nionette, and European vegetables, flourish in abundance.

Lord Altamont and myself have been obliged to hire a bungalow for 100 rupees a month for my tent was not calculated to be set up in the magnificent camp of an Indian army. Here we keep house for ourselves, which is expensive enough, as you will see, when I tell you that a fowl costs one rupee, a bottle of wine, five rupees, and a small ham, weighing scarcely eight pounds, thirty-six rupees: other necessaries of life are in the same proportion.

When the gun announces the dawn of day, we mount our horses and ride to the camp, to be present at the exercising of the troops, or to witness the entrance of the fresh regiments. Our time is then taken up in visits, in which Captain Ewart's advice and assistance are of great service to me. I pass many cheerful hours in the society of this intelligent officer and his accomplished lady, who possesses great musical talent. But, this interesting course of life has been sadly clouded by the death of two of my fellow-travellers. Captain Nicholson died in consequence of the exertions attending his removal, three days after our arrival. He was an excellent officer, beloved by every one, and the third son of whom his mother had been deprived by the destructive climate of India. I was no less affected by the loss of Captain West, who fell a victim to the cholera ; and, already foreboding his fate at Sukkur, said to me that he should never see his country again.

On the 20th of November, the Commander-inChief, Sir Jasper Nicolls, arrived at the camp, with 80 elephants, 300 camels, 136 draught oxen, and above 1000 servants. This immense retinue was

merely for his service; and for attendance on the animals, but did not include those domestics and animals which are required for his own person and those of his suite. Sir Jasper Nicolls has two tents, each fifty-six feet long and thirty-two broad; and several smaller ones, enclosed in a linen fence, in which he and his family reside. Opposite to them is the Durbar tent, which consists of several apartments. The floors are covered with shawls and carpets, and the tent is provided with a canopy, tables, chairs,

and furniture of every kind; nay, chandeliers are not wanting, so that in these canvass houses, he is as comfortable as at home. A band of one of the regiments performs every evening in the principal street of the camp.

Sir Jasper Nicolls and his lady render my abode at Ferozpoor very agreeable by their hospitality, and Lady Nicolls has had the goodness to lend me her elephant several times. I felt a singular mixture of curiosity and anxiety when I mounted one of these animals for the first time. A hair cushion is laid upon his back, for this is the most tender part of the animal, and the greatest care must be taken by his keeper to protect it from injury, because any wound there is very difficult to heal. Over this cushion is spread a covering of red cloth, embroidered with gold, which hangs down on both sides; on this rests the howdah, which is fastened by cords and girths round the body of the elephant. The howdah is very much like our sledges, and has seats for two persons and their servants. The Mahout, who guides the elephant with an iron prong, one point of which is bent outwards, sits on the animal's neck, while the driver, with a large club in his hand, runs by his side, inciting him to proceed by words and blows. A ladder is suspended at the side of the elephant to enable the riders to ascend and descend.

As soon as the rider is ready to mount this majestic creature, the Mahout cries, Beit! beit! (Beittna, i. e. to lie down,) upon which the elephant kneels down ; the ladder is set up, and the rider mounts and takes his seat. The motion of some of these sagacious animals is most agreeable, and that of others tiguing, for it depends entirely upon his gait.

very

fa

When

he is driven, his step is so long and quick, that a horseman must trot to keep pace with him; but he soon relaxes in his exertion, and I should think could probably not travel more than twenty-four miles in the course of a day. When much heated and covered with dust, he sprinkles himself from time to time, with the water, which he carries in his trunk, for this seeming purpose.

An ordinary elephant costs 1000 rupees, and his keep is about 40 rupees a month; however, the quantity of food which he consumes depends on his size: he receives twice as many seers of baked flour (a seer = 2 lbs.) as he measures feet in height, besides leaves, corn, and hay. This remarkable animal supplies the place of carriages; and here, where the ground is covered with ditches and holes*, I find him most serviceable, for it seems to be an impossibility that an elephant should fall.

On the arrival of the General-in-chief the army of reserve begun to assemble: the cavalry regiments were the last to arrive, because there was a scarcity of grass for the horses. The morning always found me amid the bustle of the camp, or attending the exercises of the troops; and, as most of the corps of officers had invited me to their tables, I generally passed the evenings in the camp. At one of these dinners given by the 16th regiment of Lancers, I met Hindoo Row, the brother of Bacza Baee, the favourite wife of the Maharaja Dowlah Row Scindia: he headed his brother-in-law's army fifteen years ago, and on his death was greatly inclined to possess himself of

* There is a sect of the natives who grovel after a large species of lizard, of which they are very fond, on account of its fat; and it is in consequence of their digging for these reptiles, that the ground is so full of holes.

the vacant throne. He now lives at Delhi, on a pension guaranteed to him by the British government from the state of Gwalior. He is passionately fond of tiger hunting, and a great admirer of the English. He amused himself with sitting in perfect silence at table, admiring our appetite, without touching any thing himself. Not long ago he had addicted himself to drinking; but, happening one day to meet a European soldier in a state of intoxication, and being told by his friends that he conducted himself in a precisely similar manner whenever he had indulged too freely, Hindoo Row vowed that he would never more touch spirituous liquors; and he has kept his word.

.

At the entertainments given by the General-inchief, we frequently met the officers who were on their way from Afghanistan, as well as some of the prisoners. Among the former I was especially pleased with making the acquaintance of one of my countrymen, Baron Meyer: this brave young officer was wounded in an action at the Khyber Pass, and has not yet recovered from it. We have passed many an hour in talking over events connected with our beloved country. The camp daily assumed a more motley and lively appearance, by the concourse of persons congregated from different parts of India. Yet we were not without scenes of melancholy and distress: we saw numerous sepoys who had just returned from the scene of slaughter, and who were mutilated, more by the cold than by the enemy, andwho had lost not only their limbs, but their caste, the most dreadful loss which a Hindoo can suffer.

On the 4th December, the temperature before sunrise was 44°, and at noon 77°, Fahrenheit. I rode down to the Sutlej to look at the bridges of boats