Notes for use of our family chronicler (Francis Rattray Bergh)
1844 The present writer was born on 16th January, 1844, at Eastbourne in Sussex - was christened Henry John but registered Henry Bergh. In those days Eastbourne must have been a very small village containing a few gentleman's houses etc.
1845- We appear to have moved about from place to place - spending summer of 1845 in Littlehampton where I nearly killed myself by sucking the paint off wooden soldiers - taken to London - Marleyford Place - where 1847 old Kensington toll-bar could be seen from windows - Doctors sent me to Brighton.
1846 As a last resource in 1846 we stopped at Waterloo Place in that town till end February. We then went to Greenwich to stay till end Autumn.
1847 Again we went back to Harleyford Place and lived there till May 1847. Then came a move back to Eastbourne where we stayed till November returning to London to 9 Park Road, Stockwell - and here we stayed till my father died 1849 - Abbot Bergh (brother Fred) says it was an old fashioned house standing in a large garden at Eastbourne. He supplied details given above. I can remember nothing of Eastbourne but the sea, going about in a boat and an old fellow named Pinner who told wonderful tales - can well recall an attack upon grapes which I pulled down with a rake, also part of the sequel.
1848
Began school at Miss Moppin's 'Academy' in Clapham Road, probably
one of the old dame
schools? Anyway it was not considered satisfactory
so I was taken away and taught at home with my sister (Gussie) by a governess Miss
Hayward. My brother Fred went to Stockwell Grammar School - adjoining
our house - we could see the boys' playground from our bedroom window.
Can remember very well indeed using bullets cast in kitchen and in spite
of all warnings getting held of mould and pinching myself badly. My
father was one of the 100,000 special constables sworn in at time of
great Chartist gathering on Kensington Common and the bullet casting was
evidently part of the preparations, and there wars two truncheons, one
heavy and one lighter. My father has always been described to me as
very handsome and most exceptionally strong, but I have no recollection
of him myself, which is surely curious as I can well recall scenes in
which he played a part, the incidents remain but the faces are forgotten.
Nor do I remember anything at all about my first governess and her teaching,
tho' I dimly recall a struggle with boys and a form falling on us -
probably at the dame's school? The work of learning to read, write etc etc
is quite obliterated from my memory, the only vestige of those ancient
struggles being a sort of feeling, lingering still, that seven sights are
'beasts' to make 56! Miss Hayward must have taught well - I think -
1849 My father died this year of cholera - in September I think. (Yes!) He was one of the numberless victims of the terrible (because not understood) disease - can remember the funeral. Directly afterwards we went to live at Greenwich (Gravesend). (i.e. Gravesend, not Greenwich - Abbot Bergh) 1850 and then moved to 2 Queen's Road, Bayswater, where we remained until end of 1850. I remember our life at this time fairly well - particularly the small escapades etc. In 1851 we moved to 3 Garway Road, Westbourne Grove, a country place with delihtful fields and houses, and the Park quite near us and here we stayed till 1853. 1853 Can remember the new governess a Miss Pollard - a Roman Catholic - and going to tea at her house.
1854
We moved to 9 Cumberland Place - New Road - School followed the
governesses; one was in Little James St., and I remember the Head Masters
name was Morris. The second school (also a private one) was somewhere in
Marylebone; Head Master's name was Childs (Shives in High Street) I think.
Again faces and names have left no trace on my memory but the incidents
of our daily lives are recalled with small difficulty - And now I was old
enough to want to do 'big' things. Books and tools especially appealed
to me. An old copy of Joyce's Scientific Dialogues was my great treasure,
read over and over again - I knew it by heart - and my attempts to carry
out the various experiments resulted often in serious damage to the house
and serious tribulation to me. And now also the taste for mechanical
pursuits developed strongly and I became the happy owner of sundry small
tools. But I wanted always to be a sailor, was called the 'Admiral' and
was disgusted later on to be disappointed because my mother had a horror of
the son. My poor mother was very fond of us all but had absolutely no idea
of the way boys should be brought up to become useful men - nor would she
take any advice upon the subject. Love alone cannot suffice. And now my
brother Fred begins to stand out as much cleverer than I am in all sorts
of book lore and my sister Gussie to seem the best of sisters and the
three younger children - or rather the two boys - to be my followers, and
I am now called 'Rex' in consequence. A pleasant thing no doubt to have
devoted adherents ready to obey all commands but carrying the disadvantage
of punishment on 'spec' as soon as any ingenuity is discovered.
We had a very quiet sort of life as my mother had withdrawn herself from
all her relations and would have nothing at all to do with them. She
seemed to be soured and lived in strict retirement - tho' I can remember
my grandfather (Augustus Bergh) coming one day to see us at Queen's Road - and also a visit
from my Uncle Augustus (Bergh) when we were living at Cumberland Place, and here
we stayed until 1857 (or 1858) when the home was broken up and we went to
France. Looking back, I was surprised with how very little material or
moral help, we children contrived to spend so happy a childhood. Treats
to theatres etc., were very rare indeed, living was very simple except
upon the family feast days - birthdays - Christmas - New Year etc. etc. etc.
Occasionally we sat up to supper - there were lessons and regular reading
aloud - otherwise we had to amuse ourselves and succeeded easily - tho'
we had no magazines or books for boys and girls and very few books children
could read. When it became too dark to read two tall candlesticks were
brought in and placed on the table with snuffers and tray between them - a
two candle
light for a big room - the present generation would be puzzled
to see, yet we contrived to do everything by this light quite easily. When
the 'moderator' lamps were invented we thought the effect 'immense' - Chas.
Dickens' books were coming out in monthly parts and Oliver Twist
made a
great impression - And the Crimean War, and all the terrible news in the
letters from the fronts
published in the Times. - And so my mother
decided to send us to France that we might learn to talk French as prettily
as she did herself - All the old furniture was sold and we went into
lodgings in London for a very short time and then in Folkstone for some
little time - During our stay here it was decided to make an exploratory
trip and we went to Boulogne, I being included in the party as a
precautionary measure.
1858
My mother liked the place and the schools, took a
furnished house and we returned to Folkestone for the rest of the family -
When the wind and the sea were calm enough, we all went back to France -
My sister was entered at a girls school, my brother and I at the College
Communal - We went as day scholars first and after a year and a half about,
my mother returned to England we being entered as boarders -
1860
All went to
England for the long midsummer holidays - We went into lodgings at Ramsgate
a seaside town we used to go to in the summer - There my mother decided to
stay and took a house in Harbour Street which was duly furnished and became
the new house - The holidays over, we went back to France and boarding
school - It was not so nice as our life as day-boys when we lived at G...
but it was jolly enough in its way - And the following year,
1861
my brother
Fred gained his degree of B.A. in a very brilliant fashion, being the
only successful candidate from our College - Some of his glory was reflected
upon his younger brother and I had a share in the pleasant doings - So my
brother's scholdays were over and we returned to England together, I looking
to return and to take up the course of Civil Engineering for which the
Authorities at College considered me especially fitted - of course, with my
tastes, the plan seemed a very good one - But my poor mother thouht me half
starved and wouldn't let me go back again - But later on, I was to 'read'
with the head master of a school my younger brothers were attending - and
so on - Did do some desultory reading and found out that it would cost too
much to be articled to a Civil Engineer in England - so that project failed -
Wanted to emigrate to one of the Colonies and applied for a free passage to
Commissioners in London - but failed to convince them of my value as a
colonist - So persuaded my mother to let me learn some useful trade which
would make me successful as an immigrant.
1862 Finally was apprenticed to a builder and architect at Canterbury - as indoor apprentice - I know the premium was seventy-five guineas - The new life was very much to my taste and the mysteries of he craft were so quickly mastered that I could soon do well as an ordinary joiner besides getting a valuable knowledge of the drawing office work etc etc - Mr. Shrubsole was a kind and appreciative master but I couldn't stomach his wife's interferences, so after about a year of living in their house, I asked for liberty and a guinea a week - This was agreed to and during rest of my time, a fellow apprentice and I has diggings together and were very comfortable and contented - It was rarely I got less than 25/- a week wages - I had a very good time at Canterbury and was sorry for some things 1865 when I arrived at Jan 16 and was of age and so out of my articles - Gave a supper to all the men in my department, Mr. Shrubsole presiding - during the stay at Canterbury, often walked home (16 miles) on Saturday afternoon and back following evening - always did like a walk.
Mr. Shrubsole was glad to keep me as he could rely upon me in most
ways as far as business theoretical as well as practical work - but being
free, my roving instinct prompted a move to explore the world a little -
So a look out was kept on advertisements and enquiries were make - in
April 1865 I saw an advertisement for someone knowing French to go to
Algeria for work in the forests - of course, I applied without losing a
moment - the thought of wild adventures in the forests of Barbary and the
probably finding of another Xury was attached and faithful as Robinson
Crusoe's
companion, was quite absorbing - only knew that Algeria
was one
of the Barbary States and visions of pirates and slaves and wild doings
of all sorts in wild surroundings, I, of course, playing the big
parts,
quite blinded me to the possibility of there being any drawbacks. There
was a difficulty in persauding Mr. Oldfield, the Secretary of the
Advertising Co., (and my future father-in-law) that I was not a young
gentleman bent on a spree
- as he phrased it - When convinced of my
bona-fides he took me to see a Frenchman who soon vouched for my knowledge
of his language - I stipulated for £8 a month and all expenses other than
food and these terms were agreed to - Returned to Canterbury to pack up -
was helped to make a serviceable chest (still in good condition 1911) said
many goodbyes etc etc - and left at last for London early on the appointed
day - Had a very friendly send off, as a whole lot of the men insisted upon
coming to the Station to see me off - losing a quarter day by so doing -
But as to this, can say that I have always, or nearly always, found the
working men very kindly people - Always have pleasant thoughts of
Canterbury - I did now what I have always regretted since - it was to start
away from England without letting my
mother or any of the family know - It
was done unwillingly but after due consideration, as I feared being
persuaded to renounce the idea - I shall always regret this for my mother
died a few months afterwards, so that I never saw her again - Had no reason
to suppose she would not live for many years and looked forward to many
future visits home - Am not at all superstitious, but cannot help being
impressed with the feeling that if my poor mother had been able to wish
me God speed
, possibly my experiences in Africa would not have been
so disastrous to my health and not to my purse only, but to the purses of
my younger brothers and sister.
later onand I could not wait - Within half a mile of me was the wild shore with a sort of road landing along the cliffs to Philippeville, 3 miles away - No I could not wait, so bargained with a boatman to land me and my Carpet Bag on the beach - It was the great moment of my life so far to jump out of the boat on to the shore of
Africaand to see around me houses, people and flora, quite new to me and all suggesting a tropical country - The strangely dressed Europeans and the still more strangely attired Arabs and Moors and Black and the jargon they uttered as several tried to relieve me of my Carpet Bag - not to steal it as I understood from a few odd French words, but to carry it for me - Managed to get directed to Philippeville and started off carrying the heavy Carpet Bag having disposed of the vociferous crowd - Shall never forget that first walk in Africa, it was most exhilerating - the weight of the Carpet Bag seemed to disappear, the heat and dust were unnoticed as I marched triumphantly along and realized that I really was in Xury's country - and might at any moment meet him - There was so much to see along and from that mountain road, everything was new and yet the flora, the people and their dresses were like what I had seen in pictures - In due course I came to the gate of the fortified town of Philippeville, passed the guards and asked my way to house of a gentleman to whom I had a letter - My progress was slow because there were so many new things to look at.
Arrived at the house, I was very kindly received and cared for. My
employers The London & Lisbon Corkwood Co. Ltd.
had a fine estate about
fifty miles away from Philippeville and this was to be my headquarters.
The local manager a Mons. Graby had come up to town to meet me and escort
me back to the Safia
as the place is called - a small coach would leave
at 6 a.m. next morning and take us as far as a small hamlet called
Jenmapes
and from there we had to ride or drive about eleven miles more to the
Safia
- That first afternoon and evening in Africa were very pleasantly
spent for Graby was a very nice sort of companion and we cottoned
immediately - though he was more than twice my age - Next morning at 6 we
started for the interior, we were perched on top of a ramshacle old
diligence and like all the other passengers had to get down and walk up
the hills - and these were fairly numerous for the country is mountainous
- We changed horses at a small village which was walled and guarded like
Philippeville and Jenmapes - passengers carried arms as there was always
danger in those days - for the Arabs were but half conquered - We stopped
at three roadside inns for a drink and to rest the horses - It took us
five hours to do the thirty-nine miles to Jenmapes - and I really began to
think myself in the interior of Africa when we got there.
The life in Algeria, as in all colonies in the early times, was a
much free-er, wider sort of life than one lives in the older countries -
There is no restraint or fear of Mrs. Grundy, so ceremony and forms are
neglected - People dress and do as suits their own convenience respecting
only the people's equal rights. The great amusement I found to be hunting
wild animals, shooting game etc - In due course we started for the Safia
and for first mile after leaving Jenmapes, we travelled over a fairly good
road, afterwards it was a rough track through the forests etc - Progress was
slow so there was walking and talk of all sorts of hunting exploits - In
those days the forests were in a virgin state and decidedly imposing, some
of the cork trees being immense - I was shown the speer
of lions and
other animals - also the torn trunks of cork trees where the panthers had
sharpened their claws just as our cats often do at home - Great eagles and
vultures were often visible and the partridges, song doves etc. etc.,
were very plentiful - Then Graby showed me certain places where he had
killed wild boars and once nearly got ripped open by one - And the sky
was intensely blue, the vegetation around me was strange and luxuriant, in
many places the great cork trees interlaced their branches overhead. My
companions were very friendly and courteous as is the way of all Frenchmen -
And the newly appointed young
English Manager who had come to Jenmapes to
meet us, was very friendly indeed and glad to have some one to talk to for
he knew no French - On we went along the forest track up hill and down
dale, trees and brushwood all round us and the top of high hills showing
through the trees - At last we got to a ridge and down below in a sort of basin
there appeared the Safia buildings with the fermiancs, garden, etc - a
lovely picture - the Safia brook wound through this basin with tall trees
growing on its banks and the whole basin was enclosed by hills most of these
covered with trees to the top, others showing naked limestone heads above
their belt of trees - The sun of course was shining brilliantly - and to me
it looked like Paradise - And having had a drink at the house, the young
Manager got his gun and we went off to look at the porcupines' holes! -
Think what a change from sleepy Canterbury! The Company employed many
Arabs and a small staff of Frenchmen. The accommodation was very limited
and the bedroom to myself which I had stipulated for, required to be built!
