THE HIMALAYA BANGE. 79 



over slender bridges and through jungle and noble 

 forests, mounting and descending in turn ; steeper 

 and steeper becomes the ascent until we reach a 

 height of upwards of 6000 feet. Here at last we 

 came to a full stop, and received the welcome in- 

 telligence that we had reached our destination. There 

 was barely sufficient daylight to see a dozen yards 

 ahead, and I was only too glad to turn in, finding the 

 scanty accommodation quite luxuriant compared with 

 what had hitherto fallen to my lot since I had left 

 Umballa. The night, however, was bitterly cold, and, 

 Hyperborean h/^ I am, I had the greatest difficulty in 

 U<rt<^^ keeping warm, putting every particle of clothing and 

 wrappers I possessed under requisition. On the next 

 morning I rose early ; but was disappointed in the 

 sunrise as a heavy mist hung all around ; this presently 

 began to lift, developing before my eyes one of the 

 most sublime aspects of nature. At first, I could 

 see little more than the high ground upon which I 

 was standing, with huts and bungalows built on the 

 southern slope at considerable distances from each 

 other, often apparently hanging on to mere crags ; 

 but little by little the curtain lifted, and range after 

 range of rugged snow-clad peaks came within sight, 

 separated from each other by deep gorges. From a 

 distance they appeared to extend in parallel ridges, 



