CHAPTER VIII 



SUMMER GARDENS OF KASHMIR 



But see ! The rising moon of Heav'n again 



Looks for us, Sweetheart, through the quivering plane ; 



How oft, hereafter, rising will she look 

 Among those leaves for one of us in vain. 



OMAR KHAYYAM. 



LEAVING Srinagar by the Jammu route, the old 

 way was by boat up stream to Islamabad. A 

 whole series of ruined gardens lies scattered 

 throughout its length. In most cases they mark 

 the site of royal camping - grounds, built for 

 the convenience of the Court on the journey to 

 and from the plains ; while other gardens, like 

 the ruins at Bawan, which lie off the direct 

 route, were centred round a holy spring. 



The garden, the remains of which now form 

 the favourite camping -ground of Bijbehara, at 

 the bottom of the Lidar valley, is by far the 

 most remarkable of the riverside ruins. The 

 plan, more resembling that of a garden in the 



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