And a good need of building would be needed evidently. Mons.Graby, his
wife and two daughters were very nice to me - Two days later there arrived
from Algeria Mr. Oldfield, the young Manager's father and also his eldest
sister Mary. She had come to keep house for her father for a while - Mary
Oldfield became my wife later on, the only good thing I got out of Algeria -
And now I was busy indeed and most pleasantly occupied for the enlargements
and additions etc., having been decided upon. I was left quite free to
design and carry them out as I liked - Of course my bedroom was not forgotten
Soon I had a heterogeneous bunch of workmen, Italians, French, Maltese,
Kabyles and Arabs - The joinery and carpentry I undertook myself - cleaned
out a shed, made a long window and door for it - built a proper English
bench - and enjoyed myself with my beloved tools - I had to get to
Philippeville several times and many times to Jenmapes to get the building
materials etc - Had a blacksmith at Safia to make bolts and fittings etc
etc. - Worked really hard and managed to get value for wages paid to my
workmen - The Grabys boarded us etc and pending building of my bedroom, I
slept in a bed arranged in a tree - It was a big olive tree and I contrived
a suitable platform across some of the branches about fifteen feet above
ground. On this was a bed and clothes etc - supplied by the Grabys - and I
slept very confortably here for some weeks, only once getting wet through
when a sudden thunderstorm came on - Sundays were great days as we, Graby
and I usually but sometimes more of us, spent the whole day in the brush,
shooting and fishing - We took the necessary implements and butter etc etc -
and used to cook the fish and some of the doves for dejeuner
- And we had
several bathes in the river and enjoyed ourselves immensely - It was a life
that suited me entirely - and having written home, I found my brothers
wild to come out to join me, which was of course impossible then - But
they told me our
mother was so ill that it had been judged best to conceal
from her the news of my move to Africa - so my letters to her had been kept
back - This, of course, was depressing news but there seemed no reason for
fear; the letters told of what seemed a passing illness - We were very busy
at the Safia as the cork trees were being stripped for the first time and
I had my hands quite full of preparations for putting the cork into
marketable shape, in addition to the building operations - A few weeks
more and there came news of my poor mother's death - The work pressed and
had to be done - and was done - A few weeks more and we were in the middle
of the hot season and in fear of fire - for the Arabs had been setting fire
to the forests in the hope of driving the hated foreigners away - And now
we had to suspend much work so as to take turns in watching and patrolling
and the sky was covered with smoke and showed red at night - The military
post near us was reinforced and troops were stationed at our nearest
neighbours - But the fires came nearer every day - some white men were
murdered and many Arabs were shot or cut down - We used to ride horses or
mules on our rounds and the day soon came, when, on reaching the northern
line of the forest, I found the adjoining forests on fire and the wind
urging the flames towards the Safia - A wild gallop back to the house and
then a muster of the men. But one man was still at his post in the forest
(or we thought so) I volunteered to alarm him and ran off into the woods -
Got to where we thought he should be but he was not there, started over to
the military post and found he had run there. As he was afraid to return to
the Safia I hurried back alone - and had to run for my life literally -
For the north wind had increased and was now blowing furiously - The flames
seemed to rush through the foliage and as I ran at top speed, the smoke came
flying on before me and as I got to edge of cleared banks this smoke was
mixed with burning leaves and twigs for the flames were just behind me -
What with the heat the smoke and the pace over broken ground, I felt very
groggy
- Went on to house and was received with shouts; found the women
weeping and hysterical and generally everyone excited because I was
considered lost - Old Graby first embraced me and then abused me apparently
to relieve his feelings - And now the fire was across the cleared lands and
threatened the buildings - Armed with branches we kept the house safe also
the stables and saw the fire rush on up the hills behind us - leaving the
property a black waste - Young John Oldfield was prostrate in bed with
fever and couldn't move, but I had promised his sister to carry him out if
the house caught fire - When all danger was over we suddenly discovered how
tired out we were - That night we could see the old trees burning like torches
on the hills - The forest was utterly ruined and could produce nothing for
years to come - And when we looked about us by daylight, it was impossible
to believe there had ever been a paradise where was now nothing, but a
blackened waste studded with charred stumps! Many lives were lost in the
burning forests and the destruction of splendid trees was wide spread - the
Company would have been well advised to abandon the Safia forthwith - We
heard afterwards that the troops in our neighbourhood had galloped away
after their Officers when they saw the fires getting nearer - the corkwood
stripped and in the cork place I had arranged, was all saved and it was now
prepared for shipment - it was of good quality, but the forest could not
give any more so good for many years to come and then only if there were no
more fires - There was wholesale destruction of wild beasts and game. The
lions used to prowl round the buildings most nights before the fire; it was
many weeks after the conflagration before they resumed their visits - The
scene of desolation around us seemed to affect our health and spirits,
anyway a number of the folk were down with fever and John Oldfield
was very
ill indeed - I had taken possession of my new bedroom and had furnished it
very confortably - One morning I waked with a bad headache and felt heavy
and funny all day, next morning felt more uncomfortable still - spoke to
Graby who prescribed quinine but I wouldn't have anything. Shivering and
burning was the next stage and the fits became more frequent and more and
more severe - my head was splitting - So about a week after the first
attack and when the fever had got thoroughly hold of me, I began to take
quinine and continued taking it for months! - At last the attacks became
less frequent and between them I could go about my ordinary business -
After the fire, Mr. Oldfield came to Safia again and brought
Miss Johnstone
to keep his daughter company - She subsequently married
John Oldfield -
An eagle's nest was found on one of the crags and an eaglet was brought
me as a present - It was like a large ball of down and being well cared for
grew up to be a formidable young eagle - I called it Jacko
and kept it in
my room or on my verandah and fed it with frogs and snakes etc - It was
quite affectionate with me and would come to me when I called - but no one
else could approach it - a pity, because having to leave the Safia on
business, it was necessary to get some one to look after Jacko
in my
absence - He was killed the day I left as he flew at the man who had
brought food and ripped his hand open.
The Company had decided to apply to the Government for some
compensation for loss of Safia value - and consequently I had to go with
the Secretary's party to interview the different Authorities in
Constantine,
Bone etc etc - It was very interesting and pleasant to see the country, as
my duties were simply those of interpreter, no one else of the party
speaking French - And because of this power I was generally invited to make
one of the visiting or reception parties thus getting to know many people
including our neighbours - Was especially thick
with the officers and
judges etc., at Jenmapes - And the building went on and was completed; the
Safia staff was reduced and the demand for compensation was urged at Paris
as well as at Algiers - I had to translate reams of documents from French
into English or vice versa - All quite agreeable and much to my taste,
except during attacks of fever - Inclined to think I was foolish to
disregard all cautions about shooting in the pestiferous marshes etc - The
cooler season was coming on at last when to the fever was added another
illness which steadily got worse, because nothing was done to cure it -
It was dysentry and I said nothing until it was dangerously advanced, when
I told old Graby all the mysterious (to me) symptons - You are a dead man
was the comforting reply! But he and his good wife set to work and with
drastic remedies, drove the disease away - It left me so weak that I could
scarcely totter across a room - And now the fever increased and poor
John Oldfield
always in bed, was in a dangerous state indeed - the doctors
decided he must be moved at once to the seaside to save his life - His
father had come out again and ordered John and me off to Philippeville -
One required to have passed through my experience of the summer of 1865
to be able to understand the delights of being at the cool seaside once
more - After a couple of weeks we were able to go out for a little
stroll - and used to hold on to the pillars of the frondes and then
stagger from one to the other - and no one took the slightest notice of
so common a sight in the Main Street - Algeria in those days killed or
nearly killed so many Europeans - And in November John and I returned to
the Safia pretty well restored to health once more.
I now applied for and obtained leave of absence and returned to
England in time to spend Christmas at Saint Lawrence near Ramsgate with the
younger brothers and my sisters - This visit to a cool country quite set
me up again - and having settled various business matters, I returned to
1866
Algeria in February - There was a good deal of travelling to do which was
very enjoyable and at Safia there was little or nothing to do - as the
destruction of the forest caused stoppage of expenditure - I did as I
liked practically and claimed no pay - in consequence my chief work was
speaking and writing French - occasionally my tools came into play, but
acquired a good knowledge of Arabic and some Italian, went shooting often
etc. etc. - Should most certainly have abandoned Algeria after the fire
and illness, if there had been no magnet
at the Safia - Two months after
my return Mary Oldfield said yes
and the following month she, with the
rest of the party, left for London - Of course I went to see them off and
felt very lonely and ill-used as I returned to the Safia alone - We were
engaged but Mr. Oldfield would not hear of a marriage until his daughter
was of age - that is in 1867 - Now I had heard and seen a good deal of the
profitable business of breeding cattle and sheep for exportation; More
particularly of the buying of lean beasts to fatten and decided to go in
for the thing - others made profits, why should not I? My brothers were
eager to come out to Algeria - so we arranged to work together and my
younger sister was to be with us - but she had her education to complete
and I wanted my youngest brother to learn something of farming - before they
actually came out to me - But it was to be a joint venture - We five younger
children had each given £100 to our faithful old nurse
Anne, that is I had
to give it for the three youngest as they were not of age yet -
Anne had
started a lodging house after our Mother's death, we had given her all the
furniture etc -
Francis was staying with her,
Ernest was at a farm and
Eva
was at school - Francis came out to join me and was as delighted with the
country as I had been - The burnt wastes were covered with grass and many
trees were sprouting again - it wasn't the paradise
I discovered, but it
was still a place of beauty - my brother was in the seventh heaven for he
loved hunting etc. etc. He found me in possession of some 6,000 acres of
pasture land bordering a large lake - with a goodly head of cattle and many
sheep established in it - I had a tent on the place to live in when there,
Arab guards etc. etc - just what one reads about in tales of adventure -
But most of my time was spent at Safia as I was left in charge and was
asked to have the house redecorated and altered for John and his wife who
were coming back in early Winter - Francis and I went to Algeria where I
bought my good mars Tora and where we got a Union Jack
made - We also
visited some other places he wanted to see - then back to Safia - It was
very enjoyable as the neighbours were all kind - Then there were hunting
expeditions - Francis was a fine shot and spent weeks in the woods, he
took the tent to live in, had two Arab servants and a couple of horses and
had just the time he liked - I oscillated between the Gouersas
and the
Safia - The cattle were flourishing and the sheep multiplying - With
Francis' money the stock had been considerably increased - the outlook was
most encouraging - The Safia was ready for the newly married couple and at
my place the Gouersas
certain huts had been put up in the Arab style for
my men and my own dwelling - My men were faithful and contented and fortune
seemed to smile - One day at Jenmapes, I heard people talking about the
locusts appearing away down South - and a few days after, my Arabs told me
the locusts were coming North - Kismet
, it is fate! was the cry - We, in
the Hill or northernmost part of Algeria, became anxious as each day brought
more alarming reports - the locusts were descending from the mountains, they
were at this and that place, devouring everything - And there was nothing
to be done; we could only hope for a change of wind - a hurricane from the
North to blow the locusts back South - These were anxious days and nights
and I often climbed the hill behind the Safia to look over the plain of
the Gouersas - towards the mountains to the South - for the South wind
blew gently but persistently - Francis was a long way off hunting and did
not concern himself much about our cattle etc. - couldn't realize what it
would mean if locusts devoured every green thing at the Gouersas
- Now
whether the extensive fires of the preceding year were the cause or it was
a simple coincidence only, it is a fact that the rainfall had been very
small, with the result that the country was parched and the lack of green
food in their usual haunts drove the locusts towards the North - Happily
the crops had been got in - One morning about ten, I saw from the top of
the hill, rising above the sharply defined crests of the mountains to the
South, a curiously coloured cloud, the sunshine was brilliant as usual
and the singular looking cloud was a greenish grey and it rose jointly
towards the zenith, the front edge almost a straight line - and a sort
of cloudy mist between it and the earth - and as it mounted higher and higher
the wind brought a curious noise from the cloud and what had looked like
mist began to appear like snow of a curious colour, coming furiously down -
As it drew nearer still the apparent snow
resolved itself into myriads of
insects and when the cloud, shutting out the light, was overhead, we (I had
gone back to the house) were suddenly enveloped in a dense mass of locusts
continuously flying down to the ground - and covering every inch of it,
whilst the trees, bushes and everything else were densely covered by the
insects. As arranged we all went to the small vineyard and managed to save
it from ruin - And the locusts after a minute or two on the ground, rose up
again so there seemed a thick cloud always falling and an equally thick
cloud rising up into the sky - We were covered with the creatures and were in
semi-obscurity, it was too dark to read - The cloud took a very long time
to pass over the Safia; when it was possible to see we found the ground as
bare as our hands, the trees and bushes had lost all their leaves and twigs
only the vines still showed some foliage - There was nothing left for the
cattle to eat, swarms of locusts were crawling about - these were the
females looking for cracks in the earth to lay their eggs in - The brook
was full of heaps of drowned locusts and the wells too - The well filled
garden was quite empty as the locusts had eaten even the roots away -
And away north we could see the back of the locust cloud gradually sinking
down behind the tall hills as it pursued the devastating march northwards -
urged on by the persistent Southerly wind - We rejoiced to think the
whole mass would be blown into the Mediterranean - as was indeed the case,
so that great banks of dead insects were washed ashore and poisoned the
air - But the locusts had left myriads of eggs behind them and these would
become insects in the Autumn and destroy every green thing again - There
was nothing to be done - Kismet, it is fate
! - Now we have learnt how
to deal with the plague; nobody knew then - This was a greater blow to the
colony than even the forest fires had been for whilst the latter affected
comparatively wealthy corporations or individuals only, the locusts had
brought loss on everybody great and small - Whites and Arabs alike - For
the exportation of cattle and sheep was perhaps the most important business
in the country - the profits were large and the sale easy - A thousand
pounds worth of lean cattle bought in the Autumn and pastured during Winter
on such a place as the Gouersas would fetch £1,800 in the late Spring - And
now the holders of stock had nothing for them to eat! And there was
practically no feed to buy - The cattle and sheep must starve until the
grass grew again for it was impossible to ship them away, there were far
too many for the ships available and they couldn't be got to the ports -
Now the vigour of vegetation in Algeria is surprisingly great as we had
noticed after the fires - so all there was to do was to hope there would
be no great mortality before feed
had grown sufficiently - and to clean
out at once the watercourses, wells, etc. - The sheep after a few days
(it rained hard in the nick of time) found enough to eat and I lost none,
but many of the cattle died and the survivors were bags of bones before
there was sufficient food for them - I saw the poor starving beasts
eating the dead locusts! - Am sure a good many beast were saved when almost
done for, by pouring beer
down their throats - Now what happened to me
was the general fate of stockholders on good land, on inferior lands the
mortality was proportionately greater - So the first season's operations
must result in loss, but I did not expect worse to follow.
