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 KhayyIm. 



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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