Description | Neither he nor his uncle Duncan [Stewart] have had letters since his father's last of 4 January and he muses on the trials of life and eternal rewards. The Bombay telegraph has informed them of a change of Ministry and that Alick [Alexander Hamilton-Gordon] has resigned. He is anxious to have news of Carry [Caroline Emila Mary Herschel, Lady Hamilton-Gordon] who 'is too good a wife to put any trust in a newspaper slander'. William has returned to station after spending two and a half months in a tent on independent service. He discusses the duty and degradation involved in the work. He says he will be sorry to leave Maldah as he is unsure of finding good society at Beauleah [Rampur Boalia]. He encloses a 'chess group' photograph of himself and [John James] Gray [not present]. Collodion is nearly stopped now as the days grow hot, and the paper process will begin again. He hopes to take views of Beauleah regularly and he will take some of Maldah the next day. He will not see his uncle before he leaves for Britain. His uncle has pronounced that William has a tendency to dysentry, but William claims he is well. Hope has written to say that his ankle is bad; he is on crutches, and had a near-fatal attack of dysentry at Bombay [Mumbai]. |