No Rain Having Fallen As Yet, The Springs And Rivers
Were All Nearly Dry; But We Saw Several Rocky Beds, Which Gave Good
Promise Of Fly-Fishing, Should They Receive A Further Supply Of Water.
About nine A.M. we reached our halting-place, "Serai Saidabad," a
ruined old place, with a mud tenement overlooking, at some elevation,
the banks of a river.
Here we were again received with a salute, by a detachment of
warriors drawn up in full dress - viz. red and yellow turbans,
and blue trousers with a red stripe.
After undergoing a refreshing bath of a skin of water, taken in our
drawing-room, we got our artist to work at breakfast, and shortly
after found, with considerable satisfaction, that we were in for the
first of the rains. This welcome fact first proclaimed itself by the
reverberation of distant thunder from among the mountains to the north;
then an ominous black cloud gradually spread itself over us, and,
with a storm of dust, down came the rain in torrents, making the air,
in a few minutes, cool and delicious as possible, and entirely altering
the sultry temperature which had previously prevailed. The thirsty
ground soaked up the moisture as if it had never tasted rain, and the
trees came out as if retouched by Nature's brush; while as, for F. and
myself, we turned the unwonted coolness to the best account we could,
by setting ourselves to work to pull up all arrears of sleep forthwith.
JUNE 15. - Started at four A.M., with our numerous train, and found
the road all the pleasanter for the rain of the previous evening,
and all things looking green and fresh after the storm. Our path led
us up a rocky valley, with its accompanying dashing stream, in the
bed of which we could see traces of what the brawler had been in his
wilder days, in huge and polished boulders and water-worn rocks, which
had been hurled about in all directions. We afterwards went straight
up a precipitous mountain, wooded with pine, which was no light work
for the coolies, heavily laden as they were. No sooner, however,
were we on the top of this than down we went on the other side; and
how the ponies managed their ups-and-downs of life was best known
to themselves; certainly, nothing but a cat or a Cashmere pony could
have got over the ground. About nine A.M. we reached "Nowshera," under
another salute, where we found an indifferent-looking "Baraduree,"
completely suffocated among the trees of a garden called the "Bauli
Bagh," or "Reservoir Garden," from a deep stone well in the centre of
it. Here we got on indifferently well, the weather being close after
the rain, and the place thickly inhabited by crowds of sparrows,
all with large families, who made an incessant uproar all day long;
besides an army of occupation of small game, which interfered sadly
with our sleeping arrangements at night.
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