Among the Celestials : vol.1 / Page 299 (Color Image)

0299	Among the Celestials : vol.1

CHAP. ix.] A RUDE SHOCK. 251

sheepskin coat and long Yarkand boots, with

a round Tam-o'-shanter cap as the only Euro-

pean article of dress about me, with a rough

beard, and my face burnt by exposure in the

desert and cut and reddened by the cold on

the glaciers, I was addressed by the people of

the place as a Yarkandi. My first care, there-

fore, was to go off to one of the native shops

which provide all necessaries for Europeans,

and purchase a clean shirt and a knickerbocker

suit, such as officers wear out shooting in

Kashmir, and to have my hair cut, my beard

shaved off, and get a good wash. When I had

expended nearly two hours upon these pre-

parations for my plunge into civilisation, I went

to see Captain Ramsay, the political agent on

duty at Srinagar at the time. It was very trying,

therefore, when Captain Ramsay, almost im-

mediately after shaking hands, said, " Wouldn't

you like to have a wash ? " This was the first

of the many shocks I had on returning to

civilisation.

But there were some pleasant surprises too,

and I remember the satisfaction I felt at receiv-

ing a telegram at Srinagar, conveying to me

the congratulations of Lord Roberts, the then

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