The Gouersas
recovered quickly and I bought a lot more cattle at
low prices - also gave pasturage to
John Oldfield's cattle - No one
understood in those days what a plague of locusts really meant - The
earth was beginning to grow green again and the trees had put forth some
young leaves - the cork-cak is evergreen so is the ilex - Things generally
were brighter and my hopes rose again - but now reports arrived of the
1867
appearance all over the country of swarms of little black insects, issuing
from the cracks and holes in the soil - the locusts eggs were hatching and
for one of our late enemies, we might now expect fifty or more new ones -
And soon the Gouersas and the Safia were covered with black moving patches
of life feeding on the grass and other green things and the insects grew
rapidly; we destroyed enormous numbers especially in the early mornings
when they were torpid from the coldness of the night - But no impression
could be made upon the incalculable numbers of the young and rapidly
growing locusts - They literally ate up the land and left nothing at all
behind them but the walls and watercourses poisoned by their dead bodies -
And now it was not the cattle and sheep only that died like flies - there
was famine in the land and the natives starved and were found dead by the
roadside in hundreds - Cannibalism was rife - and then the cholera fastened
upon the famished people and they died by thousands !! - One dreaded
passing anywhere near an Arab Cemetery, because the bodies were scarcely
covered with earth at all - It was an awful time - The Gouersas was
swarming with locusts - I sold the survivors of my herd to a Maltese firm
some distance away whose conditions were not so bad and so saved them -
and looked out and found what seemed a better location than the Gouersas.
Went to England in June on a flying visit and on my return took a little country house near Bone and had it furnished etc - Again to England and we were married on the 10th September - Went to France and Belgium and in due course reached Bone and took possession of our house - My brother Ernest came out and he and Francis lived on the big place I had rented - some 10,000 acres of arable and pasturage - I had bought a few more cattle and sheep - and went in for growing hard wheat etc. - also sublet a lot of 1868 the land to Arab tenants - But it was no use, there was a drought and failure of crops - The poor people lived on nettles and other weeds - rather they tried to live and many failed - the misery was general - We opened relief stations in the towns but only a mere fraction of the people could reach them - Our business venture was a failure - Apart from the terrible anxiety of the time as our losses increased, it was a very happy time we had in Bone - naturally - When it was evidently useless to persevere, I called my brothers to Bone and we decided that they with our old nurse Anne should emigrate to Canada - I would have gone with them but my father-in-law thought it would be too cold for my wife - We went to London and I saw them off thoroughly well provided in all ways as regards very extensive outfits and with a considerable sum of money between them - Then back to Algeria - picked up and brought my wife home to Highbury in time for Christmas - Here ended the first home -
I do not introduce into these notes mention of all the different people I came across or had to do with; it is unnecessary -
1869
Began the hunt for something to do
- My capital was very small of
course - a drawback in such a search - A little more cash would have given
me employment and a share in the Bridgwater Wagon Works or in one of several
engineering businesses - Was nearly taken in at Ripon and several other
towns, and was at last swindled by a printer named Mason in London -
Our furniture etc., was in LL.Co's warehouse - My wife stayed at her
father's house during my journeyings and absences - In March
Mary was born -
our first child - Shortly afterwards we went into apartments in Gloucester
Road, Chalk Farm, and stayed there until I became Mason's partner - then
we moved to Mornsey Street and made the second (and very comfortable) home -
Here, Alice and Hal were subsequently born - Worked hard to make the
printing business go
but there was nothing in it - and partner behaved
1870
badly - Dissolution of partnership granted by Court - and the old search
for employment began again - Tried various things but there was nothing
1871
good enough - Early following year got up a venture to Tunis for halfa
grass. An old friend Vincent, my sister
Eva and I to share expected profits!
my share of capital very small but my services on the spot were necessary -
Proceeded to South of Tunis - a wild and independant country in those days
where one realized what it meant to live amongst Orientals - Explored the
country and found plenty of halfa
- bought a quantity but there were
difficulties in getting it shipped, couldn't stand delays as capital was
required to be turned over again to most engagements - If we had been better
off for working capital, would have had a good share of the big business
which has since grown up out of that beginning - Held on as long as I could,
then sold out - but there was loss - Ought to have had several thousand
pounds to work with - More again towards end of year - The old search
1872
resumed and Spanish studied - an inspiration as the L.L.Co wanted to open
an agency in Spain and offered me the post - which I jumped at - It was a
poor sort of thing but I was in no position to be particular - And so I
went with Frank Oldfield overland to Seville - As my wife did not like
being left alone in the house again, we warehoused the furniture and took
apartments in Beresford Road near her father - and this was the end of our
second home - Arrived in Seville, soon got to know useful man and to see my
way - Took a house after a time, bought parcels of cork and prepared and
shipped them - it paid and operations were extended - Took a forest and
stripped it etc. etc. - At end of twelve months could show a net profit of
£500 or more -
The above notes in my Father's own handwriting were written at my earnest request and I much regret that they were not brought down to a later date. His own views and experience in his own words would have been a valuable and interesting record. However, I have continued the notes to the best of my ability and knowledge and trust that this record of one very dear to all of us will be preserved by my own children and descendants or by any other member of our family into whose hands it may come. F.R.B.
By Abbot Bergh O.S.B.
To the very accurate account of our early life written by my good brother, I can add very little. Indeed, I supplied him viva voce with some of the information he gives out which as relating to his own childhood he was unable to remember. One or two corrections I may make. The name of the Schoolmaster he was with in 1855 was Shives not Childs and his Academy was in High Street, Marylebone - We left that neighbourhood for Boulogne early in 1857 - were at the College there as externs or day scholars during the rest of that year - were half-boarders at the College in 1858 - and on our mother returning to England in the summer of that year were left till August 1859 at the College as Boarders - Christmas 1858 was I should say one of the dreariest for both of us, he or I can remember. Of the houses we lived in nearly all are still standing and recognisable - What then was 2 Queen's Road, Bayswater, is now occupied on the ground floor by a chemist's shop. No. 3 Garway Road and the house in Marylebone Road remain as they were. The French house in Rue de Wicardenne and the Brighton lodgings in Waterloo Road (nearly opposite to our grandfather's house) I have recently inspected - as also that in which we lived for a month or two at Folkestone. Our mother died at Ramsgate (9th June 1865) in a little old fashioned place between Ramsgate and the neighbouring village of St. Lawrence - The reason of our connection with Ramsgate was that our one and only summer holiday excursion (1856) was to that place - The place we went to in 1849 was Gravesend not Greenwich.
There can be no doubt that my brother Henry
had considerable
abilities; but that his education was wretchedly neglected.
(In youth perhaps but see page ...)
His bent
to practical engineering could and should have been seconded. The schools
he was sent to were of little or no account - and nowhere was he allowed
to remain for any adequate space of time, with the exception of the
Boulogne College stay of a couple of years - At Morris's and Shive's he
had perhaps three months each at most. And he puts the house-life in far
too favourable a light naturally and properly saying nothing of the
greatest drawback of all. However these are all bygones, and I add
nothing to his account of sad times
-
He should, however, have noted how in the early days of Magazine
competitions (about 1859 or 1860) Beston the publisher started one and
how he out of hundreds of competitors took the prize (a Pilgrim's
Progress
), though I forget now what the subject matter of his essay was.
He was always handy and ingenious with tools and I recall his constructing out of handy materials or rather total lack of materials, very creditable model steam engines and so forth.
In childhood he was energetically good looking; so much so that I have known artists sketching in Kensington Gardens (where we both resorted to watch the Hyde Park building of the Great Exhibition of 1851) stop us in order to get the outline of his features.
There is nothing more that I can add. Our tastes from boyhood were very different, and even then we were not much of companions. We separated practically for good in 1860 when he was only fifteen - met for a week or two in 1865 and did not again see one another till 1879 or 1880, although we had kept up a desultory correspondence in the interval, by means of which I knew of his marriage, the birth of his children and so forth. - From 1880 we saw one another oftener, but I do not know that I have anything material with which to supplement the preceding pages.
F.T.W. Bergh. O.S.B. Carshalton - 10th Sept. 1914.
How to Model a small Steam Engine
How to construct a Boiler for a small Steam Engine
.
See Boys Own Magazine. Vol. VIII. The articles are
illustrated with his own plans. Wood largely used
for the Engine.
Life of H. J. Bergh (continued by F. R. Bergh)
1872
It was at the end of November in this year that my Father went with
my Uncle Frank Oldfield (Tio
) to Seville. They went overland and the
Carlist War was then on. The railway had been cut and they had to continue
the journey by diligence.
1873 There was serious trouble in Seville after the abdication of King Amadeo, A revolution took place and there was some fighting in the streets. The workmen asked my Father to let them have cork to make barricades but he was able to put them off with the excuse that it had not yet been made up into balsa and was therefore useless for the purpose. He used to describe how hearing a noise one night he went into the factory and found the men making cartridges - Some friends the Misses Butcher made a Union Jack which was hoisted to protect the factory. The Government troops in due course arrived and put the revolt down. My Father went out several times into the streets to see the fighting and saw the Government troops storm the barricades and capture the Town Hall. He was much struck with the curious attitudes of men who had been shot - it was impossible sometimes to realize they were dead when apparantly knealing with their rifles still held.
At the end of the year he returned to England and in the beginning of 1874 the following year brought my Mother and Meggie, Jeanie and Hal to Spain. They stopped in Cadiz about six weeks whilst Father went to Sadajoz to see about starting a factory there. They all went to Sadajoz and took a house but could not get a place for a factory for sometime. There was practically no business going on and the place was in a state of siege. My Grandfather Samuel Oldfield went out to them and brought my Mother and Hal back to Woodville House (Highbury Quadrant) where on the 12th November Harold Samuel Oldfield Bergh was born. Father then went to Seville (leaving Tio in Sadajoz) and taking Meg and Jeanie with him. The girls were looked after by the Misses Butcher at first but towards the end of the year he took another house and factory.
1875 Early in this year he was appointed Assistant Manager in Portugal under the Visconte d'Albergaein (then M. Freise) of the London & Lisbon Corkwood Company and in February he came to England to fetch the family returning with them early in March. The Company's factory was at Caramujo in a bay on the South side of the Tagus and a house was taken in Almada (Rue do Paco) from the back of which access could be obtained to the cliffs overlooking the Tagus. Here in October Harold died.
1876
February 13th the family chronicler
was born. My Father's notes
stopping four years prior to this event it is difficult to cover the period
up to 1889 when his letters to said chronicler
commence but beyond the
arrival of more children life was probably not exciting and devoted to the
work he was engaged in and to his hobbies during his spare time.
1877 November 19th my sister Rose Annie was born.
1878 He became Manager in Portugal, a position he retained until after more than twenty years of constant anxiety the L.L.C. was at last wound up.
1879 October 3rd Grace Amy was born after which event the house in Almada was given up and the upper floors of a large house in Cacilhas looking out over the Tagus taken. Here in June 1880 Grace Amy died. The Portugese 1880 climate is very trying for English children and in those days the medical attention obtainable rather indifferent.
In February my Father went to Algeria whereat the Safia
of which
he has written the Company had a large forest. In October of the same
year my brother Rowland Houghton the Benjamin
of the family was born.
1882
February 2nd. The blackest year of my Father's life for on this day
my Mother died in childbirth. Left a Widower at the early age of 38 with
a family of six young children, the youngest under two years of age, it
would not have been surprising if he had married again. Instead he
devoted himself to his children trying to make up to them for the loss of
their Mother, to whom he continued always faithful-revereing her memory
and in the firm belief that they would meet again when he would be able
to say that her last injunction Take care of the children Harry
had
been faithfully carried out. My Mother's sister
Auntie Annie (Mrs.
Ebenezer Sargent) came out to Portugal and looked after us for over a
year. At the time of my Mother's death all were at home and taught by a
Governess (Miss Whitworth) the first of a series.
1885 January. My Father came to England bringing with him my brother Hal and Annie who lived at Woodville House with our Grandfather (S.O.) the former going to School at Paradise House, Paradise Row, Stoke Newington.
1887 March. He again came to England with me in order that I might go to the same school and to see my Grandfather who was seriously ill and in fact died a few days after our arrival. My Father in April then took Hal to his school in Germany. On his return he then took Meg, Jeanie and Annie to Portugal to live with him, Rowland being with friends at Minster, Kent where my Aunt Gussie was in a convent. On this journey the steamer was run down and sank in the Thames.
1888 My Father came to England again on his way I think to Algeria he having been appointed Manager there, also my Uncle John Mr. Oldfield having died there leaving his Widow alone.
