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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 [266r] (538/1291)
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.
I am aor:y I smiled at Mrs. Knox'ateaching” the cook i - it would
be ten times easier to make the thing oneself, if it were possible
to understand and work their extraordinary open fires. The worst
of ijt is that the cook is so keen on variety that he wants new
receipts for things e\£ry morning, however I refuse to be bullied and
only do as much as I want to. All these things, trivial though thy
are,make many new interests for me and vary the day greatly; with
them and the weekly accounts and the business letters, I have quite
a wholesome antidote to reading.
t ;
The Araoic is getting on nicely; I still put in a good two
hours every day, except occasionally on mail-days or the like, and
once a week I go over to Mrs. Mylnea in the forenoon and once a week
she comes to me and we read the Koran together. It is much rare /*
interesting to have someone to work with than just to stodge away
alone; she gives me too an idea of the modern pronunciation and idiom
and so some day I may get a chance of learning to talk it. Lock
and I think, it is true,that the Missionaries’s Araoic accent is not
a liti le coloured by their Yankee extraction, but at the same time
I can learn a lot from her and yet keep an open mind on doubtful
points 1 She is very pleasant to work with, and of course must
know Arabic well, though I shouldn’t say she was a scientist by ins
tinct. In exchange for help with my Arabic, I read French with her
part of the time, and so I don't feel that I am exploiting her without
a return - and no doubt she hears a Dublin brogue piercing through
my uest Parisian I It is curious to mett a grown-up person who
really and truly doesn't know any French; she dropped it at the age
of ten - in favour of Latin, This latter is however, a grat help
to her , and in trying to make use of it I am brushing up the half-
forgotten remains of such Historical French Grammar as I once knew.
So, from evry point of view our biweekly lessons are jolly.
Needless to say poor Lock has never a moment for Pashtu these
days and when the full rush of the winter work begins with the return
of the divers next week all hope of occasional leisure hours wiiyoe
over for the present. In the evenings we are now redding Vanity Fair
having abandoned Middlemarch as fl>t suitable for reading aloud; it
dragged somehow a little and used to make me fall prematurely asleep,
and yet I finished it with pleasure for myself. We greatly enjoyed
Pride and Prejudice lately - the first time I evr got any real
pleasure from Miss Austen - I think my first choise of Sense and
Sensibility was perhaps not happy and then m^ pride and prejudice
prevented my trying again after reaching years of discretion I
Lord Cromer's Egypt is a splendid book; I was glad to have
read Milner once, though it some years ago, and so to have an idae
beforehand of what the problems were; it is a fascinating story.
And certainly one's understanding is quickened by seeing / on however
small a scale much the same type of difficulty, the same handicap
ot anomalous privileges and anomalous powers and anomalous powerlessness
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 [266r] (538/1291), British Library: India Office Records and Private Papers, Mss Eur D922/1, in Qatar Digital Library <https://www.qdl.qa/archive/81055/vdc_100179946972.0x0000aa> [accessed 18 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