Flood of Fire (88 page)

At this a hush fell. It lasted until Mr Burnham, who was dressed in deep mourning, stepped forth and turned to face the gathering. ‘Ladies and gentlemen,' he said. ‘I am grateful to Mr Morrison for being so scrupulous in respecting my request for confidentiality. It was not in order to create a mystery that I asked him to withhold the name of the purchaser. It is because to reveal it would require another announcement, one that I had deemed unbecoming for a time of bereavement. But it strikes me now that no one would have been more gratified by this disclosure than my late, beloved wife so there is perhaps no reason to delay it any longer.'

Here Mr Burnham stopped to gesture to Zachary who went to stand beside him. Placing a hand on his shoulder Mr Burnham continued: ‘Ladies, gentlemen, I am pleased to announce that the purchaser of lots 16 to 20 is a new entity, created just this week – the firm of Burnham and Reid.'

A round of applause broke out now and Mr Burnham paused until it had died away: ‘It would be remiss of me,' he went on, ‘if I were to omit to mention another collaboration that we have entered into just this day, an association that will, I am certain, greatly strengthen our new company.'

Now Mr Burnham again made a beckoning gesture, at which another man stepped forward to join him and Zachary. This caused something of a stir – for when this man, who was dressed in an impeccably cut suit, turned to face the assembly he was seen to be Chinese.

‘Ladies and gentlemen,' said Mr Burnham, ‘it gives me the greatest pride to announce that from this time on the firm of Burnham
and Reid will be working closely with our good friend, Mr Leonard Chan.'

Now, taking Zachary's wrist in his right hand and Mr Chan's in his left, Mr Burnham hoisted up their arms and held them aloft in triumph.

*

One of the few spectators to remain in the godown was Baboo Nob Kissin who was looking on from a dark corner at the back. When the three men made their gesture of triumph his heart flooded over with the joy that comes from seeing a mighty endeavour brought to its intended conclusion. Tears came into the gomusta's eyes as he recalled the day he had first beheld Zachary, on the
Ibis
: that he should have been transformed so quickly from an ingenuous, good-natured boy, into a perfect embodiment of the Kali-yuga, seemed to Baboo Nob Kissin nothing less than a miracle; he marvelled to think that a creature as humble as himself should have played a part in bringing about the change. He knew of course that his role in promoting the ascendancy of the triumphant trio was but a small one – yet he was certain also that when the day of reckoning arrived, and the Kalki avatar manifested itself on earth, he would not be denied the credit for having advanced the coming of the pralaya by at least a decade or two. To be awarded that much credit would be enough for him; he wanted no worldly reward or recognition for being the first of his compatriots to recognize that it was their assigned destiny to serve the Kalki's chosen precursors, to be their faithful gomustas in hastening the end of the earth.

It occurred to him also that it was the
Ibis
, that marvellous vehicle of transformations, that had launched him on the path of destiny and he was seized by an uncontrollable urge to clasp his eyes once again upon that vessel of blessed memory. In a swirl of saffron, he ran outside – but only to be confronted with yet another miracle: the
Ibis
, which had for the last several days been at anchor off East Point, was gone.

*

In Deeti's shrine, high up on the slopes of the Morne Brabant, at the south-western corner of Mauritius, there was a special chamber for that episode of Maddow Colver's life that came to be known
as ‘the Escape'. This part of the ‘memory-temple' was especially beloved of the Fami Colver, particularly the young ones, the chutkas and chutkis, laikas and laikis: every year, during the Gran Vakans, when the family made its annual pilgrimage to the ‘memory-temple', they waited breathlessly for that moment when Deeti would point to the stylized image of a sampan, with six figures seated inside: Serang Ali, recognizable by his blood-red mouth; Jodu with his three eyebrows; Neel, with his journals; Raju, in his fifer's hat; Kesri, who, by convention, was always drawn with a bundook – and of course, the patriarch himself, Maddow Colver.

