![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 [‎357r] (733/1291)](https://iiif.qdl.qa/iiif/images/81055/vdc_100000000323.0x0002bc/Mss Eur D922_1_0733.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 [‎357r] (733/1291)")
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 [357r] (733/1291)
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.
QAT^
4 .
in our primitive aort of lifo on3 Ccuinot afford to b> too squ )&mish
.or too sontimunt&l and on 5 soon ioaiit^s to forgot th 3 snoop in tha
mutton. It is rath )r ^musing too to ( work ono's v/ay tfirough its
various possibilities — head," innards" 3to. And all those things
mak >3 pleasant changes in on >'s daily faro.
1*1 addition to those porsonal servants who mor> or ie s come
into my province there are of course the three farrashes wio attend
on Lock and th > Office, th 3 syces who look after th > horses, *nd
th i Persian "guards” mo m^k 3 th emselves useful in sw iping ana
cat tying ana acting as postmen^!^ There is of course a lot of
no oe—deliver ing to bo done. This, if ,you add th s 6 Indian sowers,
completes our establishment. Some day when Lock has time we must
g>t a photograph for you of the whole crowd; though it wdn't be easy
to g et th em all together al on e time.
You can't think how amusing it aii is nor what a lot of
tinn it takes to keep even a superficial eye (that is a good phrase!)
on the whole place. It amuses me very much to notice the difference
in mys.ii as a mem—sahib inntne two years that have olsps >d. At
first in Bahrein one was so hopelessly at sea; the conditions were
so different from horns ones that you were sorely at a loss to know
wnat or how much it was possible to get done. Now I have a far
oettrr idea of what it is reasonable to ask th e servants to do, and
wnat level of up-keep one ean hope to attain —or at any rate aim at.
°J C0ur3 1 tn)ro la no ia ke eping things tidy outside ^iy more
onan indoors and you hav e to be always on the watch. One day you
Cr-,och uh > mason mixing his mud ama lime and mess es on the front door
step as a most convenient spot — leaving of course a great white
s l, a in; another day the cook killing the chicken on one of the tiled
garden pat ns within si grit of the drawing room door leaving a pretty
pool of olooa the stain of mien was still visible some weeks after.
Ana ali day every day they throw papers and orange-peels about, on
to t no pat ns or — which they consider a real act of thoughtfulness
-- inuo the v/aterchannels. So on my rounds to the stor e-room aid
kite non ovry day I keep my .eyes open and every thing of this sort
tn^t I spy h^s to b e then and th ere removed oj somebody who ev er has
tno oad luck to be standing near it whether he is a fan^sh or
yard ener or cook and quite regardless of whether it is his orange.
It nas oecome quite a standing joke to the whole establishment —
and tno numoer^of stray orange-peels has very sensible decreased;
inden one is^ratner a find. One day I saw Haji 'Aii near a great
oigjme in one jud (wtar ecourse), ana asked what he meant by throwing
i^^i- 1; ? ^ stu P i<i enough to answer back, as no r eally
^ b 10 n 0 >v er do es) Oh that is a good piaeve for it Mhanum
Z TiltVtH ?™ J . Lt fcWay% . ; rn 5 ^ >r wiii d0 nothing of the kih/
yy O aveay yourself. And amongst the titters of the
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 [357r] (733/1291), British Library: India Office Records and Private Papers, Mss Eur D922/1, in Qatar Digital Library <https://www.qdl.qa/archive/81055/vdc_100179946972.0x000025> [accessed 20 June 2026]
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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