FRENCHMAN IN INDIA

Dominion, Volume 29, Issue 196, 16 May 1936, Page 25

FRENCHMAN IN INDIA

The Correspondence Of Victor Jacquemont “Letters from India, 1829-1832,” being a selection from the correspondence of Victor Jacquemont, translated with an introduction by Catherine Alison Phillips (London: Macmillan). More charming letters than these century-old ones from a young Frenchman in India it would be difficult to discover anywhere. Victor Jacquemont, by birth an aristocrat and by conviction a republican and rationalist, went to India in 1829 as travelling naturalist to the Jardin des Plantes, Paris. He had Ititle money, but as compensation he had a lovable personality, which gave him instant entry everywhere be went and won for him much affection. In spite of hie lack of means he went from Calcutta to Delhi and on into the Himalayas, even crossing the frontier of Tibet. It was while on the borders of Tibet that he succeeded in obtaining the assistance of Ranjit Singh, whose territories were jealously closed to all Europeans except the few in his service. The knowledge Jacquemont gained of the Punjab a_nd Kashmir, together with his personal impressions of Ranjit Singh himself, gives his letters and journals their chief historical value. “What a curious correspondence,” he writes, “I kept up from Kashmir with this barbarian, on horseback day and night, king by conquest of a rich and formidable people, a superstitious atheist, witty, a bit mad, unabie to read or write, yet knowing the name, position and history of from 10.000 to 12,000 villages in his kingdom.” This visit to Kashmir was Jacquemont’s principal and most romantic adventure, and when he left the Punjab and went to Bombay he met immediate misfortune. He fell ill, an abscess on the liver was diagnosed, and after a month of acute suffering he died. Fortunately Jacquemont was a magnificent letter-writer and his memory is in little danger of fading. As bis translator puts it: “Easy, spontaneous and graceful, the phrases rippled smoothly from his well-worn peacock’s quill as it glided rapidly over ‘ells’ of highly-glazed. Kashmir paper, with a sparkle of wit and a glint of laughter well typified by the gold-dust with which the choicer sheets were powdered over. He has no ‘purple patches’ or attempts at picturesque description. He is above all an acute observer of men, institutions and natural phenomena, and his apt and supple turns of phrase convey his impressions with striking directness and life. ‘I shall be confident of speaking well,’ he writes, ‘provided my thinking has been sound.’ And his whole life had been a training in accurate thought.” QUADRUPLE PORTRAIT “Regency,” by D. L. Murray (Loudon: Hodder and Stoughton). When ho began “Regency” the author set himself a formidable task, for the conception of this novel is vast, so vast indeed, that it calls/for more than average skill to accomplish its entirely successful execution. Mr. Murray has not proved himself quite equal to his selfimposed task. The book is patchy. Some parts of it are excellent reading, but in others the author appears! uneasy, and the result is that characters and events fail to convince. There are very few likeable characters and those that there are are for the most part kept in the .back-ground while the author insists in portraying the four heroines of 11 is choice, who sometimes fail to interest. The scene of this “quadruple portrait” is Brighton, and the first portrait in the gallery is that of Lady Regency Davenport, one time mistress to the Prince Regent. His pavilion at Brighton remains a landmark throughout the story ot' Lady Regency and her descendants. Lady Regency’s is a good portrait. She was a fascinating hussy, debonair and almost loveable for all her shameful lack of principle. Iler daughter (illegitimate) is ironically enough a novice in an Anglican sisterhood. Tliis section of the book is particularly disappointing. The portrait lacks dept Ji. Dorothea id given many unlikely experiences, religious and otherwise, but she never comes alive, and Hie figures in the background are stiff and unreal. Dorothea returns to the world; marries and the third portrait is one of her daughters', a beautiful florid barmaid type, who marries a Jew-a nd becomes proprietress of an immense hotel in Brighton. This portrait is faithfully drawn, but Charlotte is not a very attractive character, and tile figures in the back-ground are ful Horrid bar-maid type, who marries a Jew and lie comes proprietress of an We next skip a generation and the war, and the last picture, by far the best in the gallery, is of a very modern product of post-war society. This is a tragic episode, but the central character is drawn with such artistry that this section of the book towers above the preceding parts. It is an enduring piece of work whereas the other Is at best lively entertainment. It is a pity that this exceedingly good study should be harnessed to others less inspired. In spite of its faults “Regency” has the merit of being easy to read. It is full of action and, though the incidents may be unlikely at limes, there isi always something happening Io carry the interest on to the next chapter. Mr. Basil de Seliucourt is editing a volume of letters written by his wife, Anne Douglas Sedgwick.