of the Ramayuna, Oude might be expected to abound with spots of traditional sanctity. The soubah of Oude was, under the Mohammedan empire, subdivided into the five circars of Oude, Lucknow, Khyzabad, Baräitch, and Goorukpoor; being bounded, northward by the hills and forests of Nepaul, eastward by Bahar, southward by Allahabad, and westward by Delhi and Agra. Its length is estimated at 250 miles, by an average breadth of 100. The whole surface is a plain well watered by large rivers and copious smaller streams, flowing nearly all in a south-easterly direction. Of these, the Goggrah and the Goomty are the principal. The dominions of the sovereign of Oude were, however, in 1790, much more extensive, comprehending the principal portion of the Doab to within 40 miles of Delhi. The greater part of this territory, together with the circar of Goorukpoor and some other districts, has been ceded to the Company. The "reserved territories of Oude occupy about 21,000 square miles, with a population of at least three millions.*" About 75 miles W. of Lucknow, in the Etaweh district of the Doab, are the obscure remains of the very ancient and celebrated city of He at last drowned himself. See Ward's Hindoos, vol. i. pp. 211219. The votaries of Rama form a distinct class of mendicants, called Ramahoots, who impress on different parts of their body, Rama's name and the figure of his foot. His brother Lakshman shares in his divine honours. Hamilton, vol. i. pp. 338, 346. The land is cultivated with wheat, barley, rice, sugar-cane, indigo, and poppies. The soil also yields nitre and lapis lazuli. The rice, Abulfazel says, is excellent, and some of it incomparable. "They sow it three months earlier than in any other part of Hindoostan. By the time the rice is in ear, the rivers Sy and Gograh begin to overflow their banks.". KANOUJE. LORD VALENTIA, on his departure from Lucknow, proceeded to visit the ruins of this city. He was attended by an escort of 120 sepoys and followers, with 39 bearers, and other servants and officers, amounting altogether to 287 persons; from which, he says, his readers may form an idea of the mode of journeying in that country. His first stage was "about five coss or ten miles, to Futteh-gunge, a walled town tolerably populous." The country through which the route lay, was perfectly flat and sandy, and he passed through only a few wretched, half-deserted villages : one of these bears the name of Vizierr-gunge. The second stage, six coss and a half (three hours) further, was to Hossein-gunge. The country continued flat, sandy, and ill-cultivated, and the vil lages were small and wretched, till he passed Mohaun, which had the appearance of having been a place of more consequence, and there is a stone bridge over the nullah. The name of the third station is not mentioned. On the fourth day, he advanced to Meah-gunge, a town built by Almas Ali Khan, the wealthy aga of the Bhow Begum (mother of Saadut Ali), and the chief town of the extensive district of which he was aumeel.* It is twenty-three miles S.W. from Lucknow. "The outer wall of the town is of mud, and incloses several large mango-topes and spots of cultivated ground. The inner wall is of brick, not very high, with towers of the same. The "When the Vizier visited Almas at Meah-gunge, he received a nazur of a lac of rupees, piled up as a seat for him to sit on. His Excellency took care to carry away the seat with him."-Valentia, vol. i. p. 142. See, for an account of Almas, Ib. 141, and Tennant, vol. ii. pp. 364-6. His original name was Meea. gates are strong and handsome; the streets, wide and lined with trees." It seemed populous, and its thriving condition formed a complete contrast to the wretched villages previously passed through. It contained three convenient serais, and a park of artillery in excellent order. The vicinity was well cultivated. Since the death of Almas, however, the prosperity of the place has shared in the general decay. "Trees, 66 are towers, gates, and palaces," says Bishop Heber, fast sinking into rubbish and forgetfulness................. The fort is now filled with the bazar of a poor village, erected under the shade of the mango-trees. The park was laid down, when I saw it, in quillets of beautiful green wheat and barley." About a mile from Meah-gunge is the ruined town of Assewan, more pleasantly situated, on a slight elevation. overlooking a small lake; but, when Lord Valentia travelled, it had been deserted for the new town. The country became more pleasing, slightly undulated, and better cultivated, on approaching Bangernow. Every town that was passed, was built of brick, and the ruins were far more extensive than the habitable part.