1889 The first of my Father's letters to me which I have kept is dated 4th April, 1889, and they form the basis on which the following notes are made. At this date he was living at Cacilhas with my three sisters and youngest brother. Hal was at Gloucester apprenticed to a firm of Engineers and I was at Paradise House School but Jeanie was about to come to England. The extracts from his letter are given as the best means of indicating how he spent his time - his views and his journeyings - All the letters up to 1902 are written from Portugal unless otherwise stated.
1889
April 13th. I have just finished winding on the wire of the
This was for Rowie and is a reminder that one of my Father's hobbies was
making Electrical experiments. His practical object was to find a cheap
method of extracting aluminium, then a very expensive article. April 27th
New
Coil ......
. Fancy close upon 3,000 yards of wire as fine as thread
.I am at liberty now to get on with my turning etc - as the dolls house and
coil are both finished - I am
He had a very
good lathe with which he did a lot of turning in wood and iron and other
metals and was able to do a good deal of repairing work required for the
factory machinery. June 7th at Jenmapes, Algeria. busy with a boring machine
.very hot I find the
place as you may fancy - My letter writing costume consists of a pair of
drawers and a shirt only - It is much too warm to wear any more clothes
although nearly 10 o'clock at night.
---We came across the locusts in
several places --- 10,000 men are continually working to destroy them but
they of course came by millions --- I have 50 Arabs stripping cork and as
they do not drink wine I gave them a bullock to make a feast - Next week
I am going to camp out at the Safia to examine and report upon the whole
property which contains some 10,000 acres.
June 12th. Two lions were
prancing about the forest the night before last -- My hut is made of
branches and roofed in with rushes. It will at all events be cool at night.
July 3rd. I wish you both were at the Safia that I might have my regular
dip every morning
(He kept his cold bath up to the last) -- went out
shooting and fishing - I like shooting fish better than catching them with
a rod etc. - we were invited into an Arab gourbi and there had a feast of
- Courcous
. It is not bad living in a gourbi and is cool enough at night
as the wind passes freely through the branches of walls and roofs - It is
curious too to hear the cries of the wild animals
It is 24 years
since I first saw this forest
. My Father came to England very shortly
after the date of this letter and then returned to Portugal. Whilst in
England he took Hal and I about and we stopped some days with him at Angus
Hotel close to Blackfriars Bridge. Oct 7th. The workshop is going again
I had first to finish Rogue's apparatus also to make him a galvonometer.
Now I am on to work for the factory
- I have no artificial teeth myself
but am sure they are better than aching or bad natural ones
. Oct. 22nd.
Rogue's birthday - We are to have the magic lantern this evening and I
must go and get it ready
. The magic lantern was a great institution
which we children much enjoyed - My father had a wall in the Attic prepared
as a screen and often gave us the lanterns (describing views). Many of the
slides were home made and with the aid of a camera made by himself with
which photos were taken by the wet process. Lantern slides were made of
most of us. These lanterns were again called into use many years later for
the benefit of his grandchildren and he took great delight in amusing them
and bringing out the old slides again. Nov 15th. I have been travelling
day and night since last Tuesday afternoon and reached home this morning at
7.o'c. Fancy three nights and two days without changing clothes
(Visit to Spain) Dec. 9th - or going
to bed
.I believe in chemistry - It is the
science that will unlock in time nearly all the secrets of nature.
1890
Jan. 19th - The dispute between England and this country has caused
very great excitement here but I hope it will evaporate in cheers and
groans.
This was over Delagea Bay when our Government had to deliver an
ultimatum. It was very unpleasant for English people living in Portugal
who were stoned and insulted and called pirates
. My Father however was
never subjected to any violence as some others were, but he was too well
known and liked to make such a contingency probable. A discharged workman
did once approach him in a hostile way but was promptly frightened back into
the nearest wine shop when he found that my Father stood him ground. In
March Meg and Annie came to England leaving Father and Rowie alone with
Uncle Arthur
and in May Rowie and
Uncle Arthur came home. It will be very
dull in the house alone but the busy season is coming on and I don't mind
feeling solitary if sure that my little folk are doing well away from me.
April 26th - think of spending a week or two now and again in Lisbon or
Cintra - so that I shall not feel very dull - Besides which there is always
plenty for me to do in the long room or at factory.
June 23rd My bed
has been under the trees which is always pleasant enough but last week we
had two days and nights of thunderstorms - this scarcely marred the otherwise
enjoyable burst of
My Father frequently slept out in
the cork forests up-country when we had to visit them. July 10th camping out
.I am
nearly always away with my men in the forests as this life is more
interesting than being at home alone
. July 24th I spend about five out
of the seven days a week up country
. In August I went out to Father for
the holidays the last time I was in the old house. The
Stewarts were there -
old friends - but Mrs. Stewart was then very ill.
She had confessed a wish
to die at our house which she accordingly did. The trouble with poor
Mrs. Stewart
might have made you ill as it did me for two or three days.
Sept. 23rd The Directors have authorized me to send my
(The house
in Cacilhas was burnt down in 1901 and rebuilt in a somewhat different
place). Oct.22nd tanates
to London,
to take lodgings in Lisbon and to put the office at factory - and as soon as
everything is ready I shall say goodbye to this house - it is anything but
pleasant leaving it, for dull as I am alone here, it goes against the grain
to abandon what has been such a jolly home for all of us - I shall lodge in
Lisbon and try to get holidays in London as often as possible.The sale is over - I did not care to be present - find
myself often regretting our old house
. All the furniture was sold and
only a few things including the lathe and tools sent to England. Dec. My
Father came to England and took a house at Wood Green (33 Park Avenue)
where he installed all of us except Hal who was still at Gloucester. I
started in the Great Eastern Railway (Rates office) and the two youngest
1891
went to school. At the end of February he returned to Lisbon. The affairs
of the Company were no better and my Father made tentative efforts to get
other employment but nothing acceptable turned up. June 1st The longer I
live the more evidence I get of the certainty that men reap as they sow in
this life as well as in the next
. Sept. My Father went to Spain and again to
Algeria. By sea Lisbon to Gibraltar and then on to Malaga and Algeria and
from there by Spanish steamer A dirty little Spanish tub not so long as the
Barreiro boat - a cargo boat without cargo and didn't she just pitch and
roll. The grub too was very bad - I always enjoy a visit to these old
scenes but somehow the sight of them makes me rather melancholy. The fact
is I ought to be rich enough to bring some of my
(Written from
1892
Philippeville) He returned to Portugal in November and February came to
England for a holiday a short one but important to me as it was then
arranged that I should leave the G.E. Rly. and be articled to my
Uncle
Herbert Oldfield. August. After passing the preliminary exam I went out
to my Father in Portugal staying with him at Tio's and had a pleasant trip
up-country with him to the forests to see corkstripping going on, sleeping
two nights in the open.fry
with me on these
expeditions and then they would be all enjoyment nearly
1893
At the beginning of this year my Father was home for a short time and
the house at Wood Green was given up and lodgings taken at
64 Wharton Road, Hammersmith.
He lived in Lisbon on his return where there were more
people to see and houses to visit and an occasional theatre. There was
some trouble with strikes this year, a comparatively new departure amongst
the Portugese There is absolutely no need to feel anxious about me for
there is [not], and never has been, the slightest danger and I am always
astonishingly careful of my own skin.
On these occasions when the men
did strike, it was the custom to hoist two large Union Jacks at the factory
gates. My Father who could already write German well took the opportunity
(becoming acquainted with some Germans) to improve his talking in this
language. He never seemed to think that he had finished with learning or
improving his knowledge which covered a very large ground. In 1913 a few
weeks before his last illness he set to work again on German and worked
very hard - too hard - at it. June 6th. My Father had a very thorough
knowledge of the Portugese character and got on very well with them,
speaking and writing their language almost like a native. He was a close
observer of everything and noted changes as they took place. He writes this
month The Republican movement has undoubtedly made very great progress and
the causes of the people are permeated by vague but strong disinterest with
existing things and cravings after a Socialism of which the ignorant folk
know nothing, though they believe it will bring great gains to themselves.
Very little would probably precipitate the inevitable outbreak
.
The establishment of a Republic in Portugal following the assassination
of the King, Don Carlos,
and the Crown Prince is recent history, having
taken place in 1910 and the unrest since that event has been due largely to
the disappointment of the people in not getting the great gains
they had
expected.
Jeanie went out to him in July shortly before her marriage to John Wilson.
Father was living sometimes at an hotel or boarding house in Lisbon
and at other times with Tio and
Tia who were always exceedingly kind in
having him. Tio, before his marriage, had lived with the rest of us in
Almada and Cacilhas. August. I want her (Meg) to send me
My Father was much interested
in this magazine which he took for some time and when in England attended
a Seance at which he was much impressed but on the whole I think he thought
Borderland
a
new quarterly just introduced by Mr. Stead.Spiritualism
amongst the non-proven
subjects although his belief in a
future spiritual existence never faltered throughout his life.
I like the change to Cacilhas again, it was getting too hot in Lisbon
and Jeanie's presence makes life less monotonous.
At the end of November he came over to England and spent Christmas with us
1894
returning to Portual in the following February. You are right, my boy -
it was wretched having to say good-bye and stll more wretched to have to
live apart as we do
.
Will Home Rule be conducive to the best interest of Ireland? I should
say in the abstract - yes - unhesitatingly and would say the same of England,
Scotland and Ireland. But in the concrete shape of Gladstone's late Bill,
my answer would be - no. And if no wider ground were taken it is always
easy to adduce some arguments, pro and con, in all debates.
He was a
Conservative and a pronounced free trader so long as it was not universal
free-trade and always ready and able (not always the same thing) to argue
on a very wide range of subjects.
This same month he was off again to Algeria staying in Jenmapes when
not at the Forest de la Safia
but the weather was wretched and thick mud
everywhere. His boots gave way Slippers won't do in present state of
things so one must stop in the
He got back
to Portugal in May. May 12th - house
. The guard's house
consists of
two rooms anything but A.1. There are the guard and his wife, two children,
five dogs, one cat, etc. etc. When all this has to remain indoors on account
of the wet, life here is not as pleasant as one would wish!I had a pleasant enough journey - the sea
was very smooth but I was queer once - funny wasn't it?
He was a very good
sailor and I doubt if he had been seasick for many years before this or more
than once afterwards, notwithstanding the numerous and rough sea voyages he
went. June. Meg and Hal went out on a visit, the former staying at Tio's
and the latter with the Wilson's at the Ontairo
.
Meggie's presence shows
us all up and infuses life into our very slow existance here
. Their coming
seems to me like a glimpse of home and family life again
. On this occasion
Hal had a trip up-country with him. My Father was not happy unless there was
plenty of work or something to do and plenty of people to exchange ideas with.
August 9th - Pipe put out
. October 13th - As to stoppage of smoking,
Saint, I am now in my 11th week of abstention. The only effects I have
observed, or fancied I observed, are 1, a slight deadening of the mental
faculties and 2, a decided sharpening of temper. Don't fear, if it seems to
me advisable to begin smoking again I will at once relight the
. Anybody who, having been always a heavy smoker as my Father was,
has tried to give it up will know what strength of mind it requires. But
my Father did it more than once and carried his pipe and tobacco pouch in
his pocket during the abstention. Nov. 25th - pipe of
peace
as in fact I intend to do when in the future things are more
prosperousI quite believe with Huxley
that pertinacity and patience (in hard work) are worth double the amount of
cleverness
.
1895
April - My Father came to England at the end of this month in connection
with the Company's affairs which were in a bad way. He continued to live
the quiet and to him rather monotonous life in Portugal but he had my sister
Jeanie and his first grandchild near him. Sept. There is nothing at all in
the shape of news to send you - Things here go on in the most monotonous and
uneventful fashion
. His letters this year are largely concerned with
Annie and Rowie's schooling and the idea of moving to a house and Hal's
travels at sea on his first boat.
1896
Jan.12th - Thanks for your wishes for the 16th. I can recollect
putting my date, name and 1848 at the bottom of my copies - can hazily
recall the effect produced by passage from 1848 to '49 and remember very
well indeed how much the writing 1850 instead of 1849 impressed me with the
rapid progress of the
. And very amusing descriptions we received of his
experiences but he soon became expert and had some very long rides afterwards
in England. World
as represented by myself. As to bike - there
is an old fashioned machine left at the Outsire and
John showed me how to
ride it in four lessonsNo I don't want Richmond Hill or any other hill level,
and smooth ground suits me best
. Feb. - My Father came to England on his
way to Algeria and definitely decided to take a house. He returned to
London from Jenmapes in March and we then went to
32 Cromwell Grove, Hammersmith,
the last house my Father took in London and which remained
headquarters up to 1904. He returned to Portugal same month and continued
amusing himself with the bicycle there, but he had, whilst in London, used
mine and got on very well notwithstanding certain wild charges on to and
off the pavement, into pillar-boxes and so on. In July he moved over to
Lisbon I am lodging in a sort of Portugese private boarding-house and
expect it will be fairly comfortable. There are some other Englishmen and
a Dutchman there so it will not be dull
. I wish Lisbon was not so close
and evil smelling also that London
. In
Oct. he was back in England again on the way to Algeria. He spent Christmas at
the Safia. porter
could be had in place of the
bad water - Otherwise the life in my new quarters is not unpleasantFancy being couped up in a small room almost continually since
I came here, we have had nothing but rain and storms
.
1897
Jan. 8th - Yes - I am having a beastly time of it. The Safia is only
habitable if the weather is fine --- I have had to get several thorough
drenchings in order to get a little exercise. In addition to this
disadvantage there is the struggle with the confounded officials - the
having to
. He had a long stay in Algeria on
this occasion at one place or another and returning to Portugal via London
until April and evidently found the trip anything but enjoyable. June 11th
(Portugal) stroke them the right way of the hair
to prevent a most serious
injustice being done to the Poor L.L.C.It has been very hot all the week and up-country it was simply
roasting. I had four hours last Sunday in an open cart in the middle of
the day - it wasn't at all cold!
This month after my final exam I went
out to Portugal for a short holiday, staying with Jeanie and with Tio where
Father was, and very nice it was being with him again in the old places.
