has sprung up in the centre of a road in the very middle of the station, and not a particle of vegetation, except what is produced at a very considerable expense in the gardens of a few who can afford the luxury of raising vegetables, meet the eye, although it wanders over many miles of country. This tree, you will readily believe, is looked on as a great curiosity; so much so, that it is called "Meer Khan's tree," by which name, indeed, it was known when the spot was selected for a cantonment. Water is by no means so abundant as it would be convenient to have it. Government has, at a most enor. mous expense, most liberally blown up (the expression "dug" would be misapplied here) a number of wells, and a tank; but the few wells which are not brackish are chiefly dry in the hot weather, and the tank affords but a slender supply of water for not less than 10,000 people, besides the horses of the cavalry and artillery. So great is the distress, that sen. tries are constantly posted to take care of the water in cantonments; and during the hot weather, that valuable liquid is brought from a distance of one, and even two coss, from some parts of the station, for drinking; for tatties you may get it as you can.

To account for this great scarcity, I must inform you, that about five feet from the surface is the solid rock, from sixty to seventy feet of which must be blown up before water is discoverable, and even then the chances are very much against its being drinkable. The expense, consequently, is great- -on an average about a thousand rupees-so that but few bungalows are supplied with them.

From the want of jungal and timber, fuel is of course very expensive; what little there is, is brought from the adjacent hills, where a kind of brush-wood very scantily grows; but timber for building, or any other purposes, is transported from Agra and Muttra, upwards of 200 miles distant.

I shall not dwell much longer on the beauties and comforts of Nusseerabad; suffice it, therefore, to say, that as a cantonment it is extremely well and regularly laid out the public buildings are all pucka, and on the most extensive scale; we may therefore conjecture that the post will be permanent. The few bungalows there are, are extremely superior for such a

place, but of course very dear; nevertheless, I fear those who built them must have suffered considerably, as half their original costs are not procurable. The best bungalow in the station cost 24,000 rupees, and none at all habitable have been built under 5,000 rupees; at present such are to be had, according to circumstances, from 1,600 to 2,500. A racket court, and large station bungalow, including a theatre, reading rooms, &c. &c. had been commenced on by subscription, and I suppose are by this time finished; indeed there appeared a general determination to drown melancholy and the blue devils by gaiety and pleasure. May they be successful in their endeavours, they have my best wishes. The Sudder Bazar is very fortunately well supplied, though of course at dear rates; and even a solitary merchant or two from Bombay resort to it with cloth and European luxuries. Immediately in front of the cantonment is the once royal city of Ajmere, situated at the foot of a range of hills, on the top of which at its N. E. extremity is the Fort of Tarraghur, given up to us, I believe, in 1818. On a very clear day, the Fort is distinguishable from the flag-staff top over the foremost ranges of hills; in a straight line it is not more than four or five miles distant, but by the road, which runs through a pass in the hills, it is upwards of fourteen. The political agent has converted into a very comfortable residence an old native building just without the city, which is surrounded by a wall and ditch, capable, however, of affording little protection against an experienced or powerful enemy. The city of Ajmere may be ranked high among the first class of native towns; most of the houses are pucka; the streets are wider than usual, and some of the buildings afford convincing proof of its former opulence. During the troubles consequent on the appearance of the Pindaries in that neighbourhood, and the petty wars and devastations which prevailed, Ajmere suffered considerably; but under the mild and beneficent rule of our Government, and the constant attention and exertions of the political agent, it is recovering its pristine celebrity. The fort of Tarragurh, which commands it, is naturally so strong as to be impregnable to open force; only on one spot is it possible to climb the rugged rocks by which it

