the Botanical Garden on Saturday. I have asked three young ladies and their beaux and two couples, and all our own gentlemen mean to go, and St. Cloud and his myrmidons will go down by water in the morning, and cook us a dinner somehow. The natives with four bricks and a little charcoal make excellent kitchens out of doors, and we shall have the band sent down too, and I dare say it will be very pleasant on the water at night, and the moon is the only good thing I know in India.
My dearest Robert,—I am only going to run off a line by candlelight, an unusual exertion in this country, but to-morrow at peep of day I am going up to Dumdum to prepare for a review, and the ‘Fergusson’ sails on Tuesday morning, and in that said ‘Fergusson’ there are two boxes addressed to you which Captain Young of the aforesaid ship has taken under his care, in one of which are a turban and slippers for Lena, such as the children wear here
