January 11, 1850.—­At Nawabgunge, detained by rain, which fell heavily all last night, to the great delight of the landed interest, and great discomfort of travellers.  Nothing but mud around us—­our tents wet through, but standing, and the ground inside of them dry.  Fortunately there has been no strong wind with the heavy rain, and we console ourselves with the thought that the small inconvenience which travellers suffer from such rain at this season is trifling, compared with the advantage which millions of our fellow-creatures derive from it.  This is what I have heard all native travellers say, however humble or however great—­all sympathise with the landed interests in a country where industry is limited almost exclusively to the culture of the soil, and the revenue of the sovereign derived almost exclusively from the land.  After such rains the cold increases—­the spirits rise—­the breezes freshen—­the crops look strong—­the harvest is retarded—­the grain gets more sap and becomes perfect—­the cold season is prolonged, as the crops remain longer green, and continue to condense the moisture of the surrounding atmosphere.  Without such late rain, the crops ripen prematurely, the grain becomes shrivelled, and defective both in quantity and quality.  While the rain lasts, however, a large camp is a wretched scene; for few of the men, women, and children, and still fewer of the animals it contains, can find any shelter at all!

January 12, 1850.-At Nawabgunge, still detained by rain.  The Minister had ordered out tents for himself and suite on the 8th, but they had not come up, and I was obliged to lend him one of my best, and some others as they came up, or they would have been altogether without shelter.  When he left them on the 10th, his attendants cut and took away almost all the ropes, some of the kanats or outer walls, and some of the carpets.  He knew nothing about it, nor will he ever learn anything till told by me.  His attendants were plundering in all the surrounding villages while he remained; and my people tried in vain to prevent them, lest they should themselves be taken for the plunderers.  Of all this the Minister knew nothing.  The attendants on the contractors and other local officers are, if possible, still worse; and throughout the country the King’s officers all plunder, or acquiesce in the plunder, utterly regardless of the sufferings of the people and the best interests of their Sovereign.  No precaution whatever is taken to prevent this indiscriminate plunder by the followers of the local authorities; nor would any one of them think it worth his while to interpose if he saw the roofs of the houses of a whole village moving off on the heads of his followers to his camp; or a fine crop of sugar-cane, wheat, or vegetables cut down for fodder by them before his face.  It is the fashion of the country, and the Government acquiesces in it.