uped about each dwelling. Darjeeling
is distant about three hundred and fifty miles almost due north from
Calcutta, of which it is regarded as the sanitarium, though, owing to
the hardships of the journey from that city, the more distant Simla is
quite as often resorted to by the invalided officials, merchants and
troops of Hindostan. The feasibility of building a railroad to
Darjeeling has long been discussed, and it appears that the engineering
difficulties, though great, can nevertheless be overcome; but no active
steps have as yet been taken toward the attainment of so desirable an
object. The European residents of the town of Darjeeling number about
fifty, and there are perhaps four times as many tea-planters in the
surrounding country.

The next day being Sunday, and the day on which marketable supplies are
brought into town for the whole week, the proprietor of my hotel took me
to see the bazaar. It much resembled others visited in and near
Calcutta, but I was surprised at the variety of European vegetables
offered for sale: there were peas, onions, potatoes, squashes, lettuce,
radishes, turnips and many kinds of grain, including that peculiarly
Yankee "institooshun" pop-corn. The bazaar was held out of doors in a
public square, with a few shops of dry goods around, and a most terrible
din arose from the motley crowd there assembled. In one place a number
of soldiers from the cantonments were bidding on some glassware offered
at auction, and in another mothers of families and _khansamahs_ were
bustling about engaging their necessary household supplies. Here was a
wretched beggar, with a grotesque mask on his face, dancing before some
of the merchants, who gave him a few potatoes in exchange for his
contortions. The people embraced Hindoos, Mohammedans, Bhoteeas,
Nepaulese and Sikkimites, and presented every variety of dress and
figure, having seemingly but one feature or possession in common, and
that was a very prominent display of unclean skin and raiment. The
Nepaulese women wore bracelets and necklaces of Indian coins, besides
silver anklets, finger- and nose-rings, gold earrings and beads, and
each had also suspended from her neck a silver snuff-box. These boxes
were three or four inches square, made of the purest metal, and
handsomely carved and embossed.

At Darjeeling I learned that my plan of traveling to Lhassa was not
feasible--that the Tale Lama ("sea of wisdom") and the great palace, and
a city who