P.S.  Jephson is post-master to the force.

LETTER VI.

  Camp, near Larkhanu,
    Wednesday, 6th March, 1839.

MY DEAR FATHER,—­I last wrote to you from Kotree, opposite Hydrabad.  We are now, as you will see by the date, at Larkhanu, a pretty considerable distance from the former place.  I see, by my journal, that it was the 6th of February when I last wrote, exactly one month ago.  We were then, I believe, rather ignorant of what the Ameers intended; but the fate of Curachee, of which I gave you an account; brought them to their senses, and the day after I wrote things were settled, and officers had permission to visit Hydrabad, merely reporting their names to their respective majors of brigade before they did so.  In consequence of which I went over to that place on the 9th, with Dickenson and Piercy; but there was not much to repay us for our ride, under a cruelly hot sun, as the fort, the only place worth seeing, was shut up, and no one could get a view of the inside except a few of the staff.  It did not appear to be very strong, although it had a pretty appearance.  I think the Ameers acted very wisely, as it could easily be taken by escalade.  The rest of the town consisted of a great straggling bazaar, just the same as is to be seen everywhere in India; and it did not appear a bit better than that at Belgaum.  There were some fine elephants belonging to the Ameers, and some pretty ruins on the outskirts of the town.  The Beloochees had all left, and were nowhere to be seen.

Sunday, the 10th, we marched off our ground at Kotree, and reached Lukkee on Saturday, the 16th, after a six days’ march, most of them fifteen miles.  Here we halted four days to allow the pioneers, &c., to make a road over the Lukkee Pass for the artillery.  We found here some excellent sulphur springs and baths, about a mile from our encampment, among the Lukkee hills, which, if they could be transported to Dartmouth, would make a second Bath of it.  The whole of our force were bidetizing here all day long.  Being so directly under the hills, we found it rather warmer than we liked.  There were some large lakes here, full of wild duck, and capital partridge-shooting, and we were cracking away all the time.  On the march to this place I had the misfortune to lose a very nice little bull-terrier bitch, about a year old, which I had from a pup, at Belgaum, and which had followed my fortunes so far.  It was all her own fault, as she broke from my tent one night, and though I used every endeavour I could hear nothing more of her.