gnarled deodars which we find farther up the country, but finer specimens of the morinda and rye pine could hardly be found, some of them towering a hundred and fifty or two hundred feet without a bend.

Leaving the dark valley, and the picturesque groups of natives camped round their great wood fires, we wearily re-ascended to the upper level, and resumed our journey till we reached the spot where our little white tents were already pitched, and all creature comforts duly awaiting us.

On the following morning we resumed our march to Theog, only a distance of six miles, but we were not anxious to hurry on, preferring to travel leisurely and allow me time for sketching.

On this, however, and on the following day's march to Muttiana -there is little to tempt an artist's pencil. On every side lie somewhat shapeless hills, which in this spring-time are all of one dull, red earth, though a little later they will be clothed with vivid green, like velvet drapery. Here, too, as we noticed below Simla, although the depth of the khads is very great, and the slope so rapid that you can scarcely find footing when once off the beaten path, they have none of the beauty of rock or precipice, and the long interminable lines in continuous sweep, nowhere relieved by streamlet or lake, become very wearisome to the eye.

Moreover every hill facing the south is utterly barren, and when our route lay along these, the dreary expanse of red earth was truly hideous. On the other hand, as we turned to face the north and west, we found ourselves surrounded with a wealth of vegetation that made amends for the bleaker side; a stunted, lilac acacia clothing the whole khad so thickly as to give the appearance of heather, while masses of very sweet roses-red, pink, white, and yellow-covered every tree with their long, graceful clusters, growing in such profusion as you can hardly imagine. They clamber to the topmost boughs of the tall trees, and thence droop in long, graceful sprays, every spray bearing perhaps thirty branches, each laden with bloom. Sometimes the

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supporting tree is so wholly veiled by these luxuriant blossoms as to suggest a pillar of rosy flame, or newly sprinkled snow. The yellow rose is especially fragrant, and the hill-lads, who love wild flowers, will climb far down the steepest bank to secure a bunch of them. As I before said, almost every hill-man you meet wears a bunch of flowers in his cap.

All these grow in the densest luxuriance, actually struggling for space, though, the moment you turn the hill, facing southward, you find the same dreary, barren, red earth, which at best will only contrive, after the rains, to clothe itself with short grass. Besides the roses, there is a perfect wealth of the large white clematis, and sweet white jessamine, which scents the whole air. I can never forget the delight with which for the first time I recognised the scent of that dear white jessamine, which in one second carried me far away from Himalayan crags, back to the old porch at home, and conjured up one pleasant picture after another of the merry groups that have gathered there in bygone days, twining wreaths of its fragrant stars. In another moment I had found the beautiful shrub, and robbed it of some of its wealth of blossoms, as much for the sake of "auld lang syne" as for present enjoyment.

One spot was pointed out to us as the scene of one of those fearful accidents which bring the dangers of these hills so vividly before us. It was the usual story of a startled horse, growing restive, and backing over the khad; backing the more resolutely as the terrified groom strove to lead him forward, till with one frightful backward plunge, the horse and his rider, a lady, disappeared over the precipice.

Our fourth day's march, from Muttiana to Narkunda, was very beautiful, lying partly through a rocky gorge, and through picturesque wood. At this point I think the real beauty centres. Hence we had perhaps the very grandest general view of the snows, still stretching right across the horizon, but apparently immeasurably higher than when seen from Simla, in fact, floating sometimes far above the clouds. On one side of us lay the dark forest of Hatto, running right up to the sky, and in the

cultivated valley, far below us, lay the Christian Mission Station of Kotghur.

We would fain have encamped in the forest itself, but the usual thing, lack of water, prevented us. The only spring had been dried up by the long drought, and when we wanted a drink we found only hard, dry mud. We had therefore to be content with spending a long day there. We clambered up through beautiful forest scenery, grand old silver firs and all manner of pines clothing the steepest hill sides. On reaching a very high point, in the heart of the forest, we suddenly came on what I have seen nowhere else in the Himalayas, a long green glade, like an English meadow, embosomed in grand timber, and commanding an exquisite view of the snows for hundreds of miles. The grass was enamelled with blue and white anemones like those in our gardens, and carpeted with the usual wealth of maiden-hair fern, while beautiful creepers festooned the trees.

It is heartrending, however, to see how this splendid forest suffers from the carelessness of the Paharis, who are for ever kindling fires to cook their food or light their pipes, and the fire smoulders on till one after another of these grand old giants is a victim, and at last the blackened remains fall with a crash, and then kindly creepers twine green wreaths above the poor charred remains of the forest kings. I confess we followed the vile ways of other men, and let our coolies light a fire in a great hollow tree-not that they asked our leave, for after all, we were only visitors, while they were doing the honours of their home. they lighted their fire as they had been accustomed to do all their lives, and in a few minutes the flames rushed up to the very top of the tree in a fiery, red pillar. The old trunk seemed, however, to be so well accustomed to acting chimney, that it was flourishing in full leaf, notwithstanding many previous experiences, so we hope it was none the worse for our misdeeds. Then we cooked our potatoes in the wood-ashes, and enjoyed them vastly.

Nevertheless, we entered our protest against such vandalism, as we came on one magnificent tree after another, such as in