Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1903-10-10

thrown up by the Dhanjibroys proprietors
or the tonga line to Rawl Pindi. and is
usually Occupied by tradeSmen and natives,
but 1t was the only place to be had in the
whole town, alas! As the nearest hotel
was nearly ten minutes walk from there
we went dinperless to bed. except for a few
biscuits and bit of cheese left from our
frugal tifin, and only to lie awake all
night the prey of the worst Of all insects.
Murree Is military post built on the top
ana along the sides of hill up neary eight
thousand feet. and is composed of one
street OF very up-to-date shops, several
hotels and large number Of villas besides
the cantonments.
1t Is a very fashionable hill station and
always during the season more or less full,
but at this time trebly so on account of the
tremendous exodus from Kashmir after the
Hoods there. On the afternoon of the third
DAY, after twenty-five mile drive in a
severe dust storm, we arrived at the big
station at Rawal Pindi, and half an hour
later were in the train surrounded by our
numerous bags and bundles, speeding away
toward Pathaukot.
More Travel Worries.
A sleepless night because of heas and
noise, cup of very bad tea at 6:3O. a good
deal of grooming and grumbling from us
both, and we were landed at the station of
Amritsar, the city of the Golden Tenn
pie There, after hasty and nasty break
fast and long powwow with a young
Eurasian station master as to the amount
OF luggage we could have with us in our
compartment, we boarded the train once
more, and after a five-hours' crawl, 1
should call 1T, through a fiat country COW
ered with palms and banana trees and grain
fields. we reached the pretty town of Path
aukot One of US went at once to a small
once IN the station to make inquiries as
TO the possibility of a tonga an ekka to
Doneira, the first station on the way to
Dalhousie, and found venerable, gray
haired native presiding. He rose politely
and we made our inquiries: Can you tell
me how far it is to Doneira?" twenty
three miles. Mem Sahib." Gould we go
tnat distance this evening in either a tonga
or an ekka?' 1T is an unpossbility, Mem
Sahib, for so much rain hath falling, that
the roads are no longer there, and are con-
cealed beneath the fallen hillside
we We're greatly impressed by the ele-
gance OF the language and alarmed by the
news. when we asked, do you think it
will be possible to get to DaIhousie?'
That. Mem Sahib, 1 can tell you not One
sahlb arrived today at in the mail tonga
which ought to have been here at 3 of the
night, and that sahib related that he and
his servant the tonga had carried across
half mile of fallen earth"
He Had Mind.
We were greatly interested in that sahib,
who evidently had a picturesque magma
eioii' "A loHSd weighs many tons, and for
two men to carry it would be a sight
worth seeing. What could we do? We were
SO anxious to reach our journeys end, so
very tired. and we had heard that Pathau-
kot was "feverish" 'If the Mem Sahibs
will have the hospitality of this station
ana sleep themselves upon sofas in the
waiting room, their luggage shall accom-
pany them into the room and nothing shall
they pay
foil 70 .
or the night, then the Mem Sahibs may
easily start at and reach Doneira at about
o'clock IN that day. The Mem Sahibs.
thanked the stately old person and went
OIL 10 inspect the station waiting rooms.
Scenes at the Station.
In the first-class room we found a very
stout Eurasian lady stretched upon two
chairs snoring loudly, the room hermetical-
~ sealed and filled with such a dreadful
native smell that we fled in disorder
The second-class room proved clean and
not impossible and contained two chaises
tongues which looked comfortable enough,
but as there was a continuous noise of
hammering in the station and as the digni-
fled old native gentleman had told US that
train was due at $50 a. m. and we might
be disturbed. we concluded to get two
ekkas for our luggage and make for the
dak bungalow a mile away.
We had been very fortunate in having
rain and cool weather for 1T was the hot
test season, and we might have had very
trying journey from the heat. We walked
sultry mile along a very muddy road
lined with trees. through the tiny native
town, alive with babies and buffaloes up a
hill and into the dak bungalow, which
proved to be the cleaneSt, most comforta-
BILE and most pcturesquely situated of any
one we had ever come across; on the hill
top, surrounded by palms, tree ferns and
other tropical groWths with distant view
of the mountains and a delicious silence
about it which made it restful indeed to US,
tired were
Comfort at Last
AS the moon was full we FASTENED with
our dinner and climbed up a picturesque
outside stairway built against the house
like a flying buttress and ON to the fiat
mud roof. which was green with grass and
small wild plants, and here and there gay
with patches of a tiny crimson flower of
which we could not find out the name; and
we sat up there in the moonlight and in
perfect contentment until a raid of mos
quitoes drove US to our rooms.
MARGARET STIRLING.