I am glad you saw W. He is a man of high character and first-rate ability, and has abundance of sagacity and energy.  I miss him very much.  He will be a credit to his regiment if engaged on active service.

Yours sincerely,
(Signed) W. H. SLEEMAN.

To Colonel Low, C.B.

P.S.—­I shall say nothing in this of your domestic bereavement, though I have felt much for you.

W. H. S.

In my public letter, I have referred to that of the Marquess of W. to L., when he was Resident.  Do refer to it Page 388, Vol. 1., “Despatches.”

__________________________

Lucknow, 1st June, 1854.

My Dear Low,

In my letter of the 10th of November, 1853, I solicited permission to retain Weston with me for reasons stated therein.  In reply, I was told, in Mr. Dalrymple’s letter of the 2nd of December, “that the Governor-General in Council had every wish to consult my views, but, for the present at least, his Lordship in Council thinks that Lieutenant Weston must in fairness be required to join his regiment, like other officers.”

I am so very anxious to have his services again in the office he filled, that I have to-day ventured, in a public letter to the Foreign Secretary, to request that he will submit my wishes to the Governor-General in Council, should they deem the state of affairs in Burmah at present to be such as to admit of his being withdrawn from his regiment I have said, in my public letter, that should any exigency arise he could, of course, quickly join his regiment on service again.

If you can give me any assistance in obtaining his services, I shall feel very much indebted to you, for I have that confidence in his abilities and high-mindedness which I cannot feel in those of his locum tenens; and I am very anxious to keep things in good train here till the end of the cold weather, when I must go on leave to recruit.  I am really in a very difficult position here, not with regard to the King, for he has, I believe, entire confidence in me; but he has become so entangled with his minister, that he is afraid of him; and the minister would give all he has (and he has all the revenues of the country) to get me out of the way.

I carried the Government orders regarding Shurfod Dowla into effect, and he is now, with his family, quiet and safe.  The King behaved very well, and resisted all the attempts of the minister to persuade him to remonstrate.  I am to-day to submit Shurfod Dowla’s letter of grateful thanks to Government.  I hope Government will not write to him in reply, as this might mortify and vex the King, since he is not written to by the Governor-General.