July 23rd - My weekly journeys up-country are still proceeding and I am
off again tomorrow morning. Last journey was rather more exciting than
usual for our third and last camp in the forest you slept in was pitched
in a place infested by Scorpions. Last Saturday night Polonio sleeping
next to me was bitten
. In August Annie and Rowie went out for a holiday
and later went up-country with him several times. They returned in
September. In this month his letters first refer to what we used to call
the pedigree
i.e. my attempts to get some information together about
family. My Father always took great interest in any information obtained
and what little matters of interest have been got together have been so
got largely owing to the encouragement he gave. At this date, beyond some
meagre knowledge of his Uncle and the name of his grandfather, he knew
nothing of the earlier generations. Dec.14th. -I have been away up-country
doing the round you and I did together some five years since, in addition
to a long journey to the South of Portugal.
1898
Feb. 5th - At the Safia - I am busy enough here and have a good many
men to look after. French - Italians - Arabs and Kabyles
- all of whom
he could talk to in their own language. Feb. 13th Last Sunday morning I
woke up to find La Safia covered with snow. It was a real treat. Buried
in the woods here I have naturally very little to send you in the shape of
interesting news.
On this occasion he was seeing to the repairs to the
house which had fallen into a ruinous condition. Feb. 28th Yesterday I
walked most of the way to Jenmapes before the jardiniere could overtake me
and get an Arab to carry me pick-a-back over one of the streams. Right in
the middle I thought he was going to tumble down but happily we got through
alright --- I prefer to stick to La Safia and to see after the work. It is
a caution having to turn a tumbledown old house into a new one, particularly
in such weather
. April 10th I am quite well as usual and now enjoying a
bit of roughing it being alone here with an Arab - I'm afraid you would not
admire the
. May 10th - Cuisine
I should like to see both the girls
marry, being convinced that it is the best condition for all women in pretty
nearly all cases
. At the end of this month he came home to London but was
back in Portugal at the beginning of June. The long stay in Algeria and the
bad food had made him a little out of sorts but the Doctor soon put him right
June 20th - We are going to Cintra for the next three months and shall have
about five hours travelling daily although it can't be more than twenty-five
miles between the factory and Cintra
. Aug. 11th - I like the change to
Cintra because it brings an opportunity of seeing people and having a chat
with them. It is a great mistake to keep ones thoughts altogether to
oneself - folk who do so become more and more taciturn, reserved and their
power to think at all must soon be seriously impaired. I know people who
have arrived at the stage of being unable or unwilling to utter a word for
a couple of hours on end!
Aug. 27th - I have a good bath under a 3" tap
every morning it is like standing under a small Niagara and is A.1. at 6.a.m.
Sept. 3rd (Cintra) We had a small fire at our hotel last night but no danger
nor chance of effecting rescues etc. It is a change to be waked up by
smoke and cries of fire! As the fire was close to my room the smoke poured
in through the wooden ceiling and might have stifled me had the window not
been open
. In October Meggie went out to Portugal and at the end of the
month he came home and in November went on to Algeria to the Safia.
Nov. 27th - Have furnished the two rooms rebuilt last year and feel as if
I were in clover. Fancy ten years of roughing it in this country -- both
sea experiences were disturbing and I was as sick as the rest of them - so
Adieu my claim to be a good sailor - Alas & Alack!
Nevertheless he was an
excellent sailor. On this journey he was endeavouring to get the
authorities to pay up an indemnity of £2,000 due to the Company and as
there was some trouble between England and France at the time, he found a
change in the demeanour of his numerous French friends. Dec. 8th Fancy
taking 17 and a half years to collect the funds for paying 40% of the officially
estimated damage by 1881 fire
. He was constantly put off with one excuse
or another and heartily sick of the whole business.
1899
Jan. 18th - Philippeville - As to health of body I am quite well, as
to health of mind, I am ill from constant swearing about the needless
delays and exasperating slowness of the officials here - However time and
patience and perseverance always win in the end
. And they did for he
came home shortly after bring the cash with him. I remember his arriving
after three sleepless days and nights spent clutching the money and I
suppose keeping an eye open for possible thieves. In March he was back
again in Portugal but he had spent sometime at home and done a good deal
of cycling. He took his bike
out with him. March 27th. I don't like
the look of the roads here, the best of them look worse than the bumpiest
parts of the Shepherds Bush Road.
However he managed to do a good deal
of cycling in Portugal and got some tumbles. (April 21st) Thanks I am
alright as to the honourable rounds rained in my tumbles with my
. Fever and the Company's affairs bothered him a good
deal this year but he did a fair amount of cycling to and from Cintra.
Oct. 4th - bike
it
is that confounded African fever which bothers me still -- I have had
little riding yet quinine, fever, dust, heat, bad roads and steep hills are
all against ridingHave had a long bout up country, returned yesterday and am off
again this afternoon. Very happy to say that fever has again been staved
off by persistent use of quinine.
This year his brother, Uncle Ernest,
died in Canada. My Father had frequently been called upon to assist his
brothers, Ernest and Francis, financially. The position of the Company was
critical and money matters seemed likely to become urgent. Dec. 13th -
Home is for all of us and each of us has an equal right to his share. My
special privilege and pleasure is to keep our home going as well as I can.
Whenever circumstances arise to cut my finances I shall be down on you all
... instenter
to aid me to keep our home goingI have only one thought
now and that is the happiness of my
. Dec. 27th fry
We had our Christmas
dinner on Sunday and spent Christmas day cycling - a very pleasant day
. Father,
Tio and John Wilson at this time all had their bicycles.
1900
Jan. 5th The worst of draughts is that they act with increasing effect,
witness my back aches of old caught by sitting between open door and window
in the smoking room at Cacilhas. It was Auntie Pollie
(Mary Oldfield,
Francis' wife (509))
who convinced me that
this glorious current of air gave me neuralgia and ... avoiding draughts ...
I got rid of the pain years ago
. I am very pleased with the news of
Meggie's engagement. Of course, we think any pretender not good enough for
her but yours and Tio's remarks about
Ernest Hickson
(My grandfather (ref: APH))
confirm the good opinion
I had formed of him from his manly letter to me.
Jan. 18th - have arranged
a small track in the garden and we ride on this sometimes but a series of
continuous curves is not equal to a high road by a long way.
In February
he came to England for Meg's wedding which took place on her birthday in
March and made my future wife's acquaintance and he returned to Portugal in
May. It's the first time I have landed here without being welcomed by
little Le' with his big smile! We have a much smarter man now to do Le''s
work but I liked the little chap.
Our Le' had died the previous year. He
was an old and faithful manservant who used to do the shopping in Lisbon and
also business errands there as well as looking after us. We were all very
fond of the little man who was kind hearted if not particularly clever. The
South African war was of course eagerly followed by Father in Portugal and
his letters at this time contain many references thereto and to the hostile
attitude of the Portuguese towards the English and the ridiculous news
published in the native papers. May 26th - As to the rejoicings over the
relief of Mafeking, I am not surprised that all the world is inclined to
mock us, we are getting to be as bad as the French! Of course the enthusiasm
is evoked by the rescue of the brave people in Mafeking and not by the
importance of the victory, still it seems to me overdone. The Portuguese
papers don't write so jubilantly as they did when we were being licked and
there is great disappointment with the course of the war. This of course is
very soothing to our feelings.
June - In June he had to go to Algeria (13th)
Safia. Five days and nights of constant travelling at full speed - a luxury
one has to pay for. Fortunately there was no lack of agreeable travelling
companions - and buying the French and English papers at principal railway
stations, the good news from South Africa enabled me to
(Mabel) She also made a devoted daughter-in-law and my Father was very fond
of my wife. June 15th. tickle
my French
friends. The Safia looks very nice but it is infernally hot and steamy.
Take quinine every other day as a precaution but have had no return of fever.
Nearly all the faces round me are new ones so have to watch closely to find
out how far they are to be trusted. I very much miss my wooden handed Braton
(the old guard). - She is a nice girl and will make you a good wife I'm sureYou will have heard the bad news from Tenby my boy
and so can understand that I am in no letter writing mood
. This refers to
the serious illness of his favourite sister, Aunt Gussie, the nun who was
dying of cancer. In July he returned direct to Portugal. Aunt Gussie had
died at Tenby on the 28th June. They had always been good friends and
corresponded regularly and there is no doubt that he felt her death keenly.
In August Herbert Willis
(Is this FRB's brother-in-law?)
and I went out to Portugal - the last occasion on
which I was there with Father - and returned at the beginning of September.
Oct. - When I was a boy the ordinary workman had nothing to do on Sundays
but church going or public house haunting. Even a country walk was
considered wrong by many people! ... Did you do your duty as a citizen and
vote at the Hammersmith election?
. My Father always said it was the duty
of a man to exercise the right to vote and was very glad when he finally
acquired the right on coming to England permanently. Oct. 25th - Yes,
parents naturally want to see their children getting on and prospering -
at the same time I don't somehow like to feel that I shall soon have no
. Nov. 2nd - infants
leftShould very much have liked
Max O'Rells'
lecture. There is a good deal in what he says about American women. Their
education and bringing up are different from what our girls get and so
the finished article may be superior in some respects. But as far as I am
concerned there are no women in the World like our English women.
An
opinion of a very intelligent and widely travelled man who saw no reason
to change it even after having visited Canada and the States. Dec. 10th
After the visit of the British fleet to Lisbon the tone of the Portuguese
papers towards England changed. It is curious to recall 1890 when we
were expecting to be assaulted etc ! and when the popular cry was
Death
to the English
! Spent Christmas at the Outsire.
1901
Feb. Tio broke up his house in Almada I shall go to a hotel for a
few days and then to the Outsire. Later on shall hire a room in Lisbon and
March. He came to London again in connection with
the affairs of the Company which was on its last legs and in April went to
Liverpool to meet Hal on his return to England in the grub
at restaurants.Rapidan
. He was
back in Portugal the following month. May 28th Last evening I took up my
quarters at York House, a boarding house or private hotel you may possibly
remember. The boarders are a mixed lot of Natives and English - the grub
appears to be reasonably good in quality but I fear deficient in quantity.
However, one dinner and one breakfast are not enough to enable me to speak
definitely as to this very important matter! My bedroom is nice enough but
too small and too full of furniture. The carpet is also an objection
.
In June Tio and Auntie Pollie left Portugal to settle in England.
Tio
having resigned. June 21st - I lately went up country but simply to see
to the stripping of the last of the forests loaned to the Company, Alas!
I am going to mount my bike on Sunday for as nobody wants to buy it, I may
as well finish it up myself
. This first bike was not up to the bad roads
and Father's substantial weight. York House life is not bad - though the
place is stuffy - I have had sundry invitations to outings etc but refused
them to save expense partly and partly because the prospect of enjoyment
was limited.
Aug. 1st Last Sunday I spent in Cintra and after dinner a
party of us climbed up to Moorish Castle hoping to have a fine feast of
moonlit scenery. But a fog came on and we had our climb for nothing
.
Aug. 10th Last week end was spent at the Outsire where our folk look fairly
well considering it is summer time. There is no news to send you as
everything goes on as usual. I am aching to get away! The present position
is most unsatisfactory
. Aug. 17th I am very interested in the free wheel.
When I am rich enough, shall buy a bike with free wheel, two gears, strong
frame and two rim brakes worked from handle bar, also 7 and a half inch cranks. My old
Sunbeam is no longer safe for me to ride - I am preparing for a run home
by bike. This did not come off however although he made all his plans I
have foreseen a great difficulty in regard to getting dried properly after
a wet or hot day's riding, particularly in Portugal and Spain where fire-places
are practically unknown except in the kitchen. I did not somehow
relish the idea of sitting in kitchen with other guests, myself in
. Oct. puris
naturalibus
holding my garments to dry at fire one by one! Tio thinks
John
(John Wilson (601), his son-in-law)'s
bike will not be up to my weight. Well, this morning, I scaled
98 kgs. say 15 stone 6 lbs - It being obvious that the Company was going to
liquidateI am trying to find places for my old hands (some have
worked here for 30 years) and have arranged for all except poor Silva -
However, I hope to secure his re-employment somewhere before order comes to
close the doors. As to myself, I have decided to see the business through as
a duty to poor old Company and also because I can't afford to lose any
salary going - and shall then go home - having had enough of
Oct. 11th. furrin parts
after thirty-six years of almost uninterrupted life abroad --- All you tell
me of your pedigree researches is very interesting and quite new to me.The Wilsons came back last Monday night so I moved my quarters
to the Outsire last Wednesday. It is much quieter there than it was at York
House but very pleasant and comfortable.
In November he came home and the
Company was committed to liquidation. He returned to Portugal the following
month to wind up its affairs where necessary. The Wilsons were moving to
Lisbon and he stayed at a hotel until they had settled down and then went
to their house.
1902
March. This morning I tried the new brakes and find them effective.
they hold me on a steep hill which the old plunger never did. Am now
going to fit on the free-wheel and then must begin to learn bicycling
afresh I'm told - Have only ridden about fifteen miles to test free-wheel
and like the change very well.
April 3rd
"I want John to succeed us here."
April 11th Since Monday morning last I have not stirred out of the factory
so as to give my leg a chance of rest from walking. It is much better and
I hope next week to go for a spin on my free-wheel. Tio's
16th glass cage
is
my bedroom and I sleep on his table and think of his old mug
as it used
to show up through the glass! A man cooks up-country
fare for me.
John
comes to see me regularly everyday and Jeanie and the children have also
paid me visits.The leg is very much better and I hope it will
carry me back to civilisation within the next few days. Existence here is
most decidedly quiet and uneventful especially after sun-down, when the
machinery stops and the men leave.
-
John bought the factory and machinery
and turned it into a successful business. He has since sold it as a going
concern to Bucknalls of which Company he is now (1914) a Director and he
still continues to look after the old place. May 1st Yesterday I came out
of my retirement and proceeded to Lisbon. After three weeks seclusion in
the factory it was quite a pleasant change to see the streets and people
once more and get back to the refinements of civilised life. I walked up
to the Ratrells, had my evening constitutional and walked down here (factory)
to-day ... My engagement with the old Company ceased yesterday and I am now
employed by the Receiver at the old rate of pay and have to go to Algeria
shortly to see to strip, sale of cork, etc.
