CASHMERE.

Thames Star, Volume VII, Issue 1919, 26 February 1875, Page 2

CASHMERE.

A correspondent Jof the Pioneer, who, has been making short excursions into the smaller valleys of; Cashmere, writes on the 28tliofJulyi—"I think for grandeur; of > scenery and exquisite climate at this time of the year the Scinde Valley, leading up to the new ; sanitarium, Sonamburg, bears off thepalih. The Lolab Valley is wonderfully pretty $>. its.woodland wrests and park-like view, with glades of gre#a tirf 1 intei sected- by isilvery rills; of wateWiged > by noble trees, is very lovely—cool and refreshing to the eye in every sense; -but during the middle months of the season its climate-is warmer tliah is pleasant, and insects of all sorts, especially midges* mosquitoes; ahd^flies^ are;;very plentiful. The Scinde Valley is on a grander seal*. Soon after entering'it one is struck'with the lofty, mountains clothed at their hue with magnificent forests or jungle of fruit trees,, and, surmounted with snow,; the rushing'torrent of the Scinde Eiver'and its feeders of icy cold water rushing down every small gully and nully~the road leading through,.woods and jungle -full of fcuit_trees, shrubs, and flowers .-7the soft ; yelvety turf on which the tent is pitched under the shade of a stately walnut tree, with overhanging ,cr«igs, rocks of wonderful boldness—make up a picture of natural ljeauty which is almost unrivalled. Th,e other day I met aupprtingr friend just : «ut from England, who gave me his impressions of tlus his iirst visit to the Happy Valley. He said that although he had read and. studied many books on, and' histories of, Cashmere, knew ' Lalla Bookh' by heart, that he had formed no conception of the exquisite beauty of the country, and that if any one had told him he would be shotting in . a jungle full of apricot, mulberry, apple, and pear trees—tne.air scented with, .the perfume of roses, jessamine, blue bells, , and hundreds *of wild flowers, carpets of \ maidenhair and other fern under his feet l he would have, respectfully doubted their veracity, and yet,; said he, warming with the. subjept, ;• My dear fellow, the wild flowers, and. shrubs would drive* lover of botany wild with delight; I have . come - across dog-roses. of i every shade »nd

hue, from deep maroon to pale yellow, honeysuckle, lillies, cowslips, stocks, bluebells, and endless varieties of ferns, and up on mountain passes, where the had cleared, pale delicate, mauvecolored, flowers of whose names I am ignorant, and all these not in scarcity, but in the wildest profusion, that I felt it a sorb of sacrilege to see my shikaree ruthlessly tramping them down as he stalked through the jungle.' I could thoroughly appreciate my friend's enthusiasm, for I have experienced somewhat similar feelings in my rambles, though they have invariably been tinned with sadness at the thought that this .lovely country, the fairest work on earth, was lost to us through a mistaken, piece of ■horfc-sighted policyl The resources of Cashmere that are still undeveloped are •normous. Tea would, I believe, thrive well on the slopes of the low mountains and hills. Cider and perry could be made in any quantity from the apple and pears, and, properly manufactured, might, I believe, compete with the best Devonshire. The grapes now grown are fine, luscious, and fruity, and with cultivation could be vastly improved; and wine or brandy might be distilled, from the juice in these days of progress, when, «yen a railway to Yarkund through Cashmere is now under contemplation. In addition to the silk cultivation, which the Maharajah is "wisely enlarging considerably, the manufacture of woollen cloths and fabrics of different kinds is capable of very large increase both for local consumption and for export; in fact, European enterprise is alone required to very largely increase and develope trade and manufactures in this far-off, beautiful, but neglected corner of the earth."

