1936 November
From HPV to Annette
The Towers
Cossipore
Calcutta
Nov 5th 1936.
My dear Annette.
It is perhaps true that my writing is legible only to those who know what it is intended to represent: the word is COSSIPORE.
Back from the hills. A bit warm but not at all astonished. The plains of Bengal are like that. And actually I am sitting, at 10 o’clock in the morning, without a fan. I really started to say “a bit stiff”. It was remarkable how the old body responded to the call and how I succeeded in consequence in marching. Indeed I evolved a scheme of fitting a series of grunts and ejaculations to my paces “Oh Goo Goo! Heh ba ba! Hoi tiddle idle! Hooh! Tut tut!” and the like, with proper emphasis on the syllable which carried my right leg forward and with suitable modulation of pitch in the interests of variety. But this performance helped, and pleased, no one but myself: in fact it was abandoned by request. Also I found that high up I hadn’t the breath for it.
Cold is my bane. When a chill wind bisects my stomach my spirits flag. This happened at lunch in our first camp: I retired between blankets for two hours and emerged happylike just at the hour when others succumbed to headaches and nausea due to altitude. It happened also on the first day of our return down a valley through snow: but there was no retiring on this occasion. The journey had to continue till camp was reached.
Result generally, I am much fitter and look even fitter than that. My nose was a bit sunstruck but glacier cream saved all else.
Work is heavy. All the heavier for my having been ill and having been away.
No more this week: I shall now go off to office.
Much love
Dad
Family letter from LJT
The Towers
Cossipore
Calcutta
Nov 5th 1936.
My Dears,
We are safely back from a splendid trip, and more or less settled into our new home, which we like very much. There has not been time to get on well ahead with writing mail letters, as there has been so much unpacking and arranging to do, which has been further complicated by the fact that Idris Mathews has been laid up with some sort of mild fever from the afternoon of the day we arrived. The doctor has not yet made up his mind as to whether it is slight malaria, slight dengue (a tiresome fever with symptoms rather like flu, which is prevalent in Calcutta during the rainey season) or merely a chill on the liver!
With regard to the trip, I will try to write a brief description of it before next mail-day. I did not write a word while I was out. The family I had to look after was too big to allow me much spare time, and the nights in tents were far to cold to enable one to sit up and write. Herbert really picked up his strength wonderfully. He had a large stout brown mule for the first five days up the valley, in case he did not feel up to doing the long marches, but he rode it very little, and walked as well as any of us. The weather was fairly good, but not as bright and clear as we had a right to expect so late in the year. The monsoon began early this year and stayed remarkably late. This meant a lot of snow up high, and many people prophesied that we should not get over our high pass, the Lungnak La. We certainly had a struggle to do so, and how the porters carried their heavy loads up the steep slopes, through the deep soft powdery snow I dont know. However they did, and quite cheerfully too. We followed behind, taking advantage of the consolidated foot-steps made by twenty-eight men, and even so we found it dashed hard work, and were jolly glad when we got to the top. We were not really sufficiently acclimatised, and had all suffered a bit from headache, or loss of appetite or slight sickness at our camp at the foot of the pass. We were five nights in tents, and for the first four of them, we woke each morning to find about two inches of snow over everything. Luckily it has the effect of helping to keep the tents warm. We had intended to get from the upland valley of the Lhonak into the Zemu valley next further south over a gently sloping pass called The La, but having examined it through glasses, and seen that it was under deep snow, we decided that it would not be worth the effort, and made our way instead down a steep and beautiful river valley. Ou rfirst days march down it was through a light covering of snow, which made things look fine, but, was wet to the feet, as it melted slightly in the sun. It was also difficult to find anywhere dry to sit down. The porters had cleared the snow from the places where they pitched our tents by making huge snow-balls, and Herbert said if he had not been tired, he would have tried building a snow house with them. The next day as we came steeply down this North and south valley, into the great East and West valley of the Zemu, the 19,000 ft mountain, Lama Anden was perfectly framed at the end of our valley. It was incredibly lovely, and I hope some of the many photos taken will do some sort of justice to it. That night we camped beneath it, on a wide grassy meadow, freely dotted with clumps of pine trees and virburnums. The porters made us a huge log fire, and dragged up a couple of fallen trees to make seats for us. It was lovely to have our meals in the open, and to watch the moonlight creeping on the snowy flanks of Lama Anden.
