Pièce 39 - Letter from M. Fazl i Haq to R. C. Trevelyan

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Chhatarpur. - Thanks Trevelyan for his 'kind letter of the 10th'; it is only because of Trevelyan's own 'kind nature and good-heartedness' that he makes 'so much of what little I did'. In turn, thanks Trevelyan for the present of his brother [George]'s Garibaldi and the Thousand.

Very glad to hear that Dickinson is now 'quite fit to go on with his long & distant journey'. Their best wishes go with both Trevelyan and Dickinson, and Forster, and they all hope they will 'fully enjoy' their travels. 'You know that H. H. [the Maharaja] likes & loves nothing better in the world than the society of cultured English gentlemen. I can say that from my personal experiences of the last 19 years that I have been with him. He missed your company very much - in fact he was very much depressed after you left'. It was not until 'long after that the loneliness & monotony of his life was somewhat relieved by a visit from Miss Cohen and her brother' but they could only stay a couple of days and left for Gwalior. Showed Trevelyan's letter to the Maharaja, who 'was very much impressed with what you said therein about your visit to Chhatarpur & the hospitality of its ruler'; the Maharaja has received Trevelyan's letter to him 'from the jungles of Salim' and will reply soon. He 'read it and re-read it in my presence and was much impressed. He was also very glad to hear that you met Sir Theodore [Morison], whom he he is going to see at Patna or Lucknow'. The 'Hon. A. G. G. [Assistant Governor General?] is due at Chhatarpur om his official tour about 20 Feb., and the Maharaja cannot fix a definite date [to see Morison] until that tour is over.

Is glad to hear that Nanhu Mal was useful to them at Benares. Notes that Bob finds 'the Persian alphabet very troublesome', but thinks if he takes it seriously he 'won't find it so unmanageable in the long run': hopes he will 'soon get over the difficulty' so that soon Haq will 'have the pleasure to correspond with you in Persian language & quote Persian poets'. Had a 'very kind letter from Mr Forster' recently, who seems to have 'very pleasant recollections' of his visit to Chhatarpur'.

Yesterday was a public holiday [] and the Maharaja 'held a dunbar last night to offer thanks to the Almighty on this happy occasion'. The Maharaja has 'entered into a singular correspondence with Dr. Carpenter [perhaps Edward Carpenter?] & has received many of his books of late'; has also had Dickinson and Forster's books 'direct from England' and is 'much interested in all these books': Haq always finds him with one in his hand. The Diwan told Haq recently that he had received [Trevelyan's father's] Life of Macaulay from Trevelyan.

Wonders if Trevelyan [and his friends?] 'can induce H. H. to visit England - It is sure to do him much good from every point of view'; he himself is 'only his servant & my solicitations in this respect can therefore be of very little avail'.

Asks to be remembered to Mr Dickinson.