Page:Lord Amherst and the British Advance Eastwards to Burma.djvu/207

ing of any kind; fighting is almost their only recreation. When the Gúrkha regiment now here marched to the siege of Bhartpur, the boys begged and cried so bitterly to be allowed to accompany their parents that a great number went, and their wives with one accord told the soldiers not to return to them unless victorious.'

No wonder the camp is in some difficulty for provisions. Besides their own innumerable followers, deputations arrive from Ranjít Singh and from the ex-king of Kábul. Their followers now amount to 2,500 men. On the 5th they arrive at Simla. Lady Amherst, who is of the stuff of which good travellers are made, is full of enthusiasm for the country. Although they all arrive wet to the skin, in hail and in snow, their uncomfortable state does not prevent their 'extreme admiration' of the mountain scenery; the magnificent snowy range, groves of cedar, the ilex, the chestnut, and apricot trees.

'April 10. Large flocks of sheep laden with merchandise come over these nearly inaccessible mountains; each sheep has a small bag on either side proportionable to its size and strength . . . We spend our time most monotonously,' she says, 'rising early and walking, or rather scrambling up the mountains. Alter breakfast, go out with the native botanist in search of new plants. Our morning home occupations ensue till 5 in the evening, when we sally forth again among the mountains; dine at 7, and retire to rest at 9 o'clock. This is our present life, very quiet and pleasant, but it does not furnish matter for a journal.'

We have seen that on his journey Lord Amherst had received the homage — rendered either in person