June 11th At last I have been
able to hand over premises and plant to John and am off tomorrow morning
early to Africa. It has been a very disagreeable business, happily I am
free at last. Came back from Cintra yesterday and am spending last day at
Jeanie's.
June 25th at La Safia. Have taken a first precautionary dose of
quinine, get up early and try to be indoors again by 9 a.m. to avoid the hot
sun - Have a splendid mosquito net and hope to defeat all attempts of the
fever easily.
July 4th Yes, it is awfully hot here and not at all
confortable. I am trying to write this whilst defending myself from the
flies of all sizes, mosquitoes etc., that swarm round me. Have only drawers
and shirt on, yet am in a bath of perspiration. Impossible to get a cool
drink and so have to be always thirsty, though I swallow plenty of tepid
liquid. At night I
Aug. 1st sleep
with a sheet only and all the doors and windows
open - perspiring at such a rate that pillow and bed and everything are quite
wet. No, this is a beastly place in the Summer though I like it well enough
in the Spring.We are having rather exciting times as the
excessive heat seems to act upon the Arabs and make them more than usually
mischievous. For the last fortnight there have been fires round us but at
a decent distance, now however, they break out nearer home. Fires have been
lighted in our forest, also in those of our neighbours and only the absence
of a strong wind has saved the properties although guards were immediately on
the spot and so able to nip the outbreak in the bud.
Aug. 24th Five nights
since, two big stacks of hay and corn at one end of the farm were set on
fire and burned furiously for more than thirty hours - the
Sep. 7th Siroco
blowing
fortunately and the temperature 112 degrees F. - It was a wonderful escape! Now
we are getting a few days of cooler weather again and last two nights have
seen the stars unobscured by smoke.Last night I found a big rat
on my bed calmly devouring the candle which it had managed to take out of
the candlestick. Got up the guard and his wife, also a young dog and we had
an exciting chase - The rat was a monster but his time had come!
On the
16th October my Father's engagement with the Receiver expired and he returned
to England. To us children the end of the old Company was a blessing as it
brought Father home permanently and thenceforward we saw a lot of him. When
the anxiety was at last at an end and he found that after all we could
manage very well. Father himself soon recovered his spirits. At this time
Meg was at North Holt, Bradford - Jeanie in Portugal and the rest of us at
32 Cromwell Grove, Hal having given up the sea to enter into partnership in
a lift business in London. My Father of course lived with us at
Cromwell Grove
and I only received letters from him when he was visiting. He had now
plenty of time for cycling and used to ride with me all round.
1903
In June he went up to Meggie's. Hal gave up business here and emigrated
to Canada where Father intended to go for a trip to see his brother Francis.
Annie was also on a visit to Meggie's. In July he was home again getting
ready for the trip on which he started from Liverpool on the 5th August per
C.P.R. Company's S.S. Montfort
. For details of his experiences - too
many to set out here - his letters must be read. He enjoyed himself
immensely and looked Hal up in Montreal. He went on to Winnipeg at the
beginning of September after visiting Quebec, Toronto, Niagara, Owen Sound
etc., and got to his brother's farm at Tenby, Manitoba, at the beginning
of the same month. For details of how he found his brother and the doings
of the two brothers, Francis and Ernest, with their sister Eva since they
went to Canada, see his letter of the 7th September, 1903, copy of which is
with the records. Sep. 9th Uncle Francis' Shanty is a regular settler's log
hut with a loft above it - A solitary man cannot attend to business and his
house also - latter will be left to look after itself as has been the case
here. I like roughing it but in clean surroundings. Everything here is
home made that could be made at home - Rough of course but useful and
answering its purpose - Amongst the home made articles are a microscope, an
astronomical telescope, a barometer and other scientific instruments. All
the lenses etc., were made here! Uncle Francis' peculiar vanity is strong
tea which he drinks at all times. He smokes as much as I do. He does not
look so big and broad as he used to. His hair is unchanged but his beard is
just beginning to turn grey. He is burnt and frozen quite nut-brown. His
voice is almost that of Uncle Fred and many of his gestures recall the latter.
Awfully careless of appearance, my eyes nearly dropped out when I saw him
first. Have convinced him of the error of his ways
... On the 20th
September he had gone to Vancouver B.C. in pursuance of his intention of
going right across Canada. It seems such a far-cry to No. 32 now, yet I
don't feel so cut off from you all as I used to in Algeria.
At the end of
October he got back to Tenby farm. The vast majority of the people here are
connected with farming and are fools who gape at what the wonderful folk
from the towns have to say about political economy and everything else. The
small minority living by manufactures are very strong protectionists and as I
told some of them lately they bleed nineteen farmers to keep one craftsman
going - You would have enjoyed the discussions I have had on the subject in
all sorts of places. Have only once found another Free-trader in the crowd
to support me!
My Father used to delight in intelligent discussions on
almost any subject and could always hold his own. Have a big sack stuffed
with hay for a bed and can therefore be content to dream of sheets, pillows
and all the effeminancies you are spoiling yourselves with in that effete
old country! - Oh yes, I recognized Uncle Francis though he had several
neighbours with him but had to look at him twice.
He had not seen him
since 1868. My Father found that his brother had let himself go like many
other settlers in those lonely parts and he also found him in monetary
difficulties. With that self-sacrificing generosity which distinguished
Father he came to the rescue both at this time and subsequently when he had
to take over the farm himself, so as to provide that his brother should not
be thrown upon the world in his old age. The visit to Tenby farm was not
altogether pleasant but he made the best of it and it was a lucky event for
Uncle Francis. (Tenby Farm was sold 1920 for $3,300 payable by instalments,
Uncle Francis being in a home - past all work and partly paralysed. Nov. 2nd
You should see the Aurora Borealis! I am never satisfied but go on watching
it till driven in by cold. No doubt pyjamas and slippers are not suitable
attire at night outdoors.
Certainly not in these semi-erratic regions. It
is awfully monotonous here. The country and its inhabitants are most
uninteresting. Even walking is not good enough for there is nowhere to go,
nothing to see and no hills at all. It is a flat marshy plain with a few
clumps of low bush - I weep for my lovely British Columbia!
On the 25th
November he started for Montreal via Winnipeg and Ottawa. I left 30 degrees below
zero in Winnipeg.
He stayed with Hal in Montreal until the 8th December
and then came home via Liverpool per S.G. Tonian
.
1904
Father was busy at the beginning of the year setting up my brother Rowie
in business in Leeds. That young man after throwing up his apprenticeship
at an engineering works had gone to some friends of his in the country who
kept a general store, and was anxious now to set up for himself as a Draper.
Accordingly with Father's ever-ready assistance he bought a small business -
a Drapers shop - at Leeds. In February Father visited
Tio (i.e. Uncle Frank
Oldfield Tio
is Portuguese for Uncle and we sometimes called
Uncle Arthur
Oldfield Tio
but properly Uncle Frank Oldfield is the first and original
Tio
). He then went on to
Uncle Arthur at Churchtown. Tio and
Auntie Polly
had settled down at New Milton, Hants. At these places he indulged his love
of walking and returned home to Cromwell Grove in March.
In June he
attended my wedding at Tunbridge Wells - the whole family were present
except Hal and Meggie. It was a pretty wedding with a very pretty
bride as the centre of the affair - tell Mabel to call me
On our return from our honeymoon we invited him over
to Boulogne where we were staying the last week and he much enjoyed
himself looking up the old places he used to haunt when at school
there - painting out the scene of a great fight with his Irish chum -
and chatting with the market-women. Even in such a short time he began
to be known to people in the town. The a name="cromwell5">Cromwell Grove house was given
up in September as my Father wishes to be near Rowie in Leeds, where he
eventually took a house at 15 Tanfield Street, living there with Annie
and Rowie and helping Rowie all he could, that is keeping the books etc.
He soon settled down in this, his last home of his own, installing his
library and above all setting up the beloved lathe and fitting out a
workshop, where he used to amuse himself as in the old days at Cacilhas.
Meggie was at Bradford - quite close - and except for Hal in Canada and
Jeanie in Portugal, we were all within reasonable distance of each
other. A great improvement on his lonely life in Portugal. Aug. 24th
Father
(pronounced Fayther as we always called him - my daughter must not call
me Mr. Bergh.By the way the older I get the more there seems to hope for. In this
letter my hopes are enlisted in Rowie's business - and in Hal's future.
Hal had married his first wife and Rowie's business was not turning out
as well as it should have done. In September he ran down to London to
clear up at Cromwell Grove and saw my wife and myself at our own house
33 (then 17) Ellesmere Road, Chiswick, the very day we moved in. It
was a treat to see her the other afternoon evolving order and comfort
out of confusion and disorder.
Nov. 14th. When lathe is complete,
shall make my bench and do carpentry for Nan.
21st. You will be glad
to hear the lathe is up - as now on a temporary bench.
Dec. 5th We
continue to like our new quarters very well and I get plenty of time in
the workshop and there is no end of work before me - Have at last started
my bench and find my old tools very willing to make the shavings fly once
more.
At Christmas we (my wife and I) went up and spent Christmas at the new
house - a very enjoyable visit helping Father with the new bench was like
old times at Cacilhas.
1905
The life at 15 Tanfield Street consisted of working in the workshop
with the old tools, looking round at Rowie's shop, visiting Meg's and
other friends near, attending political meetings and so on - nothing very
exciting or productive of much worth recording. Rowie's business was
always a worry. Jan. 16th. I see you have made up your minds to have
me for your birthday and are already opening the skylight to give me air
can't resist any longer after this!
Another joke was to scatter
quantities of matchboxes throughout our house as he used immense
quantities for the pipe. Jan. 23rd. You are quite right in thinking
these old superstitious and popular sayings contain cold strats of
justifying experiences. In travelling under a ladder I cock one eye
aloft so as to know when to dodge falling men and materials.
Feb. 20th.
My cold is about gone but its departure has been delayed by a process of
hardening now going on, namely the accustoming myself to working in
workshop with door and windows open when there is a pleasant draught of
fresh air set up.
The next day he came down to us at Chiswick on a
short visit. March 6th. Don't you and Mabel miss the beccy smoke?
In
April he was much interested in my trip up to Tynemouth where I had
discovered some long undiscovered relations, including one old lady who
had actually taken his Mother to school. May 1st. As to the earthquake,
we slept through it but a good many people in Leeds felt it. Sorry I
missed it as the noise and shaking would have forcibly recalled the old
times in Portugal!
May 29th. I spent week-end at Bradford - they are
all very well at North Holt and getting ready to move into new house - we
walked over to see it yesterday morning - Have been cycling a little
lately.
July 17th. Though rather late in the day I wish Mabel many
very happy returns of her birthday. Am an awful sinner in the matter of
remembering these occasions for in practice I find somehow that only you [my own?]
children's birthdays occur to my recollection and were it not for Nan
my sons and daughters-in-law and my grandchildren would generally go
without birthday wishes from me. Alas and Alack!
Father was always
very good in sending wishes on festive occasions and carefully noted down
dates in his pocket-books. July 19th. I congratulate you and
July 14th. It is very
kind of you both to name my grandson after me - children are a glorious
institution and I am awfully sorry for childless couples.
July 31st.
I like to think how the new edition of H.J.B.
will grow up to be all to
his parents that the old H.J.B. has found his own children to be to him.
In August he spent a week at Filey with Meggie and the children holiday
making.
[My father (HEH, known as Hal), Meg's son, used to love
his holidays at Filey - APH]
Walking is chief amusement here as far as I am concerned.
In
November he and I went up to Tynemouth to visit the new-found relations -
the Mitcalfes -
Mrs. Burns and Father's first cousins Miss Augusta Mills
and Mrs. Hutchinson at Newcastle-on-Tyne and at the latter place saw the
painting of his own Father as a young man, a copy of which I have now.
We had a gloriously exciting and most pleasant time.
The pleasure this
trip gave my Father was alone sufficient compensation for the trouble and
expense incurred in the researches into the family history.
1906
Feb. 26th. We were all three very pleased with the photo of my
Father's picture and have been endeavouring to discover whom he most
favours or rather who is most like him - The Bergh chin and nose have a
claim upon nearly all of us, the curly hair has not been so generally
handed down. If you were plumper, darker and wore your hair longer, I
think you would be considerably like your grandfather --- of my
generation I think Uncle Ernest must have resembled his father most - he
was a very handsome fellow, same complexion and same curly dark brown
hair etc.
March 5th. It can be no fancy on my part that you take
after your grandfather as witness the following - Last Tuesday
Auntie Annie was here and saw the photo of portrait.
Asked who it stood for
she could not imagine but declared
April 16th.
the face reminds me of Frank somehow
though he is thinner and lighter and wears his hair shorter
.Today is Hal's wedding day - I have several jobs in hand for the house
and when these are finished hope to start cycling again.
May 7th. Have
finished doing up the garrat which we have turned into a library - we are
now upholstering the sofa and chairs.
(14th) Have practically finsihed
the more pressing odd jobs, have also trained myself down below fourteen
stone and so went for a very pleasant spin yesterday, first this season -
it was only about twenty miles.
In June he started on a cycling tour
visiting Uncle Arthur at Churchdown first.
Did sixty first day when I
had to stop (saddle broken) sixty-eight next and fifty-one third day.
On June 20th he rode from Churchdown to Tio's at New Milton - 101 miles -
pretty good for a man of 62! We live here on the fat of the land - the
strawberry plants are giving their fruit and we go in for big feeds. It
is really delightful being here and I shall be sorry to leave.
He
spent the time here cycling, walking, playing croquet, billiards, etc and
then rode up to me at Chiswick at the beginning of July doing the ride in
one day (Distance about 100 miles). At the end of July he started on his
ride home to Leeds via Leicester. My mileage in riding up here was 99
first day and 76 next - only had about 20 more to reach home but it was
too late to do it against so strong a head wind.
