till deep in places.

For the first part of the way we got on well enough, my wife in a
dandy, I riding, and thirteen miles were accomplished without much
difficulty. Suddenly the road took a bend, and we found ourselves in
deep snow. Riding soon proved to be impossible, and the dandy-bearers
could not carry my wife further; so there was nothing for it but to
walk. We were seven miles from our destination, and at each step we
sank into the snow, which became deeper and deeper the higher we
ascended. On we trudged, till my wife declared she could go no
further, and sat down to rest, feeling so drowsy that she entreated me
to let her stay where she was. Fortunately I had a small flask with
me filled with brandy. I poured a little into the cup, mixed it with
snow, and administered it as a stimulant. This restored her somewhat,
and roused her from the state of lethargy into which she had fallen.
Again we struggled on. Soon it became dark, except for such light as
the stars, aided by the snow, afforded. More than once I despaired
of reaching the end of our journey; but, just as I had become quite
hopeless, we saw lights on the hill above us, and heard our servants,
who had preceded us, shouting to attract our attention. I answered,
and presently they came to our assistance. Half carrying, half
dragging her, we got my wife up the steep mountain-side; and at
length, about 9 p.m., we arrived at the little house buried in snow,
into which we crept through a hole dug in the snow wall, which
encircled it. We were welcomed by a blazing wood-fire and a most
cheering odour of dinner, to which we did full justice, after having
got rid of our saturated garments. Next morning we started on our
return journey at daybreak, for it was necessary to get over the worst
part of the road before the sun had had time to soften the snow, which
the night's frost had so thoroughly hardened that we slipped over it
without the least difficulty.

This was our only visit to our new possession, for very soon
afterwards I was informed that Lord Lytton wished me to spend the
summer at Simla, as the Lieutenant-Governor of the Punjab would be
there, and His Excellency was anxious to discuss the details of the
proposed Chief Commissionership. My wife, therefore, returned to Simla
at once, and I joined her at the end of May, having in the meanwhile
inspected every regiment and visited every post held by the Frontier
Force between Sind and Hazara--a most inte