1867.] Notes on Sirdjuddaulah and the town of Murshidahdd. 103 



carried about in remembrance of the death of Hasan and Husain. 

 But it is in commemoration of the death in battle of Husain and his 

 family only. Hasan had died a year before Husain of poison. Nor 

 do the Shi'ahs exclaim in their lamentations " Hasan Husain !" but 

 " Husain, Husain !" or " ya Husain ! merely. 



As a custom peculiar to Murshidabad, the author mentions a grand 

 annual display of fireworks and a feast given by the Nawab on the 

 last Thursday of the month of Bhadon, to which the English gentry 

 of Berhampore are generally invited. 



A large raft of 100 cubits square is made of plantain trees and 

 bamboos and 'covered with mud. In the midst of the raft a small 

 fortress is built, to the walls of which all hinds of fireworks are 

 attached. At the order of the Nawab, the raft is launched (bhasana) 

 and steered to the other side of the river, when the fireworks are let 

 off. The whole is done to the honour and glory of Haszrat Khwajah 

 Khiszr, (may blessings be upon him). 



Smaller rafts (hind, bera) are put on the tanks by Muhammadans 

 of the lower classes all over Bengal on every Thursday during the 

 month of Bhadon. The simplest ones consist of joined pieces of 

 bamboos or plantain trees, with a few sweetmeats and a small lamp 

 placed on them. They are made in order to discharge vows. 



I do not know the origin of this custom, nor the area over which 

 it extends. It is in all probability of Hindoo origin. But it reminds 

 me of an attribute of Khiszr as the guide of wanderers, who loose 

 their way in the darkness of the night. Indeed one must have seen 

 the darkness of a night in Bengal during the month of Bhadon, to 

 know what darkness really is. 



Notes on the style of the hooh. 



The writer succeeds in expressing his ideas clearly ; awkward 

 sentences occur seldom. 



The style of the book is Hindustani-Persian, i. e. Persian words 

 arranged according to the genius of the Hindustani language. The 

 general failings of all Indian writers in Persian, from Abulfaszl down- 

 wards, appear also here. A preference is given to long periods with 

 participial constructions corresponding to Hindustani forms as,^*y 



