...and speaking of history lessons, here's a completely irrelevant factoid. I remember a spoonerism I learned at Lovedale: He hissed a mystery lesson and tasted a whole worm.
You there in the back! I see your raised hand. What's that? Are we going to discuss worms today and how to eat them? Well. No.
This post isn't about worms. But it IS tasty. Especially if you love history. and if you want to learn a bit more about Henry Lawrence.
You never quite know the reach of your blog, do you? That is, until you get an email from someone who never went to Lovedale and really, has no connection with the school at all! I had a delightful email from James Wallace the other day...with an attachment. He's passionate about history, read my blog and sent me this clipping.
It tells of a public meeting in memory of Sir Henry Lawrence and provides a fascinating glimpse into the way he felt about India and its people. With warm thanks to James, let's have a look at the entire article first:
If you click on the image, the article should also open in a pop-up window for easier reading.
What caught my eye was this bit of information about Henry...that intimidating figure who stared sternly out of portraits at generations of uncompromisingly snot-nosed schoolkids with untied shoelaces.
Now that certainly makes him a lot more benign - even if we are referred to as natives! I think I especially like the statement about mischief being done in India though overbearing demeanor, rude language...etc. Christopher Hibbert's The Great Mutiny, India 1857 illustrates Lawrence's sentiment very well.
This article sparked my curiosity and as always, I wanted to find out more. James mentioned Google Reader and I did a bit of a search for books on Henry Lawrence. I didn't expect to find anything more than my previous search, but I was pleasantly surprised.
- Sir Henry Lawrence, The Pacificator: Lieut. General J.J. McLeod Innes, R.E., V.C.
- Life of Sir Henry Lawrence: Sir Herbert Benjamin Edwardes, Herman Merivale. This is the same book I've posted about earlier, but I did not know it was on Google Reader.
- I also found a wiki from FIBIS. Remember them? They provide a terrific link to early mention of Lovedale in Allen's Indian Mail (September 16, 1856). I can't resist...let's pull up the(rather large!) image. I had to grin at the opening sentence: The serene dullness of Madras. Poesy! I'm going to co-opt that phrase.
Thus endeth the history lesson for today. Just in time for the serene dullness of breakfast. And the under-appreciated dullness of toast.
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