By this time he had
ridden some 2,000 on his machine and therefore proceeded to overhaul it
with his usual thoroughness. Whilst with us he cycled down to Wargrave
and got in touch with the present representatives of the
A'Bear's of which
family his great-grandmother was one. In September he joined the Leeds
Ratepayers Association and attended the meetings for amusement, as he
took great interest in municipal as well as political affairs and the
questions of the day, but he was not very satisfied with the Association.
At Christmas we went up to his house at Leeds (i.e. Mabel,
Jack and myself)
and also went over to Meggie's.
1907
Jan. 7th. I wish to see the frost set in again as soon as possible
and begin to feel swindled out of my rights in a good old English Winter! -
Did I tell you that John has bought the land on which our old factory
stands --- it is somehow gratifying to feel that the old Caramujo factory
has not got into the hands of strangers.
21st. We had a very pleasant
birthday. Nan remembered that roast goose and plum pudding was the fare
that distinguished my boyish birthdays and so provided it, much to our
surprise and also to our enjoyment.
28th. We have had a most enjoyable
taste of frost and I was sorry to see the change to milder temperature
yesterday because the cold thoroughly appeals to me after nearly 48 years
of hot climates.
Feb. 16th. It is high time the Church were
reformed radically - Disestablishment without disendowment is necessary
to wake up the powers that be to the need of removing the manifold
abuses existing in the state church - It looks as if there would be some
change made in the constitution of the Upper House and I devoutly hope
it will include the exclusion of the Bishops etc or the inclusion of
representatives of all churches.
He believed in equality for all
religions and was not hostile to them though not accepting any particular
dogma. Have defended and praised some (suffragist demonstrations) from
the first and note change coming over men's opinions.
He was an
enthusiastic believer in the movement to give women votes. We can't
possibly do with a single house nor could we be safe if Upper House is
made a powerless chamber. We must have a strong second chamber not based
on hereditary privilege - As to Women's suffrage I must devoutly hope
that the present agitation will be crowned with success.
April 29th.
As to your notes regarding my Mother, have added nothing to them as I
can't recall anything specially worth mention. You see I grew up to the
fact that we led an exceedingly quiet retired life, never scarcely seeing
anyone outside of the family and not knowing that we had any relations
living or if we had been told so at any time, not realizing the fact as
said relations were to all intents and purposes ignored.
In July he
want to see a cricket match, England v S. Africans; he used sometimes to
go and see football matches but I don't think looking on appealed to him
much. August Am trying to rub up the ancient furniture in the hope of
deceiving folk and leading them to think it is new. It's a tough
proposition.
Dec. 23rd. To help amuse the
The original lanterns were
brought out and a new one bought, also the old slides and new slides,
and he and Rowie made a whole lot of new ones, photographing old photos
and pictures and turning them into slides. Father was delighted to amuse
his grandchildren with these as he had amused his own children, and gave
many shows at Leeds and at my own house taking no end of trouble over it.fry
on Christmas day am getting
ready your old friend the magic lantern.
1908
Feb. --- my thoughts have been in Portugal a great deal since
reading in to-day's papers of the cowardly, stupid and barbarous murders
of poor King Carlos and his son - these anarchists and bad Republicans
should be hunted down as wild beasts dangerous to humanity. It is
nothing for England to be proud of that she offers and gives shelter to
these brutes to secure her own freedom from their attacks!
At Easter
he came down to us for a short visit and was photographed with Jack
and
myself - three generations - May 11th. Found plenty to do on my return,
as usual - Believe I manufacture work when none is forthcoming. Place
seemed singularly quiet without young Jack's voice and feet. Never
think a home complete when these two adjuncts are wanting.
May 27th.
Just came in - and delighted with the news which Nan rushes up from the
lower regions to announce - it is delightful to know that you have given
us a boy again - I hope my new grandson will have Francis as one at
least of his names.
Oct. Yes, I remember as a boy seeing
no popery
chalked everywhere. There is a considerable section of our people quite
convinced that the R.C's would revive the inquisition and other horrors
if they could.
1909
Rowie's business was now on its last legs and Father came down for
a week in February to discuss matters with me and Rowie and he decided
to wind it up. It had caused them both no end of worry from the first.
April 5th. The plan was to break up the house at Leeds - Nan was
going to America to the
Whitleys. Rowie was looking for a job. Propose
to pass a year in Canada and then pay long visits to my
(26th) fry
in Europe,
then Canada again, then Europe etc.We are packing up the
lathe etc to send to Ernest's
i.e.
Fairseat, Shipley, Meggie's house
where he stored a lot of things. May 10th. The dealing with
impediments for storing is a
16th twister
but we have made a great hole in
the work - you needn't fear that once in Canada I shall remain there.All the heavy packing is practically finished and a real grind it
has been - I shall keep a few special books only, everything else will
be sold for what it will fetch.
At the end of the month he came to us
for a short visit before closing up at Leeds and starting on his second
and last trip to Canada. June 10th - Fairseat You see by address that
poor No. 15 has been deserted. We shut it up night before last - Rowie
goes to Liverpool tomorrow to see me really leave the country.
So ended Father's last home of his own. I find this note Broke
up house in Leeds Spring 1909 and the tools etc., in above lists were
stored at Fairseat, the idea being that a workshop could be again
started. However, in January 1913 I decided to sell them to get rid
of them as there seemed no prospect of another workshop - Underwood
of Manchester Road bought the lot for £40 (say 1/6th of their real
value) I had to give a commission of 5% to the broker who introduced
purchaser - so all my old friends realized £38 net only - Anyway, they
furnished many years of pleasure from their use. H.J.B.
Father started for Canada by the Allan R.M.S.Victorian
from
which boat he writes on the 16th June - the time passes pleasantly
enough, the intervals between meals seem far too long - we walk, we
talk, we play games and today had a regular function at
(Refers to books he
gave me). He duly arrived at Todmorden, Ontario, where Hal then was.
June 24th. Sports
for
the Seaman's Orphan's Fund - the fog has been the great drawback - we
have had two awfully close escapes from running ships down - The
re-arrangement of the dining room seems a good one. It is pleasant to
feel that the friendly old books have been saved.Hal and I get up about six. It is very pleasant in the
morning and evening but much too hot in the day. Am wondering if you
feel more than usually deserted now No. 15 has become a memory only.
Nan should be at New York to-day - Don't think I shall find a very
abundant supply of materials for letter-making here - Though so near
Toronto we are in a very secluded valley - Poor old Hal - He is just
the same as ever and can't do enough to make things as pleasant as
possible for me. Have been trying my hand at gardening etc., and find
the life here a pleasant change - but the heat is oppressive and I mean
to try a tent in the garden - in place of my oven of a bedroom - Have
had a lot of sleeping out abroad and always enjoyed it. Glad to hear
you have hung my picture where Jack will see it and so remember me.
July 8th. Have converted an old shed into a bathroom and borrowing
Mayman's biggest wash tub have my morning tub under pleasant enough
conditions. Can see the surroundings from my tub as the planks of shed
don't join and are full of holes. At 6 a.m. also there is a freshness
in the zephyrs that soothes the feelings. There is plenty to do here,
carpentering (with old chunks of wood and a few tools) gardening - odd
jobbing including minding baby, hewing wood and drawing much, very much,
water.
5th Sept. New York You see I am in Yankee land now and full of
admiration too for the Yankee's work as exemplified in this and the other
towns I have seen! Left Toronto last Tuesday afternoon - Here I found
Nan waiting for me. The great engineering feats alone are worth a voyage
to see them - have ridden and walked by day and by night about a good
part of this island and have sailed to various points on the adjoining
islands etc - This is going to be a great city - the great city of the
world in my opinion.
He had a very pleasant time here going about with
Nan and Mr. Whitley. He writes that he thoroughly explored the place,
visited Chinatown and even ate some Chinese dishes at supper with chop-sticks.
He was back at Hal's on the 19th September and did not find much
to do but he went on a visit to Hal's mother-in-law. In middle of October
he went to a Boarding House in Toronto but only stayed a few days before
going on to Uncle Francis at Tenby farm. He seems to have actually been
tempted to settle in Canada but soon got disgusted at Tenby. 31st Oct.
He was at Winnipeg on his way Insisting upon having the window of my
room open and the heating apparatus disconnected - the folk have closed
the ventilators etc., so that no breath of fresh air from my room can get
any further into the building!
6th Nov. - Tenby Got here last Monday
afternoon and found Uncle Francis with various old acquaintances awaiting
me at the so-called
He was
thinking of going to Vancouver with his brother at this time and settling
there but luckily for us did not pursue the idea - The life at Tenby was
very rough and unpleasant and he worked too hard for his age on the farm
and I fear suffered somewhat in health. He was anxious to remove his
brother from his surroundings and his letters at this time are full of his
plans. Dec. 14th. station
- Don't know whether the pretty scenery of
the Don Valley has spoilt me or how it is, but this place looks awfully
flat and dismal - We shall pass the winter here unless place sells which
I sincerely hope it will for I have conceived a dislike for it.I'll take proper care of myself - we can easily
manage the winter here - Also it should be much more interesting, at
least I hope it will prove so. The great drawback is the monotony, the
snowdrifts are so deep that we cannot walk much anywhere.
23rd As to
our frozen meat, we saw off the piece required. Uncle Francis is to
cook an Christmas turkey etc., I am to boil the pudding and make the sauce
and the mince pies and the cake etc. A fair division of labour. Wonder
if it will mean labour also to wade through the dinner when cooked!
25th.
Mabel's pudding is boiling bravely as I write this.
29th We had
Mabel's pudding and it was enthusiastically received.
Uncle F. insisted
upon toasting
the maker of that pudding
and asked me to say he had not
tasted so good a one for many years. Meggie's mincemeat filled my pies
and those were good - we contrived to pass the day pleasantly. The
photos were brought out and examined and there was much to say about the
originals.
1910
Jan. 7th. Have been revising all my plans - Careful observation
of my brother convinces me that he is past the age for helping me to
carry out my original idea regarding British Columbia. I think he had
better stay here and have an easier time than would be possible otherwise.
21st. - Nothing of interest to report unless it be the appearance of some
birds at last. Went out last night to welcome them and brought two of
them home to supper - fat partridge. If there is a chance to get a little
shooting now things won't be nearly so dull.
Feb. 2nd. Haven't got over
the sad news you sent me. Am so sorry for you both because I know how you
will feel the loss of litle Francis -- this blow has vividlly recalled
what your mother and I felt when we lost Harold and then Gracie.
Feb. 8th.
I believe and always have believed that we shall see our dear ones again.
23rd. Want to begin some much needed improvements this summer and so
have put off my return - Propose to complete the fences round the property,
break up the virgin soil (say 90 acres) summer fallow some 30 and seed
down about 20.
Although now in his 67th year my Father did a good deal of
hard work himself and must have found it very trying in the great heat.
May 3rd. I am hard at it grubbing up the brush and trees - the breaking
plough is already at work and I hope to add several acres to the arable
part of the farm.
26th. Tomorrow I have a six mile walk to get myself
placed on the Voter's list - We look at Halley's comet every night but
think it makes a mighty poor show. A miserable affair compared with
comet A1910 which took everybody by surprise and could be very distinctly
seen here before the sun set.
30th. Of course it is very hard work -
usually Bob (the dog) and I are the only
Aug. 10th ---grubbers
on the place.the visiting Judge gave me the vote. My case was that I
am a British citizen and during my two visits to Canada must have put in
the period of residence as I made this shack my headquarters seven years
ago - I was very anxious to vote for my beloved Referendum etc and did
so.
As Rowie could get no satisfactory employment in England, he went
out to Toronto with Father's approval at the end of October. Father left
Tenby and arrived at Hal's house, 404 Wellealey St., Toronto, on the 25th
October. We had noticed for a few weeks previously that Father's writing
was peculiar and that he was writing much larger - eventually it got so
bad that it was evident that something was wrong. However, he said
nothing about it for sometime. He stayed at Hal's long enough to meet
Rowie on his arrival. This was the last time Hal and Rowie saw him. He
then went on to New York and saw Nan for a few days and came home from
there on the 18th November by the Lusitania
arriving at Liverpool on
the 22nd. He had a most enjoyable time in New York - You heard of
Rogue's arrival at Toronto. I was very pleased to see him - And now,
dear boy, for a bit of bad news about myself. For last three months my
eyes have been seriously affected and at present I cannot read ordinary
print.
He was practically blind and had made the journey from Tenby
under difficulties but was kindly assisted on the way by complete
strangers. His brother was undergoing the same experience. The
passengers are a mixed lot but I have found some interesting people to
cotton to.
23rd Nov. at Fairseat I went to see an occulist this
morning and heard that all the mischief has been caused by tobacco. Just
think of a poor innocent pipe being blamed in this heartless fashion ---
the doctor says it is a choice between my pipe and my eyesight - so the
poor pipe was solemnly burnt today.
He had anticipated the verdict and
smoked his pipe to the occulist's door. At the same time in the light of
subsequent events and having regard to the fact that his brother continued
to smoke and yet recovered his sight, it is very doubtful whether tobacco
was the root of the evil. The sudden cessation of smoking was a very
great tax on my Father's mental and physical powers. He was provided
with medecine at first to stop the craving and then took to eating
toffee. With his indomitable pluck and great will-power he succeeded
in keeping off the tobacco but it left its mark. His eyesight slowly
improved and eventually with slightly stronger glasses than he had been
using, he was able to read quite well again. Dec. 2nd. It's nine days
since I smoked and so am on the road to a fortune of savings i.e. the
cost of baccy and matches.
Dec. 7th. Am specially pleased that baby
is a boy and congratulate you and Mabel heartily - It's a fortnight today
since my pipe was put out.
