I am acquainted with the colonels of the two Norfolk regiments, and I dare say that neither of them would have any objection to receive me.

If they are not embodied I will most certainly apply to you, and you may say when you recommend me that, being well grounded in Arabic, and having some talent for languages, I might be an acquisition to a corps in one of our Eastern colonies.

I flatter myself that I could do a great deal in the East provided I could once get there, either in a civil or military capacity.

There is much talk at present about translating European books into the two great languages, the Arabic and Persian.

Now I believe that with my enthusiasm for those tongues I could, if resident in the East, become in a year or two better acquainted with them than any European has been yet, and more capable of executing such a task.