the
elements seemed to have combined to cause us as much discomfort as
possible, and the violence of the storm about midnight compelled us to
take shelter in every tope of trees we came to, or, as it appeared to me,
wherever the bearers thought we stood a good chance of being struck by
the lightning which was vividly flashing in most unpleasant proximity.
The deluge of rain soon made the path so slippery that our progress was
much retarded, which would not have signified had it not happened that
every now and then my slumbers were most disagreeably disturbed by a
crash which flattened my nose against the side of the palanquin, or
produced a violent shock to every part of my body, the effect of a slip
of some unhappy bearer who was himself on the broad of his back, and had
brought down the palanquin, bearers and all, in his tumble.

This occurred to me no less than five times in one night, and the
consequence was that my palanquin was in even a worse condition than my
body; it did not possess a single uncracked panel, nor were there any
means of keeping the doors in, far less closed, and the cooling influence
of the rain which pelted upon me was only counteracted by the feverish
anxiety I experienced from the momentary expectation of feeling the
bottom give way, which would have inevitably landed me in the mud in a
most deplorable condition--as had been the case with every book or other
loose article about me.

Daylight, however, revealed a prospect which banished at once the
remembrance of our nocturnal annoyances. The whole of the Himalayan
range, tinged by the glowing rays of the rising sun, displayed to our
delighted and astonished gaze its long and majestic line of snowy peaks,
while the atmosphere, cleared by the night's heavy rain, brought out in
bold relief the sharp outline of every point and angle from the clear
horizon-line of the various summits down to where the light morning haze
still shrouded their base.

Unobscured by intervening mountains, and towering high above a sea of
mist, well may they impress with wonder and admiration the traveller
journeying over the plains of India, as he beholds them for the first
time; nor could I, familiar as they were to me, withdraw my gaze until
the increasing power of the sun rendered the atmosphere more hazy, and
gradually veiled this glorious picture from my view, as if it were too
precious to be exhibited for any length of time.

The journey to Goruckpore occup