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NUMBER TWENTY-SEVEN.


Lucky Crows—Summit of the Ghants—Perilous Descent—Bombay, the Cotton Metropolis of India—Founded by the Portuguese, Given to the English—King Cotton Here Absolute—The Parsees—Street Scene—Bycuila Hotel—Yacht Eace—The “Live Yankee” Almost Wins—Wenham Lake Ice—Caves of Elephants—Hindoo Ideal of God—Farewell to India.

Bombay, India, March 1871.

All day we kave been slewly climbing the Ghaste; the Beara Hilis on our left ate seen muny wiley away. Now we torn «sharply to the south, pass thiough a deep rock eulting, then dash thitsugh a half mile tunnel, and cress the Bera river ow a high ivon bridye. Again #s pass over a hundred miles or moze of table lend, highir cultivated, with wheat tields of one thousand aeres on either side, almostripe for the harvest. In the middle of these fields upon high platforms men are’stationed to drive sway the preda- tery erows; bat ce one kills theso marau- dere, whe ought to bo thankful that their lot ig:cast in s Hindoo not a Christian Isud.

During the few hours of darkuess, for the nighia are here very short, we pass through & Wild section cayersd with wood and jun- gis, asid fo be infested by tigers and wild beasts. Stopping at an early nour the next moarmnivg tor breakfast we find oureelves upon the summit sud erjoy a splendid eun-_ rise five thousand feat above the eea. Now ecommencoa tha descent of the weatern dleps ofthe Ghants, Tho grade ix very steep and our train is divided, cach section bemg held back by all the power of engine and brakes. ‘The curves sve very sharp and the voad rico: chets like the tape on a carc-rack. renod the shorter curves there are three rails in stead of two. One is inid go close to the off rail that there ia barcly spxco between then: for the flange of the wheel, anc this is called the quayd rail. Idonct remember ever to have seen thig in crossing the Alleghanice by the enusyivania or Laltimore and Ohio routes. The scenery is wild and grand, and there are more bridges over chasms and