Father came down for the week-end on
the 10th and we found him looking rather thin and ill but in good
1911
spirits. He continued at Meggie's visiting the Doctor and the Occulist
and in January went down to Uncle Arthur's at Churchdown,
from there to
Tio's at New Milton, and came to us in February. In March he went to
Portugal on a visit to Jeanie going by R.M.S. Antony
. Whilst there
he suffered a good deal from indigestion due, very possibly, to the
quantities of medecine he had been taking and furthermore I think he
found the old scenes rather depressing. On the way he had a look round
Oporto. Leicester was with him and taking the cue from her he was
called Grandpa
by the passengers. April 8th. ....the greatest
change is the factory - I don't somehow feel as much interest in the
place as in the old time when I was
May 8th. boss
.I have been
rather seedy for a change - Doctor says rheumatism (never had it before)
set up bad dyspepsis (never had it before). Jeanie makes an A.1. nurse
and turns a deaf ear to all hints that man does not live on tea and
broth alone!
22nd. What a priceless possession is health and how
poor other things seem compared with it! As to my own little affair -
am miles better and robust in all ways.
Father left Portugal on the
24th per the Ambrose
and came to us and went up to Meg's in July.
From now on he used to spend part of the year at Meg's and the rest with
us and very glad we were to have him, not to mention the grandchildren
who were as fond of him as he was of them and to whom he devoted much
time in amusing them and teaching them, for he even troubled to do that
and Jack made great progress with his help. The Magic Lanterns also
were brought out for this amusement. At Meg's he had what he liked,
some people to talk to and he made many friends up there. Here at
Chiswick he amused himself walking round and in the evenings playing me
or friends at billiards and many a hard fought game we had, playing as
we did almost every evening. The Revolution in Portugal and subsequent
troubles there interested him very much. Oct. 8th. It is a curious
circumstance that whereas hard smokers suffer from singular lapses of
memory in the case of very often the simplest words and names, I was not
perceptibly affected in this way when smoking to excess - but since
putting my last pipe out my memory has suffered greatly for not words
only but
We never noticed any alteration in his wonderful stores
of knowledge and memory. He used to smike 13 ozs. a week of blocks of knowledge
evade capture when wanted! It will be a
year on 23rd prox. since I had a whiff! The craving for baccy is as
strong as ever.baccy
and
I believe that leaving it off did more harm than good. He took the
opportunity to open the cases of tools at Meg's and dry and grease the
contents. He could not bring himself to part with them and was trying
to screw himself up to the ordeal. Nov. 7th. You must blame the tools
and other - needing to be cleaned, greased and re-paced - possessions
stored here for delay in my move to Chiswick. Having put through the tool
business have returned to Lantern work -- Am much gratified by the
pleasure children evidently get from seeing the old Lantern show - the
vastly greater attraction of the cinematograph notwithstanding - Anyway
the audiences of children here all enjoyed themselves and I am looking
forward to giving Jack and his friends many
My Father came to us at the beginning of
December.goes
of lantern show --
Have been at Fairseat since 13th July last say 4 and a half months and I hope to
get to Chiswick next week - But for the dearly beloved tools, should have
gone to you a fortnight since.
1912
In February Jack got a mild attack of Scarlet Fever and Father was
very kind to him, going into his room and amusing him for hours. In
March he took Jack to Eastbourne - his own birthplace - to recuperate
and spent a fortnight there with him. He was much interested in the
place, trying to discover where his Mother and Father had lived but of
course the place was changed out of all knowledge. He was, however,
able to find a few traces of old parts of which he had a dim recollection.
In June he went off to New Milton. The usual hearty welcome, the usual
spick and span house, the quiet pleasant life with plenty of good eating
and drinking - It is all as it always is at Mafra --- Have done most of
the walks round here and on return to Yorkshire mean to try my old bike
again.
In July he went on to Churchdown. 9th. Have already written
Mabel and now repeat my very hearty congratulations on the event - so
glad you have both been wishing for a little daughter.
On the 16th July
he was back at Meggie's and ran over to Leeds to see the old places there.
He was very fond of doing this and when in London used to visit the old
house he had lived in or stayed at of relatives etc. Sept. 6th (at
Fairseat) Always make a pilgrimage to the old house when I go to Leeds
and shall always regret our house there.
This month he went up to
Scotland for a trip which he much enjoyed notwithstanding the wet weather.
13th at Rothesay. I like this place, it is very pretty - Found some
companionable folk to talk to and am getting quite accustomed to the Scotch
accent.
he visited the Wilson's and the
Doddwells in Glasgow. He also
went to Bridge of Allen and Edinburgh. Sept. 23rd. Why Glasgow under
the genial influence of the Sun seems quite a splendid city! I admire the
place and its buildings very much - 14th was spent in Glasgow with the
Robert Rankins - Sunday we had walks and spent evening with
Colin and his
sister at Old Manse. Last Monday I devoted to exploring the island and
walked twenty miles at least. It was one of those delightful days that
make walking perfect - Thursday we sailed through Kyles of Bute and up Loch
Fyne to Inverary - a long and splendid day - Friday and Saturday I spent
in Glasgow with the Doddwells and had a splendid welcome.
29th. Think
of me tomorrow in
Oct. 7th (at Fairseat) - at Edinburgh - Auld Reekie
- want to see the Tay and Forth Bridges
if possible - and the main features of Edinburgh - but the being alone is
a great drawback.Woke up next
morning to some rain and fog. However, started visiting the Castle,
Cathedral, Holyrood, etc., and finally climbed up to top of Arthur's seat
whereupon the rain ceased and sun came out. So
Getting wet in Scotland unfortunately
resulted in made hay
and in afternoon
went to Dundee over Forth and Tay Bridges - Got up early next morning and
did
a lot more of Edinburgh and then started for Fairseat - I have brought
away a very pleasant recollection of the Scots and their country - the West
of Scotland is magnificent. Found the folk everywhere very courteous and
got on very well with them.Bronchitis
when he got back to Fairseat. Oct. 16th Am
being nursed and coddled and kept in Cotton Wool - which is all splendid
in its way but not like life in the open air of course. Everybody is most
kind.
21st. As to the bronchitis, Doctor let me come downstairs so I had
a very pleasant stroll on Saturday - had a cold tub yesterday morning and
was just off for a walk when he appeared and nipped everything in the bud -
There is to be no going out for a week and no tub in the mornings and no
this and no the other and no
28th running of risks
and courting trouble etc.
Humbled but not contrite, bathless and walkless, think of me being nursed
and coddled and all the rest of it - Feel like wanting to go off on the
bust
somewhere.Doctor told me I could go for a stroll -
Needless to say I was out like a shot and have been out every day since
notwithstanding the fog, rain and east winds.
Dec. 2nd I love to see
children with tremendous appetites! Wish all my grandchildren ate as I
used to eat.
Christmas was spent at Meg's.
1913
Feb. 3rd. Do you, like me, say all posts should be open to all
candidates and should be given to the best of the competitors whether clad
in breeches or petticoats - and all businesses and professions to be
equally open to all-comers?
(answer - yes)
see longer version attached.
March 3rd. I should like
to see every able-bodied man in this country (irrespective of age) drilled
and trained to shoot straight, provided with up to date weapons and all
other necessities. We should no longer have to fear invasion.
10th.
Cremation - Have always thought it the best, in every way, method of
dealing with the dead and hope to be disposed of myself in same fashion,
the ashes being buried or scattered. Cremation does in a couple of hours
what nature requires years to accomplish.
17th. Have had to consult
the Occulist again - alas! and am to see another Doctor tomorrow - old age
approaching no doubt. The Bronchitis or lifting the heavy boxes of tools
has caused the rupture of a blood vessel in the left eye, the sight of
which was considerably impaired.
Then he had to have a lot of teeth out.
24th. Don't be nervous dear boy - I take extreme care of myself as is my
custom and Magie looks after me in all things so that I feel sometimes
nearer 7 than 70!
In May Annie came over from New York and Father went
up to Liverpool to meet her but the poor girl had hardly been in
England a fortnight than she became critically ill with pneumonia when
staying at Auntie Annie's (Mrs. C.C. Sargent).
her illness was a cause
of great anxiety to all of us and especially to Father who no doubt
suffered a good deal over it, but he always kept as cheerful as possible.
June 9th In a few more days hope to speak more definitely as to my
appearance in Ellesmere Road. The little room with nothing but bed, chair,
drawers and looking glass will suit me down to the ground. Shall put
trunks under the bed and so have plenty of room.
On the 27th Father left
Fairseat and accompanied Meg and Annie down to London on their way to New
Milton and then came on to Chiswick. We met them at Waterloo and thought
even then that my Father was not looking as well as usual. In August he
came down to Folkestone with us to a house (11 Claremont Road) which I
had taken for a month. Here we tried to find the house he had stayed in
with his Mother in 1858 but there were too many changes to make this
possible. Nevertheless he much enjoyed walking all round the place and
walked many miles. He came with us for a day trip to Boulogne and walked
us (Mabel, Jack and I) round the old walls and into the Museum (formerly
the School) But for a slight temporary indisposition he was quite well
and in the best of spirits. On our return home to Chiswick he continued
the usual quiet life, walking round, teaching Jack or helping him with his
lessons and playing billiards in the evenings and studying German. On the
11th October he went up to Fairseat and from there on the 18th went to
Liverpool to see Annie off on her return to New York. He came back to
Chiswick on the 20th. At the beginning of December he went down to Tio's
at New Milton for a holiday, returning on the 22nd. Whilst there he
walked a long way whenever it was fine - 12 to 15 miles. He could always
walk me off my feet and never seemed to tire. Whilst there my wife underwent
a slight operation. His last letter to me was written from New
Milton under date December 12th 1913 What is admirable is Mabel's pluck
and endurance and determination to keep the trouble to herself so as not
to make you nervous. It is the woman and the woman's wonderful
capabilities of self-sacrifice as usual! Why most men would have let all
the world know of their misfortune for a long time before the Surgeon was
due to cure them -- With love to you all, Your loving Father.
Christmas 1913
my Father spent with us at Chiswick and very glad we were to have him.
With the end of the year his health, which had always been very good, broke
with painful suddenness. After a sharp attack of influenza he was downstairs
1914
again waiting for the Doctor to let him out of the house. When, on
the 5th January I came home from business to find he had had a slight
attack of Aphasia. In full possession of his mental and physical powers,
except for this, it was impossible to realize what this meant. He walked
upstairs to bed under the Doctor's orders and remained there until the
25th when he came downstairs for a short time and much enjoyed a visit
from John Wilson and Leicester. Whilst upstairs we and the nurses read
to him and he much liked hearing again the Adventures of Sherlock Holmes
but the great thing was that the Doctor allowed him - I fear only because
of the obvious bad state of his arteries - to smoke again. My wife and I
had the deep gratification of providing him with the wherewithal and it
was grand to see how thoroughly he enjoyed smoking again, and how it
soothed him and made bearable the confinement to his room. He was allowed
out for short walks on the 30th January and except for occasional
hesitation for a word seemed to have quite recovered. Unfortunately, he
caught cold in the following month and on the night of the 16th February
broke a blood vessel in his lungs from coughing. He called me into his room
on the early morning of the 17th and the Doctor was sent for at once. He
appeared to realize that his condition was a bad one and after insisting
on signing a cheque to provide for any expense during his illness made me
promise to have him cremated, should the illness prove fatal. Meggie who
had come down on the occasion of the first illness, at once came down and
was with him to the last. Abbot Bergh also saw him twice. He developed
broncho-pneumonia but was sensible almost to the end. Meg read to him
the last book being an old favourite The World Went Very Well Then
. On
the 26th my poor Father had another stroke and at 5 p.m. on the 27th
February, 1914, in Meg's presence, died.
So passed away the best and dearest of father's, beloved and admired by all his children and grandchildren, who sadly miss him and will ever hold his memory dear. To us children he was not only a Father and all that the name implies but also a true companion. His loss is irreparable.
On the 4th March he was cremated in accordance with his often expressed wishes and his ashes lie in the grave of my son Francis in Chiswick Cemetery.
Many friends in London, Bradford4, Portugal and Canada expressed their sorrow. He had made a host of friends and I know of no enemy. A man of great strength of mind and body, of immense knowledge, a brilliant conversationalist, a good linguist, speaking French, Spanish and Portuguese fluently and having good knowledge of German and Italian and Arabic a little, and with all these genial qualities which endeared him to all he knew, may his descendants be so favoured as to possess some part, at least, of his attainments and disposition.
Completed Sunday 19th April, 1914, by his ever-sorrying son -Francis R. Bergh, 33 Ellesmere Road, Chiswick, England.
Father left him surviving:- 6 children and 10 Grandchildren.
He was about 5'9" high and when in his prime 44" round the chest. Hair dark-brown and inclined to be curly. Eyes grey-blue. Beard reddish. Fresh complexion, skin rather tanned by long exposure to the sun.
He belonged to a Master Mason Lodge and Rox Croix Chapter but never passed the chair. He was not prepared to incur the expense of being an active Mason.
In 1927 the remaining part of my Father's library (or rather such part as had not been ruined by damp) which I had taken over on his death was sent down from Fairseat, Shipley, where Meggie had been caring for it, to my house at Chiswick. - F.R.B.
Ellesmere, 15 Meadway, Ashford, Middlesex, in April, 1948, in order to be near H.J.W.B. The bulk of the library was taken with them, a few books going to H.J.W.B. A number of the older books, including those printed in Portuguese, Italian, French and Spanish, were presented to the Chiswick Public Library.
College de Boulogne-sur-mer, which words are emblazoned in gold surrounded by olive branches on the front cover of each volume. They are in French, as follows:-
Jeanne D'Arcpar J. Michelet 1856.
Recits de L'Histoire de la Rome Paiennepar Mme. B. Saltenheym 1856.
Oeuvres Choisies de Buffonpar D. Sancie 1855.
The printed labels remain in the first two volumes. Both were presented 11th August, 1858, at the:- Université de France - Académie de Doumi College Communal, de Boulogne-sur-mer.
The first is
Prix de Calcul
obtenu par L'éleve.
Bergh, Henry,
and the second
Prix d'Histoire et Geographie
obtenu par L'éleve.
Bergh, Henry,
(Calcul
= Arithmetic) - R.F.B.
Henry J. Bergh. It contains his original pass-port dated 20.2.1871 and is stamped with innumerable visas. At the back are a number of pencilled notes, including
Warne - lawyer sloped with £12,000 to Australia, see Maman's settlement.
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