is protected; and there a path, the only one leading to it, and the only possible mode of entrance, is said to be nearly three coss in length. The small space of level country in front of the city forms an amphitheatre, surrounded by low ranges of hills; the soil is every where sandy, and quite incapable of cultivation. The Dowlut Bagh, in which the royal palace once stood, though small, is very pretty, and is situated on the banks of a pretty clear lake, not less than six miles in circumference. Some remains of old buildings belonging to the palace which overhang the lake, have been converted into quarters for the officer on duty, commissariat officer, assistant political agent, &c. &c. The lake is well stocked with fish, I should imagine; nevertheless that very agreeable addition to a good breakfast is but very seldom to be met with either in cantonments or at Ajmere. Alligators, thanks to the prejudices of the natives, who take care to keep a good supply, abound, and they may perhaps make free with the rooee mutchees. On the opposite side of the lake a lofty range of hills, without a break in them, with the exception of a scarcely passable pass leading to Pohur, a celebrated place of religious resort, famed too for a large cattle fair in November, effectually shuts out the view, and by no means, you will guess from what I have generally remarked of the hills in Rajpootana, adds to the beauty of the scene. I am proceeding in my description at a very slow rate towards Jypore, and as I have trifled away so much paper without coming to the point, I think it adviseable to fill up my sheet with further descriptions of the country on the road to that place, forbearing to speak particularly of it till my next letter. After passing the first day's halting-place, my route lay in a N.E. direction, parallel to a range of hills, which I kept at no great distance on my left for several days, and which, I have little doubt, is the very same of which I shall hereafter speak in my mention of Jypore. The third halting place, about two or three and thirty miles from Nusseerabad, is the commencement of the Jypore territory, the intermediate one being in the country of the Raja of Kishengurh, the capital of which, of the same name, lies about seven miles north of Deedwana, at the foot of the hills, on

the summit of which the fort is easily distinguishable at some distance. The Raja of Kishengurh is an independent prince, but of no great power or influence. He resides in a fort close to his capital, on the banks of a pretty lake, in which be obligingly permits gentlemen from Nusseerabad to fish. The extreme beauty of the spot and superior salubrity of the air, induce parties of pleasure and invalids to avail themselves of the permission, it being situated at so convenient a distance. But I am spinning out my letter to too great a length, therefore adieu for the pre

sent.

LETTER II.

In continuation of my letter of the 12th instant, descriptive of Jypore and the adjacent country, I must claim your attention for one moment to a few remarks on the general state of the country, and on the personal appearance and character of the Rajpoots in the province of Jypore, which I trust you will not consider foreign to the subject. The country has suffered so much from having been for a number of years, previous to the overthrow and extermination of the Pindarries, overrun and laid waste by those formidable ban→ ditti, together with the internal dissensions and hostilities which prevailed, and thereby hastened its ruin, as by no means to have recovered its former state of population; in fact, the inhabitants having been compelled for their personal safety to quit their villages and fly their country, have not yet returned. A great proportion of the few villages scattered over the country are entirely uninhabited and fallen into ruins, and those which are still in preservation have so scanty a population as to be quite inadequate to the cultivation of the country, not a hundredth part of which bears the least appearance of ever having been touched by the plough. The appearance of the plains, then, with which Jypore abounds, is desolate in the extreme; hour after hour, day after day, and, I had nearly added, week after week, does the same monotonous unvarying scene of desolation meet the eye of the traveller; except in the immediate vicinity of villages, where only just sufficient corn is grown for their own consumption; not a particle of vegetation iɛ to be found; the plains are covered with

dry grass, and with here and there a small stunted bush, or dwarf tree, affording neither fruit nor shade.

The villages and towns are confined to the high roads, and even there very unsociably situated, at ten, twelve, and even twenty miles apart; in the interior desolation and barrenness are predominant, and the country is, in the literal sense of the word, a desart. The few places I have seen deserving of the name of a town are surrounded by rather formidable mud walls and ditches, with generally an interior fort or citadel of pucka work, and some have even to boast of one or two ruined pucka-houses; the residences of the Kiledar, and other great personages, with a few neem trees flourishing about them. To such places the present small population of the country betake themselves; thither they flock for self-preservation: a sure proof of the little dependence they have on protection from plunder and rapine under native government. The villages, many of which are miserable in the extreme, composed frequently of not more than a dozen huts of the most infe rior description, are also for the most part fortified with the remains of a mound or wall, and protected by a mud fort either in the interior or immediate vicinity. Such precautions, in such a country, however apparently trivial and insignificant, were by no means useless; roving bands of horsemen traversed the country in search of plunder, and even the weakest wall and ditch were sufficient to stop the progress of such troops, and save the lives and some part of the property of those who fled to their protection. The Rajpoots are in person tall and robust, and are generally esteemed brave; their occupations are those of the soldier and agriculturist, the former of which, however, they seem to prefer. The troops which they bring into the field are chiefly horse; indeed, they appear to entertain rather a slight opinion of a foot soldier. They are extremely fond of horses, which they take a pleasure in breeding, and their mode of training and manoeuvring them when mounted is super-excellent their feats are only to be equalled at Astley's; and were they disciplined, they would be inferior to no cavalry in the world. In dependent of these reasons for the disproportioned excess of horse, the nature of Asiatic Journ.-No. 99.

