does not counterbalance the dirt!
Whitsunday June 11th.
Went to the P.O. ofc at All Saints. Today being St Barnabas Day as well as Whitsunday and consequently the anniversary of my first communion. I wonder who will be making the speeches at M.T.S. tomorrow?
The Church is rather bare inside though there is quite a nice little teredos?? and cross. There were plenty of flowers too. The padre is rather a peculiar man. His position during the service was unique in my experience as during the whole of it he was round the corner of the Altar Table facing South! He was very fervent with his Eh-views??. Still we must be very thankful to get a church at all. It is entirely built and supported by voluntary means as being in a Native state. The Y gludea?? give no grant at all. The next nearest is (a new) one at Gulmorg which is 27 miles away and then there is none till Muma 160 miles away!
We went out in the Shika boat and had a look round in the afternoon getting into the Dal lake. There too I was disappointed - instead of a real lake it consists of several waterways and between them "Dal" growing. There is no expanse of water such as one associates with a lake!
After tea we had an amusing hour with a perfect flood of wallahs (etinerant?? merchants) when we received in a rarity of manners?? ranging from