Fanny and me and Mrs. and her children to take care of ourselves, with for our ‘European.’ If ever a lady is deserted for a few days by her husband, father, &c., I observe it is a right thing to say, ‘But I hope you have a European in the house.’ For myself, I think the natives are much the more manageable of the two. However, is our European, and orders about him in a grand way, and in a language which it pleases him to call Hindustani. It seems to me rather what is generally termed ‘an unknown tongue.’
We went out riding both Monday and Tuesday, in a horrid fright. I tried to make Rosina teach me how to tell the guards and syces, ‘I have broke all my bones, go and fetch a doctor,’ &c.; but as I cannot master such a simple sentence, we were glad to discover that Webb, the man at the head of the stables, was staying on at Barrackpore, and offered to ride, at a reasonable distance, with us; and the horses were tolerably quiet, for a wonder.
There was such a pretty festival on Tuesday, one of the eternal Hindu festivals; I do not know what about, but the servants all bought horrid clay, misshapen, gaudy-looking figures;
