Page:"Round the world." - Letters from Japan, China, India, and Egypt (IA roundworldletter00fogg 0).pdf/234

 ber with astrange devica.” Another dea: perate push, and a few more curves of the road, which seemed interminable, and my pouy pricked up hisears and struck into a lively gait, which soon brought us into the winding streets af the town. He instinct- tyely trotted up hilland down through what might have passed for Goldsmith’s “Desert. ad Villiage,” straight to tha hotel, without may pecing a single human being ef whom 1 eould have enquired the way.

Mussoorie is a summer watering place for Europeans residing on tha hot aud scorched plains, which extend for thousands of miles southward and is now in winter quarters. The hotel is dismantled with not a white taan about the premiser, and the furniture is piled promiscnousiy in parlors, drawing: room3 and bed-rooms. I am afraid I flour- ished my ratten threateniagly over the keade of the native servants in charge of the eatei~ lishment to expedite their movements. With poor Hindoostsnee but goad pantomime 1 made them understand that I wanted same rooms put ix order and tires buil§ fer ths “+memsahib,” ox ladies, wha were eoming; and before they arrived there were bright fires blazing in two roome, whieb, barring the smoke, made the place quite 2 cosy and comfortable retreat from the storm that raged out of doers, With hot water, ef cet: era, We soon mado ourselves a3 jolly aga trie of Mark Tapleys, turning round and rouad like roasting jacks bstore the fire to dry our clothes, In the meantime the whole forca of the establishment, with the addition of “ Chuddy Lall,.” basied themselyes in pre- paring something hot to est and drink. Be- fere dark the Coclies arrived with car lug- gage, aud the evenlug was passed most pleagsntly in “recounting tha dangers we had passed,” while the storm best flercely against the glass and rattled the casements a3 if enraged at our escape.

The next morning tho sun rose bright and clear, and we found siz inches of snow upon the graund, which fo me was a novelty, as the oniy “winter Iandacape” I had seen for nearly two years. We started efter break- fast, on foot, to ascond to Lendour, the high- est point, from which the hest view can ba had of the famous “Snowy Range.” The buildings of Mussoorie, which in winter are uuinhabited, are perched upon all sorta ot fonny places—here on the top of a hill, bow on its slope, then deep in some cosy valley; and the streets leading to them twine, twist and turn in every direction.