A Holiday in the Happy Valley with Pen and Pencil

A Holiday in the Happy Valley
with Pen and Pencil

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Title: A Holiday in the Happy Valley with Pen and Pencil
Author: T. R. Swinburne
Release Date: April 2, 2004 [eBook #11873]
Language: English
Character set encoding: ISO-8859-1
***START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK A HOLIDAY
IN THE HAPPY VALLEY WITH PEN AND PENCIL***
E-text prepared by Internet Archive Million Book Project, Allen Siddle,
and Project Gutenberg Distributed Proofreaders

A HOLIDAY IN THE HAPPY VALLEY WITH PEN AND PENCIL
BY
T. R. SWINBURNE

MAJOR (LATE) R.M.A.
WITH 24 COLOURED ILLUSTRATIONS
1907

[ILLUSTRATION: THE JHELUM AT SRINAGAR]

"_Over the great windy waters, and over the clear crested summits,
Unto the sea and the sky, and unto the perfecter earth, Come, let us
go_!"

I DEDICATE THIS BOOK
TO
"JANE"

PREFACE
I observe that it is customary to begin a book by an Introduction,
Preface, or Foreword. In the good old days of the eighteenth century
this generally took the form of a burst of grovelling adoration aimed at
some most noble or otherwise highly important person. This fulsome
fawning on the great was later changed into propitiation of the British
public, and unknown authors revelled in excuses for publishing their
earlier efforts.
But now that every one has written a book, or is about to do so, I feel
that my apologies are rather due to the public for not having rushed into
print before. I have really spared it because I had nothing in particular
to write about, and I confess I am somewhat doubtful as to whether I
am even now justified in invoking the kind offices of a publisher with a
view to bringing forth this literary mouse in due form!
No admiring (if partial) relatives have hung upon my lips as I read
them my journal, imploring me with tears in their eyes to waste not an
instant, but give to a longing world this literary treasure. I have no
illusions as regards my literary powers, and I do not imagine that I shall
depose the gifted author of _Eöthen_ from his pride of place.
I claim, however, the merit of truth. The journal was written day by day,
and the sketches were all done on the spot; and if this account--bald and
inadequate as I know it to be--of a very happy time spent in rambling

among some of the finest scenery of this lovely earth, may induce any
one to betake himself to Kashmir, he will achieve something worth
living for, and I shall not have spilt ink in vain.

CONTENTS




CHAPTER
I. INTRODUCTORY
II. THE VOYAGE OUT
III. KARACHI TO ABBOTABAD
IV. ABBOTABAD TO SRINAGAR
V. FIRST IMPRESSIONS OF SRINAGAR
VI. OUR FIRST CAMP
VII. BACK TO SRINAGAR
VIII. THE LOLAB
IX. SRINAGAR AGAIN
X. THE LIDAR VALLEY
XI. GANGABAL
XII. GULMARG
XIII. THE FLOOD
XIV. THE MACHIPURA

XV. DELHI AND AGRA
XVI. UDAIPUR

LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS
THE JHELUM AT SRINAGAR (Frontispiece)
A SOLUTION OF CONTINUITY
A SRINAGAR BYE-WAY--EARLY SPRING
ON THE JHELUM--EARLY SPRING
THE BUND SRINAGAR--EARLY SPRING
THE DAL
IN THE NISHAT BAGH
THE PIR PANJAL FROM ALSU--MORNING
ON THE DAL--SUNSET
NATIVE BOATS
PANDRETTAN
KOLAHOI
LIDARWAT
THE RAMPARTS OF KASHMIR
GANGABAL
HARAMOK
A TARN ABOVE TRONKOL
ON THE CIRCULAR ROAD, GULMARG
IN SRINAGAR--TWILIGHT
SRINAGAR FLOODED
HARI PARBAT--EVENING
NANGA PARBAT FROM KITARDAJI
MIXED BATHING (UDAIPUR)
UDAIPUR
MAP OF KASHMIR

A HOLIDAY IN THE HAPPY VALLEY

CHAPTER I
INTRODUCTION
A journey to Kashmir now--in these days of cheap and rapid
locomotion--is in nowise serious. It takes time, I grant you, but to any
one with a few months to spare--and there are many in that happy
position--there can be few pleasanter ways of spending a summer
holiday.
It would be as well to start from England not later than the middle of
March, as the Red Sea and the Sind Desert begin to warm up
uncomfortably in spring. Srinagar would then be reached fairly early in
April, and the visitor should arrange, if possible, to remain in the
country until the middle of October. We had to leave just as the
gorgeous autumn colouring was beginning to blaze in the woods, and
the first duck were wheeling over the Wular Lake.
The climate of Kashmir is fairly similar to that of many parts of
Southern Europe. There is a good deal of snow in the valley in winter.
Spring is charming, the brilliant