* Bangernow is prettily situated on a small rise, surrounded with mango-topes, and with a nullah running close to it. It has the appearance of having been a more considerable place. It is forty-four miles W. from Lucknow. About ten miles further, the noble Traveller came to a nullah communicating with the Ganges, opposite the village of Manarow. Here he embarked, and was towed for about three miles into the main river, there about a mile wide and extremely rapid. "Numbers quitted these provinces to become cultivators in ours, and many others have constantly entered our armies. The recruiting is so extremely difficult in Bengal and Bahar, that our armies could not be kept up, were it not for the supplies obtained from the Vizier's dominions."-Valentia. The remaining twenty miles from the ghaut above Manarow to Meeraun-ka-serai, lay through a country pleasingly varied with mango-topes and cultivation. The villages were more numerous, but Lord Valentia saw no town till he arrived at the last-mentioned place, which takes its name from a fine serai: on the opposite side of the road is the tomb of the founder. Here his Lordship encamped, and, the next day, proceeded to explore what remains of Kanouje, of which he gives the following brief description. 66 Kanouje has at present but a single street, and that of no great appearance. The Ganges is distant about two miles; but a canal has been cut, which makes a bend toward the town, and brings the holy water close to the citadel. Six miles off, the mixture of small pieces of brick, and, occasionally, the vestiges of a building, proved to me that I had entered on the site of this ancient capital of Hindostan. Our first visit was to the tombs of two Mussulmaun saints, who lie in state under two mausoleums of equal size and handsome architecture, on an elevation covered with trees. From the terrace which surrounds them, I had a very pleasing view of the plain, covered with ruined temples and tombs, the nullah winding through, till it joins the Ganges two miles lower down. Tamarindtrees and mango-topes were scattered every where ; and the whitened tomb of an English officer who was drowned here, raised its pointed head amid this scene of desolation. We next visited another tomb on the most lofty point. It consists of a quadrangle and mosque, similar, in miniature, to the one at Juanpore. Several pillars in the mosque are formed of two pieces, taken from a more ancient building: the rude base of one, being placed uppermost, serves for a capital. A great many little images were lying under the trees, but they were too much broken to be interesting. In the centre was a well, now filled up, where large sums of money are said to be secreted. The citadel has nothing to repay the fatigue of the ascent to it. No building of any consequence remains; and the brick walls, which do not appear to be of great antiquity, are going rapidly to decay. A few coins are found among the ruins; they are small and irregularly shaped, with Sanscrit characters, and have, occasionally, a figure of a Hindoo deity on one side."* The Tennant speaks of the ruins of Kanouje as "the most extensive, perhaps, in the world. For many miles," he says, "before you enter the present town, you travel through jungles interspersed with small fields of tobacco, that consist of brick-dust and mortar. To remove all doubt that the rubbish consists of the remains of a town, walls and broken gateways here and there raise their heads in defiance of time. greater part of the standing buildings are ruinous, uninhabited, rent, and tottering to decay. The few people now in the place accommodate themselves under mud huts, buttressed up against the old walls. Not a great many buildings are entire; whole mountains of unshapely ruins meet your eye in every direction, upon a space of ground much larger than the site of London. Amid these heaps of desolation, there are spots here and there under tobacco. The ruins of such buildings are with great difficulty converted into arable land; for brick-dust does not assimilate with the soil till after many centuries. The brick in this country seems of an inferior kind......One species of brick in use for the principal buildings of Kanouje, is very rare of a large size and half vitrified. The * Valentia, vol. i., pp. 147, 8. Daniell has given a view of Cannoge in his picturesque Views in Hindoostan, but it presents no objects of interest. |