DEHRA 225 



in the sunshine, and everywhere small canals and water- 

 courses, through which flowed the clear, sparkling water 

 of some mountain torrent. Furthermore, to complete 

 the resemblance, not far away, though out of sight, ran 

 a little river, in whose sandy bed were mingled grains of 

 gold. I did not on the present occasion encamp in the 

 plantations, but many years ago, when in charge of the 

 Doon, I had once done so ; and I look back to that 

 time as one of the pleasantest of all my Indian life. 

 The climate was so delicious, the scenery so charming, 

 no wind, no dust, no unpleasant heat or glare, always 

 bright sunshine and a clear blue sky. 



The superintendent of the plantation was absent, and 



had allowed us to occupy his bungalow ; our camp was 



pitched on the lawn before it. The lawn was very 



spacious, and was dotted over with mango trees, the 



remnants of what at some former time had been an 



extensive grove. These trees were of great age and 



of enormous size; the largest of all stood near the centre 



of the lawn, and in the afternoons we used often to sit 



and have our tea beneath it. I had the trunk of this 



tree carefully measured ; the measurement was made 



a good yard from the ground, and well above the 



projections of the roots : the circumference of the 



tree was there more than twenty-two feet. From 



thence the trunk rose in a clear unbroken column to 



the height of about twenty- five or thirty feet, when 



it threw out in all directions its massive branches. 



The branches and foliage formed a wide, spreading 



canopy, through which neither sunshine nor any but 



the most long-continued rain could penetrate, 



Q 



