After noon I went and selected a lot of
papier mache articles, and gave monograms to be painted upon them. Their
papier mache is fairly made, elaborately painted and moderate in price.
At this shop they prepared some ladak tea for me, a most delicious
beverage possessing a delicate flavour such as I have never before
tasted in any tea. It was sweetened with a sort of sweet-meat in lieu of
plain sugar.
AUGUST 28th.--A blank day, I have done nothing but fish and only caught
one of moderate size. Early in the morning there was a storm attended
with high wind and heavy rain; it cleared up before sun-rise, but its
effect has been to make the day very pleasantly cool.
AUGUST 29th.--Went up to the Tukh-t-i-Suliman (Solomon's Throne) before
breakfast. It stands one thousand one hundred feet above the town, and
the ascent is effected by means of unhewn stones arranged in the form
of a rough flight of steps built by the Gins, I should fancy for their
own private use and without any consideration for the puny race of
mankind that was destined to follow them. I am a tall man and gifted
with a considerable length of _understanding_ but the strides I was
obliged to take--sometimes almost bounds--if calculated to improve my
muscles, were certainly very trying to my wind. However all things have
an end, and so had that long flight of steps, and at the summit I had
leisure to recover my breath and enjoy the magnificent view.
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