Page:Letters from India Vol 1.djvu/271

 may say three hours’—conversation in them in this country. I have not quite three-quarters of an hour myself, though I have rather a good set of questions. Fanny and I are quite alone, except for the presence of Captain, who is come back from his voyage to the Straits a remarkably fresh-looking, active young man, and he was such a wretched-looking creature when he set off. But he says the first week at sea set him quite up; so that is the thing to do in case of necessity; but at present we are not at all in want of it.

I never saw George so well; and he is really in danger of growing too fat; indeed, so much so, that he has taken this last week to get up very early for a morning ride without prejudice to his ride in the afternoon. I was sitting in his room the other day, when St. Cloud came in search of me with his bill of fare, and he had not seen George for two months. The next day he began with his odd nigger voice and gesticulations, ‘Mon Dieu! madame, son Excellence!’ (he always calls him so) ‘quelle bonne mine il a! qu’il est gras!—bien portant! quel plaisir ça me fait! Son Excellence a un air de santé, de force;’ and he kept describing circles round his