KASHMIR VALLEYS 17 



The joys of possession were not to be entered upon 

 immediately by me, for I wished to reach Srinagar 

 quickly, to get my letters, and subdue my barking, 

 and by road the journey could be accomplished in five 

 hours. So the " doonga " engaged, I departed once 

 more in a tonga to accomplish the remaining thirty-five 

 miles of my route. I had seemingly reached a land of 

 comparatively tame animals, and my ponies started 

 with little more than joyous friskings and curvettings. 

 The road lies rather apart from the river, and the whole 

 valley widens out till the mountains that had closely 

 kept us in on the right were little more than a distant 

 white cloud. The sun was brilliantly hot, and lighted 

 the long rows of poplars, planted on either side of many 

 of the roads, and showing up like vast marks of inter- 

 jection among the generally rounded tree forms, and 

 glittered on the snow like masses of fruit blossom, and 

 the tiny blue iris growing in thick, serried masses on 

 even 7 side, till they, too, shone like brilliant jewels, and 

 filled the air, as primroses do, with a perfume com- 

 pounded of spring freshness and the damp of thick 

 greenery. A virginal world of blue and white we 

 passed through blue skies and white clouds, blue hills 

 crowned with snows, blue iris shadowed by white fruit 

 blossom. " Kochwan," I said, addressing the silent 

 figure beside me, " what do you think of your blue iris? " 

 " They feed well the sheep," he answered without further 

 pomment. It is an unsympathising world ! 



Srinagar was approached through vast avenues of 

 poplars that led first to the market-place, where a 

 chattering, pleasant-faced crowd laughed and talked 

 and brawled incessantly, then across the bridge among 

 pleasant gardens of gay English flowers, and soon after 



