ioo A Sportswoman in India 



rich masses of blue tone, stained on the upper heights 

 with rose, deepened below into purple. The far-off 

 snow summits were pink ; blue, red, and orange tints 

 coloured the still waters of the lake. 



An hour later, and a moon, nearly full, a radiant 

 circle, wheeled up into the flushed sky. The sunset 

 had passed through every stage of beauty, through 

 every glory of colour, through riot and triumph, 

 through pathos and tenderness, into a long, still 

 rest, followed by the profound solemnity of the 

 moonlight and the stillness of the huge and thoughtful 

 night, broken only by breezes in the aromatic forests 

 and the night cries of its inhabitants. 



We left Kudjiar next morning by 6 a.m. ; going 

 steadily down hill as we were, it would probably be 

 very hot below in the middle of the day, which an 

 early arrival would avoid. The path became stony 

 and monotonous, and we began to feel the heat 

 before we reached the Ravee, a greenish-coloured 

 torrent which borders the native state of Chamba. 

 Chamba seemed, as far as I could see, to consist 

 chiefly of mountains ; and before us lay its native 

 town, built in the only flat spot, and with the Rajah's 

 palace in the middle dwarfing the little mud houses 

 round it. 



A smart suspension-bridge overhung the Ravee, 

 and had been carpeted with red cloth ; elephants and 

 a mounted guard and various officers were waiting 

 at the farther end ; in fact, the town seemed en fete 

 in our honour. Dismounting and walking across, 



