I think I have told you how cruelly some of the people here beat their servants. I was standing with an officer in the porch of his house when I was last at Midnapore, when his syce, or groom, brought his horse to the door. Captain L. turned to me, and said, "I have not given that fellow a thrashing for a long time, and he'll forget what it feels like, and grow lazy." Now the fact was, the man was so attentive and industrious that Captain L. could not possibly find any fault with him. However, he went down the steps, and, on the pretence that the man did not hold his horse properly, gave him several violent blows on the face and head, kicked him three or four times with all his force, and struck him on the back with a two-foot rule with such violence that the man was obliged to have his back plastered and bandaged up: and all this without the slightest fault on the part of the servant. Much as has been said about slavery, I do not believe that any of the slaves in Jamaica were ever worse treated than are the servants of some of our officers here. The excuse is, that it is impossible to manage the Hindus without the whip; but I never use it, and I am certainly quite as well served by all, excepting two. With these I am going to part, for they have been spoiled by living with a very violent man. I will give you an instance of the punishments I employ. My sirdar always goes home to his supper at nine o'clock. The other evening, after he was gone, I found that he had neglected to get the night-lamp ready, so I was obliged to do it myself. The following morning, instead of thrashing him, I made no observation whatever on the subject; but at nine o'clock in the evening, when he came to ask whether he might go home, I said, "You did not bring the night-lamp last night; I may want something else that is not ready, so for the next week you will not go till eleven." This was a great punishment to him, and yet it did not degrade either the man or myself as a beating would do. At the same time I fully admit that the natives, by their slowness and inactivity, are sometimes very provoking; but surely that is no excuse to the Christian who gives way to angry feelings. FOOTNOTE: [4] Plenty of barley is grown in Bhootan. Cuttack, October 12, 1843. I returned to Cuttack yesterday from Midnapore. It was a most wretched journey, raining incessantly--not such mild gentle rain as you have in England, but regular blinding torrents. The roads were so desperately bad that, although I engaged two extra bearers at each stage, yet each day's journey of fifty miles took me twenty-four hours instead of fifteen. My last day's journey was from Barrapore to Cuttack--fifty miles. I started at two in the afternoon, and arrived at home at half-past two the next day.