A History of the Mahrattas v1.c5.s2.25

v1.c5.s2.25

‘I wrote the greater part of the work when otherwise working twelve and fourteen hours daily without intermission (and of what sort you know), whilst some of the gentlemen with me, who had their full share of public business, particularly Mr. W. R. Morris, still in the Service, most zealously assisted in translating the mass of materials which were selected from a still larger mass, read over without discovering a single fact upon which we could depend. To account for some apparently very careless passages, I must tell you that I was subject to very serious headaches, which at last became very agonizing, returning every fifth day, and lasting from six to sixteen hours at a time, requiring me to work with wet cloths girt about my head, and I always could do best and most as the fit went off, so that I very often was induced to write on, upon these occasions, requiring no sleep until next night.