the son of Baber from the throne of Delhi. It is now a station for invalids of the British army. The Europeans and sepoys together amount to about a thousand men.* "In this station is laid the foundation-stone of an imperishable monument to the memory of the good and pious Corrie, in two thriving schools and a small Christian church, established through his apostolic labours. To him also are Benares and Agra indebted principally for the Christian advantages and privileges they enjoy." + About three miles from Chunar, in a grove of palm and other fruit-trees, is a mosque with “ a very large and beautiful tomb of a certain Sheik Kaseem Solimaun and his son." Of their history, Bishop Heber "could learn nothing further, than that they were very holy men, who died here while on pilgrimage, and that their tombs and the mosque were built and endowed by one of the emperors of Delhi. The buildings and the grove in which they stand, are very solemn and striking; and the carving of the principal gateway, and of the stone lattice with which the garden is inclosed, is more like embroidery than the work of the chisel." Chunar is situated in the district of Mirzapoor. The town of that name, situated about thirty miles W.S.W. of Benares, on the south side of the Ganges, is "The sepoy invalids have mostly grown old in the service. Some of the Europeans are very old likewise: there is one who fought with Clive. The majority, however, are men still hardly advanced beyond youth, early victims of a devouring climate, assisted, perhaps, by carelessness and intemperance."-Heber, vol. i. p. 413. + Sketches of India, p. 181. The church, which was first opened for public worship in April 1820, has unhappily been erected on so bad a foundation, that it will require to be rebuilt. There are an English, a Persian, and three Hinduwee schools.' -Miss, Reg. 1828, p. 97. one of the greatest inland trading towns in India, and the mart of all the cotton from Agra and the Mahratta countries, as well as of a considerable quantity of filature silk; and in the vicinity are extensive manufactories of carpeting and various cotton fabrics.* The place has grown up into importance since the establishment of the English power, and is only an inferior civil station with a few native troops. Yet, it struck Bishop Heber as being apparently as large as Patna, containing many handsome native houses and a vast number of mosques and temples, with numerous and elegant bungalows in its outskirts and on the opposite side of the river. A great number of boats of all kinds were moored under its ghauts. The population is computed at between 200,000 and 300,000 people. "This is, indeed," he remarks, most rich and striking land. Here, in the space of little more than 200 miles, along the same river, I have passed six towns, none of them less populous than Chester; two (Patna and Mirzapoor) more so than Birmingham; and one (Benares) more peopled than any city in Europe, except London and Paris. And this besides villages innumerable." 66 a Lord Valentia proceeded from Benares to Juanpoor (Jionpoor), on his route to Lucknow. This town, the capital of a district which lies on the north side of the Ganges, is situated on the banks of the Goomty river, about forty-two miles N.W. from Benares. The castle rises considerably above the level of the country, and is venerable in its ruins. The road lies along the opposite side of the river, through the midst of monu Hamilton, vol. i. p. 311. Bernoulli makes it only sixteen miles from Benares, and describes it as "une place marchande, appelée le grand Mirsapoor, pour la distinguer d'une autre."-Tom i p. 240. f ments and mosques in ruins. A suburb of clay-built huts leads to a large caravanserai of the same materials, beyond which there is a bridge of considerable extent, divided into two parts: one, consisting of ten arches, extends to the boundary of the river during the dry season; but the second becomes necessary in the rains, when the torrents are very violent, and the river rises so high as completely to cover the top. Yet, it has stood for nearly 300 years. "It is certainly,” remarks the noble Traveller, 66 a great work for an Asiatic, and is considered by the natives as one of the wonders of India. On one side of the bridge is a garden house belonging to the Nawaub of Oude, completely going to decay.' Proceeding through a wretched town, his Lordship reached a gateway leading into the castle. It is ornamented with a mosaic of vari-coloured varnished tiles, and has been beautiful. The walls of the fort are of solid stone work: the remains of the habitations within serve as a receptacle for debtors. There are several remains of palaces and other relics of ancient magnificence; among the rest, a mosque falling to ruins, which is described as magnificent. " We 66 entered, " says Lord Valentia, a large quadrangle, formed, on three sides, by a stone colonnade two stories high; the lower pillars square, of a singular architecture, and three feet deep; those of the upper tier similar, but round: and each dividing the space into It was built in the reign of Akbar, A.H. 972. "In the year 1772, a brigade of British troops under Sir Robert Barker, on their way from Oude, having embarked on the river Goomty at Sultanpoor, in the height of the rainy season, sailed over this bridge, which was then submerged, yet suffered no damage from the violence of the current. No native in modern times is capable of either planning or executing such a piece of architecture." Hamilton, vol. i. p. 315. different apartments separated by a rich fret-work of carved black stone. The roof and floor were formed of large blocks, many of which have fallen in through their great weight, and have assisted in hastening the ruin of the building. The fourth side, which faces the entrance, consists of the mosque itself, having two towers and two lofty domes : a colonnade extends on each side, so as to form a square. It differs only in having the square pillars of double the height, the building there being but one story high. There is another mosque similar in plan and architecture, but in much better preservation." The ruins of tombs and mosques are as numerous on the other side of the town as on the Benares road. Jionpoor is stated by Abulfazel to have been founded by Sultan Feroze III., who named it after his cousin Faker-ud-deen Jowna. It was for some time the seat of an independent empire. In the anarchy which followed the invasion of Timour, Khaja Jehan, vizier to the Sultan Mahommed, having obtained possession of Kanouje, Oude, Kurrah, and Jionpoor, with the greater part of Bahar, assumed the title of Sultan Sharki, or King of the East. In 1465, Jionpoor was conquered by Sultan Beloli Lodi ; and it was for some time the residence of Sultan Secunder. After its final annexation to the Mogul empire, Akbar honoured it with his presence, and built the bridge. It has since then been gradually declining. The majority of the inhabitants are Mohammedans; "but the place has lately been more celebrated from being the residence of a tribe of Hindoos called Rajekoomars, with whom the practice of female infanticide Valentia, vol, i. p. 96. R † See vol. i. pp. 235, 247. prevailed till it was abolished by the British Govern. ment."* ALLAHABAD. BISHOP HEBER proceeded from Mirzapoor to Allahabad, where his journey by water terminated. Of this provincial capital, where D'Anville and Dr. Robertson would place the site of Palibothra, we have the following description. "Allahabad stands in, perhaps, the most favourable situation which India affords for a great city, in a dry and healthy soil, on a triangle, at the junction of the two mighty streams, Gunga and Jumna, with an easy communication with Bombay and Madras, and capable of being fortified so as to become almost impregnable. But, though occasionally the residence of royalty, though generally inhabited by one of the Shah-zadehs, and still containing two or three fine ruins, it never appears to have been a great or magnificent city, and is now even more desolate and ruinous than Dacca, having obtained, among the natives, the name of Fakeerabad (beggar-abode). It may, how. ever, revive to some greater prosperity, from the increase of the civil establishment attached to it. It is now the permanent station (the castrum Hybernum) of the Sudder Mofussil commission; a body of judges whose office is the same with regard to these provinces, as that of the Sudder Dewannee Udawlut is for the eastern parts of the empire. The necessity for such a special court had become very great." "The only considerable buildings or ruins in Allahabad are, the fort, the Jumma Musjeed, and the Valentia, vol. i. p. 97. See Asiatic Researches, vol. iv. p. 354. |