242 REMINISCENCES OF SONEPORE. 



mail brought the sad news of his death, which occurred the very 

 day fortnight after he reached England. It had been known 

 to most of his chief friends for some time that his heart was 

 seriously affected; but his cheery disposition, and strong 

 steadfastness of purpose, made him stick to work instead 

 of taking the rest so necessary for one suffering from so dan- 

 gerous a complaint, and it was only the serious warnings of 

 his medical advisers and the affectionate persuasions of 

 friends that induced him to throw up his arduous work at 

 Nowada and go home for treatment. But the weakness be- 

 gotten by fretting over the death of a beloved wife, the anx- 

 ieties and responsibilities of the two poor motherless bairns 

 she had left to his sole care, added to the worries of manag- 

 ing a property requiring the most unceasing vigilance and 

 economical working, told upon a constitution that was initially 

 perfect ; and when to this was added the excitement of 

 meeting all those near and dear to him at home, the weakened 

 frame collapsed, and he died, we can only hope, painlessly. 

 Another of the good old lot gone ; a worthy scion of one of 

 the best of the pioneer families, who won India for England ; 

 there never was an Elliot out here yet, that was not true grit 

 to the core. Of an exceptionally sweet nature, the poor old 

 f Bo' sun * was a splendid specimen of a Behar planter. Held 

 in solid esteem by Civilians, beloved by his brother planters, 

 and heartily respected by his native servants and tenants for 

 they could trust him implicitly Willie Elliot, in all truth, 

 never made an enemy. Ge<ntle as a woman, his poor little 

 children will miss him sorely, for his affection for and tender 

 care of them after their mother's death was one of the finest 

 traits in an almost faultless character. Many a tear will spring 

 to the eyes of his lady friends in Chupra, and many a rough 

 planter's lip will quiver on hearing of the sudden death of that 

 simple-hearted but sterling good fellow. ' Bo'sun ' Elliot's 

 sorrowing relatives have our sincerest sympathies." 



