps at the college. The climate has not bothered him as yet. He forgot to mention previously that he had a day's snipe shooting with the Cowries and acquitted himself fairly. He had two days of dentistry and had six teeth 'stopped'. Willy had the same. They wish to know if Alick [Alexander Stewart Herschel] has succeded; Willy has left to take up an appointment at Shahabad. |
| Extent | 12p. |
| Format | Manuscript |
| PhysicalDescription | Ink on paper |
| AccessStatus | Open |
Fellows associated with this archive
| Code | PersonName | Dates |
| NA7955 | Herschel; John (1837 - 1921); Colonel; military engineer, surveyor and astronomer | 1837 - 1921 |