the provinces of Sirmore and Gurhwal to the north,
and the low land called the Dahra Doon to the south,
where the Jumna rushes past in a south-easterly direction.
The journey is extremely fatiguing, for although
the distance as the crow flies is but seventy miles, the
road, which not only winds a good deal, often in zigzag
fashion, but is almost continually uphill, more than
doubles i t ; besides, the d&k express, by which I
travelled part of the way, is by no means a pleasant
conveyance. I t jolted sorely over the rough road,
whilst but little shelter and less comfort was to be had
en route owing to the inclement season. Indeed, it
was the coldest month of the year, and forcibly reminded
me of that prevailing in northern Europe about
the same period. Tremendous gusts of high wind at
every turn, frequently accompanied by a downpour of
sleet, with a very appreciable daily fall of the thermometer;
to which inconveniences must be added
many a mishap to the underfed ponies which had the
misfortune to fall under our relay.
About half way we reached the spurs of the
Siwalik hills, and here my climb commenced in
earnest, now borne aloft in a palki, now on foot, and
by the time I reached the highest point a smart
frost added to the feeling of loneliness which the
bare scenery inspired,—down again past rapid rivers,
over slender bridges and through jungle and noble
forests, mounting and descending in tu rn ; steeper
and steeper becomes the ascent until we reach a
height of upwards of 6000 feet. Here at last we
came to a full stop, and received the welcome intelligence
that we had reached our destination. There
was barely sufficient daylight to see a dozen yards
ahead, and I was only too glad to turn in, finding the
scanty accommodation quite luxuriant compared with
what had hitherto fallen to my lot since I had left
Umballa. The night, however, was bitterly cold, and,
Hyperborean as I am, I had the greatest difficulty in
keeping warm, putting every particle of clothing and
wrappers I possessed under requisition. On the next
morning I rose early; but was disappointed in the
sunrise as a heavy mist hung all around; this presently
began to lift, developing before my eyes one of the
most sublime aspects of nature. At first, I could
see little more than the high ground upon which I
was standing, with huts and bungalows built on the
southern slope at considerable distances from each
other, often apparently hanging on to mere crags ;
but little by little the curtain lifted, and range after
range of rugged snow-clad peaks came within sight,
separated from each other by deep gorges. From a
distance they appeared to extend in parallel ridges,