Letters from India Volume II/From the Hon E Eden to the Countess of Buckinghamshire 3
My dearest Sister,—We are in the Slough of Despond—the absolute morass—I may say the quaking bog of despond. After having watched the career of the ‘Seringapatam’ with the most intense interest, congratulated ourselves on her early arrival at Madras, pitied ourselves on her long passage to Saugur; plagued the heart out of agents, who were going off for their Doorgak Pooja holiday; obtained an order from the Custom House (which is shut for the same reason) that our boxes might pass; and now the ship is come in, and not only is there no box for us, except a box of seltzer-water, but she has not brought us a single English letter! I still think that captain of the ‘Seringapatam’ has secreted our goods and read our letters, and that he will repent in a day or two; but he declares not. I could bear the disappointment about the clothes pretty well, because I am rather incredulous about the extreme cold with which they threaten us; I found out that trick last January; but I should have liked a letter.
I wrote that four days ago, believing all the time that the ‘Seringapatam’ really had some letters on board for us, and that, after grumbling a great deal, we should be pleasantly disappointed with a large packet of letters and a superb assortment of dresses; but none have come.
This has a chance of overtaking the ‘Reliance.’ At last we have heard of our things. An officer who went on board the ‘Seringapatam’ in search of his wife’s goods saw in a list of parcels ‘Two boxes for the Miss Edens.’ So now the captain promises to make a search for them, and I should think there will be letters in them.
God bless you, my dearest sister! In ten days more we shall be on board on our way to a better climate. Good-bye.