We had delightful marches down the valleys again, and it being so late in the year we were not bothered by the heat, which can be trying in May and June. Everything worked out to plan. We did about a march and a quarter on the day before we reached Gangtok, and instead of staying at a bungalow we camped on a hill-side amongst orange trees. After supper we reclined on rugs and sang songs by the light of the moon, Clous Martin becoming so sentimental that he broke into the Gaelic songs of his native land.
The next morning we rode five miles up hill to the pass above Gangtok, from which we got the most glorious view of the snows. It was a perfect morning, with an intense blue sky, unmarked by a cloud, in fact just such weather as we might reasonably have expected for the previous ten days. From the Pass we walked about half a mile to where we had ordered the cars to meet us, and the timing for the meeting of 10 a.m., was so well adhered to, that as we walked down the road, we saw the cars coming up. We were in Gangtok by 10-30 and had time to change into the civilized clothes we had left there, and check in our baggage, and pay off the porters, before an early lunch, and leaving in the cars for the 68 mile drive to Siliguri to catch the Calcutta train at 8.40 p.m.
Herbert had been rather dreading the drive, as he always feels sick on winding mountain roads in a car. However he tried a cure which Helen Martin had been told about, and which proved very effective. It is extremely simple - - 6 or 8 drops of Iodine in a little water, taken a few minutes before the start of the journey.
Harry and Winsome and Idris all met us at the station. It was nice to arrive here and find ourselves amongst our own belongings. Herbert is pleased with his room and the lovely view over the river, and he also likes this sitting room very much. He likes big rooms, and the rooms in this old house are very large. I think he is going to like being here. He is plunged up to the neck in work, after being first absent through illness, and then away on holiday. There are a lot of arrears to make up.
Yesterday I lunched with Winsome, and was so interested to see the transformation she has worked in the big rambling Commissioners house where she and Harry and family are living with Arthur Dash this cold Weather. It is true that the house has been re-painted and colour-washed inside and out, which is a great help, but as I have known it with many former inhabitants, it has always been an untidy, unkempt sort of place. Winsome has made it perfectly charming, with every detail attended to and thought out. She is quite a genius at that sort of thing.
Being already short of time, I have done an incredibly silly thing this morning. I typed half this page with the carbons in the wrong way, so had to do it again. I have now got to go off to Calcutta to lunch with Richard Gardiner, who has got into the Survey Department, and is leaving Calcutta to-night. I would not have gone out to lunch to-day, had it not been the only chance I shall have of seeing Richard. He is a dear boy, and we shall miss him, but I’m glad he has got into the Survey, for I think he is admirably fitted for the work, and will really love it.
Good-bye to you all for this week, and my love to you
LJT
From HPV to Annette
Calcutta
Nov 11th 1936
My dear Annette
Sorry to hear that you have had an alarm about your eye: but glad that there appears no real danger of anything being seriously wrong. A nuisance to interrupt the term’s work.
Routine has reasserted itself: unfortunately it is of a type that will prevent my breaking away from the habits which prevented me from taking exercise. Always when in the hills I have got back some strength and health (but one says health and strength by preference) I nurture a vain hope that when I return I shall have the energy to take up golf. But if the hope always is frustrated, still more is it so this time: for the extra ten minutes or so taken up by the journey into Calcutta makes a decisive difference. If I stop to think about it I realise that it is a miserable sort of life. It is a question of working hard and hopelessly all day (for nothing seems to come of it all) and afterwards sitting about and killing time till it is time for bed. This is a nice house in a nice garden; the view over the river is fine. But there are flies in Eden. Also the noise of shunting and the hooting of steamers – and also hooting of jute mills I am told: but these last are morning noises and don’t affect me: to me the important question is the amount of noise when I am trying to go to sleep.
