Indian Antiquary Vol 60

Author(s): Richard Carnac Temple, Charles E A W Oldham, S Krishnaswami Aiyangar, Devadatta Ramkrishna Bhandarka
Publisher: Swati Publications

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was by no means new to him, as he had been acquainted with the Andamanege off and on since 1875. Here he renewed his association with the late Mr. E. H. Man, then Deputy Superintendent of the Settlement and the foremost authority on these primitive islanders. The position of Chief Commissioner at that time was no sinecure; the duties were difficult and arduous, involving the exercise of watchfulness, tact and quick decision. These qualities Temple possessed in an eminent degree; and to them and a fearless spirit he probably owed his life on one occasion, when & plot was laid to kill him. It fell to his lot to carry out the Census (1901) operations in the islands, a task fraught with many risks among superstitious and savage tribes. To him the work was of intense interest; and right well did he perform it : his Report on the Census and Memoranda on the Forests of the islands (1901) remains a document of great and permanent value. Besides many reports written in his official capacity, he published a Grammar of the Andamanese and Nicobarese Languages (1902), compiled accounts of the islands for the Imperial Gazetteer of India and the Encyclopædia Britannica, and communicated numerous articles and notes to the Indian Antiquary and other journals.
While still at Port Blair, Lieut-Colonel Temple succeeded to the baronetoy on the death of his father in 1902. Retiring from the service in 1904, he resided for many years at his ancestral home, The Nash, in Worcestershire, the home of the family for a couple of centuries. There the warm hospitality of Sir Richard and Lady Temple gave pleasure to a host of friends and visitors from home and abroad, who were able to view the many treasures of the house, consisting of objects, books and manuscripts collected to illustrate the subjects to which he had devoted his attention. For, besides enriching many museums in London, Oxford and other places, Sir Richard had added much to the collections at the Nash. Settled at home, he at once entered into the work of various national, county and local bodies and of learned societies with his wonted vigour and enthusiasm. The freedom from official duties following retirement enabled him also to devote more time to literary pursuits, and from 1905 onwards he edited many records of travel for the Hakluyt Society, the Indian Records Series and other series, with valuable introductions and annotations. And here a tribute must be paid, as he would have wished, to the invaluable help, so often acknowledged by him, of his collaborator in this and other work for some thirty-two years, Miss L. M. Anstey. These volumes included The Countries round the Bay of Bengal, by Thomas Bowrey (1905); The Travels of Peter Mundy, vol. I (1907), vol. II (1914), vol. III, parts 1 and 2 (1919), and vol. IV (1925); The Bowrey Papers, vol. I (1925); The Journals of Streynsham Master, 2 vols. (1911), edited for the Indian Records Series ; Drake's World Encompassed (1926); The Itinerary of Ludovico Varthema (1928); and The Tragedy of the Worcester (1930). He also edited his father's Letters and Character Sketches from the House of Commons (1912). Twenty-five years earlier, it may be noted, he had edited and revised his father's delightful Journals kept in Hyderabad, Kashmir, Sikkim and Nepal, 2 vols. (1887). A further work published by him during this period, written in conjunction with Mr. Empson, was The Cult of the Peacock Angel (1928), referring to the heretical Bect of the Yazidis.
Sir Richard Temple was a member of most of the societies that include India and the East within their scope, such as the Royal Asiatic Society (of which he was an Honorary Vice-President), the Royal Geographical Society, the Hakluyt Society, the Royal Anthropological Institute, the Folklore Society, the Royal Society of Arts, the Philological Society, the Bengal Asiatic Society, and many other societies at home and abroad. He was also a Fellow of the British Academy and of the Society of Antiquaries, and an Honorary Fellow of his College, Trinity Hall.