, the front walls were painted in
fresco, with terrible-looking dragons, tigers, lions, twice or
thrice as large as life, stretching their tongues out, with hideous
grimaces; or with deities, flowers, arabesques, etc., without sense
or taste grouped together, miserably executed, and bedaubed with the
most glaring colours.

The numerous handsome Hindoo temples, all built upon lofty stone
terraces, form an agreeable feature of the town. They are higher,
more capacious, and finer buildings than those of Benares, with the
exception of the Bisvishas. The temples here stand in open halls,
intersected by colonnades, ornamented with several quadrangular
towers, and surmounted by a cupola of from twenty to forty feet in
height. The sanctuary is in the middle; it is a small, carefully
enclosed building, with a door leading into it. This door, as well
as the pillars and friezes, is covered with beautiful sculptures;
the square towers are quite as carefully constructed as those at
Benares. Hideous statues and fanciful figures stand under the
halls, some of which are painted in bright red colours. On the side
walls of the terraces are arabesques, elephants, horses, etc.,
carved in relief.

The royal palace lies at the extremity of the third part of the
town, and forms a town within a town, or rather a fortress in a
fortress, as it is surrounded by immense fortified walls, which
command the town as well as the country round it; many large and
small buildings are enclosed within these walls, but do not present
anything remarkable beyond their handsome halls. Had the resident
been in Kottah I should have been presented to the king, but as it
was not etiquette in his absence, I was compelled to put up with my
disappointment.

From the town we proceeded to Armornevas, one of the neighbouring
palaces of the king's. The road to it was indescribably bad, full
of rocks and large stones. I was astonished to see with what
dexterity our elephant set his plump feet between them, and
travelled on as quickly as if he was going over the levellest road.

When I expressed my surprise to Dr. Rolland that the king should not
have a good road made to his residence, which he so often visited,
he informed me that it was a maxim with all Indian monarchs not to
make roads, for, according to their opinion, in case of a war, they
offered too great facilities to the invasion of the enemy.

The castle is small and unimportant. It lies on the ri