The Ritchies in India: Extracts from the Correspondence of William Ritchie, 1817 1862 and Personal Reminiscences of Gerald Ritchie

William Ritchie (1817-1862) was the Advocate-General of Bengal from 1855 to 1862. Ritchie's maternal family, the Thackerays, had a long association with India. His father, John Ritchie, was the director of a bank that failed in November 1841, causing the Ritchie family to flee to the continent to escape creditors. Unable to maintain the expense of reading for the Bar in London, William instead looked to the Indian Bar, where he could earn an immediate income to support his parents.

William quickly built a name at the bar in Calcutta. He was appointed as the Advocate-General of Bengal, also as the second Vice-Chancellor of the University of Calcutta in 1859, and Legislative Member of the Council of the Governor-General of India. He held these offices until his death in Calcutta on 22 March 1862.

His numerous correspondence with his family is reproduced in this book. Interesting facets of his life in India are revealed through these letters, which also bring out his remarkable power of writing. There is an interesting correspondence about his meeting with Dwarkanath Tagore, Rabindranath Tagore's father, and other well-known luminaries of Calcutta. Vivid details are there about the climate of Calcutta, for instance, about the violent storms which he encountered there, his various cases, his visits to nearby towns, his happiness at the abolition of slavery, his deep nostalgia for the streets of London, his profound sorrow at the passing away of his father, his travels to Lucknow, Meerut, the sighting of the whole range of the Himalaya, the picturesque ghats of Benares, his travel to Sri Lanka (at the time a colony of the English) and his stay there at Colombo, Kandy, and Neuralia and his adventures there.

Table of Contents

• Preface Vii
• William Ritchie's Letters, 1828-62
• Pedigree . . . . At End Of Vol.
• Chapter I - 1766-1813: Our Thackeray Forebears. Birth Of William Ritchie 3
• Chapter Ii - 1827-36 : Epsom, Eton, Broxbourne 10
• Chapter Iii - 1836-42 : Cambridge And London 23
• Chapter Iv - 1842-45: Letters On The Voyage And From Calcutta Up To His Marriage 72
• Chapter V - 1846-49: Letters From Calcutta Up To The Death Of His Father 162
• Chapter Vi - 1850-53 : Letters Up To The Death Of His Mother 172
• Chapter Vii - 1854-59 : The Mutiny-Letters To His Children 192
• Chapter Viii - 1859: Letters To His Wife 217
• Chapter Ix - 1861: Journey Up Country 224
• Chapter X - 1862 : Death And Obituary Notices 245 Gerald Ritchie's Reminiscences
• Preface - 253
• Chapter I - 1853--62: Calcutta And Paris . 255
• Chapter Ii - 1862-66 : Whitnash Rectory, Warwickshire 266
• Chapter Iii - 1866-72: Winchester 271
• Chapter Iv - 1861-72: Wykehamists 281
• Chapter V - 1872-75 : London And Cambridge 302
• Chapter Vi - 1875: Voyage To India 307
• Chapter Vii - 1875-77: Calcutta And Diamond Harbour 310
• Chapter Viii - 1877--78: Gaya And Bettiah 318
• Chapter Ix - 1878: Kalimpong 324
• Chapter X - 1879 : Sasseram 332
• Chapter Xi - 1880-81 Gopalganj And Chupra 838 Chapter Xii - 1881-82 : Calcutta And Roorkee 345 Chapter Xiii - 1882: Cashmere 348
• Chapter Xiv - 1882-84: Kishnaghar 350
• Chapter Xv - 1884-85: Italy, London, France, Scotland 354
• Chapter Xvi - 1885-88: Serampore And Howrah 357
• Chapter Xvii - 1888: Darjeeling 363
• Chapter Xviii - 1888--90: Moorshedabad 367
• Chapter Xix - 1890-92: Deputy Commissionership Of Darjee-Ling 372
• Chapter Xx - 1892-96 : Calcutta Municipality 378
• Index 385