CHAPTER VII 



GARDENS OF THE DAL LAKE 



I went down into the Garden of Nuts 

 To see the green plants of the Valley, 

 To see whether the Vine budded 

 And the Pomegranates were in flower. 



Song of Songs. 



KASHMIR, the state which outweighed the whole 

 Indian Empire in the estimation of the Emperor 

 Jahangir, must have been particularly dear to the 

 Mughals ; reminding them as it did of their cool 

 northern home - country. The whole country, 

 however, is not very large, consisting of one main 

 valley ninety miles long by twenty-five miles 

 broad, completely encircled by high mountains, 

 and when the Mughal Emperors visited it, 

 the difficulties of transport and of securing 

 provisions, as well as the actual dangers of the 

 road over the mountain passes, made it neces- 

 sary to restrict the number of the Court as 

 far as possible. Only nobles of the first rank 



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