may be obtained; but few persons, we should think, have heads
cool enough to enjoy it. With all Madame Pfeiffer's adventurousness, she
did not essay this perilous experiment.

The Observatory, constructed for the great Mohammedan emperor Akbar, is
also an object of interest. It is not furnished, like a European
observatory, with the usual astronomical instruments, telescopes, rain-
gauges, anemometers, and the like, the handiwork of cunning artificers in
glass and metal; but everything is of stone--solid, durable stone. On a
raised terrace stand circular tables, semicircular and quadratic curves,
all of stone, and all inscribed with mystic signs and characters.

Benares is celebrated for its bazaars, in which are exhibited some of the
rarest productions of the East; but its principal attraction is its
sanctity, and crowds of pilgrims resort to its temples, and cleanse
themselves of their sins by bathing in the fast-flowing Ganges. To die
at Benares is regarded as a passport to heaven; and one of the most
frequent sights is the burning of a corpse on the river-bank, with
ceremonies proportioned to the rank and wealth of the deceased--the ashes
being afterwards committed to the holy waters. Benares is also famous
for its palaces. Of these the most splendid is that which the rajah
inhabits. It was visited by Madame Pfeiffer, who appears to have gone
everywhere and seen everybody at her own sweet will and pleasure, and she
was even admitted to the rajah's presence.

A handsomely-decorated boat, she says, awaited her and her
fellow-traveller at the bank of the river. They crossed; a palanquin was
ready to receive them. Soon they arrived at the stately gateway which
forms the entrance to the palace. The interior proved to be a labyrinth
of irregular courts and small unsymmetrical chambers. In one of the
courts a hall, surrounded by plain columns, served as a reception-room.
This was cumbrously loaded with lamps, glass lustres, and European
furniture; on the walls hung some wretched pictures, framed and glazed.
Presently the rajah made his appearance, accompanied by his brother, and
attended by a long train of courtiers. The two princes were gorgeously
attired; they wore wide trousers, long under and short over garments, all
of satin, covered with gold embroidery. The rajah himself, aged thirty-
five, wore short silken cuffs, glowing with gold, and trimmed with
diamonds; several large brilliants shone on his fing