PLEASURES AND DISCOMFORTS 29 



adventure and novelty connected with it. Provided the weather 

 was moderately fine, there was enough of freshness and often 

 of amusing incident to render the journey not unenjoyable, 

 especially if travelling in a party ; and even to a solitary 

 traveller there is such a variety of scenery, and so many and 

 beautiful forms of vegetation, to arrest the attention, that it 

 was by no means monotonous. Of course there must be a 

 capacity for " roughing it," and for turning the very discom- 

 forts into sources of amusement. We must not be too much 

 disturbed at a superabundance of fleas or mosquitoes in the 

 houses, nor be frightened out of sleep by the scampering of rats 

 around and occasionally even upon us. It sometimes happens, 

 too, that a centipede or a scorpion has to be dislodged from 

 under the mats upon which we are about to lay our mattresses, 

 but, after all, a moderate amount of caution will prevent us 

 taking much harm. 



It must be confessed, however, that if the weather prove un- 

 favourable the discomforts are great, and it requires a resolute 

 effort to look at the bright side of things. To travel for several 

 hours in the rain, with the bearers slipping about in the stiff 

 adhesive clay now sinking to the knees in a slough in the 

 hollows, and then painfully toiling up the rugged ascents with 

 a chance of being benighted in the middle of the forest, were 

 not enjoyable incidents in the journey. Added to this, occa- 

 sionally the bearers of baggage and bedding and food would be 

 far behind, and sometimes would not turn up at all, leaving us 

 to go supperless, not to bed, but to do as well as we could on a 

 dirty mat. But, after all said and done, I can look back on 

 many journeys with great pleasure ; and my wife and I have 

 even said to each other at the end, " It has been like a pro- 

 longed picnic." And by travelling at the proper time of the 

 year for we never used, if possible, to take long journeys in 

 the rainy season and with ordinary care in arranging the 

 different stages, there was often no more discomfort than that 

 inseparable from the unavoidable fatigue. 



Soon after breakfast on the morning of the 3rd October the 

 yard of Mr Procter's house was filled with the bearers waiting to 

 take their packages, and, as more came than were actually re- 

 quired, there was a good deal of noise and confusion until all 

 the loads had been apportioned. Most of my mdromita were 



