too late; and when returning, he bore the fate of the fair Beebee to the chieftain's ear, Salabat Khan called for his cup-bearer, and mingling with his sherbet the deadliest poison of the land, died, gazing on the grave of her he loved. His followers built over his remains a splendid tomb; and the people, so long as the tale dwelt in their remembrance, scattered flowers and perfumes around it. Such is the history of Salabat Khan's tomb, which is a favourite place for picnics, and a residence during the hot weather it is about four miles from Camp, and on a considerable elevation. Fifty persons have dined together in the lower apartment of the tomb, which gives a very fair idea of its size, when it is remembered that the four compartments have an equality of extent, a regal space for the "eternal habitation" of a camp-trained soldier. It is fortunate for us modern travellers and sojourners in the East, however, that the Mohamedan conquerors of India and their descendants had this taste for handsome mausolea, as it supplies many of us with houses in a style of architecture not to be met with at present, as well as substantial shelter, at the expense of driving out the bats, and fitting in a few doors and windows. The few feet of earth with the conical masonry, occupied by the original tenant, neither seems to be considered as an objection nor an inconvenience: it forms a seat or a stumbling-block, as the case may be, but the last only literally, and is never considered as a subject for veneration or troublesome respect. Then, again, the situations these true believers chose for their mausolea are so attractive, the trees that shade them are so bright and waving, the mounds where they are raised so dry and clean, and the gardens about them so cool and fresh-looking, that the living may well envy the dead their possession. It must be remembered that these Moslems were characteristically very capable of appreciating the luxurious and agreeable. No people ever knew so well how to live in India as they did in their days of glory, proofs of which we have in their underground apartments for the hot season, their water palaces, thick walled underrooms, and descriptions of well-cooled sher bets; and, as it was their custom to pray, meditate, and spend hours in the tombs of their departed friends, it is but probable that these handsome mausolea had some reference to the comforts and convenience of the living, as well as to the secure resting of the dead. The four stories of Salabat Khan's tomb must have formed a cool and pleasant look-out post for those who were once his followers. The well, in which reposed the body of the hapless queen, is closed, and still regarded with superstitious reverence by the Moslem population. Our first picnic from Nuggur was made to the Happy Valley, a favourite spot for sportsmen, newly-married couples, and Parsee amateur travellers. It is eight miles from Camp, and its situation is as remarkable as its scenery is attractive. After riding over a wide plain, here and there studded with villages, sheltered by thick clumps of rich mangoe-trees, a rock appeared more desert than the rest, flanked by arid hills. On approaching it, however, the tops of palms, coco-nut trees, and all the chief varieties of Indian foliage, attracted our atten tion just peeping above its edge; and, dismounting from our horses, we found a flight of granite steps cut in the rock, and leading down into this fairy-like glen of natural beauty. The Hindus have a deserted temple there, but the spot was evidently selected as a Moslem pleasure-ground, a fact which now affords travellers the advantage of a good bungalow built in true Mohamedan taste, which means with a flat roof, on which to smoke, sleep, and pray, in accordance with the uses made of such places by their original designers; small square slatecoloured rooms, with arched roofs for the occupation of bats, and little recesses for the reception of oil-lights; with doors that do not close, or if closed, do not open; tri-sided underground apartments, looking into the valley, and arches instead of windows. This last peculiarity is here, however, an advantage, for the view commanded is most lovely. The valley, indeed, is the mere gorge of an isolated hill, but the foliage is dense and beautiful-originally well cultivated, but now having the appearance of the wildest nature; huge masses of rock are piled amongst it, and a fair stream, every here and there taking the form of waterfalls, or a rapid torrent, as the nature of the ground may cause, makes its way onward to the lower plain. The fine banian, with its columned shade, is here seen in peculiar grandeur, its daughter stems stretching widely, and descending deeply into the ravine, the parent branches forming noble studies of forest foliage, so noble, indeed, that Hindu travellers have even been attracted by the beauty of one, that owns some dozen pillars all around it, among which have sprung the aloe, and various lesser shrubs, giving to each stem the semblance of its being an independent tree. Every stone round which the rivulet rushes is smeared with red pigment, and no traveller passes along the little footpath on his way to the distant village, but raises his hand in reverence to this natural temple of the grove. Trees, and shade, and water, are sure attractions to the natives of the East, and it amused me much to note the varied travellers who, hour by hour, arrived at the Happy Valley. Many were pilgrims, with scrip and staff, who ate, bathed, begged, and smoked, and then, without paying the slightest homage to the temple, or to the huge stone Nandi that formed its chief ornament, although supposed to be on religious service all intent, went their way, laughing and chatting through the valley. Others were peasants, laden with grass, sturdy little Mahrattas, inured to labour, who wended on their way, singing their cheerful national songs, or mirthfully chatting in their strange "Hickary, Tickary" sort of language, careless of the toil. One poor woman, in descending the steps, fell with her burden of grass when about half-way down. For the moment she remained still, as sorely hurt, which no doubt she was, but quickly rising again, bathed her arms and feet in the fountain, and resettled the loosened bundle of grass. Duty so far ended, she unslung a bundle from her shoulder that looked as if containing grain, round and soft, but to our astonishment straightway was unrolled an infant of some three months old, who, without cry or murmur, allowed itself to be seated on the ground, and with a happy smile fell to playing with the surrounding grass. In a few