My visit to Calcutta enabled me to compare my instruments with the
standards at the Observatory, in which I was assisted by my friend,
Capt. Thuillier, to whose kind offices on this and many other
occasions I am greatly indebted.

I returned to Dorjiling on the 17th of April, and Dr. Thomson and I
commenced our arrangements for proceeding to the Khasia mountains.
We started on the 1st of May, and I bade adieu to Dorjiling with no
light heart; for I was leaving the kindest and most disinterested
friends I had ever made in a foreign land, and a country whose
mountains, forests, productions, and people had all become endeared
to me by many ties and associations. The prospects of Dorjiling
itself are neither doubtful nor insignificant. Whether or not Sikkim
will fall again under the protection of Britain, the station must
prosper, and that very speedily. I had seen both its native
population and its European houses doubled in two years; its
salubrious climate, its scenery, and accessibility, ensure it so
rapid a further increase that it will become the most populous
hill-station in India. Strong prejudices against a damp climate, and
the complaints of loungers and idlers who only seek pleasure,
together with a groundless fear of the natives, have hitherto
retarded its progress; but its natural advantages will outweigh these
and all other obstacles.

I am aware that my opinion of the ultimate success of Dorjiling is
not shared by the general public of India, and must be pardoned for
considering their views in this matter short-sighted. With regard to
the disagreeables of its climate, I can sufficiently appreciate them,
and shall be considered by the residents to have over-estimated the
amount and constancy of mist, rain, and humidity, from the two