the country seems peculiarly adapted for that description of troops. The immense plains enable cavalry to act with peculiar efficacy, and render it irresistible, when opposed only to the unconnected and undisciplined infantry of a native army. The Rajpoots are of a high cast, and evince a reluctance to intermix with the natives of other parts of India, whom they look down on with contempt. They are extremely fond of a red turban, which appears to be a national distinction equally gratifying to them all, old men and boys, and even their women, inclining to this colour. The people are by no means remarkable for hospitality; but, I believe, if not offended, they will not generally interfere with, or insult a European; the natives of other parts, however, do not think it safe to travel alone through Rajpootana; and where some of those have done so, they have almost invariably been murdered. But to return to the subject of my letter, from which I have too widely wandered: I have not, however, from the shortness of my remarks, said one-half of what I could have wished to have written, either on the state of the country or character of its inhabitants; ' you must, therefore, attribute the imperfection of the description to my being at a loss for room, rather than to any other cause. On approaching the city of Jypore, the country becomes unusually sandy, and assumes, if possible, a more desolate appearance than ever; it is covered with high grass, or rather reeds, and without any appearance of vegetation till within half a mile of the walls, when a most luxuriant cultivation bursts upon the view, which, with the splendid appearance of some of the fine buildings which overtop the walls, presents a highly gratifying contrast to the general barrenness of the country. The much esteemed and hospitable Resident has fitted up a native house in a garden, about a coss in front of the city. To the exertions of this excellent gentleman are travellers in that part of the country indebted for every comfort they derive; by his representations regulations have been made, and orders have been issued which prevent in most cases the possibility of just complaint. The police, as far as it regards Europeans, deserves the highest credit, and I am happy in bearing testimony to VOL. XVII. 2 H

the civility and attention to our comforts which his exertions have procured us, and which I experienced in the most gratifying degree. Shortly after my arrival, I proceeded with a party to visit the city and palace, the Resident having kindly secured for us permission to inspect the latter. It will almost be unnecessary to observe that the city of Jypore, which was built about seventy years ago by an Italian, during the reign of Jy Sing, from whom I conclude the city was named, is the capital of the province of the same name, and one of the three principal Rajpoot states, the two others being Oudepore and Joudpore. It is an extensive city, situated E. N.E. of the cantonment of Nusseerabad, at a distance of 82 miles, in a valley of a crescent shape formed by the surrounding hills, which are strongly fortified both by nature and art, and afford an ample protection to three sides, the fourth having no defence but the city wall, which is of stone, with a pucka facing, without either ditch or rampart. This city presents a remarkable contrast to the generality of native towns, and is generally esteemed the most beautiful in India. Its streets are most conveniently broad, and run parallel, and at right angles, with the greatest regularity and correctness; unfortunately, however, the Buneeas have been allowed to erect booths in the centre and on the sides of some, which greatly disfigure them. On entering the town, the first street bears evident traces of former grandeur, and it is still (although sadly neglected, and in some places, from the sloth and selfish prejudices of the natives, going fast to decay) very pretty. It is not less than 100 feet in breadth; and in cleanliness, notwithstanding its dilapidation, might vie with the best in any secondrate town in England. At the top of it four streets meet, and one of them, the grand chouk, is the principal street in the city; its breadth is from forty to fifty yards, and beneath the centre of it is an aqueduct, which affords, by means of wells placed at every ten or twelve paces, a plenti. ful supply of water when it is not blocked up, which unfortunately is the case at present. In the centre of this street is the principal entrance to the palace of the royal family, of which I shall speak hereafter; and another leading from it, in which the Huwa Muhul is situated, is remarka

