DEHRA 223 



It illustrates, and in a most curious manner, the singular 

 effects sometimes occasioned by earthquakes. On the 

 occurrence of the great earthquake that took place in 

 Upper India towards the close of the last century, this 

 cupola was cracked completely through horizontally ; 

 and not only was it thus cracked through, but the part 

 of the tomb above the crack was also twisted round, 

 and that to the extent, if I remember correctly, of 

 nearly half a yard. It is not easy to understand by 

 what succession of movements of the ground this 

 result could have been effected, nor why the move- 

 ments that thus split this cupola should have left the 

 other three cupolas and also the tomb of the Gooroo 

 entirely unaffected. 



The tomb of the Gooroo, like many other of the 

 Indian mausoleums, is a shrine as well as a place of 

 sepulture ; services are performed in it daily at various 

 hours : they consist in the reciting of prayers, the 

 ringing of bells, and the reading aloud of the 

 "Grunth," or sacred book of the Sikh religion. It 

 was from this volume that the priest was reading, as 

 I have above described, on the occasion of my first 

 visit. If I remember aright, the services also include 

 the offering of flowers and the burning of incense. 



The services appeared to me to be very scantily 

 attended ; often there was no worshipper beyond the 

 priest himself: but then I ought to add that it was but 

 very rarely that I happened to be in the garden at the 

 times when the services were going on. Once each 

 year, however, at the commencement of the hot season, 

 a religious fair is held; and then the pilgrims and 