minutes more the mother unfolded a long cotton scarf, when, placing one end firmly between her knees, and calling a boy who stood near to hold the other, she by one arm lifted the infant Griselda into it, and after folding the scarf together in the centre, tied the ends firmly, and swung it over her shoulder, as a pedestrian usually does a change of raiment; then, with the little bundle at her back, and the heavy load upon her head, the slight, active, and muchenduring Mahratta mother cheerfully wended on to complete the last four miles of her journey. It was a strange proof of how easily people may conform to circumstances. One has seen the Italian child swaddled like a mummy, and suspended on a hook behind the paternal door, while the mother was in the vineyard; the Sindhian child, swinging in a cradle of cords to the branch of a tree; and the Ojibbeway, suspended to the parent's back, enjoying the gentle satisfaction of infant pastime, while the mother, poor drudge! turns up the sod to prepare it for the seed that shall be their stay when hunting fails; yet never, I think, have I seen any thing so thoroughly conforming itself to circumstances as the calmness of this Mahratta woman and the goodhumoured quietude of her little one. What a contrast it afforded to the wayward petulance of the English spoilt child of fortune,-fractious from indulgence, surrounded by attendants, and alarming a whole house if it but strikes its hand against a table! There is, perhaps, little difference in the nature of the children, but all in the power of education. A very characteristic individual attracted our attention the day after we arrived at the Happy Valley, a wandering jogee, lately come from the reverenced city of Nassick, and on his way via Poonah to Sassoor. He was a hollow-eyed, thin-faced, miserable-looking wretch, whose shaggy uncombed locks hung about his head, more like a tangled lion's mane than any thing else, and his chief covering consisted of dust and ashes, with a little red paint here and there. His travelling baggage simply included a gourd, a string of beads, and a staff, and yet he came and sat down under the shade of a huge banian-tree, by the side of a carved effigy of Huniman, that was scarcely more hideous than himself, with the air of a man who had seen the world, and the dignity of one who would have considered the best inn's best room as far too poor for him. Here then sat the wanderer, doubtless hungry, thirsty, and weary, yet too proud to acknowledge his participation in the feelings of common men, waiting until fit homage should attend his coming; soon, fortunately for his necessities, a Banian (merchant), a well-dressed, and evidently respectable man, descended the temple steps, on which our shaggyheaded friend called him with an air of authority that was instantly acknowledged by the other, who forthwith fetched fire, water, and food for his religious superior, and then, seating himself a little apart, awaited any further orders. There is little doubt that much of this overbearing conduct in the ascetic was practised with the idea of impressing us with a sense of his power and dignity; and during the two or three days that we occupied the bungalow, he remained squatting under his banian-tree, affecting complete ignorance of our presence; but as we mounted our horses to quit the spot, the avarice of the man controlled every other feeling, and, starting from his position, he came forward, humbly begging for a few pice. We told him at first that, as we worked for our money in an honest calling, and he lived idly on the opinion of his fellow-men, we were more objects of charity and consideration than he was, who could command what he would of money and service from the rich; but he became so importunate, that we at length desired the horse-keeper to give him a few pice; but the Gorawalla being a low-caste man, the jogee, as people were looking on, refused to be contaminated by our offering, and sulkily retired to his tree, bawling forth the titles of his gods, intermixed with a few denunciations on the unbelieving. The unfortunate creature's solitary journey through the dense jungles of Nassick, prolific as they are of damp poisonous exhalations, and filled with beasts of prey, must have made him acquainted with much of both suffering and danger; but if gratified vanity from the applause of men be one of the most agreeable forms of incense the human mind can receive, certainly our presiding genius of the "Happy Valley" must have been amply repaid. Nuggur, as all know, was a scene of many of the worst cruelties, and also highest triumphs, of the great conqueror Aurungzebe; he is said to have died here, and a little tomb on the left of the fort is considered as the depository of his heart. The mausoleum commands a very beautiful panoramic view of Nuggur, with its palaces, musjids, gardens, and flowing streams; while our pretty church rising amongst them, together with the "compounds" in the artillery-lines, gives it to the English sojourner a refreshing "home" look. The gardens of Nuggur are celebrated, throughout our side of India, for their beauty and produce; we have thick hedges of myrtle four feet high, vines that rival the south of Italy, and English vegetables in abundance. The native gardens are also rich in produce; but a native garden is, after all, but a mere orchard, and amongst rubbish, weeds, stony roads, and large fruit trees, one looks in vain for the neat inclosures, the well-kept paths, trim borders, and perfumed parterres of an English shrubbery. Utility appears the only object in the Eastern gardener's view; acres of rosebushes are cultivated only that the blossoms may be cropped at sunrise to produce rose-water, and jasmine is grown in abundance, but merely for decorations on festivals, and in offerings at the temples. At Nuggur, the "Mootee Bhaug," or Garden of Pearls, is an exception, having been formed in English taste, and being rich in beautiful shrubs, bearing Oriental flowers of every hue; yet even here, jowarree is sown amongst the plants, and the song of the bulbul is lost in the cry of the cornwatcher, as he whirls his sling aloft, to scare away the feathered plunderers. We have our "Behiestie Bhaug" too, or Garden of Paradise, with the ruins of a palace at its entrance, about which, the dry old historians are very voluminous in their accounts, of how one khan built it, and another added to it, and a third advised about it, and a fourth seized it. Asiat, Journ, N.S. VOL. IV.No.24. 4 M A water palace of considerable size, still remaining in the neighbour- "In this garden, conferring happiness, pause in peace, |
