II.--SIMLA SOUNDS.

I have heard the breezes rustle
O'er a precipice of pines,
And the half of a Mofussil
Shiver at a jackal's whines.

I have heard the monkeys strafing
Ere the dawn begins to glow,
And the long-tailed langur laughing
As he lopes across the snow.

I have heard the rickshaw varlets
Clear the road with raucous cries,
Coolies clad in greens or scarlets,
As a mistress may devise.

Well I know the tittle-tattle
Of the caustic muleteer,
And the Simla seismic rattle
Is familiar to my ear.

Though to-day my feet are climbing
Bleaker heights and harder roads,
Still the Christ-church bells are chiming,
Still the mid-day gun explodes.

But the sound which echoes loudest
Is the sound I never knew