BERNIER AT DELHI 29 



the entrance, and handsome subterraneous apart- 

 ments which are furnished with large fans, and 

 on account of their coolness are fit places for 

 repose from noon until four or five o'clock, when 

 the air becomes suffocatingly warm. Instead 

 of these cellars many persons prefer kas-kanays, 

 that is, small and neat houses made of straw or 

 odoriferous roots, placed commonly in the middle 

 of a parterre so near to a reservoir of water that 

 the servants may easily moisten the outside by 

 means of water brought in skins. They consider 

 that a house to be greatly admired ought to be 

 situated in the middle of a large flower garden, 

 and should have four divan-apartments raised 

 the height of a man from the ground, and exposed 

 to the four winds, so that the coolness may be 

 felt from any quarter. Indeed, no handsome 

 dwelling is ever seen without terraces on which 

 the family may sleep during the night. They 

 always open into a large chamber into which 

 the bedstead is easily moved in case of rain, 

 when thick clouds of dust arise, when the cold 

 air is felt at break of day, or when it is found 

 necessary to guard against those light but pene- 

 trating dews which frequently cause a numbness 

 in the limbs and induce a species of paralysis." 