The father of an American climber passing through Calcutta told a tale which as told amused me: how much was due to the intonation. His wife was sent a present of a young goat: an awkward present to one living in a city: they had a garden but one not designed for goat keeping: so they decided to keep the beast for the night in the basement laundry: and, he said, he was very gratified to see that there was one living creature which had the courage to oppose his wife – who undertook to lead the goat. They kept it: “therefore”? – perhaps: he did not say. In a book which I have out of the library there is a story of Abraham Lincoln’s reply to a challenge to a duel, in the days when he was a struggling lawyer: told that the choice of weapons lay with him he said “Then I choose cowdung at five paces.”
If I had read that sooner I should have used it for purposes of political abuse in Council.
Among the bright spots in life is the fact that I am not now a member of the Legislative Council and never shall be again: for the system changes after the end of this session. Also I must say, in spite of my remark that my work leads to nothing, that my system of assessing revenue in irrigated areas, an adaptation of the Madras and Bombay systems composed from memory and without the handicap of overmuch knowledge, seems to be working out quite well.
Much love, my dear child: and I do hope that your eye has ceased to worry you
Ever yours
Dad
From LJT to Annette
The Towers
Cossipore
Calcutta
Nov 12th 1936
My darling Annette
As I said to Auntie, I cant help feeling a bit anxious about your eye, but am somewhat reassured by the fact that no letter has come by Air Mail – What a nuisance for you, my poor daughter – Its rotten luck! I do hope the week’s rest put you right and that you were able to go back to work – but always remember that no work is worth risking your eye for!
Dad and I have been terribly worried this week by Richards announcement that his has joined the Absolute Pacifist League – It so upset Dad that he could not sleep at all the night the letter came. Has Richard talked to you at all about it? I can well understand people trying all possible and honourable ways of avoiding war, but to take a view that you will stand by with folded hands and watch an enemy nation walk in and take possession of your country without lifting a finer to protect it, seems to me so lunatic that I simply cant believe that Richard was in his right mind when he did it. The arguments he puts forward are so paltry, shoddy and sentimental that they make me feel quite sick and I cannot imagine how they could persuade even a semi-idiot – By taking up the attitude he has done it seems to me that one automatically sacrifices all the rights of citizenship, for in the long run, what right has one to anything unless one is willing, should the need arise, to defend it even at the cost of ones own life. We have both written very strongly to Richard – though, while he is infatuated with these ideas, I don’t suppose anything we say will have much effect – and we both feel deeply ashamed of him. I had heard rumours of this League before and we were saying only a few months ago, that we thought anyone who belonged to it, should at once be sent down from the ‘Varsity. In my letter to Richard I said that even if the young men of our class are going rotten (and I cant believe that it is more than a very few of them who have got this bee in their bonnets) thank goodness I think there is plenty of good stuff in the girls. I can imagine either you or Rosemary being carried away by such sentimental idiocies – not, if the men refused to fight, can I imagine that you would stand by helpless and see you and your honour taken from you, without being willing to take up arms and fight. I know I would’nt – Well! Having let off a certain amount of steam, I suppose I had better change the subject, but I do beg of you to use any influence you have with Richard to bring him to a more reasonable and decent frame of mind.
I am interested in your lectures on Journalism. I am glad the art of words is being revived – Many girls schools were poorly done by in that respect in my time, though I think St. Monica’s was always quite good. There are so many women and a good number of men too, who seem to have no idea of the value of words or correct usage. The last present I gave Dad was Fowler’s “Modern English Usage” – and we are constantly referring to it. Its a fascinating book. I suppose you know it?
