Charlie took his double-barrelled gun, and told me, if there were any, to take my Affghan knife and escape at the back of the house over the garden wall to the Residency--it is only about four feet. There is only the road between us and the Residency, the garden wall of which is about five feet, but I could manage both with a chain. However, all seemed quiet, and, fortunately, it was the stables of a house which, being tiled, the sparks were not thrown up so high as they would have been from thatch, and in about an hour and a half we saw it subside. Then came the Doctor and his family, in a fearful state of mind. We tried to quiet them, for really we did not fear much now, the fire having passed off without any rising; it was a good sign, and several of our Sepoys had come to see if our house was all right. After arranging Mrs. P----'s room, Charlie and I went to bed; it was past 10, and he was asleep in a few minutes. I listened for a time thinking I heard noises in the Bazaar, but soon fell asleep, and the night passed without further alarm. Friday, May 22nd. Charlie went into the garden early, just as Sir Henry was passing. Sir Henry called to him, and told him to go and learn all he could about the fire, and whether the Sepoys worked to put it out, and to come over to him at 7, when he would be back from the city. I found my visitors had had a good night, so they dressed and went home, and are to come again to-night. There are fourteen ladies sleeping at the Residency here in Cantonments every night. Saturday, May 23rd. The day passed without alarm, excepting that in the afternoon I was by myself and heard such a tremendous noise that I was quite frightened. It turned out to be at our mess-house. The Colonel of the 32nd would have the thatched roof well saturated with water in case of fire, and in the midst of it all a fire-engine rattled up from the city (the first I ever saw in India), and in my alarm I took it for a gun. Sunday, May 24th. We went to church early, and the day passed off quietly.