July 29 1848
Darjeeling
My dear Mother
I do not like to let a Post go without a few lines to you, though I have written such heaps of mss this month that I was half inclined to neglect you. A letter to my Father, with notes to my grandmother, Frances & Aunt Elizabeth go with the ship; & as they may be detained I send this via Marseille to apprise you of my well being & comfort. Your last letter arrived only a few days ago, it had a long passage & I see that another mail is in so that I may hear again before I close this. I hope that my long letter to my Father may be legible, but the damp has sadly disguised it: so much so that I can hardly read it myself. I never was better in my life than I have been here &

living so [illegible] a life in any[?] salubrious or vile climate (far worse than Glasgow), it would be strange were I not. Colvile*1 is we have heard coming up next month & will stay here: he is to be promoted to the Bench of Calcutta[Kolkata]; which we are all extremely glad of. he is too hard worked you have no idea what a gentlemanly man he is, & so good & amiable too. We do not know whether Miss C[Colvile] is coming, as his time must be short, & it is a 6 days Palkee journey night & day I wish she might for she is as agreeable & sensible as her brother though her hair is more than auburn. Lord Dalhousie*2 has been very ill, [Courtenay?] writes [illegible], owing to the damp of Bhawanipur: he is working much too hard & taking all duties on his own shoulders, poor man. He is better now poor man. I am occupied as usual reading writing drawing &

battling points with Hodgson*3 who is I am sorry to say in very poor health, gets dreadfully low spirited & as he will have no Doctor, but me I am not clear of practice curing him, though letting him alone may. You must be very glad that I am in India now & not at the North Pole with Ross*4: had I been at home there would not have been a possibility of my shirking that duty; for which indeed I would certainly have volunteered without waiting to be asked: so clearly would it have been my duty to do so as a man & friend of the parties. I wish you may get as peacefully through this second Chartist [as the last?] but though I had no fear on the former {occasion?] I have on this from the de[cision?] the Govt[Government?] must entertain of making an example. -I know no one here except D[r] Camp[bells] family & my scientific friends the

[Batchelor?] brother's Muller*5[?] -- Occasionally I go down from this hill to the station to call on these people – Campbell*6 I am getting stuck with: I thought he treated me very ill & still maintain he did, though perhaps through carelessness: he is a very good amiable man at bottom & a very intelligent well informed one but sadly wanting in tact, Mr Campbell was brought up in Ipswich by a relation of old Mr Varlys[?]: whom she used to visit at Barham. she is a quiet Lady-like person: as were her 2 sisters a Mrs Bell*7 of Guy’s[?] & Miss Lamb who left this 2 days ago. Miss L[amb] to be married & Mrs B. with improved health to her husband. They were the only Ladies I knew here & as I do not like the cut of any others I am not likely to spread my aquaintance. Mrs Bell plays the Piano with great taste. & the climate here allows of a good one keeping tone & tune which is all but impossible in the plains -- I hope that my Father will understand.