459 



cloth, or Persian carpet: convenient furniture and cheerful lights 

 rendered it preferable to any part of a house;' which, during 

 the hot winds, was never cool until midnight. The summiniana 

 differs from a tent in having a flat covering lined with chintz, and 

 no side Avails; it is neither troublesome nor expensive, but ex- 

 tremely useful in a hot climate ; and often alluded to by ancient 

 writers, especially in that sublime description in the sacred records, 

 " He stretched out the heavens as a curtain; and spreadeth them 

 out as a tent to dwell in." 



One of my chief pleasures in these excursions was the oc- 

 casional interviews I enjoyed with travellers of various descrip- 

 tions from different parts of Hindostan, who stopped at the 

 same choultrie, or reposed under the same banian-tree with my- 

 self. My people at Dim boy knowing my desire for informa- 

 tion, seldom suffered a Mahomedan fakeer or Hindoo pilgrim 

 of any celebrity to pass through the city without an intro- 

 duction to me: their narratives were generally interesting, though 

 sometimes extravagant, in describing the miracles of saints and 

 hermits in remote regions, where there was little probability of 

 detection. 



Of all the countries visited by these Yogees and Senassies, they 

 were most lavish in praise of Cachemire, whither they frequently 

 extended their pilgrimage. These narrations made me lono- to be- 

 hold this " Earthly Paradise," formerly a kingdom, happy under 

 its own monarchs; surrounded by lofty mountains, their summits 

 covered with perpetual snow; the acclivities, according to their 

 different aspects, either adorned with the trees of Europe, or 

 decked by the perennial plants and flowers of Asia, and some- 



