ARRIVAL AT CHAMBA 115 



hangs unprotected over the precipice, I suddenly discover 

 that I am not so very tired after all : yet when a dandy, 

 which had been thoughtfully sent for me, arrived, I was 

 unspeakably thankful to seat myself in it. 



It was nightfall when we reached the outskirts of the 

 town. The road winds through gardens, past a small 

 temple built in the middle of a piece of water, and then 

 through long narrow lanes overhung by trees, and shut in 

 by dense vegetation. At last we come out in the open, and 

 by the light of a bright full moon, see in front a quaint old 

 wooden bridge over the river, with gates and guard-houses 

 at either end. The guard turns out and presents arms as we 

 pass, and an orderly shows the way up a steep path winding 

 round the hill. Suddenly, turning a comer, we find our- 

 selves in the town. It is too dark to see much, but I can 

 make out two long rows of little shops on either side of a 

 broad grass square, and the people buying and selling, or in 

 true Indian fashion cooking their evening meal on the grass 

 outside their houses. 



All dak bungalows are much alike. Four bare white- 

 washed walls at the best, and, except in the matter of 

 cleanliness, there is little to choose between them. There- 

 fore you can hardly imagine my astonishment to find 

 myself carried through a well-kept garden and put down 

 in front of a large house, brilliantly lit up. The widely- 

 opened door showed a square hall, carpeted and furnished 



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