DIFFICULTIES. 
29 
not perfectly seasoned. The skin peeled from his face, 
and left it so raw that he could not hear the least 
contact with the irritated flesh, which inflamed and 
became exceedingly painful. He was seized with 
dysentery ; this confined him three days to the 
jungle, where he luckily found refuge in the hovel of 
a charcoal-burner. Here he was at least protected 
from the influence of the night air, though not from 
the unwholesome malaria of the thicket. 
Being supplied with medicines, for in India few per- 
sons travel without them, the fugitive administered the 
ordinary remedies with some success. The violence 
of his symptoms abated, though the complaint was 
not subdued, and he was still extremely weak, even 
when able to travel. The hospitality of the poor Hindoo 
had been signal and timely ; and the reward of three 
rupees made him a happy man, as it supplied him 
with the means of at least a month’s subsistence. 
It was not without great difficulty that the deserter 
could proceed: his weakness was extreme, but his 
energies were roused by the consciousness of his equi- 
vocal position, and he hurried forward in spite of the 
weakness which oppressed his frame. With much 
difficulty he reached the plains of Delhi, where he 
determined to remain at least until sufficiently re- 
covered to change his place of retreat should circum- 
stances render it advisable. He selected a handsome- 
looking house among the ruins, apparently entire, and 
which he hoped would furnish every necessary accom- 
modation to a man who sought security from pursuit 
rather than the easy comforts of a home. It was, no 
doubt, a Patan structure, in tolerably good preserva- 
d 3 
