It occupied us about
two hours, and was very hot and dusty, and cruelly hard work; but the
coolies did it much better than horses could have done. Once we came
to a travelling bungalow, and stopped a few minutes to tie up some of
our broken springs. After this we were very tired, and the last
thirteen miles seemed almost insupportable. At last we entered the
verdure of Mahabaleshwar at the summit, 4,780 feet above sea-level
but the inaccessibility of the place is compensated for by its interest
when you arrive there, just as Palmyra is more precious than Ba'albak.
When at last we arrived we were thoroughly tired out. We dined, and
went to bed. We had been out twenty-five hours, and had had no sleep
for forty-one hours. I did not even remember the end of my dinner, and
I have no recollection of how I got into bed for very sleepiness. We
lodged at the Mahabaleshwar Hotel, which was very cheap, clean, and
comfortable.
The next morning we were up at 5 a.m., and drove in a _tonga_, a sort
of tea-cart, with small _tattoo_ ponies, to Elphinstone Point, and to
see the temples. It was a most enjoyable excursion; but it was quite
spoiled for me by the brutal way in which the driver beat the poor
little "tats" with his thick cowhide whip. It was misery to me. I
got quite nervous; I bullied the driver, took his whip away, promised
_bakshish_ if he would not do it, and finally tried to drive myself.
Then the foolish ponies stood stock-still directly I took the reins,
and would not budge without the whip.
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