430 Account of an ancient temple at Hissar. [MA1r, 



be found further onwards, particularly as it appears the Buddhist religion 

 extended far to the northwest. 



The ancient stone forming the base of Feroz's pillar at Hissar is of 

 one piece, and is 10 feet 10 inches high : how much of it is sunk in the 

 ground below I cannot tell, but probably there is as much of it below as 

 above, and some of the ancient inscriptions may still be preserved on 

 the lower parts, The greatest circumference of the stone aboveground 

 is eight and a half feet. The rest of the pillar is of the red sandstone, 

 common at Agra, and there is part of the column near the second cor- 

 nice made of coarse white marble. There is a massive iron rod on the 

 top which formerly served to support a cupola ; several attempts have 

 been made to extract this rod by natives, but they have always failed. 

 From the base of the column to the top of this rod the height is about 

 45 feet ; the column is solid, and there is no way of easily getting to 

 the top. 



The pillar is situated in the centre of a square of old buildings, 

 which at present are used as a magazine. In one of them is a Ty- 

 khana with a pas&age underground, which is said to extend to Hansi, 

 a distance of 16 miles. On the hill near Delhi where the Delhi lat 

 was found, of which Major Pew sent you a description, there is a 

 similar passage underground, which is said to extend to the Jumna river. 

 I have myself explored a considerable distance of this passage, but was 

 glad to get back owing to the lights having gone out. It does not 

 appear to be known for what purpose these passages underground were 

 made. 



I now come to ^escribe another building at Hissar, and although of 

 Feroz's time, yet it claims an interest as having been a model of a ship 

 prepared by one of the emperor's ameers who had seen one, but who 

 not being able to describe it sufficiently to his majesty, was ordered to 

 build one of stone and lime. There are several apartments, and a 

 Madrissa in the interior. The building is wide and evidently got up 

 in haste, and could not have given his majesty a very good idea of a 

 clipper: some of the old Dutch men-of-war of Van Tromp's time, 

 might have warranted the resemblance such as it is, and of which I 

 enclose sketches, as also of Feroz's pillar. 



Note. — The faint traces of letters on the Hansi pillar have much more the ap- 

 pearance of English capitals than old Indian letters. If read however as the latter, 

 they form no word met with on the other lats. It may therefore be doubted whe- 

 ther this stunted shaft was one of the series — unless indeed the greater part of it 

 is buried below the ground. 



We have unfortunately mislaid the sketch of the ship-house, but if the building 

 were really intended to give his Majesty an idea of a ship, we cannot flatter the 

 architect on his success, nor the monarch on the felicity of his design.— Ed. 