I am really loving living out here – The drawback is the drive – which in a sense is a useful excuse for me not to go in to Calcutta constantly, but takes up a little extra of Dad’s time. I think he likes a lot of the things about being out here – but he seems to have lost the art of enjoying any leisure he has. Any of the things which ordinary people regard as pleasureable ways of enjoying themselves when work is done, he regards as things which are likely to tire him. Its the same over hobbies. This fear of being tired has grown into a regular phobia – and I don’t know how best to deal with it, short of persuading him to retire – Dont, of course, refer to this in your letters.
I must write to Rosemary now – Thanks for your letters – which I always find most interesting -
Best love
Mum
Family letter from LJT
The Towers
Cossipore
Calcutta
Nov 12th 1936
My Dears,
Life out here has quite a country flavour about it, and I have been more occupied with house-hold and garden matters than I have been for a long time. It is not only our side of the house that I have been getting in order, but there has been, and still is a lot to do for the main part of the house. I gather from the old bearer that everything has been left “till the memsahib comes”. I am delighted with our rooms. The big porch room looks lovely now it is furnished, far better than I thought it would, and with its big windows on three sides it is next door to living in the open. The trouble is I like being here so much that I dont want to go into Calcutta. The evenings in the garden, with the splendid sunset effects over the river, and then the lights coming up are so much more attractive than the noise and glare of the Clubs. I have been into Calcutta few times all the same. I went to lunch with young Richard Gardiner at the Great Eastern Hotel on Thursday, to say good-bye to him before he went off to his new Survey work at Dehra Dun. He brought with him a young man who has just come out here, and to whom I have been asked to be kind, by Edwin Kempson, who is a great friend of his. He is a charming young man with lots to talk about, and I must pull myself to-gether and have a party at the Saturday Club to introduce him to some of the girls. This is one of the many occasions when I miss my two girls, Barbara and Marian. I could have quickly passed him on to them, and he would soon have found himself in the middle of the gay young set.
On Friday when I had expected to stay in all day and get on with the household works, but just before lunch Idris telephoned over from the office and said that the Air Squadron from Singapore, who are doing a tour to Risalpore and back for purposes of “showing the flag” were arriving at DumDum about 2.30. He felt that as Secretary of the Flying Club he ought to be there to meet them, as the Flying Club had undertaken to supply any meals they might want during their two days stay here. The Military Authorities had put up a camp for them. Idris asked if I would go with him to meet them, and see what we could do for them. They arrived within about ten minutes of the scheduled time, and looked lovely coming in in formation. It was interesting seeing them break up for landing purposes, land one by one and form up in a long line. They are big machines but steer wonderfully well on the ground, for they have a steerable tail-skid. There were ten officers, and twenty-six men. We took the officers over to the Flying Club for tea. One or two of them were very nice, but on the whole Idris and I thought them rather off hand and lacking in manners. We fixed up various things for them, including a bus to take the men into Calcutta. Arthur Dash, who is vice-President of the Club, came out at tea-time, and between us we invited the officers to dine the following night. They all wanted to go into Calcutta that evening to Firpo’s and the Cinema. I left Idris still with them, and went into Calcutta to fetch Herbert from office, and then pick up one of the young American climbers from Nanda Devi, whose father had come out to join him and do a tour in India. Father and son were staying at the Grand Hotel, and were both nice. Herbert found the old boy interesting about American business matters and politics, and Mr Cooke, who met us at the Saturday Club, and I had a great talk with the boy about mountain-climbing. He was keen to show us a special type of tent which they had used and found more satisfactory than either the Meade or Whymper designs, which are the types most used by our mountaineers, so I arranged for Freddie Temple, who was coming out to tea here the following afternoon, to bring them out complete with tent. We had an amusing time with it, tying guy-ropes on to the legs of the chairs of people who were loitering over their tea, and who promised not to move, and then forgot! We had not long parted from Freddie and our American friends, when the Air-Force men arrived. I was glad that they included the Second-in-command whom I had picked out at Dum Dum as being much the nicest. As a matter of fact the four lads who came here all seemed nice, when out like this. I think the fault at Sum Dum had been with the Squadron leader, one of those rather stupid fat red-faced men, who dont seem to be over burdened with good manners.
