, the
'pipal', and the tamarind.[12] The two first are of the fig tribe,
and their greatest enemies are the elephants and camels of our public
establishments and public servants, who prey upon them wherever they
can find them when under the protection of their masters or keepers,
who, when appealed to, generally evince a very philosophical
disregard to the feeling of either property or piety involved in the
trespass. It is consequently in the driest and hottest parts of the
country, where the shade of these trees is most wanted, that it is
least to be found; because it is there that camels thrive best, and
are most kept, and it is most difficult to save such trees from their
depredations.

In the evening a trooper passed our tents on his way in great haste
from Meerut to Delhi, to announce the death of the poor old Begam
Samru, which had taken place the day before at her little capital of
Sardhana. For five-and-twenty years had I been looking forward to the
opportunity of seeing this very extraordinary woman, whose history
had interested me more than that of any other character in India
during my time; and I was sadly disappointed to hear of her death
when within two or three stages of her capital.[13]

Notes:

1. January, 1836.

2. Mr. Fox Strangways gives specimens of songs sung at wells in his
learned and original book, _The Music of Hindostan_ (Oxford, 1914,
pp. 20, 21).

3. Brij Bowla in the original edition. The name is correctly written
Birju Baula or Baura. A legend of the rivalry between him and Tansen
is given in _Linguistic Survey of India_, vi, 47. His name is not
included in Abul Fazl's list of eminent musicians, or in Blochmann's
notes to it (Ain trans. i, 612), and I have not succeeded in
obtaining any trustworthy information about him. Marvellous legends
of the rival singers will be found in _N.I.N. & Qu._ vol. v, para.
207.

4. Abul Fazl describes Tansen as being of Gwalior, adding that 'a
singer like him has not been in India for the last thousand years'.
Nos. 2-5 and several others in Abul Fazl's list of eminent musicians
in Akbar's reign are all noted as belonging to Gwalior, which
evidently was the most musical of cities (Blochmann, transl. Ain, i,
612). Sleeman appears to have been mistaken in connecting Tansen with
Patna. But the musician must really have become a Musalman, because
his tomb stands close to the south-western corner of the sepulchre at
Gwalior of Muhammad Ghaus, an emine