in the shape of china, glass, cutlery, and kitchen
utensils. Living at Bangalore is not expensive, and
the hire of a carriage and pair, including coachman
and groom, is only 150 rupees per month. Every
morning I strolled down to the Botanical garden,
which seemed to produce fresh flowers with a marvellous
rapidity, and it was impossible to tire of those
shady avenues of palms and other fine trees, or of the
pretty hedges of scarlet hibiscus. Besides, there is
quite a menagerie of wild beasts in strong iron cages,
from a rhinoceros and lion, down to a little kingfisher,
which I liked to watch during feeding time.
The Neilgherries (Nilgiris, new spelling) or Blue
Mountains, are now reached in comparative comfort,
and it is only the latter portion, the climbing to the
summit of the gorge, which has to he done on a pony,
on foot, or in a palki. Although there are nearly a
dozen hotels at Uty, besides a great number of
bungalows nestling among tree-covered terraces, there
is difficulty in securing a bed during the hot season,
unless ordered beforehand. These hills are situated in
northern latitude 11,30° and longitude 77°; they are
a nearly isolated granite group of triangular shape, with
its base, about forty miles long, facing the Malabar coast,
and of an average breadth of fifteen miles, connected
with the Western ghauts by a precipitous ridge. The
highest peak, Dodabetta, is near the centre and 8,640
feet above the level of the sea,—the greatest elevation
south of the Himalaya, and about 500 feet higher than
the Pedrotallagalla of Ceylon. Below, the mountain
is well wooded, rhododendron and creepers abound along
the zigzag route, and even at the height of 7,300 feet,
where Utakamand or IJty is situated, there are splendid
tall trees and a rich vegetation covers the undulating
ground ; here grass grows as luxuriantly as it does in
the mother country. The climate is excellent, the
heat seldom exceeding seventy-five degrees in the
shade, and there are glorious views all round. Conoor
is another sanitary station within easy reach.
People are very sociable at these hill stations, and
many families do not return to Bangalore until July
to prepare for the races which take place towards the
end of that month. The latter are kept up for four
or five days, and they are generally very good sport;
even the natives take much interest in them, and it
is amusing to watch their ingenuity in providing
platforms and standing-ground. A favourite position
of theirs is to squat upon the rails of a ladder by
leaning two or three against each other. This is the
gay season at Bangalore, and there is no lack of feasting
and dancing ; besides there is a first-rate club to