have here to express my sincere thanks to the Englishmen for the
foresight of which they gave proof in building by the roadsides the
little bengalows--one-story houses for the shelter of travellers. It is
true, one must not demand comfort in this kind of hotel; but this is a
matter in which the traveller, broken down by fatigue, is not exacting,
and he is at the summit of happiness when he finds at his disposal a
clean and dry room.

The Hindus, no doubt, did not expect to see a traveller arrive at so
late an hour of the night and in this season, for they had taken away
the keys of the bengalow, so we had to force an entrance. I threw myself
upon a bed prepared for me, composed of a pillow and blanket saturated
with water, and almost at once fell asleep. At daybreak, after taking
tea and some conserves, we took up our march again, now bathed in the
burning rays of the sun. From time to time, we passed villages; the
first in a superb narrow pass, then along the road meandering in the
bosom of the mountain. We descended eventually to the river Djeloum
(Jhelum), the waters of which flow gracefully, amid the rocks by which
its course is obstructed, between rocky walls whose tops in many places
seem almost to reach the azure skies of the Himalayas, a heaven which
here shows itself remarkably pure and serene.

Toward noon we arrived at the hamlet called Tongue--situated on the bank
of the river--which presents an unique array of huts that give the
effect of boxes, the openings of which form a facade. Here are sold
comestibles and all kinds of merchandise. The place swarms with Hindus,
who bear on their foreheads the variously colored marks of their
respective castes. Here, too, you see the beautiful people of Kachmyr,
dressed in their long white shirts and snowy turbans. I hired here, at a
good price, a Hindu cabriolet, from a Kachmyrian. This vehicle is so
constructed that in order to keep one's seat in it, one must cross his
legs in the Turkish fashion. The seat is so small that it will hold, at
most, only two persons. The absence of any support for the back makes
this mode of transportation very dangerous; nevertheless, I accepted
this kind of circular table mounted on two wheels and drawn by a horse,
as I was anxious to reach, as soon as possible, the end of my journey.
Hardly, however, had I gone five hundred yards on it, when I seriously
regretted the horse I had forsaken, so much fatigue had I to endure
keeping my le