Page:Wanderings of a Pilgrim Vol 1.djvu/334

 dismissed a man of great talent, who was his prime minister, and put in a fool by way of a change. The consequence is already felt in the accounts of the royal treasury. It is said it is impossible to collect the revenue without force, and that where that has been used, his Majesty's forces have been beaten.

A friend writes from England, "I shall always regret having quitted India without having seen Col. Gardner and the Taj."

He is a very remarkable man; his age nearly seventy, I believe. I had a long letter from him two days since, full of all the playfulness of youth, and of all kindness. I never met so entertaining or so instructive a companion; his life, if he would publish it, would be indeed a legacy, and shame our modern biography.

20th.—For the first time this year it has been cold enough to collect ice; during my early ride this morning I saw the coolies gathering it into the pits.