Wanting to see Mabia jANE.-~The Detroit Free Press says :^ A few weeks ago a mild-tempered man named Clane rented a house in Detroit. , he was moving in a young man halted and asked if Maria was in, and receiving a negative reply, he said he was her cousin and passed on. About ten o'clock that night some one kicked on the door, and swore that if Maria Jane didn't open it; he'd break itin. Mr Clane got up and explained that he had just moved in, and the fellow said he was Maria Jane's brother, and went away. Next day fore? noon an elderly, man called and wanted to see Miss Groat. He was told that a new family had moved in, and he said it was all right, his niece would probably drop him a postal card in a day or two. That night a young man with a very red nose opened the door without knocking, j and wanted to know where in! goshen Maria was., Mr Clane explained, and young ' man said, it was « singular that his sister-in-law would move away and say nothing to him about it! At midnight another man called, and went away mad saying that his aunt was always noted for her oddities. The£ kfcpt coming, and Mr Oiane kept explaining; and finally he got mad. He said he'd kick the next man off the doorstep, and lie soon had a chance. An agent for a button-hole cutter knocked at the door "Tuesday evening. Mr Clane answered the rap in person, and when he saw the ; Agent standing there with, a smile on his face he shouted, "Want to see Maria Jane, eh ? I said I'd knock the head off'n the next man who called here, and here . goes/'. And he knocked that button-hole outter man as flat as a lath, and then he stepped on him, and pulled his hair and hammered his nose until a crowd pulled him off. The agent .was at the police «ourt to secure a warrant, and Mr Clane was at the central station, to see if he borrow a blunderbuss to attach to his door., • Wet Boots.—What an amount of discomfort wet boots entail,, and how well we all recall the painful effort's we have jmade to draw on a pair of hard-baked ones which were pmt by the fire overnight to dry. Once on, they are a sort of modern stocks, destructive of all comfort, And entirely demoralising to the temper. The following plan will do away with the discomfort:—When the boots are taken off, fill them full with dry oats. The grain has a great fondness for damp, and will rapidly absorb the least vestage of it from wet leather. As it takes up the moisture it swells and fills the bootrmth 1 aTtigntly fitting last, keeping its form good, and drying the leather without hardening it; In the morning, shake out the oats and hang them in a bag near thy fire to dry, ready for the next wet night, draw on the boots and go happily about the day's work. . ' A Lady occupying room letter B at an hotel, wrote on the slate, as follows:— " Wake letter Bat seven; and if letter B says * Let her be,' don't let her be, nor ?■ lotto:? B be, because if you let better iB/be^ letter B will be unable to let her house to Mr 8., who is to call at half-past ten.? The porter, who was' a better bootblack than orthographist, after studying the above all night^id nofc know whether to wake letter B or to * letter her be/" Music and Lots, —A young lady entered a Troy music^stofe recently, and. approaching the clerk, said, "Still I Love Thee' He replied, "We haven't it.!' "I Cannot Love Another," said she, and receiving a similar answer, '. left the itore. Life Among the Lowly.—A ragged, forlorn-looking urchin entered a shop in Liverpool, and, addressing the proprietor, piteously begged " A penny to get my - mother a loat of bread, please, sir/ A jovial neighbour, with a sly twinkle in his -eye, thinking to have a joke with the boy, produced a penny, and said, "My son, thia'penny I.worked for. What will- you do for it?" Quick as thought the boy " went down into his clothes," and producing a penny, exclaimed " I'll toss you for it, sir."—London paper. l Light EMPLOYMENT.r-Laboring under . *wißt*ke>

A Social Time.—A jury in Truckee, California, had been out four hours, when the judge sent the sheriff to learn whether they were going to agree. The sheriff put an eye an then and ear to Ihe key-hole oftheroomin which they were located for deliberation. Then he brought the judge, and together they,, opened the door. On the table, in the centre of the room, stood a big bottle of whiskey, and around it the drunken 12 were hilarious, marching in single file. The toreman carried on his back a bass drum, upon which the man behind was pounding him. Next came a juror playing a snare drum, then a shrill whistle, imitating a fife, and the rest were singing. "We couldn't agree on a verdict, nohow," said the tipsy foreman, in reply to the judge's reproof; "and we didn't think'twas any hurt for to have a social time a'long's we was a congen'l party." Suspicious Neighbouhhood.—A lory man adveritses "the largest assortment of boys' pistols in ;thc market." Inasmuch as the merchant has an undertaker's shop on one side of him, and a surgeon's office; on the other, suspicion lias been ardused.

Mark Twain says he has just received a letter from one of •' our fellow savages in the Sandwich Islands." It appears to be a most interesting epistle. One passage runs: •' legislator, was very much put but on account of the recent riot. He was put but; of a twostory window." : : Wait * Till You^ AttE Asked.—One Sabbath some years ago a somewhat curious circumstauco took place in Meigle parish church. The precentor, after proclaiming the. banns of matrimony between a young couple/cbncluded by saying;" If there be any objections they can now be stated." A.lashipnable jwuth, an, old admirer of the intended bride, noticing the eyes of a portion of the congregation fixed upon him, rose up and exclaimed, ,'-* I have no •ejections formy own part! " to the astonishment of all about liim, and resumed his seat as if he had done amdre formal piece of business. Magketic.—tA boy has 'swallowed hal a dozen steel buttons, and the mother doesn't have to scream for ,him when -he is out in the street playing with thosfc Cluckerson boys. She just brings a magnettp^thedopr, andhejflies(to it-like a needle, to the pole.—American paper.- ' •;■ 5 Gardener's wife: •♦.That;is the a'mond treej myvlady. It always flowers:before it leaves ; it leaves directly after it flowers; and after it leaves—it itays the summer through, just as you see it." jj An Indianian boasts of having lived ten years with one wife without--"'a -harsh word or a flat iron passing between them........ .„, -„. „. „ .',, „ . riii „. . 'An e^in^house fk'e'epet jaxlveriises^ for "a boy to open oysters,' about fifteen years old." TVhat is the use of saying,. "Hit one of ytoiir own sighs.'*' It is bajd enough to heave one, but you can'thitit^ ' -- ; Waitee's Epitaph.—He couldn't wait any longer, so he went.. The Height of Impertinence.—Asking a Jew what his Christian name is. The texts which dishonest people like the most are pretexts.