Lady Canning spent much of the summer of 1858 at Coonoor to escape the heat of Calcutta. Lord Canning had moved to Allahabad because of the likelihood of rebellion in the north and had forbidden his wife to go with him. She was accompanied by Minny Stuart, the wife of her cousin, Colonel Stuart, who had been appointed Military Secretary at the beginning of the year. In a letter to Lady Stuart de Rothesay, dated April 7, Minny Stuart wrote of 'Char's genuine love of plants and flowers' making 'every step in this country of interest to her... Char sketches, and I try to do so a great deal...' (A. J. C. Hare, op. cit.., vol. II, p. 431) Glenview, a group of bungalows, was Coonoor's oldest hotel