Page 213 - The Pirate Coast (By Sir Charles Belgrave)

taken, and the Marquis shot one of them. Thus ended our
morning’s sport.’
On another day, Loch and Adam went to Scramporc to visit
the Missionary School, kept by a Mr. Carey, where they saw
‘native children learning the Scriptures in various languages and
the printing press, now worked by steam, where they were
throwing off 23 different translations of the Scriptures in as many
different languages’. They called on a rich Nabob, who lived
near Calcutta, ‘whose gardens were surrounded by dens, in which
were wild beasts, lions, tigers, panthers, and other ferocious
animals, which seemed to me finer than those at Barrackporc,
though not so numerous’.
One evening, before dinner, Lord Hastings drew Loch aside,
and ‘with the best of feelings, not knowing the strong affection
and intimacy between Mr. Adam’s family and myself, acquainted
me of the death of Mr. Adam’s youngest brother’. Hastings
asked Loch to break the news to his cousin John Adam.
‘I will not attempt to describe the sudden, dreadful stun I felt.
It was necessary to muster up every effort to restrain the grief
which a man naturally suffers at the sudden intelligence of the
demise of one whom he loves. What a time it appeared from
the moment of our sitting down to dinner until withdrawing!
How tiresome and irksome was the conversation, at least those
scraps of it which I caught! Again, when in the drawing room,
I thought I never would succeed in drawing Mr. Adam away.
I made a thousand excuses to lead him to retire, which he thought
a breach of good breeding. At last, I told him that a ship had
arrived from England (which had been concealed from him) by
which, I thought, we might have intelligence from home. This
succeeded, and we started for Calcutta, but I would not wish my
worst enemy to suffer what I did when I found myself seated by
Mr. Adam in the chaise. I leave it to those who have feelings of
affection to judge for themselves what we both suffered, nor do
I think it unlike a man to be a human being.’
Loch paid two visits to Barrackpore, and then returned to Cal­
cutta to prepare for his final departure from India. He describes
the morning and evening scene on the Esplanade Road, ‘which is
as smooth as it is possible for art to make it, a really splendid
carriage way. Mr. Elphinstone, the brother of the Governor of
Bombay, kindly took me in his gig. It would have been supposed
185