ced in it. We remember being awakened very early one
morning long before dawn by a person bathing close to our boat, in a
quivering voice which showed he was chilled by the water, long and
earnestly imploring the favour of _Gunga Ma_--Mother Ganges.

There is no part of India, mountain or plain, where serpents may not be
encountered. One evening, when returning to our boat from a village on
the banks of the river, I was walking warily on a narrow path
half-covered with grass from both sides, when I saw before me what I
first supposed to be a rope. I halted, and immediately a serpent glided
away. That evening, before reaching the boat, I saw at least a dozen of
serpents at their evening gambols over the ruins of a house. I walked
quietly on, deeming it the best part of valour to leave them
undisturbed. If they observed me they showed no inclination to approach
me.

For many years voyaging on the Ganges has gone out of fashion. Native
boats laden with produce and wood continue to ply, but the budgerows and
pinnaces, which Europeans could hire, have almost entirely disappeared.
There are various reasons for this change. The current of the river is
very rapid in some places, which makes the work of dragging against it
very slow and tiresome; there is sometimes the danger of collision with
other boats. The high banks of the river here and there prevent the
country from being seen, and at other places there is a dreary stretch
of sand. Though the weather of the cold season is very steady, a storm
might come on, and if it did neither boat nor boatmen could be trusted;
for the boat, never of the best material, was often sadly out of repair,
and the boatmen were ready, when danger appeared, to throw themselves
into the water and make for the shore, leaving the passengers to shift
for themselves. There was, indeed, the pleasantness of sailing on a
broad river; the air was very fresh; there was no leaving of the
temporary abode from day to day; the trouble of a shifting camp was
escaped, though occasionally there was inconvenience from the
indispensable cook-boat not keeping sufficiently near. Opposed to these
advantages were the disadvantages I have mentioned, which were always
felt to be serious drawbacks; and when the roads had been improved, and
journeying facilities increased, travelling by land obtained so decided
a preference, that the river has been well-nigh abandoned by Europeans.

[Sidenote: SHORT AND LONG TOURS.]