‘Ekut, ekut!' Deeti would cry, and that great horde of bonoys, belsers, bowjis, salas, sakubays and other relatives would follow her finger as she traced the path of Jodu's sampan as it edged across the bay, from the Kowloon side, to draw up beside the
Ibis
, which was all but empty, with the second mate away at the land auction, and the sailors either ashore or asleep.

There vwala!

Her finger would come to rest on Serang Ali: You see him, this gran-koko with a head teeming with mulugandes? This is the great burrburiya who had once again thought up the plan for their escape.

You see now, how he vaults on deck, with Jodu and Maddow behind him? In a matter of minutes the crew are locked up in the fo'c'sle and then Kesri, Raju and Neel come aboard too.

In a trice the sails are hoisted and filling with wind, and by the time the auction ends the schooner is long out of sight …

Epilogue

I
n embarking on the task of writing a history of the
Ibis
community, the author had hoped to include an account of the materials on which his narrative is largely founded: that is to say Neel's archive, by which is meant not only his notes and jottings but also the extensive collection of books, pictures and documents that he accumulated during the years in which he ran a printshop in Shanghai, in partnership with Compton (Liang Kuei-ch'uan).

For this author no part of this history is of greater interest than that of the archive's survival: indeed, it was once his fond hope that this episode would provide the climactic
tamám-shud
to this chronicle. But to arrive at that story, in its proper temporal sequence, would require the narrative to move forward by almost a century – that is, to the years immediately preceding the Second World War, which was when Neel's great-grandsons smuggled the most important parts of the archive out of China.

The unfortunate reality however is that ten years of diligent application have so far succeeded in advancing the narrative by only four years: from 1838 to 1841. Such being the case, with nearly a century's-worth of events still to come, the author is compelled to acknowledge that it is highly unlikely that he will be able, in the years that remain to him, to provide a full account of the archive's survival. But to tell this tale hurriedly, out of its proper order in the sequence of events, would, for him, be a betrayal of the enterprise: he would prefer that it remain forever untold than be related in such a fashion.

For the purposes of the present volume suffice it to say that the war in China dragged on for another fifteen months after Neel's escape on the
Ibis
, in June 1841. Through this period Neel kept
careful track of the movements of the British expeditionary force (now vastly expanded) as it advanced northwards in the direction of Beijing, successively attacking Xiamen, Zhoushan, Ningbo and Shanghai, thereby causing so much destruction and such extensive loss of life that the Daoguang Emperor was ultimately forced to authorize his representatives to capitulate to the invaders' demands.

The most important of these concessions were: the formal ceding of Hong Kong; the opening of five ports to foreign trade; and the payment of an enormous indemnity, amounting to a total of twenty-one million silver dollars. The agreement that formalized this capitulation came to be known as the Treaty of Nanking and was signed on 29 August 1842, on the HMS
Cornwallis
(of which Neel wryly notes that ‘this ship, built in the Wadia shipyard in Bombay, was named after a man whose name will forever be preceded by the epithet “Butcher” – fitting that his remains lie in Ghazipur, a stone's throw from the Opium Factory').

The text of the treaty was widely circulated, in English, Chinese and other languages: an artist called Henry Cullen even produced a photographic print of it. Neel succeeded in acquiring a copy, at great expense, but it roused him to such a passion that he proceeded to deface it by scribbling comments in the margins, and by underlining certain passages – for example the provision that abolished the old Co-Hong trading system. A clause that attracted his special ire was that which required the British and Chinese governments to henceforth deal with each other on a ‘footing of equality' through direct exchanges between their appointed representatives. Neel notes sardonically that, as so often when Westerners use words like ‘equality', this clause was clearly intended to mean exactly the opposite of what it said: that it would be the British who would now dictate the terms of the relationship. He notes similarly, alongside the clause that required China to compensate the British for the costs and injuries of their invasion: ‘So it was the Chinese who had to pay for the catastrophe that had befallen their country!'

