GOOLABEE SHERABA. 207 



seemed to afford the youth as much amusement 

 as the hawks which were slipped at them, and 

 when the young Meer was able to sit up, all 

 the Kunchunnees in the city were collected at 

 the Deoree, and he gave a grand nautch in 

 honour of his recovery, to which most of 

 the notables of Khyrpoor were invited ; 

 nautching must be very warm work for the 

 Coryphees at any season, but at Khyrpoor 

 in the month of June it must be extremely 

 so ; and such they seemed to feel it, judging 

 from the enormous quantity of exceedingly 

 fiery spirits that they swallow on such oc- 

 casions. Having a curiosity to taste a liqueur 

 that seemed so much to the taste of the 

 ladies, a bottle was sent me by a friend, 

 who informed me that it contained forty 

 ingredients. The liquid was called '' Goolabee 

 Sheraba," or Rose Wine. It is made of al- 

 cohol distilled from raw sugar, with a great 

 variety of hot spices, and highly perfumed 

 with roses. I just tasted the preparation, 

 which was anything but palatable, apart from 

 the strength of the spirit itself, which was 

 like liquid fire. My throat did not recover 



