We remained aground for two hours, and _touched_ several times after we were afloat. Some of the other party visited us in the evening, and I lent General E. a novel to help him on. I have been reading 'Astoria,' out of that last box you sent us, and that great fat 'Johnsoniana.' The anecdotes are not very new, but anything about Johnson is readable. G. has got some Bridgewater Treatises, which he likes. Beanleah, Saturday, Oct. 28. We stopped at Surder yesterday, to take in some sheep. We ought to have been there two days ago, if we had had better pilots and fewer groundings. G. said, last night, when we again failed in landing there, that it seemed to him Absurder rather than Surder. He made another good pun to-day. How our intellects are weakened by the climate!--we make and relish puns! The A.D.C.s are very apt to assemble over our cabins at night, to smoke and to talk, and we hear every word they say. When it is really time to go to sleep, I generally send old Rosina up to disperse them, in her civilest manner. I was telling W. O. that they were like so many old Chelsea pensioners; they go on prosing night after night exclusively about the army, the King's army and the Company's army; and that, if there were only a little levity in their talk, I should not so much mind being kept awake by it. He said, 'Ah, yes, we were very animated last night about the Company's army, and your old Rosina came creeping up with "O sahib, _astai_ bolo" (_gently_ speak); upon which G. observed, "Ah, if she had said, O sahib, _nasty_ bolo!" that would have satisfied Emily much better.' This joke being founded on Hindustani, and coming from the Governor-General, kept the whole suite in a roar of laughter for half an hour. They really relished it.