afootthroughkash00douguoft

XIV
INTEODUCTION
period, people who can rejoice at the sound of the
dinner bell, pace the deck with determined mien when
the ship is at an angle of 45 deg., and eat "nougat"
in a Mediterranean swell.
All credit to them, for they
are a credit to Britannia, who ought to rule the waves
a httle more efficiently than she does very often. Apart
from the unhappiness caused by this part of my travels,
the ticket by P. & 0. is an item likely to prove an
insurmountable obstacle to many; but there are other
lines where, if time is no object, passages may be had
at extremely low rates, and where the small number
of passengers adds considerably to the comfort and
freedom of those who elect to go that way.
From Bombay travelling is very easy and pleasant;
a through carriage can be had, and the three-day
journey to E-awal Pindi accomplished without change,
the train stopping at convenient times for food, and the
charges both for rail and meals being very moderate.
The Indian railway carriage at first
strikes terror into
the heart of the new-comer, it is so peculiarly bare and
uncompromising, the leather-covered benches,
running
the opposite way to ours at home, appearing but poor
substitutes for the luxurious snowy sleeping berths
But this is a tropical country,
provided on home lines.
though in Bombay in the early spring one did not
realise the fact, and air and cleanliness are the
essentials, and all else is sacrificed to these, so as the
sun lights up the khaki-coloured landscape, and its
ever-brilliant rays toast one gently through, one is
thankful for the ventilation afforded by the many