182 MEHR-l-DURYA SHAH. 



verandah of a Hindoo's house below, where 

 many of both sexes were assembled to see 

 the procession on its way ; and I was informed 

 by an experienced friend that the Hindoo 

 ladies avail themselves of the opportunities 

 afforded by the Mohurrum, when all the world 

 is abroad, to carry on their gallantries ad libi- 

 tum, but I will be discreet in my observations. 



The Hindoos of Khyrpoor really appear 

 to take as much interest in the procession 

 as the Mahomedans themselves, probably by 

 reason of the excitement that it produces. 

 The '' great gun " of the festival was a holy 

 man, named Syed Mehr-i-Durya Shah, who 

 comes to Khyrpoor every year at the Mo- 

 hurrum, and certainly is a most eloquent nar- 

 rator, his highly-coloured description of the 

 sufferings of the martyred family never fail- 

 ing to cause his congregation to exhibit the 

 strongest marks of grief ; all Asiatics are, 

 however, excitable to a degree that we, cold- 

 blooded children of the West, have no con- 

 ception of, and I saw the tears pouring down 

 the cheeks of Meer Jehan Mahomed in such 

 a way that I was convinced they were real. 

 The holy man, whose powers of eloquence 



