![An Account of a Journey in Kashmir by David Lockhart Robertson Lorimer and Letters from Emily Overend Lorimer to her Parents sent from Bahrain and Kerman [‎282r] (577/1291)](https://iiif.qdl.qa/iiif/images/81055/vdc_100000000323.0x0002bc/Mss Eur D922_1_0577.jp2/full/!1200,1200/0/default.jpg "An Account of a Journey in Kashmir by David Lockhart Robertson Lorimer and Letters from Emily Overend Lorimer to her Parents sent from Bahrain and Kerman [‎282r] (577/1291)")
An Account of a Journey in Kashmir by David Lockhart Robertson Lorimer and Letters from Emily Overend Lorimer to her Parents sent from Bahrain and Kerman [282r] (577/1291)
The record is made up of 2 files (630 folios). It was created in 1898-1914. It was written in English and Persian. The original is part of the British Library: India Office The department of the British Government to which the Government of India reported between 1858 and 1947. The successor to the Court of Directors. Records and Private Papers Documents collected in a private capacity. .
Transcription
This transcription is created automatically. It may contain errors.
4. (m)
willing to vceep nim.
Another day tiie purcnaaer oi' a cionK.ey oame up to complain
tnat tne man wno sold it nad guaranteed tnat it was a line
donkey ior riaing inii fiwt it was impossiole to ride. The
vendor maintained oy ail tuat he considered holy that a child
of six could ride it. Look cut short these asseverations oy
naving the donkey fetcned and the court adjourned to the com
pound to judge for itself. Lock very thougntrully sent up
a chit to m«* to tell me //hat was going on, so I saw the fun
from the oalcony. The vendor uia nis oest to get everyone
present to try tne aonKey, out no one was so green, ana Lock
insisted that he must ride it and show us himself now it went.
I seldom saw anything funnier than the gingerly way he approached
the oeast and seized the saddle to mount. It jiooed away from
him and dragged him ignominiously aoout, Kicking out aa only
a Bahrein donkey oan Kick, ingeniously catching his master
in the small of the cack in spit 3 of the man'-s ei* arts .o dodge.
Shouts of delighted laughter irom all the oystanders *ettied
the question toe vendor refunded the purchase money and
walked off digconsoj^ateljr with the donkey while Lock gave the
purchaser some good aavice aoout testing his donkeys in future
oeiore concluding the oarguin* The oeotrine of "caveat
emptor" has not yet reaensd Bahrein and the puclic seemed to
think chat justice naa ooen done.
We had a comic domestic scene last night. When Yusuf left,
the idiot ooy had to oa entrusted with the key oi the lamp room
where our oil is kept; he raised a false alarm the other day
that the aaasalchi was "stealing'’ oil, ana his own virtue and
innocence in the matter were oeyona praise. Yesterday, however
the cook sent up word that this youth was sending Over tin cans
full of oil to his own house. They were a 1 sent for ana it
was clear that he had oeen supplying himself freely with oil;
he made no attempt to deny it, he was very hard up and it was
more convenient to take our oil than to ouy his own, ana as he
took it in oroad daylight and everyoody knew, it wasn't stealing.
Lock askea him in what way this differed from the massalchi's
taking some and nis answer was "Ah, out, Sahio, the oil is in
my charge" I He is a perfect idiot, ana I oelieve he really
means well according to his lights; out one-eighth of an eye
gives apparently very little light even when supplemented oy
the oest Kerosene Oil. look let him off with a warning that
if he had oe^n in anyone else's service he would i;ave gone
straight to prison. We on y nope the other servants won't
✓
About this item
- Content
This file consists of two separate physical files as follows:
1) An account of a journey in Kashmir in 1898-99 written by David Lockhart Robertson Lorimer of the Indian Army. His account is entitled 'Three Months of Privilege Leave'. It contains his observations on the languages, peoples, transport, flora and fauna, trade and climate of the region. There are occasional edits and corrections to the original text marked in red pen. The Persian language material in the file is a proverb written on folio 194.
In addition to this travel diary, the following is enclosed: an essay by Lorimer entitled 'Modern Education' dated 9 February 1895 (folios 1-24); two copies of a pamphlet that was published 'for private circulation' in memory of David's brother, John Gordon Lorimer, following his death on 8 February 1914 (folios 255-262); and another essay by Lorimer entitled 'Our Indian N.W. Frontier - a study in a bye-gone Civilisation. A forgotten Chapter of Frontier History' (folios 221-253).
2) Copies of letters that were sent from Emily Overend Lorimer to her parents, Thomas George Overend and Hannah Kingsbury. The letters describe the lives of Emily and her husband, David Lockhart Robertson Lorimer (referred to as 'Lock' in the letters), while living in Bahrain from October 1911 until November 1912 (folios 263-310) and in Kerman from January 1913 until November 1914 (folios 313-634). David served as Political Agent A mid-ranking political representative (equivalent to a Consul) from the diplomatic corps of the Government of India or one of its subordinate provincial governments, in charge of a Political Agency. in Bahrain 1911-12 and as HM Consul, Kerman and Persian Baluchistan, 1913-14.
The letters discuss a range of topics including Lorimer's observations of local customs, food, climate, scenery and festivals; the couple's domestic life and arrangements (especially their servants, who are often discussed in racialised, insulting language); and her interactions with other non-local residents. Also discussed are Lorimer's reading habits, her and her husband's health, family news and, occasionally, world events and political developments.
On folios 322-324, the file contains a description of a walk around Kerman in March 1914 that is accompanied by a sequence of six small black and white photographs of various points in the journey (folios 315-321).
In addition to these letters, the file also contains a number obituaries and letters of condolence written upon the death of David's brother, John Gordon Lorimer, on 8 February 1914 (folios 299-302, 415-416 and 543-544).
On folio 417, the file contains an obituary of David Lockhart Robertson Lorimer published in an unknown newspaper following his death on 26 February 1962.
- Extent and format
- 2 files (630 folios)
- Physical characteristics
Foliation: this file consists of two physical volumes. The foliation sequence commences at the front cover of volume one (ff 1-262) and terminates at the inside back cover of volume two (ff 263-634); these numbers are written in pencil, are circled, and are located in the top right corner of the recto The front of a sheet of paper or leaf, often abbreviated to 'r'. side of each folio.
- Written in
- English and Persian in Latin and Arabic script View the complete information for this record
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An Account of a Journey in Kashmir by David Lockhart Robertson Lorimer and Letters from Emily Overend Lorimer to her Parents sent from Bahrain and Kerman [282r] (577/1291), British Library: India Office Records and Private Papers, Mss Eur D922/1, in Qatar Digital Library <https://www.qdl.qa/archive/81055/vdc_100179946968.0x000047> [accessed 1 April 2025]
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- Reference
- Mss Eur D922/1
- Title
- An Account of a Journey in Kashmir by David Lockhart Robertson Lorimer and Letters from Emily Overend Lorimer to her Parents sent from Bahrain and Kerman
- Pages
- 263r:298v, 303r:306v, 309r:391v, 393r:411v, 418r:542v, 545r:634v
- Author
- Lorimer, Emily Martha
- Copyright
- ©Munro Family
- Usage terms
- Creative Commons Attribution Licence