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12 Jul 59 Julius Fyzabad Mother Hyde Park Place (West) ______________________________________________________________________________________________

Fyzabad

11 July /59

My dear Mother

I have not written to you very lately, so will endeavour now to send you a few lines spite of heat, flies (sand & common) natives and every other curse of this country.

I have had another letter from Arthur with explanations regarding his expenses. There is one thing I expect certain namely, that his money has gone beyond recall. I find he has been doing another thing that does not betoken great wisdom on his part; that is buying some 5 or 6 Horses and Ponies and selling them at reduced rates.

I hope however that now he has had a lesson which will not be without effect on him. I know well that in this country temptations are very numerous. I hope though that his having had experience of the effects of giving way to small ones, may prevent him for the future from succumbing to any larger.

I have promised to send him a gray mare which I have been riding for nearly a year & suppose must not disappoint him. Although if I send her away now I shall be rather hard up myself as I met with an accident this morning which has deprived me of my best Horse.

In fact the only one which could carry me well with the Hounds, or do a 25 mile ride without showing it afterwards.

I was out this morning with a Party, Dog spearing. We were having a smartish run & I, well up, was in the act of drawing first blood (equivalent to the ‘Brush’ of Fox in the old Country). I made a great drive at the ‘Pariah’ and hit him, my spear glancing off onto the ground.

I was going so fast that the spear was knocked ‘head over heels’ the force of the butt end coming to the ground caused the point to jump out of the ground.

The Horse coming over it at this moment received it in the right of his stomach. In a second, with the pace we had on, it was driven right through him entering on the right underneath him & about a foot and a half sticking out high up on his right flank.

It entered close to the girth & the point came out about half a foot behind the saddle. Lucky escape for me that it did not come in the direction of the saddle. 1½ foot of cold steel might have been too much for my constitution.

The poor old Horse kicked & plunged so that one of my stirrup leathers broke & I came calmly off. He galloped half a mile & then halted & we came up. I sent for a Pistol & shot him. Poor old ‘Camel’! I would sooner have shot 20 Ns. He stood it like a Hero. I assure you I feel as if I had lost a friend. We had gone over many a mile together & understood one another so well.

[remainder missing]