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8 FROM BOMBAY TO THE WYNAAD.
unsightly
accompaniments; and these, it need not be added, go a long way to spoil
the beauty of what might be a very lovely and lovable spot.
But
in spite of these trifling drawbacks, it must be admitted that
Ootacamund is a charming place. The air is so invigorating that, in
truth, it is not unusual for visitors to feel a little inconvenienced,
at first, from its rarity. For this often produces sleeplessness at
night, which, however, soon passes away; and once acclimatized, the
sickly dwellers in the plains are not long in picking up health and
vigour. Indeed, a few days up here in the clouds will effect a cure.
The
journey from Ootacamund to the Wynaad is beyond the usual route of the
mail dak, and must be specially arranged. A horseman acquainted with
all the short cuts, can accomplish the distance in six or seven hours;
although, by the road, it would occupy considerably more time. In my
case, a carriage had been provided to take me as far as Neddiwattum,
twenty-one miles to the north-west. Starting at eight o'clock in the
morning, with three changes of horses, I reached the rough but
conÂvenient hotel about eleven.
The
country is undulating and grassy, bare of timber except in such hollow
places as afford the necessary moisture and shelter. In these spots
there are lovely groups of trees, and often a delicious undergrowth of
ferns—veritable oases in a desert of
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