222 HAUNTS AND HOBBIES 



On the terrace, cross-legged, sat three of the priests 

 of the shrine. Two of them were motionless as statues ; 

 the third had a large volume lying open on his lap. 

 From it he was reading ; he read in a sort of chant, and 

 as he read he swayed his body backwards and forwards 

 as if to give emphasis to his words ; he read in a 

 droning tone, but the sound fell on the ear with a 

 cadence not unmusical ; so also did the humming of 

 some bees that were lazily flitting in the sunlight. The 

 shady trees, the pretty building, the chanting of the 

 priest, and the humming of the bees seemed all in 

 harmony ; they suggested a place designed for con- 

 templation and repose. The impression of the tomb 

 and the garden that I then received I have always since 

 retained. 



The tomb occupies the centre of the garden, which is 

 square. Around the tomb, but near the four angles of 

 the garden, are four smaller tombs, tombs, indeed, so 

 small, that they are mere cupolas. These four tombs are 

 those of the four wives of the Gooroo Nanuck. Three 

 of them are decorated with paintings ; the fourth is 

 simply overlaid with white chunam. This last tomb is 

 that of the Gooroo's chief wife. According to tradition, 

 it was left undecorated by her own express injunctions, 

 and as a mark of her widowhood, white being in the 

 East the colour of mourning. For the same reason, 

 the tradition also relates that after the death of her 

 husband, the Gooroo, she abandoned the use of jewels 

 and wore no coloured garments. 



This cupola, though small, and possessing no especial 

 architectural beauty, is interesting on another account. 