Altogether we had rather a social week-end, for the Gurners and the Cookes came out to lunch on Sunday. We asked them to come out early, so that we could sit under the trees on the river bank and drink shandy. Its cool enough to do that sort of thing now. In fact I have not used a fan for days. The weather is lovely. I think it has become cool sooner than usual this year, so we are hoping that after the extra long monsoon, we are going to have an extra long and cold cold weather.
I have only made one other excursion into Calcutta. Idris and I went in on Tuesday evening, and took Percy Brown and the Jenkins to the 6 o’clock show of “Antony Adverse”. I thought it began well, and tailed off dreadfully. Once they began to alter the story they were done, and descended into sloppy common-place sentiment, instead of the robust and credible humanity of the book.
Herbert is already getting tired again. I do wish he could learn to take things easier. I dont mean in the way of shorter hours of work, but of not minding so much about things, and not allowing himself to be irritated by all sorts of little things that cant be avoided and cant be altered. However I suppose its his nature to feel very vividly about things, and its hopeless to try and alter it!
We have actually got passages on the Maloja leaving Bombay on the 27th March, so I hope we shall be in England on the 11th April.
This time I am only doing a short account of our trip, but so far have only accomplished a couple of pages. I shall keep it and send it all in one piece.
Best love to you all
LJT
From LJT to Annette
The Towers
Cossipore
Calcutta
Nov 19th 1936
My darling Annette
It was a relief to hear that your eye was going on alright and I hope there was no set back and you were able to go back to school as planned. It was good to hear that you had turned out all your clothes – I trust you left them all in apple-pie order. Auntie tells me that she gets quite desperate about the untidiness of you all – both the Peeveys and the Beasties. Its hard to know what to write on the subject, for no doubt Auntie has put forward all the arguments in favour of tidiness and if you take no notice of her, I don’t suppose you will take any notice of me, away at the other end of the world. Even a more or less mechanical thing like tidiness, comes from the heart, I believe. If you could once really see – see with the true eyes of your mind, the immense advantage of being reasonably tidy, I feel quite sure you would become tidy with practically no effort – I cant resist putting down what I think are good reasons for being tidy –
1. It saves that precious commodity – “time” – Hunting for things that have been mislaid is a most irritating and unprofitable way of spending time. The remark that Nannie used to be fond of “a place for every thing and every thing in its place” – is a good one.
2. Esthetically – tidiness makes for beauty and a pleasant appearance. The mere fact of keeping rooms or gardens tidy improves them by about 50% - just as it improves personal appearance.
3. Economy – Clothes thrown about don’t last in good condition nearly as long as ones that are cared for – nor does any thing.
I could think of a lot more reasons, but I am getting bored with them – but I must just add this one, special to the case of you three “Peeveys” – Your untidiness means trouble for Auntie, and bothers and annoys her. If you would try to realize for a few moments the debt you owe her, for having you in her home and treating you exactly as if you were her own children – giving you her work, time, thought and affection without stint, and compare what your holidays would be if you had to go round to the other different Aunts, or to paid “holiday homes” never having any place of your own, I think you would make an effort to be tidy even if only to help and please her – Will you show this letter to Rosemary? I don’t want to write all this over again; but some of the ideas in it may not have struck the thirteen-year old Poppet.