ble for its being paved, of which I believe there is not another instance in India. The whole of the buildings in Jypore, whether public or private, whether of the poor or rich, are pucka, and the architecture, although Asiatic, is extremely handsome and elegant; indeed, I am disposed to think that, in point of neatness and beauty, the grand chouk would scarcely be surpassed by more than half a dozen streets in England. The uniformity and regularity which have been observed in planning and building so large a place, are truly remarkable; the whole city must, I should conclude, have been built by the Government, or I cannot account how such uniformity could have been preserved, had individuals been allowed to build for themselves. On visiting the palace, we were requested to leave our elephants, horses, &c. &c. as well as our chattas, at the outer gate, as they could not be admitted within it; our servants were also denied admission, it being contrary to the etiquette of the court to allow menials to enter. We, however, had every attention paid us by the officers of the palace, who were deputed to attend on, and point out to us the curiosities of the place. So great was the variety of splendid and elegant apartments into which we were ushered, that I am at a loss where to commence in my description; my paper will not admit of my mentioning a twentieth part of them: I must, therefore, content myself with noticing such as more particularly attracted my attention at the time. The Dewan Khas (hall of audience) was, I believe, the first place we were shewn, and I must confess that I felt much disappointment in it. I had been led to expect, in the hall of audience, one of the most magnificent and adorned apartments in the palace; to my great astonishment, however, it was a large, stately, massive building, open on all sides, and supported by marble pillars, but without any of the rich ornaments I had been induced to expect; on the contrary, it was remarkable for its simplicity, and in this respect totally different from the interior of the palace.

From the hall of audience we were led to a spot, for the purpose, as the Darogah (chamberlain) confidentially informed us, of being viewed by the Ranee (the mo ther of the present Rajah, who is an infant of three years, and consequently still

confined to the women's apartments); we tried hard to get a peep at her Highness: but although we were shewn the window from which she was surveying us, we could not get a single glimpse. The Ranee's state apartments are extremely beautiful, immediately above the palace gardens, which are laid out in the most tasty and elegant manner. The rooms were spacious, and decorated with pictures and mosaic work of a superior kind; the ceilings were most exquisitely adorned, and the floors were covered with the finest white cloth stuffed with cotton. windows are strongly fastened, and so well covered with gauze, &c. &c. as utterly to prevent the possibility of her being discovered from the gardens, although she can with the greatest ease observe every thing that is going on below. Across the verandah leading to this suite was a scarlet cloth purda, in which were brass plates, with small holes drilled in them, through which the Ranee addressed her ministers or others with whom she was obliged to converse.

LETTER III.

The

The apartments of the palace throughout are extremely superb, and far exceeded my most sanguine expectations. One suite, however, more particularly attracted my admiration; in it the most beautiful parts of the mosaic work in the Taj have been successfully imitated, and the ceilings are decorated with the greatest splendour and taste, and at an expense which must have been enormous, from the profusion of precious stones which have been laid out on them. Attached to several of the apartments are beautiful marble baths, overshadowed by orange and other odoriferous shrubs, which spread the most enchanting perfumes throughout the place; in fact, no luxury, no elegance, of which we read accounts in eastern tales and the Arabian Night's Entertainments, seem wanting there to charm the senses and inflame the passions. The gardens, which are laid out in the European manner, are surrounded by lofty walls, and terminated by a large artificial lake, in which are a multitude of turtles, so tame as to assemble to be fed on a certain signal, which they well understand. The gardens are of considerable extent, and are watered by fountains in every part; there is a great variety of

very pretty trees and shrubs, and amongst them the cypress and others, evidently exotic. Within the exterior wall of the palace is an observatory, built at the same time with the city; we unfortunately, from the lateness of the hour, did not see it, but I learnt that it was handsome and well built. It is lamentable to reflect on the impolicy and cruelty of the custom which prevents the liberation of the unfortunate women immured in the zenanu of au eastern Prince after his decease. All the females on the establishment of the late Raja of Jypore are still confined in the palace, never to be released, except by death. How praiseworthy would it be to break through such a dreadfully tyrannical custom and how much is it to be regretted that some generous, noble-minded man of rank does not set the example, and shew himself superior to so unnatural a

custom.

The present Raja will not be released from the female apartments until he is five years old, when he is to be crowned; and at the same time fetch home his wife, for he is already espoused.

As yet no man has seen the future sovereign, except the prime minister, who was permitted, as the greatest favour, in consideration of his high rank, and relationship to the Ranee, to see him; such an honour being altogether contrary to etiquette.

During the minority of the Raja his mother is Regent, and with the assistance of a ministry, composed of the principal Thakoors, exercises despotic sway. The extent of the palace is immense, and the quantity of marble which must have been expended in building it would be scarcely credible, were it not known that that stone abounds in the hills in the vicinity of Jypore, from whence the greater part, if not all, of what was used in erecting the Taj was procured.

All the temples and monuments commemorative of suttees are of marble; and many of the houses, if not entirely composed, have some parts formed of it. There is but one objection which I could discover in this truly elegant palace, and it is one which must immediately strike an European the want of more capacious corridors and passages; it is remarkable that the passages leading to the principal and most splendid parts of the palace are