184/.] Account of the Toim and Palace of FeeroSabad. 977 



to us as the* old Patau Palace. It has been a large and solid fortress, 

 in a plain and unornamented style of architecture, and would have been 

 picturesque, had it been in a country, where trees grow, and ivy was 

 green,f but is here only ugly and melancholy. It is chiefly remarka- 

 ble for a high black pillar of cast metal, called Feeroz Shah's walking 

 stick. This was originally a Hindoo work, the emblem, I apprehend, 

 of Siva, which stood in a temple on the same spot, and concerning 

 which there was a tradition, like that attached to the coronation stone 

 of the Scots, that while it stood the children of Brama were to rule 

 Irdraput.J On the conquest of the country by the Mussulmans, the 

 vanity of the prediction was shown, and Feeroz, enclosed it within the 

 Court of his palace as a trophy of the victory of Islam, over idolatry. 

 It is covered with inscriptions, mostly Persian and Arabic, but that 

 which is evidently the original, and probably contains the prophecy, is 

 in a character now obsolete, and unknown, though apparently akin to 

 the Nagaree." 



Were the works of other travellers, before and after Heber, carefully 

 examined, it is probable, we might find as great, if not greater, misre- 

 presentations, and what is worse they indicated considerable amount of 

 ignorance on the part of those living on the spot, who " pointed out" 

 the ruins, and must have told the Bishop, what he has related above, 

 for a personal inspection would have proved to him at least that the 

 pillar was not an iron one, and that there were no Persian or Arabic 

 characters upon it. It is particularly to be noted that such works as 

 that of Bishop Heber are likely, on account of the apparent charac- 

 ter for research they have obtained, to perpetuate the mistakes they 

 make, as compilers of gazetteers and works on geography, mainly de- 

 pend on books of travels for the information they condense. Hamil- 

 ton, in his article " Dehli," has clearly taken much from Heber, though 

 his source of information is not acknowledged. 



Circumstances, which it it unnecessary to explain, have precluded 

 the following out the more desirable plan of commencing a series of 



* The italics are ours. — II. C. — H. L. 



t Had Bishop Heber seen the splendid ruins at the Kootub during the rainy season he 

 would never have made this remark.— H. C— H. L. 



% The tradition attaching- to the iron pillar at the Kootub, altered and misapplied.— 

 H. C. and H. L. 