Do you remember David Pilkington? His younger brother Alastir was a contemporary of yours. David is coming out to a business firm in Calcutta, after taking a 1st Class Honours Degree in Economic History – and his mother writes to ask me to cast a motherley eye on him. I am just launching another charming young man into Calcutta society – Only a very small push off is needed to put them into the swim if they have looks, manners and brains, as this young man has – and as David should have, if he has kept up his early promise
I hope you got a pretty evening frock –
Best love –
from
Mum
Family letter from LJT
The Towers
Cossipore
Nov. 19th 1936
My Dears,
It is already past 11 o’clock, and I am only now starting my mail. There are two dhirzies working in the house, one making a frock for me, and one making chair-covers for the house; two men altering and mending verandah chicka; three men cleaning and re-making mattresses, and the head mali sick, so that I had firstly to go and see him and administer castor oil, and secondly to do all the flowers myself. The dress-making dhirzie said he could not get on with his work unless I would try the dress on, and all the other men needed a good deal of attention!
I suppose the great event of the week was the Durbar yesterday at which Herbert was presented with his C.I.E. Winsome and I attended, dressed in our best. Considering what a long drawn out and dull performance a Durbar is, we enjoyed ourselves quite well. The procession at the beginning, and the first few presentations were quite picturesque and interesting. General Lindsay was made a Companion of the Order of the Bath and next came Herbert. The only other person who interested us much, was Rajar Sir Manumath Santosh, President of the Bengal Council, who was made a Maharaja. He looked fine in a beautiful white brocade chapkan, girdled by a gold belt fastened with a magnificent diamond buckle. His pugaree was of deep violet silk, and when H.E. had to put the jewelled holder with the aigret into the fron of it, he had an awful job to get it in. This jewel was a lovely thing. The centre was a huge amythest, set in a wide filigree of diamonds. We are curious to know whether it is paid for by the State, or whether the recipient has to pay for it himself. There-after the proceedings became rather dull, as numbers of Indian gentlemen came up to receive the titles of Rai or Khan Bahadur or Rai or Khan Sahib (Rai is the Hindu form, Khan the Mohammadan) Winsome and I and our neighbours indulged in a good deal of whispered conversation for the hour while this was going on, and became interested again when the Police Medals for bravery were presented. Last of all came an ordinary country constable, who had persued an armed anarchist in the dark, knocked him down and disarmed and captured him. There he was in his rather badly fitting khaki tunic and shorts, and scarlet cotton pugaree, looking so simple amongst all the military uniforms and political full dress of the service people, and the brocades and silks of the Indians. It must have been a great moment for him, and I would love to be able to hear his description of it when he gets back to his village.
We went back to Harry and Winsome’s when the proceedings were over, and Arthur Dash, with whom they are living, opened a bottle of Hock, in which to drink Herbert’s health.
Quite a number of people have been out here to see us this week. Last Friday was a holiday, and though G.B. Gourlay adhered to his custom of going to office on holidays, he consented to leave at 3.30 and bring his bride out here to spend the evening. They came about 4 o’clock, and stayed to dinner, and even then we had not had time to exchange half the news. Much to our regret G.B. is being made a Director of the Company in March, and as the firms headquarter are in Madras, we shall lost him for good. Its good for him of course from a business point of view, but he will be sorry to leave all his friends in Calcutta, and also to go so much further away from the mountains. We had the Gurners and Percy Brown out to lunch on Sunday, and Harry and Winsome and family to tea. The children evidently thought it a nice place and found the river amusing, and John was interested in all the old guns which are freely scattered about, and in the trophies made of swords, bayonets and old pistols, which adorn the Hall and staircase very handsomely.
Idris is quite fit again, and we had intended to go for a short flight on Tuesday afternoon, but just after 1 o’clock he got a telegram, asking him if he could fly a nurse down to Chandipore in Orissa, where the guns from this factory are tested, and where the wife of one of his officers, who had been coming in to Calcutta for the arrival of her first baby early next month, had been taken ill unexpectedly, and the local doctor did not consider it safe for her to travel to Calcutta. It would have taken a nurse hours to do the cross-country journey, so this was a marvellous way out. By the time we had telephoned for the nurse, and got hold of Idris’ driver to go and fetch her etc etc, they did not get away from Dum Dum till nearly 3 o’clock, so he could not get back that night. We are flying up to Jalpaiguri to stay with Bry Jones for the week-end, and Herbert is going to spend Sunday with Harry and Winsome. I expect he and Freddie Temple will go out to Tolly for a bathe on Saturday.
