LEAVING FOR JEYPORE. 259 



in the afternoon. We seized the opportunity to go up the 

 mountain to the old castle. From the palace in the city, 

 a steep, zigzag road, paved with rough stones, leads up the 

 mountain. At first we go on an elephant, until the road 

 becomes too steep, when dandies are waiting to carry us to 

 the top. The fort or citadel on the summit is two thousand 

 feet above the sea level, and contains an old palace. Here 

 the late Maharaja used to take refuge from the steaming 

 heat of the rainy season. The ascent is worth making for 

 the view over the richly-cultivated plain beneath, which, 

 bounded only by the horizon, stretches like a vast ocean as 

 far as the eye can reach. 



On our way back we stopped to see the hunting 

 cheetahs and lynxes. Each of these animals lies on its own 

 bedstead, to which it is chained. The lynxes are used for 

 coursing hares. They seem unsociable brutes, and we were 

 warned not to go too near, as they are very treacherous. 

 The cheetahs were more friendly, and stepped down off their 

 bedsteads to be patted and caressed. 



January 26t/i. — We left this afternoon by train for 

 Jeypore. On our way to the station we called at the new 

 palace to bid good-bye to the little Raja. We found him 

 playing with his toys in a room at the top of the house. It 

 would have been a stiff pull up, but the architect has made 

 the ascent in gentle slopes along inclined planes, instead of 

 by the usual flights of stairs. 



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