Letters from India Volume I/To the Hon and Rev Robert Eden 4
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 when they are smart, and which I bought the other day at the Burra Bazaar, at a stall where they are made, and some little caps which are regular native baby’s caps. My jemadar’s children wear them, so I sent them to yours, as, if they act plays, they will amuse them. In the other box there are Willy’s tiger and leopard-skins, which he wrote to George for; and, as Captain Young kindly offered to take the box gratis, I sent some of the Patna toys, which children live upon here, and which have the merit that they may suck them for ever and the paint does not come off. The elephant is an exact image of ours at Barrackpore, and the camel and man on it are very correct likenesses; but the originals are not common in Bengal, though we sometimes see them. There were two painted sticks to drag them by, but they would have made the box too large.
There is a list in the box besides the direction on the parcel.
Think how horrible. It had been packed two days, and I undid it to write on the parcels, and found in it not only two cockroaches, which would have eaten up everything, but a centipede two inches long, which would have stung you horribly. Three of the servants gathered together before they dared kill it. They are very numerous here, but I suppose they would he stupefied in a cold climate.