WORK OF THE INSPECTOR-GENERAL 215 
inclemency of that season. Snow falls after Christ- 
mas, but does not at that elevation remain long on 
the ground. The worst months are probably those 
of February and March, when cold winds blow with 
some persistency. Simla is, of course, not comparable 
with other hill-stations as regards beauty of scenery. 
Mussoorie affords grander views of the Himalaya, 
and so does Darjeeling; Naini Tal, in its narrow 
cleft among the hills, charms the eye, if it enervates 
the body ; and Ootacamund, with its wide stretches 
of downs and the clustering forests in their hollows, 
bestows more freedom and expanse; but probably 
none of these possess a climate so suited to Europeans, 
though they may afford more facilities for enjoyment. 
For Simla is cramped on a narrow curving ridge with 
steep slopes on either side, and its “Chaura Maidan,” 
or wide plain, is but 20 yards broad and some three 
or four times as long; and this will afford a basis 
for an estimate of other places whose breadth is not 
their crowning attribute. The ridge, which may be 
seen from miles away, attracting the eye by the 
extreme ugliness of its buildings, is crowded with 
church, assembly - rooms, and various outhouses, 
whose erection denotes the humane attempt to pro- 
vide man and beast with shelter, but which are as 
out of place as they are inadequate ; and, below it, 
swarming tenement houses cling to the hillside, 
where reside the majority of the 40,000 inhabitants 
who live on the spendings of the European com- 
munity. At one end of Simla is Viceregal Lodge, 
at the other the residence of the Lieutenant-Governor 
of the Panjab; and, ensconced behind Jakko, the War- 
Lord, in the intervals of his martial zeal, beautifies 
