Outside the city walls,
the country was ruined and dilapidated in the extreme; demolished
houses and wasted gardens telling their tale of the loss of Delhi,
and our struggle for its recapture.
MAY 26. -- During the night, we got over seventy-three miles, and
reached "Kurnaul" at seven A.M. The bungalow we found unusually
comfortable, being a remnant of the old regime, and one of the few
which escaped from the hands of the rebels during the mutiny.
The country here begins to improve in appearance -- more trees and
cultivation on all sides; and the natives appear finer specimens
than their more southern relations. The irrigation, too, seems to be
carried on with more systematic appliances than further south -- the
water being raised by the Persian wheel, and bullock-power introduced
in aid of manual labour.
MAY 27. -- Arrived at Umballa at three A.M., and found the staging
bungalow full. The only available accommodation being a spare
charpoy in the verandah, F. took a lease of it, while I revelled in
the unaccustomed roominess of the entire carriage, and slept till
six, when we got into our lodgings.
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