Roorkee

12th April 1875

My dear Mother

I received your letter this morning and am sorry to hear you are not keeping well. I was going to write you by this mail, for I have been wondering why I have received no letter from you nor no acknowledgement of the shawl I sent you when I came back from the hills. I am glad you have received it and that you like it as you will find it very warm and comfortable with it in the house. You want to know what it is made of, it is made of “pashmina”, the wool from the sheep in Thibet (sic) and I bought it when I was up in the hills last October; but I wrote and told you all about when I sent the shawl-I fancy you did not receive it by the way you write. I had to take a house in the hills for a couple of months and a fine penny it cost me- about 1200 rupees (£120-0-0) so that I could not send you any money as I would have liked. The doctors here, when they tell you must go to the hills, little dream or care what expenses you are put to.

Letty was very ill about Xmas and New Year time. Poor lass; through all the merry meetings and fun, she was out of it, but I am happy to say, she is quite well again and picking up fast. We went to live in a house on the banks of the Canal when she was able to move about, and the change done her a world of good, but it was very tiresome for me to come in and out to my work, for I had a drive of about 16 miles and I was glad when we got home-it was a very lonely place and at night you could here (sic) the wild animals quite close. One night I was much afraid of my horses as there were a could of hyenas just outside the door.

I have not heard from Annfor some time- but her Regiment (Editor’s Note: her husband’s The 72nd Highlanders) is at Peshawur and I will forward her sister’s letter onto her.

You tell me that a letter brightens you up-what would you say if you

( Editor’s Note-Ending of the letter Missing)