KASHMIR VALLEYS 55 



the upper and the lower ranks. With such a wealth of 

 treasures it seemed ridiculous to attempt the carrying 

 off of a few miserable specimens, so I sat still and tried 

 to make notches in my memory, that at least their 

 numbers and variety might remain with me when their 

 perfume and freshness had passed out of mind with 

 so many more lovely things. But my men collected a 

 great garland. It was part of a system of bribery they 

 had found to work admirably, for when my tent or 

 room was wreathed with blossoms, it was an impossible 

 deed to find any fault with the skilful decorators on 

 other grounds. I do not know why that particular 

 hillside was so consistent in its flower scheme; perhaps 

 the long winter months, with their snow coverings, 

 bleach the flowers; maybe the slopes, unaccustomed 

 to all save white, refuse the gayer blooms. Whatever 

 the cause, that descent mid the pale blossoms, with the 

 mingled scent of honey and fresh spring growth, will 

 remain as one of those visions which, years after, return 

 amid widely different surroundings, bringing, with the 

 vivid impression of colour and scent, a heartache akin 

 to that felt- on opening a letter written by a hand that 

 never can hold pen again, or entering a room once 

 inhabited by a dear presence since passed away. 



The march was some fifteen miles, and the mid-day 

 sun was very trying, when emerging from the shady 

 hill paths I descended to the river level again, and 

 paced beside streams that inadequately filled their 

 stony beds, or with caution crossed them by bridges 

 that partook of the general character of modern 

 Kashmirian structures, extreme elegance with the 

 minimum of stability. Generally a bridge is merely 

 placed to show that the path crosses that particular 