Curiously the clause that would later become the most famous passage in the treaty – that which formalized the handing over of Hong Kong – he deemed almost unworthy of comment, noting only: ‘But they had seized it already!'

Over the next decade Neel spared neither effort nor expense in acquiring materials related to the events that culminated in the Treaty of Nanking – that is to say, the conflict that would come to be known as the First Opium War (needless to add, the Second Opium War was to lead to an enormous expansion of Neel's collection). Later Raju too would contribute significantly to the archive: a growing desire to fully comprehend the events he had lived through as a boy would eventually send him on a long search for materials on military matters – histories, manuals, dispatches, memoirs, maps and, especially, first-hand accounts of the battles that he had witnessed.

At the time of the archive's removal from China the circumstances were such that many of the bulkier volumes had to be left behind or destroyed, in order to salvage Neel's own writings. Fortunately both Neel and Raju were meticulous record-keepers: they maintained a detailed catalogue, not only of the materials that were actually in their possession, but also of those that they hoped to acquire (nor did they fail to list certain documents, like secret government reports, that were then barred from circulation).

Although this catalogue has survived, time has not been kind to it: some pages are torn, a few are missing; many entries have been obscured by patches of dampness and mildew; others have been consumed by worms, ants and weevils. However, from the fragments that remain it was possible to piece together a ‘virtual library' of the sources that Neel would have used had he himself been able to write an account of these events. This compilation led the author to the following:
The Annual Register or a View of the History and Politics of the Year 1841
(London, 1842); Capt. Sir Edward Belcher,
Narrative of A Voyage Round the World Performed in Her Majesty's Ship Sulphur During the Years 1836–42 Including Details of the Naval Operations in China
(Henry Colburn, London, 1843); William Dallas Bernard and Sir William Hutcheon Hall,
The
Nemesis
in China: comprising a history of the late war in that country; with a complete account of the colony of Hong-Kong
(Henry Colburn, London, 1846); John Elliot Bingham,
Narrative of the Expedition to China from the Commencement of the War to its Termination in 1842
, Vols. I and II (Henry Colburn, London, 1843);
Elijah C. Bridgman,
Description of the City of Canton
(Canton, 1834);
A Catalogue of the Library Belonging to the English Factory at Canton in China
(printed at the Hon. East India Company's Press, Macao, 1819);
The Chinese Repository
, Vols. VII–X;
The Sessional Papers Printed by Order of the House of Lords, Session 1840, Vol. VIII, Correspondence Relating to China
(presented to Both Houses of Parliament by Command of Her Majesty, 1840, printed by T.R. Harrison, London, 1840); James Cuninghame,
The Tactic of the British Army Reduced to Detail, with Reflections on the Science and Principles of War
(London, 1804); Capt. Arthur Cunynghame,
The Opium War, Being Recollections of Service in China
(Philadelphia, 1845); Sir John F. Davis,
Sketches of China
(Charles Knight, London, 1836); Capt. F.B. Doveton, ‘Reminiscences of the Burmese War',
Asiatic Journal and Monthly Miscellany
, Vol. XL, New series, Jan.-Apr. (W.H. Allen, London, 1843); C. Toogood Downing,
The Fan-qui in China' in 1836–37
, 3 vols. (Henry Coburn Publisher, London, 1838); Émile D. Forgues,
La Chine Ouverte; Aventures d'un Fan-Kouei dans le Pays de Tsin, par Old Nick, ouvrage illustré par Auguste Borget
(H. Fournier, Paris, 1845); Capt. and Adj. F.A. Griffiths,
The Artillerists Manual and Compendium