Idris and I braced ourselves to go and pay calls on Monday afternoon, and went to write in the General’s book, and the books of the Burdwans, Cooch Behars and one or two other Rajas, and elave cards on the Ministers members and High Court Judges. We just managed to get them all done, and feel very pleased, as now I only need to return the calls of other people by post. I stayed in Calcutta to dinner with the Cookes, because we were having a Himalayan Club Committee Meeting after dinner, and Herbert and Idris went home to-gether. It was nice having G.B. back at our meeting again. We shall miss him when he goes away. He has such a wide knowledge of the mountains, and such shrewd and sound judgement. There has been a lot of writing for the Himalayan Club to do this week, and really it was lucky I was able to stay quietly at home on Tuesday afternoon, because I did most of it then. This, and the number of things there are to do in the house and garden explain why I have got no further with my account of our trip. I am sorry!
The weather has turned hot again, after getting unusually cool at the beginning of November, but it seems to be returning to normal to-day. I expect we shall find it quite cold in Jalpai. It gets much colder for much longer there, than it does in Calcutta.
Best love to you all
LJT
From HPV to Annette
Calcutta
Nov 26th 1936
My dear Annette
Last weeks failure to write was a thing that I regret. Ascribe it to the ill effects of the Durbar. I was exhausted on Wednesday evening when usually I start writing my letters: after the Durbar which was long your aunt Winsome insisted on our going back with them for a bit: John was noisy (I detest shrillness) and my uniform with its stiff heavily braided collar was oppressive and generally there was a lack of restfulness which followed by the always trying drive through north Calcutta made bed welcome immediately after dinner. Next morning I must have got up late and afterwards I miscalculated; suddenly remembered that I had an appointment and went off to it; and discovered that I had the time of it wrong and that it was for the afternoon. A rare muddle due to fixing engagements over the telephone.
On Friday I had a long interview with the Governor: the first for months to which I went without being angry. He discusses things reasonably and I tell him everything without reserve though it means speaking my mind about the Finance Member, about Sir Nazimuddin under whom I work, and about Government in general. The fate of the Hooghly Howrah irrigation scheme is in the balance: the finance Member has had it with him for weeks and is likely to give his decision any day now. What we want is to spend 1 ½ lakhs £11500 on getting estimates worked out, and checked on the ground, in full detail. The decision whether to go ahead with the actual scheme, at a cost of £2,85,000(stet) or so, would depend on the estimates thus obtained and on calculations about yield which would be ready then. The Finance Member is occupied in making such calculations now without real data and wants to decide now on the main question whether the scheme should go on. There are of course all sorts of complications. My view is that if they didn’t consider my figures good enough why did they accept my proposals for legislation? We got the law through on the strength of promises based on the figures: everything that has been investigated since confirms their accuracy: and it is futile to say now that they are not conclusive – of course they are not conclusive: and they never were represented as being so.
Dinner at Government House on Friday: a good show as such shows go: that is, we knew most of the people there and liked most of those whom we knew. A bathe on Saturday afternoon: not a success: we waited and waited for news of the air squadron men whom we had asked to come out to Tollygunge: they arrived late from whatever their last port of call had been: and by the time that we gave them up the air had become chilly. On Sunday I spent some time agreeably sawing leaves off palm trees. On Tuesday we visited brother Harry but got no good from it because there were guests there. – Otherwise much work to be done.
And that’s my week
Much love
Dad
Family letter from LJT
The Towers
Cossipore
Calcutta
Nov 26th 1936.
