with roses and tulips, the colors of which were very well pre served. The mosque—an imitation of that in the palace at Agra-did not appear to have heard a prayer for years.

Akbar II. has reigned in this little dominion since 1805, and is now upward of eighty years of age. He was the last of the line, but having four sons, the succession will be continued. He devotes his time to literature, amusements and sensuality. The Mussulmen speak highly of his literary acquirements, and his poems in the Persian language are said by those who have read them to possess considerable merit. There is a Court newspaper, entitled The Lamp of News, published within the palace, but its columns are entirely devoted to the gossip of the city, and private scandal. Until recently the law administered within the palace bore a resemblance to the bloody rule of former days. Persons who had incurred the royal displeasure had their hands, cars or noses cut off, and were then thrust out of the gates. Finally the English Resident at the Court hinted to his Majesty. that these things were very disagreeable and ought to cease. "What!" said the descendant of Tamerlane; "am I not King in my own palace?" "Undoubtedly," blandly replied the Resident; "your Highness is the Conqueror of the World and the Protector of Princes; but such a course is not pleasing to the GovernorGeneral, and it would be a great evil to the world if the friendship of two such mighty and illustrious Sovereigns were to be interrupted!" The forms of respect to the phantom of the old authority being thus preserved, the Emperor instituted at milder regimen.

We finished our visit by a walk in the gardens. Here, the old trees, rankly overrun with parasitic plants, with an under

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growth of wild and unpruned rose-bushes, afforded a pleasant relief to the decay of the imperial halls. But the garden-pavilions were tumbling down, the pools and fountain-basins were covered with a thick green scum, and rank weeds grew in all the walks. We lingered for some time under the windows of the Zenana, listening to the clatter of female voices, and trying to draw therefrom some inference as to the features of the Sultanas. Alas! the tones were all too shrill to have come from beautiful lips. On our way out, several sentinels belonging to the Emperor's boy-corps stood at the interior gates and made very respectful salaams as we passed. The poor little half-starved, half-clothed wretches are obliged to exercise daily, and often four hours at a time. Most of the male inmates of the place were perched upon the of pigeons, which they made to advance or recede, separate and unite again, by uttering a peculiar cry and waving a long rod with a little flag on the end of it. At the gate we dis missed the chobdars with a gratuity, and I went home.

roofs, engaged in flying flocks

“The spider hath woven his wel in the imperial palaces.”

CHAPTER XII

JOURNEY IN A PALANQUIN.

Departure for the Himalayas-"Laying a Dawk "-Last View of Delhi-A Rainy Night-Quarters at Meerut-The Dawk Agent-Hindoo Punctuality-MeerutPalanquin Travelling-Tricks of the Bearers-Arrival at Roorkhee-Adventures in Search of a Breakfast-First View of the Himalayas-A Welcome Invitation-Roorkhee The Ganges Canal-Its Cost and Dimensions-Method of Irrigation-The Government and the People-Aqueduct over the Selanee River-Apathy of the Natives.

Ar the close of my stay in Delhi, I found that precisely half the time which I had allotted for my transit through In dia had expired, and but a single month remained. However, although nearly a thousand miles from Calcutta, I determined to push on to the Himalayas, and get a glimpse of the highest mountain in the world. Once on the Grand Trunk Road, on my return, I could depend on making a hundred miles a day by the garree-dawk, without excessive fatigue, and there were few points of interest, except Allahabad and Benares, to detain me on the way to Calcutta. I therefore made arrangements -"laid a dawk" is the Indian expression-for a trip to Landowr, the highest point in the Himalayas, which can be conve

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niently reached during the winter season, by way of Roorkhee and Hurdwar. The distance of Landowr from Delhi is nearly two hundred miles, and there is no carriage dawk beyond Meerut, fifty miles from the latter city. I was therefore obliged to travel by palkee dawk, or palanquin. A statement was drawn up of the different places I intended to visit, with the length of my stay at each, and a messenger dispatched to summon the bearers to be in readiness at the proper time, at the different stations along the road. Twelve days were allowed for the trip to Landowr and back to Meerut. The expenses of the dawk, including the hire of the palanquin, amounted to nearly $60.

The garree, or carriage, for Meerut called for me on Wednesday afternoon, the 26th of January, and I took leave of Mr. Place, after having been most hospitably entertained by him. for four days. The weather was dark, raw and lowering, and I had not crossed the tedious bridge over the Jumna, before the rain began to fall. My last view of Delhi was dull and misty; the palace of Shah Jehan loomed up more grandly than ever, but the domes and minarets of the Jumma Musjeed, which need to be touched with sunshine, on a background of blue sky, lost half their airy grace. I had a comfortable cart, with a mattress on the bottom, and disposed my carpet-bags in such a way as to make it as easy as an arm-chair. The rain increased, however, the roads became wet and slippery, and the plain had a dull November look, which was very dreary. I was delayed by the obstinacy of the horses, who, finding the cart a little heavier than usual, did their best to disable it. Night soon came on, the rain rattled on the roof, and drawing my quilt around me, I lay down and slept until

aroused by the driver, asking where he should take me, for we had reached Meerut. I directed him to go to the "punch ghur" (punch house), as a hotel is termed, in this part of India. There I found consummars, chokedars, and the other varieties of servants usually attached to a bungalow, but no one who spoke English. I did my best to get a note conveyed to the person who was to furnish me with a palanquin and bearers the next morning, but found the thing quite impossible.

I arose betimes, and set out to find the agent, for seven o'clock was the time appointed for starting. After endless questions and a walk of three miles, I was finally directed to a mean house, in the door of which stood one of the meanest individuals in appearance, that I ever beheld. He was a halfcaste, of a dirty complexion, unwashed, pitted with the smallpox, limping, and dressed in a vile cloak covered with grease and patches. He informed me that the bearers were ready, and pointed to the palanquin, which was standing in the verandah. The man's appearance made me suspicious, and though there was really a palanquin, I feared that before travelling far I should find it to be a little buggy. He promised to send it to the hotel, whither I hastened, expecting to find breakfast ready, as I had ordered. Vain hope! There is no equivalent for "punctuality" in the Hindostanee tongue. I waited an hour; the palanquin arrived; I stormed in English, for, unfortunately, I knew no anathemas in their language, but the cooks were miracles of calmness and deliberation. When breakfast finally came, I was obliged to eat a few mouthfuls hurriedly and depart, lest I should give the bearers along the road a chance to claim demurrage.

Meerut resembles the other Indian cantonments in most