The times. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1890-1903, 1894-01-27

| life of the river IS lived IN . "'"-n, and,
| for men not intending to make P'o'oNsed
| STAY. they Suffice. -,ov H.
| After the hot and dusty -, XXI
| tbe Panjab 10 Pindi. ana VIZ - lns
| drive Of over 80 miles tne ,s.., -, para
! mt Ia. nothing is more deiisns. ~ 10
| glide out on to the silent Va" 80 'ae
/ evening or arrival. and moor M. ",Hi
| a short distance above the not
a sound. save the tapping Oh nipples
aCaingt the boat, breaks the Stiiiness u
TIE night Soft breezes pass unu'' ihe
relied curtains and play gehus - iace
and hair. The stars shine not rV "'i7hly
In the sky while their douDieS u"nee IN
the water. and il there BE- moon enough
a faint suspicion of defiant mountains
ana snowy crests may be felt IN me Tar
distance beyond the fiat OF iertie htlds,
where all things are asleep.
Before YOU awake next morning The
boat is on its way. following the tow
rop. so lazily that it only rocks you into
deeper srn Ter. the light presently frets
The mating walls and when you cause
Them 10 be upro.lcd the sky is bri-ht be-
fore You In the water and beyond the
banl; rise the hills i'm clear Silhouette
against the glowing east Now ana again
a boat. urged by paddles rowing To-
musical refrain. passes by pct"'e<ile
husbaninen look do.Ii upon you ifom
th.. banks. and here and there a village
diversihes the simple view. AS the sun
climbs higher the air becomes hileh win
q teI der mist impregDaied Kiln nBHt' q
the details Of the mountains are pio'lei
ont by IT, SO that the snowy crests app Ar
10 swim i'm the gay atmosphere. The light
mist always lies upon the plain. and
seems TO be part OF the Sky that mas
fallen there and oecn forgotten. Nothing
is ever hard and clear All outlines are
soft. There f. always n glitter OF liSnt as
though diSmoud dust were dinuscd ABOUT.
The day passes lazIly by. and you ma
your boat entering the Nular laNe' ne
hills rise from the water on two slnes,
the plain stretches away on ne thlrd
Perhaps you may eaten glimpse OF
Bandipur on the north bank ana oil me
rev zE-zag mule-track. closed 10 uaNei-
ers. along which lies the way to 'ilsi'
and the Pamlrs-the natural trade-rcute
into Central Asia. The boatmen now bend
to their work. for they fear the gusts OF
wind THAI sweep unheralded from the
hills and make the passage OF the lhh"
periloLs. l. is soon crossed. and You are
in the Jhelam again. with the banks ana
the trees passing laziiy by and the bills
shifting their position TO the bending OF
the stream.
with q double crew ani moderate
hackshish YOU can no doubt mount mucn
more swiftly. but no one in hufrY
should visit Kashmr. The spirit Of tho
country g. rot for him. II can be ap-
preclated only by those who can be idle
with delight. and can spend without bore
dom all the hours Of q summer day lying
Oh their backs amid beautiful surround
incs and thanking Heaven that they are
alive Tho lazy traveller with his lazy
crew will tie Up for the night somewhere
against the bank. and the morrow VIII b"
as its predecessor Towards evening
Srinagar viii be near. and fortunate IS ne
who enters It's waterway towards sunset
when all the air is full Of gold. save
where drifts OF smoke from the wood
fires glide athwart il IN bands OF blue.
In the fun flare Of midday the irregular
wooden houses that crowd the river banks
and the foul alleys look sordid enough bur
toward evening when the sunset lies on
the water and floats in the sky. "A glamour
envelops the whole and makes OF the
city an ethereal paradise. a place OF
Creams and wonders. and the people that
navigate its streams and canals, not men,
bht the modelled conceptions OF a SOUP
ors happiest hours, moving about amidst
objects from another world. The Mosque
of Shah Hamadan IS passed about hali-
way up the town. Ii * beautiful AZ all
hours of the day. with the beauty. chaste,
and reserved. which seems to be the pre-
rogative of almost all Moslem architecture
i'm whatever country il is found. The
plated. tent-shaped roofs Of the Hindu
temples flash back the light from the
sky. and even the tawdry palaces Of the
governing caste borrow FOR . moment
from. the wichery Of advancing night
dignity rot their own. The passage OF
the town Is always exciting. owing to the
press and throng Of hurrying boats; the
contrasting peace that follows when the
houses are left behind. and only parks and
fields spread on either hand, is all the
more delightful. Lines of noble p0plars
define the margin or the shore and are
reflected black i'm the water. The bills
approach. In mother mile the boat reaches
its destination-the banglas and camping
ground called the Munsni Bagn. reserved
for the Use of foreign visitors accompanied
by ladies.
TO bachelors The Chlnar Bagh is as
signed. II Is "a damp but beautiful park.
lining one side OF the narrow river that
connects the Jheam with the Dal Lake,
the pearl Of kashmir The visitors first
expedition should be TO the summit OF
the hin. close behind the baghs, called
the Takti-Sulimln II is crowned by the
most ancient and approximately perfect
temple In kashmir. and II commands
gorgeous panorama. The whole vale
spreads abroad on one side 10 the .'ncir-
cling mountains. tho city. with its grass
carpcted, iioWer-adOrncd roofs is az the
foot. ana its suburbs and fields straggle
round and merge into the floating gardens
that arc moored on the still surface Of
the lake itself To see the Dal Lake is
10 be irresistably attracted towards H.
An hours padding brings y0u there. You
wander about il ana visit the beautiful
MoShul Gardens that succeed one another
round its banks
The best OF them is. perhaps. the Shat
mar Bagh. whore Shah Iahan and his
fayoritc wife. Nur Mabal dor whom was
built the TAI Mahal 81 Agra. were re-
concilcd on the Feast OF Roses. IL is
garden Of the formal Persian kind. whose
plan is the pattern of So many Oriental
carpets. Tie terraces are symmetrically
divided by paths into shady parterres. 4
marbie-bcdded stream comes dIEcinc down
IN the midst carried over Hide marble
slopes whose surfaces are SO cnsraved in
patterns that the water ripping down
them looks Ike crystal drapery. Pools
pains, ana fountains. both in the omen air
ana beneath paviliOns succeed on.
another on different levels. aud there
are picturesque houses on the various
terraces whose every window commands
an entrahcinS View between trees and
over the lake 10 the hills that s,yl,, &,
the sky. I'm such surroundings. bv choice
IN The months of April and Nav uhon
the fruit trees are In blossom the
flowers are hurrying forth to greet the
sun, and the plains of India are beconn-
ing lntoleraby hot. the traveller NAV
spend delightful days whose passage. il