At Parell, Every Morning, One
Of The Gardeners Renews The Flowers Which Decorate The Apartments
Of The Guests; Bouquets Are
Placed upon the breakfast-table, which,
though formal, are made up after the most approved Parisian fashion,
the natives being
Exceedingly skilful in the arrangement of flowers.
Vases filled with roses meet the eye in every direction, flowers which
assume their supremacy over all other daughters of Flora, though there
are many beautiful specimens, the common productions of the gardens,
which are rarely found even in hothouses in England.
The society of Bombay enjoys the great advantage arising from the
presence of the ladies of the Governor's family, who have rendered
themselves most deservedly popular by the frequency and the
agreeableness of their entertainments, and the kind attention which
they pay to every invited guest. The slight forms that are kept up at
Government-house are just sufficient to give a somewhat courtly air
to these parties without depriving them of their sociability. Morning
visitors are received once a-week, and upon these occasions Parell
assumes a very gay appearance.
The band, which is an excellent one, is stationed in the hall below,
playing occasionally the most popular compositions of the day, while
its pillared verandah is filled with liveried servants, handsomely
dressed in scarlet, white, and gold. The ample staircases are lined
with flowers, and as the carriages drive up, the aide-de-camps
and other military resident guests are in readiness to receive the
visitors, and to usher them up stairs, and introduce them to the
ladies of the family.
The morning reception lasts from eleven until two, and the numerous
arrivals from distant stations, or from England, officers continually
coming down from the army or the dominions of foreign princes,
give occasion to conversations of great interest, while it forms
a rallying-point to the whole of Bombay. The evening parties are
distinguished for the excellence of the music, the band having
improved greatly under the stimulating influence of the ladies of the
Governor's family, who are all delightful performers, one especially
excelling. In addition, therefore, to their own talents, all the
musical genius of Bombay is put into requisition, and the result is
shown in some very charming episodes between the dancing.
At these evening parties, the brilliance of the lights, and the
beauty of the flowers, which in the supper-room especially are very
tastefully displayed, render the scene extremely attractive. One very
pleasing feature must not be omitted; in the ante-room is placed
a large silver salver, filled with bouquets, which are presented,
according to the Oriental custom, to every guest. The number and
variety of the uniforms, and the large proportion of native gentlemen,
add much to the gaiety of the appearance of these parties, and the
eye most accustomed to European splendour may find pleasure in
roaming over these spacious, well-filled, and brilliantly illuminated
apartments.
Nor is it the interior alone that attracts; on the still moonlight
nights, which are so beautiful in India, the scenery viewed from the
windows assumes a peculiar and almost magical appearance, looking more
like a painting than living reality. The trees, so motionless that not
a leaf stirs, present a picture of such unbroken repose, that we can
scarcely imagine it to be real; the sky seems to be drawn closer to
us, while the whole breathes of divine art, suggesting poetry and
music and thoughts of Paradise.
In England I remember feeling a longing desire to breathe the
delicious balm, and gaze upon the exquisite effects of an Indian night
again, with its tone of soft beauty and the silvery mystery of its
atmosphere, which adds so great a charm to the rich magnificence of
the foliage; and now I fancy that I can never sufficiently drink in a
scene, not only lovely in itself, but peculiarly delightful from its
contrast to the glare of the day.
The grounds and gardens of Parell, in extent and splendour, will bear
no comparison with those of Barrackpore, which are, perhaps, some of
the finest in the world, and which must be explored in carriages or
on horseback, while the plantations and parterres at this place offer
nothing more than agreeable walks, which perhaps, after all, afford
superior gratification; at least to those who prefer a feeling of home
to the admiration elicited by great splendour.
Not one of the least pleasing sensations excited by a residence at
Parell, is the recollection of the distinguished persons who have
inhabited the same chambers, and sat in the same halls. The Duke
of Wellington is said frequently to have expressed a partiality for
Parell, and to look back to the days of his sojourn within its walls
with pleasure. Here he reposed after those battles in which he
laid the foundation of his future glory, and to which, after long
experience, and so many subsequent triumphs as almost to eclipse
their splendour, he recurs with peculiar satisfaction. So far from
underrating, as is the fashion with many of the military servants of
the Crown, the merits of a successful campaign in India, the great
captain of the age, than whom there can be no better judge, rates the
laurels that he gathered in his earliest fields as highly as those
wrested from the soldiers of France, glorying in the title given him
by Napoleon, of "the Sepoy General."
Few things can be more agreeable than listening to anecdotes told at
the dinner-table at Parell of the Duke of Wellington by officers who
have formerly sat at the same board with him, who have served under
his command in India, and who delight in recording those early traits
of character which impressed all who knew him with the conviction that
he was destined to become the greatest man of the age. The Duke of
Wellington, though wholly unacquainted with the language spoken in
India, was always held in the highest esteem by the natives, with
whom, generally speaking, in order to become popular, it is absolutely
necessary to be able to converse in their own tongue.
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