94” I'klB. HIMALAYA MOUNTAINS. 
We approach it through a labyrinth of enormous 
leas masses of granite, which during ages hitve fai*f 
from the cliffs above that frown over the very tempi* 
and in all probability will some day themselves desce« 
in ruina'and crush it. Around the inclosure, and am^» 
these masses, for some distance up the mountain, a 1^ ^ 
fms old pine trees throw a dark shade, and form a maff 
nilicent h»re-ground ; while the river ru^s impetuouslJ^ 
in its shingly bed, and the stilled but fearlul sound ^ 
the stones which it rolls along with it, crushing toge'hen 
mixes with the roar of its waters. i 
It is easy to write of rocks and wilds, of torrents aO 
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i 
precipices;; it is easy to tell of the awe such scenes 
spire : this style and these descriptions are common 
hackneyed. But it is not so simple, to many surely 
very possible, to convey an adequate idea of the stern a” ^ 
rugged majesty of some scenes ; to paint their lonely 
sertness, or describe the undefinable sensation of rev« ^ 
ence and dread that steals over the mind while contd” 
plating the deathlike ghastly calm that is shed over tlief’’ 
and when at such a moment we remember our homf 
our friends, our firesides, and all social intercourse 
our fellows, and feel our present solitude, and far d' ^ 
taiice from all these dear ties, how vain is it to str>' 
at description ! Surely such a scene is Oungotree. 
is it, independent of the nature of the surrounding s*-’ . 
nerj', a spot which lightly calls forth powerful feelh’.^ 
W'e were now in the centre of the stupendous 1 
tlie loftiest and perhaps most rugged range of mounta'^j- 
in" the world. We were at the acknowledged source ^ 
that noble river, equally an object of veueiiation 
source of fertility, plenty, and opulence to Hindosta ^ 
and we had now reached the lioliest shrine of 
worship which these holy hills contain. '1 Iiesc • 
surely striking considerations, combining with tlie sole 
grandeur of the place, to move the feelings strongl.* 
The fortuitous circumstance of being the first Europe' 
that ever penetrated to this spot was no matter of b*^’, 
for no great danger had been braved, no extraordi''*' ;; 
fatigues undergone : the road is now open to any 
who chooses to attempt it, but it was a matter of ***'‘*j|/ 
tion to myself. The first object of inquiry that nator 
