road to a colder clime. We drove as far as
Deobund in the buggy; and, at three P.M.
threw ourselves into our palanquins (palkees),
bound for Dehra Dhoon at the foot of the
hills; at which place we arrived at about nine
o'clock on the following morning, and were
deposited—both of us fast asleep—in the
verandah of the hotel, kept by a Mr. William
Johns, who had been formerly a professional
jockey in the North-west Provinces of India.
All that can be said of Dehra Dhoon and
Mussoorie has already appeared in Household
Words,* and so recently, that even a brief
sketch of these places would be unwarranted.
* Vide "Himalaya Club," vol. xv., page 265.

As soon as we arrived at Mussoorie we
began to collect coolies (hill-men), to carry
our baggage and stores. We required in all
about one hundred and fifty for the expedition,
and by the time that we had got these
people together, and made arrangements with
them, and the guides whom we required, and
had laid in our stock of provisions, &c., the
foreign gentlemen joined us, and expressed
their readiness to start at any given moment.
We lingered, however, for two days, in order
that they might take some rest, and make
the acquaintance of the gentlemen at the club,
who, at the instance of my friend, had made
them as well as myself honorary members of
the institution.

On the third morning, in the front of the
club-house, our marching establishment was
collected, and the one hundred and fifty men
of whom it was composed were laden, with the
baggage and stores. There were tents, the
poles thereto belonging, camp tables, chairs,
beds, bedding, leather boxes of every kind,
containing our clothing, &c,, deal chests,
containing all sorts of provisions, dozens of cases
of wine—port, sherry, claret—beer, ducks,
fowls, geese, guns (rifles and others),
umbrellas, great-coats, &c., &c., &c. Having
seen this train fairly off, we, the four of us,
followed shortly after on foot, and overtook
them at the Landour Hill, a mountain about
nine thousand feet above the level of the sea.
We were all in high spirits—including my
friend the assistant magistrate—
notwithstanding he put on his lady love's cloak as
soon as we were out of sight of the club, and
began to quote in a melancholy but very loud
voice, which reverberated through the
valleys on either side of us, those glorious lines
of the Poet Thomson:

                                  " There is a power
Unseen, that rules th' illimitable world—
That guides its motions, from the brightest
Star to least dust of this sin-tainted mould;
While man, who madly deems himself the lord
Of all, is nought but weakness and dependence.
This sacred truth, by sure experience taught,
Thou must have learnt, when wandering all alone:
Each bird, each insect flitting through the sky,
Was more sufficient for itself than thou!"

Our first halting-place was about nine
miles from Mussoorie. It was a flat piece of
ground some distance down the southern
face of the peak over which the road wound.
The place was called Sowcowlee, and here
and there were to be seen a few patches of
cultivation and a cow-shed. Our course lay
in the direction of Almorah, another Hill
Sanatarium for the English in India. The
tents pitched, and all made snug and
comfortable, we threw ourselves down upon our
beds, not to sleep, but to take some rest after
a long walk. Meanwhile our servants busied
themselves in preparing the dinner, for which
the exercise and the change of air had given
us all a keen appetite.

"Well! " exclaimed my friend (whom in
future we will call Mr. West), raising to his
lips a bumper of claret, and quoting from the
Sentimental Journey, "The Bourbon is not
such a bad fellow, after all."

Neither the Frenchman nor the German
understood the allusion; but when it was
explained they relished it amazingly. We
were rather a temperate party; and after
the second bottle of wine was emptied, we
caused the glasses to be removed from our
small table, and a green cloth spread over it.
We then began to play at whist—a game of
which we were all equally fond; and, what
was of great consequence, we were all equal
as players. We did not gamble exactly; but
the stakes were sufficiently high to make
either side attend very carefully to the game.
The whist over, we each took a tumbler of
warm drink, and turned in for the night and
slept, as the reader may imagine, very
soundly.

On the following morning, at sunrise, we
were awakened and informed that upon a
hill opposite to our encampment there were
several Ghooral. We arose speedily, and went
in pursuit of them. After dodging them for
some time we came within range, and each of
us selecting his animal we fired. One shot
only took effect, and that was from the
Baron's rifle. During our ramble we
discovered that there were plenty of pheasants
in the locality, and so we agreed to remain
for the day, and, after breakfast, see what we
could do amongst them.Under the
circumstances we should have been compelled to
halt, for as is usual, on such occasions, our
servants had forgotten several little matters
essential for our comfort, if not necessary for
our journey, namely, the pickles and the
sauces, the corkscrew, the instrument for
opening the hermetically sealed tins containing
lobsters, oysters, and preserved soups.
Amongst other things that had been left
behind was the Baron's guitar, and without
it he could not, or would not, sing any of his
thousand and one famous German songs.
And such a sweet voice as he had! So while
we were amongst the pheasants five coolies
were on their way back to Mussoorie, to
bring up the missing articles above enumerated.