colour of this sort is slate blue: it is more coarse than the common, but has proved far more durable."* At about a mile from the castle, (which stands on the western bank of the Calini, or Kali-nuddee,) at the northern extremity of the town, Tieffenthaler says, "there is a place called Sheeta Rassoï, where Sheeta (or Seeta) the wife of Ram, is said to have dwelt. They relate, that a palace stood there, built of red stone, in the middle of which was a well, which the Mussulmans have filled up, and closed the mouth with lime, erecting on the site a mosque with three cupolas, and surrounded with stone walls. They worship here the image of Ajje-pâl, prince of Kanouje, who was very kind to his subjects, and kept goats."+ It is possible, that the wife of Rama may have been born at Kanouje. The interior of the mosque deserves examination, as it may possibly conceal some traces of antiquity. Kanouje (Kanyacubja) was, at an early period of the Christian era, the capital of the principal kingdom along the Ganges. It is situated near where the Calini river (or Kali-nuddee) joins it; "and is, possibly," says Major Rennell," the place meant by Pliny for Calinipara. It is said to have been built more than one thousand years before our era, and is mentioned by Ferishta as the capital of all Hindoostan, under the predecessor of Phoor or Porus, who fought against Alexander. The Indian histories are full of the accounts of its grandeur and populousness. In the * Tennant, vol. ii. p. 369. "Faisoit paitre les chèvres."-Bernoulli, vol. i. p. 195. This is mentioned as a trait of the Arcadian simplicity of the age in which he reigned. The well is evidently the same that is referred to by Lord Valentia. Comprehending Delhi, Agra, Oude, and Serinagur. The ancient language of the Kanyacubjas is supposed to have been the Hindee. See p. 103 of our first volume. sixth century, it was said to contain 30,000 shops in which betel was sold. In 1018, it was seized on by the Gaznian emperors; at which time it gave its name to the kingdom of which it was the capital."* The city has taken its name, which signifies in Sanscrit, crooked damsel, from the daughter of one of its rajahs, and refers to a well-known Hindoo legend. Kanouje gave its name to a circar under the Mogul emperors; but it does not appear to have retained any importance long after the conquest, Etaweh‡ having become the chief town of the district. The completion of its misfortunes was, in 1761, when it was sacked by the Mahrattas. Its ruins and jungle are now a retreat for robbers and criminals of every description. Kanouje stands in lat. 27° 4′ N., long 79° 47′ E.; 217 miles from Agra, 214 from Delhi, and 719 from Calcutta. From Kanouje, Lord Valentia proceeded to Furrukabad, the capital of the adjacent district, and the mercantile emporium of this part of the Doab. It stands at a short distance from the western shore of the Ganges, in lat. 27° 24′ N., long. 79° 27′ E., and is only four miles from the frontier of the Oude territory. This town, which, when his Lordship travelled, was only ninety years old, was built by the Patans. He describes it as a very pretty town, the principal streets being wide, and the houses and open spaces being * Rennell, p. 54. See pp. 169-190 of our first volume.. † Tieffenthaler says, that this city, according to tradition, has had four different names. In the first age, it was called Capelastal, after the Rajah Capel; in the second age, Gadpoor, after the Rajah Gad; in the third, Mohodpoor, or, according to others, Mangatpoor, after Mohod or Mangat; in the fourth, Cannea-coboz. Bernoulli, vol. i. p. 193. + Etaweh, which has itself ceased to be the capital, stands on the eastern bank of the Jumna, seventy miles S. E. of Agra. The present capital is Minpooree, a walled town of considerable size, on the Issa, about sixty-two miles E. of Agra. delightfully shaded with trees. The vicinity of the British cantonments at Futtehghur (only three miles distant), has rendered this a flourishing place. It contained, in 1811, upwards of 13,300 houses, besides 1650 shops; and the resident population could not be less than 67,000. Like most frontier towns, it has the reputation of being the resort of the needy and dissolute from all parts of the country. It was at this place, that, in 1805, Lord Lake surprised and routed Holkar's cavalry. A British court of judicature and revenue has been established here, subordinate to the circuit court of Bareilly.