Aug. 14th.—Last week we were at a ball given by the officers of the 6th Native Infantry to the station; in spite of the heat, the people appeared to enjoy dancing very much, and kept it up until very late. A ball-room in India, with all the windows open, and the pankhās in full play, is not half so oppressive as a ball-room in London: the heat of pure air is much better than the heat of a number of persons, all crowded together and breathing the same atmosphere over and over again. Balls up the country take place principally during the hot winds and rains; they make a variety at a quiet station. During the cold months the people are dispersed on duty in divers parts of the district.
I amuse myself turning profiles in rous wood on my lathe; the likenesses of Buonaparte and the Duke of Wellington are good, because it is less difficult to turn a strong profile. I look at the drawing whilst turning the wood; when finished it is cut open, and the profile, if properly done, is exact.
Snakes are in abundance: I caught a small venomous whip-snake in my dressing-room to-day, and put it into the bottle of horrors. A lady stepped upon the head of one a short time ago; the reptile curled round her leg; when she raised her foot in a fright, it glided off, and was found half killed in the next room.
A great fire has taken place in the Fort in Calcutta; an immense quantity of stores have been destroyed in the magazine, report says to the amount of ten lakh. Some suppose the fire may have been occasioned by the cutting system having rendered the natives revengeful.
Sept. 2nd.—A number of beautiful butterflies have been caught for me in the garden; they are attracted by the lucerne grass, as well as the flowers. Some are very rich in colour, and very delicate. Amongst the insects collected, the most curious are the locusts, and the leaf-grasshopper—a marvellous insect! an immense grasshopper, with two wings exactly like narrow leaves, of a beautiful spring green, and two wings beneath them of the most delicate gauze. One might imagine two narrow leaves had been fastened on as wings to a grasshopper!
On the 11th of this month, the sāhib was appointed collector
