il the confirmation of my lieutenancy, by Sir H. Fane,
from Bombay. An "overland" arrived again here last night, but no letters
or anything for me. I see, by the English papers, that there was a
report at home that we had lost 3000 men already--the greatest lie
possible. If we had lost that, we should have lost more than half the
Bombay army. We have not lost more than we generally do in quarters,
though the men have been, terribly knocked up, and well they may be,
with the horrible marches they have made. I was very much amused by the
debates in Parliament, with regard to our "military promenade," as some
of the papers call it. I wish I could see some of their writers on an
out-lying picket, with a prospect of a twenty miles' march, I rather
think they would not talk so much of "promenading." The Bengal army,
with our cavalry, and most of the artillery, marched this morning for
Cabool. Shah Shooja goes to-morrow or next day, and we bring up the
rear, as I said before, on Sunday. However, we will talk of that anon,
or I shall forget where I left off. On looking back, I find that I have
brought the force up as far as Dadur. Well; we halted there till the
12th. The 17th, artillery and Irregular Horse, however, marched before
us, on the 9th. While there, the rascally Beloochees and Kaukers kept
hovering about us, and walked off with some camels and a horse or two.
They generally, however, paid very dearly for them, as the cavalry that
were sent after them on these occasions made a terrible example of them.

While here we heard of a shocking murder at Curachee. A Captain Hand, of
the 1st Bombay Grenadier Regiment, was taking his morning's ride, when,
on turning a corner on the top of a hill, he unexpectedly found himself
in the midst of about thirty Beloochees. They talked to him very
civilly, and he allowed them to get round his horse, not suspecting
anything, when one rascal behind him gave him a terrible wipe on the
back of his head with his sword, which knocked him off his horse, and
the others rushed in, and cut him to pieces. A Lieut. Clarke, of the
same corps, happened to be riding this way, and seeing these Beloochees,
asked them if they had seen a Latich pass that way, meaning Hand; to
which they replied by a volley from their matchlocks, a ball from one of
which struck Clarke on the leg, and he galloped for camp as fast as he
could, and fell off his horse exhausted before the quarter-guard of H.M.
40th regiment. A