RAILWAYS 305

carried through the northern portions of the great Rajputana
 desert lying between Bikanir and the Sutlej, Not
long ago the recognised route to Delhi was by the west
coast to Baroda, and thence across Rajputana, touching
the capitals of the Rajput states of Jaipur and Alwar ; nor
could a line more strikingly illustrative of the variety of
[ndian climate and physiography have been selected.
From the moist sea border districts of the west, deep in
rice cultivation and shadowed by palms; with the diminishing
 line of the Western Ghats, green and grey with the
'uxuriance of an almost tropical vegetation, on one hand,
and the moisture-laden sea-breezes sweeping inland on the
other, the traveller is rapidly transferred to the sand plains
of Rajputana, streaked by lines of rocky hills and breaking
now and then into a green oasis where water can be
found at no unmeasurable depth from the surface. He
has passed meanwhile through some of the most lovely
scenery of Western India, the lowlands surrounding Baroda
and stretching through Eastern Gujrat, and he will have
made no mistake if he has taken advantage of the change
necessitated by the break of gauge at Ahmadabad to visit
‘hat historic town—a town which is second only to Delhi
and Agra in the beauty of its architectural reminiscences
of Hindu and Muhammadan rulers,
A narrow gauge line distinguishes the Rajputana railway
 system, but the comfort of travelling is unaffected
thereby, for the carriages are quite sufficiently roomy to
ve both convenient and cool. In Rajputana we find a
wealth of historic interest. All the best of India’s ancient
traditions centre in Rajputana, nor is there anything in the
whole world of historic narrative more stirring than the chivalrous
 romances of Rajput valour and Rajput achievements,
The voluptuous oriental loveliness of Udaipur ; the bloodstained
 history of Chitor; the prehistoric antiquity of Ujain;
the beauty of Jaipur, its unrivalled arts, and antique marbles;
and the antiquities of Ajmir, of Alwar, and Indore, are all
to be studied in this home of the solar race, and most of
them are within reach of the Rajputana railway. Indore
and Ujain are perhaps more easily reached from Bombay
Tr