te, so
far as the difference of position admits. That he has succeeded
admirably with the army there is no doubt. His personal feats of daring
and known courage are considerable aids to an imitation of the more
scientific means employed by his great model.

Thus, firmly seated in the affections of the most important portions of
the community over which he rules with unlimited power, and a most ardent
wish to improve their condition, it will be on all accounts most
deplorable if the country is deprived of the services of so valuable a
man by some vile plot, emanating from the petty intrigue of a jealous and
disappointed Durbar.

CHAPTER XI.

_The temple of Balajee--The old Newar capital--The houses and temples of
Patn--View from the city gates--Nepaulese festivals--The Newars skilful
artisans--The arsenal--The magazine and cannon-foundry_.

One afternoon we strolled across some verdant meadows, and along narrow
shady avenues, to visit the temple of Balajee. There is nothing in the
building itself worthy of notice; but near it is a tank of beautifully
clear water, filled with sacred fishes, which crowd near the visitor as
he stands on the brink, expecting to be fed with grain, which some old
women at the gate sell for their especial benefit. Balajee is one of
those sheltered nooks which make the scenery of Nepaul so attractive.
Immediately under a wooded knoll the trees dip into the tank, from whence
the water leaps in three tiny cascades into the court-yard of the temple,
quaint and singular itself, and rendered still more interesting from its
connexion with the sacred fonts and groves near which it is so
romantically situated.

Hitherto we had seen no Newar town. Katmandu, the capital of Nepaul, was
built by the conquering Ghorkas, and is comparatively modern. The old
Newar capital is Patn: situated on a green slope, and fortified by a high
wall, it looks picturesque when seen from the modern city, from which it
is distant about two miles.

Crossing the narrow brick bridge which spans the Bhagmutty, outside the
walls of the town, we shortly after entered the massive old gates of the
ancient capital. As we trotted past the high rickety houses, along the
brick pavement of the narrow streets, still slippery from the morning
dew, we encountered troops of girls with garlands in their hair, for this
was some festive day. At the corners of the streets were beings of both
sexes, as decrepit as the houses