CHAPTER XXV 



THE PIR PUNJAL 



WE get a magnificent view from the top of the 

 pass. In the east lies the gigantic chain of the 

 Himalayas, clothed in eternal snow, furrowed by 

 glaciers. In front of us, towards the south, a 

 broken line of uneven points shooting up into the 

 sky proclaims the kingdom of Pir Punjal. 



How bare and blunt and yet how tremendous 

 does Nature show herself here ! No cathedral 

 was ever large enough for me. It is true that 

 Gothic pillars have often astonished my eye, but 

 all the magnificence of art never touched my 

 soul. The red and green windows obscure 

 our view, as do also the star-bespangled ceilings, 

 created to protect the work of man from cold and 

 damp. 



What a contrast do the works of God present ! 

 No wandering here over tombstones in the form of 

 a cross rather do our feet tread on mighty rocks 

 towering in boundless leaps towards the zenith, 

 bathed in the unclouded glow of the world's light. 



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