252 WILD MEN AND WILD BEASTS. 



The site of Mandoo was very inviting ; the mountain 

 chosen by Hoshung Shah for his future capital is said to be 

 thirty-seven miles in circumference. It extends along the 

 crest of the Vindyah range about eight miles, and is parted 

 from the table-land of Malwa, with which it is upon a level, 

 by abrupt and rugged valleys of great depth and width, which 

 descend from either side of the main gateway, both to the 

 east and west, to the low country. On the brink of these 

 valleys, and on the summit of the ridge of the Vindyah 

 mountains, which form the southern face of Mandoo, a wall of 

 considerable height was built, which, added to the natural 

 strength of the ground, made it unassailable by any but regu- 

 lar attack ; and this advantage, which gave security to property, 

 combined with the salubrity of the air, abundance of water, 

 and the rich nature of the ground that was encircled within 

 the limits of the new capital, caused it early to attain a state 

 of great prosperity. 



Hoshung Ghoree was succeeded by his son, Ghiznee Khan, 

 a weak and dissolute sovereign, who was dethroned by his 

 minister, Mahomed Khiljee, to whom Mandoo owed its fame 

 and splendour ; and the magnificent tomb over Hoshung Shah, 

 and the college and palaces that he built, give testimony of his 

 respect for the memory of his benefactor, and of a regard and 

 consideration for his subjects, which entitle him to the high 

 reputation he has attained among the Mahomedan princes of 

 India. 



Tor the above description of Mandoo I have drawn largely 

 on Sir John Malcolm's Memoir on Central India. The glory 

 of Mandoo has indeed departed, and save by a few Bheels and 

 a stray Mahomedan or two the place is utterly deserted. On 

 all sides are ruins of palaces, terraces, reservoirs, and gardens, 

 all fast crumbling to decay, and inhabited only by owls, bats, 



