ic
character, filled up with black; the tomb itself has a covering of very
rich gold cloth, resembling a pall.

This tranquil spot is held sacred by all Mussulmauns. Here the sound of
human feet are never heard; 'Put off thy shoes', being quite as strictly
observed near this venerated place, as when the mosque and emaum-baarah
are visited by 'the faithful'; who, as I have before remarked, whenever a
prayer is about to be offered to God, cast off their shoes with scrupulous
care, whether the place chosen for worship be in the mosque, the abode of
men, or the wilderness.

I was permitted to examine the interior of the mausoleum. The calm
stillness, which seemed hardly earthly; the neatness which pervaded every
corner of the interior; the recollection of those virtues, which I so
often heard had distinguished Shah Nizaam's career on earth, impressed me
with feelings at that moment I cannot forget; and it was with reluctance I
turned from this object to wander among the surrounding splendid ruins,
the only emblems left of departed greatness; where not even a tablet
exists to mark the affection of survivors, or to point to the passing
traveller the tomb of the monarch, the prince, or the noble,--except in
the instance of Shah Allum,--whilst the humble-minded man's place of
sepulture is kept repaired from age to age, and still retains the
freshness of a modern structure in its five hundredth year.

There are men in charge of Shah Nizaam ood deen's mausoleum who lead
devout lives, and subsist on the casual bounties gleaned from the
charitable visitors to his shrine. Their time is passed in religious
duties, reading the Khoraun over the ashes of the saint, and keeping the
place clean and free from unholy intrusions. They do not deem this mode of
existence derogatory; for to hold the situation of darogahs, or keepers of
the tombs of the saints, who are held in universal veneration amongst
Mussulmauns, is esteemed an honourable privilege.

In this sketch of my visit to the tombs at Delhi, I must not omit one very
remarkable cemetery, which, as the resting place of the last reigning
sovereign of Hindoostaun, excited in me no small degree of interest,
whilst contrasting the view it exhibited of fallen greatness, with the
many evidences of royal magnificence.

The tomb I am about to describe is that erected over the remains of Shah
Allum;[9] and situated within view of the mausoleum of the righteous
plebeian, Shah Nizaam. It is