Hyderabad June 21st 1812
My dear Sister

I have just been very highly gratified by the rect. of your letter of Decr. 18th containing one from my mother --- a ship is to sail early next month by wh. you will get this letter & most likely another I wrote four months ago to my mother wh. was too late for the ships I intended it to go by & is now at Madras --- an officer of the regiment went in those ships & I took the opportunity of sending by him eighty pounds to my mother; he was to have carried the letter but it arrived too late at Madras; however I had given him my mother's address & he promised to write to her on his arrival in England to enquire when the money was to be paid; so I hope you will have heard of it long before this letter reaches you; the ship he went in was the Wm. Pitt. If you should not have heard of it, write to him at Tralee, County Kerry, Ireland (Lieut. Collis), if that doesn't reach him, H.M 2nd Battn. 34th Regt., Portugal - but I hope he will not give you any trouble about it. I am now glad that that letter was detained as it would have alarmed you groundlessly about James. I am happy that I have a better account to give you of him now --- he has been quite well some time & has been up in Gurzerat & come back to Bombay on duty; however I know no more than I did about his illness -- one or more letters from him & one from Barba. have miscarried - the last I had was about a month ago when they were all well - his pay is now not near as good as it was which is owing to his being deprived of the charge of his corps (of course) when he was obliged to leave it on acct. of his health. I suppose he will regain it soon. His pay is now a good deal less than mine. I hear he has not yet paid my mother the money he borrowed wh. indeed is not to be wondered at. I robbed him of a considerable sum & he has lately been at great expense; however I suppose he will be able to send it off in the course of three months as in that ime I shall have paid him great part of what I owe him. We are still on full allowances & are likely to remain here long wh. is a most capital thing for us. But I am forgetting to tell you a piece of great & good news wh. I have heard lately --- my appointment to the 34th is confirmed in England so that I am now in possession of a regular commission dated 30th Sept. 1810....besides two Asst. Surgeons of the regt. have resigned, wh. makes me now second Asst. (I was 4th when I came in), wh. is reckoned great luck. I shall most likely soon be 1st when I should most probably get a surgency on its becoming vacant, wh. is equal to a Capt. in the army, an Esquire in his own right --- but that I am not sanguine enough to hope for in less than 5 years - as to making a fortune it is the farthest thing from my thoughts. I shall save a few hundreds during my stay in India, but that is all; however I am quite content. I have ensured to myself a comfortable & very honorable situation in life with a certain prospect of bettering it. I have no hopes of getting charge of a corps in this country, wh. is an immense thing -- the Asst. Surgn. in charge of ours has an income of 2500L per annum, yet he only came out exactly in the way wh. I did 6 years ago - without interest . I am very happy to hear of Charles Inman's good fortune tho' I should have recommended him to go into the army or navy & he will perhaps yet see the necessity of it --- then his prospects would be certain, besides in the line he has chosen I shd. think he would require a good deal both of interest & money; he may spend many years of the best part of his life in his prest. situation & find himself just where he set out. I should be very happy if circumstances would admit of our acquaintance being more intimate as I feel a most lively esteem & interest for him. I look forward to the time when the regiment will go home with that enviable kind of sensation with wh. one wishes for a thing wh. will make one very happy when it arrives, yet feels no anxiety or longing for it. This is just the setting in of the monsoon, or rainy season with us, the frequent showers have cooled the air so much that it is now no hotter than you have it in England at this time --- nor shall we have it much hotter for eight months to come, but the spring is always terribly hot ---this last has been reckoned very temperate tho' the thermometer was above 100 (I have seen it 110); exposure to the sun for an hour was sufficient to raise blisters on the hands & face & was very nearly hot enough to roast an egg --- the thermr. (Fahr.) is now abt. 70 wh. I think you will find no higher than it rises on a hay-making day with you. So you see we have not much to complain of - indeed our lives are pleasant enough and only too dissipated. We (the offrs. of the regt.) have parties every week or fortnight when every person is at liberty & expected to get drunk. On the 4th, the King's birthday, we gave a dinner to everybody at the station wh. cost about £100. -----My mother mentions having seen young Simpson & says nothing of the £ he was to have paid her; what can he mean?[ ?I hope] she will have no scruple in asking for it if [he does] not think proper to mention it. I think I mentioned it in one or two of my former letters. I also desired my mother to pay Robt. Bainbridge five pounds for a coat I had of him - I now find it has cost only four. Bessy will find out his address. I am very happy to hear so good an account of Bessy & will certainly write to her; however give my love to her & Fanny. I have recd. a letter frm. Jas. this day (the 22nd) enclosing my mother's wh. came by Simpson - it cnts. no news except his being appointed to do duty with an artillery corps but with little increase of pay. He hopes to get something better soon; all well & happy. I am glad to hear you are getting on so very tolerably well. My mother too seems pretty comfortable. I do not doubt that I shall have the pleasure of seeing you all again by and by. I have nothing to fill up this blank space except Love to my mother & assuring you that I am your ever affectionate Br. Regd Orton.

The letter I mentioned is on board the Barossa.

PS. I have heard nothing of my prize money yet but am sure to get it sooner or later whatever it is. My pay in England is 7s 6 a day - a tolerable [ ] a surgeon's 11s.