they lose, without offending his master by any
appearance of moving in the matter.

We go hence to-morrow; hope to be at Gonda on the 14th, and Fyzabad
on the 18th. I have requested the post-master to send all our letters
to Fyzabad by the regular dawk from Thursday next, the 13th. From
Fyzabad I will arrange for their coming to my camp.

Yours sincerely,

(Signed) W. H. SLEEMAN.

To Captain Bird,
&c. &c.

__________________________

Camp, Ghunghole, 12th December, 1849.

My Dear Bird,

I got your letter of the 9th instant last night, at our last ground.
In what you have done, you have not, I think, acted discreetly. You
asked me whether, in any case of emergency, you should act on your
discretion, and I told you in reply that you might do so; but surely,
whether the King should have a dozen singers or only ten could not be
considered one of such pressing emergency as not to admit of your
waiting for instructions from me, or, at least, for a reply to your
letter. The King has told you truly, that the matter in which the
offenders had transgressed had reference to his house, and not to his
Government or ours. This is a distinction which you appear to have
lost sight of from the first. If I demand reparation from another for
wrong or insults suffered from his servants, and he promises to
punish them by dismissal from his service but afterwards relents and
detains them, I consider it due to myself and my character to insist
upon the fulfilment of his promise; but if I voluntarily visit any
friend who has at last become sensible of the impositions of his
servants which had long been manifest to all his neighbours, with a
view to encourage him in his laudable resolution to dismiss them from
his service, and to offer my aid in effecting the object should he
require it, and he promises me not to swerve from it, but afterwards
relents and retains the impostors, I pity his weakness, but I do not
consider it due to myself, or to my character, to insist upon his
fulfilling his promise. By considering two cases so very distinct,
the same, you have placed yourself in a disagreeable situation, for I
cannot support you; that is, I can neither demand that the
requisitions made by you be complied with, nor can I tell the King
that I approve of them. Had you waited for my reply, which was sent
off from Bahraetch on the 10t