yellow, and the cockroaches eat up the net that trims it; the heat splits the ivory of a miniature, and the white maggots eat the paint; and so they go on helping each other and never missing anything. We have arrived at very nice weather, though, comparatively speaking, I cannot guess how it would be in England—I suppose very hot, for we are still living under the punkahs—but there are chilly bits in the day, in which old Indians go shivering about in great coats and try to look blue. Poor things! they only look yellow, but it pleases them to think they are cold.
Last night we came down from Barrackpore by moonlight, greatly to Dr. Drummond’s horror, as he insisted upon it that the dew would carry us all off, and he wanted me in particular to stay until the morning. But the fog is worse under the trees than anywhere, so I came down by water in ’s boat; and, as it has been launched only three days, it is at present in the highest favour, and they get up at five in the morning to row; and last night, as there was a moon brighter than an English sun, we set off at nine and came down here just in the same time as the carriage, which was much to the credit of the gentlemen’s rowing. Their boat
