nd luxurious ways used to astonish the most
pompous courts of India. It seems almost incredible that in such a short
period nothing should remain of this town but the heaps of rubbish,
amongst which we could hardly find room enough for our tent. At last we
decided to pitch it in the only building which remained in a tolerable
state of preservation, in Yami-Masjid, the cathedral-mosque, on a
granite platform about twenty-five steps higher than the square. The
stairs, constructed of pure marble like the greater part of the town
buildings, are broad and almost untouched by time, but the roof has
entirely disappeared, and so we were obliged to put up with the stars
for a canopy. All round this building runs a low gallery supported by
several rows of thick pillars. From a distance it reminds one, in spite
of its being somewhat clumsy and lacking in proportion, of the Acropolis
of Athens. From the stairs, where we rested for a while, there was a
view of the mausoleum of Gushanga-Guri, King of Malwa, in whose reign
the town was at the culmination of its brilliancy and glory. It is a
massive, majestic, white marble edifice, with a sheltered peristyle and
finely carved pillars. This peristyle once led straight to the palace,
but now it is surrounded with a deep ravine, full of broken stones and
overgrown with cacti. The interior of the mausoleum is covered with
golden lettering of inscriptions from the Koran, and the sarcophagus
of the sultan is placed in the middle. Close by it stands the palace
of Baz-Bahadur, all broken to pieces--nothing now but a heap of dust
covered with trees.

We spent the whole day visiting these sad remains, and returned to
our sheltering place a little before sunset, exhausted with hunger
and thirst, but triumphantly carrying on our sticks three huge snakes,
killed on our way home. Tea and supper were waiting for us. To our great
astonishment we found visitors in the tent. The Patel of the neighboring
village--something between a tax-collector and a judge--and two
zemindars (land owners) rode over to present us their respects and to
invite us and our Hindu friends, some of whom they had known previously,
to accompany them to their houses. On hearing that we intended to spend
the night in the "dead town" they grew awfully indignant. They assured
us it was highly dangerous and utterly impossible. Two hours later
hyenas, tigers, and other beasts of prey were sure to come out from
under every bush and eve