______________________________________________________________________________________________
29 Mar 61 Julius Fyzabad Mother ______________________________________________________________________________________________
Fyzabad Good Friday
29 March 61
My dear Mother
By the last Mail I received no letter from you & I was sorry to hear from John, in a letter by the bye dated from Convict Prison, Chatham, that you had been suffering from a sharp attack of sickness. I hope it was merely of a temporary nature & that you recovered your usual health without having to undergo a very large course of medicines.
John tells me you still keep up your fondness for Physic. I cannot understand how you can like it so. My Physic is exercise. I can generally trace most of my little ailings to a want of it and if not allowed to go too far, can cure them by resorting to a largish dose of it. I am just now after my first year’s residence in this Country, beginning to find out that I have a ‘Liver’. But that is caused, I imagine, by all my horses being lame. Luckily the sporting season, which we have prolonged this year, has now about come to a close. The Racket Court is to open on the 1st Prox. * so I must take vigorously to that sort of exercise to keep my ‘Liver’ in proper control. But I must confess riding is what ‘suits my complaint’ best always.
The warm weather is come on, I may say. In England it is likewise the summer. I hope it is doing my Father much good as he & we all wished. John appears to be enjoying England pretty well. I see he is looking out for advancement still further up the ladder of promotion. I hope he will succeed in gaining his end. If he does, he will be very fortunate. You must not let him forget to look occasionally after my interests. I really expect every Mail now to bring me some intelligence concerning a Company and of course I think, it is unfortunate that I am not at home to work the oracle myself. But this is nonsense. I am sure you will all do your best for me & not allow more delay than is absolutely requisite.
I have rather a pleasant prospect in store for me for the next few days. An officer of the 20th has either gone mad or is suffering from ‘Delirium Tremens’, I don’t know which. I had a letter two days ago from one of the 20th Doctors telling me that he was to be sent immediately ‘care of Mr Laurie to be forwarded’ to the Hills on a Sick Certificate. They further say that he is very self willed & obstinate & will most probably refuse to start. A jolly time of it I shall have probably during his stay.
I am delighted to hear from John that Arthur has determined at last on reading & trying to work his way. If he really means it, it shows that a great improvement has taken place in him, which I hope may continue.
The Fyzabad party who went to Lucknow for the races, I hear, as a rule, did not make their fortunes. Luckily they were sensible people & did not hazard much. I, instead of going to Lucknow, went out in the District & had a very pleasant time of it with Ross, who really is a beautiful rifle shot. I understand he could beat his young brother when he was in England about 4 years ago. He astonishes the Wild Boar rather. I, a Rifle Instructor of four years standing felt wild in the extreme along side of him & missed away in a wonderful manner. I believe the Pigs somehow must have got to know of it as they all came to have a good look at me. Splendid fellows some of them were too. Such tusks!! But many of these were not to be caught in his vicinity. We were rather disappointed in our Pig Sticking as the knowing beasts preferred the cover, & hundreds of beaters could not force them from the Jungles into the open to be chased. We got two or three very fair runs, during one of which I came to grief, but eventually succeeded in gaining the Second Spear. The pig took to charging & upset one man & his horse in a very pretty style, but did not do any injury.
Holroyd has got his leave & has started for England. He has promised me that he would go & see you when he got home. You will like him. Dunbar has gone to the Hills to hide his diminished head. Thence he intends to try to make England, I believe.
What is that little Doctor of Ours, Pennington, doing with himself now. I wish he would come out again. We are not lucky in our collection of Doctors here. Their professional knowledge I have no doubt is right enough, but I mean as companions etc.
How is Mary getting on? If you should happen to see Riley, please tell him I am ashamed of being such a bad correspondent. I have owed him a letter for an age & have not sufficient energy left to sit down & write it.
By the way, I have not yet heard of any Indian Regt. beating Ours in shooting during the last year’s Practice. It would be rather a feather in my Cap if we were first, but I am afraid such good luck is not for me.
I hope you & my Father are both as well as can be expected.
With best love to Helen & you all
I am, yr affect Son
JDLaurie
* Prox. – Proximo. i.e. next month