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 the latter are in bed and asleep. However, it has been discovered that we went out at that undue hour, and on Thursday morning half the ladies that came, began wondering at it and asked what made me think of it. I said it must have been inspiration; I could not trace any train of events which could have led to such an original idea, but it had been done before at home, and perhaps the moon and the idle horses, &c. &c. They still thought it odd and not the usual way of Calcutta, but, if it really were pleasant, they thought they would try too the next moon. I thought that mean of them, so I observed, ‘Oh! the moon! yes, that does very well, but I rather like the mussatchees better.’ There are always twelve mussatchees, or torch-bearers, who run before the Governor-General’s carriage at night, so that quite settled the question. It showed that it was not purely an English idea, but a highly refined Indian bit of finery borrowed from Lord Wellesley’s time at least; so they wondered still more, and now they are all going to do the same.

I wish my letters were not so tiresome, but I am hopeless about it till we begin to travel.

God bless you, my very dear, sister! George’s