+ We now again rejoin Bishop Heber in his progress northward through the upper provinces. FROM LUCKNOW TO ALMORAH. THE shortest road from Lucknow to Bareilly runs N. W. to Shahabad; but, this being reported unsafe, and the supplies precarious, the Bishop was compelled to take a route which it was found necessary to divide into fourteen stages. His first station was Hussungunge, twenty miles from Lucknow; the next day, he proceeded five coss to Meea-gunge; the third, to Seetalgunge; the fourth, to a large town called Mallaon; and on the fifth, a stage of seven coss through the same level and fruitful country, brought him to Belgaram. This is a town of some antiquity, and * See vol. ii. p. 273. This was the extreme point of Lord Valentia's travels in this direction. The aspect of Mahratta politics had compelled Lord Lake about that time to take the field, and the state of the provinces precluded the noble Traveller's venturing further. "Belgram is a little town, very healthy, and famous for producing men with lively imaginations and melodious voices. Here is a well, of which whosoever drinks for forty days' continuance, it bears marks of having been more considerable, containing some large and good old Mussulman houses of brick. It is still distinguished by a ruinous fort with a moat. The present inhabitants, few in number, dwell in small structures of mud or timber. Here, after a long interval, a good many scattered palms are seen, both of the date and the toddy species; and there is a noble show of mango-trees. Bishop Heber noticed also a neat garden of turnips and potatoes ;* and what he saw of the country in this part, disposed him to give credit to the panegyric passed by the goomashta on the soil of Oude as one of the finest in the world, Every thing flourished here, it was said, which grows in either Bengal or Persia; "they had at once rice, sugar, cotton, and palm-trees, as well as wheat, maize, barley, beans, and oats; the air was good, the water good, and the grass particularly nourishing to cattle; but the laws are not good, the judges are wicked, the zemindars are worse, the aumeens worst of all, and the ryuts are robbed of every thing." 66 a poor little About five coss further, is Sandee, village, shaded by some fine trees, near a large jeel, swarming with wild fowl." The road from Belgram lies through an undulating country, varied with cornfields, brushwood, and jungle, scattered groves, and extensive lakes. From this place to the Company's frontier, the district bears a very bad character for the predatory and lawless habits of the inhabitants, and a strong guard is necessary to the traveller's safety. The country improves in beauty, but is less cultivated and populous. At ten coss is a large village named Suro enlivens his understanding, and brightens his eye-sight." Ayeen Akbery, vol. ii. p. 38. These last, the Bishop was told, were at first exceedingly disliked by the people, but were now becoming great favourites, par ticularly with the Mussulmans, 66 munuggur, with an old fortress, resembling a large serai, surrounded with a high brick wall, having round towers at the flanks, and two Gothic gateways. A pretty trout-stream, called the Goomty, winds under the walls, through a beautiful carpet of corn-land, interspersed with trees. The next stage was five coss and a half to Oudunpoor. The road lies through Shahabad, a considerable town, with the remains of fortifications and many large houses. Oudunpoor “ is what would be called a moderate-sized market town in England. It has a fine grove of mango-trees adjoining, covering six or eight acres, with a little shrine of Siva in the middle. The neighbourhood is chiefly cultivated with cotton." This is the last town in the King of Oude's dominions, and the Bishop here parted with his Majesty's people, who had attended him thus far. The frontier is only an ideal line. The next stage is seven coss through the same cultivated country, to Shahjehanpoor, a large place, with some stately old mosques and a castle," situated on the river Gurruk, a quiet, winding stream. It stands in lat. 27° 52', long. 79°48'; distance from Lucknow, ninety-five miles. 66 The traveller has now entered the Rohilla country, the conquest of which by the British, in 1774, and its impolitic and cruel cession to the Nabob of Oude, form, as Bishop Heber justly remarks, one of the worst chapters of the history of British India.* After it fell into the hands of Sujah-ud-Dowla, it rapidly declined in prosperity; and some parts, owing to the misgovernment and oppression under which they suffered, became almost a waste; + but it is now gradually * See page 96 of our second volume. † See Tennant, vol. ii. p. 380. "This fine country," says the Author, "within the last twenty years, has become a vast desert •• Not the hundredth acre is in cultivation." |