My dears,
This has been rather a sad week for this house. Poor Idris had a cable on Thursday to say that his Mother had had a stroke, and on Friday another to say that she was dead. His terribly cut up, for he evidently adored her. Of course I put off the flight to Jalpaiguri, and have been spending most of my time with him, as he hated being alone. We thought of all sorts of little things to do, just to prevent him sitting still and brooding over it. Luckily there were a lot of little things we had been intending to do “when we had time”, which have helped to fill up the days. Monday and Tuesday were holidays. I dont know whether it was a good thing or not that he did not have to go and work. We took Herbert all round the Factory Estate on Sunday morning. I had seen all of it at times before, but Herbert never had, and was quite interested. We spent the evening working in the garden, chiefly sawing dead leaves off palm trees, which is the sort of gardening that Herbert likes best.
Herbert and I had to dine at Government House on Friday, so Idris went in to Calbutta and had dinner with an old friend. I wore the new brown evening frock that Grace sent me, and with which I am immensely pleased. It was one of the huge dinners of about 100 people, which I always think are rather fun. I had quite a long talk with H.E. after dinner, and was amused and rather pleased when he referred familiarly to Herbert by his Christian name.
I am deeply plunged in Himalayan Club work again, and I am afraid I have not touched the account of our trip. I dont know when I shall, for next week is the Christmas mail, and I have to write my Annual Report for the Club by the middle of December.
The various works in the house are getting on, and I am glad to say they have helped to interest Idris the last few days. I have just been arranging to have breakfast out of doors from now on, to the great astonishment of the malis, who have never heard of such doings before. Its so lovely in the garden looking over the river, which is half a mile wide here. Apart from its actual width, we also look down and across a huge bend, to Howrah bridge, some 3 or 4 miles away.
The hot weather which we found so tiresome last week has gone again, and the last two days have been quite cold, so that we have been glad of coats in the car in the evening. Its lovely when this freshness comes in the air.
I had a busy day in Calcutta yesterday, and lunched with Winsome. John seems to have caught the areoplane fever from Arthur Dash, with whom they are living, and his great joy at the moment are a fleet of toy areoplanes. He builds elaborate hangers and run-ways for them. Winsome is adamant about allowing him to go up, or about going up herself!
All the plans for the Christmas festivities are taking shape now. We have just heard when the Government House and Viceregal Balls and Garden parties are going to take place. Everyone is saying “thank God, we shant have to get elaborate fancy dresses this year”. I had had a vague idea that it would be a good thing to get Herbert to go away for Christmas but its too difficult to get him to make up his mind, and for some reason when other people find going away for a few days refreshing, he seems to find it exhausting.
There is really not much news to give you.
Our best love to you all
LJT
From LJT to Annette
The Towers
Cossipore
Nov 26th 1936
My darling Annette
I am glad Auntie had a second opinion about your eye and that the verdict was satisfactory. Its a bother for you having to be away from school for so long and lucky that you are able to work quickly and pick up lost ground when you go back
To get an evening frock for 29/6 seems really remarkable – but I know I have seen quite pretty ones even in those little shops whose frocks are all a guinea each. I am very pleased with the clothes that Auntie has sent out to me – They are most charming and satisfactory. I think she has chosen them most cleverly.
Hearing Dr Goebbels and then Hitler on the wireless must really have been very exciting – How close the wireless and the cinema are able to bring other countries. I wish it made us all understand one another better. No one can really want war, and yet people talk and talk about it. When you were in Germany did it appear to you that the German’s were anti-British? All the Germans I meet seem so friendly and so nice.
There is really not an awful lot to write about this week. Practically ever since I wrote last week the lion’s share of my time and attention has been taken up with trying to comfort poor Idris Mathews, in his intense grief at the death of his Mother – I have had quite a lot of experience of being with people who have lost people very dear to them and have quite a fair idea about how thoughts and feelings run – Almost invariably there are times when they must talk about the person who has gone and about their own feelings – and then in between they need to have things to keep them busy in some way or occuppy the surface of their minds –
I shant start another page, my dear – but just send you my best love
from
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