Page:Views in India, chiefly among the Himalaya Mountains.djvu/56

34 of procuring every sort of game, although there may be some difficulties in the pursuit: pheasants are exceedingly numerous, and of great size and beauty, and those who are fond of the study of natural history in any of its departments, will find an ample field for their labours, in a country abounding with objects of interest.

The first European mansion constructed at Mussooree belonged to Colonel Young, who commanded a Ghoorka corps stationed in the Dhoon; it was called the Potato Garden, in consequence of a plantation of that useful vegetable, and remained for some years the only habitation of the kind upon the hill. It is very prettily situated, perched upon the summit of one of the lower eminences, or rather knolls, clustering together, and rising one above the other from the Mussooree range. This hill is wooded with scattered trees, looking, so judiciously are they placed, as if they were planted for effect; it is less steep, and better adapted for garden ground, than many of the hanging terraces attached to the more recent erections.

 THE SNOWY RANGE FROM LANDOUR.

The plains of India may with justice be deemed one vast prison, in which the sun, aided at one period of the year by the hot winds, acts the part of jailor. It is only during a brief interval in the morning and evening that exercise can be taken with impunity, except during the cold season, and even then we require a carriage or a horse. Emancipation therefore from these restraints, the power of wandering at will in the open air, and the invigorating influence of the bracing atmosphere upon our frames, rendered the party on their arrival at Mussooree like captives newly liberated from a dungeon, or schoolboys breaking loose from their desks.

A road has been cut at the elevation of seven thousand feet above the level of the sea, which completely encircles the height chosen for the sanitarium of Landour, permitting the residents to make an easy excursion of four miles, either on horseback or on foot, every step of the way being fraught with objects of beauty and interest. Here we find mingled with the standard apricot, which grows in great abundance over the hills, the oak, the pine, the holly, the walnut, and cherry; raspberries, strawberries, and blackberries appear in the most delightful luxuriance; daisies, primroses, and violets enamel the ground; and the wild rose flings down its silken leaves in crimson showers. Here objects comparatively humble continually arrest the attention, even in the midst of the imposing scenery which meets the eye at every point.

In no place can the snowy range of the Himalaya be seen to more advantage than from the western side of Landour; the distance, thirty miles, being that which is best calculated to produce the finest effect. From this point they rise with a majesty and distinctness which is in some measure lost, when the traveller at a nearer approach gets shut in as it were amid lofty peaks, which circumscribe his view; and in consequence of the extraordinary purity of the atmosphere, they appear to the eye to be much nearer than they are in reality, especially immediately after sunrise. The intermediate country is then veiled in mist spreading like a lake, and the snowy eminences beyond, arising on its margin, when lighted up by the slanting rays of the sun, seem as if they could be gained by an easy effort; and it is not until these silvery mists have cleared away, and the sun 