(Woolwich, 1839); A. Haussmann, ‘A French Account of the War in China',
United Service Magazine
, Vol. 1, Vol. 71, (1853, pp. 50–63; 212–20; 571–80); William C. Hunter,
The Fan-Kwae at Canton Before Treaty Days, 1825–1844; Line of March of a Bengal Regiment of Infantry in Scinde (Panorama)
(Ackermann, London, 1830); Lord Jocelyn,
Six Months with the Chinese Expedition or, Leaves from a Soldier's Notebook
(John Murray, London, 1841); Sir Andrew Ljungstedt,
An Historical Sketch of the Portuguese Settlements in China; And of the Roman Catholic Mission in China
(Boston, 1836); Capt. Granville G. Loch,
The Closing Events of the Campaign in China: the Operations in the Yangtze-kiang and Treaty of Nanking
(John Murray, London, 1843); D. McPherson,
The War in China: Narrative of the Chinese Expedition
(London, 3rd edn, 1843); Alexander Murray,
Doings in China. Being the personal narrative of an Officer engaged in the late Chinese Expedition, from the recapture of Chusan in 1841, to the peace of Nankin in 1842
(London, 1843); Gideon Nye,
The Morning of My Life in China: comprising an outline of the history of foreign intercourse from the last year of the regime of honorable East India Company
,
1833 to the imprisonment of the foreign community in 1839, Canton, 1873; Peking, the Goal – the Sole Hope of Peace. Comprising an Inquiry into the Origin of the Pretension of Universal Supremacy by China and into the Causes of the First War; with incidents of the Imprisonment of the Foreign Community and of the First Campaign of Canton, 1841
(Canton, 1873); ‘Official Accounts of the Late Naval and Military Operations in China',
Calcutta Gazette
, Extra, 7 Aug. 1841, reprinted in
Nautical Magazine and Naval Chronicle
(1841); Lt. John Ouchterlony,
The Chinese War: An Account of all the Operations of the British War
(1844);
Reportfrom the Select Committee on the Trade with China
(Parliamentary papers, 1840); John Phipps,
A Practical Treatise on the China and Eastern Trade: Comprising the commerce of Great Britain and India, particularly Bengal and Singapore with China and the Eastern Islands
(W. Thacker, Calcutta, 1836);
Remarks on the Dress. Discipline & c. of the Bengal Army
, by a Bengal Officer (Calcutta, 1798); John Lee Scott,
Narrative of a Recent Imprisonment in China After the Wreck of the Kite
(London, 1842); Samuel Shaw,
The Journals of Major Samuel Shaw, the First American Consul at Canton, with a Life of the Author by Josiah Qincy
(Boston, 1847); J. Lewis Shuck, Portfolio Chinensis:
or A Collection of Authentic Chinese State Papers Illustrative of the History of the Present Position of Affairs in China
(Macao, 1840); John Slade,
Notices on the British Trade to the Port of Canton, with some Translations of Chinese Official Papers Relative to that Trade
(Smith, Elder, London, 1830); John Slade,
Narrative ofthe Late Proceedings and Events in China
(Canton Register Press, Macao, 1840);
Standing Orders For the Bengal Native Infantry
, 2nd edn (Calcutta, 1840); Subedar Seetaram,
From Sepoy to Subedar
, trans. James Thomas Norgate (London, 1873);
Statement of Claims of the British Subjects interested in Opium surrendered to Captain Elliot at Canton for the Public Service
(London, 1840); Thayer Thatcher,
A Sketch of the Life of D.W.C. Olyphant: Who Died at Cairo, June 10, 1851, with a Tribute to his Memory
(Edward O. Jenkins, 1852); Henry Meredith Vibart,
Military History of the Madras Engineers and Pioneers; From 1743 Up to the Present Time
, Vol. II (W.H. Allen, London, 1883); Capt. John Williams,
An Historical Account of the Rise and Progress of the Bengal Native Infantry from its First Formation in 1757 to 1796 When the Present Regulations Took Place
(John Murray, London, 1817); and William
John Wilson,
History of the Madras Army
, Vol. 2 (Govt. Press, 1882).