omen
and young girls, all performing the same style of labor, with shovel and
pick, each carrying a small basket of earth and stone on his or her
back.

Among these laborers three distinct nationalities were observable,
marked by dress, physiognomy, and figure. They were people from Tibet,
Nepal, and Cashmere, which border on this part of northern India, and
are separated from it by the Himalayan Range. These mingled races
formed picturesque groups, the men armed with long, sword-like knives
and other weapons, after the fashion of their native lands. Some of the
young women were quite pretty, though a little masculine and sturdy in
figure, appearing very much like their sisters of Alpine Switzerland. At
the noon hour, they gathered in groups near the doors of their shanties
on the abrupt hill-sides; where, throwing themselves on the ground, they
partook of their coarse, midday meal, quite in gypsy style, about a
smoking iron pot, suspended over a fire by a tripod. They watched us
curiously, for the passing cars formed the one daily event, connecting
them with the far-away populous cities of the plains, places of which
they only knew by report. Our train consisted of two cars only, a first
and a second class; but the engine, built especially for this service,
puffed and snorted like mad, with the wildest vigor, in its struggle to
surmount the steep grade, seeming to be vastly refreshed by a few
moments' rest at the frequent watering-places. These consisted of a
wooden trough running out of the hill-side, and supplied by one of the
thousand tiny brooks that burst out everywhere. At these the thirsty
little engine drank copiously, and often; until finally, after many
hours, we rounded a high projecting cliff, and in a moment after reached
the little station of Darjeeling, which signifies "Up in the Clouds."

We arrived early in the afternoon, and fortunately on a clear day, so we
anticipated having the rare pleasure of witnessing the sunset upon the
loftiest range of snow-clad mountains on the globe. As we rounded the
bluff already spoken of, there burst upon our sight, for a few moments,
a complete view of the range, lying under a clear sky and warm glow of
sunlight, so entrancing as almost to take away one's breath. The
imagination had never before depicted anything so grand and inspiring.
Our little party could only point at it, and look into each other's
eyes. Words would have jarred like a discord upon the ear. What